Archive for March, 2009
Let's get tempted – Chocolate crostata with walnuts
Mar 24th
Lasciamoci tentare – Crostata al cioccolato con farina di castagne e noci
Crostata a the typical Italian dessert, probably the equivalent of the French tart. The crust is somehow different from the pâte brisee the French use to make tarts. It has more eggs and sugar. It also looks a little different, the Italian crostata has some strips on top that add a typical look. You can make crostata with anything you like, my mom’s version which is the most traditional one is made with jam and almonds. This dough is made with whole wheat and chestnut flour, that I absolutely adore to bake cake. Its natural sweet and nutty flavor is my favorite among many. This crostata needs to cook at very slow heat or the chocolate will spill.
Ingredients for 4-6 people
For the crust
- 150 g wholewheat flour
- 50 g chestnut flour
- 50 g unbleached white flour
- 1 yolk
- 3 tbs milk
- 1 egg
- 80 g brown sugar
- 80 g butter
For the chocolate filling
- 200 g bittersweet chocolate
- 4 tbs heavy cream
- 2 tbs milk
- 1 tbs chocolate extract
- 1 tbs sugar
Preparation
Mix all flours together in a mixing bowl. Add sugar and mix well. Add egg and yolk, sugar cut in cubes and milk. Mix well to form a uniform bowl. Wrap in a plastic foil and refrigerate for about 30 min.
Melt chocolate chips in a pan with cream and milk at low heat stirring non-stop to make a nice and smooth chocolate mixture, add sugar and chocolate extract.
Start making the crust, spread crust with a rolling pin and place in a pie mold. Add chocolate mixture, spreading it to make it even. Make little strips using leftover dough and place crostata in a low heat at 360F for about 30-40 minutes.
We want more! – Grilled spiced scallops on a curry tomato fondue with caramelized endives
Mar 24th
On en veut encore! – Saint-jacques grillées aux épices sur fondue de tomates au curry et endives caramelisées
Actually I wanted to make scallops with endives and incorporating orange juice in the recipe, unfortunately I ate all the oranges so I had no choice and had to change my original idea or run to the store which was not an option. Scallops are called Noix de St Jacques in France, and the smaller ones, the bay scallops are called pétoncles. Most of the time, in France we buy scallops in their shell with their red coral. I don’t know why in the US they get rid of it, I’m sure there must be a good reason. The caramelized endives are wonderful with those sea scallops, the sweetness added by sugar and bitterness of endive balance perfectly the curry flavor. I really love this scallop recipe and for scallop lovers, it really needs to be tried.
Ingredients for 4
- 12 large scallops
- 2 large shallots, chopped
- 2 large tomatoes, seedless and diced
- 1 1/2 tsp curry powder
- 1 tbs heavy cream
- 1 tbs cumin seeds, crushed
- 1 tbs fennel seeds, crushed
- 1 tbs dill, chopped
- 1 tbs olive oil
For the endives
- 12 belgium endives
- 1 tbs butter
- 1 tps sugar
- salt and pepper
For the scallops, pat them dry to remove excess water. Crush fennel and cumin seeds in a mortar and dip scallops in the mixture, remove excess seeds.
In a pan, heat olive oil, add shallots, and let them brown. Add curry powder, stir for about 5 min. Add tomatoes, cook for about 10 minutes then add heavy cream. Stir, add salt and pepper, cook for a few minutes until the cream has thickened a little.
For the endives, wash them, cut them lengthwise, pat them dry to remove water. In a pan, add butter, and place endives flat side down, let them brown on both sides, then sprinkle with sugar and cover and let cook for about 15 minutes.
Grill the scallops in a grill, grill on both sides.
Spoon 2 tbs of tomato curry sauce in a middle of a plate, top with scallops, sprinkle with dill and add endives on the side.
Back to traditions – Cumin and garlic marinated grilled lamb shanks with saute flageolets
Mar 22nd
De retour au traditions – Petites côtes d’agneau grillé mariné à l’ail et cumin et flageolets
I never bought flageolets beans in the US, last time I ate flageolet was in France. Flageolet are kidney beans that are not fully grown, so they have a nice light green color. They go wonderfully with lamb and it somehow it’s traditional accompaniment. So I thought let’s go back to traditions but at the same time, let’s not spend the whole Sunday cooking. The good thing with lamb cutlets is that they just need to be marinated and cook quickly on grill or under broiler. You need to soak the flageolets the night before, but then they cook quickly. One little trick for cooking dry beans the same day if you forgot to soak them the night before, is to add 1 tsp of baking soda to the beans while cooking. Then you will have to change their cooking water a few times, about 3 or 4 times. This way they cook quickly, I think their flavor is better if soaked overnight but still, it’s an emergency trick that will enable you to eat beans the same day you feel like it.
Ingredients for 4
For the lamb and marinade
- 8 lamb shanks
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 tbs cumin powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp chili powder or chili flakes
- 3 tbs olive oil
- salt and pepper
For the flageolets
- 1 1/2 cups dry flageolet beans
- 1/2 onion
- 3 cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 carrot
- 1 celeri stick
- 2 branches rosemary
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, cut in 3 pieces
- 1 tbs olive oil
- salt and pepper
Preparation
For the marinade, combine all the ingredients in a bowl, mix well and spread mixture on all the lamb sides. Add salt and pepper and place in a air-tight container in the refrigerator for about 3 hours.
Soak flageolets the night before twice their quantity of water.
When soaked, cook flageolets in water with bay leaves, carrot, celeri sticks, 1 rosemary sprig and the onion where cloves have been pinned. Cook for about 30 min or until the beans are cooked but not mushy. 10 min before end they’re done cooking, add salt.
Let flageolets cool down in their own water. Drain beans keeping a tbs or 2 of their own water.
Heat olive oil in a pan, add garlic clove in 3 pieces, and rosemary sprigs thorn, stir for a while to get the flavors out. Add tomotoes, salt and pepper, and cook for a few minutes. Add beans mix well.
Grill the lamb shanks under broiler at high heat 4 minutes or so each sides, until grilled outside but still rosy and moist in the inside.
The spring soup – Turnip greens and potato velouté
Mar 22nd
La soupe de printemps – Velouté aux fanes de navet et pommes de terre
A friend of mine told me one day that her mom made excellent soup with radish leaves, that it was something quite delicious and a typical summery dish from her region in the South of France. Thinking about it, I believed her since “root” leaves seemed to be quite flavorful and I wanted to try it for myself. I found some beautiful and long turnip greens at the store and thought that could be substituted to radish leaves. They are quite tasty with a nice peppery flavor. The soup is hearty, made with just a few ingredients, it doesn’t need to have tons of spices and extra ingredients for flavor since the leaves are naturally flavorful and delicious.
Ingredients for 4
- 1 bunch of turnip greens, roughly chopped
- 2 potatoes, diced
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 1 tbs olive oil
- vegetable stock (enough to cover the vegetables)
- 4 tbs plain yogurt or crème fraîche
- salt and pepper
Preparation
Heat olive oil in a pot, add onions and brown them for about 10 min, then add potatoes and turnip greens, stir for a couple of minutes. Add vegetable stock, salt and pepper and cover for about 25 minutes until the potatoes are cooked. Blend soup in a blender, place in bowls and add 1 tbs of yogurt or crème fraîche in the middle of the bowl and serve hot.
A colored feast – Bamboo rice risotto, grilled butternut squash, halibut demi-sel with cilantro jus
Mar 20th
A festin tout en couleurs – Risotto au riz de bamboo et courge butternut grillée flétan demi-sel meunière, jus de coriandre
Who said you can only make risotto with Arborio? I found this beautiful short green rice, infused with bamboo juice. It’s sold in bulk at the Rainbow and looked so appetizing. I never cooked it before and wanted to try to make a new kind of risotto, with an Asian flair. There is no parmiggiano cheese in it, I didn’t think the flavors would fuse very well, besides, I don’t like cheese mixed with fish. They both have strong distinct flavors and when combined you tend to denature them. To add vegetables to this dish, I added butternut squash which added extra color and sweet flavor. For the fish, I had some coarse salt left in the kitchen pantry for a long time, and thought it would be perfect to use it to make a salt crust for the fish to marinate. The salt curst enables the fish to cook slowly and infuse in its natural flavors and as a result you get a delicious moist and flavorful fish.
As for the cilantro jus, you can make it with many different herbs, such as parsley, tarragon, etc…the herb is infused in a brothy sauce and perfumed delicately any white meat or fish dish.
Ingredients for 4
For the halibut
- 4 halibut filets
- 2 lbs coarse salt
- 1/4 lb sugar
- salt and pepper
For the risotto
- 1 cup bamboo rice
- 1 shallot
- 1/2 tsp ginger, grated
- 1/3 cup sake
- chicken broth (as needed)
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 tbs chives, chopped
- 1/2 butternut squash, diced
- salt and pepper
For the cilantro jus
- 2 bunches cilantro
- 10 cl chicken broth (fond de volaille)
- a few drops of lemon juice
- 1 tbs olive oil
Preparation
First marinate the fish in the salt, sugar mixture for 1h30 and refrigerate. Remove the salt and rince well under water, if not rinced well, it will get very salty and therefore you won’t be able to eat it. Add a good quantity of ground pepper on the outside.
For the risotto, proceed like a regular risotto, brown shallot in olive oil, add ginger, and stir fro a few minutes. Add bamboo rice, stir and coat rice with olive oil and shallot/ginger for two minutes or so. Add sake, and keep stiring until the liquid is absorbed, then add progressively chicken broth.
Peel butternuet squash, cut in square pieces, sprinkle with salt and pepper, a drizzle with some olive oil, place under broiler until tender but grilled on the outside. Add butternut squash to the rice, add chives.
For the cilantro jus, remove stems from cilantro and place leaves in boiling water for about 5 seconds. Drain and pat dry. Bring the broth to a boil, then put in a blender with cilantro leaves. Mix for about 15 seconds. Filter the juice and at the end, add lemon juice and olive oil.
Sautee halibut in a pan with olive oil for about 4 minutes each side.
Serve with risotto in the middle, place halibut on top, and add the cilantro jus on top of halibut and around rice.
Tofu is back from Cairo – Curried tofu pyramids with broccoli and mushrooms
Mar 19th
Le tofu est revenu du Caire – Pyramides de tofu au curry avec broccoli et champignons
Those little tofu pyramids are not only adorable, but also delicious…tofu can be unappealing for some people, it is certainly bland as an ingredient, but when slightly spiced up with herbs and spices, it’s simply delicious. What I like about tofu it’s that it’s light but nutritious. It’s a very versatile ingredient and can be prepared in many different ways so let’s not be afraid to play with it. Those pyramids as I call them (actually could be called flan as well) can be served on a salad as an appetizer or for vegetarian as a “meat” replacement served with vegetables and/or a grain as a main course. I bought the silicon “pyramid” molds in France. I’m sure you can find them in the US, maybe not in that shape, but any other shape would work too, such as muffin molds.
Ingredients for 6 pyramids (for 3 people = 2 pyramids each)
- 1/4 lbs tofu, scrambled (125 g)
- 1 shallot, diced
- 6 mushrooms, sliced
- 1 cup broccoli florets
- 1 1/2 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1 tbs chives, chopped
- salt and pepper
Preparation
Saute shallots in olive oil, then add mushrooms, cook until water has evaporated. Add tofu and curry, salt and pepper. Mix well. Remove from pan and place in a mixing bowl. Cook broccoli in water for a few minutes, until it’s cooked but still firm.
In another mixing bowl, mix eggs, milk, cream and chives, salt and pepper. Mix well.
Take your silicon molds and start filling them with broccoli, then add mushroom, curry mixture. Fill until the top of the mold, compressing the mixture. Fill molds with milk, cream mixture.
Place in a pre-heated oven at 370F for about 20-30 minutes until the pyramids are cooked all the way through and a little browned on top.
Serve hot on a bed of salad of your choice.
The crazy ricotta – Ricotta "frittelle" with raisins, chocolate chips and almonds
Mar 18th
La ricotta Impazzita – Frittelle di ricotta con uvetta, cioccolato e mandorle
Ricotta is used in Italy for dessert as well as for savory dishes…Usually frittelle are deep fried in oil and since I tend to be a health conscious cook, I just refused to deep fry them, the thing is instead of turning round, like balls, they got flat like pancakes. Frittelle comes from the verb “fritto” meaning fried. It’s somehow similar than the French beignets but with a twist. I wanted to make them like little round walnuts, but obviously, it was not possible considering that the batter was a little soft and melted when placed in the hot pan and not fried. When placed in hot oil, they don’t have time to spread and they cook just in the shape they have been dropped. Anyway they taste delicious and the melting chocolate chips are wonderful.
Ingredients for 12 frittelle about 4 people
- 300g ricotta
- 2 eggs
- 4 tbs brown sugar
- 4 tbs almond meal
- 3/4 cups white flour or enough to make a thick batter
- 4 tbs chocolate chips
- 2 tbs golden raisins soaked in rum
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tbs butter
Preparation
Place ricotta with sugar, eggs, vanilla in a mixing bowl. Mix well. Add flour and almond meal. Add raisins (previously soaked in rum for about 1/2 hr) and chocolate chips. add baking powder and mix well. The batter needs to be somehow hard, and not soft like crepe batter. You should be able to use a spoon and form some round balls.
Melt butter in a pan, and form regular round balls with ricotta mixture. Add to the pan and cook at medium heat, carefully turning them to brown them on both sides. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve warm.
Chicken breasts stuffed with pancetta, olives and herbs, root vegetable sauté and lavender salt
Mar 18th
Escalopes de poulet farcies à la pancetta, olives et herbes, sauce moutarde légumes racines sautés au sel de lavande
Chicken and pancetta are good friends…they make wonderful combinations. These delicious roulades are not really related to the Italian saltimbocca. Actually I started with the idea of the saltimbocca, and after thinking and thinking and thinking way too much about rolling some chicken breasts, I ended up with this, but stuffed with olives and herbs and served with a sauce bien relevée à la moutarde, (relevé means enhanced). I like to combine white meats and mustard, it’s the perfect condiment that enhances the flavor of white meats. I like to serve those roulades with sauteed parsnips and potatoes in olive oil lightly salted with lavender salt. I love parsnips, they’re delicious in soups but sauteed as well. Actually, parsnips are parsley roots, and if you really pay attention to their flavor, you can really taste an after taste of parsley. They give a wonderful flavor to soups and are low in calories, so they can be easily substitute to potatoes.
Ingredients for 2 (1 chicken breast makes 3 rolls cut in 3 = 9 pieces)
- 1 chicken breast
- 10 slices pancetta (2 for rolling each chicken roll, the rest is for stuffing)
- 1 rosemary sprigs
- 4 sage leaves
- 1 tbs kalamata olives, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- salt and pepper
For the shallot wine sauce
- 1 large shallot
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tarragon sprig
- 1 tsp white balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbs olive oil
- salt and pepper
For the potatoes and parsnips
- 2 medium sized red potatoes
- 1 large parsnip
- 1 tsp olive oil
- lavender salt
- pepper
Preparation
Take one large chicken breast and with a knife slice the breast crosswise, trying to get 3 thin slices. Pound with a meat pounder to make them as thin as possible. Add salt and pepper. In a bowl, combine the chopped rosemary, sage, olives, pancetta, garlic. Mix well and spread the mixture on top of chicken slices. Roll the slices and wrap the remaining pancetta around the chicken roll. With a kitchen thread, tie around each roll so that everything stays in its place.
In a pan, add olive oil and saute the chicken rolls until they get golden color and cooked in the inside but still moist. Remove from pan and keep warm.
In the same pan, add shallots and brown them for about 7-10 min at medium heat. Add wine, vinegar, tarragon, and let reduce. When the sauce is reduced, add the mustard. Stir well.
In the meantime, peel the parsnips, and cut crosswise in slices. Wash and cut the potatoes in slices about the same thickness as parsnips. Saute cut vegetables in olive oil and brown them. At the end, add lavender salt and pepper.
Remove thread from chicken rolls. and cut each roll in 3 pieces. Serve with vegetables and sauce on top.
In the world of pesto – Roasted red and orange bell pepper pesto
Mar 14th
Nel mondo del pesto – Pesto ai pepperoni gialli e rossi e basilico
I can see that pesto is something quite popular in the US. The funny thing is that pesto being a “paste” originally from Genoa, in Liguria region…my parents being from Marche region, pesto is something that has never been part of my childhood. My mom’s cuisine was quite regional and I never had pesto while I was growing up. She made lots of different kinds of pasta dishes, risotto, seafood, but mainly specialties from their region. In France like in Italy people tend to stay regional in their eating habits.
Traditional pesto is great but I wanted to explore some other ingredients such as bell peppers. It’s quick, simple and most of all so flavorful.
Ingredients
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 orange bell pepper
- 4 tbs olive oil
- 40 g pine nuts
- 15 g walnuts, chopped
- One handful basil
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 60 g parmigiano reggiano, grated
- salt and pepper
Preparation
Roast the peppers in the oven using the broiler. When the peppers are well roasted on all sides. Remove, let it cool. Remove the peel and the seeds and cut in small pieces.
Wash basil and pat dry.
In a blender, place all ingredients and blend to a nice smooth consistency but not too thin.
Place in a jar and keep in the refrigerator for up to one week.
The sexy blinis – Banana blini with quinoa flour, caramelized banana and whipped cream
Mar 13th
Les blinis sexy – Blinis à la banane farine de quinoa, bananes caramelisées et crème fouettée
They’re sexy because they’re healthy…anything healthy is sexy to me. If you like quinoa you will like those blinis. I bought some quinoa flour yesterday at the Rainbow and wanted to make something healthy, quick and tasty with it because today I don’t have much time for making time consuming dishes. This is the perfect little sweet treat you that will make you feel great even after eating 7 or 8. They are so light that they’ll make you feel energized and absolutely not stuffed or heavy. Quinoa flour is very digestible and full of protein besides, there is no fat in the batter, so the only fat you’ll get is from the whipped cream, but it’s up to you to have any. Obviously you need to like bananas since it’s a double banana blini, inside and outside.
The traditional Russian blinis are made with buckwheat flour, and served with cream and caviar. I want to call those blinis too even if “technically” they might not be. They’re my sweet blinis.
Ingredients for 2 (maybe 3 depends on how many you eat)
- 2 bananas (leave 1/2 for caramelized)
- 1 egg
- 3 tbs plain yogurt
- 3 tbs quinoa flour
- 2 tbs wholewheat flour
- vanilla powder
- vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/3 tsp baking soda
- 1 tbs rhum
- 1 tsp butter
Preparation
Start mashing the bananas (needs to be ripe) – leave 1/2 for caramelizing in butter and sugar. In a mixing bowl, add mashed banana, egg, sugar, yogurt, flours, vanilla, rum and baking powders and baking soda. Let it rest for the time you are whipping the cream, and caramelizing the bananas.
Melt butter in a pan and add slices of left banana (instead of 1/2 banana you can use 1), sprinkle with some sugar and let it caramelize.
To make the blinis, take a non-stick pan, and spoon one tbs of batter, try to make regular round blinis. The batter will start to bubble, at this point turn the blinis the other side and cook until golden brown.
Serve blinis with caramelized bananas on top and 1 tsp whipped cream.
