Gorgonzola And Walnut Fougasse Recipes

GORGONZOLA AND WALNUT FOUGASSE

Steps:

• Place a baking stone in the middle of the oven and preheat to 470 degrees F.
• On a lightly floured work surface, cut the dough into 4 equal pieces with a bench scraper.
• Using your fingertips, flatten the dough pieces. Transfer 1 of the pieces to the back of a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and lightly dusted with cornmeal. Cover generously with walnuts and Gorgonzola and top with another piece of dough. Press down on the edges to seal. Using a small palette knife, cut 8 evenly spaced holes in the dough. Stretch the dough to enlarge the holes. Lightly brush the fougasse with olive oil and cover lightly with plastic wrap. Place the loaf in a warm place and let rise for 30 minutes. Repeat to make 1 more loaf.
• Working with 1 loaf a time, slide the fougasse, still on the parchment paper, onto the baking stone. Bake until crispy and brown, about 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer the fougasse to a rack to cool. Repeat with the remaining loaf.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the pate fermentee and water and, using your hands, break up the dough into the water.
• In another bowl, whisk together the flour, yeast, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the pate fermentee mixture and mix by hand until firm and cohesive, about 3 minutes. Allow dough to rest for 10 minutes.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead the dough until very elastic and smooth, about 10 to 15 minutes. Take the dough's temperature. It should be at 78 degrees F.
• Transfer the dough to a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap (the plastic should not touch the dough). Place the bowl in a warm place (about 75 to 78 degrees F.) and let rise for a total of 1 hour and 45 minutes. After the first 45 minutes, fold the dough and turn it over in the bowl. (It will somewhat deflate the dough, but it is gentler than what's commonly referred to as "punching down.")
• Let the dough rise, undisturbed, for 1 hour more. (The dough will rise considerably at this point.)
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Press the dough gently into a rectangle, to degas it.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and yeast. Add the water and, using your hands, mix until incorporated, about 3 minutes. (Alternatively, mix in a mixer on the lowest setting possible.) Cover bowl with plastic wrap and put in a warm place (about 75 degrees F.). Let the dough ferment for 1 hour. Take the dough's temperature. It should be at 75 degrees F.
• Refrigerate the dough at least 10 hours and up to 36 hours. When ready, it will be roughly doubled in size and have a fine network of filaments and holes. Make this recipe the night before you mix the dough.

WALNUT FOUGASSE OR FOCACCIA

Steps:

• In the bowl of a standing mixer, or in a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and sugar in the water. Add the walnut oil, whole wheat flour, 200 grams of the all-purpose or bread flour and salt and mix together briefly using the paddle attachment. Change to the dough hook and beat for 8 to 10 minutes at medium speed, adding the remaining flour as necessary. The dough should eventually form a ball around the dough hook and slap against the sides of the bowl as the mixer turns but it will be sticky. Remove from the bowl, flour your hands and knead for a minute on a lightly floured surface, and shape into a ball.
• If kneading the dough by hand, dissolve the yeast in the water with the sugar as directed. Stir in the walnut oil, whole wheat flour, salt, and all-purpose flour by the half-cup, until the dough can be scraped out onto a floured work surface. Knead, adding flour as necessary, for 10 minutes, until the dough is elastic. Shape into a ball.
• Clean and dry your bowl and oil lightly with olive oil. Place the dough in it, rounded side down first, then rounded side up. Cover tightly with plastic and let rise in a warm spot for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or in the refrigerator for 4 to 8 hours, until doubled.
• Punch down the dough. A handful at a time, knead the walnuts into the dough, until they are evenly distributed. Divide the dough into two equal pieces for smaller breads, or make one large focaccia or fougasse (see instructions below). Cover with lightly oiled plastic and let the dough rest for 15 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees, preferably with a baking stone in it. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and oil the parchment. Roll or press out each piece of dough into an oval or rectangle measuring about 9 by 7 inches. To do this efficiently, roll the dough, stop and wait 5 minutes for the gluten to relax, then roll again, and repeat until the dough reaches the right size. For fougasse, using a paring knife, make an incision down the center of the oval or rectangle, starting about 2 inches in from the top and ending 2 inches from the bottom. Make 3 diagonal slashes out from the center of the bread towards the edge, leaving about an inch of dough on either side of the center incision. The incisions should resemble the veins of a leaf. Leave a 2-inch border at the edge of the dough. Transfer the loaves to the baking sheets. Gently pull the bread apart at the slashes. Cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap and a towel, and let rest for 30 minutes. For focaccia, roll or press out the dough and transfer to the parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover with a damp towel and let rest for 30 minutes. Just before baking, use your fingertips to dimple the dough all over, and if desired drizzle on a tablespoon of olive oil.
• One at a time, bake the breads on top of the baking stone for 20 to 25 minutes, until deep golden brown. Let rest for at least 10 minutes before serving, or allow to cool completely.

ITALIAN TORTA WITH MASCARPONE, GORGONZOLA, AND WALNUTS

Steps:

• Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap.
• Put Gorgonzola cubes into a dish and cover with brandy. Set aside to let the cheese soften.
• Chop about 1/2 of the walnuts.
• Whisk the Gorgonzola mixture with mascarpone cheese. Add whipping cream and whip until creamy and well combined. Fold in the chopped walnuts. Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf pan using a runner scraper to level the top.
• Refrigerate torta for at least 1 hour, or overnight.
• Use the plastic wrap to remove the torta from the loaf pan. Carefully flip it onto a rectangular serving plate. Garnish with remaining walnut halves.

GORGONZOLA PASTA WITH WALNUTS

Steps:

• Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook onion in oil over medium heat for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently. Add garlic; cook 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat., Drain spaghetti; add to the skillet. Stir in the cheese, vinegar and salt. Sprinkle with walnuts.

FUSILLI WITH GORGONZOLA AND WALNUT SAUCE

Steps:

• Cook pasta in medium pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid.
• Melt butter with oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and thyme; sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add pasta, cream, and cheese. Toss until sauce coats pasta, adding reserved cooking liquid by 1/4 cupfuls if dry. Mix in walnuts, then basil. Season pasta to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

GORGONZOLA AND TOASTED WALNUT SPREAD

Steps:

• Reserve 1 tablespoon of the Gorgonzola cheese for garnish. In food processor, place cream cheese, remaining Gorgonzola cheese, half-and-half and pepper. Cover and process just until blended.
• Reserve 1 tablespoon of the walnuts for garnish. Stir remaining walnuts into cheese mixture. Spoon into shallow serving bowl. Sprinkle with reserved Gorgonzola cheese, walnuts and the parsley. Serve with bread slices and apple slices.

WALNUT-GORGONZOLA BAGUETTES

Steps:

• In large bowl, mix 1 1/2 cups of the flour and the yeast. Add warm water. Beat with electric mixer on low speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently. Cover tightly with plastic wrap; let stand about 1 hour or until bubbly.
• Stir in salt and enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. On lightly floured surface, knead dough 5 to 10 minutes or until dough is smooth and springy (dough will be soft). Grease large bowl with shortening or cooking spray. Place dough in bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. Sprinkle walnuts and cheese over dough. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap; let rise in warm place 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes or until double in size. Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.
• Grease large cookie sheet with shortening or cooking spray. On lightly floured surface, knead dough until nuts and cheese are worked into dough. Sprinkle top of dough with flour. Divide dough in half. Gently shape each half into a narrow loaf, about 12 inches long. Place about 4 inches apart on cookie sheet. Using spray bottle with fine mist, spray loaves with cool water. Let rise uncovered in warm place about 1 hour or until double in size.
• Place 8-inch or 9-inch square pan on bottom rack in oven; add hot water to pan until about 1/2 inch from top of pan. Heat oven to 425°F.
• Carefully cut 1/4-inch-deep slashes diagonally across loaves at 2-inch intervals with sharp serrated knife. Spray tops of loaves with cool water. Place loaves in oven and spray again.
• Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until loaves are deep golden with crisp crust and sound hollow when tapped. Remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

GORGONZOLA, FIG AND WALNUT TARTLETS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425°F Unroll pie crust on flat surface. Using 2-inch cookie cutter, cut 24 rounds from pie crust, rerolling crust scraps if necessary. Gently press 1 round in bottom and up side of each of 24 ungreased mini muffin cups.
• In small bowl, mix figs, brown sugar, cinnamon and walnuts. Spoon slightly less than 1 teaspoon fig mixture into each cup. Break up any larger pieces of cheese. Top each tartlet with slightly less than 1 teaspoon cheese.
• Bake 7 to 11 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Remove tartlets from pan to serving plate. Drizzle tartlets with honey. Serve warm.

GORGONZOLA AND TOASTED WALNUT SPREAD

Steps:

• Reserve 1 tablespoon of the Gorgonzola and 1 tablespoon of the walnuts for garnish.
• In food processor, place the rest of the ingredients except the parsley.
• Cover and process just until blended.
• *If you don't have a food processor, you can mix with an electric mixer on medium speed in a glass bowl.
• Stir remaining walnuts into cheese mixture.
• Spoon into shallow serving bowl.
• Sprinkle with reserved Gorgonzola, walnuts, and the parsley.

WALNUT, ARUGULA AND GORGONZOLA CROSTINI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Spread butter over 1 side of each baguette slice. Arrange baguette slices on baking sheet, butter side up. Bake baguette slices until golden, about 12 minutes. Cool.
• Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Mix walnuts, Gorgonzola and arugula in medium bowl. Spoon nut-cheese mixture evenly atop baguette toasts, pressing to adhere. Season toasts with pepper. Bake toasts just until cheese melts, about 6 minutes. Cool crostini slightly. Arrange crostini on platter. Garnish platter with arugula leaves and serve.