The Catalan TableIngredients
Servings:
4
Ingredients
- 65 gegg yolks
- 300 graw marcona almond flour
- 90 mlglucose syrup
- 90 ml35% MG cream
- 1 teaspoonliquid vanilla
- 1 cinnamon powder
- 1 food coloring egg color
- 270 gsugar
- powdered sugar to dust the mold
- baking paper
Nutritional Information
Per Serving (Approx.)
Calories
805 kcal
Protein
14 g
Fat
14 g
Carbohydrates
164 g
Disclaimer: These values are estimates based on ingredient types and may not be precise.
Step-by-step Guide
Preparation
- Begin by chopping the vegetables: peel and dice the onion into small pieces, slice the garlic, and chop the bell pepper into cubes. Set them aside in a separate bowl.
- In a large pot, heat two tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat for about 2-3 minutes. Add the diced onion and sliced garlic, and sauté them for 5 minutes until they are tender and golden.
- Add the cubed bell pepper to the pot and continue cooking for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pepper is soft.
- Incorporate the crushed tomatoes and a teaspoon of salt. Mix the ingredients well and let the mixture simmer on low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Bring another pot of water with a pinch of salt to a boil. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions, usually between 8 and 10 minutes.
- Once the pasta is al dente, drain it and add it to the pot with the vegetables. Stir well so that the pasta absorbs the flavor of the sauté.
- Finally, adjust the salt if necessary, serve hot, and, if desired, garnish with a few fresh parsley leaves before serving.
Day 3: Prepare the Torrone
- Separate the yolks from the whites and reserve the whites for other preparations.
- Place these ingredients in a bowl following the order listed:
- Add the yolks.
- Add the liquid vanilla (or powdered).
- Add a pinch of ground cinnamon.
- Add the glucose syrup.
- Incorporate another pinch of ground cinnamon.
- Add the food coloring to give the nougat color.
- Mix everything with a manual whisk until you obtain a homogeneous mixture.
- Place the almond flour in the mixer bowl and pour the previous mixture over it while stirring with the K beater for approximately 1 minute. SET Aside.
- In a separate saucepan, bring the cream to a boil with the sugar over low heat, stirring constantly to prevent sticking.
- When the mixture reaches 119 ºC (soft-ball firm stage), checking the temperature with a kitchen thermometer, remove it from the heat immediately.
- When the cream syrup is at the soft-ball stage, activate the mixer at a slow speed with the K beater and slowly pour the syrup over the almond and yolk dough.
- Mix until the dough is well integrated. Note: The dough is thick and the mixer might heat up. If this happens, stop the mixer for a moment and then start it again.
- When the dough is no longer hot, knead it by hand on the countertop for about 7 or 8 more minutes. The kneading time will depend on the texture we desire for the nougat.
- Line the mold longitudinally with baking paper, so it overlaps the long sides, allowing us to cover the nougat and facilitate unmolding.
- Lightly dust powdered sugar over the baking paper to prevent the nougat from sticking.
- With the dough still warm, fill the mold and level it with a spatula to even out the surface.
- Lightly dust confectioners' sugar over the top of the bar and cover it with the leftover baking paper from the sides to prevent it from drying out.
- Place a weight on the bar. Note: If you don't have a lid that fits the mold, you can put a loaf mold with a tetra-brik inside as a weight.
- Leave the weight on the bar for about 4 hours to allow the nougat to take shape.
- After this time, remove the weight from the nougat and place the bar in the refrigerator, without unmolding or removing the baking paper, until the next day to ensure the texture sets.
Day
- Remove the bar from the refrigerator and carefully unmold it to avoid breaking.
- Apply a generous pinch of white sugar evenly over the surface of the bar.
- With the blowtorch well-heated, pass it slowly along the bar without stopping, ensuring that the sugar caramelizes evenly until you reach the other end.
- If we want to embellish the short sides of the bar, cut a thin strip with a sharp knife to give them a clean and polished finish.
- Leave the nougat in the refrigerator, covered with plastic wrap, until the day of consumption to ensure its freshness.
Day
- Heat the sugar dissolved in water in a saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until it is completely dissolved.
- Continue boiling the mixture until it reaches 114ºC, which is the soft ball stage. The temperature should be monitored with a kitchen thermometer.
- Beat the whole eggs in a large bowl until they are fluffy, then add a dash of egg-colored food coloring to give it a creamier hue.
- When the syrup reaches exactly 114ºC, quickly remove it from the heat and slowly pour it over the beaten eggs while stirring continuously. It's essential to ensure the hot syrup falls onto the cool eggs, and never the other way around, to avoid curdling them.
- Strain the mixture through a chinois to eliminate any impurities or bits of egg white not properly incorporated.
- Pour the strained mixture back into a saucepan that can be heated and, over low heat, continue stirring constantly.
- Add the butter cut into cubes and continue stirring continuously for 7 or 8 minutes until the cream is well combined and has a smooth texture. Do not stop stirring to prevent it from sticking or burning.
- If the cream overheats, briefly remove the saucepan from the heat and then place it back. You will know it is ready when it acquires a creamy texture.
- If the cream ends up burning slightly, only the unburned surface layer can be used.
- Quickly cool the cream by pouring it onto a cold, clean kitchen countertop.
- Spread the cream over the countertop with a spatula and gently stir to help lower the temperature.
- Gather the cream towards the center and spread it out again, repeating this process three times.
- When the cream is completely cold, place it in a glass bowl and cover it with plastic wrap, ensuring the wrap is in direct contact with the cream to prevent a crust from forming.
- Let the cream rest in the refrigerator until the next day to achieve consistency and flavor.
Day-1: the next day
- Take the bar out of the refrigerator and carefully unmold it to prevent it from breaking.
- With a sharp knife, gently scrape the surface to completely remove the powdered sugar. Note: If you do not remove the powdered sugar, white spots will be visible through the coating.
- Apply a thin layer of pastry cream over the entire bar, ensuring it is evenly distributed.
- With the torch well heated, run it along the entire bar with a steady motion and without stopping, from one end to the other, to lightly caramelize the surface.
- To prevent the bar from losing its shine, brush it with a thin layer of previously heated gelatin until it becomes liquid, using a pastry brush.
To Prepare the Gelatin
- Soak the two sheets of gelatin in a bowl with cold water for 15 minutes. Make sure they are completely submerged to hydrate evenly.
- Heat a couple of inches of water in a small saucepan over medium heat until it is hot, but not bubbling. Add the well-drained gelatin and stir until it completely dissolves.
- Allow the mixture to cool for about 10 minutes until it is lukewarm, then brush the surface of the nougat with a silicone brush to achieve a uniform and glossy layer.
- If we want to embellish the short sides of the bar, we can cut a thin strip to ensure the ends are clean and presentable.
- Leave the nougat in the refrigerator, preferably overnight, until the day of consumption to achieve the proper texture.
Recommendations & Tricks
- Prepare the egg yolk nougat at least 3 days before consuming it, as it contains raw egg yolks and needs adequate time to mature and ensure it is safe to eat.
- Make sure to measure the ingredients accurately, especially the egg yolks, which should be about 65 grams or approximately 3 medium egg yolks, to achieve the proper texture.
- Use high-quality Marcona almond flour, raw and very fine, to obtain the best texture and flavor in the nougat.
- For a smooth texture, slightly warm the glucose syrup before mixing it with the cream; this will facilitate its incorporation with the other ingredients.
- Before starting, allow the cream to reach room temperature to prevent crystallization when mixed with other ingredients.
- Add the liquid vanilla and ground cinnamon at the moment of mixing all the ingredients so that their flavors distribute evenly throughout the nougat.
- To achieve an attractive color, dissolve the food coloring in a few drops of water before incorporating it into the mixture, ensuring the color is evenly distributed.