Savory Profiteroles

Queen Elisabeth of Austria, very well known as Sissi, felt in love and got married at the age of 16 the Emperor of Austria Franz Joseph. Although one may think that the life of young Sissi would be like a fairytale, the reality was far from that. The young girl was very much stressed by the court’s protocol and her authoritative, jealous and scheming mother in law made her life even more difficult. Sissi loved Hungary and tried to mitigate the differences between her husband and the Hungarian aristocracy. Nevertheless, in one of her trips to Hungary her first daughter Sophia died in an accident.

Savory Profiteroles

Her mother in law grabbed the opportunity and took away from her the other three children claiming that Sissi was incompetent to raise them by herself. That was the beginning of the end of Sissi’s family serenity. She was alienated from her children and her husband and started taking trips abroad to escape from her misery. Although she travelled quite a lot, she was not able to find true happiness. The last tragic event that fell on her was the tragic death of her son Rudolf and his mistress Maria Vetsera in 1889. The most prevailing scenario is that they killed themselves, when they found out that they were half siblings from their father’s side. It seems that Rudolf killed Maria and then he killed himself. It is said, without formal confirmation, that he left a note in which he explained the reasons of that action and that letter came to his mother’s hands. Sissi considered her husband responsible for that tragic event and abandoned him. Stroke by fate, she found rescue to her beloved Greek island Corfu.

achilion

She bought a place up in the hills and built a palace called Αchillion. Because of her love to ancient Greek mythology she dedicated the palace to Achilles and decorated it with a statue showing Achilles the moment he was stroked by the arrow that killed him. Sissi died in 1898 killed by an anarchist in Switzerland who stroke a sharp iron in her chest.

1287522317_Corfu_scenics_197

 

corfu1

 

Corfu is a beautiful island between Italy and Greece in the Ionian Sea. It was inhabited since Paleolithic ages and it was mentioned in Odyssey of Homer. Odysseus found shelter in this island of Feakes and it was those people who helped him arrive safely in Ithaca. Although Greece was under Ottoman empire, Corfu was never surrendered to Turks. Venetians, French, Russians, French again and Englishmen dominated the island during the centuries giving to it a special architectonic shape that is preserved until today. The island was integrated with the rest of Greece in 1864.

Savory Profiteroles

Corfu is a beautiful island with picturesque locations and sandy beaches. During summer, it is flooded with tourists and has a very special local kitchen. Nóbulo is a type of sausage that resembles the Italian prosciutto. It is made of pork that is cured with salt, marinated in Corfu’s wine, stuffed in pork’s intestine, fumed in fire and stayed to mature in the air. It is delicious and quite different from other deli meats. I decided to make something special for Mother’s Day and made these savory profiteroles stuffed with feta mousse and this delicious deli sausage.

Savory Profiteroles

 

5.0 from 2 reviews
Profiteroles with Feta Mousse and Nóbulo
 
Author/ Συγγραφέας:
Recipe type/ Τύπος Πιάτου: Appetizer
Cuisine/ Κουζίνα: Fusion
Ingredients/ Συστατικά
For the Choux Pastry
  • 125 gr. / 4.5 oz. milk
  • 125 gr. / 4.5 oz. water
  • 110 gr. / 4 oz. butter
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 140 gr. / 5 oz. flour
  • 250 gr. / 9 oz. egg (approximately 5 medium sized)
For the Feta Mousse
  • 200 gr. / 7 oz. of feta cheese
  • 180 gr / 6 oz. heavy cream
  • 100 gr. / 3.5 gr. cream cheese or la vache qui rit
  • 1 tbsp chopped scallion depending how intense you want it
  • 6 leaves of fresh basil
  • 100 gr. 3.5 oz. nobulo or prosciutto, chopped coarsely
  • Salt and pepper (be careful with the salt, start with just a pinch and if you see that it needs more, add pinch by pinch because feta is salty by its own)
  • Couple of tbsp. of honey to brush them on top
Instructions/ Εκτέλεση
For the Choux Pastry
  1. Preheat oven to 200° C / 400° F.
  2. In a pot add the milk, the water, the butter, salt and sugar.
  3. Place the pot in medium/high heat.
  4. When the batter starts to boil, throw the flour and whisk for about 1 minute.
  5. At this point the batter will gather around the whisker and away from the sides of the pot.
  6. Remove from heat and put it in the mixer.
  7. In low speed and with the paddle, mix the dough and add the eggs one by one letting them to be incorporated in the dough.
  8. Take a pan and cover it with parchment paper.
  9. With a piping bag make little balls with the choux dough in the shape of a walnut.
  10. Bake for 20 minutes or until they become golden brown on top.
  11. If you have a second batch for baking, make sure you lower the oven to 175° C / 350° F.
  12. Please do not open the oven while they are baking and use the conventional oven instead of the one with air.
  13. Take them out of the oven and let them dry for a while.
  14. If you plan to complete the recipe next day, just put them in a plastic bag and store them in the fridge.
  15. Otherwise, you can fill them after couple of hours.
For the Feta Cheese Mousse
  1. In your food processor add all the mousse ingredients except the nobulo or prosciutto and blend until a smooth batter is formed.
  2. Remove the batter from the processor, add the nobulo and put it in the fridge.
  3. Let it stay for an hour or so.
  4. Remove from fridge just before you serve them.
  5. Cut the choux in half and fill them with the mousse.
  6. Brush them with honey and serve them.
Notes/ Σημειώσεις
Recipe for Choux pastry adapted from Stelios Parliaros

 
5.0 from 2 reviews
Προφιτερόλ με Μους Φέτας και Νόμπουλο
 
Author/ Συγγραφέας:
Recipe type/ Τύπος Πιάτου: Ορεκτικό
Ingredients/ Συστατικά
Για τα Choux
  • 125 γρ. γάλα
  • 125 γρ. νερό
  • 110 γρ. βούτυρο
  • 1 πρέζα αλάτι
  • 1 κ.γ. ζάχαρη
  • 140 γρ. αλεύρι
  • 250 γρ. αυγά (περίπου 5 μεσαίου μεγέθους)
Για τη Μους Φέτας
  • 200 γρ. φέτα
  • 180 γρ. κρέμα γάλακτος
  • 100 γρ. τυρί κρέμα ή la vache qui rit
  • 1 κ.σ., ανάλογα με πόσο έντονο θέλετε, ψιλοκομμένο κρεμμυδάκι
  • 6 φύλλα φρέσκο βασιλικό
  • 100 γρ. Νόμπουλο Κέρκυρας, χοντροκομμένο
  • Αλάτι και πιπέρι (να είστε προσεκτικοί με το αλάτι, γιατί η φέτα είναι αλμυρή από μόνη της)
  • Δυο κουταλιές σούπας μέλι
Instructions/ Εκτέλεση
Για τα Choux
  1. Προθερμαίνετε το φούρνο στους 200° C.
  2. Σε μια κατσαρόλα, προσθέστε το γάλα, το νερό, το βούτυρο, το αλάτι και ζάχαρη.
  3. Βάλτε την κατσαρόλα σε μέτρια/υψηλή θερμοκρασία.
  4. Όταν το μίγμα αρχίσει να βράζει, ρίξτε το αλεύρι και ανακατέψτε για περίπου 1 λεπτό.
  5. Σε λίγο το μίγμα θα πήξει και θα μαζευτεί γύρω από το σύρμα.
  6. Βγάλτε από τη φωτιά και βάλτε το στο μίξερ.
  7. Σε χαμηλές στροφές και με το κάπα, ανακατέψτε τη ζύμη και προσθέστε τα αυγά ένα-ένα ενσωματώνοντας κάθε φορά πριν ρίξετε το άλλο.
  8. Καλύψτε ένα ταψί με χαρτί ψησίματος.
  9. Με ένα κορνέ κάντε μπαλάκια σε σχήμα ενός καρυδιού.
  10. Ψήστε για 20 λεπτά ή μέχρι να ροδίσουν στην κορυφή.
  11. Μην ανοίγετε το φούρνο όσο ψήνονται και χρησιμοποιήστε το συμβατικό φούρνο αντί για τον αέρα.
  12. Βγάλτε τα από το φούρνο και αφήστε τα να στεγνώσουν για λίγο.
  13. Εάν προγραμματίζετε να ολοκληρώσετε συνταγή την επόμενη μέρα, απλά βάλτε τα σε μια πλαστική σακούλα και αποθηκεύστε τα στο ψυγείο.
  14. Διαφορετικά, μπορείτε να τα γεμίσετε μετά από μερικές ώρες.
Για τη Μους Φέτας
  1. Στο μπλέντερ προσθέστε όλα τα υλικά εκτός από το νόμπουλο και αναμείξτε μέχρι να σχηματιστεί μια λεία κρέμα.
  2. Μεταφέρετε το μίγμα σε ένα μπολ και προσθέστε το νόμπουλο και βάλτε το στο ψυγείο να σφίξει.
  3. Αφήστε να παραμείνει για μια ώρα περίπου τόσο.
  4. Αφαιρέστε από το ψυγείο, λίγο πριν τα ετοιμάσετε.
  5. Κόψτε τα choux στη μέση και γεμίστε με τη μους.
  6. Αλείψτε με το μέλι και σερβίρετε.
Notes/ Σημειώσεις
Συνταγή για τα σου προσαρμογή από τον Στέλιο Παρλιάρο