Posts tagged mangoes
New variation – Verrine of mango and vanilla-pistachio couscous
Apr 12th
Nouvelle variante – Verrine de mangue à la semoule vanillée et pistaches
For people suffering from allergies, like me, it’s been a terrible spring in the Bay Area. Last year was mild compare to this one. I think I tried every drug over-the counter at the local Walgreens, from antihistamines, to expectorant to anti-inflammatory drugs… Nothing seems to help with my rhinitis, not even antibiotics or steroids the doctor prescribed. I am just counting the days until it goes away. Yes patience is a virtue in this case. In the meantime, my huge red nose and I, are trying to make quick meals in between a few sneezes.
I had in mind to find semoule for a while, and make semoule cake (gateau à la semoule); one of those thoughts that come and goes but even when it ‘s gone, it’s not really gone and still in the back of your mind. …basically semoule is a kind of semolina, that is used in France to make desserts. Since I have been unable to find it, because I don’t know how to call this. I ended up buying couscous which in France we call semoule de couscous. Regular semoule if finer that the couscous grain and thicker than semolina. This little fruity dessert is great for those days you feel like something sweet but not necessarily just a fruit, and no time to cook. Couscous can be accommodated in sweet preparations too, and is very quick to prepare. Just use milk and sugar instead of salt and water, and the trick is done.
You can use regular or wholewheat couscous, I think regular would have a softer and more subtle flavor with mangoes and in general in sweet preparations, and that’s what I’ll use next time.
Ingredients for 4
- 2 mangoes well riped, cubed
- 1 tsp orange blossom water
- 6 tbs wholewheat couscous (or regular)
- milk enough to cover the couscous
- 1 tbs sugar
- 1 vanilla bean cut in half
- 1 tbs pistachios, chopped
Preparation
Place mangoes in a recipient and add orange blossom water. Cover and refrigerate for about one hour. If the mangoes are not very ripe, you might want to add some sugar.
In another recipient, add couscous. Bring milk, split vanilla bean (with scraped beans) and sugar to a boil. Pour on top of the couscous. Cover and let couscous absorb milk. Add pistachios and fluff up couscous.
In a glass, add mangoes, top it with warm couscous and add extra pistachios.
Delicious little tentacles – Tagine of octopus with mangoes
Jan 19th
Délicieuses petites tentacules – Tagine de poulpe aux mangues
From what I’ve seen and heard, I have found very few people crazy about octopus…unlike me, I love it, like every thing else that lives in an ocean. The thing with octopus is that it needs to be well cooked, and prepared the right way or it can get hard to chew, and rubbery. I have tasted an octopus carpaccio in a small restaurant in Como Lake, Italy, where the octopus was cut in paper thin slices, then marinated and topped with rucola, lemon juice and olive oil. Octopus is very popular in Mediterranean cuisine and despite its strange prehistorical aspect, has an extraordinary delicate flavor and can be prepared in many different ways.
For this recipe, you can cut the octopus in smaller pieces if you don’t like to have big chunks of tentacles in your plate. I wanted to make octopus pieces as big as the mangoes. Don’t get intimidated by this strange animal with its long legs and tentacles, you’ll be surprised by its delicacy.
I found this recipes couple of years ago on a tagine recipe book (I forgot its name, I only remember it was a purple book), the little twist is the addition of the spice mixture you can buy at some specialty counter at our Nancy’s market. You can make it as well, keep it in a air tight container and use it in fish dishes, it’s really a great mix. Every year when I come home, my mom makes this tagine for me, she knows I am crazy for octopus, the only problem is that she used a whole octopus this time, this one weighted 5 lb, so there was enough octopus for an army. How much octopus can you eat?
Cooking octopus in clay tagine pot makes it very flavorful and tender, the addition of mangoes 20 minutes before removing it from the oven adds a sweet touch that gives this dish an exquisite exotic touch. I use my tagine very often and cooking in clay pot makes a big difference in terms of flavor. I even bought another clay pot here, that will need to fit in my suitcase and arrive in San Francisco in one piece. That will be my last day challenge.
Ingredients for 4-5
- 2 lb octopus
- 1 1/2 onions, sliced
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp spice mix
- 2 firm mangoes, not too ripe
- salt and pepper
Spice mix for a small jar
- 2 tbsp turmeric
- 1 tsp anise seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tbs parsley flakes
Preparation
Clean octopus under running water, remove beak, eyes, etc…
Cook octopus in boiling water for about 30-45 minutes. Remove from water, drain and let it cool. Cut in small pieces about 1 inch thick.
Heat olive oil in your tagine, and brown onions. Add octopus, paprika, spice mix, salt and pepper. Mix well. Cook in a pre-heated oven for 1h30 hour at 375-380F. 20 minutes before removing from the oven, add mangoes, cover and cook until the mangoes are cooked but still firm and not mushy. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with white rice, steamed potatoes or herbed quinoa.
