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7 Dec 2011

Sourdough and the Creative life


Poached egg, spiced butter, cocoa Duck consomme = dinner!
I have to apologize with Stephanie from Groundcherry blog for having missed my aim at this month's Secret Recipe Club http://secretrecipeclub.com/how-it-works/. This happens when you get on doing as many things at once as your computer can bare. 
I got originally assigned with her blog but in the process of looking for a recipe through the days I stumbled on a tab that had Winnie's blog on it and so I thought that was my to-be source (since it was opened already for a few days).
You see, I have been using my browser window more like a pin-board with as many as 10-15 tabs opened simultaneously at each session (and hence inherited by the next one until I deem them worth retiring).

This seems to be a leitmotiv of my persona: throw it in, fish them out, throw them in once more to enrich the minestrone soup that is my mind. Given these premises, what do you think my day would end up looking like? You got it, a panettone loaf filled with as many candied fruits as to resemble more a fruitcake (and I do not like candied fruits that much).

To refine and finalize the recipe for the perfect day takes a long time (as my bank account and stress level can attest pretty faithfully). After working on it for more than 4 years, I feel that I barely got its outlook right.
Baking with wild yeast can produces delicious results but can also worn out the nerves of the baker who wants it done (fairly) quickly and to perfection.
Is he pretending too much from Nature? Probably...

If my day resembles a panettone loaf, I feel like a bowl of proofing mother-yeast, constantly in need of regular feeding. The quest for the perfect loaf is possibly an endless one; our taste-buds will fail us before we can call the recipe developing done.

Anyhow, in today's panettone finds its place a nice bowl of rice noodles with poached eggs and spices-butter, courtesy of Stephanie. When Amanda and Jane made me notice my Secret Recipe Club detour, I hurried to GroundCherry blog to look for something that could fit the tight schedule and my dietary restriction.
In her blog Stephanie gives us useful tips about how to have a yummy meal even when singles. Among her gluten-free recipes we can also find tips about gardening and more insight on sustainable living.
Sounds perfect to me! And among her suggestions I found these poached eggs with curried butter that successfully put eggs back into my dinner! And this is my interpretation:

Poached eggs with Lebkuchen-spiced butter over rice noodles in a cocoa-cardamom duck consommé

Poached egg, spiced butter, cocoa Duck consomme = dinner!

Ingredients (serve 2):

Duck consommé: 
  • 1cup duck stock 
  • 1tsp cocoa powder 
  • 1/4tsp grated orange zest 
  • 2 medium cardamom pods 
  • 1tsp rum 
  • 1/2tsp sugar or to taste 
Spiced Butter: 
  • 25g butter 
  • 1/4tsp grated cinnamon 
  • 1/8tsp grated nutmeg 
  • 1 clove, grinded 
  • 1/4tsp black pepper, cracked
  • 2 bundles dried rice noodles 
  • 2 Large eggs (or to taste) 

Method: 
Let's start with the duck consommé. In a little pan, combine the duck consommé with the cocoa powder, the cardamom pods and the orange zest; bring slowly to a simmer covered while you continue with the rest of the steps.

In a small pot melt half of the butter and let it cook until it will smell nutty. At this point, out of the fire, add the rest of the butter along with the spices. Let them infuse placing it back on the fire if the butter won't melt.

In the meantime soak the rice-noodles in salted boiling water and poach the eggs following your favorite method.

When ready to serve, taste the duck consommé for seasoning adding the rum and sugar. Drain the rice noodles and divide them among the plates, pour on them the broth (leaving the cardamom behind), place the poached egg on top of the noodles drizzling the butter through a fine sieve over the whole (remelt it over low fire if it has cooled down and solidified) and enjoy!

8 comments:

  1. that butter sounds interesting! Need to bookmark to make!!

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  2. Going to give this one a go soon! Rum, Duck, Cinnamon, Clove and Chocolate sound like an interesting mix.

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  3. I love anything with a poached egg on top!

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  4. You, my dear, are BRILLIANT, yet remind me of an absent minded prof!! Love how you wrote this post...can see you at 3am with 15 tabs pinned...LOL! Beautiful delicious post A!!

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  5. thanks for making me smile. not much reason lately so double thank you!

    quite wild combination there my dear but I can imagine it all playing together nicely in the end!

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  6. Looks wonderfully elegant - AND delicious.

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