Anyone following my blog is well aware of my love for rhubarb. I think I’ve tried to use it in every capacity possible. Well, get ready for my next adventure — rhubarb Turkish delight! I refrain from eating a lot of chocolate bars, not that I don’t enjoy them, but seriously –. In Canada, the Nestle company sells a chocolate bar called ‘Big Turk’ for which Turkish delight forms the basic foundation. Of course, I love it!
Just a bit of food history background on the subject first. The Turkish name for the sweet comes from the Arabic rahat-ul hulkum which means ‘soothe or heal the throat’. This was abbreviated to rahat lokum and then lokum. The name ‘Turkish Delight’ was coined in the 18th century to make it easier to pronounce. As an improvement on the original recipe of honey or molasses, a mixture of water, flour, cornstarch and refined beet sugar were used to make a firm, chewy jelly.
Little has changed in the last 240 years. Although there are more than 24 different flavors, the biggest seller that still remains is a plain jelly studded with pistachios. Traditional Middle Eastern flavors include rose-pistachio, orange-blossom walnut, mint and rose-lemon.
Back to the rhubarb. Somewhere in my travels, I came across a recipe for rhubarb truffles that peeked my interest. After more research, I decided why not go right out on a limb and test my skills at making some rhubarb/rose Turkish delight. Actually, the end result was not bad. I have acquired a taste for the use of floral water in baking, Brion, not so much. It has to be used very sparingly or it becomes overpowering. I made three versions: Turkish delight plain or covered in white chocolate and a rhubarb truffle. A bit time consuming but a very unique flavor.
Print Recipe
Rhubarb/Rose Turkish Delights & Chocolates
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Ingredients
Rhubarb/Rose Turkish Delight
Rhubarb Cream Cheese Truffles
Ingredients
Rhubarb/Rose Turkish Delight
Rhubarb Cream Cheese Truffles
|
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
|
Instructions
Rhubarb/Rose Turkish Delight
In a saucepan, put 1 1/4 cups water with sugar, rhubarb & lemon juice. Cook over low heat , stirring until sugar has dissolved, then increase the heat a little; simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat; leave the rhubarb to infuse for 10 minutes, then pass through a sieve, reserving the juice & pulp separately (the pulp can be used in the truffles that follow).
Line a baking dish with cling film (the size will depend on how thick you want your candy) & set aside. In a small dish, blend cornstarch with remaining 1/4 cup water until smooth. In a saucepan, add rhubarb juice, gelatin powder, dissolved cornstarch & heat gently, stirring until gelatin has dissolved, then bring to a rolling boil.
Keep mixture at a steady rolling boil, stirring constantly, for about 12-14 minutes or until syrup reaches a soft ball stage. Cool slightly & then pour mixture into lined baking dish. Allow to cool at room temperature for about 12 hours or until the mixture is set; do not refrigerate.
Once the jelly is set, cut into pieces. Combine 1 Tbsp cornstarch with 2 Tbsp powdered sugar in a bowl, then roll the jellies in this mixture to coat them. Keep jellies in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 3 days; do not refrigerate. If you want to dip some of your jellies as I did, I found using a mini ice cube tray as a mold was helpful. I just set the piece of jelly in each cup & poured the white chocolate over & around it. Can be frozen until needed.
Rhubarb Cream Cheese Truffles
In a double boiler over medium heat, melt 55 grams of white chocolate chunks. Transfer to a bowl; add remaining ingredients EXCEPT milk chocolate & beat with an electric hand mixer until smooth. Cover & chill until solid enough to roll or scoop into balls.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Melt milk chocolate. drop balls of rhubarb/cream cheese mixture, one at a time, into milk chocolate to coat. Carefully remove onto parchment paper & allow to harden. Can be frozen as well until needed.
-
Recipe Notes
- I also tried freezing the plain jellies without putting cornstarch/sugar mixture on them and it worked fine. They were actually nice tasting right out of the freezer.
Here we are, Christmas with it’s turkey and all the trimmings is just a memory but … there’s always that wonderful turkey soup with some homemade egg noodles.
One thing that was usually plentiful on the farm was eggs. The fact that you only needed yolks for egg noodles, always meant something had to be done with the whites as discarding them was not an option. Probably that’s where ‘angel food’ or ‘daffodil’ cake comes in.
I’m sure my mother never measured her ingredients for egg noodles. She would simply beat the egg yolks, water and salt and add flour, kneading it into a nice smooth, pliable dough. The dough was then divided it into several pieces and shaped into balls. After rolling the balls into circles, they were placed on tea towels to dry for a number of hours. When they were dry, but not stiff, the rounds were placed on top of each other, rolling them up like a jelly roll. She would slice the roll into strips, then unwind by tossing the noodles lightly with her fingers. The noodles would be left to dry until the soup was made and ready to boil them in.
There were so many uses for this economical (but rich) comfort food. I recall my mother would sometimes add the cooked noodles to scrambled eggs. When they were added to soup, I don’t think any of us cared if it contained anything but broth and noodles, they tasted so good.
Hopefully you still have that turkey carcass and a few bones saved to make that flavorful broth needed. A little extra work but worth it!
Print Recipe
Turkey Soup with Homemade Egg Noodles
Undeniably, comfort food at it's best!
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
|
|
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
|
Instructions
Egg Noodles
Beat eggs, water & salt with fork until well blended. Add flour & knead on a floured surface until smooth & pliable. Cut into two equal portions & roll out in rounds as thin as you prefer. Place on a tea towel; lay on a flat surface to let dry but not stiff. Place one round on top the other; with a sharp knife, slice noodles to the thickness you prefer. Separate & continue to dry 2-3 hours.
Turkey Broth / Soup
Preheat oven to 400 F. Spray a large baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Place turkey carcass & other turkey bones, onion, carrots & garlic on it & bake, uncovered for 1 hour, turning once. Transfer the carcass, bones & vegetables to a large soup kettle. Add 18 cups cold water; set aside. Pour remaining 2 cups cold water into baking pan, stirring to loosen browned bits. Add to kettle. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover & simmer for 3-4 hours.
Cool slightly. Strain broth; discard bones & vegetables. Set soup kettle in ice bath until cooled, stirring occasionally. Cover & refrigerate overnight.
Skim fat from broth. Cover & bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Add carrots, celery, cooked turkey, salt, pepper & Herbes de Provence. Simmer until vegetables are tender; add egg noodles. Cook until noodles float to the top of broth. Serve.
Recipe Notes
- It is nice to make your turkey BROTH a day ahead so it has a chance to cool completely, making it easier to skim fat from broth.
- If you make your egg noodles a day ahead, dry them thoroughly, place in a tightly covered container & refrigerate until cooking time.
- I prefer to use the whole eggs instead of just yolks in my egg noodles -- personal preference only, works either way.
