Vegetarian - dairy
A very unusual cassoulet – Vegetarian cassoulet with trout beans and wild mushrooms for guest post
Aug 30th
Un cassoulet peu traditionnel – Cassoulet vegetarien aux haricots pour Five Star Foodie
Natasha from Five Star Foodie kindly requested me if I could be one of her participants for a contest she is holding on her blog. I was of course extremely flattered but to be honest, most of the time, I tend to refuse those types of contests, because I am always concerned of not having the freedom to use what I want and obliged to use what I don’t want, resulting in a dish that is not really truthful to what I really enjoy.
I was very happily surprised when I received a nice little package from Marx Foods with a lot of delightful gourmet ingredients. Basically, the theme of this contest is to take a traditional dish, twist it around and make it un-traditional while incorporating some of the ingredients from Marx Foods.
After a lot of thoughts, I decided to go ahead and chose a very traditional and rustic French dish from Languedoc-Roussillon region called “cassoulet“, for the “connaisseurs” of French cuisine, this might not be unknown. It’s a white bean based dish cooked for hours, with a lot of different kinds of meats such as duck, goose, pork, etc…The beans are cooked for a very long time, resulting in unctuous beans melting in your mouth. In this “Cassoulet revisited“recipe, I used beans…dried porcini, black trumpets, chanterelles mushrooms and flor de sal, all coming from from Marx Foods.
I have to say that I prefer this vegetarian version (vegan) of the cassoulet than the traditional one which tends to be on the heavy side. The wild mushrooms add a rich and incredible woodsy flavor to this composition and will make carnivores forget that there is no meat in the dish. This is a very addictive meal, it’s hard to stop at the first bite, I almost ate the whole pot (and I am not talking about this tiny one on the picture) by myself.
Go check out Five Star Foodie for the recipe…and let us know what you think!
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.
No reblochon, no tartiflette – Fake Tartiflette with asparagus and brie
Aug 11th
Pas de reblochon, pas de tartiflette – fausse Tartiflette végétarienne aux brie et asperges
If you’ve been to Savoie (Savoy), you’ve probably tasted one of their specialties, la Tartiflette. Unlike what it may sounds, Tartiflette is not a tart. It’s not an old dish either. Most recipes derive from an ancient one and go back in times, some can be retraced to Etruscan era. Not tartiflette. It’s a dish that was created in the ’80s in Savoie, as a way to promote and sell reblochon, one of their local cheese.
Basically traditional tartiflette is made out of layers of thin sliced potatoes with caramelized onions bacon and topped with reblochon cheese on it. Of course, this is a heavy dish served when you go skiing in the mountains since Savoie is the main ski resort in France. My version has asparagus has brie (a cheese from the brie region, close to Paris) and St Nectaire (a very old cheese from Auvergne, pressed and uncooked made with raw milk). Now the cheese is supposed to look like this only with the crust up. I would not call this tartiflette simply because the reblochon cheese has been replaced by brie and St Nectaire, and those two are not cheeses from Savoie. Hope that makes sense. Even if it’s a fake one, it’s delicious.
For those interested in preparing a real tartiflette, add bacon when browning onions and replace brie with half reblochon and that’s it! Reblochon ( a soft washed-rind cheese, made with cow milk) is traditionally cut in half, and placed crust up on top of the potatoes so that the cheese will be able to melt and infiltrate the potatoes, and the crust will remain golden. I did not want to add a half brie here, for many reasons, one of which being a calorie issue. As far as fat content is concerned brie and reblochon and St Nectaire, they have a similar ratio of 45%.
Tartiflette is a rustic meal, it’s not considered a sophisticated dish, nor complicated to prepare, but you need great cheese, preferably imported that melts well and potatoes that remain firm without crumbling. Then if you have those two components right, you’ll get a great tartiflette…presque comme en Savoie!
Ingredients for 4
- 4 large yukon potatoes
- 2 onions, sliced
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 28 asparagus
- Brie
- St Nectaire
- salt and pepper
Preparation
Boil potatoes in a large pot of water, when cooked remove from pot, and let them cool. Peel and cut in 5mm slices.
Heat oil in a pan, add onions and brown them.
Bring a pot of water to a boil, add asparagus and cook for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and drain. set aside.
In a deep dish preferably using a clay pot, spread olive oil at the bottom of the pot. Add one layer of potatoes, add onions, add one layer of cheese and asparagus. Adjust with salt and pepper. Proceed again with potatoes, onions, asparagus and top it all with cheese.
Cook in a pre-heated oven at 375F until the cheese has melted and the crust golden. Serve hot with a green salad.
Recipe for Basil Magazine – Pipérade revisited with polenta crostino and quail egg
Aug 1st
Recette pour le Magazine Basil – Pipérade revisitée, crostino de Polenta et oeuf de caille
I was thrilled to submit this recipe to Basil Magazine, an online magazine on food and lifestyle, since I have had my interview published in their August publication. Check it out. Viktoria Williams their Editor-in-Chief asked me to be a part of their contributing chefs, and will do so, submitting a few recipes a month. I selected this “Pipérade Revisited” a colorful dish, simply because it really represents what Citron et Vanille is all about…French, Italian, Mediterranean cuisine with a contemporary twist, using local ingredients.
Pipérade is a traditional Basque recipe (piper meaning pepper in Occitan language) made with Basque peppers, Piment d’Espelette, onions and tomatoes. I twisted it a little to adapt the whole dish with local ingredients and make it a little less traditional with the quail egg. I also used poblano peppers that are a great alternative to Basque peppers and widely available in California.
Usually the egg is added at the end of the cooking process inside the pipérade, I added mine on top of the polenta crostino. The Jambon de Bayonne (a basque cured ham) is also traditionally cooked and added inside the pipérade. I used Serrano ham, but prosciutto di parma works perfectly fine too. In this version, I grilled the ham and added on the side.
For the crostino, polenta has been cooked in a broth infused with thyme and finished with Basque sheep cheese such as Etorki, but Petit Basque can be a fair alternative if you cannot find Etorki. I topped it all with the cutest of all the eggs, quail egg. I love to substitute quail eggs to regular eggs, they do add an elegant finish to a small bite. This is a very versatile dish, you can serve it as a canape, an appetizer, then you need about 2 per person or make bigger crostoni and serve it as a main course. On fait comme on veut! we do as we please! Now knowing how much I adore making small bites, that’s how I serve mine.
For the polenta, you can use the express polenta, or the regular one which takes over one hour to prepare. It’s up to you, if you have time or not. The express polenta is an alternative when the focus of a dish is not on polenta like this one, and is an add-on.
Hope you enjoy it!
When you have too much dough – Mini quiches with zucchini, olives, feta and mint, wholewheat crust with herbes de Provence
Jul 29th
Quand on a des restes de pâte – Mini quiches aux courgettes, olives, feta et menthe, pâte brisée complète aux herbes de Provence
I made a large quiche just like those mini ones for a dinner party, and I had leftover dough…which I did not want to throw away. Why throw away food that you enjoyed making and put time into it? I love to play with crusts, quiches and tarts, after all, they’re the basics of French cuisine. For savory tarts, I love to use olive oil instead of butter in the crust, and make it wholesome. Olive oil adds a wonderful flavor to crusts and cakes and make them lighter. Of course traditional French cuisine uses more butter, but this blog is not about traditional French food.
I love the combination of zucchini, feta and mint, they pair so well in almost anything such as in savory cakes, flans, couscous, etc…The crust and its herbes de Provence flavor, gives you a kick of Southern French cuisine, with all its aromas, and fragrant scents. Yes indeed, these quiches will bring some warmth and will brighten your day, as Southern French food does, it’s filled with flavors, colors and freshness…so isn’t this a bit of happiness too?
I am one of those crazy people that get affected by the weather, and a bright day with natural light gives me so much happiness. If I could chose the perfect weather it would be a sunny day with 80F temperature, with a light breeze. If anyone of you live in that particular climate, please let me know and I will just move there!
(no humidity please). There is a French expression that most old people would respond to when asked, comment allez-vous? “How are you doing?” most of them respond, oh comme le temps!, meaning “like the weather”, which really can show you how much the French are truly “doing” like the weather! so if it’s raining, you can just imagine how they’re doing! Ask no more…
Ingredients for 4 mini quiches
For the crust
- 4.4 oz (or 125 g) wholewheat flour
- 1.69 fl oz (or 50 ml) olive oil
- 1 tsp herbes de Provence
- water
- a pinch of salt
For the filling
- 2 tbs kalamata olives, chopped
- 2 small zucchini, thinly sliced with a mandoline
- 2 tbs feta, crumbled
- 1 tbs mint, chiffonade
- 2 eggs
- 4 tbs heavy cream
- 4 tbs milk
- cayenne pepper
- salt and pepper
Preparation
For the crust
Place flour in a mixing bowl, then add herbes de Provence, salt, oil, and start mixing, add water gradually enough to make the dough elastic and not crumbly. Mix well to form a ball. Wrap in a plastic film and place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
Divide dough in four parts and using a rolling pin, roll into 4 round sheets. Lay flat inside four tart molds.
For the filling
Place sliced zucchini in a bowl and sprinkle with coarse salt, mix well to coat. Let it sit for 15 minutes. Rinse under cold water, squeeze extra water using your hands and pat dry using a paper towel. Cut roughly.
Place olives on top of crust. Mix zucchini, feta and mint and put mixture on top of olives.
Beat eggs with cream and milk, a little salt (not too much since the feta is salty and the zucchini have absorbed some salt too), and cayenne pepper. Pour on top of zucchini mixture.
Cook in a pre-heated oven at 375F for about 20-30 minutes until the top is golden brown and the crust is cooked on the bottom.
A quiche unlike others – Cauliflower-camembert quiche with chili-poppy seed crust
Jun 30th
Une quiche pas comme les autres – Quiche de chou fleur au camembert et pâte aux graines de pavot-piment
A good friend of mine just had surgery on her foot, and is staying at home recovering, so when I asked her if she wanted me to bring her something, she responded “a vegetable quiche”! So here we are…The worse thing about foot surgery is that you are stuck in bed or walking with crutches, and there is not much activity you can do…so I made the quiche ready to bring it to her, then one of those unexpected things happened, I had to take my car to the garage, so the quiche had to stay with me.
I love to flavor my crusts and doughs, it adds a lovely flavor and character to the dish…you can use anything you like to flavor the crust, herbes de provence, parmesan, cumin seeds, sesame seeds, etc…in this particular one, I added poppy seeds and chili flakes, and really makes a great balance with the quiche filling. I used olive oil instead of the traditional French pâte brisée made with butter, and a mixture of wholesome flours such as kamut and spelt which gives this crust its beautiful dark color. Also, traditional quiche has crème fraîche, I added milk instead, if you want to keep it a little lighter milk can be substituted or a mixture of milk and cream will be a nice alternative.
Now what more French than camembert? not many things…It’s hard to find great camembert in the US, you know the one that’s not too “fait” (too hard) or too “coulant” (runny) with a subtle scent. I found one at Whole Foods that was being recommended by the gentleman behind the counter, so I decided to listen for once to what people tell me…and the camembert was perfect, juste comme il faut! So we ended up with a healthy quiche filled with vegetables and a wholesome and flavorful crust.
Ingredients for about 4 people
For the crust
- 1/2 cup white flour
- 1 1/2 cups spelt flour
- 1/2 cup kamut flour
- 80 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup water
- 2 tbs poppy seeds
- 1/2 tsp chili flakes
- a few pinches of salt
For the filling
- 1 small green cauliflower
- 1/2 camembert, sliced
- 3 eggs
- 2/3 cup milk (or 1/3 cup milk and 1/3 cup cream)
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- salt and pepper
Preparation
For the crust
In a mixing container, mix all flours together. Add poppy seeds, chili and salt. Add olive oil and water gradually and start kneading the dough. Stop kneading when the dough becomes homogeneous and smooth. Wrap in a plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
For the filling
Break cauliflower into florets, and cook them in salted boiling water until cauliflower is cooked but still firm. Drain and crush with a fork. Set aside.
In a mixing container, beat eggs, milk (or cream) cumin seeds, salt and pepper.
To make quiche, roll dough into a sheet of 2-3 mm thick. Place in mold. Spread evenly crushed cauliflower in bottom of mold. Top it with camembert slices. Pour egg mixture on top.
Cook in a pre-heated oven at 370-375F until the dough is cooked and top is golden brown.
Have you tried eating velvet? – Cream of fava bean and edamame with poached quail eggs
Jun 28th
Avez-vous déjà mangé du velours – Crème de fèves et edamame aux oeufs de caille pochés
Quail eggs are underused in my opinion…aren’t those adorable? l love those tiny and cute eggs, they’re so delicate with a very fragile shell, and certainly can enhance any velouté. I like anything that comes in a small portion, the beauty of such a tiny egg is that you can fit it all in your mouth and break it inside if you like or break it on top of your soup. As far as eggs are concerned, I have this thing about breaking them, and I hate to see the yolk all over the place.
You can make this soup with just fava beans or peas, or also a mixture of both, they both have very velvety and sweet flavors when puréed. The edamame remain a little crunchy, so it’s important to cook them a little longer and blend them longer too so they are completely puréed into a smooth texture.
If you cannot find quail eggs, you can always use one regular poached egg instead.
When poaching eggs, adding some vinegar is quite an important part of a successful process. Usually the quantity of vinegar is about 10% of the water quantity, and the water needs to boil at high temperature, then to be decreased when pouring the eggs, this way, the whites coagulates around the yolks and don’t get spread out in the water.
Ingredients for 4
- 12.34 oz (or 350 g) fava beans (net weight without the pods)
- 3.52 oz (or 100 g) edamame (fresh or frozen)
- 1.5 shallots, chopped
- 2 garlic clove, crushed
- 2 tbs crème fraîche
- vegetable broth
- 1 tbs olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 12 quail eggs
Preparation
Cook fava beans in a pot of boilng water for about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and peel them. Set aside.
Heat olive oil in a pan, then add shallots and garlic and brown them. If using frozen edamame, add them and cook for about 10-15 minutes, then add peeled fava beans.
Cover with broth, adjust with salt and pepper and cook for another 10 minutes. Add cream and blend in mixer or using an immersion blender. Pass the soup through a sieve and keep warm. IF the soup is too thick add broth to desired consistency.
For the quail eggs, bring about 2 cups of water to a boil with vinegar (preferably white vinegar). Reduce heat. Break carefully quail eggs in a container, then pour them in water, making sure the whites remain around the yolk, using a spoon, keep whites close to the yolks. Cook for one minute, remove from water, and place in a cold water to stop the cooking process.
Divide soups in bowls, then add three poached eggs, sprinkle with paprika and olive oil and serve.
A different kind of pesto from Sicily – Homemade spinach tagliatelle with pesto alla trapanese
Jun 24th
Un altro tipo di pesto Siciliano – Linguine agli spinaci con pesto alla trapanese
You can really tell someone is Italian by the quantity of pasta they eat…my family eats pasta almost every day…unlike me…I eat it once in a while, which can be a good reason to question my Italian nationality, let’s hope they don’t come and take away my Italian passport!! Oh well, I guess I am not much of a habit type of a person and that habits somehow disturb me and can give me anxiety. Some people find comfort in habits, in my case it’s the opposite.
Everyone knows pesto which a famous paste made out with raw ingredients, that traveled beyond many borders. Of course there are many recipes for pesto using different ingredients and herbs. This particular pesto is called alla Trapanese, meaning Trapano style, after Trapano, a city in Sicily. This pesto is made with almonds and raw tomatoes ; you get a very fresh and light sauce which makes it so delicious.
To transform the pasta and make it into a fun and original mixture, I love to flavor the dough with vegetables or herbs. You can add anything you want, saffron, mushrooms, tomato paste, broccoli, etc…and color your plate and pleasure your eyes and palate!
If you want to keep this dish vegan don’t add the yolk in the pasta, it will turn out fine, and don’t add pecorino, and you’ll get an absolutely delicious vegan pasta dish.
Ingredients for 2
For the pasta
- 100 g semolina flour
- 100 g farro flour
- 100 g spinach, cooked (about one bunch spinach raw)
- 1 egg yolk
For the pesto
- 3 well ripe tomatoes, peeled and seedless
- about 20 basil leaves
- 2 garlic cloves
- 4 tbs almonds
- 6 tbs olive oil
- 4 tbs pecorino
- salt and pepper
Preparation
For the pesto
Pat dry peeled and seedless tomatoes to remove excess water. Using a mortar, blend all together together (except for pecorino) into a fine paste. Set aside. You can use a mixer but make sure not to blend the mixture into extra fine paste, you want some texture.
For the pasta
Combine all flours together in a mixing container. Add purée spinach and yolk, and start kneading the dough thoroughly for about 20-30 minutes. At this point, the dough will be elastic and smooth.
On a large wooden board (spianatoia), with a pasta rolling pin, make a thin sheet. You can use a pasta machine if you have one and not used to rolling pasta sheets.
Cook pasta in boiling water for a few minutes, drain and toss with pesto. Add pecorino and serve hot.
A cure for migraine – Creamy herb polenta with sauté wild mushrooms and hot tomato coulis
Jun 22nd
Per curare l’emicrania – Polenta con parmigiano e rosmarino – funghi selvatici e passata piccante di pomodoro
After a gloomy weekend with a terrible migraine, that immobilized me for few days in bed, I decided that I wanted to start the week as best as I could, and of course, when you cannot eat for a few days, the day you are back on your feet, you are starving. The great thing is that my fridge was filled with lots of various ingredients, so I had everything to make this delightful and vegetarian dish…without going to the store.
Polenta is quite a popular meal in Northern Italy, and they consume it as the French eat baguette. They grow lots of corn and they eat what they grow…so polenta is often on the table, and I have seen mainly the white kind, it’s thick, sliced like bread, and eaten as accompaniment to many cold cuts and radicchio (that’s the way I have eaten it at our friend’s place in Friuli). In Lombardia region (Milan), they eat it boiled with milk and at my parents, it’s prepared with a tomato and rabbit sauce, so to each region its own. No matter how you prepare it, polenta is always a delicious and nutritious meal to enjoy.
For this dish, you need as many different kinds of wild mushrooms as you can…I used morels, chanterelles, king oyster, beech mushrooms and shiitake, they bring a wonderful woodsy and nutty aroma to the fragrant polenta infused in rosemary broth. The polenta remains creamy and soft especially if you add mascarpone, and blends perfectly well with the crunchy texture of the mushrooms and smooth tomato coulis. The whole dish is a harmonious balance of sensations.
For the polenta, I used the fine grind, the coarse grind remains too grainy and is less delicate at the bite. Also, there are two kinds of polenta, the express one and the regular one. I always keep both in my pantry and depending on the time I have, I use either one. Polenta express cooks in 10 minutes whereas the regular one takes over one hour. Usually to make polenta crostini I use the express one, but for polenta-based dishes like this one, I use regular polenta.
Ingredients for 2-3
For the polenta
- 1/2 lb (or 200-250 g) fine polenta
- 1 tbs rosemary, chopped
- 2 tbs fresh parmigiano reggiano, grated
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 tbs mascarpone (optional)
For the sauté mushrooms
- 1/2 lb mixed wild mushrooms such as morels, king oyster, beech, chanterelles, shiitake, etc… mushrooms, washed and roughly cut
- 1 shallot, diced
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 3 tbs dry white wine
- 2 tbs olive oil
- salt and pepper
For the tomato coulis
- 3 large ripe tomatoes, seedless and peeled
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tsp oregano, chopped
- cayenne pepper
- 1 tbs olive oil
- salt and pepper
Preparation
For the polenta
Bring broth to a boil, add rosemary, then add polenta gradually, stir and keep stirring until the polenta is cooked and has reached a semi-thick texture. Cooking time depends on which type of polenta you use. When the polenta is cooked, add parmesan and stir well. Add mascarpone at this time of process if you decide you want to add it.
For the mushrooms
Wash mushrooms. Pat them dry to remove excess water, and cut oyster king and morels (if too big) into about one inch pieces. Heat olive oil in a pan, then add shallots. Brown shallots and add mushrooms. Saute mushrooms and cook until the water is half evaporated then add wine salt and pepper. Stir well, let the wine reduce then add garlic. Cook for a few minutes, then remove from heat and keep warm.
For the tomato coulis
Heat olive oil in a pan, add garlic and stir to get the flavor out. Add oregano, tomatoes, cayenne, salt and pepper. Stir well and cook until the tomatoes have reduced. Mix the tomatoes using an immersion blender, then pass it through a sieve to obtain a smooth coulis.
Serve soft polenta in the center of the plate, place mushrooms around it, and end with tomato coulis.
Cherry-Chéri? – Cherry chutney extravaganza verrines with Etorki cheese
Jun 8th
Cerises-chéries – Extravagances de chutney de cerises en verrines à l’Etorki
Cherries are finally in season and this house is a red fruit mad house, red fruits are all over, even on the rug, towels, and walls! I think in between the strawberries and the cherries, there must be about 15 lbs of those red beauties in the refrigerator. Enzo the dog and Lilou the parrotlet have been on a red fruit diet too like everyone else…I think there will be more cherry and strawberry recipes in the next coming days, for those who have a berry fetish like we do have here.
Cherry soup is a popular sweet and regional peasant soup served as a dessert where I grew up, mostly in a mountainy region called Les Vosges, it’s basically a ski area, with lots of farms and cabins, ski resorts, and many rustic restaurant offer it on their menu. The cherries are cooked in a red wine, sugar and vanilla with a flour base sauce. Due to the quantity of cherries, I might feature this one in the next coming days.
I have been entertaining lately therefore experimenting many cold soups served in verrines. I love small verrines, they make such cute and fun little appetizers. When you have tons of cherries like I do, chutneys or soups are wonderful, and call it a coincidence, but I found this deliciously pungent Basque cheese called Etorki, it’s a sheep cheese that is traditionally served in the Basque region (Pays Basque) with cherry jam as a tasting (en dégustation), so that was a no brainer, those dark cherries would turn into a jam or chutney and served with Etorki. That sweet-salty cherry chutney and Etorki cheese are simply a magic match.
Ingredients for 4 small verrines
- 400 g red cherries, pits removed
- 2 tbs sugar
- 3 tbs raspberry vinegar
- 3 cloves
- vanilla powder (or 1 vanilla bean scraped)
- Szechuan pepper
Preparation
In a medium size pot, mix cherries with cloves, sugar, Szechuan pepper, cover it and let the mixture cook for 5-10 min at medium heat, until the cherries start to soften and turn into a jam. Add vinegar and reduce for an additional 5-7 minutes. At this point, the cherries are soft and look like a jam.
Remove from the heat, let it cool and serve in small verrines, with some etorki cheese on top.
