Cottage Cooking

Breakfast Baklava-Inspired Yogurt & Berries

I grew up close to a Greek neighborhood, so it was early in my food journey that I was introduced to Greek flavors and dishes. This recipe pays homage to an undeniable classic, baklava! While baklava is made using sheets of phyllo, another style of syropiasta (desserts bathed in syrup) uses kataifi, a shredded phyllo dough. Don’t worry, I’m not going to make you find shredded phyllo; I just want to let you know where the inspiration came from. Instead,

I suggest an accessible shortcut that offers a similar texture— Shredded Wheat cereal.

Ingredients

• 6 large Original Shredded Wheat or 5 cups Original Mini-Shredded Wheat
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pistachios
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• ⅓ cup liquid honey
• Two 24 oz (750 g) tubs plain Greek or Balkan yogurt
• 2 cups blueberries

Directions

1. Break the shredded wheat apart by hand over a large bowl. Add the walnuts and cinnamon, and toss to combine.
2. Pour the honey into a small pot and place over medium-low heat. Warm the honey until it becomes less viscous and easily pourable. Pour over the biscuit mixture and toss to coat evenly.
3. Scoop the yogurt into a large serving dish or bowl, spreading it evenly over the bottom. Scatter shredded wheat mixture over the yogurt and garnish with the blueberries. Serve immediately.

COTTAGE SWAP: If you like things on the sweeter side, use vanilla yogurt in place of one or both tubs of plain yogurt.

Curried Chickpea Flatbread with Fresh Tomato Relish

Grilling is an awesome way to add smoky flavor and charred texture to flatbread. The chickpeas get cooked in a pan directly on the barbecue or on a side burner, if you have one. The massive flavor of curried chickpeas served over grilled flatbread is heightened by the fresh and slightly tart addition of a bright, fresh tomato relish. This dish is terrific as a main, but can be cut into smaller portions for a filling snack.

Ingredients for the Tomato Relish

• 2 Roma (plum) tomatoes, diced
• ½ onion, minced
• ¼ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon vinegar (any variety will do)
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Ingredients for the Flatbread

• 1 batch All-Purpose Pizza Dough (page 265)
• Flour, for dusting 2 tablespoons oil

Ingredients for the Chickpea Curry

• 2 tablespoons oil
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 large or 2 small jalapeño peppers, minced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1½ tablespoons curry powder 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• Two 19 oz (540 ml) cans chickpeas (do not drain)
• Chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat a clean barbecue to medium-high heat (375–400°F).
2. For the tomato relish: In a small bowl, combine the tomatoes, onions, cilantro, vinegar, and salt. Cover and set aside.
3. For the flatbread: Divide the dough into six equal parts. Dust your work surface with a little flour. Using floured hands, stretch and press each piece of dough into roundish pieces, roughly ¼ inch thick. Place the rounds 1 inch apart on a baking sheet and brush the tops with oil. Set aside.
4. For the chickpea curry: Place a 10-inchovenproof skillet on the barbecue or a side burner. Add the oil, garlic, jalapeños, and onions, and cook until the vegetables just start to soften. Stir in the curry powder, cumin, salt, and pepper, and cook for 2 minutes.
5. Add the chickpeas and their liquid, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Use the back of a fork or a potato masher to mash some of the chickpeas, leaving some whole. Continue cooking until most of the liquid has evaporated and the curry has thickened, about 10–12 minutes. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm.
6. Place the dough rounds, oil side down, directly on the barbecue. Grill for about 3 minutes or until the dough is golden brown and slightly charred and releases easily from the grill. Flip and grill for 3–5 minutes or until the dough is charred and cooked through. Return the flatbreads to the baking sheet.
7. To serve: Keep the chickpea curry in the skillet and top with the tomato relish, garnish with cilantro (if using), and serve with the warm flatbreads.

COTTAGE SWAP: You can use store-bought pizza dough; just remove it from the fridge 30 minutes before barbecuing to make stretching and shaping it easier. Or you can use pitas or naan and simply warm them on the barbecue before slathering with the chickpea curry. You can also use a store-bought fresh salsa instead of making your own relish.

Rainbow Sherbet Celebration Cake

There’s always something worth celebrating—a birthday, an anniversary, the phases of the moon. Find any reason to indulge in this exemplary frozen sherbet cake. It’s a gorgeous, fruity, and flirty number that makes me giddy when I slice into it. Little to no effort is required, aside from licking the sherbet off the spoon. The flavor combos are endless, so if sherbet doesn’t float your boat, ice cream or gelato makes a wonderful substitute.

Ingredients

• 6 cups rainbow sherbet
• One 14 oz (390 g) store-bought pound cake (golden or vanilla)
• One 7 oz (198 g) jar marshmallow fluff (about 2 cups)
• Sprinkles, for decorating

Directions

1. Remove the sherbet from the freezer15–20 minutes ahead of assembly so it softens and is easier to work with.
2. Line a 5- × 9-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap long enough to hang over by a couple of inches on all four sides.
3. Slice the cake horizontally along its length into three equal pieces. Lay the top piece in the bottom of the prepared pan and press it gently into place. If it doesn’t fill the entire length or width of the pan, that’s okay: the sherbet will fill in the gaps. Spread half of the softened sherbet evenly over the cake and to the edges of the pan.
4. Add the second piece of cake and press down firmly to secure it in place. Spread the remaining sherbet evenly over the cake and to the edges of the pan. Top with the final piece of cake and press down firmly. Bang the pan on the counter a couple of times to settle all the layers into place.
5. Run a spoon under hot water to heat it up. Scoop the marshmallow fluff and quickly spread it over the top of the cake. This is sticky business, so run your spoon under the hot water as needed. Work quickly until the fluff is used up; it doesn’t have to look pretty.
6. Pull the excess plastic wrap up and over the cake. Chillin the freezer for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.
7. Remove the cake from the freezer 10–15 minutes before serving. Carefully pull open the plastic wrap. Holding the overhang, shimmy the cake up and out of the pan and place it on a cutting board or platter. Remove and discard the plastic wrap.
8. Garnish with sprinkles, slice, and serve. Leftovers can be wrapped and stored in the freezer for up to 1 week.