Express – Less than 30 minutes
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.
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
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.
In season – Roasted white peaches with Grand Marnier, honey and rosemary
Jul 12th
De saison – Pêches blanches rôties au Grand Marnier, miel et romarin
My favorite fruit is finally back in season! Cannot get tired of eating peaches…Of course, we don’t need to do anything to the fruit to enjoy a juicy and sweet peach, but sometimes we can turn them into an elegant and delightful little dessert by roasting them. I love to grill roast, saute, poach, or anything you can think of, just like a vegetable.
I haven’t been able to blog nor read anyone’s blog as much as I would like simply because I am too busy at the moment, cooking and preparing menus, and I thought summer would slow down, which seems to be just the opposite. I still think with my French mind, where in France everything slows down during summer, because everyone goes on vacation, so July and August are dead.
When I have a little time, I always enjoy posting some new recipe, even if it’s something as simple as that. Sometimes, a warm roasted peach enhanced with honey and Grand Marnier is all you need to make your day perfect. It did it for me today, despite the same old San Francisco gloomy summer weather. I haven’t used Grand Marnier in desserts for years, and I remember when I was growing up in France, they sold Grand Marnier flavored yogurts from Yoplait, and my aunt was going crazy about them. Doesn’t this sound funny to have a yogurt with a liquor flavor? I guess in the US, you’ll need to show an ID to get those yogurts!
If you buy the kind of peaches that are hard to peel, cut the in half and place them in boiling water for 30 seconds. They’ll peel very easily.
You can serve this with vanilla ice cream and butter cookies and it will make truly a wonderful dessert.
Ingredients for 4
- 4 white peaches
- 1 tbs salted butter
- 2 tbs lavender honey
- 1/3 tsp vanilla powder
- 2 tbs Grand Marnier
- 1 sprig rosemary, chopped
Preparation
Peel peaches, and cut in half. Melt butter in a pan and brown peaches on both sides at high temperature. Don’t let the peaches overcook or they’ll get mushy. Add honey and decrease temperature. Sprinkle with vanilla powder. Add rosemary, and stir for one 30 seconds or so. Pour Grand Marnier, and flame. Divide in bowls and eat warm. How simple is that? Almost as simple as eating it!
The great seaweed – Spirulina tagliatelle with vegetables, shiitake, shrimps and sea spaghetti
Jun 30th
Tagliatelles à la spiruline aux légumes, shiitake, spaghetti de mer et crevettes
I have been quite excited today, I managed to prepare this colorful pasta dish and my parents really liked it. I was not expecting such a reaction from two traditional Italians eating a pasta dish that has nothing to do with Italian flavors. I went shopping to La Vie Saine which is a healthy and organic supermarket with lots of unusual products, and I just wanted to see what those green tagliatelle tasted like. Their color comes from the Spirulina which, in the US is mainly a seaweed used as a dietary tablet supplement. Spirulina is very high in protein much more than any type of legume.
In addition to the spirulina tagliatelle, I used a specific seaweed, mainly found in Brittany coast (Roscoff area) called Himanthalia Elongata and has a very high vitamin C content. Unlike most other seaweed, it’s not produced in Japan. It’s basically a brown seaweed that has the form of big button where long stems start their ramification.
I really loved this pasta, it’s colorful and absolutely delicious. Now I am curious to see if it’s available in the US. Upon my return, I will start my spirulina pasta hunting! I am always excited to see the new trends in France, even though you still have a traditional cuisine, new trends are arising and I noticed that la cuisine aux algues (seaweed cooking) is getting quite popular. Of course, not among the traditional eaters, but among adventurous eaters, interested in a new and healthy cuisine.
Ingredients for 4
- 1 tsp ginger, grated
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 350 g spirulina tagliatelle
- 2 carrots, sliced lengthwise in a ribbon
- 1 zucchini, sliced lengthwise in ribbons
- 1 cup shiitake mushrooms, diced
- Sea spaghetti seaweed
- 1/3 cup vegetable broth
- 1 cup shrimps
- salt and pepper
Preparation
In a pan, heat olive oil. Add garlic and ginger. Stir and add shiitake, cook for about minutes, then add the rest of vegetables. Let the zucchini soften but do not overcook or they’ll break.
Soak sea spaghetti in cold water for about 15 minutes, then boil them in water for another 15 minutes or until they get soft. Drain and set aside.
Add sea spaghetti to the vegetables and stir. Add shrimps and broth, salt and pepper.
Cook pasta in salted boiling water until al dente. Drain and add to the pan of vegetables. Stir well and serve.
Fresh, fruity and pink – Strawberry gaspacho
Apr 14th
Frais, fruité et tout rose – Gaspacho de fraises
I wanted to make something quick and fresh before my trip to LA leaving tomorrow, and use that big case of strawberries I bought. After strawberry tarts, coulis, cake, crumble, the only thing I haven’t tried with strawberries is soup and salad. So here is the soup…
There is a new tendance about using fruits to make cold soups which is something I really love. For many years, I was stuck with the idea that fruits are sweet, therefore need to be eaten as a dessert or in sweet preparations. With years going by, I opened my mind to using fruits in savory preparations and not necessarily eating them as desserts. After making watermelon gaspacho, and cantaloupe-port soup, I wanted to try making a cold soup with strawberries. Et voilà, c’est prêt! Spring is coming and hopefully summer will take away the allergens and pollen.
Who doesn’t like strawberries? I think it’s the most popular fruit among kids and adults, everything about a strawberry is sexy, its heart shape, its color, sweetness, and all the wonderful desserts, with which you can make. I don’t know what I like most about this soup, its color, its sweetness, it’s texture?
I have to be honest and admit that I still haven’t found flavorful and ripe strawberries lately, they might look good, but they’re not, you need ripe and sweet ones for this gaspacho, so you might want to wait for summer if you can resist and wait that long.
Anyway, I think fruits are the best thing on earth, try this gaspacho and you’ll agree with me!
Ingredients for 4
- 1 lb strawberries, stem removed and cut in halves
- 3 well ripe tomatoes, seedless, peeled and cubed
- 1 tbs red onion, chopped
- 2 slices white bread or ideally brioche
- 2 tbs good quality balsamic vinegar, or strawberry vinegar
- 2 pinches piment d’espelette
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup water
- mint leaves
Preparation
In a mixing container, soak brioche with vinegar for about 30 minutes. Then combine all other ingredients except mint and water. Refrigerate for about 2 hours. Using a hand blender, mix soaked brioche with the rest of the ingredients, until obtained a purée type of texture. Add water and pass through a sieve. Decorate with mint en chiffonade and serve chilled.
New variation – Verrine of mango and vanilla-pistachio couscous
Apr 12th
Nouvelle variante – Verrine de mangue à la semoule vanillée et pistaches
For people suffering from allergies, like me, it’s been a terrible spring in the Bay Area. Last year was mild compare to this one. I think I tried every drug over-the counter at the local Walgreens, from antihistamines, to expectorant to anti-inflammatory drugs… Nothing seems to help with my rhinitis, not even antibiotics or steroids the doctor prescribed. I am just counting the days until it goes away. Yes patience is a virtue in this case. In the meantime, my huge red nose and I, are trying to make quick meals in between a few sneezes.
I had in mind to find semoule for a while, and make semoule cake (gateau à la semoule); one of those thoughts that come and goes but even when it ‘s gone, it’s not really gone and still in the back of your mind. …basically semoule is a kind of semolina, that is used in France to make desserts. Since I have been unable to find it, because I don’t know how to call this. I ended up buying couscous which in France we call semoule de couscous. Regular semoule if finer that the couscous grain and thicker than semolina. This little fruity dessert is great for those days you feel like something sweet but not necessarily just a fruit, and no time to cook. Couscous can be accommodated in sweet preparations too, and is very quick to prepare. Just use milk and sugar instead of salt and water, and the trick is done.
You can use regular or wholewheat couscous, I think regular would have a softer and more subtle flavor with mangoes and in general in sweet preparations, and that’s what I’ll use next time.
Ingredients for 4
- 2 mangoes well riped, cubed
- 1 tsp orange blossom water
- 6 tbs wholewheat couscous (or regular)
- milk enough to cover the couscous
- 1 tbs sugar
- 1 vanilla bean cut in half
- 1 tbs pistachios, chopped
Preparation
Place mangoes in a recipient and add orange blossom water. Cover and refrigerate for about one hour. If the mangoes are not very ripe, you might want to add some sugar.
In another recipient, add couscous. Bring milk, split vanilla bean (with scraped beans) and sugar to a boil. Pour on top of the couscous. Cover and let couscous absorb milk. Add pistachios and fluff up couscous.
In a glass, add mangoes, top it with warm couscous and add extra pistachios.
It tastes like fall – Salmon with white grapes
Nov 23rd
Ca sent l’automne – Saumon aux raisins blancs
Grapes for me is the fruit that symbolizes fall, probably because of the harvesting of the grapes in France (vendanges). Today, I wanted to feature a very simple French dish using grapes and combined with salmon, and this one turned out much better than it used to, probably because this time I cooked the salmon skin up and not down (touching the pan). So if you have some salmon and want to try something quick and new, this would be a good choice.
Usually, I do not combine fruits and fish, but it works very well in this case. The grapes don’t have a strong flavor, and their slight sweetness associated with the acidity of the wine and crème fraîche balances the dish very well.
You can use scallops instead of the shrimps, and substitute white fish to salmon.
I bet most of you must be getting ready for Thanksgiving with all the food preparation and planning, so this salmon would be perfect after you’re done with the festivities and the turkey. I know Thanksgiving is a huge celebration in the US, when the families gather and get together around a traditional meal. For us, it’s more like an opportunity to have a dinner with friends, since everyone is off, and right now I still haven’t figured out what I will have for dinner. I have absolutely no idea…I can always serve this salmon, and see the look on everyone’s face when instead of a beautiful golden the turkey, I bring out salmon. I don’t think I’ll have the guts to do that!
So if one of those nights, you’re up for quick, easy and delicious, voilà! you got your meal!
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!
Ingredients for 4
- 4 salmon fillets (or steaks)
- 20 shrimps, peeled and deveined
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 2 bunches white grapes, peeled and seeds removed
- 3 shallots, chopped
- 3.38 fl oz (or 10 cl) white wine
- 1/3 cup fish fumet
- 1 tbs crème fraîche
- salt and pepper
- dill for decoration
Preparation
Peel and remove seeds from grapes. Heat 1 tbs olive oil in a pan and add shallots. Cook slowly until soft. Add shrimps, let them cook both sides, then add grapes, wine and fumet. Let the sauce reduce to half. Add cream, salt and pepper.
At the same time, in a non stick pan, cook salmon in 1 tbs olive oil about 2 minutes on each side, or longer if you like the salmon well done.
Place salmon in a plate, arrange shrimps and raisins, all around, then pour the sauce on top. Decorate with dill.
Light Sunday treat – Spicy shrimps on a bed cauliflower mash
Nov 7th
Légères gourmandises du dimanche – Crevettes épicées sur lit de chou fleur
San Francisco has been under the rain today, and it might be a sign that fall is very much around, warning you that more rainy days are on their way.
Even though, it’s not Thanksgiving yet, I am already thinking about the Thanksgiving dinner menu…I think this year, there will be many appetizers like this one. I am simply in love with simple and flavorful bites that “mettent en appétit” (open your appetite) and can be enjoyed with a fresh glass of Champagne. I noticed many of my friends don’t like cauliflower, I am not sure if its the texture or the taste, so sometimes I just play with cauliflower and try to serve it in various forms and textures.
Of course, you can substitute cauliflower with other ingredients, such as avocado, carrots, etc…I served this a few times with an avocado purée and it was simply delightful.
If you don’t want to serve this in a spoon, you can serve it in a small plate, add one extra tbs of cauliflower mash, and add four shrimps. That would be sufficient as an appetizer and you really don’t have to spend hours cooking. This is a fairly simple dish to prepare and no one needs to know that it takes only a few minutes for the whole dish to be ready.
The only little trick about using small spoons, is that you need to pay attention to small details, and make sure your presentation is clean and tidy. All the ingredients being cut in tiny pieces, they need to be well put together in a regular order.
Ingredients for 10 spoons
- 1 medium cauliflower, cut into florets
- 1 tbs olive oil
- hot spicy habanero sauce or tabasco sauce
- salt and pepper
- 10 shrimps, peeled and deveined
- 1/4 tbs paprika
- 1/2 tsp mild curry powder
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- salt and pepper
- 1 tsp olive oil
- dill for decoration
Preparation
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add cauliflower and cook until soft. Drain, place in a mixing container and mash with a potato masher, leaving small pieces. Add habanero sauce, olive oil , salt and pepper. Mix well all ingredients and keep warm.
In a container, combine shrimps, curry and paprika powder, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Heat olive oil in a pan and saute shrimps.
Place 1 tbs of cauliflower in each spoon. Top it with one shrimp and a little sprig of dill.
An exotic gazpacho – Scallops with lychee gazpacho
Jul 27th
Un gazpacho exotique- St Jacques au gaspacho de litchis
A good friend of mine is half Basque, so one day, while browsing through her cookbooks, I found a very interesting book on Basque cuisine, written by Gerald Hirigoyen, an amazing Basque chef who owns a few restaurants in San Francisco, among which Bocadillos and Piperade.
One particular recipe really caught my attention just because I never saw lychees in Basque cuisine; Litchi (or lychee) is an Asian fruit, mainly grown in China and is considered a tropical fruit for us. In France, you can find lychees almost anywhere and we eat a lot of them, but only as a fruit; it’s mainly sold during winter time, and I have never really seen it incorporated into a main course.
The natural sweetness of scallops blends beautifully with fruits, and I could not stop thinking about this recipe…I finally decided to give it a try, but twisting things around a little, changed a few ingredients and added some cayenne pepper, it gave the dish a little kick and I love it. I will definitely serve it again when I have a dinner party.
The gazpacho is slightly fruity but not too sweet and very smooth, when combined with the crunchiness of the cucumber is a perfect harmony of textures.
The scallops need to be very fresh, I used the jumbo ones, make sure to pat them dry, to remove all excess water, so they are able to brown well.
Ingredients for 4
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 English cucumbers, peeled
- 12 lychees
- 1 large tomato, peeled, cored and diced
- cayenne pepper
- 1 tbs lemon juice
- 1/4 cup olive oil + 2 tbs
- 8 large scallops
- 1 tbs mint chiffonade
- salt and pepper
Preparation
Bring balsamic vinegar to a boil, then reduce heat and cook for about 10 minutes, until the vinegar has reduced to a syrup consistency. Set aside.
Cut half of the cucumber in half lengthwise, remove seeds and chop one half. Using a mandoline, julienne the other half to form some spaghetti strands with the cucumber. Throw away the seeds. Place julienne in a bowl and sprinkle with salt, toss to coat and set aside for 15 minutes.
Peel lychee and remove the seed. In a blender, combine lychees, tomato, chopped cucumber, lemon juice, cayenne, olive oil, salt and pepper. Process to obtain a smooth consistency. Cover and refrigerate.
Rub scallops on both sides with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat a griddle or cast-iron skillet and saute scallops over high heat, for about 1 to 2 minutes or until golden brown.
Divide lychee gazpacho among 4 plates. Rinse julienne cucumber with cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Toss with mint and place some in the center of the gazpacho. Mount with two scallops in the center and drizzle with balsamic reduction.
