Posts tagged walnuts
We dressed up the beets – Beets stuffed with goat cheese, walnuts and garlic on a bed of kale vinaigrette
Dec 15th
On a habillé les betteraves – Betteraves farcies au chèvre, ail et noix sur lit de chou vert vinaigrette
I am not used to eating beets in hot preparations, and I wanted to explore this further. Sometimes, you are so used to eating things in a certain way, that the thought of changing ways makes you uncomfortable. It’s funny how we, humans are creatures of habits. In France, beets are eaten either raw or cooked but in salads, but rarely hot. At least, I never did. I have roasted them a few times in the oven, and I liked them, but that’s it. Ca s’arrête là. It stops there. Beets being roots, I figured that like potatoes, turnips or any other root vegetable, you can accommodate them in many different ways, one of which being stuffed.
I tried those with Roquefort cheese instead of goat cheese and it was delicious. You can play around a bit with the recipe and I prefer Roquefort than goat cheese, but goat cheese and beets are a perfect combination. You can use smaller beets and serve two instead of one. It really depends on how many number of courses you have. Also, you can serve it on a bed of arugula salad, endives, etc…any kind of greens you like. As you can see this dish is quite versatile, and playful.
As for the color of beets, there is not much difference between red beets and golden beets, other than the golden ones tends to be a tiny sweeter and have a more fragrant flavor, but the difference is really not that big.
Ingredients for 4
For the beets
- 4 medium sized beets
- 4 tbs soft goat cheese (or more to be adjusted according to beet size)
- 4 tsp, chopped walnuts
- 1 large garlic clove, crushed
- 1 bunch kale
- salt and pepper
For the vinaigrette
- 3 tbs olive oil
- 1 tbs sherry vinegar
- 1.5 tsp pomegranate molasses
- 1 tbs chives, finely chopped
- salt and pepper
Preparation
Cook beets in water until tender. Drain, let it cool and peel. Cut a bit of the bottom to make it flat so the beet can stand sill, then cut the top and scoop the inside of the beet to make room for the cheese. Scoop about one third, not the whole beet.
In a small bowl, using a fork mix cheese, garlic and walnuts previously toasted. Stuff beets with the cheese mixture.
Blanch kale and when cooked, squeeze excess water.
Place stuffed beets in a tray and broil until the top turns golden brown.
Pour 2/3 of the vinaigrette on top of kale and toss well. Divide kale in plates, add one beet on top and pour the rest of the vinaigrette on top of beets. Serve warm.
Sunday treat – Vegan coconut-banana mini cakes for a fancy breakfast
May 23rd
Plaisir du dimanche – Gâteau végan à la banane et noix de coco pour un petit déjeûner gourmand
I have always wanted to try to bake a vegan cake that tasted like a non-vegan cake, the great news is that this one tastes better than a non-vegan cake made with eggs and butter. This cake is so moist and flavorful that all my future banana cakes will be vegan. Sometimes you get stuck with some set ideas, such as an eggless cake cannot taste good. I am happy I decided to go against what I thought was right. I had a great weekend and these mini cakes contributed to it….and Prince too, since I went to see him perform in San Jose. What an incredible and talented artist! I knew he was talented but didn’t know he reached this level of musical genius. So Prince and these cakes made my weekend. I have to admit that my ears are still ringing from the sound of the concert, I think I lost some sense of hearing.
I have been very busy lately, and sadly not had much time to post any exciting recipe, nor time to experiment and develop new ideas. I have had a few requests for gluten-free or vegan meals lately, and I will be experimenting more gluten free and vegan desserts. In this particular cake, the ripe bananas mashed into a cream replaced the eggs and made these cakes amazingly moist. No need for eggs!Those mini cakes are perfect for breakfast with fresh fruits or as a little “encas” (snack) with tea or coffee in the afternoon. They’re so healthy and moist, pure velvet in your palate.
I added walnuts and dried apricots in the batter and I couldn’t have found a better ingredient combination for those ones. I used a little grape seed oil instead of vegan margarine, I think oil adds more moisture to the cake than margarine and will always be my first choice when baking vegan.
Ingredients for 5-6 people
Dry ingredients
- 4.23 oz (or 120 g) wholewheat flour
- 4.23 oz (or 120 g) brown rice flour
- 4.23 oz (or 120 g) brown sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp vanilla powder
- 3 tbs walnut, chopped
- 3 tbs dried unsweetened apricots, chopped
Wet ingredients
- 2 large ripe banana, mashed into a creamy texture
- 7 oz (or 200 g) coconut milk
- 2.82 oz (or 80 g) grape seed oil
- 1 tsp banana extract
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Preparation
Mix all “dry” ingredients together in a mixing container. In another container, mix “wet” ingredients. Add wet ingredients to “dry” ingredients and mix well to obtain a smooth batter. Using individual silicon molds, divide batter in 6 molds or one large cake dish. Cook for about 45 min at 365F, you might need to decrease temperature if the top starts getting a little dark. The cakes are cooked when you slide a knife and the blade comes out “clean”. Let it cool and sprinkle some unsweetened coconut flakes on top. Eat warm or cold with coffee or tea.
Come here little turnip – Turnips stuffed with mushrooms, spinach, roquefort and walnuts
Mar 30th
Petit navet, viens par ici – Navets farcis au champignons, épinards, roquefort et noix
Aren’t those irresistible? Turnips tend to be forgotten as a vegetable, even though often used in soups. In France we eat turnips in so many ways, and we even use their leaves in soups. I love turnips, they have a peppery taste and are equally delicious, roasted with lavender salt, braised, or even steamed. They always make great presentations and combine tons of wonderful flavors. Stuffed turnips like any other root vegetable are delicious, I rarely make them, once in a while I get that particular urge, but it’s rare.
Navet in French means of course turnip, but also can be used in a more familiar language to refer to a bad movie, quel navet! meaning, what a lousy movie!
One block down the street, we have a “fruit and vegetable barn” a great little grocery store filled with fresh fruits and vegetables of all kinds, owned by a very funny Greek guy, who sometimes works at the cash register making jokes with its clients. This morning he started singing La Marseillaise (the French anthem) as soon as he saw me, then gave me a bunch of gossips about the French president Sarkozy. Since I am not following the teledrama, I had no idea of what was going on, but he seemed to be well au courant! I told him I came to get some turnips and one was going to be for him because I was very impressed by his “knowledge”…no matter what, it is still knowledge!
Ingredients for 6 turnips
- 1/2 onion, finely chopped
- 6 medium sized turnips, peeled
- 6-7 medium size mushrooms, finely chopped
- 1 cup cooked spinach, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 3 tbs Roquefort cheese or Stilton, crumbled
- 2 tbs walnuts, finely chopped
- butter
- 1 tbs olive oil
- salt and pepper
Preparation
After peeling the turnips cut the top and start removing the inside with a small scoop or melon baller. Chop finely and set aside.
Heat olive oil in a pan, brown the onions, then add mushrooms and chopped turnips. Cook for about 5-10 minutes, then add spinach. Add garlic, stir well and cook for a few minutes. Adjust with salt and pepper
In the meantime, cook turnips for about 5-10 minutes in boiling salted water. Drain and remove excess water.
In a mixing bowl, combine mushroom mixture with walnuts, and Roquefort.
Fill in the turnips with mixture. Cook in a 370F pre-heated oven for about 15 minutes. After 15 minutes add a small piece of butter on top of each turnip and let it melt and brown for another 10 minutes.
Serve hot with a salad, as a side dish, or any way you want to enjoy them!
A wild side – Wild rice "à la forestière" with mushrooms, carrots and walnuts
Nov 15th
Un côté sauvage – Riz sauvage à la forestière aux champignons, carottes et noix
I haven’t realized Thanksgiving is coming soon, then I am leaving to visit my family in France shortly after, not sure I will have time to make it to Italy but we’ll see. It’s been one year I did not go home, and I am starting to have the one year “itch”. I remember I made this rice for Christmas for my parents guests, many years ago as a side dish to stuffed quails with ris de veau (sweatbreads) and everyone loved the whole thing. It was the time I still could eat a bird.
My mom would always invite this longtime Italian girlfriend (from the same town in Italy) with her French husband and son for Christmas and I was not looking forward to it. Those guys were the snobbiest, uptight and annoying people I have ever seen, always criticizing and making fun of others. But every year, my mom would feel so guilty to let them spend Christmas by themselves, so she invited them at home, and we would spend January 1st in their home. That was like a punishment to me! So the first time I made this rice was for them as a side dish. At least something came out of those Christmases. My mom always had this sense of “duty” or “obligation” to take care of people and sometimes it can be overwhelming. I bet everyone has those memories of some family dinners and having to deal with some unpleasant parents’ friends.
It’s a very simple dish but quite tasty and always a beautiful and refined accompaniment to a fish or meat. What is called “à la forestière” in French is mainly a dish that has mushrooms, “forestière” meaning from the forrest (forêt = forrest). Rice à la forestière is a French classic, so this one has been modified and made it into a more modern and light version with a twist. The nutty flavor of wild rice enhanced by walnuts is delightful.
Ingredients for 4
- 300 g wild rice
- 2 carrots
- 2 shallots
- 1.5 cups cremini or wild mushrooms
- 1.5 tbs walnut, chopped
- 1/5 tbs parsley, finely chopped
- 1 tbs olive oil
Preparation
Cook rice for about 40 minutes until cooked. You can either use a rice cooker or cook it in a pot the traditional way.
In a pan, heat olive oil, add shallot and carrots. Cover with a lid and let the mixture cook, then after 10 min add mushrooms, cool for an additional 10 min or until the water has evaporated. Add cooked rice, stir and adjust with salt and pepper. Add walnuts and parsley. Mix well and serve.
Something to deal with traffic – Riz au lait with strawberry compote
Nov 6th
Une petite douceur pour se remettre du trafic – Riz au lait à la compote de fraises
My Friday afternoon was spent driving back and forth from San Francisco to the East Bay. I completely forgot that on Friday afternoons when it rains the freeways are completely insane and the traffic is worse than Paris périphérique aux heures de pointe (during rush hours). I had to drop off some food for some clients on the other side of the bridge and I thought I was never going to make it. A trip that usually takes 30 minutes, took me 2 hours. Besides I am a terrible driver, never had an accident, just a few bumper scratches but I always feel something might happen because I have no concept of space. I have no idea if the car is two meters or three meters behind me.
So when I got home, I made myself a small sweet treat, to calm my adrenaline rush from all the freeway movement.
I don’t know if “riz au lait” is something very popular in the US, I have never seen it served anywhere, maybe it’s considered an “unsophisticated” or rudimentary dessert, I don’t know. In France, riz au lait is something very common, that every household knows how to make. Now I like riz-au-lait with some fruit compote or caramel, or something underneath the rice.
The tricky part is to keep the rice in a creamy vanilla sauce. Rice tends to absorb the liquid, then you might end up with some dry rice which is not very good. You need a lot of milk (and preferably whole milk) and let to rice simmer at very slow heat for about one hour. I used reduced fat milk and tasted great too. There are as many versions of riz au lait as there are cooks in France, so this one is just my version. You can flavor it with cinnamon if you like it. I am a vanilla fan so I don’t want to spoil the natural vanilla flavor with cinnamon.
Ingredients for 4-6
- 5.30 oz (or 150 g) round rice, I used arborio
- 4.2 cups (or 1 liter) whole milk or reduced fat milk
- 4 tbs heavy cream
- 1 vanilla bean split
- raw sugar to your tastes
- 2 tbs chopped walnuts
- 1 lb strawberries
- 1 or 2 tbs light brown sugar
Preparation
Rinse the rice under running water. Bring a water to a boil and cook rice for about 6-7 minutes. Drain. Bring milk and cream to a boil with vanilla bean split. Add rice and let it simmer at very low temperature for about one hour making sure it does not stick. After 30 minutes, add sugar and stir. Add chopped walnuts.
Wash and cut strawberries, cook at medium temperature with light brown sugar until strawberries turn into a sauce.
You can eat the rice lukewarm or cold.
Place some strawberries at the bottom of a cup then add rice on top. Decorate with fresh strawberries and walnut bits.
Feel like savory tarts again? Roquefort, onions and walnut tartlets
Oct 23rd
Encore envie de tarte salée? – Tartelettes au roquefort, oignons et noix
My downstair neighbor John who happens also to take care of the building, came to show me a cookbook a friend of his offered him, and he wanted me to take a look at it, see if I knew the chef who was French (originally from Brittany) Josephine Araldo. She moved to San Francisco in 1924 and was famous long before Julia Childs was a household name. She owned a restaurant in San Francisco where she was also the chef until she died in 1989. So I looked through the book and I loved it, it’s called “From a Breton Garden“, and Josephine had a lot of recipes that are unknown and that you will not find in any other cookbooks. Some traditional and less traditional recipes from Brittany, many of them come from her grandma and are quite amazing.
A lot of French cuisine cookbooks are the same with often the same traditional recipes, such as onion soup, boeuf bourguignon, sole meunière, etc…twisted around. I got a gift certificate for my birthday at Borders, and honestly I spent over an hour in the cookbook section and was unable to find something I really really liked. I have tons of cookbooks, I don’t care about traditional French, Italian or Asian cookbook, I am looking for something new and different, with beautiful pictures. If anyone has some suggestions, I will be happy to check them out.
Well, I promised John I would make something from the book and share it with him…so after reading almost all the recipes, I realized I didn’t have all the ingredients I needed. But since I like to keep my promise, I needed to come up with something. I was thinking about those tartlets for a long time and decided to go ahead with them. I was a little disappointed and didn’t want John to be disappointed either that I didn’t make anything from Jospehine’s book. Next time.
I made those tartlets for some of my parties and were always successful. They’re very easy to make, even the dough can be made in a blink of an eye. The crust has a nice golden color due to the wholewheat and almond meal, and the filling has no cream like regular tarts or quiches so it is quite light. I wanted to balance the fat content since roquefort and walnut are somehow fattening ingredients but there is just a little bit of cheese and nuts, so nothing to worry about too much.
Other blue cheeses such as Stilton would work as well.
Ingredients for 6 tartlets
For the crust
- 3.52 oz (or 100 g) wholewheat flour
- 2.8 oz (or 80 g) white flour
- 1.7 oz (or 50 g) kamut flour
- 3 tbs almond meal
- 2.23 fl oz (or 70 ml) olive oil
- water
- a pinch of salt
For the tartlets filling
- 1 1/2 large yellow onions, sliced crosswise
- 6 large tbs roquefort cheese (stilton could work), crumbled
- 3 tbs walnuts, chopped
- 1 tbs balsamic vinegar
- 3 eggs
- 2 tbs parsley, chopped
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tbs olive oil
- salt and pepper
Preparation
For the crust
In a mixing container, combine all the flours together and almond meal. Add olive oil, progressively and salt, then add enough water to make a nice smooth dough. You will see that if water is not enough, the dough will be crumbly.
For the filling
In a non stick pan, heat olive oil, then add onions, salt and pepper. Cook onions stirring in high heat to brown them, then decrease heat at low temperature, cover with a lid and let onions become soft, almost like an onion fondue. Add balsamic vinegar at the end and mix well.
Roll the dough and place in tartlet molds (preferably non-stick molds). Place one layer of onions on top of dough. Add roquefort cheese on top, and walnuts.
In a mixing bowl beat eggs with milk, parsley, salt and pepper. Pour on top of your tartlets.
Cook in a pre-heated oven at 375 for about 20-3-minutes or until the crust is cooked and the top golden brown.
Unmold and serve hot with an endive salad.
My first American cake – Carrot and walnut cake with cardamom
Sep 26th
Mon premier gâteau americain – Gâteau aux carottes, noix et cardamome
This is an odd and very bright picture of the cake but I have so much light under my window with direct sun light to the table, that could not manage to shoot with a more subtle lighting. The picture is incredibly bright, you might want to put on your sun glasses if you look at the picture for too long, you don’t want to get permanent vision damage!! Sorry about the lighting.
I have never had carrot cake before I moved to the US, and at the beginning I found that weird. I thought Americans and their crazy ideas…using carrots in a dessert! I was horrified…So it took me a few years before I actually attempted to taste it.
I have to admit that coming to America, allowed me to be more open to new things. Europeans in general are a little more conservative (especially the French and Italians who have a strong gastronomy history) in terms of cuisine and tend to be more rigid about how things should be done. That’s why I really love Alain Ducasse, he is an amazing chef, he knows how to keep the traditions but in such an inventive and creative way that it all blends beautifully together. He does not combine too many overpowering ingredients in one dish, and focuses on one primary flavor enhanced with less strong ingredients. I think that too many complex flavors in one dish, mess it up, because you don’t know what you eat anymore and it gets confusing for your palate.
I do love traditions and traditional cuisine, that’s how I grew up, (but that’s why I moved in a certain way because the weight of traditions was somehow suffocating me as a young adult and I wanted some freedom to be myself). I also do enjoy new ideas and flavors in the kitchen. I think you can use the knowledge of traditional cuisine to develop new ideas and combinations. I certainly don’t want to get into politics but if you look at French politicians and presidents before the current president and unpopular Sarkozy, they really were like Museum pieces. The same old dinosaurs with the same old speeches who have been around for ages, and I think that’s scary. (Berlusconi is a different story that I will not discuss here). The French do not like changes and this is ingrained in their culture and I think Italians either. If I look at my family in Italy, they would not eat anything “non Italian” and even for Italian food, it needs to be prepared in a particular way. My Aunt would never use basil with a meat based sauce for pasta, she only uses basil on tomato sauce. My mother never ever uses lamb in her pasta sauce, whereas in Abruzzo they do, etc…so to each its own.
I know that the original carrot cake does contain cinnamon, and I substituted it with cardamom to get a different twist, and the cardamom flavor was quite subtle, you might want to add more if you like. If you like cinnamon, you can use it too. The cake turned out very moist, with such a beautiful deep orange. Now for the “purists” who want to keep their carrot cake traditional, they might think that this is too funky. It might be funky but it’s delicious nonetheless.
Ingredients for 6 people
- 2 eggs
- 300 g carrots (about 3 medium)
- 100 g white flour
- 100 g wholewheat flour
- 100 g butter, melted
- 4 tbs plain yogurt
- 70 g granulated sugar
- 40 g light brown sugar
- 10 g palm sugar
- 2 tbs almond meal
- 70 g walnuts, chopped
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking powder
- one pinch baking soda
Preparation
Beat the eggs with the different kinds of sugars until the mixture double its volume and turns white. Add yogurt, butter and vanilla extract and mix carefully. Add both flours and almond meal. Add baking powder and baking soda, then add cardamom and mix some more. Incorporate carefully carrots and walnuts to the mixture.
Bake in a non-stick pan for about 45 min at 370F.
