Biscotti with Lavender & Orange

Seeing as I was a little quiet around here on the blog last week with no recipe to share, I thought I would offer you something sweet to make up for it. Perhaps something that goes well with an afternoon or after-dinner cup of tea or coffee?

Ahh yes. The crunchy Italian cookie...biscotti.

Twice Baked.

Perfect for dipping.

So crunchy and light.

You'll want to fill your cookie jar with this Italian favourite for a sophisticated treat.

In this recipe I paired dried lavender with fresh orange zest. Lovely lavender is one of my favourite flowers/herbs, and is a unique ingredient to use in baking. The first time I tried lavender was a few years ago in a dessert made of fresh seasonal berries that was topped off with a lavender whipped cream. It was so delicate. I could not believe it when I was told that it was made with real fresh lavender.

I love the smell of the lavender mingly with the orange while the bake in the oven. It fills the house with the smell of cookies and fragrant lavender at the same time.

Now if you've never made biscotti before, fear not, it's not as difficult as you may think. Its actually quite simple.

First mix together the sugar, butter, lavender, orange zest, and vanilla until well blended. Beat in the egg whites, one at a time.

Next you'll combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. Gradually add this to the sugar mix until blended and stir in the currants.

For the next part you want to shape the dough with lightly floured hands to form a log that's about 10 inches long and 1 inch tall. Flatten the dough and place it on the cookie sheet like you can see I've done here. Now it bakes for a good 30 minutes and cools for 5-10 minutes. So grab a good book and put your feet up while the smells fill your house.

After Baking...

Once the cookie has cooled enough for you to handle it, cut the roll diagonally into 1/2 inch cookies. I find it's best to use a very long serrated knife for this. A good bread knife works well. Now put the biscotti back on the cookie sheet standing upright to bake for a second time.

These are definitely worth the time it takes to make them.

They store very well so feel free to make a double batch.

Lavender Orange Biscotti (makes 12)

Print or email this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup natural cane sugar
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp dried lavender
• zest of 1 orange
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 egg whites
• 1 1/2 cups red fife flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp sea salt
• 2 tbsp dried currants

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Beat together sugar, butter, lavender, orange zest, and vanilla until well blended. Beat in egg whites, one at a time.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture, beating until combined.
4. Turn the dough out onto prepared baking sheet. Lightly sprinkle your hands and the dough with flour. Shape the dough into a 10-inch-long roll; flatten the roll of dough to a 1-inch thickness. Set sheet in the oven and bake at 325˚F for 30 minutes until golden brown on top. Remove baking sheet from oven and place on wire rack to cool for 5-10 minutes.
5. Using a spatula transfer the roll to a cutting board. Slice diagonally with a serrated knife and cut into 1/2 inch slices. Place the slices upright back on the baking sheet. Bake the biscotti slices at 325˚F for 15 minutes until golden brown on each side once again.
6. Remove from baking sheet and transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Store in an air-tight container; they will last for up to a month.

{Notes}

• You may also want to use a rolling pin to help with flattening the dough.
• The biscotti can also be frozen to last for several months. Make sure they are in an air-tight container or freezer bag.

Asparagus & Goat Cheese Quiche with Caramelized Onions

Confession #1: I have never made quiche.

Confession #2: I have never eaten quiche.

...until now!

It's not that I never wanted to try quiche. It's just that I always assumed it was one of those things that could never be healthy and still taste good. I never indulged in this savory treat before because of the copious amounts of eggs, butter and heavy cream. Eeek! That's a lot of fat. And besides the fact I'm one of those people that would rather save up their treat calories for a sweet dessert ;)

With a bit of experimentation and researching I was able to create this health-ed up recipe. I'm happy to say that a slice of this quiche will not go straight to your hips...and the smell of it in the oven while cooking is intoxicating!

Okay, okay. So how did I do it?

Well the first step was the crust. At first I was stumped. I'm usually good with making pastry but this isn't  pastry, it's more of a short crust, and anyway it needs to be healthy. Instead of all-purpose flour I used whole grain unrefined red fife flour, which works top notch in pie crusts. I used about 4 tbsp of unsalted butter (that's not very much fat when it comes down to a serving size) and my little secret, a pinch of nutmeg.

After making the pastry I put it in the fridge to set. Well I thought I mucked it up because it wouldn't roll out and it kept falling apart. While muttering a few expletives...ahem...I pieced the dough backed together in the dish and it turned out just fine! I realized this was to be expected with the type of crust it was, without all that fat to hold it together. Don't worry if this happens to you while rolling out the dough. If it splits just pinch the seams back together.

You should end up with it looking something like this:

Also note how I perforated the dough with a fork (or "docked" it). Can you see all the little holes? That's because we're going to be backing this crust before we add the filling. 

Now if you can believe it the filling only uses 1 whole egg and 2 egg whites, 1 cup of skim milk, and creamy goat cheese for its lower fat content.

Asparagus, onions, and spinach are sautéd and caramelized in a bit of olive oil for extra flavour.

Fill-er-up and bake!

Asparagus & Goat Cheese Quiche with Caramelized Onions

(serves 6)

Print the recipe here!

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 1 cup of red fife flour
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cubed
• 3 tbsp ice cold water

For the filling:

• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
• Pinch of black pepper
• 1/2 cup broccoli florets
• 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1 cup asparagus, ends removed + chopped into 1 inch pieces
• 2 cups of spinach, lightly packed
• 3 eggs
• 1 egg white
• 1 cup low-fat milk
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 cup chopped chives
• goat cheese

Directions:

1. Begin by combining the flour, salt and nutmeg in a food processor or mixing bowl. Mix the butter into the flour mixture until there are pea-sized pieces of butter. Gradually pour the water in, one tablespoon at a time with the mixer running. The dough should form into a dense ball. Place dough on lightly floured surface, and flour your rolling pin. Roll it out gently until it's about 1/4 inch thick and large enough for you pie pan. Dock the bottom of the crust with a fork to prevent it from bubbling up while it's cooking. Bake in a 400*F oven for 10 minutes.
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and season with a pinch of pepper. Stir and spread out to cook until they start to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the broccoli, stir and cook for about 3-5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and asparagus and cook over medium heat until the asparagus is fork tender. Toss in the spinach and stir until slightly wilted. Remove pan from heat.
3. Whisk together eggs, egg white, milk, chives and nutmeg. Spread the vegetable mixture in the bottom of the prepared crust. Sprinkle goat cheese to taste. Pour egg mixture over top.
4. Bake at 350*F, uncovered until set and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Let quiche rest at room temperature for 10 minutes to settle; then serve.

Healthy, simple, and low in fat.

We enjoyed this for dinner with steamed broccoli on the side. It reheats really well for leftovers too!