Side Dish
A little bundle of joy – Napoléon of eggplants, king oyster mushrooms and manchego – Tomato concassée
Aug 28th
Un brin de bonheur – Napoléon d’aubergines, pleurottes géantes et manchego – Concassée de tomates
For the pastry “connaisseurs“, Napoléon is a famous pastry from Eastern Europe, made out different layers of crème patissière (custard), and puff pastry. While in Lithuania, and during its Russian campaign, Napoléon fell in love with this dessert, and named it after himself. The rumors even say that he lost the battle of Waterloo, because he ate so many of these the night before the battle. But of course, those are earsay, and only historians can prove this fact.
This is my savory version of Napoléon. This savory Napoléon has different layers of king oyster mushrooms and eggplants. King oyster mushrooms are simply oyster mushrooms that are grown to a large size, just like portobello are cremini mushrooms grown until they reached a particular size. What I like about king oysters is their meaty legs that remind of the fresh porcini, you can just slice them and enjoy them saute with garlic and parsley or any way you like.
This savory version of Napoleon has manchego and a drizzle of a parsley/garlic/paprika/olive oil mixture in between the layers, which adds a pleasant note to each bite. The concassée finishes the dish with a nice balance of chili and slight acidity of the tomato.
These cute little bundles of vegetables can be served as an appetizer, then two would be perfect, but then there is no rule in the number want to add on each plate.
Ingredients for 4-6 pieces
- 1 medium size eggplant (seedless), sliced
- 1 large king oyster, sliced
- 1/2 cup manchego, sliced
- 1 zucchini, sliced lenghtwise
- 1 tbs olive oil
- Fleur de sel
- pepper
For the herb-oil
- 1 tbs parsley, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- salt and pepper
For the tomato concassée
- 2 medium sized, heirloon tomato, chopped, peeled and seedless
- 1 tbs extra virgin fruity olive oil
- cayenne pepper
- fleur de sel
Preparation
Grill eggplants on a grill pan or cast iron grid. Set aside. Saute mushroom slices in 1 tbs olive oil. Slice zucchini with a mandoline, making ribbons. Grill zucchini on a grill pan. Set aside.
For the herb-oil, mix all ingredients together in a small bowl.
For the tomato concassée, after peeling the tomatoes, crush one tomato, with a mixer to make a purée. Cut the other tomato in small pieces. Mix both tomatoes, add cayenne, pepper and fleur de sel. Add olive oil. Mix well.
Start assembling the napoleon. In a flat surface, place one slice of eggplant. Add 1/2 tsp of herb-oil. Place one slice of mushroom on top. Add manchego. Proceed with another slice of eggplant, mushroom and manchego. Wrap it all with two slices of zucchini (one might be too short to be wrapped around). Place in a pre-heated oven at 390F until the manchego has melted.
Serve in a plate with one tbs of tomato concassée. Drizzle extra olive oil on the tomatoes, and add some cracked black pepper.
Back to Provence – Tian Provencal and tapenade tartine
Jul 24th
De retour en Provence – Tian Provençal et tartine de tapenade
Tian is a traditional dish from Provence, and should be made in a clay dish…since I just broke mine, I had to use a Pyrex one. The vegetables are sliced thinly, placed upright and cooked in the oven for a long time. You can add goat cheese as well, but I wanted to keep it vegan and light, so to get additional Mediterranean flavors, I served it with a tapenade tartine. This is a very simple dish to make yet delicious due to the slow cooking of the vegetables and all the herbs that have infused in it.
Of course, there are various recipes for tian, some people don’t add onions, but fennel, or potatoes, but tomatoes, zucchini and eggplants should always be around. You can play around with herbs, cheese, etc…but I wanted to keep it simple. Sometimes I like simple flavors and don’t want to add too many intricate and complex flavors into a dish. The slow cooking turned the vegetable almost “confits” in the herbs and own juices.
Usually tians are served with grilled meats or fishes, they add wonderful aromas to a dish. I have to admit that I ate the whole tian by myself and was still hungry. Usually this would be sufficient for four, if you serve it with a fish or meat, or also rice in case you want to keep it vegetarian. It really depends on how much vegetables your guests can eat. Quand on aime, on ne compte pas, that’s what the French say, when you love, you don’t count…which is true for many things. The tapenade tartine is a nice element if you want to keep your meal vegan, that olive spread is simply divine with this tian.
Ingredients for 3-4
- 3 large tomatoes, sliced crosswise
- 3 zucchini, sliced crosswise
- 2 medium eggplants, sliced crosswise
- 1 onion,
- lavender salt
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
- 1 tsp fresh oregano, chopped
- 1 tsp basil, chopped finely
- 2 tbs olive oil
- pepper
For the tapenade, see recipe here
Preparation
Spread some olive oil, all over the dish, preferably a clay dish.
Place all vegetables upright in the dish, alternating between a slice of tomato, two slices of zucchini (since the zucchini tend to be smaller), one slice of eggplant, and onion. The vegetables need to be tightly arranged so they stand still.
Add herbs and garlic, sprinkle with lavender salt and pepper. Add olive oil all over the vegetables.
Cover with aluminium foil and cook in a pre heated oven at 365-370 for about 40-45 minutes. Remove the foil and let the vegetables get golden brown.
I can play the mandoline – Zucchini tagliatelle with spicy chick pea tomato sauce
May 7th
Posso suonare il mandolino – Tagliatelle di zucchine con salsa al pomodoro, ceci e origano
I bought a new mandoline before I would slice a few of my fingers, one day I cut the tip of my index while shaving fennel and had to go to the emergency room, so my new mandoline is much better and safer, and in the kitchen safety is somehow an important part of the whole game.
With my new De Buyer (being faithful to European made utensils because I know them better, I had to buy a French one, actually I have Japanese knives that are incredible) and one of the great feature of this mandoline is that you can adjust the thickness of the cut by twisting the handle from left to right or right to left. The blade is lightly dented so you can get a very thin and sharp cut, or a thick (and still sharp) cut, even on soft fruits and vegetables like very ripe kiwis or oranges.
So to try out my new mandoline, I wanted to make a whole dish with sliced vegetables because I just felt like playing with it. I’m sure I am not the only one who loves to play with a brand new toy. When I buy new clothes, I have to wear them right away, even if I have to run to the store buy salt, I can wear a brand new silk shirt just for the simple pleasure to wear something new. When it comes to kitchen utensils, it’s the same. What to do with 12 zucchini and a mandoline? well you just go crazy and slice them to make tagliatelle. So here they are…
My mom makes an traditional Italian dish made with pasta and chick peas so I used her tomato sauce twisting it around a little and used it on the zucchini tagliatelle. I really loved this dish, it’s savory, fragrant due to the oregano, light and nutritious, so how can you say no to that? This is a fairly simple dish, with a few ingredients which most of the time, if you have great quality ingredients, turns out delicious. You can taste all the ingredients in one bite and it all blends in a beautiful symphony of flavors.
For the tomato purée, I used the imported Italian tomato sauce from Parmalat, it’s just crushed tomatoes with nothing else added, they have quite a un-acidic flavor unlike some other tomatoes. Parmalat is a very famous brand in Italy and I knew them for their dairy products and mainly milk that was sold in card board like here they would sell orange juice, which healthier to use than canned tomatoes. I was excited to be able to find the Parmalat tomatoes. Grazie Parmalat! You can use fresh tomatoes too, but they need to be of good quality or the sauce will not be as good.
Ingredients for 2-3 as a side dish
- 6 zucchini sliced lengthwise
- 7 oz (or 200 g) cooked chick peas
- 10 oz (or 300 g) good quality crushed tomato or fresh tomatoes
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 tsp fresh oregano, chopped
- 1/3 cup dry white wine
- 1 garlic clove
- cayenne pepper
- salt and pepper
- fresh shaved parmesan for garnish
Preparation
Start preparing the sauce. In a small pot, heat olive oil, add garlic, stir for about 30 seconds, then oregano. After about 1 minutes (watch out not to burn the garlic) add 1 cup tomatoes, salt, pepper and cayenne. Add wine. Let the sauce cook until the water has evaporated, add chick peas and cook for an additional 10 minutes.
Using the mandoline, slice zucchini lenghtwise in about 2mm ribbons. Bring salted water to a boil, add zucchini and cook for about 30 seconds. Drain, and carefull pat dry with a towel, making sure not to break the zucchini. Add to the tomato sauce, stir carefully. Add extra oregano, and serve with sahved parmesan on top.
A Goat in the kitchen – Cauliflower and leek gratin with goat milk
Apr 6th
Une chèvre dans la cuisine – Gratin de chou fleur et poireaux au lait de chèvre
I forgot how DMV can be a nightmare, waiting for your number 389 when the current number is 210 can be the story of an afternoon. So people bring balls to play with, and all kinds of entertainment to spend three to four hours. I somehow like to observe people, it’s certainly more interesting to observe people sur la terrasse d’un café, in a cafe terrace with a coffee in your hands, so when your hands are holding nothing more than a number, patience becomes a virtue and people looking becomes one too.
I had prepared this gratin in advance so it just needed to be gratiné when I got home and that’s the beauty of gratins, you can prepare them in advance and throw them in the oven when ready to be served.
I have used goat milk in soufflés and in the béchamel when preparing gratins that turned out lighter with a more delicate touch than with cow milk, and partly due to the fact that goat milk is lighter to digest than regular milk. You can slightly taste to goat milk which is not as strong as in cheeses. Basically you can replace goat milk in many dishes using cow milk. Gratins are very common in France and can be made with any vegetable.
Gratin can be considered a plat unique (a one meal dish), and universally appreciated, it’s certainly a meal in itself with a side salad. If you feel like something hot with a golden crust, stop thinking, this is it. Some people are fighting to eat the crispy crust while others are fighting to get to the soft melting middle. What type of gratin eater are you? I am definitely a crust lover, but would not mistreat the middle either. No matter how you eat it, gratins always evoke a comforting and warm cuisine that everyone loves.
I would use premium gruyère cheese that melts well and leaves a nice golden crust the quality of the cheese is important and will make a great difference in the texture of your gratin. Also, you could add a little goat cheese as well instead of adding gruyère in the mixture but gruyère on top is a must if you want a golden and melting crust.
Ingredients for 2-3
- 1 medium cauliflower, broken into florets
- 1 leek, cut in 1 inch chunks
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 3 tbs butter
- 1.5 tbs flour
- 1.5 cup goat milk
- 5 tbs imported Gruyère cheese
- salt and pepper
Preparation
Heat olive oil in a pan, add shallots and brown them. Add leeks, adjust with salt and pepper and cover with lid until leeks are tender.
Cook cauliflower in salted boiling water until cooked but still firm. Drain and set aside.
Start preparing the béchamel by melting butter, then adding flour. Stir well. Add milk, salt and pepper and reduce temperature to medium heat. Keep stirring until the mixture starts thickening. Cook for a few minutes until it has reached a nice consistency, but should not be too thick.
Using individual ramequins or one larger dish, add one layer of leeks, then add one layer of cauliflower and end with another layer of leeks. Sprinkle with 1 tbs gruyère cheese (or goat cheese for each ramequin) and pour béchamel. Try to coat your vegetables with cheese and bechamel by mixing the vegetables carefully. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese, grind fresh pepper and cook in a pre-heated oven at 370F for about 30 minutes or until the gratin has reached a golden brown color.
A far away cousin of vegetable paella – Saffron brown rice with mixed vegetables
Mar 19th
Un cousin éloigné de la paella végétarienne – Riz brun au saffran et méli mélo de petits légumes
It’s time for some rice…rice and potatoes are two ingredients I rarely use, French people eat a LOT of potatoes, at my parents my mom rarely made them, Italians are more pasta eaters than potato eaters. A while ago, I started buying all the different kinds of rices I ran into, from black rice, to bamboo rice, any shape and color rice I saw. It seems like the excitement faded away, but I don’t want to leave rice aside, because I love it. It’s nutritious, healthy and can make wonderful side dishes.
The world of food has so many items to explore than sometimes, you get caught trying out new ingredients, and leaving aside the ones you know too well.
This rice has a rich and deep yellow color you get with combining saffron and paprika or pimenton as they say in Spain but I found Spanish pimenton to have a more smokey flavor.
Basically the rice is steamed in a vegetable broth with saffron and paprika, so it comes out almost orange. Such a vibrant color to have in ones plate.
Plain white rice is great with spicy dishes, it enables to decrease the powerful and strong flavors of the spices and balances everything perfectly. Sometimes I enjoy some more intricate rice dishes like this one, you can just eat it as a main dish and as is, because it’s a whole meal in itself and full of fragrant flavors. I certainly don’t want to call this vegetarian paella, which would be so wrong, but it has some similarities in some of the spices and cooking method, even though I did not use a paella tray, nor used Spanish rice.
Ingredients for 2-3
- 5.29 0z (or 150 g) brown rice
- one dose saffron
- 1/4 tsp Spanish pimenton
- vegetable broth (rice x 2)
- 1 shallot
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 tbs mixed oregano, very finely chopped
- 1/2 red bell pepper, cut in very small cubes (1/4 inch)
- 1 cup fresh peas (or frozen)
- 1/2 bunch asparagus, cut in small chunks (1/2 inch)
- 1 tbs olive oil
- salt and pepper
Preparation
In a rice cooker or regular pot, mix broth, rice, saffron, pimenton and salt. Let it sit for a few minutes until the saffron has dissolved. For broth quantities, I use about twice the amount of rice, in this case, since it’s brown rice, which takes harder to cook, I use about 3 times its quantity. If using rice cooker, broth needs to be at 2 cm above the level of the rice.
Heat olive oil in a pan, add shallots and let them soften. Add all the mixed vegetables and stir well. Cover and cook for 5-7 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked but still firm, add garlic and oregano and cook for a few additional minutes to get the flavors out.
Mix in the rice, stir well until all the vegetables are well incorporated into the rice.
Artichokes are back in town – Tagine of artichokes, chickpeas, potatoes, red peppers and olives
Mar 8th
Les artichauts sont de retour – Tagine d’artichauts, pois chiches, pommes de terre, poivrons, et olives vertes
It looks like artichoke season is starting and you see them come out on the shelves, one of the largest producer being close to the Bay Area in Castroville (they claim to be the artichoke capital of the world, which is quite a big statement, but they certainly do produce a lot of them), we have in San Francisco, lots of beautiful artichokes, the babies, the medium, the large, you pick which one you want. I even planted some in the garden, but seems like it takes over 300 days for them to grow, so I cannot count on my own crops this year!
I had some fresh chick peas left from last week and I just wanted to use them in a tagine. They remain green and taste so good but cook very quickly so when using them in a dish, they only need to cook for 15 minutes or so, therefore add them at the end. I love tagines, I could eat them every day. The flavors of all the spices infusing with all those wonderful vegetables is a pure pleasure to cook (and to eat of course too). After 10 minutes of placing the tagine in the oven, the house starts to be filled with incredibly aromas. It’s like a pure perfume. Ca embaume.
As in the majority of my tagines, I used Ras el hanout which is a traditional mix of Moroccan spices and literally means “the roof of the grocery store” in arabic. A few common spices included in Ras el hanout are cardamom, mace, cloves, nutmeg, pepper, lavender, ginger, nigella, turmeric, etc..but so many more. It’s used in Middle Eastern cuisine to enhance many dishes such as couscous, meat dishes, etc…
The composition of Ras el hanout can vary from 24 to 21 spices but can go as far as 40 spices, so there are so many variations of Ras el hanout as there are cooks, manufacturers and tastes. I bought a big bag of spices in a Moroccan grocery store in France that will last me my lifetime, and that is a very nice blend, not one spice overpowering the mix, and a very well balanced combination. Unfortunately the manufacturer did not include the list of the spices he used, so I am afraid I won’t be able to know what has been used and to what quantity. In France we have a huge Arabic population, probably the biggest among all other European countries, which means a lot of stores with great products and very inexpensive.
Anyone who loves artichokes and spices, will really enjoy this dish, besides the beauty of tagines is that it might take you a while to clean the artichokes, and peel the potatoes, but then you just put it in the oven and cooks by itself, comme une grande fille!
Ingredients for 4
- 2 large potatoes, peeled and cut in big squares
- 8 medium size artichokes, trimmed
- 5 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- 1 large red bell pepper, cut in big square
- 1 cup fresh chick peas
- 1.5 tbs Ras el hanout
- 1 preserved lemon, cut in 4 quarters
- 1/2 cup green olives, cut in halves
- chili powder
- salt and pepper
Preparation
In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients together except for the chick peas and using your hands mix well.
Place the vegetables in your tagine pot, cover and cook in a pre-heated oven at 390F for about one 1h30 min. Add chick peas 20 minutes before removing tagine from the oven. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve as a side dish or as a main dish, with a quinoa or couscous accompaniment.
Could it be oyster plant? – Simple salsifis salad
Feb 12th
Simple salade de salsifis
You probably don’t care about salsifis and there is nothing extraordinary about the recipe. It’s all about the salsifi. Sometimes I like to feature some unpopular vegetables like this one, it’s a root vegetable that people tend to forget like cardoon, so I thought to bring it back from the deads.
I have not had those for such a long time, I have been eating salsifis when I was a child, their consumption is quite common in France but nowadays even there people tend to forget them.
I have just seen some of those at the store today and it just reminded me that I had forgotten to post those while in France.
Basically, they are a long root and have a thick brown skin, their flesh is quite white and they taste like artichoke to me, but some people say it tastes more like oysters so that’s how they got their name from. Honestly I have seen no similarities between an oyster and a salsifi.
You would need to wear gloves when peeling it since its flesh tends to stain hands and the flesh and skin are quite sticky, somehow like a glue. So I’m sure you wondering then, why even bother. Well, there is a good reason to include salsifi in your diet, they contain a lot of minerals and vitamins and are a wonderful vegetable with low calories and lots of fibers, so I think we should re-introduce it in our diet. You can make gratins with them, quiches, I have aslo tasted them in stew and are quite delicious. When preparing them simply like this, you need top quality olive oil, and the juice of a fragrant lemon such as meyer lemons.
Ingredients
- one bunch of salsifis (maybe 10)
- 1.5 tbs extra virgin olive oil
- Juice of one lemon
- freshly ground pepper
- Fleur de sel
- Parsley, finely chopped (optional)
Preparation
Peel salsifis. Cook in boiling water for about 7 min, or until cooked but not mushy. Drain and sprinkle with vinaigrette, top with pepper and fleur de sel.
Gratin with a twist not Dauphinois! – Potato, zucchini and roquefort gratin
Feb 4th
Gratin fantaisie et pas Dauphinois! – Gratin de pommes de terre, courgettes et roquefort
There is the traditional gratin Dauphinois (from the Dauphiné region) where the potatoes are cooked in milk, then placed in the oven with butter (NO cheese) the real gratin Dauphinois has no cheese! Even though most people add cheese, the purists will scream and pull their hair when hearing a gratin Dauphinois recipe with cheese, then you have to remove the “dauphinois” in front of the “gratin” to be accurate. I tend to be lenient as far as cuisine is concerned but I really don’t like to give a inaccurate name to a recipe. It’s like people calling me Cynthia instead of Silvia (which they often do).
Then you have less traditional gratins like this one, very delicious but with Roquefort cheese and other additions of vegetables such as mushrooms, etc… This is a one meal dish and perfect with a green salad but I would not call it a light dish due to the potato-cheese content. It should probably be listed on the category “comfort food” to use the American terminology, even though I don’t like the idea that food can be comforting, I would prefer to use the word “simple” instead. I would call a friend “comforting” but not food. Eating too much heavy food, does not leave me comforted, rather the opposite.
You need to slice the potatoes very thin with a mandoline otherwise it takes a little too long to cook them especially if you are using a large dish instead of small individual ramequins. You could also avoid the pre-cooking process of the potatoes, then the cooking time needs to be increased at low temperature. When pre-cooking the potatoes in milk, make sure not to overcook them, and you need a kind that will remain firm, otherwise the potatoes will break and become mushy.
Ingredients for 4
- 2 large potatoes OR 14.10 oz (400 g) of potatoes, sliced thin
- 2 zucchini, sliced thin
- 4 tbs Roquefort cheese, crumbled
- 2 tbs crème fraîche
- 2 tbs Greek yogurt
- about 2 cups milk
- thyme
- salt and pepper
Preparation
Add potatoes in a pot and pour enough milk to cover the potatoes, let cook for about 5 minutes but still need to be firm. Add zucchini and cook for another 3 minutes. Remove from stove and drain. Place potatoes/zucchini in a deep dish and add salt and pepper.
In a bowl combine Roquefort cheese, yogurt and cream, thyme. Adjust with salt and pepper. Roquefort is somehow salty, taste the mixture before add extra salt.
In ramequins place some potatoes/zucchini, then add 1 tbs of Roquefort/cream mixture, proceed with another layer of potatoes and top with Roquefort mixture.
Cook in a pre-heated oven at 375F for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and potatoes cooked all the way through.
On the light side – Quick and fake vegetable moussaka
Jan 13th
Du côté léger – Moussaka rapide aux lentilles
This post is overdue, I started it before I went to Tel Aviv, but never managed to finish it, so after days of wonderful fresh food, I came back to France where the bad weather conditions made me want to go back to sunny Israel. There is definitely a Greek flair to Tel Aviv, probably the Mediterranean climate and fresh produce you find all over the markets. So Moussaka here we come.
What if you feel like moussaka without meat? People might tell you, then it’s not moussaka. So not to upset anyone, I just decided to use the word fake, even though it is prepared in the same “spirit” as a moussaka.
Since I arrived at my parents, meat, prosciutto, pâté, fois gras and other ingredients have been around the table for the holidays, and I don’t know now how I have to explain my mom that I do not enjoy to eat meat THAT much. Seems like she doesn’t believe me, or doesn’t want to believe me. So I had to somehow cook something for them today, to make them believe that vegetarian dishes are quite tasty and enjoyable. France is certainly not the country for vegetarians, and Italians are not vegetarian either, so I am just wondering if you are a vegan how you will survive here.
We went shopping to a wonderful organic supermarket with so many amazing products called “La Vie Saine” (healthy life) and came back with tons of great healthy products, I am trying to make them eat less animal based products but it’s quite a challenge to change people’s habits in their late 60s. I don’t want to change anything nor anyone but at least make them enjoy other cuisines. My parents are quite open in trying new cuisines and a lot more open minded than some other French or Italians of their generation.
So I found a lentil mix of red, green, and beluga lentils that I absolutely wanted to use, then I had eggplants, so I figured that a vegetarian moussaka would be perfect…and they really enjoyed it. So I will make this dish more often.
I am not sure there is a morale in this story, probably not but I was very happy that my vegetarian moussaka was successful in a traditional Italian and French table!
Ingredients for 4-5
- 1/2 lb (or 250 g) green lentils
- 1 yellow onion, cut in half
- 3 cloves
- 1 carrot
- 1 celery stick
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 eggplants, sliced crosswise
- 5 medium size tomatoes, seedless, peeled and chopped
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 7 oz (or 200 g) gruyère cheese, grated
- 3 tbs parsley, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 egg
- 1 egg white
- 1 tbs olive oil
- salt and pepper
Preparation
Cook lentils in water and add carrot, celery, bay leaf and onion with cloves stuck in it. Cook until lentils are cooked but not mushy. Drain water and remove carrot, onion, bay leaf and celeri. Set aside.
Start with grilling the eggplants using either a grill pan or broiling them under the broiler, after sprinkling them with olive oil, salt and pepper. Set them aside.
Heat olive oil in a pan, add onion and brown them. Add tomatoes and cook until water is evaporated for about 10 minutes.
In a mixing container, add lentils, garlic, tomato mixture, parsley, egg and egg white, chili, salt and pepper.
In small ramequins, add a little olive oil, add one layer of eggplant and one layer of lentils. Sprinkle with cheese and proceed with another layer of eggplants, then lentils and cheese.
Cook for about 20 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 375F until the cheese has melted.
Is it really Israeli? – Israeli couscous with curry vegetables
Dec 17th
Est-ce vraiment Israélien? – Matfoul aux légumes et curry
I discovered this type of couscous in the US. I had never seen it before, so I started experimenting with it when I had some Israeli clients. I was so happy I found something “Israeli” to cook for them, but when they told me it was not Israeli, I was somehow confused and disappointed. I had no idea about what Israeli cuisine tasted like, I thought due to their geographical location it would have some Middle Eastern flair. In Paris, in the Marais quarter, the historic Jewish area has one of the most popular Felafel joint, called “L’As du Felafel”, so I my mind Felafel and spicy food was common in Israel and I figured that something called “Israeli” should at least be coming from Israel. Apparently not. It’s like the French manicure of French cleaner, not sure why they call it French but we are no specialists in nails nor cleaning!
So Israeli or not Israeli, I like this couscous variety, it’s fun to prepare and great to eat. Couscous is consumed in all Middle East, so I guess it must be coming from that side of the continent. In France it’s called Matfoul which I think is its original Arabic name. I am not Jewish and obviously not kosher but maybe in my previous life I was. I started cooking by not mixing dairy and meat and I have to say that I like it.
This is a great side dish that can be an alternative to rice, or some other carbohydrate dishes. I like to spice it up a little with curry and spices and add vegetables to it, to make it a little more exciting. I have a few cookbooks about Jewish cuisine and I like the simplicity of the recipes and influences coming from so many different countries.
I certainly know that this blog lacks meat recipes but I think the most important thing is to enjoy and take pleasure in whatever you do, cook or eat, no matter what it is. Otherwise there is no point in posting something just for the sake of posting it. I usually serve this couscous with sumac chicken tenders, that has been one of my most requested dish in the “Middle Eastern” category.
Ingredients for 3-4 as a side dish
- 4.2 oz (or 120 g) Israeli couscous
- 1 carrot, diced
- 1 small eggplant, diced
- 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
- 3 tbs cherry tomatoes, cut in quarters
- 1 shallot, diced
- 1/2 cup cooked chick peas
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 tbs cilantro, chopped
- 1 tbs mint, chopped
Preparation
First start cooking couscous. Heat olive oil in a pot, add couscous and let it brown and get coated by olive oil like you would proceed for a risotto. Add broth and cook until couscous is tender but not too soft. Drain and set aside.
In a pan, brown shallots, then add the rest of the vegetables except for the chick peas. Add salt and pepper and let it cook until vegetables tender. Add chick peas. Add curry powder. Stir well and cook for about 5 minutes, then add tomatoes. Add couscous and mix well all ingredients together. Adjust with salt and pepper. Add mint and cilantro and serve hot.
