Posts tagged cheese
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.
One unexpected gratin – Gratin with spaghetti squash, potatoes, tomatoes, gruyère, parmesan and basil
Aug 19th
Un gratin inattendu – gratin de courge spaghetti, tomates, pommes de terre, gruyère, parmesan et basilic
Now I know that this might be a little too much of spaghetti squash in just a couple of days. I was not planning on writing a blog about it, I took the pictures, just in case…then after eating almost all of it by myself, I figured it was definitley blog “worthy” and I have to say it’s my favorite spaghetti squash recipe. I had quite a lot of extra squash left from the pancakes, and certainly did not want to throw anything away. I was taught not to throw food growing up, and I rarely do. I still have some squash left, but I promised I will not write another blog about it.
Vegetable gratin are every French basics. They come in all colors, shapes and form. One thing in common they have cheese in it, actually almost all of them, the real potato gratin, le gratin dauphinois has no cheese in it (although a lot of people do put cheese, but the “purists” will grind their teeth at the though of cheese in gratin dauphinois).
I absolutely love this gratin, and I recommend it to anyone who likes spaghetti squash.
Ingredients for 2
- 300 g cooked squash (approximately)
- 3 riped tomatoes, peeled, seedless and cut in small cubes
- 3 medium size potatoes
- 2 tbs basil chopped
- 2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1/2 onion (optional)*
- 4 tbs Gruyere cheese, grated
- 4 tbs Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
- salt and pepper
- 2 tbs olive oil
Preparation
Cook potatoes in boiling water until tender but do not overcook them, they will cook more in the oven.
Add a little oil at the bottom of a deep dish, slice potatoes and lay them flat in the dish, add salt and pepper. Add another layer of spaghetti squash using half of the squash. Add garlic, basil thyme, tomatoes and cheeses, salt and pepper. Sprinkle with olive oil. Proceed with another layer of the same ingredients, ending with cheeses at the end.
*You can add onion fondue and add the onions after the potato layer. You have to cook onion at medium heat in olive oil until they’re translucent. Add a tsp of balsamic vinegar.
When you’re done layering the gratin, press firmly with your hand on the surface to remove any air in between the layers. That way, when it’s cooked it will stand and not collapse.
Cook in a pre-heated oven at 370-375F for 30-40 minutes until the top is golden brown. Serve hot as a side dish or as is with a green salad.
Pink and pinkier – Pink beet tagliatelle with leek and Taleggio sauce
Aug 16th
Rosa e ancora più rosa – Tagliatelle rosa alle rape rosse con salsa ai porri, taleggio e pinoli
I have many friends who don’t like beets, they have an earthy taste that can be unappealing for some. I have been thinking for a long time to play with pasta dough, and make some colorful pasta, but I wanted something colorful and pretty, in the pinkish tint, and to get a pink color, beets are perfect, their deep red juice can color anything. My pasta machine being somewhere I cannot find, I used my mattarello (or matterello it depends on the region) (rolling pin) and went back to the basics.
I prefer pasta rolled with a rolling pin, you get a grainy texture that you don’t get with a pasta machine, therefore the sauce gets absorbed much better and pasta is really deliciously perfect. Now rolling the pasta with a mattarello (rolling pin) can get tricky if you have never done it, so if you don’t have the right rolling pin and never done it before, I recommend using the pasta machine.
Taleggio is a cheese from Northern Italy (it belongs to the stracchino category of cheeses), it has a distinct and nutty flavor, quite aromatic that I also like to eat with bread. It’s an ancient cheese and its origins can be traced up to year 900. If you cannot find Taleggio, you can use gorgonzola, its flavor is stronger but mixes well with beets.
You can use pre-cooked beets, I always find them at Trader Joe’s if I don’t have time to cook them. You can also buy the uncooked one if you have plenty of time and cook them in water for about 40 minutes.
If you don’t want to use all the pasta, you can put the extra on the refrigerator for up to two days.
Ingredients for 4
For the pasta
- 15. 87 oz (or 450 g) flour
- 7 oz (or 200 g) cooked beets, pureed
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbs olive oil
- one pinch of salt
For the sauce
- 3 large leeks, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 4 tbs Taleggio (or gorgonzola), cubed
- 5 tbs parmigiano reggiano, grated
- 2 tbs heavy cream
- 2 tbs pine nuts (optional)
- 2 tbs olive oil
- salt and pepper
Preparation
Puree the beets in food processor. Set aside. Place flour in a mixing bowl, make a hole in the middle, add beets, and gradually add eggs, a pinch of salt and olive oil. Start kneading the dough, adjusting the flour if necessary, dough needs to be hard enough and not sticky. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes. Form a round ball and place in a plastic wrap for about 30 minutes and let rest.
Cut the dough in about 4-5 pieces, add flour if it is a little sticky, flatten it and start rolling the pasta with the pasta machine. I will post a detailed instructions soon on how to make pasta. La pasta fatta in casa, as they would say in Italy. When the pasta has been cut, it needs to dry a little bit, I would let it dry for about 30 minutes. Most of the time, I don’t let it dry, but for this particular types of pasta with beets, the dough tends to be softer than regular plain pasta, so you might need to let it dry longer.
Heat olive oil in a pan, add one garlic clove, add leeks, salt and pepper. Cover and cook leeks at medium heat. When cooked, remove from pan. Add taleggio, and let it melt slowly, add cream.
Start bringing a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta, when the pasta comes to the surface, after 2-3 minutes, drain and add to the pan with cheese. Add leeks, parmesan and pine nuts. Mix carefully and serve hot
