Cook the Book: Chocolate Semolina Pudding with Raspberry Puree
I've never used semolina in a dessert, but Mark Bittman's take sounds just light and decadent enough to merit a try. Described as "somewhere between a cake and a pudding," that semolina is exactly where I want to be.
The recipe in Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating only calls for 1/2 stick of butter and 3/4 cup of sugar for a dessert that serves 9 to 12 people, so go ahead and have seconds. Don't tell Bittman!
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Chocolate Semolina Pudding with Raspberry Puree
- serves 9 to 12 -
Adapted from Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating by Mark Bittman
Ingredients
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, plus butter for the pan
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup (2 ounces) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup whole-milk yogurt
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup semolina
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pound fresh raspberries
Sugar (optional)
Freshly squeezed lemon juice (optional)
Procedure
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease an 8- or 9- inch square baking pan. Put the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. When the foam subsides, add cocoa powder and semisweet or bittersweet chocolate and stir until smooth. Remove from the heat.
2. Beat the yogurt and sugar together in a large bowl. Add the butter and chocolate, the semolina, the baking soda, and the vanilla; beat until thoroughly blended. Spread the batter in the prepared pan. Bake until the pudding is lightly browned, about 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, puree the raspberries in a blender or food processor. Depending on how flavorful they are, you may want to add a tablespoon of sugar or a squeeze of lemon juice to the mixture, but taste first to see if either is necessary. Then strain the puree, stirring and pressing the mixture through a sieve with a rubber spatula to leave any seeds behind; be sure to get all the puree from the underside of the strainer.
4. When the pudding is done, let it rest for a few minutes, then cut it into squares or rectangles and serve warm, on some of the puree, with a few whole berries on top.
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3 Comments:
When the foam subsides, do you think it would be possilbe to omit the cocoa/chcolate or substitute it?
hungrychristel at 3:22PM on 03/13/09
Hmm, maybe add a bit more semolina instead?
Grace Kang at 4:02PM on 03/13/09
Ooh! This is actually very similar to an indian dessert called kesari, which is a semolina based sweet that is soft in consistency but flavored with saffron and camphor.
arathi at 10:42PM on 03/13/09