Posts tagged broccoli
Eat your broccoli! – Almond shrimps with broccoli purée
Apr 13th
Mange tes brocolis! – Crevettes aux amandes et purée de brocoli
Nothing too fancy in this post, but rather a very simple combination of shrimps and broccoli. Very few ingredients that work well together.
Vegetable purée is a great way to have the kids who are reluctant to eat vegetable actually eat them and like them too! The vegetables are hidden is some kids-friendly texture and less intimidating to a kid. Instead of the shrimps, you could perfectly use white fish or salmon as well. You don’t need a lot of ingredients nor fancy ones to make this dish that will end up pleasing everyone. I bought broccoli for my dog and bird who eat them as we would eat candies.
I have a strange relationship with this vegetable, I am not a huge fan of broccoli, even though I like them, there is a little contradiction in all of this. I don’t like the fact that they’re everywhere and restaurants add broccoli in many of their side dishes, so they became the vegetable “bouche-trou” literally meaning “stopgap” or “filler”, (another one of those words that are had to translate and could not find any other one). Then, I like them because they’re not very expensive, you can keep them for a while, and they add a little color in your plate…and are filled with vitamin C…but they are still on my ‘ordinary’ list of vegetables such as carrots and peas.
I prefer broccoli in soups and purée, rather than sautés or in pieces. Nothing is wasted in this dish, since the stems of the broccoli are used as well as the florets, so one broccoli head you usually get at the store is enough for about 4 people.
This dish has great complementary flavors and textures, the lemon adds a citrusy flavor to the naturally sweet shrimps all enhanced by almonds and smooth broccoli. With its few ingredients and its simplicity, it’s a great dish.
Ingredients for 4
For the purée
- 1 large broccoli head equivalent of 3 cups
- 2 tbs heavy cream or crème fraîche
- salt and pepper
For the shrimps
- 20 large shrimps, deveined
- 2 shallots
- 2 tbs sliced almond, toasted
- 1 large tomato, sliced
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tbs olive oil
- salt and pepper
Preparation
For the broccoli
Cut the floret of broccoli, and the stem. Cut the stem in small pieces. Bring a pot of water to a boil, cook broccoli and stems for a few minutes, about 4-5 minutes. Do not overcook broccoli or they’ll lose they vibrant green color.
Using an immersion blender, mix broccoli nto a purée texture. Place in a pot and add cream. Cook always stirring for a few minutes. Adjust with salt and pepper.
For the shrimps
Heat olive oil in a skillet, add shallots and brown them. Add shrimps, cook for a few minutes until the shrimps turn pink and are just cooked, add lemon juice and cook for a few more minutes. Adjust with salt and pepper.
Grill tomato slices in a grill pan. Cook on one side for a few minutes.
Sprinkle almonds on top of puree, place shrimps on top of grilled tomato, add one tsp of shrimp juice and sprinkle with sliced almonds.
Fall colors – Soup of Spinach, broccoli, leeks with whole wheat orzo and mimolette
Dec 16th
Couleurs d’Automne – Soupe aux épinards, broccoli et poireaux, aux risoni complets et mimolette
Winter is soup time, and when I ran into mimolette, I could not resist. I had not seen Mimolette before in the US and I was so excited. I had planned to make a gratin, and a soup with it, but the cheese did not not make it to either dish. I just ate it all and in a very quick and fashionable manner.
Mimolette is a French cheese made in Lille, the North of France. It’s also called “Boule de Lille“, it’s a cheese produced with cow milk, with a condensed raw flesh (pâte pressée). Its deep orange color comes from a natural coloring called “roucou” which is a plant used in some cheeses such as Gouda, Cheddar or Edam and used in Europe as food coloring. Mimolette‘s hard texture is similar to Dutch Gouda. The older it gets, the harder the texture becomes, and I really love extra old Mimolette, it tends to have a more pronounced character.
I somehow love salty cheeses, they go perfectly well in soups, gratins, and enhance many dishes. This soup made with three green vegetables is full of vitamins and flavors. When I make “creamy” and thick soups like this one, I like it served either with toasted bread or sometimes with small pasta cooked in the soup. You get a wholesome and wonderful meal. Risoni is the Italian name for “orzo”which in Italy is barley, so it can get confusing. My mom used to make soups when I was a child with risoni, it’s very common in Italy to use small pasta like this one or ditalini in soups.
The other important ingredient in this soup is the garlic that adds a lot of character to the broth, it balances out the earthy flavors of the green vegetables.
Ingredients for 4
- 100 g orzo
- 1 1/2 leek, diced
- 2 cups broccoli
- 2 cups raw spinach
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and whole
- 6 tbs mimolette, grated
- 2 tbs olive oil
- vegetable broth
- salt and pepper
Preparation
In a large pot, heat olive oil, add broccoli and leeks and cook for about 5 minutes until the vegetables are coated with olive oil. Add 3 garlic cloves, whole and peeled. Add broth. For broth quantity, it needs to cover vegetables to about 1 cm of liquid. Adjust with salt and pepper. Cook until the vegetables are cooked all the way through about 20-30 minutes.
When vegetables are cooked add spinach leaves (if using baby spinach, no need to chop them, otherwise you will have to chop them roughly). Cook and extra 5-10 minutes. Add crushed garlic and cook an extra 5 minutes.
Keep about two laddles of vegetables aside. Blend the rest in a blender into a smooth purée. Place the vegetables pieces back into the pot with the purée and place back on pot at low heat. When it starts boiling, add orzo, and stir well. Keep on stirring for a while to prevent pasta from sticking. If the consistency is too thick add a little broth. Cook until al dente and serve in bowls. Add 1 tbs of mimolette and sprinkle with olive oil.
My little melting heart – Broccoli and oats galettes stuffed with mozzarella, harissa sauce with roasted red pepper
Jul 29th
Mon petit coeur fondant – Galettes de broccoli, avoine, au coeur de mozzarella, sauce harissa aux poivrons grillés
Don’t you love when your refrigerator is filled with vegetables? You open the door and all you can see is a bundle of colors. Unfortunately, today, I only had a bunch of broccoli left with a red bell pepper. The good thing is that tomorrow I am going food shopping with a friend of mine to the Berkeley Bowl! I am already excited about it. It will be her first trip there, I cannot wait to see her when she sees the fruits and vegetable section. Some girls enjoy going to the SPA or get a manicure, and I get the same excitement when I go to the Berkeley Bowl. How weird is that?
Since I only had broccoli and bell pepper, I figured I would combine the two. I love those galettes dearly. They’re tender, melt in your mouth and so light! You can use any vegetables you like and substitute mozzarella with gorgonzola cheese as well. The vegetables just needs to have some consistency so you can mash them in a puree, so it’s better not to use any leafy vegetable. I mixed a little chopped spinach with it, but more would not have worked because of the liquid they tend to produce. Those galettes are a good way to have your kids eat veggies, in case you have fussy ones. They won’t feel they’re eating vegetables, and the melting mozzarella in the middle is a selling point!
I did not add too many ingredients to the galettes and lose the broccoli flavor, since the harissa sauce will enhance them. Harissa is a hot Middle Eastern sauce, served with couscous. You can buy it in tubes and delay it in water. I like to make mine with red bell peppers.
You can serve those with a light salad, and you’re all set for lunch.
Ingredients for 2
For the galettes
- 1/2 head of broccoli
- 6 tbs pre cooked oats or regular oats soaked in hot water
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 2 handful chopped frozen spinach (optional)
- a few basil leaves
- 1 fresh mozzarella ball, cut in small squares
- 1 tbs plain breadcrumbs
- salt and pepper
For the harissa sauce
- 1/2 red bell pepper
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- tabasco
- 2 tbs olive oil
- salt and pepper
Preparation
For the galettes
Heat olive oil and brown shallots, add broccoli cut in small florets, salt and pepper. When broccoli are cookded mash them with a potato masher. Add defrost spinach and add to the broccoli. Add basil and garlic.
Add enough water to the oats to form a thick paste. Add to the broccoli, and mix well.
Take a small quantity in your hand and place a piece of mozzarella in the middle, close the ball well so that the mozzarella will not leek when in the oven and make a patty about 2 inches wide. Dip each side of the patty in bread crumbs. Cook in a pre heated oven at 375F for about 15-20 minutes, or until both sides are golden.
For the harissa sauce
Broil red bell pepper in the oven until the skin get charred. Remove from the oven, let cool. When cooled, remove the skin, and the seeds and cut in pieces. In a mixer, add red pepper and all other ingredients and mix to a smooth texture. Adjust with salt and pepper and serve with galettes.
