Takes Two to Mango

Another recipe inspired by Samin Nosrat, this mango pie is a paleo version of the one she recently wrote about in The New York Times. While sitting on the bus home on Friday, I was super pumped for the weekend and excited to cook in the kitchen (weekends are usually the only time I get to do any real cooking). This is V0 of my mango pie. Hopefully I’ll learn to perfect it in years to come :)

Ingredients for the custard

• 2.5 cups of mango puree (about 3-4 mangoes)

• 1 pack of gelatin

• 1 tablespoon of honey

• 2 teaspoons of lemon juice

• 1 egg

• 2 tablespoons of tapioca flour

• Pinch of salt

Ingredients for the crust

• 1/4 cup of honey

• 1/3 cup of coconut oil or ghee

• 1 egg

• 2/3 cup of coconut flour

• 1/4 cup of tapioca flour

• Pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Mix the crust ingredients together. Roll the dough into a ball and freeze.

2. Blend all the custard ingredients together.

3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

4. Roll out the crust and press evenly into a pie tin. Poke holes in the bottom with a fork.

5. Bake the crust for 10-15 min.

6. Lower the oven to 325 degrees F.

7. Pour the custard mix into the pie tin.

8. Bake for another 18-20 min.

9. Let the pie cool and then when it’s room temp, put it in the fridge to set some more.

Almost Focaccia in the Oven

I try my best to stick to a paleo-ish diet but for some reason, all I want to do is make bread and pasta. I think it has to do with Bob’s Burgers and The Great British Baking Show being the only two TV shows I ever watch.

A couple months ago, I took a sourdough baking class at The Mill in San Francisco. The ingredients are simple but the process takes forever. From growing the starter to proofing the dough, baking good bread is a waiting game.

So when I watched Salt, Fat, Acid Heat, I was amazed how easily Samin Nosrat whipped up Ligurian Focaccia. No need for a starter and the main wait can take place overnight. But even Samin’s recipe takes some babysitting, so I took bits and pieces from hers and The Cafe Sucre Farine to create a super easy focaccia.

Ingredients for the dough

• 4 cups of all purpose flour

• 2.25 teaspoons or 1 packet of yeast

• 2 cups of warm water

• 2 teaspoons of honey

• 1 teaspoons of salt

• 1/3 cup of olive oil

Ingredients for the brine

• 1/3 cup of warm water

• 1 teaspoon of salt

Instructions

1. Mix the dry ingredients together.

2. Add the warm water to the mix.

3. Cover the bowl with a dish towel for 8-24 hours (or in my case, overnight).

4. In the morning, drop a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a 9-inch cake pan. Make sure olive oil generously coats the bottom and sides of the pan.

5. Give the dough a couple more kneads and place it in the pan. Note, the dough will be really sticky but that’s okay. It’ll spread nicely in the pan if you give the pan a few shakes.

6. Drizzle some more olive oil over the top of the dough.

7. Cover the pan with a dish towel for 45 min.

8. Check on the dough and dimple it with your fingers.

9. Mix the brine ingredients together until the salt dissolves. Pour the brine over the dough to fill the dimples.

10. Proof for another 30-45 min.

11. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

12. Sprinkle the dough with salt and add whatever toppings you want: rosemary, cherry tomatoes, red onion slices, olives, etc.

13. Bake for 30-35 min.