This is truly a fun way to eat Brussels sprouts. In case you thought they were a tiny intimidating or boring, or just unappealing, you can play with them so they become exciting. It’s true they tend to have a strong flavor, but I don’t find this “déplaisant” (literally translated into depleasing, a word that does not exist).

The saltiness and sweetness of the cooked prosciutto contrasts quite well with the strong soft sprout. I think I must have consumed them in any shape and form, shredded, chopped, quartered, whole, roasted, steamed, pureed or any way they can be eaten, so I figured why not wrap them for a change. I rarely use meat when I cook, but in this case, I made an exception. You can use pancetta if you’d prefer, or thin bacon would work too. In France, sprouts are often combined with lard fumé (similar to bacon), like most types of cabbages.

Mâche being so tender, delicate and almost naturally “greasy” when you eat it, tones down the powerful flavor of the Brussels sprouts.

So give Brussels sprouts a chance, after all, they’re not really boring!

Ingredients for 2

For the Brussels sprouts

• 6 Brussels sprouts, cleaned
• 2 slices prosciutto, cut in 2 strips lengthwise
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1 cup mâche salad

For the vinaigrette

• 1/2 red bell pepper, roasted, peeled and diced
• 4 tbs olive oil
• A few drops of lemon oil (to drizzle at the end)
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
• 1 tbs parsley, chopped
• 1 tsp basil, chopped
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Cook sprouts in salted boiling water. Drain and let cool. Wrap 1 strip of prosciutto around each sprout, and using a toothpick close the extremity so that it won’t open while cooking.

Heat olive oil in a pan, and cook wrapped sprouts until golden on all sides. Remove toothpick

For the vinaigrette, combine all ingredients together in a bowl, mix well.

Divide mâche on each plate, top it with three sprouts and pour vinaigrette on top, drizzle with some lemon oil. Serve at room temperature.

 After a few recipes mixing shrimps and cannellini beans, or shrimps and fava beans, let’s have fun with chick peas, I think they’re closer to a bean than a pea, called pois chiche in French but it seems like it’s closer to a pea than a bean nonetheless so delicious in any form, salads, soups, stews, purees, and anything else.

I am getting a guest tomorrow for two weeks, she is coming from Paris and is 13 years old. I heard the pretty girl is picky, so I will have to figure out some “teenager friendly” menus during her stay. Not sure what it is, but I am quite certain it has to do with potatoes and pasta. I don’t remember what I ate during my teens years, my mom cooked a large variety of dishes, but at 13, honestly I don’t remember what I loved to eat. All I remember is that I was a little chubby, did not like it and I always wanted to hide.

This purée could resemble hummus, but actually, there is no tahini in it, and is thinner and creamier and is really more like a purée than anything else. It was like eating velvet, absolutely delightful.

This purée will go perfectly well with grilled fish too, and much more delicate than a potato purée. Actually, I don’t like any type of potato purée served with fish, and it seems like many restaurants are going that route. As for the skewer, the rosemary branch adds such a fragrant and unique touch to the dish. A consommer sans moderation! (to be consumed without moderation). I will certainly file this in my “to do it again and again” list of appetizers.

Ingredients for 4 people

For the purée

• 450 g cooked chick peas or canned one
• 1 garlic glove
• cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp powder cumin
• 1 tbs lemon juice
•  salt and pepper
•  1 tbs extra virgin olive oil

For the shrimps

• 20 large shrimps, de-shelled and deveined
• 1 tbs fresh rosemary, chopped
• 4 branches rosemary
• 1 tbs orange juice
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbs olive oil
• lemon oil
• sea weed salt or regular salt

Preparation

Drain chick peas and keep some of the cooking liquid. Mix chick peas in a mixer to obtain a smooth texture. Adjust with water to make the paste a little thinner. Add all other ingredients and set aside.

Marinate shrimps with olive oil, orange juice, balsamic vinegar, some of the rosemary, salt and pepper for about one hour.

Remove shrimps from marinade. Place 5 shrimps in one rosemary branch and grill on a skillet or grill pan.

Spoon 2-3 tbs of puree in a plate, place 1 skewer on top and drizzle with lemon oil and chopped rosemary.

Growing up in Lorraine, and Lorraine being Alsace’s close neighbor, I am quite familiar with tarte flambée, which is an Alsacian Specialty (they eat it in Germany and close regions as well). It’s literally translated into “flamed tart” but has nothing to do with being flamed. The word flamed probably comes from the fact that tarte flambée used to be cooked in very hot wood ovens and very quickly, therefore the crust border turned all burnt and black by the intense heat. Flammkuchen is the Alsacian/German translation that we also use when talking about tarte flambée. If, for whatever reason you end up in the Eastern part of France, and more precisely in Strasbourg (which is a magnificent city) you can go to this wonderful brasserie right next to the cathedral (I think it’s called Caveau Gurtlerhoft) to experience a sinful tarte flambée. The traditional is made out of crème fraîche, fromage blanc, onions and lard fumé (thick cut bacon), you have other variations, such as the vegetarian, or with mushrooms, etc…and also salmon like this one. I sometimes substitute heavy cream to crème fraîche, but it will not work here, you need the thick consistency of crème fraîche for the topping. 

Tarte flambée is a peasant dish, just like pizza. The original tartes had a rectangular shape, and eaten burning hot and rolled. Nowadays, most restaurants serve them round, probably because it’s easier to cut in slices, and you don’t have to burn your fingers rolling them, even though few restaurants still make them rectangular like in the old times.

If you want some different and fun alternative to pizza, try one of those, you won’t be disappointed, they’re so delicious, and easy to prepare. You can use a bread dough or pizza dough, it just needs to be rolled very thin.

Ingredients for 2 tartes

• Bread dough about 5.30 oz (or 150 gr) per ball, (recipe here)
• 4 tbs crème fraîche (2 on each tarte)
• 8 tbs Fromage blanc or Page Greek yogurt
• 1 large yellow onion, cut in half and thin sliced crosswise
• 1/2 lb (or 250 gr) smoked salmon
• salt and pepper
• chives, chopped for decoration

Preparation

In a mixing container, mix crème fraîche and fromage blanc.

Form two little balls with the dough and roll them thin.

Place dough on a pizza dish. Spread evenly the crème/fromage blanc mixture. Add onions, then add salmon. adjust with salt and pepper. Cook in a pre-heated oven at 400F, for about 15 minutes or so. Remove from oven, and sprinkle with chives. Serve very hot.

Since spring is officially here, my mood is officially looking for some light and fresh recipes, and what’s fresher than gazpacho? Cold soups are always wonderful for hot days, and nutritious too. I wanted to keep some of the flavors of a traditional gazpacho with peppers, cucumbers and garlic but give it a vibrant green color, so I added arugula, green peppers and basil…and some creaminess by adding Greek yogurt. I really loved this gazpacho and will make it again when I have guests.

This gazpacho has no tomato, unlike the traditional Gazpacho “Andalou”, but it seems like there are so many different variations of this cold soup throughout Spain, that there is not one traditional recipe that is known to be the “right” one. So please play with it, you will not offend anyone. I still think that cuisine needs to evolve throughout times, and change to represent our modern lifestyle and current nutritional needs.

If you are interested in other gazpacho recipes, here is a watermelon gazpacho with goat cheese and a strawberry gazpacho, that are getting more popular in restaurants in France.

Ingredients for 2

• 1 green bell pepper
• 1/2 English cucumber, peeled and seedless
• 1/4 yellow onion, diced
• 1 cup arugula
• 1/2 cup basil leaves
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 sticks celery, cut in pieces
• 2 slices white bread without crust, cut in pieces
• chili powder (to taste)
• sherry vinegar
• olive oil
• 3/4 cups water or more
• 3 tbs Greek yogurt
• a few drops of lemon oil
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Place all the ingredients in a large container, except for the yogurt and lemon oil. Let marinate for at least one hour in the refrigerator. Mix all ingredients in a blender to obtain a smooth texture. You might want to adjust the water quantity to liquefy the consistency.

Add the yogurt and mix a little longer. Drizzle with lemon oil and decorate with small diced bell pepper and paprika.

I cannot believe it took me a month to post those. Where did the time go? I miss the days I was able to post more often and I hope that things will slow down soon.

As you know, in the US, everything is big and in France everything is small, (and no that’s not a myth). In my kitchen world, the smaller the better, so imagine the happiness when I found those super tiny silicon madeleine molds in this new boutique in Nancy, last time I was there.

First, I thought I would never use them, so why buy more kitchen gadgets that will fill up my cabinets and nothing else…then, being a bit weak and letting the temptations take over (I am only human), I bought them…and in love ever since.

Madeleines are traditional small cakes originated in Lorraine (my region) and more specifically in Commercy a small town in the Meuse “departement“. It’s a kid’s delight but everyone loves madeleines, they’re simply delicious little bites that go so well with coffee or tea. I found the base recipe (flour/eggs/butter/sugar ratio) in a small book called “Mini Madeleines” from Sandra Mahut which I like a lot. I tried other recipes and quantities but I must admit this recipe always came out perfectly.

To give you an idea of the size of those bites, they’re tiny bigger than a quarter, so very easy to gulp a dozen. You can flavor them with anything you like, green tea, lemon, orange blossom water, etc…I have been using essential oils in cooking lately and I must admit that the aroma of the essence gets addictive. The tangerine flavor enhanced by the essential oil and the final touch of Cointreau make these madeleines like drops of joy.

Ingredients for about 60-70 mini madeleines

• 150 g (or 2/3 cup) flour
• 120 g (or 1/2 cup) softened butter
• 150 g (or 2/3 cup) sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbs milk
• 1 tsp baking powder
• zest of 2 tangerines
• a few drops of tangerine essential oil
• 1 tsp cointreau

Preparation

Beat eggs and sugar until the mixture whitens. Gradually, add flour and baking powder. Incorporate soft butter and milk. Add zest, essential oil and cointreau. Mix well. Let the mixture cool in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

Using mini madeleine or regular madeleine molds, fill each hole with 1 tsp of batter.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 420F for about 3-4 minutes, then decrease temperature to 356F and let cook additional 3-6 minutes. If the madeleines cook too fast and brown quickly on top, decrease temperature. When cooked, remove from oven and from molds and let them cool on a rack.

Another fruit based dessert, or snack or gourmandise, you name it. I might not have cooked much while in France, but I sure did buy a lot of kitchen gadgets, such as my silicon mini madeleines molds. And since I came back, I baked those madeleines many times. They’re really tiny, about 1.5 inch length, and they go so well as a little “accompagnement” to any fruit based dessert, or ice cream, or simply as is as a delicious little snack.

But this is not about madeleines (I will write a post on mini madeleines soon after this one) and only about a wonderful roasted pear slowly baked with honey, vanilla and orange juice. A very simple dessert, yet elegant and absolutely delicious. You don’t need to serve this pear with madeleines, or whipped cream, but I think for a more “finished” dessert, they do the trick. You need pears that are not too ripe but not to firm either. Pear that are too ripe will cook very fast and will get mushy while cooking and you won’t be able to serve them. So in that respect, it’s better to get them too hard than too soft, that way you can always cook them longer.

For the whipped cream, I used a Siphon, they’re quite handy if you want to make espuma, flavored or fancy whipped creams, such as mascarpone whipped cream, avocado whipped cream, etc… I developed a crêpe menu for a company that makes these siphons and who opened a crêpe joint in Berkeley, so they gave me one siphon. Honestly I would have never thought of buying one, but since I have one now, I use it quite often. Here I flavored the cream with rose water and its delightful and delicate scent blended very well with the fruity flavors of the pear. That was indeed a real treat. Will re-do this dessert with no doubt over and over again…and real soon.

Ingredients for 4

• 2 pears, pealed cored and sliced lengthwise
• Vanilla bean powder
• 2 tbs honey
• 5.07 fl oz (or 150 ml) orange juice
• 1 tbs butter, cut in small pieces
• 1 cup (or about 200 ml) heavy cream
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp rose water

Preparation

Place the peeled pears in a dish, spread honey on top. Add orange juice, vanilla bean powder and butter cut in small cubes on top of pears. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 375 F for about 20 minutes or until the pears are soft but not mushy. Turn pears around during the cooking process and keep pouring juice on top. If the juice decreases and starts to thicken too much, add extra orange juice. When pears are cooked, remove from oven, divide on plates, pour juice on top and serve with cookies, whipped cream, madeleines, etc…

For the whipped cream, place heavy cream in siphon, add powdered sugar and rose water. Shake well. Add cartridge. Place back in the refrigerator to cool.

When you eat out, salades niçoises are always more or less the same, with minor variations from one restaurant to another…and often a little on the boring side. So after a few thoughts on how to make things a little more exciting and with a different way to prepare them, I came up with a salad that has the ingredients of a salade niçoise (less the salmon), that was lovely. Most of the ingredients are here but in a different way to present and cook them, which modifies all the textures and make them very interesting and exciting. Here the green beans are cut and mixed with the greens and cherry tomatoes. The olives are turned into a tapenade which is an olive paste from the South of France spread on top of the bread. The egg is poached and not boiled and the other final touch is the salt, I used sea weed salt (from Brittany) but of course, you can use any other sea salt.

If you want to remain traditional and feel the salmon shall not be seen on a salade Niçoise, use tuna instead. This salad is really fun, and you can play with it using your imagination as you wish. For instance, if I had quail eggs, I would have poached two quail eggs and made two tartines, instead of one. Now there is not one particular recipe for salade niçoise, and each cook can make it the way he wants, even though the traditional recipe is not supposed to have any cooked ingredients, only raw. So if you want to say that my salad is not a Niçoise, like a Nicois (a person from Nice) would probably say. Well, I am ok with that…it is nonetheless delicious.

Sometimes for specific recipes, I like to remain as close as the original recipe as I can, but in some more “flexible” recipes, I also like to have fun in the kitchen and play around with food…but obviously it needs to be good or it shall not have its spot on the blog.

Ingredients for 2

• 1 salmon filet of about 1/2 lb
• 4 small round yukon potatoes
• 1.5 cups fine green beans
• about 20 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 1 cup of mixed greens or arugula
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 1/2 bell red pepper, roasted,  peeled and cut in stripes
• 2 eggs
• 2 baguettes slices or country bread

For the vinaigrette

• 2 tbs extra virgin unfiltered olive oil
• 3 tbs lemon olive oil
• juice of 1 meyer lemon
• orange-champagne vinegar or any mild fruity vinegar
• about 8 leaves basil, chopped
• Sea weed salt
• pepper

For the tapenade

• 1/4 lb kalamata olives
• 2 good quality small anchovies
• about 6 capers
• 1/2 garlic clove
• 2 tbs olive oil

Preparation

Start by cooking the potatoes in water. When the potatoes are about 3/4 cooked but still a little firm in the center, remove from stove. Let them cool and then peel. Set aside. Cut the salmon in about one inch cube pieces.

Cook green beans in boiling water until cooked but still firm. When cooked remove from stove, then let them cool and cut in about 2 inches pieces.

Using a wooden skewer, place one piece of salmon, then one potato, until you have two pieces each on each skewer.

In the meantime, in a container mix cherry tomatoes, salad, green beans, bell peppers. Prepare vinaigrette by combining all ingredients together.

For the tapenade, mix all ingredients together in a mixer. Toast baguette and spread tapenade on top.

Broil skewer in the oven until golden brown and salmon cooked all the way through or pink (depending on your tastes).

Poach egg in boiling water for about 2 minutes (poaching technique will come in another post).

Pour vinaigrette on salad, toss well and keep some vinaigrette for the skewer.

Plate first salad/beans/tomatoes mixture, then place skewer on top, add the remaining vinaigrette on top of skewer. Serve with tartine of tapenade topped with poached egg, and drizzle with olive oil.

I am back in the US and I did not post anything while in France, simply because I had no time to cook – I think I prepared lunch for my parents twice, the rest of my stay my mom cooked and we had guests so no time to shot anything…and to be honest, I had no motivation to cook. What a shame!!!! I always think, I will have time to shot the old town, la vieille ville or our gorgeous Place Stanislas (the most beautiful square in Europe) painted in gold, or our beautiful architecture. But no, I get there and I get caught in family stuff, my life changes completely, and this time I even left my camera in the suitcase! Oh well, c’est comme ca, et tant pis!

These purses are made with feuilles de brick (also called brick dough or brick pastry in the US) that I bought  while I was in France (they’re more popular over there than filo dough) , they’re mainly used in middle eastern cuisine and really hard to find in the US, so far I have not found yet a store that carry them, except Amazon, but they’re too expensive. I paid only 0.90 Euros for a pack of 10. You can substitute filo dough sheets, but I prefer the texture of feuilles de brick, they’re more resistant and not as fragile.

Aumonières were an old type of purse that people use to carry on their belt so that no one would steal the money. In the food world they refer to any dough (crêpe, filo dough, feuilles de brick) filled with anything, it can be fish, vegetables, meat, etc.. basically it’s a eatable purse filled with food instead of money.

Sometimes I like to substitute crème fraîche with fromage blanc. If you are using fromage blanc instead of the heavy cream for the sauce, you won’t be able to boil it, not cook it, so you’ll have a cold sauce instead of hot. In this case, a hot sauce goes much better with the whole dish since the purses are hot.

You can use shrimps or scallops instead of crayfish, and use your creativity for the filling, it’s all about what you like!

Ingredients for 4 people

• 8 feuilles de brick
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 leek, chopped
• 1/2 lb crayfish tales (already cooked)
• about 16 cherry tomatoes, cut in halves
• 2 tsp sesame seeds
• salt and pepper

For the sauce

• Crème fraîche or fromage blanc
• Curry to taste
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• Salt and pepper

Preparation

Heat olive oil in a pan. Add leeks and cook until tender. Adjust with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Cut two circles of about 2.5 inches 4 brick sheets. Then take a whole sheet, brush the surface with olive oil, and place two of the small circles in the middle. Divide the leeks in the center of these circles, add six tomato halves on top of the leeks and top it off with the crayfish, Sprinkle with sesame seeds, salt and pepper. Proceed the same way for the other purses.

Close the purses by bringing the sides to the front forming a purse. Tie it up with cooking thread. Bake in a pre heated oven at 370 F for about 15 minutes, make sure the purses don’t burn or become too dark.

For the sauce, bring the cream, lemon juice and curry to a light boil, then add salt and pepper.

Serve the purses hot with the sauce on the side.

]]> http://www.citronetvanille.com/blog/fishseafood/i-got-my-purse-stolen-purses-filled-with-crayfish-leeks-and-cherry-tomatoes-curry-cream-sauce/feed/ 6 http://www.citronetvanille.com/blog/fishseafood/thinking-of-mauro-fregola-with-bay-scallops-and-cream-of-asparagus/ http://www.citronetvanille.com/blog/fishseafood/thinking-of-mauro-fregola-with-bay-scallops-and-cream-of-asparagus/#comments Wed, 18 Jan 2012 06:37:46 +0000 silvia http://www.citronetvanille.com/blog/?p=2133 Pensando a Mauro – Fregola con capesante e crema di asparagi

Here I am, I arrived in Nancy, France yesterday, my hometown…jet lagged as ever and since everyone is still sleeping at 4 am, I thought of finishing this post, that I had started over 6 months ago. It feels good to be home, that’s all I can say. Everything feels right. If I can find fregola in France, I will buy it and have my parents try it. Even though, they’re from Italy, but are not very familiar with Sardinian cuisine.

I love those tiny Sardinian pasta balls, they’re hearty, rustic and irregular, they remain al dente and are delicious in so many different ways. I love rustic pasta and ingredients that remind you of old traditions and cultures. You can find those in any Italian grocery store or at the Rainbow in San Francisco. They’re imported from Sardinia and are served in Sardinian restaurants. I have never seen those served in traditional Italian restaurants.

Fregola reminds me so much of my wonderful Sardinian friend Mauro (from Cagliari) who recently moved from San Francisco to London. He introduced me to Sardinian cuisine, and restaurants in San Francisco. Maurino, questo piatto di fregola l’ho fatto proprio per tè!

If you’re in San Francisco and interested in tasting the delicious cuisine of Sardinia, you have to try out La Ciccia, it’s a real Sardinian restaurant where the chef and owner is born and raised in Sardinia.

You cook fregola like you would cook pasta, in water then drain it and serve it with like you would serve pasta, with your favorite sauce. In Sardinia, they serve it with a lamb ragù. I cooked mine like a risotto, added scallops, then served it with a asparagus sauce, it was delicious and delicate. If you look at the pictures, you can see some crawfish in the fregola but do not really liked the quality of the crawfish so will not use it next time. I did not add parmesan cheese in the fregola, I am one of those who don’t add cheese in fish or seafood pasta dishes. If you’re interested, more fregola recipe here.

Ingredients for 2

For the fregola

• 1 shallot, diced
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 2 cups fregola
• broth1/2 cup white wine
• 1.5 cups small bay scallops
• 1 tbs panna or cream
• salt and pepper

for the cream of asparagus

• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1.5 tbs yellow onions, chopped
• 1/2 bunch asparagus, cut in 1 inch trunks
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• salt and pepper
• Lemon olive oil for drizzling

Preparation

First start preparing the fregola like a risotto. Heat olive oil in a pan, add shallots and let it brown and softens. Add fregola, stir well. Add broth and wine gradually and keep stirring. Cook that way until the fregola has become soft but still slightly hard on the bite and al dente. Adjust with salt and pepper, add cream and stir well. Keep hot.

Saute scallops in olive oil and add to the fregola.

In a small pan, heat olive oil, add onions and cook until soft. Add asparagus and broth and let cook until asparagus are tender. Adjust with salt and pepper. Let it cool and blend in a mixer. Pass it through a sieve to obtain a smooth cream.

Serve fregola in a plate, add cream of asparagus all around and drizzle with lemon oil and parsley and serve hot.

This is my last post before my trip to France, I am leaving on Monday to fly to Nancy (Lorraine) to visit my parents as every January. Hopefully I will get a lot of inspiration while at home and post some exciting recipes. In the meantime, I wanted to make these pots de crème for such a long time and les voilà!

I already talked about Le Garage, this wonderful little French restaurant in Sausalito, that serve delicious and fresh brunches (if you are in the bay Area I strongly recommend it) besides, their bread is absolutely the best in the Bay Area. Last Sunday, I ordered a pot de crème a l’expresso served with financiers (little almond cakes) for dessert, and I fell in love with them. Now that is my ultimate favorite treat after lunch. Pot de crème is literally translated into “cream jar” or “cream pot” and they come in many flavors, chocolate, caramel vanilla, etc…

I have tried many versions as an attempt to reproduce the same pots de crème, the first tentative was more like a flan than a creme, too much coffee and not sweet enough. The ratio milk/cream and egg was not right. There were too many eggs for the quantity of milk/cream. So I decreased half the eggs for the same quantity of milk/cream and they turned out too liquid. So I finally found the right ratio after a few tentatives. When you have the right quantities it’s such an easy dessert to prepare, so simple and quick too.

These pots de crème are delightful and if you like coffee, you’ll be in heaven. I will make these on a regular basis from now on.

Ingredients for 3-4 pots de crème (depending on the size of the cups)

• 10.14 fl oz (or 300 ml) milk
• 3.38 fl oz (or 100 ml) cream
• 1.41 oz (or 40 g) sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 yolk
• 1 small espresso cup of espresso

Preparation

Pre-heat oven at 320F

In pot, mix cream, milk, sugar, and coffee and let it boil. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs and yolk well. Pour the milk mixture on top of the eggs and stir well.

Strain mixture to remove the foam and pour in small cups.

Place in a water bath and bake in the oven for about 30-40 minutes. remove from oven and let cool. Place cups in refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Serve with a dollop of creme fraîche in the center and sprinkle with coca powder, or coffee beans.