Oil Cakes and Blackberry Brulée

Today was canning club and as a treat for my fellow

canners, I brought my blackberry brulée jam and some chévre cheese. Cypress Grove has a wonderful chévre with lavender and fennel and it's now available for a very reasonable price at chain markets like Safeway. I needed some crackers to serve with the cheese and jam and have often thought about making my own...but hadn't yet taken the plunge. Some time last year I bought some Tortas de Aceite at the market when they were on super sale. They. Are. Amazing. But when they are regularly priced at 7$ a package for some flour and water, well, I'm not buying. So, I decided to try making my own.

Below are the recipes for both the blackberry brulée jam and the tortas de aceite.

Blackberry Brulée Jam

Blackberry jam sans pectin (could be made with raspberries as well)

Recipe adapted from Christine Ferber’s “Wild Blackberry Jam” in Mes Confitures

2 1/4 pounds of wild blackberries

3 3/4 cups of sugar

juice from one small lemon

Combine the berries, sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan, stirring carefully to melt the sugar. Bring to a boil. Allow the mixture to boil until it starts to jell, stirring frequently to prevent scorching (especially as the liquid boils off). The time is approximate as every batch is slightly different. But plan on boiling for 20-30 minutes for a roasted flavor. Jam should be spooned into hot, sterilized canning jars. Process for 5 minutes in a waterbath.

Tortas de Aceite

Recipe adapted from Taste of Beirut

This quantity will yield about 45 small tortas, or 25-30 medium sized tortas

The tortas may be made sweet or savory.

Zest of half a lemon

3.5 ounces of extra-virgin olive oil

2 cups of un-bleached all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

1/4 teaspoon of baking soda

1/4 a cup of toasted sesame seeds

3 tablespoons of sugar (for the sweet version)

alternate ingredients :

1 tablespoon of ground anise

3.5 ounces of white wine or orange juice

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

chopped almonds for topping

Pre-heat the oven to 325 F. Heat the oil and warm the lemon peel in the oil. Remove the peel and add the anise if making the sweet torta. Cool the oil.

Sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda in a mixing bowl. Add cinnamon and sugar if making the sweet version. Add the olive oil to the flour mixture. Mix to combine well. You should obtain a moist and firm dough. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes in a bowl or plastic wrap. If not using right away, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for one day.

Line several cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpat. Place 1/2 a cup of sugar in a small bowl (if making the sweet version). Place the sesame seeds in another small bowl. Form small walnut sized balls of dough. Line them up and cover with a piece of plastic wrap. Take one ball at a time and flatten it with your fingertips on the parchment lined cookie sheet til they're as thin as possible (1/2 a mm or so). Alternately, I took each dough ball and ran it through my pasta maker, flattening it like a noodle. It made fast work! Sprinkle the tortas with a bit of sugar (if making the sweet kind) and/or sesame seeds.

Bake for about 15 minutes until browned around the edges and dry. If tightly sealed, they will store well for a few weeks.

Serve as a cracker, with olive tapenade (savory), cheese and jam (savory or sweet), or with coffee (sweet).

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