Posts tagged salmon
It tastes like fall – Salmon with white grapes
Nov 23rd
Ca sent l’automne – Saumon aux raisins blancs
Grapes for me is the fruit that symbolizes fall, probably because of the harvesting of the grapes in France (vendanges). Today, I wanted to feature a very simple French dish using grapes and combined with salmon, and this one turned out much better than it used to, probably because this time I cooked the salmon skin up and not down (touching the pan). So if you have some salmon and want to try something quick and new, this would be a good choice.
Usually, I do not combine fruits and fish, but it works very well in this case. The grapes don’t have a strong flavor, and their slight sweetness associated with the acidity of the wine and crème fraîche balances the dish very well.
You can use scallops instead of the shrimps, and substitute white fish to salmon.
I bet most of you must be getting ready for Thanksgiving with all the food preparation and planning, so this salmon would be perfect after you’re done with the festivities and the turkey. I know Thanksgiving is a huge celebration in the US, when the families gather and get together around a traditional meal. For us, it’s more like an opportunity to have a dinner with friends, since everyone is off, and right now I still haven’t figured out what I will have for dinner. I have absolutely no idea…I can always serve this salmon, and see the look on everyone’s face when instead of a beautiful golden the turkey, I bring out salmon. I don’t think I’ll have the guts to do that!
So if one of those nights, you’re up for quick, easy and delicious, voilà! you got your meal!
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!
Ingredients for 4
- 4 salmon fillets (or steaks)
- 20 shrimps, peeled and deveined
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 2 bunches white grapes, peeled and seeds removed
- 3 shallots, chopped
- 3.38 fl oz (or 10 cl) white wine
- 1/3 cup fish fumet
- 1 tbs crème fraîche
- salt and pepper
- dill for decoration
Preparation
Peel and remove seeds from grapes. Heat 1 tbs olive oil in a pan and add shallots. Cook slowly until soft. Add shrimps, let them cook both sides, then add grapes, wine and fumet. Let the sauce reduce to half. Add cream, salt and pepper.
At the same time, in a non stick pan, cook salmon in 1 tbs olive oil about 2 minutes on each side, or longer if you like the salmon well done.
Place salmon in a plate, arrange shrimps and raisins, all around, then pour the sauce on top. Decorate with dill.
My romantic egg – Oeuf cocotte with salmon, asparagus and a cilantro-coconut pesto
Jul 15th
Mon oeuf romantique – Oeuf cocotte au saumon et asperges, pesto de coriandre et noix de coco
Thanks so much for all your kinds words on my previous post, you guys are really wonderful, kind and generous of your time. I do appreciate it a lot.
I think this dish is perfect for a tête à tête dinner (according to the dictionary, tête à tête is also used in English) to share with someone you care. I have been alone for about two weeks now, due to business trips of TP so I decided to have a tête à tête dinner with myself and I was quite happy about it.
Well, I think no matter what, you need to treat yourself as often as you can (that’s my theory on life) and enjoy anything even if you are by yourself.
My dog and bird are keeping me company…so temporarily being alone has some good sides and bad sides. You tend to enjoy the whole bed, no daily laundry, no mess around but then when you find a half mouse dead in your patio with just the tale and legs, you have to figure out a way to clean it…I suspect the neighbors cats left it as a present.
After one hour of thinking how to remove it, I was embarrassed to ask my neighbor (the most adorable neighbors you can dream of) but I didn’t want to leave this mess in the patio and lacked courage to pick it up, so I had to tell them that Mr. Cat must have played too hard with a mouse again, so Gary cleaned it up for me. Thanks Gary!
We do use cilantro and coconut in French cuisine, even though it’s not really something you would use on a daily basis, and parsley is more frequently used than cilantro, those two ingredients are not unfamiliar to our cuisine. This fragrant pesto is delicious, the raw coconut adds a smooth finish to the dish. Oeuf cocotte is such a versatile dish and so much fun to eat. You can also use fava beans instead of the asparagus and white fish instead of the salmon, just play with it.
This combination is truly a harmonious blend of flavors, and a perfect little dish for a light diner en amoureux… or a diner for treating yourself!
Ingredients for 4
- 2 salmon fillet or 7 oz (or 200 g), diced
- 6 asparagus, cut in one inch pieces
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 3 tbs dry white wine
- 3 tbs crème fraîche
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 2 eggs
- salt and pepper
For the cilantro-coconut pesto
- 1/2 bunch cilantro
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 0.70 oz (or 20 g) raw unsweetened coconut shredded
- 4 tbs olive oil
- salt and pepper
Preparation
For the cilantro-coconut pesto
Mix all ingredients in a blender.
Heat olive oil in a pan, add shallots and brown them. Add asparagus, wine, salt and pepper. Cover and cook until asparagus are cooked but still crunchy. Add salmon and cook for a few minutes. Add 2 tbs of pesto and stir for 30 seconds. Add cream and let it reduce a little.
Divide teh mixture into ramequins. Break on egg on top, add salt and pepper. Cook in a pre-heated oven until the yolks are runny and the whites still a little transparent. Serve with extra pesto on the side.
A crêpe that’s not really a crêpe – Traditional savory buckwheat galette with smoked salmon, grilled tomatoes, caramelized onions, and tarragon sauce
Jun 14th
Une crêpe qui n’est pas vraiment une crêpe – Galette au sarrasin, saumon, tomates grillées et oignons caramelisés, sauce estragon
I haven’t made those for so long, I usually make them when we have a “crêpe party”, and those haven’t occurred in a while!
Basically, the traditional savory crêpes are made with buckwheat flour, the sweet ones can be made with white flour.
A buckwheat crêpe is called “galette bretonne“, the batter is a little different from a regular crêpe in the fact that there is water in the batter but no eggs. The traditional galette Bretonne (or also called Buckwheat crêpe, crêpe au sarrasin) is mainly stuffed with ham, eggs and cheese and it’s called “la complète“…now you can make it with whatever item you like if you want to make it less traditional. I like the traditional one, but I think those three ingredients are a little too heavy for me. Other alternatives could be spinach and mushrooms, eggs and mushrooms, tomato and mozzarella, goat cheese and spinach, etc…or whatever you think would work.
If you have been to Brittany or Paris you must have encounter that delicious treat. There are many crêperies Bretonnes in Paris close to Quartier Montparnasse. The first one I ate was at the Jocelyn crêperie, it was a double crêpe, unlike this one that is simple, a double crêpe is comprised of one crêpe at the bottom, filled with whatever you like, and one other crêpe on top of the filling, then folded and topped with salted butter. You better be hungry for that one, but it’s so good with some dry cider (cidre brut).
Sometimes, I have a crêpe party at home and the crêpes go flying around…then everyone gets so excited when we reach dessert, sweet crêpes with nutella, banana, ice cream and whipped cream. How can you refuse one of those? Vive les crêpes!!
You don’t need necessarly need a crêpe maker and a spreader to make crêpes, a non-stick pan works well too. You can make a 100% buckwheat flour batter if you like it more hearty, I like to use 1/2 white flour and 1/2 buckwheat flour.
Ingredients for about 6-8 (depending on the size of the pan)
For the galettes batter
- buckwheat flour
- white flour
- 1/4 l water
- 1/4 l milk
- salt
For the stuffing
- 3-4 tomatoes, sliced
- 2 onions, sliced
- 1 tbs capers, rinced
- 6-8 slices smoked salmon
- 1 tsp olive oil
- Fleur de sel
- pepper
For the tarragon sauce
- 1 shallot, diced
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 tsp fish fumet dehydrated
- water
- 3 tbs crème fraîche
- 2 tbs fresh tarragon, chopped
- salt and pepper
Preparation
For the batter
Mix flours together in a large mixing bowl. Add water while stirring, then milk, add salt and keep stirring to obtain a smooth consistency. Let it rest for about 2 hours.
Caramelize onions in 1 tsp olive oil. Grill tomatoes on a grill pan and set aside.
For the tarragon sauce
Heat olive oil in a pan, and brown shallots. Dissolve dehydrated fumet in 1/3 cup water. Add to the shallots, reduce a little then add cream. Reduce for a few more minutes and add tarragon, salt and pepper.
Cook galettes as you would for regular crêpes. Using a non-stick pan, spread some batter in the pan covering the whole surface (you need to butter the pan prior to making the galettes). Flip the galette and let it cook on the other side. Add caramelized onions, tomatoes, capers and salmon. remove the galette from the pan and bring borders on the inside. Top with tarragon sauce and serve hot.
Thanks Anna! – Millefeuille of potatoes Anna, artichokes and salmon, Parsely jus
Apr 27th
Merci Anna!- Millefeuilles de pommes Anna, artichauts et saumon, jus de persil
Millefeuille can mean different things in French…Originally millefeuille is a traditional dessert sold in many bakeries, made out of two layers of crème patissière (custard) and three layers of puff pastry. It’s called millefeuille because of its many foldings of its puff pastry (which contains a lot of layers), obviously this millefeuille has nothing to do with sweets and custard but it does some layers too, so we call this a millefeuille (literally meaning thousand sheets).
After one delightful week of no fish and no seafood just vegetarian meals, I somehow found myself with a raw fillet of salmon left that I had from a previous dinner, which needed to be cooked, or would end up in the garbage, which is something that will never happen in my house. That would be sinful to throw away food in general and salmon even more so. After thinking and thinking about how to hide this fish in a dish, I finally decided to go with a millefeuille, because first of all it looks pretty, then you can barely see the salmon, so millefeuille, it was going to be! As far as artichokes are concerned, it’s one of my favorite vegetables, so I use them whenever I can.
Pomme de terre Anna is a traditional dish in French cuisine but most precisely Parisian cuisine, potatoes thinly sliced and cooked in the oven with a little melted butter and rock salt. They seem to have been created in Paris in the 19e century by the Chef of the “Café Anglais”, Adolphe Dugléré, who fell in love with one of its beautiful client Anna Deslions, and called them Pomme de terre Anna. Funny how love can boost creativity! They became since then a very famous potato dish! You can serve them as a side dish just in their cute round shape, but I love to play with food and today they were my toys.
Then to add the final touch, I made a jus de persil. I was hesitating between a jus de tarragon, then I figured I would leave the tarragon for something else, and parsley would go quite well here. Alors voilà, c’est fini!.. and this is definitely French no need to even think about it!
There are a few different steps in the process but it’s a fairly quick dish to make, so even if you don’t have too much time, it’s really worth trying it. It’s a delightful dish!
Ingredients for 2
- 2 medium size potatoes
- 2 medium size artichokes
- 1 heirloom tomato, peeled, seedless and diced
- 2 tbs butter, melted
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 2 tbs white wine
- 1 tbs balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbs chives, chopped
- juice of two lemons (1 for the artichokes, 1 for the salmon)
- Fish fumet (or broth) (1 tomato, 1 branch celeri, 1/2 leek, thyme, basil)
- 1 small salmon fillet (would be enough for 4)
For the parsley jus
- 1/2 bunch Italian parsley
- 1/2 cup vegetable broth
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- salt and pepper (if needed)
Preparation
For the parsley jus
Bring 1/2 cup of broth to a boil, add parsley and cook for 30 seconds, remove from the pot and pat dry. In a blender, mix parsley with broth to make it into a very fine mixture. Remove from blender into a bowl, add 1 tbs olive oil, 1 tsp lemon juice, salt and pepper if needed.
For the millefeuille
Start preparing the potatoes. With a mandolin, slice potatoes, pat them dry. In a small ramequin or round silicon mold of about 3 inches diameter, place slices one on top of the other. Using a brush, spread some melted butter on top and sprinkle with rock salt. Cover with a silpat (silicon sheet) if using the silicon molds or with aluminum paper if using a ceramic ramequin. Also if using a ramequin, it needs to be greased first or the potatoes will stick on the surface. Cook in a pre-heated oven at 375F for about 30 minutes.
While the potatoes are cooking, trim the artichokes, cut the hard green leaves around the artichokes and the top, cut them in quarters then in small slices. Squeeze lemon juice to prevent them from staining. Heat olive oil in a pan, add garlic, stir, then add artichokes and wine. adjust with salt and pepper, cover and cook until the artichokes are tender.
Add tomatoes to the artichokes, cook for a few minutes, then add vinegar. Stir well and let the mixture cook for a few additional minutes. Add chives.
Poach salmon in fish fumet for about 15 minutes. Drain and using a fork, break salmon into small pieces. Add lemon juice, chives, salt and pepper
Assemble millefeuille. In a plate, place one potato piece, add one layer of artichokes, then add salmon. Proceed with another potato piece, artichokes and salmon. Sprinkle with parsley jus and serve some extra on the side.
The jealousy of the salmon – Salmon à l'orange on braised fennel
Feb 16th
La jalousie du saumon – Saumon à l’orange sur fenouil braisé
The salmon got a little jealous and was raving to be coated with a citrusy orange sauce too, because he thought that not only canard can be made “à l’orange”, he was the perfect candidate for the title too…and he was. On peut faire plein de choses avec des oranges!
The fennel at my local grocery store has been so round, and perfect looking that I could not resist and bought a lot of those beautiful bulbs. After the shrimp salad, now the salmon dish. You might think that fennel-orange and fish-fennel are two déjà vu combinations, it might be, but the secret here is the broth that makes this salmon a wonderful fragrant dish. Then when you love something, you can never get enough of it.
What I like about this dish is is the lightness of its fragrance, the salmon already has a strong flavor so I don’t like to add too many spices and powerful ingredients to a naturally strong ingredient, then I think it is confusing to your palate when you eat it, well mine gets very sensitive and does get confused easily if too many strong ingredients are combined. C’est la confusion totale! I served this with barley pilaf, whose little crunchy texture accompanied the whole dish very well.
I used some herbs to enhance the broth and that’s basically where the fragrance comes from. I was so happy I finally planted a bunch of herbs in the garden, so let’s hope the three semi-abandoned cats hanging outside the house won’t come and dig them, I am not too familiar with cats’ behavior but seems like they like to play with plants…and catch birds…and seriously have been scaring me a little due to their giant size and the way they are staring at me and my bird through the windows, I haven’t felt any love coming this way.
Ingredients for 2
For the fish and fennel
- 2 salmon fillets, skinless
- 1 fennel bulb, sliced thickly
- Juice of 1 orange + zests
- 1/3 cup dry white wine
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- flour for coating the fish
- 2 tbs olive oil
- salt and pepper
For the broth
- 1 leek, cut in chunks
- 1 carrot, cut in chunks
- 2 celeri sticks
- 1 onion, cut in quarters
- 1 tomato cut in quarters
- 2 bay leaves
- 6-7 basil leaves
- 1 tsp fish fumet
- 6 black peppercorns
- 2 cups water
Preparation
Start preparing the broth, by adding all ingredients together with 2 or more cups of water. Let it simmer for one hour, adding more water if necessary. At the end of cooking time, when broth has reduced, you need about 1.5 cups broth. Drain and set aside.
Heat olive oil in a pan, and add fennel. Let it cook at high heat until both sides are golden brown (about 5-7 minutes), add salt and pepper. Add crush garlic, stir for about 30 seconds, then add 2 ladles of broth. Reduce heat and let it cook all the way through (about 15-20 minutes).
Heat olive oil in a pan. Coat fish with flour and saute in oil. Let it brown on both sides, then add orange juice, 2 ladles of broth and wine. Let it reduce.
Very very chou – Salmon in a cabbage outfit with tarragon
Oct 27th
Très très chou – Saumon en robe de chou à l’estragon
A little alternative to salmon…stuffed in cabbage leaves, a perfect light dish if you want to have fun eating while keeping a thin waste line. As much as I love eating, I really enjoy keeping my weight down and stay in shape. Even though I don’t have a scale, I know when I gain or lose weight on how my jeans fit.
I think the best food is the one you truly enjoy eating and that is healthy, light and flavorful. And yes, it is possible to have it all…
I was at the doctor’s office and of course what best to read when you are in the waiting room, than a five page special on the damages of Mercury in fishes on humans. As much as I love fish, I think I will slow down on its consumption since it seems that it’s no longer very safe to eat many species such as mackerel, tuna, swordfish, etc… I think we are just polluting the whole planet and we are getting the consequences right back. I have seen that they even sell grey salmon at the supermarket, probably because some people prefer to eat it that way than eat artificial coloring. Grey salmon looks really strange.
I love to stuff cabbage leaves with all kinds of things, and salmon goes perfectly inside those leaves. You could add one egg and some breadcrumbs to the salmon but I wanted to keep it light, so it’s just mixed with herbs. I didn’t make fish fumet since I didn’t have fish bones, so I used a dehydrated one I brought from France, that works fine when you need a quick alternative to home made fish fumet.
For those who don’t have any idea on what chou means, it can have different meanings, could mean “cute”, qu’il est chou ce garçon! this boy is so cute, or cabbage. Ce chou est chou, is quite redundant, isn’t it? After scrutinizing the cabbage for a while, I realized that this big yellow ball can be cute after all.
Ingredients for 6 pieces
- 2 salmon fillets, skinless and cut in cubes
- 12 large cabbage leaves, blanched
- 1 tbs tarragon chopped
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- 1 tsp fish fumet or fish stock
- 3 tbs dry white wine
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tbs olive oil
- salt and pepper
Preparation
Detach cabbage leaves carefully from cabbage head. Bring water to a boil in a large pot, add salt and blanch the leaves for about 3-4 minutes. When cooked drain, pat dry and lay flat on a smooth surface or wooden board. Remove carefully the hard part of the leaves in the middle that sticks out by trimming it, so it will be easier to wrap the leaves around salmon.
In a mixer, add salmon, shallots, garlic, tarragon, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Mix to obtain a smooth mixture but not too thin.
Place about 2 tbs of salmon mixture in the middle of one cabbage leave, then wrap with another one. Using a kitchen thread, tie the salmon package and set aside. Proceed with the rest of the leaves and fish.
Dissolve fish fumet in 1/3 cup of tbs water, add wine.
Place cabbage packets in a dish sprinkle with olive oil and add 2 tbs fish fumet. Preheat oven at 380F and cook fish for about 30 minutes, turning them and pouring fumet regularly. When the top has become golden, remove from oven, remove thread, add lemon juice and serve. Sprinkle with tarragon leaves and serve with its juice.
Salmon swim – Salmon "en nage" with saffron, with fava beans and potatoes
Sep 22nd
La nage du saumon – Pavé de saumon en nage safranée aux fèves et pommes de terre
That might not be that original but it is so good that I had to put it up. I don’t know why but I am a little tired of seeing fish served with potato purée, not sure either why almost all restaurants do that, but it is certainly a big déja vu and I am wondering why they could not use other vegetables, such as turnips, parsnips, fennel, etc…It’s not so much the potato that bothers me, but the purée.
As much as I want to become a vegetarian, and stop consuming animal base products, including fish, I am unable to do it, well I am probably weak in that respect. Another weakness on the list (among many)…A friend of mine, big meat consumer, refuses to eat fish because he considers fish to be close to humans and he said it’s like eating our own specie, isn’t that strange? I never had a fish as a pet, maybe if I had one, I wouldn’t be able to eat them either. Since I have Pepito, the parakeet, I am wondering how can people eat birds…he is such a little friend. Most of the time, people eat what they eat, without thinking about what it actually is. At some point in my life, I even tasted porcupine…something I would not be able to do today.
I love fava bean so much that I would put them everywhere, salads, soups, fish, pesto, side dish…fava bean rule! I think I have been on a low carb diet lately because I have been thinking about potatoes a lot, and usually it’s a clear sign that my body wants some. I am not a big potato eater, but once in a while, I enjoy them.
Nage in French means swim, and it’s a way we use when talk about a dish that has been prepared with a court-bouillon, a brothy type of stew, or simply broth. Here the salmon swims in the broth, and it’s a very healthy recipe. The thing is when fish is cooked en nage, you need to make sure your broth has lots of flavors or it tends to be insipid. I had white cod cooked this way in a top notch restaurant in San Francisco and it was so bland, the poor fish was barely swimming in some dirty tasteless water.
The broth has a gorgeous yellowish color due to saffron and the potatoes are cooked in it, so they absorbed that color as well.
Ingredients for 4
For the nage
- 3 cups water
- 1 onion, cut in quarter
- 1 carrot
- 1 celeri stick
- vegetable bouillon
- 1/2 tsp anise seeds
- 2 bay leaves
- bouquet garni (oregano, thyme, marjoram, etc…)
- 3 cloves
- 1 saffron dose
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 6 whole black pepper corns
- salt
For the salmon
- 4 salmon fillets
- 4 medium size potatoes, peeled and sliced thinly about 5mm thick
- 1 lbs fava beans
- chives for decoration
Preparation
Heat olive oil and add onion quarters. Cook for a few minutes, add water, vegetable broth, and all the other ingredients. Cover and cook for at least 30 minutes. The liquid needs to reduce and become a little thicker with all flavors infused. Adjust with salt.
In another pot, add 1 cup of water and bring to a boil. Add fava beans and cook for about 3 minutes. Drain and peel. Set aside.
When the broth is almost ready, add potatoes. Cook for about 10 min or until cooked, do not over cook or they will get mushy, the slices need to remain full.
Add salmon fillets, cover and let simmer for about 10 minutes or until salmon is cooked to your taste. Add fava beans and remove from the stove.
Remove salmon fillets and potatoes, and set aside. Drain the broth.
Place salmon in a deep dish, add vegetables around and pour some court-bouillon around. Sprinkle with chives, anise seeds and a few saffron threads.
Are there still fishes in the sea? – Salmon tart with spinach, onions and dill on a black sesame seeds, chili and herb crust
Sep 10th
Y a t-il encore des poissons dans la mer? – Tarte au saumon, épinards, onions et aneth avec pâte au sésame, piment et herbes
I love my rectangular molds and think I haven’t used them that much, so I need to place them somewhere I can see them, otherwise I tend to forget I have them. What a shame. Well, it’s the same thing with clothes, the ones you don’t see, you don’t wear.
I just realized the sun goes down sooner, it’s completely dark at 8pm in San Francisco, despite the weather being sunnier. Completely the opposite of where I grew up. The longest days are in June, you still have light at 10pm and it’s really a wonderful feeling. So fall is just around the corner, I feel time goes by so fast, you blink, and one month is already gone.
Fall recipes are coming and I will be exploring plenty of delicious savory tarts. They are a perfect light lunch of appetizer. J’adore les tartes salées! Tu veux une tarte? Do you want a tart? In French slang than can also mean a slap! Not sure exactly where that comes from.
The particularity of this tart is its crust. I have decided to use less and less refined white flours, and use organic spelt, whole wheat or other nutritious flours made out of grains. Then, in addition, I decided to flavor the crust. This crust has black sesame seeds, chili flakes and dried mixed herbs…and olive oil instead of butter. So we have a healthy version of the traditional French tarts with pate brisee made with white flour and butter. I prefer to use olive oil for savory tarts than butter, the crust is lighter, and you can taste the olive oil which adds a lot of character to the tart.
I am still dealing with the dilemma of eating wild salmon vs. the farm raised one, and I really don’t know what to do. I don’t want to eat salmon that had been injected with coloring, nor eat grey salmon (I don’t think they would sell it anyway) but I don’t want to contribute to destruction of environment. So I am confused.
I had leftover dough that I will use to make some other tart, but the quantities for the tart are good for a round medium size mold of maybe 8.5 inches diameter. My rectangular one is 14×4 inches. If you are using a larger mold, you need to adjust quantities, add 1 egg and more milk and cream and probably extra spinach.
The below pictures are a traditional French mustard, tomato and tuna tart, made with leftover crust I had. This is a very quick and easy savory tart, nonetheless delicious. You can use any type of dough for this an it turned out great with the sesame, chili and herb crust. You just need Dijon mustard, tomatoes, tuna, chives, and of course the egg/cream/milk mixture. This is what we make when you don’t know what to cook and you have some unexpected guest that pop in.
Ingredients for about 6 people
For the crust
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup unbleached flour
- 1/2 cup spelt flour
- 1 tsp black sesame seeds
- 1/2 tps chili flakes
- 1 tsp mixed dried herbs like herbes de Provences, etc…
- 80 ml olive oil
- 1/3 cup water
- a few pinches of salt
For the topping
- 6 cups raw baby spinach (or 1 cup of unfrozen spinach)
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1/2 onion, sliced
- 1 salmon steak (about 1/2 lb), cut in cubes
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1/3 cup low fat milk (or regular milk)
- 1 1/2 tbs dill, chopped
- 1 tbs chives, chopped
- 1 tbs olive oil
- salt and pepper
Preparation
For the crust
Mix all flours in a mixing container. Add sesame seeds, chili and herbs, mix well to combine all ingredients. Add olive oil and salt. Add water gradually, while mixing to obtain a smooth dough. Do not over knead. Form a ball and wrap in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for about 30 min.
In large pot, heat olive oil, add garlic, cook for a few seconds to get flavor out, then add spinach. Add salt and pepper, and keep stirring until the spincah are wilted. Remove from heat and squeez excess water. Set aside.
In a pan, heat olive oil, and add onions. Cook the onions slowly until the melt and become soft. When cooked, add 1 tsp. balsamic vinegar, and stir for another 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.
In a mixing container, mix eggs, eggs, cream, salt and pepper.
Roll the dough and place in your greased non-stick mold (it’s better to grease them anyway even if they don’t stick). Add onion layer, then place spinach, followed by the cubed salmon. Add dill and pour egg mixture on top. Add cracked black pepper.
Cook in a pre-heated oven at 375F for about 30 minutes or until the top of the tart is golden brown. Serve hot with a simple green salad.
The tartine that works an appetite – Salmon tartine with a ginger, caper, mustard and herb dressing
Aug 11th
La tartine qui met en appétit – Tartine de saumon au gingembre, câpres, et herbes mixtes
After a beautiful and sunny day, we are back to the grisaille, which literally translates to “greyness”, the good thing about this type of weather is that you can stay home and cook. hat would be the positive thing. I have really never experienced the San Francisco summer, and it can be overwhelming if you need the natural light to enhance your spirit. This summer has been quiet in terms of business, but it will pick up in the fall. Usually in summer I am in Europe, visiting my family but this year I will probably go home a little later.
What about a nice tartine of salmon enhanced with lots of various fragrant herbs on a slice of toasted baguette? It will color your day. It surely did color mine.
The first time I made those toasts, I used smoked salmon instead of fresh, on small toasted baguette as an amuse-gueule or amuse bouche as they would say in the US, and everyone loved it. You can use either fresh salmon or smoked, depending on what you feel like. I put it on toasted bread but you can serve it on a plate, and on top of a mâche salad and with a slice of bread on the side. You can play with it. It’s very versatile.
For 4 medium size tartines
- 1 salmon fillet
- 4 slices of Italian country bread, toasted
- 1 tsp capers, chopped
- 1 tsp chives, chopped
- 1 tsp tarragon, chopped
- 1 tsp cilantro chopped
- 1 tsp red bell pepper, finely chopped
- chili flakes
- 1/2 tsp ginger, grated
- 1 tbs red onion, chopped
- 1/2 tsp strong Dijon mustard
- 1/2 lemon juice
- 1 tsp olive oil
- salt and pepper
Preparation
Broil salmon under broiler. When cooked all the way through, remove and shred in medium size pieces and place in a mixing bowl. For the dressing, add olive oil and all other ingredients and mix well. Add on top of salmon, adjust with salt and pepper. Toast a slice of baguette and add salmon on top.
The salmon wants to be a chicken – Sesame ginger grilled salmon with mixed salad lemon cilantro dressing
Jul 21st
Le saumon qui voulait être une aiguillette – Aiguillettes de saumon au sésame marinées au gingembre et soja, salade mixte à la vinaigrette de citron et coriandre
After coming back from New Orleans, I stuffed my fridge with fish and seafood, and it’s almost reaching to an end…I feel so much better when I have light lunches like this one, I get extra energy for the rest of the day.
San Francisco has been quite gloomy lately, the fog has a tough time disappearing and the wind makes you feel like you are in winter. We all know that San Francisco weather is what it is in summer, so I will stop complaining…but still I do enjoy the hot summer nights where you can wear tank tops and can sip a anything you want in a restaurant patio without worrying about the wind blowing your napkin away.
I used sockeye wild salmon for this salad, after reading that farm raised salmon has been injected with artificial color to get that orangey-pinky color, I got a little reluctant to get farm raised salmon. My dilemma is that by fishing in the oceans, wild species, we contribute to its extinction, and maybe one day there will be no more fishes in the oceans. Obviously wild salmon tastes much better and sockeye salmon has such a beautiful deep red color, but at what cost do we want to contribute to destruction the of the environment?
It’s something that has been bothering me and I will have to do more research on the subject.
Anyway, if you are anti-wild salmon for environmental reasons and feel comfortable consuming farm raised salmon, it’s up to you, I don’t want to eat artificial coloring if no need to.
Ingredients for 2
For the salmon and marinade
- 1/2 lb of salmon fillet
- 1 tbs shoyu or soy sauce
- 1 tbs balsamic vinegar
- 1 small piece ginger, grated
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbs sesame seeds
- sichuan pepper
For the salad
- 1 carrot, cut in strips
- 1/2 lb cherry medley tomatoes
- 6 radishes
- 1/4 red onion, finely chopped
For the vinaigrette
- 2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
- Juice of one lemon
- 1 tbs cilantro, finely chopped
- salt and pepper
Preparation
Marinate salmon in marinade ingredients for about 4 hours. Cut in thin strips, add sesame seeds and broil in oven for a few minutes.
For the carrots, you can use a potato peeler to get those thin strips, if the strips are too wide, cut them in half lengthwise. Slice radishes in thin slices. Mix the rest of the ingredients all together. Add vinaigrette and toss. Keep some vinaigrette to sprinkle on top of the salmon.
When salmon is cooked, plate with some salad in the middle of the plate and salmon strips on top. Sprinkle with remaining vinaigrette.
