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What is durum flour?

Posted Aug 26th 2008 8:00PM by Shayna Glick
Filed under: Grains

Fresh pasta being rolled out of a pasta maker.

The short answer is that durum flour is flour which is ground from Durum wheat. Durum wheat is a type of wheat that has an especially high protein content, and in fact its name derives from the Latin word for "hard".

Durum flour, with its high protein content, makes dough with unusually strong gluten. It's generally used in pizza dough and pasta, and its more coarsely ground cousin semolina is used to make cous cous. Though you can make bread with durum flour, recipes usually mix durum and regular wheat flour.

Durum wheat can be ground into semolina (sometimes called semolina flour if it's ground more finely) and durum flour, which can be referred to as extra fancy durum flour or extra fancy pasta flour. However, you can't really substitute one for the other. Semolina is a coarse grind and it looks a lot like corn meal. In fact a lot of bakers and pizza makers use semolina to dust baking sheets and peels so the dough doesn't stick (check the bottom of your pizza next time). Durum flour is ground as fine as regular flour and that's why it can be used in bread and pasta doughs.

I haven't ever been able to find real durum flour in a brick and mortar store, so I have to order it online. Semolina, on the other hand, is generally available in grocery stores, at least upscale ones. For more on the subject, here's a good page to check out.

The Boston Globe in 60 seconds: Memorial Day, McDonald's, and Mario

Posted May 25th 2008 12:04PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Newspapers, In Sixty Seconds

nan

It's Memorial Day, that means the grilling season has begun.
Speaking of, here's a review of the book Grill It!,and an interview with Mario Batali about his book Italian Grill.
A guide to finding the best nan around Boston.
Restaurant reviews: Feng Shui, The Blue-Eyed Crab, and G Bar & Kitchen.
McDonald's vs. Chick-fil-A, chicken-wise.
This week's recipes: Spiced Couscous, Grilled Chicken Thighs with Sugar Snap Peas, Grilled Korean-Style Short Ribs with Chili Slaw, Tinga Poblana de Pollo, Grilled Radicchio Wrapped in Pancetta, and Shrimp and Grits.

'98 Pillsbury Bake-Off Winner writes book

Posted Apr 11th 2008 10:00AM by Ellen Slattery
Filed under: Books

You can't help but really like Ellie Matthews. Ten years ago, she won the Pillsbury Bake-Off with her Salsa Couscous Chicken recipe, a blend of salsa and the flavors of Morocco.

Now she's written a book about her experiences: "The Ungarnished Truth: A Cooking Contest Memoir."

NPR's Steve Inskeep recently chatted with Matthews. Turns out, she's an unbelievably down-to-earth, sweet woman with a self-deprecating streak that you can't help but appreciate. Throughout the interview, she insists that she's not anyone special, that she "doesn't claim to be a better cook than anyone else." Typically, Matthews says, she will "buy ingredients that look good, wrestle them into a pan, and serve a meal."

"I'm not a fussy cook," Matthews said. "I don't put four different kinds of sea salt into something, or 18 different kinds of vinegar" (it could be assumed that the book title partially refers to the fact that her final recipe for the contest wasn't garnished or artfully arranged, but she won anyway).

What's more, she didn't even really seem all that impressed with the prize money. She simply enjoys cooking, and was a little disappointed when she won because she knew it would disqualify her from participating in the contest again.

As for what she did with the money? She admitted, "I'd like to think my life is just more than just what I buy on a whim or how I indulge myself," and then said that if she was, say, at a plant nursery, she could maybe splurge on a new plant for her garden.

Again: how can you not like this woman?

Fettuccine and Five Spice Lamb: The Boston Globe in 60 seconds

Posted Mar 31st 2008 11:02AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Newspapers, In Sixty Seconds

wild leeks

How to make tortillas and frittatas.
Foods gone wild.
The Plonk of the Month.
The world of gastropubs.
Who has the best hot dog in America?
A review of Fast & Fit.
Restaurants reviews: Village Grille and Cafe Italia.
This week's recipes: Five Spice Lamb, Spicy Chicken with Orange-Mustard Sauce, Aromatic Couscous, and Lemon-Pepper Fettuccine with Asparagus and Shrimp.

Ingredient Spotlight: Fennel

Posted Feb 27th 2008 2:15PM by Ellen Slattery
Filed under: Vegetables, Recipes, Ingredient Spotlight

Fennel is reliable. It's reliable-looking, for one: it sits on a sturdy, bulbous base and boasts welcoming green fronds and, if in the wild, tiny yellow flowers. It also possesses a reliable flavor: it'll welcome you back each time you use it, comfortable, secure, and unwavering in its flavor. And finally, you can rely on fennel for its multipurpose u, as a feature or an accent to your other foods.

Its History

Fennel is a perennial herb that's grown mainly in the Mediterranean and India. First referred to as "marathon" by the ancient Greeks and later used against witchcraft in medieval times, fennel is high in Vitamin C, potassium, and dietary fiber. Fennel's flavor, a distinct liquorice, comes from the anethole compound, which is also found in anise and star anise, which is why one is often mistaken for the other. The one you'll find most often in your local supermarket is known as florence fennel.

Its Uses

Fennel is primarily used either for its "bulb," a tightly-grouped bunch of leaves (large shards are pulled off to be used in soups or salads), its fronds (sprinkled onto salads and entrees as an accent) and as an herb to flavor dishes in its seed form. It is also one of the primary ingredients in absinthe. Even the pollen from fennel's delicate yellow flowers are used in cooking, though they are quite expensive. It is often used as a breath freshener, and is said to have medicinal qualities, used for everything from preventing jaundice to aiding digestion (it can be used as a diuretic) to staunching coughs.

Continue reading Ingredient Spotlight: Fennel

Indulge yourself with a cool couscoussi�re

Posted Sep 3rd 2006 3:33PM by Dennis Craven
Filed under: Grains, Steaming, Northern Africa, Food Gadgets, Middle East

Actually, it shouldn't be thought of as an indulgence. The couscoussiere is basically a double boiler used to make couscous and a variety of "stews" that are ladled onto the grain (technically a pasta). Originating in North Africa, couscous was made from Semolina by the Berber peoples. Couscous itself is now prepared and served variously all over the world, similar to rice. Immigrants to Israel from North Africa brought their own recipes, making couscous more of a main dish than a bed for meat stews, and this isn't a strictly Moroccan affair, as many believe. Most of North Africa can lay claim to their own couscous staple-dish.

Couscous can be made in any steamer or even simply soaked and then boiled. However, it is the couscoussiere that distinguishes the pedestrian from the "proper" couscous dish. Now, a couscoussiere isn't cheap. I don't like counter clutter and wasted shelf space, and I admit I don't own a couscoussiere, but I've used them to great success and pleasure. You can check out couscous recipes for yourself and see if you want to take it to the next level. If you've got the taste and the cash, go for it. A high-end couscoussiere presented at table is a splendid sight and your guests will be salivating before you take the lid off.

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What is durum flour?

The Boston Globe in 60 seconds: Memorial Day, McDonald's, and Mario

'98 Pillsbury Bake-Off Winner writes book

Fettuccine and Five Spice Lamb: The Boston Globe in 60 seconds

Ingredient Spotlight: Fennel

Indulge yourself with a cool couscoussi�re

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