LCBF has been asking for a savory pot pie for awhile, so tonight I made one using some leftover lentil stew as the filling. I didn't take very many pictures because it didn't seem like anything new or exciting. The filling was lentils, carrots, potatoes, and green beans, and I used my standard butter crust (and I'd already written about something similar here). This was, however, the first time I'd actually made a crust since we moved to Germany (I know! We didn't even own a rolling pin until a few days ago. Insanity). I knew that European butter was different--it tastes different, it's cultured, it has a higher butterfat content (82-86% compared to about 80% in the U.S.)--but I wasn't fully prepared for the difference it would make in my pie crust. It was amazing. The crust puffed up nearly an inch with no drooping, just acres of delicate, flaky, rich, buttery pastry. Behold!
The delicious secret of croissants (and other flaky european pastries) suddenly became clear to me. The crust had all the flavor of a butter crust with the flakiness of a butter/shortening combo crust. Have I mentioned how fantastic it tasted? To die for. In the words of LCBF, "Frickin' awesome. So awesome it obliterated all other superlatives from my mind." Have decided to leave my clothing here and ship suitcases full of euro butter back to the U.S. whenever I return.
In other European nom news, I was in London last week and, on the advice of my vegetarian hosts, wandered into Mildreds Vegetarian Restaurant in Soho (45 Lexington Street).
The wait was going to be about an hour on a busy Friday night (they don't take reservations), but since I was dining solo I managed to snag a single spot at a bar-like table. I ordered the vegan burger special--a chickpea, rosemary, olive concoction. I wasn't expecting to receive a life-changing veggie burger, but I did. Oh, how I did. The rosemary was pronounced, but not overwhelming, and the burger was moist and delicious. Perfection on a bun.
After gorging on burger and fries, I ordered the Raspberry and Dark Chocolate Truffle to-go. The menu notes that this dessert is vegan, wheat-free, and gluten-free, so I was a tad worried about receiving some carob disaster. I was treated instead to a rich, amazingly delicious slice of truffle with sweet raspberry sauce and a mint sprig. As I had taken it home to share with LCBF and our hosts, we passed the dessert around marveling at both its deliciousness and its vegan-ness. I have no idea what it was made from, quite possibly magic.
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