Culinary Experience at Lake Austin Spa Resort - 4 Recipes
Guest Chef Sara Moulton
Menu Featuring:
- Sautéed Beer Batter Shrimp with Dipping Sauce
- Asian Turkey Burgers with Wasabi Sauce
- Basic Pie Pastry Dough
- Tomato Pie
Sautéed Beer Batter Shrimp with Dipping Sauce
Makes 4 to 6 servings | Hands-on time: 25 minutes | Total preparation time: 25 minutes
When it comes to deep-frying, my favorite batter is beer batter. Super simple – just equal parts beer and flour – beer batter makes a very light, crisp coating. But I’d never thought you could sauté, rather than deep fry, with it until I read a recipe in Cooking Light for sautéed Beer-Batter Shrimp. Intrigued but skeptical, I tried it, adding my little trick of dusting the shrimp in flour to start, which helps the batter to adhere to the shrimp. It was so delicious that I started wondering what else might be ripe for dipping in beer batter and sautéing. Once I had my shrimp, I married it to good old tartar sauce, a nod to my roots in New England, where tartar sauce ends up on top of every kind of fried food. However, if you’re not in the mood to whip up some tartar sauce, use soy sauce instead. After all, you can think of this recipe as a kind of American tempura.
One 12-ounce bottle beer
1 cup plus 1/3 cup Wondra or unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Kosher salt
Dipping sauce (recipe follows)
1 pound raw large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Freshly ground black pepper
2 to 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
Preheat the oven to 300°F. Whisk together 1 cup of the beer, 1 cup flour, the mustard, and
¼ teaspoon salt until just smooth. Strain the batter into another bowl and let stand for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the Soy Dipping Sauce. Put the 1/3 cup flour into a pie plate lined with wax paper or parchment. Check the batter; it should have the consistency of a thick pancake batter. If it seems too thick, whisk in up to 1/4 cup more of the beer.
Heat half the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Working with half the shrimp at a time, toss them in the flour, lifting the wax paper on both sides to move them around. Transfer the shrimp to a strainer and shake off the excess flour. Coat the shrimp with the batter letting the excess drip off and add them to the skillet. Cook them, turning once, 1 to 2 minutes a side until they are golden. (Most of the batter will stay on the side you first put down in the skillet.)
Sprinkle the cooked shrimp with salt, transfer them to a baking sheet and keep them warm in the oven while you cook the remaining shrimp. Serve with Tartar Sauce or soy sauce for dipping.
Dipping Sauce: ¼ cup soy sauce (low-sodium if you prefer)
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Asian Turkey Burgers with Wasabi Sauce
Ground turkey is a lean alternative to ground beef but it has the down side of being quite dry. How do you supply moisture? Vegetables. That is the main reason the Napa cabbage is in there, it is not really for flavor. Because of all the Asian elements in the burger I decided to compliment it with Wasabi Sauce. Wasabi as we find it in most supermarkets (either powdered in a little jar or prepared in a tube) is a mixture of ground horseradish and mustard tinted with green food coloring. You rarely find true wasabi in this country (see sidebar). But supermarket variety is quite tasty and packs quite a punch if you like spicy food it should become a regular in your pantry.
Makes 6 servings | Hands-on time: 20 minutes | Total preparation time: 30 minutes
1½- pounds ground turkey (white, dark or mixed)
1 medium red bell pepper, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
¼ small head Napa cabbage, finely shredded (about 1 cup)
4 medium scallions (white and light green parts), finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, mint, or basil, or a mix
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon finely-grated fresh ginger (use a microplane)
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Kosher salt and freshly milled black pepper
2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons low fat mayonnaise
2 teaspoons prepared wasabi
6 hamburger buns, toasted if desired
Stir together the turkey, bell pepper, cabbage, scallions, egg, cilantro, 2 tablespoons of the soy sauce,
the ginger, ½ teaspoon of the sesame oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper just until well mixed. Shape the mixture into six patties about ½ inch thick.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Reduce the heat to medium, add the burgers and cook them for 5 minutes a side or until just cooked through, adding more oil if necessary.
Meanwhile, stir together the mayonnaise, wasabi, remaining 1 teaspoon soy sauce, and ½ teaspoon sesame oil.
Put a burger in each of the buns and top the burger with about 1 tablespoon of the sauce.
Basic Pie Pastry Dough
When you make pastry dough, you have three main choices about which kind of fat to use: lard, shortening, or butter.
Lard is used mainly in the South and produces wonderfully flaky dough. Shortening also produces a very tender crust, with the added benefit of helping the dough hold its shape.
(My crimped edge holds its shape much better with shortening). But butter has the flavor edge, which is why I recommend it over the others.
Three crucial things to keep in mind when you’re making pastry dough: Keep all your ingredients cold, cold, cold, don’t overwork the dough or it will be tough, and chill the dough in the fridge for at least 1 hour before rolling it out.
Mix the flour with the salt in a large bowl. Add the butter and use 2 knives or a pastry cutter to blend until the mixture resembles the texture of small peas. (Alternatively, combine the flour and salt in a food processor and pulse once or twice to blend. Add the butter and process until blended, about 20 seconds, then transfer to a large bowl.)
Make a well in the center of the mixture and add the water. Mix quickly with a fork to form a soft dough. Add another teaspoon of cold water if the dough appears to be too dry. Turn out onto a floured work surface and work gently into a rough ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at last 1 hour. (The pastry dough can be made up to a day in advance or kept frozen for up to a month).
Variation: For sweet pastry, reduce the salt to ½ teaspoon and add 2 tablespoons sugar to the flour and salt.
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon table salt
12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled
4 to 6 tablespoons ice-cold water or more as needed
Makes enough for two 9-inch tart shells or a double-crust pie.
Tomato Pie
Make this pie during the high tomato season and you just can’t lose, those big ripe local tomatoes will do all the work for you. After you slice and salt the tomatoes and roll out the dough, the rest is simple. (If you want to cheat, use a store-bought pie shell instead of homemade dough. Just let it soften enough so you can ease it into the tart tin).
By the way, feel free to substitute other fresh herbs for the ones I list here. Basil, mint, cilantro, dill, oregano, marjoram, chives, chervil and tarragon all pair nicely with tomatoes. Serve with Mexican-Style Street Corn and a tossed green salad.
Roll the dough into an 1/8-inch thick round on a lightly floured work surface. Transfer to a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, cut off any excess dough from the edges, and prick the bottom lightly with a fork. Chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line the shell with foil and fill with pie weights, dried beans, or rice. Bake in the lower third of the oven for 20 minutes. Carefully remove the weights and foil. Return to the oven and bake for 10 minutes more or until light golden. Cool in the pan on a wire rack.
Turn up the oven to 400 degrees F. Sprinkle the tomatoes with salt and drain in a colander for 10 to 15 minutes. Spread the mustard over the bottom of the shell and sprinkle the cheese over it. Arrange the tomatoes over the cheese in one overlapping layer. Bake until the pastry is golden brown and the tomatoes are very soft, 35 to 40 minutes.
In a small bowl, stir together the parsley, thyme, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste to blend. Sprinkle the pie with this mixture while hot and spread out gently with the back of a spoon. Serve the pie hot or at room temperature.
Ingredients:
½ recipe
Basic Pie Pastry Dough
3 large tomatoes, about 1½ pounds, peeled and cut into ½ inch thick slices
Kosher salt for sprinkling
¼ cup Dijon mustard
1 cup coarsely grated Gruyere cheese
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Additional kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Serves 6-8
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