Posts tagged chives

Salad or not salad? – Salad of grain medley with cannellini, shrimps, artichokes in a herb-lemon dressing

Jul 12th

Salade ou pas salade? – Salade tiède de céréales et mélange aux haricots blancs, crevettes, artichauts, vinaigrette aux citron et herbes

Lately I have not been too well, that’s why I haven’t been posting any recipe on a regular basis like I used to, and my desire and energy for cooking has gone down, hopefully it will pick up at some point. I have no motivation for sitting in front of my computer either, but I sincerely miss everyone, people I met through this blog have been incredibly supportive, kind and generous. Thanks so much for anyone who reads my blogs and leaves genuine comments, they mean a lot to me. I apologize if I have had a difficult time to catch up with everyone, I have had very low energy level and some health issues, but hopefully will get back to my regular routine soon.

I started writing this recipe about three weeks ago and never managed to finish it, it took me forever…so here it is after such a long time. This salad is composed with a well balanced mixture of grains, vegetables, and proteins, such a nutritious and flavorful dish.

I call this a salad since it has a dressing but it can be called anything you like, and can be consumed lukewarm or cold. The particularity of this dish is that I mixed eight varieties of grains and seeds such as brown rice, oats, lentils, pumpkin seeds, etc… for a mixed variety of textures. Maybe you’ll think this look more like a bird meal to you than a gourmet salad. It is definitely questionable, but after you taste it, you will think bird ingredients can taste incredibly tasty.

The grains have been enhanced with vegetables, and seafood which complement the grains quite well. This is nothing complicated, you just need various grains in your pantry.

Ingredients for 2-3

200 g of mixed grains such as:
brown rice
wheat flakes
sorghum rice
buckwheat
pearl barley
black rice
pearl rice
red lentil
1 tbs roasted pumpkin seeds
10 large shrimps
4 medium artichokes
3 tbs dry white wine
70 g cannellini beans cooked (either dried or canned)

Ingredients for the herb-lemon vinaigrette

3 tbs avocado oil
juice of one lemon
zest of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp tarragon, chopped
1 tsp parsley, chopped
1 tsp chives, chopped
1 tbs red onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
one pinch cayenne pepper
salt and pepper

Preparation

Mix all grains together and steam them. You can steam them the same way you would steam rice, even if there are many varities of grains, some of them cook a little faster than others but it does not make a big difference cooking them all together. You can use a rice cooker or use the regular technique using a simple pot.

Trim artichokes, removing the hard leaves around, and cutting off the top of the artichoke. Cut in quarters and place in a container filled with water and lemon juice to prevent the artichokes from darkening.

In a pan, heat olive oil, add 1 garlic clove, then drain artichokes and add to the pan, stir for a few minutes, coating the artichokes with garlic and oil, then add wine, salt and pepper. Stir well. Cover with a lid and cook at medium heat until artichokes are tender. Remove from heat and set aside.

Saute shrimps in olive oil, add salt and pepper and set aside.

In a large container, mix steamed grains with artichokes, cannellini beans, shrimps, pumpkin seeds. Pour vinaigrette on top by mixing all ingredients together. Stir well and serve. You can serve at room temperature or cold.

artichokes, cannellini beans, chives, Grains, lemon, lemon-herb vinaigrette, parsley, Rice, salad, shrimps, tarragon

Eat your carrots! – Carrot and almond galettes stuffed with gorgonzola on cucumber salad

Jun 3rd

Posted by silvia in Appetizers

42 comments

Mange tes carottes! – Galettes de carottes et amandes au coeur de gorgonzola sur salade de concombre

Carrots are in the same category as broccoli…they’re all over the place, therefore lost their appeal and excitement.

Once in a while, I like to feature one of those “ordinary” vegetables” and give them a make over. When you really look at the different ways to prepare them, and the amount of vitamin A they contain, they’re not that ordinary after all. Besides, I think it’s a great way to have kids eat their vegetables if they’re not very inclined to. I have been thinking about a recipe to combine gorgonzola and carrots, but I was not quite sure how to combine it all together, first a savory cake crossed my mind or as we call them cake sale, then, I wanted something lighter with less carbs and since I love vegetables galettes of all kinds, here it is.

In France we say, that carrots make you pleasant, les carottes ca rend aimable, so I guess with all the carrots I ate today, I must be a pure delight to be around.

I really need this, San Francisco is entering the terrible summer season, with the fog rolling in, I thought that would be postponed to July-August and unfortunately, it seems like this year it’s happening sooner. I will probably end up eating carrots all summer!

The carrot-almond-cumin-gorgonzola combination worked very well together. The sweeteness of the carrots is a little toned down by the pungent gorgonzola and you get soft after taste of the almonds. The cucumber salad is quite simple and balances the whole dish.

The galettes tend to be tender because they do not contain egg, you might want to add extra almond flour. They need to be handled carefully.

Ingredients for about 6-7 galettes

For the galettes

3 large carrots, peeled and cut in halves crosswise
5 tbs almond flour or almond meal
1/2 ts cumin seeds roasted and crushed
1 tbs sliced almonds
6 small pieces gorgonzola, diced
salt and pepper

For the salad

3 Persian cucumbers, peeled
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tbs chives, chopped
salt and pepper

Preparation

Steam carrots. When cooked mash with a potato masher into a fine consistency. Add almond flour, and cumin seeds, salt and pepper. Mix well and form little patties. Add one piece of gorgonzola in the middle of each pattie and close it to “seal” the cheese inside. Add extra almond flour on to coat each side of the patties. top it with sliced almonds. Place on a parchement paper and cook in a pre-heated oven at 375F for about 15 minutes until the top is slightly golden and cheese has melted.

For the salad, slice cucumber very finely using a mandoline. Squeeze excess water using your hands. Add all ingredients and mix well. If you get too much water, squeeze cucumbers again.

Serve on a small plate with a small portion of cucumber salad and carrot galettes on top.

Appetizer, carrots, chives, cucmber salad, cucumber, cumin gorgonzola

One spoon for me and two for you – Scallops with mango and blood orange vinaigrette

Feb 6th

Posted by silvia in Appetizers

16 comments

Une cuillère pour moi, et deux pour toi – Cuillères de St Jacques à la vinaigrette de mangue et orange sanguine

I bought so many different kinds of those cuillères (spoons) while in France, which was not really a necessity since they are also available in the US, but my mom shoved them in my suitcase because she said her house is filled with stuff I buy and then I leave at her house, so the closet in my bedroom is filled with kitchen utensils and all kinds of gadgets that I have been accumulated over the years. I am a real pack rat. I still have my own bedroom with clothes and a few teddy bears since my parents still live in the house where I was born and raised (well I was born at the maternity to be clear not in the house), so I guess the “pack-ratting” activity is inevitable.

Today I finally decided to use those cuillères. In France, apéro à la cuillère (spoon apéritifs) is quite in fashion and most home cooks and restaurants use them as their favorite ways to serve hors d’oeuvres. Besides I think they’re really elegant on a table, and easy to prepare. They’re seriously ready in a blink of an eye.

Enough of savory muffins, quiches, etc… and all those heavy appetizers that make you feel already stuffed before dinner. Those are so quick to make, that it’s not even funny…and incredibly delicious, fresh, zesty and so light. I think you know by now that light is a key word for me, as long as a dish is light and flavorful, send it my way.

I bought some mangoes because my new little parrotlet Lilou loves mango, I am trying to discover what fruits and vegetables he likes, and it seems like mangoes, carrots and kale are on the list (wondering if it has to do with the color), so I bought a lot of mangoes, as if he will eat two pounds of mango in a few days. I guess I will have to help him out, and more mango recipes are coming shortly.

I am not really a huge fan of mixing sweet and salty flavors together, it’s not too common in French or Italian cuisine and it took me a while to combine them together. Some fruits are used like orange, apples, plums, etc…in game meat but it’s not too common. The mixture of scallops and mangoes has been something I have been thinking about for a while. I made grilled halibut with mango and red bell pepper salsa that I really enjoyed, so I thought sea scallops would work as well, but I didn’t want to bury the natural scallop’s sweet flavor and add too many ingredients like red bell pepper, red onion, etc…

You can either grill the scallops or sauté them in a pan with a little butter and If you don’t have those spoons, no worries, you can serve two or three scallops in a small plate. Et voilà, aucun problème!

Ingredients for about 10 spoons