fresh and crunchy raw vegetables for all next semester!

When I think about it salad doesn’t appeal to me. I imagine somme watery and old lettuce or unrecognisable veggie under tons of mayonnaise. Of course nothing compares to a freshly picked lettuce with some great seasoning; not what you find in supermarkets! I’m more tempted by raw vegetables that would be crunchy and fresh. It always satisfy my appetite.

Today, two examples very simple to make and delicious right now that the days are beginning to shorten, the evening are becoming chilly and nights and mornings are getting cold.

But I’m not yet ready to dive into auutumn just yet, so to accompany a bowl of miso soup, a plate of steamy risotto or a slice of very good bread with a bit of salty butter, I choose those two ideas.

The first one is inspired by a friend from Chili. She makes it with white cabbage, lime and fresh coriander. Here is my version with what I had on hand!

Press 1 pink grapefruit and keep the meat that detaches from it (although try to leave the little inside skin away) and press 2 lemons . Thinly cut 1 pointed cabbage, either with a mandoline (vegetable slicer) or a very good knife. Cut 2 avocados in half, take the pit out and peel the fruits as you would oranges. Cut the avocados in thin slices then in chunks.

In a salad bowl, put the grapefruit meat, the avocados, then pour a generous amount of the citrus juice. Add the cabbage, a bit of olive oil and some salt. Mix delicately.

It’s delicious with grilled meat on a BBQ, slow cooked fish, hot tofu… For the version from Chili, use lime instead of lemon and grapefruit and add minced fresh coriander.

The second recipe:

I recieved about 2 kilos of beetroot from generous friends who have a very beautiful garden. Beetroot seem to have enjoy the summer weather, so there are a LOT af it! I need to find ways to cook them that won’t bore the family after two meals. I prefer raw beetroot as the cooked version (except in a red velvet chocolatey cake) as I find it less earthy and more sugary. besides I love the crunchy feel of beets under my teeth.

With a mandoline (vegetable slicer), I make very thin and supple slices of beetroot. I sesaon it simply:                                         2-3 tbsp of olive oil                                                                                                                                                                     1 tbsp of apple vinegar                                                                                                                                                               a dozen roughly minced hazelnut                                                                                                                                                some salt 

Yesterday that salad accompanied some patties made with tuna, goat cheese and oat flakes. It’s great with a piece of cheese like Comté or with quinoa mixed with fresh herbs such as young spinach, parsley and chervil. You can replace half the olive oil with hazelnut oil.

May those two easy recipes accompany you through autumn and winter!

Spring rolls

SPRING ROLLS WITH CUCUMBER

This fresh recipe is also crunchy and full of layers of flavors that awakens the taste buds. You can change it to make it a salad. 

The sauce works on steamed vegetables, slow cooked poultry, white fish or silken tofu… You can prepare a lot of the sauce and keep it in the fridge for a few days. Take those rolls for a pic-nic or lunch but wrap them separately so they don’t stick together and stay humid. 

For 12

Sauce & marinade :

150ml soy sauce

120ml lemon juice

4 tbsp fresh peeled and grated ginger

1 peeled, minced garlic clove

1 deseeded Thaï red pepper, thinly minced (use gloves while working with hot peppers)

2 tsp of sugar

freshly ground pepper

• Put everything in a bowl, mix well and put aside.

The rolls :

2 cucumbers, peeled to makes stripes, deseeded and cut in thin julienne

1 avocado cut in thin stripes

1 carrot, peeled and cut in julienne about  7,5 to 10cm long

1 red pepper, deseeded and cut in thin stripes

200g thin rice noodles (prepared as said on the package)

1 dozen fresh coriander branches, minced

2 tbsp of sesame oil

12 rice paper sheets

• First marinate the cucumber. Prepare all the other ingredients then sieve the cucumber but keep the sauce for service.
• Put the rice sheets, one by one, in warm (but not hot) water so it softens.
• Garnish the soften sheets with the noodles, then with a little of each ingredients. Roll, folowing the instructions on the rice paper package.

Garnish :

1 small handful of grilled and salted peanuts, coarsely minced

To serve:

• Cut each roll in two, put on a plate, pour some sauce and sprinkle with the peanuts.
• 

This is a recipe that makes me travel. I also forget the weather, if it’s a bit too warm to be comfortable or a bit cold for the season. There is some sweetness, some acidity, some salt, a bit of umami. It’s quite balanced and the meat eater won’t miss the meat here although you can add some chicken or shrimp in each roll. Actually, I find it more whole when prepared this way. I guess I could add some crunchy onions but I don’t really miss it here.

I think spring rolls are a great way to eat lots of veggie and to adapt to each season although you might want to change the name then!

What is your favorite spring roll recipe?

Salmon candy (or tofu, chicken, duck…)

This is a recipe I love, it’s easy to make, very tasty ( a bit of umami there that’s quite attractive to the taste buds) and versatile.

You can adapt the sauce to suit your diet: use it on another fish, on poultry (duck is great and chicken too), or on tofu.

The ingredients:

• 3 tbsp of red miso
• 3 tbsp of mapple syrup
• 1 tsp of sake or rice vinegar
• salmon filet, white fish, chicken or duck breast, firm miso

  Turn on the oven at 85°C.

  Mix the red miso with the mapple syrup and the sake to get a smooth sauce. Pour over your protein and put in dish.

  Cook in the oven for about 30 to 45 minutes, until cooked through. As it is a very low temperature, the protein still melt in your mouth and that’s why I call it salmon candy.

  I serve it with steamed rice, steamed brocoli that I sauté for a few minutes with soy sauce and a bit of coconut oil in a hot wok. I like to add some sprouts (like sprouted leeks) and peanuts.

I really like the flavors and the depth of the taste coming from those simple yet luxurious ingredients. I love some Asian food now and then but I’m not really convince by the (lack of) quality from the take away around my home. Also, I’d like to avoid MSG or too much refined sugar.

spring menu

Today it’s pretty windy and we fear everything will fly away. But still spring is there! Flowers bloomed on the cherry tree and you better enjoy it before the wind takes it all! Leaves are burgeoning and green is coming into our plates! 

Last Friday, during one of my cooking classes, we made:

spinach salad with chorizo and oranges

   

risotto with spring onions, curried chicken and al dente vegetables with fresh herbs: carotts, green asparagus and snowpeas wth flat leaf parsley, chervil and tarragon

 and soft still warm madeleines !

I’m sharing with you

THE SPINACH SALAD WITH ORANGES & CHORIZO 

For 8 

2 bags of spinach, stems removed

2 peeled and minced shallots

3 oranges 

1 table spoon of mustard

some chorizo in slices

salt and pepper to taste

some olive oil

• Wash the spinach. 

• Heat a pan and grill the chorizo with the shallots until soft and lightly golden. 

• Wash 2 of the 3 oranges and zest them. Peel it to get to the “meat”. Take the orange’s supremes with a very good knife then press what’s left to get as much juice as possible.

• Press the last orange and add to the previous juice. 

• Mix the mustard with salt and pepper. Add the zest and the orange juice. Mix welle and whilemixing, add the olive oil little by little so you get a beautiful emulsion. Pour the vinaigrette on the spinach, to taste. Add the oranges’ supremes and the chorizo. 

• Mix well, serve and eat right away. 

For vegetarian and vegan, you can replace the chorizo by grilling peeled almond with salt and paprika (if it’s smoked it’s even better)!

This delicious menu is to be shared among good friends hopefully with a ray of sun like in this pcture over our service table!

vegetables stew with lentils, coriander and spices

 

This a nourishing meal, easy to prepare un advance. Rich in vitamins and minerals, it can be adapted to all seasons…

I like my vegetable cooked al dente but you can leave it to cook longer, until melted.

Cover 1/2 a cup of green lentils in water and leave to rest overnight. The next morning, drain and rince well. Leave in a colander over a bowl. Before preparing your meal, rince well again and cook in a steamer, covered in water for about 25 minutes.

This way you get sprouted lentils which are easier to digest in richer in many good nutrients. 

Once cooked, drain the lentils if necessary.

 1 tbsp of coconut oil or olive oil

1 peeled and minced onion

2 peeled and minced garlic cloves

2 tbsp of minced fresh ginger

1/2 tsp of strong paprika or mild chili flakes

1 tsp of grounded fennel seeds

1 tsp of grounded coriander seeds

1 tsp og grounded cumin

1/2 washed brocoli cut into florets

2 washed, peeled and diced carrots

1 small fennel, washed and minced

1 small zucchini, washed and cut in thick dices

2 cans of tomatoes

1 bouquet de coriandre fraîche lavée et émincée

Heat the oil in a cast iron pan or in a wok. Add the onion and the garlic. Once melted, add the spices (cumin, coriander, fennel seeds and paprika) and the ginger. When you can smell the spices, add the brocoli, the carrots, the fennel and the zucchini. Cook over warm heat for about 5 minutes then add the tomatoes and the lentils. Leave to cook 5 to 10 more minutes.

Salt in the end.

Serve with the fresh coriandre.

For a more whole meal, serve with a bowl of steamed rice. 

Adapt the vegetables to the season (replace zucchini for squash, use fresh tomatoes…). Vary the spices, the fresh herb, replace the lentils for garbanzo beans or quinoa…

baby food but not quite

Being a mother is quite time consuming and the perfect test to see how you adapt to new situation! As soon as you get around to breast feeding or to organizing bottle schedule, you have to learn how to give real food to your, already, a few months old!

So, here are a few ideas of mix that you can actually use for adults too, mixed or not, to accompany some protein (vegan or vegetarian or meat) and, maybe a few raw veggies to get some crunch.

I cook everything in an electric steamer then I mix and I might add some water if the mix is too thick which can be the case with rice.

You’ll have a few * to give you ideas to complete the mix to get an adult meal.

Until now, my baby has eaten all of it without spitting it out!

potatoes + beetroot*

rice + cherry tomatoes

cucumber + millet

parsnip + rice + basil**

quinoa + broccoli

sweet potatoes + mushrooms

turnip + millet

potatoes + parsnip + fresh coriander

fennel + rice***

pumpkin + cauliflower

potatoes + zucchini

celeriac + basmati rice

sweet potatoes + carrots

I either add some virgin olive oil or some organic butter.

It’s so great to see my kid test new food and to see the promise of so many shared meals!

* The potatoes and beetroot purée is great and delicious. It would be perfect with some fresh ruccola and goat cheese. Why not a few chopped hazelnuts and for the meat eater, a nice steak.

**I also tried the parsnip and rice with fresh coriander. For adults, adding some freshly grounded coriander would be delicious. I would keep them unmixed and serve it with a curry made with coconut milk and lots of veggies. If you need protein, you can add some lentils or some chicken to the mix.

Don’t hesitate to add heat!

***If you use some arborio rice (the round one for risotto), you could serve it with Italian sausage containing fennel seeds or heat some fennel seeds in a hot pan and add cubes of firm marinated tofu.

Marinate the tofu in a mix of olive oil, freshly grounded fennel seeds, salt and pepper.

Add some sauce made with a reduction of white wine, shallots, a little water and saffron. When the reduction is ready add either butter or olive oil to emulsify.

 

 

stuffed tomatoes with beef, fresh cheese, and olives

 I love tomatoes. I know it’s still a bit early in the season and that they’ll get better during summer but I couldn’t wait any longer!

I also love stuffed vegetables so here’s is my last tried recipe!

Ingredients:

8 tomatoes

sea salt

300g grounded beef

400g fresh cheese (here we call it maquée, in France it’s called faisselle)

6 sage leaves, washed and minced

1 bunch of minced rocket/arugola/arucola

10 green pitted and minced olives 

1 peeled and minced small onion 

200g small chunks of sheep cheese 

olive oil

pepper

Wash the tomatoes. Cut the peduncle. Cut the upper part of the tomato to make a “hat”.

Empty the tomatoes with a teaspoon. Keep the tomato’s meat but get rid of as much seed as you can.

Salt the inside of the emptied tomatoes and their hat. Put them upside down on paper towel for about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven at 180°C.

In a bowl, mix the sage, rocket, onion, minced beef, maquée/fresh cheese, olives, and 3/4 of the sheep cheese.

Salt, pepper.

Stuff the tomatoes with the mix. Add the remaining sheep cheese on top and put the hat bakc in place.

Put the tomatoes in an oiled oven proof dish. Add a few olive oil drops on each tomatoes. Add the tomato’s meat around the stuffed tomatoes. Cook in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes.

Serve with a salad, steamed vegetables, pasta…

chicken & tarragon terrine

A fresh terrine to serve at a garden buffet or a summer dinner.

The quantity are for about 8 to 10 slices.

Steam 2 chicken breasts until cooked (time depends on the thickness of the breasts).

Mix 500g of minced pork (unsalted and unspiced) and beef (if you have a meat grinder, make the minced meat yourself – that way you know what’s in it ewactly!) with lots of unsalted peeled pistacchio, a big chunk of minced tarragon (just the leaves… yeah I know, it takes time… but maybe you have little hands to help there ?), salt and pepper. Cook a little bit of the mix in a pan so you can taste the seasonning and correct it if necessary. Better do that little test than be sorry because your terrine is bland!

If it’s too salty, of course, the only solution is to add more meat… which is way more complicated than to add a little salt and pepper!

Preheat the oven at 180°C.

Coat the sides and bottom of the terrine with very thin slices of smoked bacon or speck (you actually line the terrine with the bacon). The bacon protects the meat from drying. If you don’t eat pork, try to find some thin slices of fatty meat (like beef ham).

Add 1/2 the minced meat and push to every corners! Cover the meat with tarragon leaves, put the chicken breasts to cover it all (you can cut the breasts thinner to achieve this), put some more tarragon leaves on top and then the remaining half of the minced meat (pushed to every corners as well). Cover with the slices of bacon so it’s well covered.

Put the cover back on the terrine and place it in an oven pan with some water (bain-marie). Put in the oven anc cook for 2 hours.

Be carefull when to take it out of the oven so to not spill the hot water.

Leave the terrine to cool before storing it in the fridge.

The terrine is better the next day and can be kept in the fridge for a few days

Serve with a port & shallot’s confit (recipe will follow)

flatbread with parmiggiano

For a dozen bread.

This recipe comes from a French magazine called Saveurs (n°183 – may 2011).

I divided the dough in 2 and flavored one half with dried oregano and the other half with fresh finely minced mint. The bread will keep well for a few days but you can also just make half of it if you’re not as many eaters.

Prepare each dough seperately if you want different flavors.

600g of organic whole flour (2x300g)

1 tsp of dry yeast (2 halves tsp)

4 tbsp olive oil (2×2 tbsp)

320g of grated parmiggiano (2x 160g)

50cl of lukewarm water (2x 25 cl)

1 bunch of fresh mint and/or 1 tbsp of dry oregano

Bring water to boil.

In a pastry blender, knead the flour, the boiling water, the olive oil, the parmiggino, and the chosen herb. When the dough isn’t sticking on the bowl anymore, flour your hands and make a ball. Place it in a bowl and cover with a clean cotton cloth. Leave to rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven at 210°C.

Divide the dough in 8 (or in 16 if you made all of it – 8 with oregano and 8 with mint) and spread it with a rolling pin. With a pastry brush, brush the bread with olive oil, put it on an oven proof dish covered with parchment paper, and cook in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes.

Start again until there’s no dough left. Leave the bread to cool.

You can serve it with pesto, pesto rosso, salmon cream, sardines rillettes, or to accompany a barbecue and some fresh salad.

chickpea, mint & feta cheese

Drain 375g of chickpea and rince until there’s no foam coming from it.

Heat 4 tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan on low heat and cook a minced onion until golden. Add 7 garlic cloves (peeled and minced) with 2 hot peppers (deseeded and minced). Cook for a few seconds until fragrant. Leave to cool.

Mix the chickpeas with the cold onion mix (and the cooking oil that go with it) and with 375g of crumbled feta (or cut in cubes), minced flat leaves parsley, ciseled fresh mint, the juice of 2 lemons. Add 2 tbsp of olive and toss.

You can make it without the feta and add olives instead.