Amber & Rye by Zuza Zak
Editor Keith Kendrick makes a gloriously rich chocolate mousse from the Baltic states
Everyone loves chocolate mousse, but I can guarantee you’ve never had a chocolate mousse like Zuza Zak’s. Based on a popular Baltic dessert called ‘bread soup’, it’s thickened with rye bread, flavoured with caraway and a hint of apple juice. It’s extraordinarily rich, chocolately and satisfying. Quite a revelation. Just like many of the recipes in Zuza’s new cookbook, Amber & Rye.
Zuza, whose debut cookbook Polska was named one of the best cookbooks of 2016 on BBC Radio 4’s The Food Programme, was born in Poland and moved to the UK when she was eight. She worked in TV for eight years then started a supper club, A Slavic Tale.
Her new book celebrates the dishes from major cities in the Baltic states. Many ingredients are widely available, but some may be unfamiliar. Birch syrup, for example, the Estonian answer to maple syrup. But it’s rye bread – the most popular bread in the Baltics due to the grain growing so well there – that features in many of Zuza’s recipes, from her mousse to open sandwiches.
The inspiration for Zuza’s recipes come from her heritage and the revelation a couple of years ago that her dad was ‘half-balt, half-polish’ which ignited a quest to discover more about the food of the Baltic side of her ancestry. She writes, ‘With my grandmother’s stories ringing in my ears, and my own precious memories of holidays on the Baltic coast, I had a feeling that treasures deeply connected to the past were waiting to be discovered. My aim is to take you on a journey of discovery through this emerging cuisine.’
1 Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/ gas 6. Spread out the bread cubes on a baking tray and bake for 20 mins until dried and crisp.
2 Put the bread and caraway seeds (if using) in a large saucepan, cover with 250ml water and leave to soak for 20 mins, then add the sugar and bring to the boil, stirring often so it doesn’t burn.
3 Mix the semolina with the apple juice until you have a smooth paste, then add to the pan. Lower the heat to a simmer and stir continuously for about 10 mins or until it has the consistency of thick porridge.
4 Break the chocolate into chunks, then add to the pan and stir until melted. Tip the mixture into a food processor and blend until very smooth – this could take up to 10 mins. Scrape into a bowl and leave to cool slightly.
5 Using a large metal spoon, gently fold in most of the whipped cream, then chill the mousse in the fridge for about 30 mins or until set. Serve with the remaining whipped cream and some chocolate shavings on top.
PER SERVING 483 kcals • fat 25g • saturates 15g • carbs 56g • sugars 32g • fibre 4g • protein 7g • salt 0.7g