April menus - recipes

QUICK, SEASONAL, BUDGET-WISE...FOR FAMILY AND FRIENDS

Inspired by the traditions of Russian Easter, we propose kulich and paskha for this relaxed Easter brunch. The tall, cakelike yeast kulich and the sweet, fresh cheese paskha must both be started well ahead, leaving little to do at the last minute, except, perhaps, to hunt for eggs.

Light meals are also needed to match light spirits that come with spring. The other two menus, which focus on vegetables, fit the bill extremely well. The first has a baked vegetable flan with salad, the second a green soup with shrimp.

EASTER BRUNCH

Ricotta Paskha Kulich with Candied Orange Peel Hard-cooked Eggs Sliced Ham Strawberries Orange Juice

Start the paskha up to 3 days before it is to be served; the kulich dough can be chilled up to 24 hours, so you can bake and serve it warm for brunch. Fresh candied orange peel goes into and with bread and cheese.

Ricotta Paskha

If you use seed from a vanilla bean to flavor paskha and kulich, store the pod in a tightly covered jar of sugar to make vanilla sugar.

1 piece (3 to 4 in. long) vanilla bean, or 2 teaspoons vanilla 1/4 cup milk 1 container (15 oz., about 2 cups) low-fat or part-skim ricotta cheese 1 pint (2 cups) nonfat small-curd cottage cheese 1/4 cup sugar 1 teaspoon candied orange peel (see kulich, following)

Split vanilla bean lengthwise; with a knife, scrape out seeds and put in a blender or food processor. Add milk, ricotta, cottage cheese, and sugar; smoothly puree.

Line a strainer with a single layer of muslin or a double layer of cheesecloth. Set strainer over a deep bowl (strainer base should be at least 2 in. above bottom of bowl). Spoon cheese mixture into cloth. Fold cloth over cheese and set a plate just smaller than strainer top on cheese; set a 1-pound weight (such as a can of food) on plate. Cover entire bowl airtight; chill at least 12 hours or up to 24 hours.

Remove weight, fold back cloth, and spoon paskha into a bowl. Serve, or cover and chill up to 2 days. Garnish cheese with candied orange peel. Makes 2 3/4 cups, 6 to 8 servings.

Per tablespoon: 26 cal. (25 percent from fat); 2.7 g protein; 0.7 g fat (0.4 g sat.); 2.3 g carbo.; 49 mg sodium; 2.8 mg chol.

Kulich with Candied Orange Peel

1 vanilla bean (6 to 8 in. long), or 2 teaspoons vanilla 1 tablespoon vodka or brandy 8 tablespoons (1/4 lb.) butter or margarine About 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/4 cup milk 3 large eggs 1 package active dry yeast 2 tablespoons warm water 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons finely chopped candied orange peel (recipe follows) 2 brown paper lunch bags with 3 1/2- by 5-inch bases Glaze and rosebuds (directions follow)

Split vanilla bean lengthwise; with a knife, scrape out seeds and mix with vodka. Discard pod.

In a 1- to 1 1/2-quart pan over medium-high heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter. Off the heat, smoothly mix in 2 tablespoons flour and milk; return to heat and stir until mixture is very thick, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Separate 1 egg and add yolk to pan; stir until thoroughly blended. Let cool until just slightly warm to touch.

Meanwhile, in a bowl stir yeast, warm water, and 1/2 teaspoon sugar; let stand until yeast is moistened, about 5 minutes. Add to cooked mixture and beat to blend; cover and let stand in a warm place until about doubled and very foamy, about 15 minutes.

In a bowl, beat 6 tablespoons butter with remaining sugar and salt until well blended. Add yeast mixture, vodka mixture, egg white, remaining 2 eggs, 2 cups flour, and candied orange peel; stir until thoroughly moistened.

With a dough hook or mixer, beat on high speed until dough is very stretchy and shiny, and pulls from side of bowl. Lightly touched, the dough should not be sticky; if it is, beat in flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, as required.

With a heavy spoon, beat dough until stretchy, about 4 minutes. Then, with oiled hands, rapidly pull handfuls of the very soft dough from the bowl and forcefully throw back; repeat until dough pulls free from bowl in a single lump, about 25 minutes. If it still sticks, add flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, as required.

Cover dough in bowl with plastic wrap. (If making ahead, put kneaded dough in the refrigerator up to 24 hours.)

Let rise in a warm place until almost doubled, about 1 hour (longer, if chilled).

Fit 1 paper bag into the other. Fold tops neatly down together to make a bag 5 1/2 inches tall; gently pull bag open to straighten sides. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter; brush it over interior of bag. Set bag upright in a 4- by 8-inch loaf pan.

Stir soft dough vigorously to expel air. Shape into a ball with oiled hands and drop into bag. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place until dough has risen about 3 inches in bag, 20 to 30 minutes (longer if dough is cold).

Bake on lowest rack of a 325 |degrees~ oven until richly browned and a long, slender wooden skewer inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool loaf in pan about 10 minutes. Tear off bag. Spread glaze on top of loaf, letting excess drip down sides. Set roses in glaze. Serve kulich warm or cool; cut vertically into thin slices. Makes 1 loaf, about 1 1/2 pounds. Serves 6 to 8.