cooking with tea on phl17

The hum of the kettle on the stove, the sizzling splashes in saucepan, and the clinking of a whisk on the sides of a metal bowl are all sounds that make my heart skip a beat. I am at home in any kitchen, especially when I'm infusing new dishes with the steeped or dry tea leaf. PHL17's Eye Opener morning television show recently featured three of my favorite steeped dishes that highlight a variety of tea techniques. Beyond the traditional (and simply scrumptious) tea infused cookie, you can also whisk tea into a salad dressing, rehydrate dried fruit/vegetables, use it as stock and even steep it right into a butter. You can watch the full video for a peek at my tips and see full recipes noted below.

With my Genmaicha Green Tea & Shitake Rice, I re-hydrated dried shitake mushrooms with toasty and nutty flavors of genmaicha green tea. I then used the green tea and mushroom broth to cook rice sauteed with ginger and garlic in toasted sesame oil. And then there's my go-to Matcha Green Tea salad dressing when I'm craving the bright, grassy flavors that send my senses to the first day of spring (when green blades of grass are freshly cut and scenting the air). The vibrant green powder is whisked into rich honey, sweet orange juice, and neutral oil with a pinch of salt for balanced flavor. It happily greets salad greens, orange slices and dabs of creamy goat cheese (that pick up the gorgeous green shade of the dressing). The Earl Grey butter is my new favorite morning treat, slathered on warm toast with a cup the bergamot black tea for pairing (and I must admit that I am so very tempted to try it melted over roasted root vegetables or spread onto bread to give an extra oopmh to grilled cheese). The secret to this buttery bite is that both the dry tea leaf and concentrated steeped tea liquor are blended into softened butter for full flavor (orange zest keeps the bold black tea in line). And for the bakers with flour dusted hands, why not try baking the earl grey creamy spread when a recipe calls for butter?

So without further ado, here are three favorite tea-infused recipes that have me longing to bring teaspoons to the table.

Matcha Green Tea Dressing (served over salad greens, orange segments & goat cheese)

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon Matcha green tea powder
1 pinch of sea salt
1 teaspoon grapeseed oil (or any other neutral oil)
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon water
1 cup mixed greens
1 orange (half to be sliced for salad and other half for 1 teaspoon of juice)
2 tablespoons goat cheese

Add 1 teaspoon of matcha to a small bowl or cup and mix with 1 teaspoon of hot water to make a matcha paste. Mix in 1 teaspoon of grapeseed oil and 2 teaspoons of honey. Slice the orange in half and squeeze a teaspoon of the juice into the matcha dressing. Add pinch of sea salt and stir well.

Add mixed greens to a small bowl. Peel the remaining half of the orange, slice into segments and place over greens. Break goat cheese into small pieces and place on greens. Pour matcha dressing over greens, orange slices and goat cheese. Be sure to serve immediately in order to showcase the bright green color of the dressing that will fade with time.

Genmaicha Green Tea & Shitake Rice

Ingredients

4.5 cups water
4.5 tablespoons genmaicha tea
1 ounce dried shitake mushrooms
3tablespoons sesame oil
1-inch piece of ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup red rice
1 cup jasmine rice
Salt and pepper to taste

Bring water to a boil and cool for 2 minutes (water should be approx 180 degrees). Add genmaicha tea leaves to the water and brew for 3 minutes. Strain the tea leaves and add dried shitake mushrooms and let steep for 15 minutes in a covered bowl.

While the mushrooms are rehydrating, add sesame oil to a medium pot over medium heat. Add minced garlic and ginger to the pot and sauté for two minutes. Add red and jasmine rice to the pot and toast for 2 minutes. After the mushrooms have finished steeping, pour green tea broth and mushrooms over the rice and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover and simmer for 35 minutes. Fluff with a fork and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Earl Grey Butter

Ingredients

1/4 pound salted butter, softened
1/4 pound unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup water
3.5 teaspoons earl grey tea (2 for steeping & 1.5 dry)
2 teaspoons honey
1.5 teaspoons orange rind
½ teaspoon lemon juice

Bring water to a boil and steep 2 teaspoons of earl grey tea for 5 minutes to make a concentrated brew. Strain tea leaves and let cool to room temperature. Using a spice grinder or mortar and pestle, grind 1.5 teaspoons of earl grey tea into a find powder. Add softened butter to a medium bowl and whisk in orange rind, lemon juice, 3 tablespoons of steeped earl grey tea, ground earl grey tea and honey until combined. Spoon into an airtight container and let cool in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Comments

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alexis! this video is amazing! it makes me want to run to the kitchen and start cooking w/ tea! oh and your website, well lets just say its absolutely gorgeous! i'm in tea-sipping heaven...

Posted by: courtney | November 8, 2013 at 12:11 PM