A Nice Cuppa

When It comes to tea and coffee recipes there are many recipes to be found. Plenty of cakes, cookies and beverages made from and or flavored with these. As a chef, I’ve found sweet and savory ingredients are crossing over more frequently and it is not rare to find wasabi, curry or fleur de sel in desserts or rose petals and chocolate in the savory side.

I think its important to experiment and try new things which is why I thought I would give you some suggestions utilizing coffee and tea in a way that is unconventional or maybe even unknown to some.

Enjoy!

Tea smoked Salmon

4 (4-6 oz portion) salmon fillet, center cut, skin off
1 cup mirin
1 cup water
2 tablespoon light brown sugar
2 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 cup ginger slices (peeled)
1 stalk lemon grass, cut up and crushed
3 garlic cloves, sliced thin
2 teaspoon toasted Szechwan peppercorns
1 tablespoon sesame oil (or soybean if your allergy)

Smoking Mixture
1.5 cups long grain rice
1.5 cups sugar
1.5 cups oolong tea
1 piece aluminum foil
2 wet cloths

1. Mix the mirin, water, sugar and salt in a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients.
2. Place salmon in a baking tray or hotel pan and cover with the mixture. Allow to marinate for at least an hour at room temperature.
3. Pull salmon from the brine and place on bamboo steamer.
4. Line a wok with the foil and place the rice on top together with the tea and the sugar. Mix well.
5. Turn on medium heat and when it starts to lightly smoke, place the salmon in the bamboo steamer on top, sealing surrounding areas with the cloths.
6. Cook for 15 minutes and take off the heat. Allow to rest 10 minutes longer for a medium temperature.

Note: I suggest you serve this warm over some mesclun greens, grilled scallions and yogurt dressing or with stir fried broccoli (with ginger and garlic) and rice.

Coffee Rub for grilled steak, pork, chicken or shrimp (great in skewers)

1/4 cup ancho or chipotle chile powder
1/4 cup finely ground espresso beans
2 tablespoons Spanish paprika
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon ground cardamom
2 teaspoons ground ginger
6-6 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon orange zest
2 teaspoons chili de arbol powder
vegetable oil (as needed and desired)

1. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.
2. Brush desired meat with some oil and cover with rub. Allow to absorb flavors wile you heat the grill.
3. Grill as usual.

Note: this rub goes very well with any king of fruit salsa or sweet sauce.

Earl grey Truffles

My husband and I made these for my father-in-law’s wedding and they were a hit! It is a recipe from one of my chefs at school that I’m sure you will enjoy. You may substitute the tea with any other fragrant loose tea.

2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces and softened
1 tablespoon loose Earl Grey tea leaves
6 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped
pinch salt
1 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

1. Bring cream, salt and butter to a boil in a small heavy saucepan and stir in tea leaves. Remove from heat and let steep 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, finely grind or chop chocolate and place it in a heat resistant bowl.
3. Pour cream through a fine-mesh sieve onto chocolate, pressing on and discarding tea leaves and whisk until smooth. Chill the mixture (referred to as ganache), covered, until firm, about 2 hours.
4. Spoon, scoop or pipe the ganache onto a cooled, lined sheet tray. Put cocoa in a bowl.
5. Dust your hands lightly with the cocoa and roll each piece to a smooth ball, making sure to re dust with cocoa each time so they don’t stick.

Note: you may also dip these truffles in melted dark chocolate before they are rolled in the cocoa. These will hold for about a week in the refrigerator or a month in the freezer as long as they are kept in an air tight container with wax paper.