Here is your copy of Before the Pines, the scrumptious recipe and the three songs for the Sand Vines. Just click the cover below:
This is the lushest most versatile cake you will ever bake. It comes from the town of Pithiviers, in the Loire region of France. Called ‘galette des rois,’ we share it at home and at work on January 6th to celebrate the Three Kings’ arrival in Bethlehem. In New Orleans, it is part of the Mardi-Gras tradition. Two rounds of puff pastry with a filling of ground almonds, it is found in every bakery on Sundays.
Just add pears & grated chocolate and you have a whole new experience. With apricot jam and Grand Marnier or Disarono, you take it to a new level.
Bon Appétit!
Ingredients
-
Butter for greasing
-
500g block puff pastry (I sometimes use half that)
-
Plain flour to dust
-
1 tsp icing sugar for the glaze
For the almond paste
-
125g (4 oz – ¾ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
-
125g caster sugar
-
1 medium free-range egg, plus 2 yolks (1 is for glazing)
-
125g ground almonds
-
1tbsp plain flour
-
2 tbsp dark rum or 2 drops of almond essence (optional)
Method
-
Lightly grease a baking tray with butter. Roll out the puff pastry on
a lightly floured work surface. Cut out two discs around a plate, the top one slightly larger. -
For the almond paste, cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg and one of the yolks, then stir in the ground almonds, flour (and rum.)
-
Spoon the almond paste onto the smaller disc and spread out with a palette knife, leaving a 2.5cm border around the edge and mounding it up in the centre.
-
Beat the remaining yolk with 1 tsp cold water, then brush a little around the pastry border. Lay the second disc over the filling and press the edges together to seal, smoothing out any trapped air. Crimp the edges between your thumb and forefinger to create a scallop effect. Use the tip of a sharp knife to make a small hole in the centre for the steam to escape, then chill for 20 minutes.
-
Meanwhile, heat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/gas 7. Remove the pithiviers from the fridge and brush with the rest of the egg glaze. Using the tip of a small, sharp knife, score radial arcs into the pastry, working from the centre outwards and taking care not to cut all the way through. Seal the edges of the pastry carefully to stop the filling leaking out during baking.
-
Bake for 15-20 minutes until puffed and golden. Turn the oven down to180°C/160°C fan/gas 4 and bake for 35-40 minutes more.
-
Remove the pithiviers from the oven and increase the temperature to 220°C/200°C fan/gas 7. Dust the pithiviers with the icing sugar, then return to the oven for 3-4 minutes until caramelised and glossy.
-
Transfer to a cooling rack to cool slightly. Serve warm with ice cream or cream.
TWO BASQUE SONGS FROM 'THE BEAR' BOOK
HEGOAK / THE WINGS
BASQUE
lala lala
lala lalaaaaa
Hegoak ebaki banizkio
Neuria izango zen
Ez zuen alde egingo
Hegoak ebaki banizkio
Neuria izango zen
Ez zuen alde egingo
Bainan horrela
Ez zen gehiago
xoria izango
Bainan horrela
Ez zen gehiago
xoria izango
Eta nik,
xoria nuen maite
Eta nik eta nik,
xoria nuen maite
Lala lala
lala lala, lala
lala lala
lala lalaaaaa
ENGLISH
lala lala
lala lalaaaaa
If I had cut off its wings,
The bird would’ve been mine
He wouldn’t have left
If I had cut off its wings,
He would’ve been mine
(But) He wouldn’t have left
Yes, but there you are!
(But) he would’ve no longer
Been a bird!
Yes, but there you are!
(But) he would’ve no longer
Been a bird!
And for me,
He was a bird that I loved
And for me,
He was a bird that I loved
Lala lala
lala lala, lala
lala lala
lala lalaaaaa
Oi ama Euskal Herria (Oh Basque Country, My Motherland)
This song sums up the plight of all the Basques who had to leave their country to find work. “Good bye Mother, good bye my country, I must go to Paris.” The man asks his mother to keep a piece of land for his final return. I did not include the lyrics, the tune says it all. Get your tissues ready. This song helped me write the nostalgic scenes of The Bear and the Basque.
And now for something completely different....
In Part 3 of The Wolf’s Legacy, Armand plays a song that epitomises May 1968: Paris s’éveille. Crammed full of puns and allusions, it is impossible to translate, but it will carry you to Paris in 1968, I promise.