Thinking of Mauro – Fregola with bay scallops and cream of asparagus
Jan 18th
Pensando a Mauro – Fregola con capesante e crema di asparagi
Here I am, I arrived in Nancy, France yesterday, my hometown…jet lagged as ever and since everyone is still sleeping at 4 am, I thought of finishing this post, that I had started over 6 months ago. It feels good to be home, that’s all I can say. Everything feels right. If I can find fregola in France, I will buy it and have my parents try it. Even though, they’re from Italy, but are not very familiar with Sardinian cuisine.
I love those tiny Sardinian pasta balls, they’re hearty, rustic and irregular, they remain al dente and are delicious in so many different ways. I love rustic pasta and ingredients that remind you of old traditions and cultures. You can find those in any Italian grocery store or at the Rainbow in San Francisco. They’re imported from Sardinia and are served in Sardinian restaurants. I have never seen those served in traditional Italian restaurants.
Fregola reminds me so much of my wonderful Sardinian friend Mauro (from Cagliari) who recently moved from San Francisco to London. He introduced me to Sardinian cuisine, and restaurants in San Francisco. Maurino, questo piatto di fregola l’ho fatto proprio per tè!
If you’re in San Francisco and interested in tasting the delicious cuisine of Sardinia, you have to try out La Ciccia, it’s a real Sardinian restaurant where the chef and owner is born and raised in Sardinia.
You cook fregola like you would cook pasta, in water then drain it and serve it with like you would serve pasta, with your favorite sauce. In Sardinia, they serve it with a lamb ragù. I cooked mine like a risotto, added scallops, then served it with a asparagus sauce, it was delicious and delicate. If you look at the pictures, you can see some crawfish in the fregola but do not really liked the quality of the crawfish so will not use it next time. I did not add parmesan cheese in the fregola, I am one of those who don’t add cheese in fish or seafood pasta dishes. If you’re interested, more fregola recipe here.
Ingredients for 2
For the fregola
- 1 shallot, diced
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 2 cups fregola
- broth1/2 cup white wine
- 1.5 cups small bay scallops
- 1 tbs panna or cream
- salt and pepper
for the cream of asparagus
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1.5 tbs yellow onions, chopped
- 1/2 bunch asparagus, cut in 1 inch trunks
- 1/2 cup vegetable broth
- salt and pepper
- Lemon olive oil for drizzling
Preparation
First start preparing the fregola like a risotto. Heat olive oil in a pan, add shallots and let it brown and softens. Add fregola, stir well. Add broth and wine gradually and keep stirring. Cook that way until the fregola has become soft but still slightly hard on the bite and al dente. Adjust with salt and pepper, add cream and stir well. Keep hot.
Saute scallops in olive oil and add to the fregola.
In a small pan, heat olive oil, add onions and cook until soft. Add asparagus and broth and let cook until asparagus are tender. Adjust with salt and pepper. Let it cool and blend in a mixer. Pass it through a sieve to obtain a smooth cream.
Serve fregola in a plate, add cream of asparagus all around and drizzle with lemon oil and parsley and serve hot.
Sunday dessert – Espresso pot de crème
Jan 14th
Dessert du dimanche – Pot de crème à l’expresso
This is my last post before my trip to France, I am leaving on Monday to fly to Nancy (Lorraine) to visit my parents as every January. Hopefully I will get a lot of inspiration while at home and post some exciting recipes. In the meantime, I wanted to make these pots de crème for such a long time and les voilà!
I already talked about Le Garage, this wonderful little French restaurant in Sausalito, that serve delicious and fresh brunches (if you are in the bay Area I strongly recommend it) besides, their bread is absolutely the best in the Bay Area. Last Sunday, I ordered a pot de crème a l’expresso served with financiers (little almond cakes) for dessert, and I fell in love with them. Now that is my ultimate favorite treat after lunch. Pot de crème is literally translated into “cream jar” or “cream pot” and they come in many flavors, chocolate, caramel vanilla, etc…
I have tried many versions as an attempt to reproduce the same pots de crème, the first tentative was more like a flan than a creme, too much coffee and not sweet enough. The ratio milk/cream and egg was not right. There were too many eggs for the quantity of milk/cream. So I decreased half the eggs for the same quantity of milk/cream and they turned out too liquid. So I finally found the right ratio after a few tentatives. When you have the right quantities it’s such an easy dessert to prepare, so simple and quick too.
These pots de crème are delightful and if you like coffee, you’ll be in heaven. I will make these on a regular basis from now on.
Ingredients for 3-4 pots de crème (depending on the size of the cups)
- 10.14 fl oz (or 300 ml) milk
- 3.38 fl oz (or 100 ml) cream
- 1.41 oz (or 40 g) sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 yolk
- 1 small espresso cup of espresso
Preparation
Pre-heat oven at 320F
In pot, mix cream, milk, sugar, and coffee and let it boil. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs and yolk well. Pour the milk mixture on top of the eggs and stir well.
Strain mixture to remove the foam and pour in small cups.
Place in a water bath and bake in the oven for about 30-40 minutes. remove from oven and let cool. Place cups in refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Serve with a dollop of creme fraîche in the center and sprinkle with coca powder, or coffee beans.
Thank you Antoine – French vegetarian shepherd’s pie with mushrooms, taleggio and three purées
Jan 7th
Merci Antoine – Hachis parmentier végétarien aux champignons, taleggio et aux trois purées
In France Hachis parmentier is something eaten quite frequently and that kids love, due to its combination of potato puree and ground meet. My mom being Italian, she never really prepared this, but when I went to my friend’s houses, hachis parmentier was a dish served quite often. I remember my mom saying that she didn’t like it because it was made with leftover meats therefore not something too exciting (actually people do use meat they had left from pot-au-feu or boiled meats, etc…). A “hachis” is a dish where all the ingredients are ground, chopped alltogether. Haché means ground, viande hachée, ground meat.
Parmentier comes from Antoine Parmentier, a pharmacist and chemist born in the 18e century. After a trip to Ireland, he discovered the health benefits of potatoes and became convinced that potatoes would help treat problems of poor blood circulation, intestinal problems, etc…He introduced potato to Louis XVI to cure starvation and as a result this dish was born. I think the Irish or English version is called Shepherd’s Pie.
I have been wanting to make a vegetarien hachis parmentier and have been thinking about this recipe for quite some time, without really succeeding in finalizing it. Not being a huge fan of potatoes, I wanted to use something “more” than potatoes, so here is a purée of carrots, yams and sweet potatoes and I honestly loved every bite of this hachis parmentier. I cooked the carrots and potatoes in milk so they absorbed a good amount of it while cooking. The hachis is made of wild mushrooms, leeks and celeri…the sweet flavor of the potatoes combined with the nutty mushrooms and melted taleggio is simply fantastic (Taleggio is an Italian soft cheese with a fragrant and strong nutty flavor). Funny, how you can see on the picture some smoke coming up from the hachis, since it came straight out of the oven. I wouldn’t think the smoke would show on a picture.
You can add more mushroom mixture, and play around with the layers, in my version I added a thicker layer of potato mixture, it’s all about how you want it to be. I served this in individual ramequins with a small salad, you can serve hachis parmentier in a large dish and serve it as a meal by itself, it’s a very satisfying meal and really don’t need anything else on the side.
Ingredients for 4 individual hachis
For the mushroom-leek mixture
- 2 shallots, chopped
- 1 celery stalk, finely diced
- 1/2 lb mixed mushrooms (cremini, shiitake, chanterelles, etc….) cut in small pieces
- 1 leek, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- thyme
- Taleggio, sliced
- Panko bread crumbs for topping
For the potato-carrot mixture
- 2 large carrots, peeled and cut about 1 inch trunks
- 1 small yam, peeled and cut in about 1 inch pieces
- 1 small sweet potato and cut in about 1 inch pieces
- milk (enough to cover the vegetables)
- salt and pepper
Preparation
Start by preparing the potato-carrot purée. Cook carrots, sweet potatoes, yams in milk at medium heat. When cooked remove from stove, drain milk and keep aside and mash vegetables. Adjust with salt and pepper. If too thick add milk set aside.
Heat olive oil in a pan, add shallots and celery and cook until tender and slightly browned. Add leeks and let them cook covered until tender. Remove from pan and set aside. Add some extra olive oil, and cook mushrooms until water evaporates. When cooked, add leeks and mix well. Add garlic and let cook for a few minutes more. Add thyme, salt and pepper.
In four deep individual dishes or ramequins, place one layer of mushrooms, top it with taleggio, then finish with carrot-potato purée. Sprinkle with panko breadcrumbs. Cook in a pre-heated oven for about 20 minutes, then broil top until it turns golden brown. Serve immediately.
Fast food my way – Grilled tuna steak on brussels sprouts quinoa and roasted bell pepper relish
Dec 22nd
Fast food à ma façon – Steak de thon grillé, vinaigrette aux poivrons grillés et roquette avec quinoa aux choux de Bruxelles
This is a recipe for those days you want to eat well and not spend a whole day in the kitchen. I can almost call this a fast food meal, and anything I classified in my “less than 30 minutes” category can be called “fast food”, now 30 minutes is fast to me, of course comparing to some frozen meal you throw in the microwave, might not be. Of course everything is subjective. But since we are comparing this to homemade meals, and nothing else, this is definitely fast food.
You can substitute tuna with any other white fish, and quinoa with rice, but quinoa being very nutritious, it’s always good to add it into a regular diet.
Lately, I have been using brussel sprouts mainly shredded mixed with other vegetables and I really like them this way. It’s one way among others to prepare them. If you serve them whole as a side dish, may people tend to be reluctant and un-excited to eat them. Shredding them, make their flavor more subtle and friendlier and less intimidating to certain people.
Ingredients for 4
For the tuna
- 4 tuna steaks
- 1 small green bell pepper
- 1 small red bell pepper
- 1/4 red onion, finely chopped
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 1tsp chives, chopped
- 3 tbs olive oil
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp tabasco sauce
- one pinch of cayenne pepper
- salt and pepper
For the quinoa
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1/2 onion finely sliced
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 3/4 lb brussel sprouts, shredded
- about 12 cherry tomatoes, cut in half lenghtwise
- smoked paprika
- salt and pepper
Preparation
For the relish
Broil peppers under broiler on all sides until the skin darkens. Remove from oven, let them cool, then remove seeds and peel. Cut in small cubes. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
For the quinoa
Steam quinoa in a medium size pot with vegetable broth for about 20 minutes. Heat olive oil in a pan, brown onions. Add tomatoes and garlic and stir for a few minutes. Then add shredded brussel sprouts. Mix well to combine all ingredients, then add paprika, salt and pepper. Cover with a lid and let it cook for about 10 minutes, until sprouts are tender but still green and with a tiny crunch. When quinoa is cooked, add to the pan. Mix well for a few minutes to combine all ingredients.
Grill tuna steak on a skillet, Add salt and pepper and serve with two tbs relish on top and quinoa on the side.
We dressed up the beets – Beets stuffed with goat cheese, walnuts and garlic on a bed of kale vinaigrette
Dec 15th
On a habillé les betteraves – Betteraves farcies au chèvre, ail et noix sur lit de chou vert vinaigrette
I am not used to eating beets in hot preparations, and I wanted to explore this further. Sometimes, you are so used to eating things in a certain way, that the thought of changing ways makes you uncomfortable. It’s funny how we, humans are creatures of habits. In France, beets are eaten either raw or cooked but in salads, but rarely hot. At least, I never did. I have roasted them a few times in the oven, and I liked them, but that’s it. Ca s’arrête là. It stops there. Beets being roots, I figured that like potatoes, turnips or any other root vegetable, you can accommodate them in many different ways, one of which being stuffed.
I tried those with Roquefort cheese instead of goat cheese and it was delicious. You can play around a bit with the recipe and I prefer Roquefort than goat cheese, but goat cheese and beets are a perfect combination. You can use smaller beets and serve two instead of one. It really depends on how many number of courses you have. Also, you can serve it on a bed of arugula salad, endives, etc…any kind of greens you like. As you can see this dish is quite versatile, and playful.
As for the color of beets, there is not much difference between red beets and golden beets, other than the golden ones tends to be a tiny sweeter and have a more fragrant flavor, but the difference is really not that big.
Ingredients for 4
For the beets
- 4 medium sized beets
- 4 tbs soft goat cheese (or more to be adjusted according to beet size)
- 4 tsp, chopped walnuts
- 1 large garlic clove, crushed
- 1 bunch kale
- salt and pepper
For the vinaigrette
- 3 tbs olive oil
- 1 tbs sherry vinegar
- 1.5 tsp pomegranate molasses
- 1 tbs chives, finely chopped
- salt and pepper
Preparation
Cook beets in water until tender. Drain, let it cool and peel. Cut a bit of the bottom to make it flat so the beet can stand sill, then cut the top and scoop the inside of the beet to make room for the cheese. Scoop about one third, not the whole beet.
In a small bowl, using a fork mix cheese, garlic and walnuts previously toasted. Stuff beets with the cheese mixture.
Blanch kale and when cooked, squeeze excess water.
Place stuffed beets in a tray and broil until the top turns golden brown.
Pour 2/3 of the vinaigrette on top of kale and toss well. Divide kale in plates, add one beet on top and pour the rest of the vinaigrette on top of beets. Serve warm.
Simplissime – Banana, caramel and rum pudding
Dec 10th
Simplissime – Pudding à la banane, caramel et rhum
If you are not a cook, nor a pastry chef, this would be for you…How a dessert can more simple? Besides, it’s quite light, so in my book all the attributes to be called a perfect dessert. I think as a “petite chose sucrée“, a little sweet thing to serve when you have unplanned guests and no time to prepare a more complex dessert. You can also eat this as a snack with tea, the cups are small, about 2 1/2 inches height so in a few spoonfuls, you’re done.
I believe that you should not skip on anything, not fat, not sugar, so obviously not dessert either but eat small portions. That is the key to maintain a healthy body, and keeping a weight down (and of course exercising). I don’t believe on those restrictive diets that will make you lose weight, make you moody and miserable, then gain all the weight back, due to uncontrollable cravings. Maybe that is my French background that is talking this way, but so far it has shown to be efficient.
Of course, there can be many variations, such as replacing the banana with pears, pineapple, or any other fruit you like. Also, instead of the caramel, you can use chocolate, since chocolate and banana have been made for each other. For the caramel, you can use the one you buy at the store, I found some delicious caramel à la fleur de sel in a small jar at the Rainbow Market, that added a nice touch to it.
This pudding will be classified in my “ à refaire souvent” (to be made often) category due to its easiness and deliciousness ratio. It’s creamy, flavorful and light…just the way I love my desserts.
Ingredients for 4
- 4 slices brioche
- 1 banana, peeled and sliced
- 4 tsp caramel
- 4 tbs raisins
- 3 eggs
- 3 tbs sugar
- 1/2 cream
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbs rum
Preparation
In a mixing container, combine eggs, sugar, milk, cream, rum and vanilla. Mix well to obtain a homogenous consistency. Using some small glasses (the ones than can be placed in the oven of course), start putting together the pudding. lay banana slices at the bottom of the glasses, then add raisins (previously soaked in rum), add brioche and proceed the same way with the other layer.
At the end of the process, you need to finish up with the brioche on top and not the banana. Pour the egg/milk mixture on top to cover the brioche.
Cook in a bain-marie (water bath) for about 25 minutes at 380F until the top is golden. Remove from the oven and let it cool, sprinkle with vanilla powder or powdered sugar and eat cold (not lukewarm) or at room temperature
Treadmill thoughts with Laurent – Lentils, roasted red pepper and kale salad with Labne tartine and eggplant purée
Dec 1st
Recettes du tapis roulant avec Laurent – Salade de lentilles, aux poivrons grillés et chou vert – tartine de labne et purée d’aubergines
My friend Laurent is French but he grew up in Tunis ( we keep each other company on the treadmill in the mornings), always shares with me his childhood memories about Tunisian cuisine and his culinary experiments (he is a fabulous cook and strangely enough we have the same culinary tastes). Yesterday morning he brought me some delicious molokhia he prepared (which is a typical Middle Eastern dish whose recipe varies from one country to another), and while eating it, It reminded me about my trip to Egypt and cruise on the Nile (the first Middle Eastern country I visited). When you start using some spices, you keep craving for more, and here I am, completely hooked on those exotic ingredients.
Thanks to Laurent, I discovered a wonderful Middle Eastern store Samirami in San Francisco, selling so many spices and Oriental products that became my supplier anytime I am in the mood for Middle Eastern flavors.
These days I have been hooked on Labne, which is a Kefir Cheese, similar to Greek yogurt but thicker, creamier and with a little salty flavor. It’s usually eaten with grilled pita, sprinkled with olive oil and za’atar (mixture of oregano, thyme, savory, sumac, sesame seeds and other middle eastern spices). Labne is delicious, and has little calories. I used toasted baguette, it might not be the most authentic bread to use, but it worked fine since I had no pita. The eggplant purée adds a smooth and velvety touch to this combination of textures. I added some green leafs to the lentils and roasted peppers for a little more robust flavor to the naturally nutty lentils and it was a very nice balance.
Labne, How did I manage to live all these years without you???? I have no idea…My life must have been so incomplete and I didn’t even know…
Ingredients for 2
For the lentils
- 150 g green lentils
- 1 carrot
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 onion
- 2 cloves
- 1 celery stick
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 bunch green cabbage, chards or any greens
- 3 tbs olive oil
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp pomegranate molasses
- 2 scallion, chopped
- 2 tbs cilantro, chopped
- salt and pepper
For the eggplant purée
- 1 large eggplant
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- thyme
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tsp olive oil
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- salt and pepper
For the labne tartine
- 2 slices toasted country bread
- 4 tbs labne
- za’atar to taste
- olive oil
Preparation
For the lentil salad
Cook lentils in water with carrot, onion, celery and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and let cook until the lentils are soft but not mushy. Drain and remove all the vegetables from the lentils and set aside
Cook cabbage in salted water. Drain and squeeze excess water. Chop in small pieces and set aside.
Roast red bell pepper under broiler on all sides, until the skin darkens. Remove from oven, let it cool in a plastic bag, peel and remove seeds. Dice in small pieces.
Mix greens, and red pepper with lentils.
Prepare dressing with mixing olive oil, lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, salt and pepper. Pour on lentils and add cilantro and scallions. Toss well.
For the eggplant purée
Cut eggplants in two lengthwise. Sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Add onions on top, sprinkle with thyme and cook in a pre-heated oven at 400F. When soft, remove from the oven, let it cool and scoop out the pulp of the eggplant.
In a mixer mix pulp, add lemon juice, garlic, olive oil and adjust with salt and pepper.
For the labne tartine
Grill each slices of country bread. Spread Labne, add za’atar and sprinkle with olive oil.
Oeuf cocotte with spinach, shiitake, prosciutto and truffle oil
Nov 13th
Oeufs cocotte aux épinards, shiitake, jambon de parme et huile de truffe noire
I cooked a dinner last week for a lovely couple who wanted their dinner theme to be white Alba truffles. Out of six courses, three had truffles in it. The smell brought me back to my childhood….My father used to go look for truffles with his dog and brought home a lot of those delicious mushrooms. He was often complaining that his dog Bobi, would find the truffles, but then would eat them too. Italians are crazy for truffles and of course enjoy them as often as they can. In France the most popular truffle is the black truffle from Périgord region.
The French say their black truffles from Périgord are the best and Italians claim their white truffle from Alba in Piedmont are the absolute best…so one thing I know is that in the US white Alba truffles are as expensive as gold. Their price fluctuates daily and the price per ounce is outrageous, but what makes the price is supply and demand, so I guess they’re just high in demand and according to the weather conditions in their flavor changes dramatically.
I bought fleur de sel with black truffle that enhances many dishes, and go perfectly with egg, creamy dishes, pasta, etc…
These oeufs cocotte are fairly easy, do not require specific culinary skills, and are quick to make, so they’re perfect for a light elegant lunch. Here there are two eggs for a more substantial meal or as a main course.
Ingredients for 2 people
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 1 cup of cooked spinach
- 1 cup shiitake
- 2 tbs crème fraîche
- 4 eggs (2 each)
- 2 slices prosciutto, roughly diced
- truffle salt
- truffle oil
- pepper
Preparation
Saute shallot in olive oil. Add cooked chopped spinach, add a little salt and pepper. Stir well for a few minutes, then set aside. In the same pan, saute shiitake until the water evaporates, and mushrooms are soft. Set aside. In two individual ramequins, divide spinach, then shiitake. Add 1 tbs crème fraîche on each ramequin. Add prosciutto, then eggs and sprinkle with truffle salt and a little truffle oil, then pepper.
Cook for about 7 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 380F. Don’t over cook the eggs, remove them from the oven when the whites are still a little runny, they will continue cooking when out of the oven. Serve hot with some toasted baguette.
A flavor of Belgium – Spéculoos with almonds and cinnamon essential oil
Oct 31st
Un goût de Belgique – Spéculoos aux amandes et huile essentielle de cannelle
Belgium is a tiny country, but it sure does how to make cookies. I grew up with spéculoos, probably because I lived close to the Belgium border.
My friend Laurent who is Parisian never heard of Spéculoos. So that’s why I came up to that conclusion. Actually The Netherlands and Germany do have their version of Spéculoos, and Northern France too. It’s a crunchy cookie with spices, and quite a substantial amount of cinnamon.
I did not bake those cookies for myself since I am not a huge fan of cinnamon but for one of my friend Mike. I thought Mike being American, he must like cinnamon. Usually spéculoos are thinner and have animal or rectangular shapes, I played a bit with it and made them round and thicker.
The particularity of theses spéculoos is the cinnamon essential oil that I added. I bought a book called “cuisiner aux huiles essentielles” (Cooking with essential oils” from Valerie Cupillard) which is quite an innovative cuisine.
Essential oils don’t only have to be used in baths, perfumes, massages, etc…if you only use a few drops they can also used in cooking. It gives a complete new dimension to your vegetarian dishes. Cooking with essential oils are a true olfactory discovery linked to the pleasure of your palate. Essential oils are very concentrate and a few drops are sufficient.
There are some strict rules to follow when cooking with essential oils. They always have to be diluted in a oily or syrupy mixture, and never be ingested pure.
Those cookies are delightful with a cup of coffee or hot chocolate, or can even be used as a base for various desserts, such as on crumbles, verrines, crusts, etc…their use is infinite and their flavor exquisite. It’s truly very versatile cookie with lots of personality.
Ingredients for about 15-20 spéculoos
- 8.8 oz (or 250 g) flour
- 4.4 oz (or 125 g) brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp four spices
- 3-4 drops of cinnamon essential oil
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3.52 oz (or 100 g) butter
- 1.76 oz (or 50 g) almonds, ground
- 1 pinch salt
Preparation
In a mixing container, blend flour, sugar, ground almonds, baking powder and spice powders. Melt butter, and beat egg. Add drops of cinnamon essential oil to the butter, then mix butter and egg to the flour-spices mixture. Add salt. Mix all ingredients well, you will obtain a soft dough. Form cylinders with dough of about 2 inches diameter. Wrap in plastic film and place in refrigerator overnight. The day after, remove from refrigerator and cut in small disks, about 5 mm. If you like them thicker cut them to 1 cm.
Place on a cookie sheet and cook in a pre-heated oven at 350F for about 15 minutes. Do not over cook or the spéculoos will become too hard.
On the thumb – Green bean salad mimosa with herb-butter shrimp tartines
Oct 25th
Sur le pouce – Salade de haricots verts mimosa et tartines de crevettes au beurre d’herbes
Sur le pouce, is literally translated by “on the thumb”, je mange sur le pouce, or I eat on the thumb, which means eating fast. It originated in the XIX century when workers didn’t have time to eat, they cut a piece of bread with a knife, and eating it using their thumbs.
Today two things made me happy and brightened up my day, this quick lunch sur le pouce (even though I used a fork!) and my new lamp (created by Shmulik Krampf, an extremely talented Israeli Artist who blows glass they way they do it in Murano, Italy). What do my lamp and this meal have in common? well they’re both colorful, vibrant and make me feel alive.
Sometimes when I come back from the gym, I don’t have time to cook for myself, so I eat snacks…and today I decided to not eat snacks and indulge myself…but still having a limited time, I had to make something quick. It all took me 20 minutes, which I think it’s almost like fast food.
Why do we call this mimosa? Mimosa refers to devil eggs, we call them “oeufs mimosa“, so here since we have boiled eggs, we can call them mimosa. I am not sure if “we” can, but I do.
Asparagus can be used if you don’t have green beans, it’s as delicious, and you can use scallops instead of the shrimps. Garlic, herb, butter those ingredients are a perfect match with seafood.
Ingredients for 2
For the green beans
- 250 g fine green beans
- 2 eggs, hard boiled and grated
- 2 tbs capers, rinced and chopped
- 1 scallion, chopped
- 1/2 tomato, seeds removed, and diced
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- salt and pepper
For the shrimps tartine (3 toasts each)
- 18 shrimps, peeled and deveined
- 1/4 ts paprika
- 1 garlic clove, sliced
- 1 tsp dill, chopped
- 1 tsp parsley, chopped
- 1 tsp butter
- 6 slices baguettes, or country bread, toasted
- salt and pepper
Preparation
For the green beans
Bring a large pot to a boil with water. Cook grean beans for about 5-7 minutes until tender but still a little crunchy. Drain, and place in a container filled with iced water. Set aside.
Prepare the vinaigrette, mixing the capers, scallion, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.
Drain green beans, place on a plate. Add grated eggs, tomatoes, then pour vinaigrette on top.
For the shrimps tartines
Add paprika to the shrimps, and coat well. Add salt and pepper.
Mix butter, garlic and herbs with a fork and form an homogenous paste. In a pan melt butter/herbs slowly, then add shrimps. Cook at medium temperature until the shrimps are cooked but still juicy.
Toast bread slices. Place three shrimps on top of each tartine, and pour some butter/garlic mixture on top.
Serve with green bean salad on the side.
