Fish/Seafood
Nice to meet you Mexico! – Stuffed avocado with shrimp and octopus cocktail
Aug 24th
Encatada de conocerte México! – Coctel de camarónes y pulpo
Not that I am starting to deviate into Mexican cuisine, but since I just got back from Cabos San Lucas last night, I wanted to pursue my Mexican and seafood adventures with this refreshing and delicious cocktail. The abundance of avocado, seafood, lime and hot peppers is what I loved most about Mexican cuisine. I knew the traditional Mexican dishes you get in California, such as quesadilla, tacos, burritos and fajitas, but never really explored further their more delicate and fragrant cuisine.
So this small and easy dish was inspired by what I discovered in a small restaurant in La Paz right in front of the ocean, a beautiful and fresh octopus cocktail served in a glass. In France, we do use avocado shell to serve avocado based appetizers, the only problem is that you need a large haas avocado or you won’t be able to fit a lot of the stuffing. You can of course use a large cocktail glass to serve this, or two avocado halves per person.
I had never been to Mexico before this trip just because usually during the summer vacation I go back home. For many reasons, I could not go home this year. So I had to find a place close by where I felt I was completely “dépaysée” (away from my natural environment) and recharge my batteries.
Los Cabos, in Baja might not be the typical Mexican city but I loved it. You can find Starbucks and Costco which I thought were somehow out of place, selling American fruits to the locals at outrageous prices. We get Mexican mangos and they get American peaches.
La Paz was a lot more Mexican than Cabos and a lot cheaper too. The warmth and hospitality of the locals, the cuisine, the burning sun, the ocean and everything else that makes Baja very special. That long and narrow peninsula has so many wonderful assets ;its where the Pacific meets the Sea of Cortez, where the desert meets green plains, where you can relax and pamper yourself in the amazing spas, or get more adventurous and drive along the coasts and discover tiny and colorful Mexican villages.
The beach… I am not really a beach maniac, and did not lay down to get a tan, but even with a 100 sun block and in the shade, you get burnt…I was lucky enough to not have a bikini incident, so everything was perfect.
I have never met people so adorable and hospitable, people would go out of their way to help you with a genuine desire to do so and sincere smile. I will be back!
Now that I am back to real life, I will have to catch up with everyone and see what’s cooking and what everyone has been up to during this last month. I apologize for being such a terrible “supporter”, but I will get back in touch with everyone very soon.
Ingredients for 4
- 4 ripe avocados, cut in half
- 1 lemon
- 12 medium size shrimps, deshelled
- 150 g cooked octopus, cut in small pieces
- 1 tsp hot sauce
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 tbs lime juice
- zest of 1 lime
- 1 tbs mixed herbs (cilantro, chives, tarragon, etc…)
- 1 scallion, chopped
- 1 tsp red onion, chopped
- salt and pepper
Preparation
Cook octopus for a few hours in salted boiling water. Let it cool and cut in small pieces. Saute shrimps in olive oil and add to the octopus.
Cut avocado in halves, using a teaspoon, scoop some of its flesh, leaving about 5 mm of avocado on the shell. Cut the scooped avocado in small pieces. Coat the avocado halves with lemon juice to prevent them from darkening.
In a mixing container, add all other ingredients and mix well.
Mix diced avocado with seafood, and pour vinaigrette on mixture. Spoon into the avocado halves. Decorate with lime slice and serve.
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.
My romantic egg – Oeuf cocotte with salmon, asparagus and a cilantro-coconut pesto
Jul 15th
Mon oeuf romantique – Oeuf cocotte au saumon et asperges, pesto de coriandre et noix de coco
Thanks so much for all your kinds words on my previous post, you guys are really wonderful, kind and generous of your time. I do appreciate it a lot.
I think this dish is perfect for a tête à tête dinner (according to the dictionary, tête à tête is also used in English) to share with someone you care. I have been alone for about two weeks now, due to business trips of TP so I decided to have a tête à tête dinner with myself and I was quite happy about it.
Well, I think no matter what, you need to treat yourself as often as you can (that’s my theory on life) and enjoy anything even if you are by yourself.
My dog and bird are keeping me company…so temporarily being alone has some good sides and bad sides. You tend to enjoy the whole bed, no daily laundry, no mess around but then when you find a half mouse dead in your patio with just the tale and legs, you have to figure out a way to clean it…I suspect the neighbors cats left it as a present.
After one hour of thinking how to remove it, I was embarrassed to ask my neighbor (the most adorable neighbors you can dream of) but I didn’t want to leave this mess in the patio and lacked courage to pick it up, so I had to tell them that Mr. Cat must have played too hard with a mouse again, so Gary cleaned it up for me. Thanks Gary!
We do use cilantro and coconut in French cuisine, even though it’s not really something you would use on a daily basis, and parsley is more frequently used than cilantro, those two ingredients are not unfamiliar to our cuisine. This fragrant pesto is delicious, the raw coconut adds a smooth finish to the dish. Oeuf cocotte is such a versatile dish and so much fun to eat. You can also use fava beans instead of the asparagus and white fish instead of the salmon, just play with it.
This combination is truly a harmonious blend of flavors, and a perfect little dish for a light diner en amoureux… or a diner for treating yourself!
Ingredients for 4
- 2 salmon fillet or 7 oz (or 200 g), diced
- 6 asparagus, cut in one inch pieces
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 3 tbs dry white wine
- 3 tbs crème fraîche
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 2 eggs
- salt and pepper
For the cilantro-coconut pesto
- 1/2 bunch cilantro
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 0.70 oz (or 20 g) raw unsweetened coconut shredded
- 4 tbs olive oil
- salt and pepper
Preparation
For the cilantro-coconut pesto
Mix all ingredients in a blender.
Heat olive oil in a pan, add shallots and brown them. Add asparagus, wine, salt and pepper. Cover and cook until asparagus are cooked but still crunchy. Add salmon and cook for a few minutes. Add 2 tbs of pesto and stir for 30 seconds. Add cream and let it reduce a little.
Divide teh mixture into ramequins. Break on egg on top, add salt and pepper. Cook in a pre-heated oven until the yolks are runny and the whites still a little transparent. Serve with extra pesto on the side.
The crab lost his house – Soft shell crab with almond crust on grilled fennel and radicchio salad, cream of chick peas and capers
Jul 5th
Le crabe a perdu sa maison – Crabes bleus en croûte d’amandes, sur lit de fenouil et trévise grillés, crème de pois chiches et câpres
Pardon my ignorance, I thought the soft crabs were a particular kind of specie…They’re apparently not. When I found out that they’re basically regular crabs that molted their hard shell, I felt a little bad to eat them. Poor little crab without his house…but I already bought them, so I had no other option that cook them…so the little homeless crab had to end up in my plate. I found a very useful site explaining how to clean them on ChefsLine.
Radicchio has two of my favorite features, colorful and bitter, which combined with fennel makes a very harmonious combination. The sweetness of the grilled fennel stands out beautifully, and complement the slight acidity of the cream of chick peas due to lemon juice and capers. So what about the crab?? I have been talking about everything except about our naked crab..and this recipe is not about fennel, nor radicchio BUT only about the crab!
This crab is such a treat, every bite is meaty and delicate, it is baked so not as crunchy as you would get it it was fried, but definitely healthier. So delicious! the topping makes it flavorful with a little sesame note and blends to perfection with the chick pea cream.
Ingredients for 4
- 8 soft shell crabs
- 6 tbs breadcrumbs
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 3 tbs almond meal
- 1 tbs sesame seeds
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tbs parsley, chopped
- salt and pepper
For the cream of chick peas and capers
- 1/2 lb cooked chick peas
- 4 tbs plain yogurt
- 1 tbs garlic, crushed
- juice of one lemon
- 1 tbs capers, chopped
- cayenne pepper
- salt and pepper
For the fennel-radicchio salad
- 2 fennel bulbs, thinly sliced
- 1 radicchio head, sliced in 1 inches slices
- 1 tbs olive oil
- balsamic vinegar
- salt and pepper
Preparation
For the salad
Grill radicchio and fennel on a grill pan, then place on a large bowl, add other ingredients and set aside.
For the crab
In a mixing bowl, mix all ingredients together except for the crab (of course). Top each crab with the breadcrumb/almond mixture, drizzle each crab with a little olive oil, and back in the oven at 400F until the top is golden brown and the crab is cooked.
For the cream of chick peas
Mix all ingredients except capers and yogurt in a blender. Remove from blender and add capers and yogurt. Mix well and set aside.
Serve with some warm salad in the middle of the plate, two soft shell crabs on top and spoon cream of chick pea on the side.
Rillettes from the sea – Smoked mackerel rillettes with potato-cumin blinis
Jun 25th
Rillettes de la mer – Rillettes de maquereau fumé sur blinis de pommes de terre au cumin
It’s been a while I ate mackerel…it’s one of those things you tend to forget it exists until you see it at the store. In France mackerel is a quite consumed fish, we eat it fresh and grilled, it’s considered a “fat” fish, well fattier than cod or sole and when smoked you can make delicious “rillettes“. Rillettes are a traditional specialty from France, they are somehow like a pâté or spread, but not as fine grind and with a more “thready” type of texture. They’re commonly made with pork meat that has cooked for a very long time in its own fat. Other types of rillettes can be made with duck, goose, rabbit and even with some types of fishes. The most famous are Rillettes du Mans (Mans being a city in the Northern part of France).
Fish rillettes contain butter and even though less fattening the meat rillettes, they tend to be on the heavy side. I avoided all extra fat by adding yogurt which added creaminess. Mackerel being a naturally fat fish, I didn’t want to add extra fat in it. I am not a fat-free freak, but when it’s not necessary to add it, I avoid it.
For a nice snack or appetizer, I thought a little potato blini would complement the rillettes quite well. Again blinis are usually made with buckwheat flour and go marvelously with smoked fish, then nothing prevent you from twisting things around in the kitchen and add a different texture and flavor to the traditional blinis. You can eat this as a light meal or serve them as appetizers, they’re always appreciated in my house.
Ingredients for about 12 blinis
For the rillettes
- 7 oz (or 200 g) smoked mackerel
- 1 garlic clove
- 4 tbs plain yogurt
- 1/2 shallot
- 1 tsp parsley
- 1 tsp dill
- 1 tsp chives
- red pepper corn, crushed
- salt
For the binis
- 7 oz (or 200 g) potatoes, cooked and mashed
- 4 tbs flour
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/3 tsp baking soda
- 1 tbs olive oil
Preparation
For the rillettes
In a blender, mix mackerel, herbs, garlic and shallot. Taste to adjust salt since smoke mackerel tends to be on the salty side. Do not blend into a too fine paste, you need to have some texture and taste the mackerel. Add yogurt. In a mortar, crush red pepper corn and add to the mixture. Refrigerate for about one hour.
For the blinis
Cook potatoes in salted water, when soft, remove from stove and drain. Crush potatoes in to a fine puree. In a mixing container, add puree potatoes, flour, egg, milk, baking powder. Add cumin seeds and salt. Mix well to obtain a smooth mixture.
Heat olive oil in a pan, add one small amount of dough (about the amount of a tsp). Let one side cook, then flip it over. Proceed until used all the batter. Spread with mackerel rillettes, top it with extra red pepper corns and herbs.
The well dressed shrimps – Shrimps wrapped in soba with pomegranate chili dipping sauce
Jun 18th
Les crevettes bien habillées – Crevettes enroulées de nouilles soba et sauce pimentée à la grenade
Well here I am again with shrimps…when we cook we all find our inspiration from different sources, it can be our moms, grandmothers, books, chefs, travels, anything. For this particular recipe, I inspired myself from one of Alain Ducasse’s recipes that I twisted around quite a bit, but I kept his idea of wrapping the soba around the shrimps. Isn’t this a great idea? What I love about Alain Ducasse or Christophe Megel is that they mastered the art (it truly is an art) of blending contemporary influences with classical cuisine which awaken all your senses into a taste bud ecstasy.
At first, I thought it sounded strange, borderline unappealing, then after looking at it, and reading the recipe a little longer, I realized that this would be an amazing little appetizer. I made my own dipping sauce with pomegranate, chilis and garlic, and I could not get enough of those shrimps. Now, the original recipe deep fries the shrimps, I somehow refuse to deep fry anything, you can do it, if you want but I have a little “mental blockage” with fried food, so the devil did not manage to make me deep fried this, even if Alain does. Désolée Alain, je n’aime pas la friture! I am sure he would understand!
What I love about this recipe is its composition of textures and flavors.
The soba get a very pleasant crunchy bite due to the batter where ice cubes have been added at end of the process, they melted in the mixture, it helped make the batter light therefore give a particular crunchiness to the soba. There is a feast going on in your palate at first bite, and it’s such an exciting sensation!
Ingredients for about 10 shrimps
- 10 shrimps, deveined
- 2.11 oz (or 60 g) regular soba or green tea soba
- 1/3 cup (or 75 g) cornstarch
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup (or 100 g) flour
- 1/3 cup (or 75 g) water
- 1/3 (or 75 g) cup ice cubes
- salt and pepper
For the pomegranate-chili dipping sauce
- 1/2 cup pure unsweetened pomegranate juice
- 2 tbs pomegranate glaze
- 1 tbs honey
- 2 tbs rice vinegar
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 chili, finely diced
- salt
Preparation
Bring a pot of water to a boil, add soba, cook for a few minutes until still a little crunchy, then remove from heat, drain and place in chilled water. Let cool, drain and set aside.
Dip shrimps in corn starch.
In a mixing bowl, mix egg with flour and water, stir well. Add ice cubes and keep stirring until they dissolve.
Dip soba in batter, remove excess batter and wrap around the shrimps.
Heat olive oil in a pan (enough to get 2 mm of oil in the pan), then add shrimps, let them brown on all surfaces. When cooked removefrom pan, and pat dry with a paper towel to remove excess oil. Serve hot with dipping sauce.
For the dipping sauce
Mix all ingredients together except the garlic and chili and cook for a few minutes until the honey is dissolved and the sauce has a little reduced. Let it cool, then add chili and garlic.
A crêpe that’s not really a crêpe – Traditional savory buckwheat galette with smoked salmon, grilled tomatoes, caramelized onions, and tarragon sauce
Jun 14th
Une crêpe qui n’est pas vraiment une crêpe – Galette au sarrasin, saumon, tomates grillées et oignons caramelisés, sauce estragon
I haven’t made those for so long, I usually make them when we have a “crêpe party”, and those haven’t occurred in a while!
Basically, the traditional savory crêpes are made with buckwheat flour, the sweet ones can be made with white flour.
A buckwheat crêpe is called “galette bretonne“, the batter is a little different from a regular crêpe in the fact that there is water in the batter but no eggs. The traditional galette Bretonne (or also called Buckwheat crêpe, crêpe au sarrasin) is mainly stuffed with ham, eggs and cheese and it’s called “la complète“…now you can make it with whatever item you like if you want to make it less traditional. I like the traditional one, but I think those three ingredients are a little too heavy for me. Other alternatives could be spinach and mushrooms, eggs and mushrooms, tomato and mozzarella, goat cheese and spinach, etc…or whatever you think would work.
If you have been to Brittany or Paris you must have encounter that delicious treat. There are many crêperies Bretonnes in Paris close to Quartier Montparnasse. The first one I ate was at the Jocelyn crêperie, it was a double crêpe, unlike this one that is simple, a double crêpe is comprised of one crêpe at the bottom, filled with whatever you like, and one other crêpe on top of the filling, then folded and topped with salted butter. You better be hungry for that one, but it’s so good with some dry cider (cidre brut).
Sometimes, I have a crêpe party at home and the crêpes go flying around…then everyone gets so excited when we reach dessert, sweet crêpes with nutella, banana, ice cream and whipped cream. How can you refuse one of those? Vive les crêpes!!
You don’t need necessarly need a crêpe maker and a spreader to make crêpes, a non-stick pan works well too. You can make a 100% buckwheat flour batter if you like it more hearty, I like to use 1/2 white flour and 1/2 buckwheat flour.
Ingredients for about 6-8 (depending on the size of the pan)
For the galettes batter
- buckwheat flour
- white flour
- 1/4 l water
- 1/4 l milk
- salt
For the stuffing
- 3-4 tomatoes, sliced
- 2 onions, sliced
- 1 tbs capers, rinced
- 6-8 slices smoked salmon
- 1 tsp olive oil
- Fleur de sel
- pepper
For the tarragon sauce
- 1 shallot, diced
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 tsp fish fumet dehydrated
- water
- 3 tbs crème fraîche
- 2 tbs fresh tarragon, chopped
- salt and pepper
Preparation
For the batter
Mix flours together in a large mixing bowl. Add water while stirring, then milk, add salt and keep stirring to obtain a smooth consistency. Let it rest for about 2 hours.
Caramelize onions in 1 tsp olive oil. Grill tomatoes on a grill pan and set aside.
For the tarragon sauce
Heat olive oil in a pan, and brown shallots. Dissolve dehydrated fumet in 1/3 cup water. Add to the shallots, reduce a little then add cream. Reduce for a few more minutes and add tarragon, salt and pepper.
Cook galettes as you would for regular crêpes. Using a non-stick pan, spread some batter in the pan covering the whole surface (you need to butter the pan prior to making the galettes). Flip the galette and let it cook on the other side. Add caramelized onions, tomatoes, capers and salmon. remove the galette from the pan and bring borders on the inside. Top with tarragon sauce and serve hot.
A table with a view – Grilled baby cuttlefish with crushed herb potato and tapenade salad – Garlic vinaigrette
Jun 9th
Une table avec vue – Salade de seiches grillées avec pommes de terres à la tapenade et vinaigrette à l’ail
This one will be among my favorite seafood salads…When you are in love with so many dishes, it’s hard to just pick one, so I have a list of dishes, and this one is a part of the “killer list” or “la liste qui tue“.
Saturday after a delicious dinner at a famous San Francisco seafood restaurant, located at the Embarcadero facing the Bay Bridge called the Waterbar, I met again with octopus. If you ever end up in San Francisco and want to stay away from the touristy seafood restaurants on the Pier 39, try the Waterbar. I think it’s a little pricey but if you want to spend a nice romantic evening “déguster” (savor) amazing fish and seafood, the Waterbar is a great choice. Nothing is fried like in many restaurants, every dish has been carefully prepared and cooked with refinement to enhance its natural texture and flavor. You get the most amazing seafood dishes staring at the gorgeous Bay, so nothing to complain about.
This salad has been inspired by the octopus dish I ordered. The octopus was sliced and topped with an abundant and garlic chutney, arugola, and some potatoes topped with tapenade. I fell in love all of the sudden. I saw it, my heart melted. You must think that I do fall in love quite easily, if you give me grilled seafood (looks like I am back eating fish and seafood) with fresh herbs, garlic , I just cannot help myself.
I found this cute cuttlefish at the store that reminded me of Italy, cuttlefish is very popular in Southern France and Italy where they use its ink to make risotto al nero di seppia (squid ink risotto), seppia means cuttlefish, but squid and octopus ink is also used in gastronomy. So cuttlefish has replaced octopus here and I felt a little closer to home. Cuttlefish is thicker than squid, so it require a little more cooking time.
I made extra tapenade which is a traditional spread from Provence (Tapena means capers in Provencal language) made out of olives crushed into a purée. It can be stored for days in the refrigerator and be used in so many other ways.
Ingredients for 2
- 8-10 baby cuttlefish
- cherry tomatoes, cut in halves
- some arugula or other greens leaves
For the potatoes
- 6 medium yukon potatoes
- 1 tbs tarragon, chopped
- 1 tbs parsley chopped
- 2 tbs extra fruity cold pressed olive oil
- salt and fresh cracked pepper
For the tapenade
- 1/2 lb (or 250 g) kalamata olives
- 1 garlic clove
- 2.11 oz (or 60 g) capers
- 1.41 oz (or 40 g) anchovies
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 3.38 fl oz (or 100 ml) olive oil
- pepper
For the garlic vinaigrette
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 tbs walnut oil
- 1 garlic clove crushed
- 1.5 tsp orange champagne vinegar
- 1.5 tsp pomegranate glaze
- 1 tsp chives, chopped
- salt and pepper
Preparation
Cook potatoes in water until cooked. Peel and let them lukewarm. Crush roughly with a fork leaving some big chunks and incoporate herbs, olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix carefully.
Grill cuttlefish on a grill pan, turning them around until cooked, about 7-8 minutes or less, depending on the size of the cuttlefish.
For the tapenade, place ingredients in a mortar, and crush all ingredients into a paste, except for olive oil, lemon juice and pepper. Add olive oil gradually at the end like you would proceed for a mayonnaise while stirring. Add lemon juice and pepper when tapenade is ready.
For the vinaigrette, mix all ingredients together, mix well.
Place a small amount of potatoes in a plate, top it with a tsp or more of tapenade. Place cuttlefish and cherry tomato halves around the potatoes and drizzle with vinaigrette.
For French mother’s day – Sauté shrimps with cardamom and blackberry coulis
Jun 1st
Pour la fête des mères – Crevettes sautées à la cardamome et au coulis de mûres
I have felt the whole day as if today was Sunday…what a “tête en l’air” (head in the air) that would translate into air-headed, I do not have that particular reputation but today it really felt like a Sunday to me, the energy in the streets, the pace, just the overall feeling did not seem like the beginning of the week. Three day weekends are so rare in the US, that when it happens, you get confused.
Yesterday was Mother’s day in France and this would have been the type of dish I would have prepared my mom, she would have been intrigued and skeptical to see a blackberry next to a shrimp, but I’m quite sure she would have loved the flavor.
Even though French cuisine does not often traditionally combines sweet and savory flavors, there are indeed many recipes that do combine fruits in savory dishes. Some fruits such as berries are combined with game, I do like to associate them to seafood once in a while, you know for those particular days when you have one of those cravings…
Now when you look at the title, that might seem odd to you, shrimps and blackberries, well if you decide you ever want to try it out, you will definitely realize that the flavors are matching in a very harmonious symphony and this dish is something has a refined and subtle touch to it.
I love those types of quick dishes that look like they have been taking forever to prepare…this dish fits the express category and is a perfect choice when you want to impress your guests with a chic touch.
For a long time, I have been reluctant to add sugar to some savory dishes, just because I had a more traditional culinary background where sugar was an ingredients mainly used in desserts. I love berries of all kinds, and the first time I saw blackberries in the US, I was amazed by their huge size, they are just BIG (like everything else in the US)…nonetheless delicious. Now I only buy the big kinds, if they’re small I don’t even look at them!
Ingredients for 4 (20 shrimps)
- 20 large shrimps, peeled and deveined
- 5.29 oz (or 150 g) blackberries
- 5 cardamom pods, seeds removed and crushed
- Szechuan pepper
- Fleur de sel
- 0.88 oz (or 25 g) balsamic vinegar
- 0.70 oz (or 20 g) salted butter
- 0.70 oz (or 20 g) sugar
- 3/8 cups (or 50 cl) water
- mint leaves, finely chopped
Preparation
Dissolve sugar with water and bring to a boil. Add blackberries, stir carefully, remove from the stove and blend the mixture with a immersion blender. Pass the coulis through a sieve to remove the seeds. Keep aside.
Crush cardamom seeds (the seeds inside the pods) with a mortar and set aside. When the
In a pan, saute shrimps in butter, add salt and Szechuan pepper, then add cardamom seeds. Remove shrimps from the pan, and keep them warm. Deglaze pan with vinegar, and reduce to a half. Add blackberry coulis and let it reduce for 1 or 2 minutes.
Place some coulis in a plate, add shrimps in the middle, and sprinkle with mint.
The no-guilt fish – Brioche toasts with smoke marinated herrings, grilled onions and egg, avocado sauce
May 22nd
Le poisson qui ne rend pas coupable – Toasts de brioche, aux filets de harengs marines, oignons grillés, oeuf et sauce à l’avocat
Thanks so much to everyone who shared its experience with bad hair cuts the other day, not that I felt better when looking at myself in the mirror but at least I know I am not the only one, and that I am not overly picky. It makes me feel like opening a real hair salon with talented stylists. Oh well, one of those things you cannot dwell on for too long, besides hair grows back, and in the meantime, there are always wigs!
I don’t know why but lately I have been losing weight and not eating much…I somehow lost my appetite, j‘ai perdu mon appétit! that does not prevent me from cooking but I eat with less enthusiasm.
I remember my mom preparing herring the French way with potatoes and onions in some sort of a warm salad and I loved it…Herring is very consumed in Germany and Scandinavian countries, but in Northern France too. The great thing about herring is that unlike tuna, it’s not an endangered specie, so you can eat it without any guilt.
I love dishes combining many different textures, but not too many strong flavors or it tends to be chaotic for your palate. This one is among my favorite “egg” dish, just because it has a lot of fresh and crunchy ingredients allied with smooth textures and is a full meal in itself. You don’t need to have anything else…
Its preparation si fairly simple, and does not require to spend an infinite time in the kitchen. Lately, due to my lack of appetite, I haven’t felt like spending hours in complex dishes, and I try to remain “simple”. For those of you who are in the same type of mood, I suggest you give it a try.
You can substitute smoke herring with marinated salmon, it just happened that I saw a familiar herring brand at the store, the same kind I would find in France, and I bought just to read the packaging and felt closer to home.
The herring comes just smoke, you need to marinate it in mixed herbs and olive oil for a few hours or overnight to infuse it in some aromatic scent and decrease its smokiness.
Ingredients for 2
- 2 eggs
- 2 brioche slices
- 2 smoke herring fillets (marinated in olive oil, lemon juice and mixed herbs such as dill, thyme, parsley, etc…)
- 1 red onion slice cut crosswise
- 1 carrot, shaved in ribbons
- 1 Belgian endive, cut crosswise in thin strips
- 1/2 radicchio, cut in strips
- 1 scallion, chopped
For the avocado cream
- 1 avocado
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1/3 cup vegetable broth
- 1 tbs plain yogurt
- 1 pinch cayenne
- salt and pepper
For the vinaigrette
- 2 tbs olive oil
- Juice of 1/2 lime
- 1/2 tsp extra strong Dijon mustard
- salt and pepper
Preparation
Marinate herring with herbs, lemon juice and olive oil overnight or at least for a few hours.
In a grill pan or skillet, grill onions. Set aside. Start preparing the avocado sauce by mixing all the ingredients with an immersion blender, adjusting broth quantity if the sauce is too thick.
Using a ring mold, cut brioche in circles and grill each side on a grill pan.
Combine endives, radicchio, carrot ribbons with vinaigrette. Toss well.
Cook egg sunny side up, and using the same ring mold where you cut the brioche, cut egg in a round circle. Add salt and pepper.
Place salad at the bottom of a plate, add brioche toast, herring some onions, top it with egg, some onions and scallions. Serve with avocado cream on the side, or sprinkle some on top of the egg (before adding scallions), and serve.
