Los Angeles Times
This recipe is adapted from Alice Medrich’s “Bittersweet: Recipes and Tales From a Life in Chocolate.” Oat flour is available at select health food and baking supply stores.
Chocolate-Orange Scones
1 cup flour
1 cup oat flour
1/4 C. sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. fine sea salt
Zest from 2 oranges
4 ounces coarsely chopped bittersweet chocolate (65 percent to 70 percent cacao)
1 1/4 C. heavy whipping cream, plus extra for brushing
Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, oat flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir in the orange zest and the chocolate.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the cream. Using a spatula, mix the ingredients until just moistened; the dough should look rough and shaggy. Gather the dough into a lump with your hands and knead it together five or six times, until it holds together and the sides of the bowl are clean.
On a lightly floured board, pat the dough into an 8 1/2-inch round. Using a knife or a dough cutter, cut the round into 12 wedges. Place the wedges about an inch apart on the baking sheet. Brush the tops with cream and sprinkle them lightly with sugar.
Bake the scones until they begin to turn golden brown, about 15 minutes. Allow the scones to cool on a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Total time: 30 minutes.
Servings: Makes 12 scones.
Each scone: 225 calories; 3 grams protein; 22 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams fiber; 15 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 34 milligrams cholesterol; 208 milligrams sodium.
Pan-Roasted Asparagus
4 egg yolks
2 sticks butter, melted
1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
Fine sea salt
Freshly ground white pepper
1/8 C. finely chopped fresh dill
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 1/2 pounds asparagus, ends trimmed
Make the hollandaise sauce: Boil a few inches of water in a medium saucepan. Turn off the heat and place a metal bowl large enough to cover the saucepan on top, making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water directly. Add the egg yolks and 2 tablespoons of water to the bowl and whisk continuously until the mixture becomes light and frothy.
Continue whisking until the mixture thickens and forms a ribbon when you lift the whisk, about 5 minutes.
Add the melted butter, a little at a time, to the egg mixture, whisking continuously, until you’ve incorporated all the butter. Add the lemon juice, a pinch each of salt and pepper, and the dill. Keep the hollandaise barely warm over the hot water. (Makes 1 1/2 cups sauce.)
Alternatively, you can make the hollandaise in a blender. Place the egg yolks, lemon juice, pinch of salt and white pepper in a blender. Add 2 tablespoons boiling water and blend for a few seconds. Melt the butter until it just starts to boil.
Take the butter off the heat, turn the blender back on and add the hot butter in a slow, steady stream until combined. Pour into a bowl and stir in the dill.
In a large skillet over high heat, heat the olive oil until quite hot. Toss in the asparagus and a pinch of salt and cook, flipping the spears of asparagus so that they sear evenly. Continue cooking over high heat, until the spears roast and begin to caramelize but haven’t lost their vibrant color or some of their crunch, about 5 minutes.
Remove from the heat and place on a serving platter; serve with a bowl of the hollandaise sauce.
Total time: 40 minutes
Servings: 6
Each serving with 2 tablespoons hollandaise sauce: 184 calories; 2 grams protein; 3 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram fiber; 19 grams fat; 11 grams saturated fat; 109 mg. cholesterol; 23 mg. sodium.
Leek Pancakes
Note: Kamut flour is available at Whole Foods stores and select health food markets.
4 large leeks, white parts only, washed and thinly sliced (about 4 C.)
6 Tbsp. (3/4 stick) butter, plus additional for greasing the pan
1 tsp. plus a pinch of sea salt, divided
4 eggs
2 C. whole milk
1/4 tsp. white pepper
1 C. flour
1 C. kamut flour
2 tsp. baking powder
In a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat, saute the leeks in 6 tablespoons of butter with a pinch of salt until soft and just barely beginning to caramelize, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool in the pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk until well-blended. Add the flour, kamut flour, 1 teaspoon salt and the white pepper and baking powder and whisk together until combined. After the leeks are cooled, mix the leeks into the batter, being sure to add all the melted butter from the pan.Heat the same cast-iron skillet over medium heat, adding a little more butter if necessary. Ladle a heaping tablespoon of batter for each pancake into the pan, and cook until bubbles form and the underside is golden brown, about 1 1/2 minutes. Flip and finish cooking about 1 minute on the other side. Repeat with the rest of the batter, keeping the pancakes warm on a plate near the stove.Total time: 45 minutes plus cooling time
Servings: Makes 5 1/2 dozen small pancakes
Each pancake: 34 calories; 1 gram protein; 4 grams carbohydrates; 0 fiber; 2 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 16 mg. cholesterol; 58 mg. sodium.