I was not sure how this would end up, and did not know if it was worth posting. The funny thing, is that I finished making the carpaccio, and thought let’s not go through the posting process, of writing and editing images, etc… since today I have not too much time to play around and blog, so I started eating it. Then I liked it so much that, I made a second batch for the pictures and decided to post it.

With making recipes for the first time, you never know how the results will be, it can go wither way, sometimes you decide it’s not something you like, or you are disappointed and it ends there. No second time.

Today it was a really nice surprise. You can definitely serve this as an appetizer, it’s light and fragrant, and open your appetite for the next course.

I love daikon, after my trip to Japan, I ate a lot of them, then slowly I stopped buying them. I guess I am back into my daikon phase. Actually I prefer cooked daikon than raw, it does change its flavor end when cooked, the sweetness of the vegetable stands out. This recipe is quite simple and does not take long. You just need a mandoline, a griddle and a mixer.

You could substitute daikon with avocado and tarragon with basil. It’s all about your inspiration, tastes and mood. Now go and play…and eat daikon!

Ingredients for 3-4

• 2 daikon, 2 mm sliced with a mandoline
• 4 zucchini, 2mm sliced with a mandoline
• salt and pepper

For the roasted tomatoes-tarragon coulis

• 3 well ripe and medium size tomatoes, cut in half and seeds removed
• 1/2 bunch tarragon + leaves for garnish
• 1/2 jalapeno
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• salt and pepper

Preparation

For the zucchini-daikon

Heat up a grill pan at high heat. Place slices flat and grill a few minutes on each sides. Set aside.

For the roasted tomato coulis

Place tomato halves in a tray and place under broiler until the top gets darkened and tomatoes soft. Let it cool and mix in a mixer with other ingredients. Strain through a sieve. Adjust with salt and pepper.

Lay one slice of zucchini on top of one slice daikon and repeat until used all ingredients.

Top with coulis, decorate with tarragon leaves and eat cold or lukewarm.

Today, I have no time to have fun and prepare some nice lunch so I have to go with efficiency. I love tartines and never think of making them for lunch. I eat sweet tartines for breakfast but rarely for lunch. What a pity! They are truly delicious and nutritious. Breakfast and lunch are my favorite meals of the day, and I like to treat myself, because dinner is usually very simple and very light.

I am desperately looking for one client of mine a good halal butcher in the city but I cannot find any. Today, on my way back to the city, I stopped in San Bruno check out this Middle Eastern market, if maybe they had some meat. They had none but they did have a lot of of things including sardines on their shelves that looked really good. Basically, they had a lot of things I didn’t need but I had to buy, just because….So here I am buying a load of sardines in oil, curry leaves, mustard oil, and tons of spices that I didn’t need, but I thought I could “maybe” need at some point.

These little tartines or toasts (whatever you prefer) are fairly easy to make, I don’t like to call them toast because that word reminds me of bad cheap white bread you find in supermarkets, so that would not really apply here.  You can use a regular potato or a slice of country bread but I thought the nutritional value of yams would make them more appealing and interesting.

I had some herb paste left I made with some leftover herbs I had in the refrigerator. When I have too many fresh herbs (cilantro, parsley, chives, mint, basil, etc…) that I know will go bad, I make this pesto, or paste, or sauce, or whatever you want to call it. It has multi functions and is delightful, fresh, pungent, and goes well with almost everything (grilled fish, meat, vegetables, on toasts, etc…).

Here the yams is spread with the herb paste, and topped with a bunch of fresh and delicious toppings.

Voila, c’est prêt! Now it’s time to turn off the computer and enjoy lunch. Bon appétit.

Ingredients for 2-3 tartines

For the tartines

• 1 thick yam, peeled and cut in 1 cm slices
• 1 tsp olive oil + 1 tsp extra
• 1/2 cup baby spinach
• 1 can sardines in olive oil, cut lengthwise
• 2 radishes, thinly sliced
• tomato vinegar
• salt and pepper

For the lemon-herb pesto

• 1 cup mixed herbs (cilantro, basil chives, scallions, parsley, etc…)
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• salt and pepper

Preparation

For the lemon-herb pesto, mix all ingredients except lemon zest in a mixer and mix until smooth but still with a texture. Add extra oil if too thick. Add lemon zest at the end and mix well.

Coat yams with olive oil, salt and pepper. Broil on both sides until golden outside and soft inside. Remove from oven.

In a mixing bowl, add olive oil and tomato vinegar to spinach, and a little salt.

Coat each yam with lemon-herb pesto, add spinach, then sardine halves, and top it with radish slices. Drizzle extra olive oil, tomato vinegar, and fresh pepper.

After my little trip to Portland, I came back very inspired, with lots of recipe ideas. I think I fell in love with the city, its beautiful trails and restaurant scene, not to mention the gorgeous neighborhoods with magnificent trees and greenery. Portland truly has great quality produce and what a wonderful city if you care for great organic and fresh food and the outdoors. It’s heaven. At least, I hope heaven will be like that.

After a delightful lunch at Tasty n Alder, downtown Portland, where I ordered a salade niçoise and smoked trout board, it gave me the idea to play around with the salad, its content and texture.

The traditional salade niçoise (from the city of Nice in France) has similar ingredients, except for the bitter greens which I added here. I grilled some radicchio and endive, and made my egg “à la coque” as we say (in the shell) instead of hard boiled egg. I did not add red peppers because I used a vinegar with infused red peppers. The potatoes are broiled in the oven and the salad is a mix of shredded endives and radicchio with anchovies and capers. This salad can be served lukewarm, or cold. I like it lukewarm when I am not in the mood for a salad.

You need top ingredients to truly appreciate this salad. Get the best tomatoes, green beans and olive oil.

There are different steps in this recipe, but well worth it. If you are in hurry, I would not recommend this, but if you have some time ahead and in the mood for a wholesome and delicious meal, try it out.

Ingredients for 2

• 100 g (or two handful) thin green beans
• 4 small red potatoes, cut in halves
• 3 small endives, cut lengthwise
• 1 head of radicchio, cut in small quarters
• 8 small farm tomatoes
• 1/2 red tuna steak
• 1 tsp red and black sesame seeds
• 4 anchovies, chopped
• 1 tsp capers, chopped
• 1 tbs olive oil

For the vinaigrette

•  1 tbs kalamata olives, chopped
• 3 tbs olive oil (raw and unrefined)
• 1 tbs red pepper vinegar (or any other mild vinegar)
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tsp chives, chopped
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Cook green beans in a pot of salted boiling water.

Season potatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper and broil in the oven until golden brown on both sides.

Heat up a skillet and grill radicchio and endive on both sides. Keep warm.

In small pan, place eggs and count three minutes after the water started boiling. Remove from stove and cut the top of the egg.

Coat tuna with white and black sesame seeds. Heat up a grill pan or skillet and grill on both sides, making sure not to over cook it. The middle needs to remain a little pink (or up to your tastes). Adjust with salt and pepper. Cut in 5mm slices.

In a mixing container, combine shredded endive and radicchio and add anchovies, capers, olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss well.

In a large plate, place one egg in the center of the plate. Arrange some shredded salad around. Place nicely all other ingredients around the plate. Drizzle with vinaigrette.

For the vinaigrette

Combine all ingredients together.

These razor clams remind me of my childhood with my grandmother on a beach on the Adriatic. We used to find those inside the sand and pick them to bring home. It’s been so hard to find them in the stores in the US, and even in Europe. I was reading an article saying that they were no longer part of the culinary world and that the chefs stopped serving them in restaurants for years. The good thing is that, they have decided to introduce them back into their menus and you can now find them in the stores.

The ones you find in Italy or France are smaller, not as thick and longer, they look like a knife. Actually the literal translation of “couteau” in French means knife. These razor clams being so big, they need to be cleaned a bit different than the ones you find in Europe. Those come from the Pacific North West so maybe that’s another type of razor clam.

Unfortunately those clams have been previously frozen, the good thing is that it was easy to open them. To clean them you have to remove the digestive system which is the dark part. Cut it off with scissors and it’s done.

Ingredients for 2

• 6 razor clams
• 1 spring shallot
• 1.2 cup parsley
• 3 garlic cloves
• olive oil
• zest of one lemon
• chili flakes (optional)
• salt and pepper
• lemon oil for drizzling

Preparation

For the herb mixture

In a blender, mix all ingredients except lemon zest. The mixture needs to be smooth, but not like a paste, you need some texture

For the clams

If using frozen ones, open them and wash them well. Clean them removing the digestive system, rinse and pat dry. Place clams back on their shell.

Preheat oven at 370 F. Add herb mixture on top of clams and place in oven for about 15 min or less, until clams are cooked but not too hard. Remove from oven and drizzle with olive oil

I have been wanting to make this carpaccio for such a long time, then one thing or another comes up and I end up making something else. Besides, a whole uncooked octopus is hard to find, but lately I saw them at Whole Foods.

The first time I tasted an octopus carpaccio was a few years ago in Italy, in a small restaurant around Lake Como, since then I have been thinking about it. It was such a memorable dish and special moment. The moment might be gone, but I always wanted to try to reproduce the dish.

Last weekend we went to a famous restaurant in Napa where they had an octopus carpaccio on the menu. Needless to say, I order it. I was so excited to taste a Japanese, fusion octopus style carpaccio, and get some inspiration on new flavors. Unfortunately, when the dish arrived, there were a few very tiny and thin slices of cut tentacles buried in salad, that was it. I was so bummed, thinking maybe they had no clue on what the word carpaccio meant or maybe they ran out of octopus, or who knows.

This recipe is fairly simple, yet quite delicate, and light. You just need an empty bottle of plastic (like a water bottle you would buy at the store) to stuff the cooked octopus in it. This way, it will solidifies into a thick block, easy to slice.

Ingredients for 3-4

For the octopus

• 1 large octopus (3-4 lbs uncooked)
• 1 carrot, peeled
• 1 celery stalk
• 1 bay leaf

For the dressing

• 6 tbs live oil
• 2 tbs lemon juice (preferably Meyer)
• Piment d’Espelette
• 1 tbs parsley, chopped
• salt and pepper

Preparation

In a large pot, cook octopus with carrot, celery, bay leaf until tender (about 30-40 min). Let it cool in its water. When cold drain and squeeze excess water. Push the octopus in the plastic bottle, from which you have cut the top (you need to have a cylinder with top cut off). Press hard to compress the octopus. Place in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours.

For the dressing, mix all ingredients together.

Remove the octopus from the bottle by cutting the plastic. Slice very finely and divide on individual plates. Sprinkle with dressing on top and serve cold

I could not decide on what to call those…either croquettes or galettes which in the French culinary world mean slightly different things. Croquette come from the verb “croquer” which means to bite something that has a crunchy texture. There is no equivalent verb in English. You can make croquettes with many things, but usually then are rolled in breadcrumbs and deep fried.

Galette refer to a flat and round cake, but can also be used to describe savory flat bread that has a topping or anything that is round and flat.

So here I thought croquettes would be more appropriate.

This is a quick recipe to savor cod. Actually, this would be a good way to make kids eat fish. No one can resist those delicious croquettes. I have a weakness for croquettes or galettes of any sort, because they add a new dimension to the ingredient you are using. It can be vegetables, fish, meats, the result is always a savory, fun and flavorful dish to enjoy.

You can serve these croquettes on a bed of saute spinach, kale, green salad, etc…I like to accompany them with simple vegetables or salad. They have too much character to be combined with some complicated side dishes.

I will soon start experimenting those in a sweet version using fruits.

Ingredients

For the croquettes

• 1 lb cod
• 2 celery sticks, roughly chopped
• 1/4 white onion, roughly chopped
• 1 egg
• 1 tbs parsley, chopped
• 2 tbs gluten free flour or regular flour
• zest of one lemon
• salt and pepper

For the carrots

• 2 carrots, peeled and shaved with a potato peeler
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp parsley, chopped
• lemon juice to taste
• salt and pepper

For the caper sauce

• 2 tbs plain Greek yogurt
• 1 tbs light mayonnaise
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tbs capers, rinsed and chopped
• salt and pepper

Preparation

For the croquettes

Grind in a blender, cod with onion, celery, parsley. Blend until a semi-fine consistency so the fish and ingredients do not turn into a paste. Pour mixture in a mixing container and add all other ingredients. Mix well and form about 2 inches wide patties and 3/4 inch thick.

Heat olive oil in a pan and cook croquettes on both sides until cooked all the way through and golden brown on both sides.m

For the yogurt caper-sauce

In a mixing containers, add all ingredients and mix well.

For the carrot ribbons

Peel carrots. Using a potato peeler shave carrots from top to bottom to form ribbons.

Heat olive oil in a pan and add carrots. Adjust with salt and pepper and cook stirring for a few minutes until ribbons are softer but still crunchy. Add parsley.

I had some broccoli that I needed to use, and I did not feel like eating them in pieces, so I figured if I made purée, what else could I combine them with. One thing led to one other and one thought led to one other, so here it is, a little timbale as we call it in French. In the culinary world it’s a deep and tall mold, and any preparation that has been mounted this way can be called timbale.

If you are in the mood for some greens, and a little salmon, this could be it. Believe it or not, this is an express dish, that is done in 30 minutes, so it’s always something to consider when your time is limited in the kitchen like most working people.

You can use baby kale instead of spinach, or any leafy green you like and use cauliflower instead of broccoli. This can be served as an appetizer or entrée for a light meal.

Ingredients for 4 people

• 200 g cooked smoked salmon, shredded
• 4 cups broccoli florets
• 1 tbs olive oil + 1 tsp
• 2 garlic gloves, crushed
• 1 bag of baby spinach or baby kale
• salt and pepper

For the dill sauce

• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 1 glass dry white wine
• fish fumet
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tbs dill, chopped
• 2 tb crème fraîche

 Preparation

Start by making the sauce. Heat olive oil in a small pot, add shallots and soften for about 2 minutes. Add wine and fumet and reduce for about 5-7 minutes. Add lemon juice, dill and crème fraîche.

Bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Add broccoli and cook until tender. Drain well and mash using a potato masher. Adjust with salt and pepper and a little olive oil. Keep warm.

In a large pot, heat olive oil and add garlic crushed. Stir to get the flavor out, then add greens at high temperature until wilted. Adjust with salt and pepper. Keep warm

Using a rind, mount in a plate by starting first with some broccoli purée at the bottom. Add spinach, then salmon, then proceed with another layer and end with the salmon.

Place some dill sauce around and serve hot or warm.

]]> http://citronetvanille.com/blog/2014/06/smoke-salmon-broccoli-puree-and-spinach-timbale-dill-sauce/feed/ 0 http://citronetvanille.com/blog/2014/03/in-the-wide-world-of-galettes-cauliflower-and-zucchini-galettes-bed-of-carrots-yogurt-sauce/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=in-the-wide-world-of-galettes-cauliflower-and-zucchini-galettes-bed-of-carrots-yogurt-sauce http://citronetvanille.com/blog/2014/03/in-the-wide-world-of-galettes-cauliflower-and-zucchini-galettes-bed-of-carrots-yogurt-sauce/#comments Fri, 14 Mar 2014 01:59:02 +0000 silvia http://www.citronetvanille.com/blog/?p=16455 Dans le vaste monde des galettes – Galettes de chou fleur et courgettes, sur lit de carottes rapées et sauce yaourt

I am so happy about the time change, days seems longer, they are definitely brighter. I am very ready for spring and everything it brings us.

This recipe features one more addition to the vegetable galettes chapter, I love those ones, well you need to first like cauliflower to appreciate those galettes…actually, no you don’t need to like cauliflower to appreciate these, you just need to try them.

I used the orange cauliflower kind but of course any cauliflower would work. I just like colorful dishes. It’s a quick dish to prepare and you can use those galettes as a side dish to chicken or any other meat, and for a vegetarian option, they are perfect as is with a green salad. These are a great way to make kids eat their vegetables, they’re fun and don’t look like one.

Ingredients for about 10 galettes

For the galettes

• 1 head orange cauliflower, cut in florets
• 1 zucchini
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 5 tbs parmesan
• 2 tbs chives
• salt and pepper
• olive oil

For the carrots

• 4 large carrots, peeled and shredded
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1.5 tsp lemon juice
• salt and pepper

For the yogurt sauce

• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 tbs lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, crushed

Preparation

Blanch cauliflower in boiling water for about 3 minutes. Drain and set aside. Using a mandoline slice zucchini finely, place in a drainer and add 1 tsp coarse salt and let it drain for about 15 min. Rinse under water and squeeze excess water.

Chop roughly cauliflower and place in a mixing bowl. Add zucchini. Add parmesan, chives, flour, baking power, salt and pepper.

In another mixing bowl, beat the eggs and add to the mixture. Mix well, the mixture should not be too liquid, if too liquid, add flour.

Heat olive oil in a pan, using your hand, form galettes (2 inches diameter) and place in pan. Cook until both sides are golden brown.

For the carrots and yogurt sauce, mix each respective ingredients together.

Serve galettes on a bed of carrots with yogurt sauce on top.

I got inspired by Indian samosas when I made those. I felt like eating something spicy, salty, but not greasy and since I bought a few brick packs when I was in France, with an expiration date coming close, I figured let’s make something that has the spirit of the samosa but a bit different. Voilà, c’est fait!  If you cannot find bricks, I have seen them sold online tough or in some specialty stores, you can use any kind of dough/wrappers/pastry sheets, etc.. (filo dough, puff pastry, etc…) I love bricks because they get crunchy and are very light.

The stuffing is a mixture of broccoli, yams, carrots and spices. Yams are not often used in French cuisine, but I am starting to like them and use them more often in some savory preparations. I don’t think I can make anything sweet with them, I have a slight blockage about that. In my mind, they’re potatoes and not supposed to be used in desserts. Like my Japanese neighbor has a blockage about rice pudding, I have one about yams combined with sugar.

I loved those crunchy rolls, light, flavorful with lots of texture. It will definitely please vegetarians or vegans if you replace the yogurt sauce with some mint chutney.

Ingredients for 5-6 large rolls

• 1 tbs olive oil (+1 for brushing)
• 1/4 onion, chopped
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 1 carrot, peeled and cut
• 1 small yam, peeled and cut
• 1 tbs cilantro, chopped
• salt and pepper

For the yogurt sauce

• 250 ml plain Greek yogurt
• 1 tsp mint, finely chopped
• 1 tsp scallions, chopped
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• salt and pepper

 Preparation

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add vegetables and cook until tender. Drain and chop vegetables roughly and set aside.

In a pan, heat olive oil, add onion and ginger and let soften. Add garlic until fragrant, a few minutes. Add all the spices, and stir well to combine flavors. Add vegetables, cilantro, salt and pepper and mix well until the vegetables are well coated in the spices. Remove from heat and let cool.

In the meantime, prepare the yogurt sauce by mixing all the ingredients together. Refrigerate.

Take one brick sheet placing it flat on a wooden surface. Place 2-3 tbs of vegetable mixture (depending on how big you want to make the roll) in the middle and roll like you would for a spring roll. Proceed the same way with the other brick sheets. Brush olive oil on top of each roll.

Bake in the oven at 380F for about 10-15 minutes and turn around the rolls to the other side until both sides are golden brown and crunchy. Serve hot with yogurt sauce and a green salad.

I cannot believe that my last post goes back to one month ago. Shame on me. I have no excuse, so shame on me twice. I have been back from France, then I got sick, then I have been busy working and busy working out, so one thing added to another, voilà, my blog is being neglected. Quelle honte!

In the vegetarian series, here is a good one. These mushrooms make a great presentation, have a lot of flavor and are light as a feather.

Since I found out that portobello mushrooms are just cremini mushrooms grown to an exaggerated size, I have not been as excited to cook them…yes, hélas the excitement is gone.

Yesterday, strolling around the vegetable section, some fresh and pretty portobello caught my attention. I have been ignoring them for a while, and since I felt like eating mushrooms, I bought them not really knowing how to prepare them. It ended being a light stuffing with finely chopped vegetables, basil, pine nuts and goat cheese. They are ridiculously light so if you are hungry, I suggest eating two with some side dish. I loved the light texture and flavor of the stuffing…so I would say portobello are back in my kitchen. I don’t know for how long, but so far, they’re in.

Ingredients

• 2 large portobellos
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 zucchini
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 4 mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4 onion, chopped
• 2 tbs basil, chopped
• 1 tbs pine nuts
• 2 tbs goat cheese, crumbled
• 1 tbs kalamata olives, chopped
• 2 tbs panko breadcrumbs (plus extra for topping)
• salt and pepper

Preparation

For the stuffing

Chop in a mixer zucchini, onion and bell pepper. The texture needs to be fine but with some pieces.

Heat olive oil in a pan and add mushrooms, let them cook until the water evaporates. Remove from pan.

Chop mushrooms as finely as the other vegetables.

In the same pan, heat olive oil, add zucchini, onion and pepper mixture. Let them cook at medium heat for a few minutes (no water should be left in the pan). If there is still water, remove excess water with a towel or squeeze using your hands when the mixture has cooled down.

Remove from pan and in a mixing bowl mix vegetables with mushrooms. Let it cool. Add the rest of the ingredients (except oil), leaving the goat cheese for the end. The goat cheese needs to keep some crumbly texture so mix carefully all the ingredients.

For the mushrooms

Sprinkle mushrooms with some olive oil, salt and pepper. Broil for 5 minutes.

using a paper towel absorb mushroom water if necessary and pat dry.

Pre heat oven at 375F. Divide the stuffing on each mushroom, sprinkle with some bread crumbs and cook for about 15 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Serve hot with a green salad.