THE PLAN
167 Recipes + Tea + 52 weeks = #CulinaryTeaChallenge
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WEEK FOUR RECIPES
STARTER: Lapsang Souchong Tea & Parsnip Soup, pg.63
ENTREE: Fresh Matcha Pasta, pg. 112
DESSERTS: Milk Chocolate Keemun Truffles, pg. 176
TEA BEVERAGES: Ginger Oolong Simple Syrup, pg. 238
Lapsang Souchong Tea & Parsnip Soup
I introduced parsnips into my diet around spring 2017 after reading Eat Pretty by Jolene Hart. Reading the book helped me to open up my palate and try foods that I normally wouldn't buy. I fell in love with parsnips and was excited to learn that in Culinary Tea, this recipe is paired with lapsang souchong.
The recipe calls for 1lb. of chopped parsnips, however, I feel that the soup turned out too watery for me. I like for my soups to be a little heavy even if they are puréed. To thicken the soup, I would suggest adding more parsnips, perhaps 1/2 a pound more or adding a little flour to the finished soup.
I used Lapsang Souchong by Harney & Sons as directed in the recipe and, again, it did not disappoint. The smokiness of the tea blended well with the starch-like taste of the parsnips. Cocao nibs (bits of cacao bean that remain after the dried, fermented beans are roasted, cracked, and shelled; tastes like chocolate and coffee) are sprinkled a-top the soup for garnishing and add deep flavor to the soup that would otherwise be one flavor. I honestly could have done without the cocao nibs as the soup tasted well balanced to me.
Fresh Matcha Pasta
Ok, so the matcha pasta was by far the most fun recipe to make in Culinary Tea! I had never made pasta before so I had to purchase the Pasta Maker Deluxe which is such a neat machine!
By the way, after preparing fresh pasta and tasting the difference between store-bought dried pasta and fresh green matcha pasta, I don't think I could ever go back to purchasing dried pasta. What is more, it doesn't take long to make the dough or to cut the pasta with the Pasta Maker Deluxe Machine.
I could taste the Matcha by Teavana in the pasta even after it was cooked and could have eaten the pasta by itself, this is how delicious it was. My husband, on the other hand, probably would have been confused if I would have just served matcha pasta and nothing else so I made seasoned chicken breast and a pesto-like sauce from the herbs in my small herb garden. I really liked this meal and can see myself recreating it.
Milk Chocolate Keemun Truffles
I was so happy to discover that the Milk Chocolate Keemun Truffles were the last of the last of truffles that I would have to make in Culinary Tea! Yay, for me! I was all truffled out...
Thankfully, this recipe is actually, in my opinion, the best of the truffle recipes. They came out really soft and the milk chocolate and milk paired well with the Keemun Tea by Four Symbols, a tea that I would add milk to even if I were sipping it.
Ginger Oolong Simple Syrup
I normally don't use sugar to sweeten my tea, I use honey instead, but I am really enjoying creating these simple syrups infused with tea. The Ginger Oolong Simple Syrup recipe demands a couple of quarter sized slices of ginger, some lemon juice, sugar, and Oolong Tea by The Tao of Tea. I have used it to sweeten my oolong as I'm not sure how it will pair with other teas. It lends a ginger and citrus sweet taste that only intensifies the oolong.
Week Four of my #CulinaryTeaChallenge was so much fun! I learned that parsnip soup paired with tea is a fun way to eat the delicious vegetable. I also learned how to work a pasta machine and that fresh pasta is, hands down, the best and now the only way to make pasta; and it is not even difficult or time-consuming to make. Although I was looking forward to the end of truffle season, I actually prefer milk chocolate truffles paired with black teas that I would normally add cream to and I learned yet another way to sweeten my oolong besides just adding honey.
This is so much fun but I'm now afraid that my adventure of Culinary Tea, cooking all of these recipes in 365 days, may be more of a challenge than I thought! So many busy weeks zoom by so I will have to buckle down on the recipes if I plan to finish the book within a year. Remember, you can always join the challenge! Purchase your very own copy of Culinary Tea and cook with me!
Be sure to also follow @teaendblog on Instagram as I am always posting photos of different foods and asking my tea sipping bookworm friends for recipes inspired by tea.
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Have you ever made fresh pasta?