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.

I love weekends, especially when I have enough time to explore new recipes and cook. That is my perfect weekend, and even more perfect when my experiments turn out delicious.

Strangely beets remind me of my childhood. The first time I had beets was in elementary school, I must have been 6 or 7 years old. I used to have lunch “à la cantine”  (the school canteen where kinds have lunch?) since my mom could not come pick me up for lunch. They were cut in small cubes and served with a vinaigrette. Most kids didn’t eat them, but for some reason, I like them and always asked for a second serving. I have been eating beets since then. Some of my friends in their adult life ended up hating everything they ate “à la cantine” and were traumatized by that food.

A discussion with my mom this morning led to this recipe. She was mentioning a delicious zucchini carpaccio she ate at some friend’s house, topped with parmesan and basil, that she loved. It made me realize that I don’t make vegetable carpaccio very often. Usually when talking about carpaccio, it’s mainly referring to beef or salmon, topped with olive oil, lemon, etc…

I had a bunch of beets in the refrigerator, that I kept postponing to cook and I wanted to explore more recipes using my raspberry vinegar too. What more perfect than this!

Another alternative to Greek yogurt sauce is to shave some pecorino on top of the beets. It’s all up to your inspiration.

I loved this combination of beets, raspberry vinegar, goat yogurt and herbs, especially when you add extra dressing and extra goat yogurt, when everything mixes up; then all different nuances of colors, flavors and textures dance in your plate and palate.

Ingredients for 2-3

• 2 golden or red beets, peeled and finely sliced using a mandoline
• pumpkin seeds, roasted

For the raspberry dressing

• 6 raspberries, crushed with a fork
• 2 tbs raspberry vinegar
• 1 tsp chives, chopped
• 3 tbs olive oil
• salt

For the yogurt sauce

• 1 plain goat Greek yogurt
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tbs fresh mint, finely chopped
• zest of 1/2 meyer lemon
• juice of 1/2 meyer lemon

Preparation

In one container, mix raspberry dressing  ingredients together. Mix yogurt sauce ingredients together.

In a plate, lay out beet slices nicely. Drizzle some raspberry dressing on top of the beets. Add one tbs of yogurt sauce. Decorate with pumpkin seeds.

Serve with more yogurt sauce and dressing on the side.

I love this salad, it’s fresh, fragrant and in my opinion has a lot of character due to its vibrant colors and bold flavors. I made it a few weeks ago, then never posted it. All kind of oranges are in season right now, from the cara cara to the blood oranges, there are many citrus out there that are worth exploring. My favorites right now are the Satsuma oranges. Under a rough and thick peel, you find a delicious, juicy and sweet pulp with no seeds that is such an exquisite treat…treat yourself until they last!

Beets are either a hit or a miss with people. Either you love them or hate them, so if you are one of the beet lovers, you might want to give this a try. You can use pistachios or sunflower seeds instead of walnuts and of course some other peppery green would also be an alternative.

In this salad, I used what in French we call “saigner” the orange. It’s a technique we use for peeling citrus fruits. Basically, after you peel the orange, using a very sharp knife you need to cut the top and bottom of the orange, then you cut thinly the white part of it all around the fruit, then you slice it. This way you have nice round slices of oranges and no skin.

Ingredients for 2

• 4 medium cooked beets, peeled and sliced crosswise
• 1.5 cups arugula
• 2 blood oranges, peeled and sliced crosswise

For the vinaigrette

•  3 tbs extra virgin unfiltered olive oil
• 1 tbs meyer lemon juice
• juice of one orange
• 1 tbs orange champagne vinegar (or any based citrus vinegar)
• 1 tbs walnuts, chopped
• 1 tbs mint chopped
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Mix all the ingredients of the vinaigrette and stir well.

Place greens in a plate, then arrange one slice of orange, then one slice of beet, alternating until you have used all of them.

Add vinaigrette on top and serve either cold or at room temperature

We can go simple with a few ingredients, and get a flavorful and nutritious salad. Plant based meals make me happy and in a good mood, as much as running does. So let’s say today I am in an exceptionally wonderful mood. All I ask is to keep eating plants, cooking and running for as long as I can.

I keep forgetting to eat yams, probably because they were not a part of my diet growing up, and I discovered them in the US, so I always buy them, but never use them. I look at them every day, but leave them just where they sit, at the bottom of the refrigerator. Today, I decided to use them one way or another…but definitely the inspiration did not show up instantly. I had to “me creuser les meninges” as we say in French (translated into to rack’s ones brain).

Warm salads are quite a change from the cold ones, and give you a different feeling, you actually feel like you are eating something substantial and nutritious. This salad is absolutely delicious, you need to emphasis on the vinaigrette using Meyer lemon, and the best unrefined olive oil you can find.

For the greens, a friend of mine from Napa who came to visit this weekend, brought a bunch of beautiful black basil she is growing, so I mixed it with the greens I had, and it added such a nice character to this salad. It’s optional, but if you have some fragrant basil, don’t hesitate to use it.

Ingredients for 4

For the salad

• 1 medium size cauliflower, cut in small florets
• 1 yellow bell pepper, cut in small strips, then halved
• 1 small yam, peeled, sliced (1 cm) then each slice cut in quarters
• 1/2 red onion, sliced crosswise
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp curry
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• sald and pepper
• mixed greens + basil

For the vinaigrette

• Olive oil
• zest of one Meyer lemon
• juice of one Meyer lemon
• 1 scallion, chopped
• 1 tsp poppy seeds
• salt and pepper

Preparation

For the salad

Mix all ingredients together. Roast in the oven for 20 min at about 400F. When roasted, remove from the oven and add 2 tbs of vinaigrette, more if necessary. Toss well.

Serve on a bed of greens, adding more vinaigrette if desired.

For the vinaigrette

Mix all ingredients together.

I usually eat my beets cooked. This time I decided to eat them raw and grate them, like you would do with carrots. They’re equally delicious, and thinking about it, prefer them raw, their texture is crunchy like a carrot and their sweetness is even more pronounced. For people who hate beets, I would suggest to give it a try to eat them raw. France is a big importer and consumer of hearts of palm, I remember when I was young, my mom used them a lot in salads, so I was glad I could find some in the store here. Basically it’s the middle of the palm trunk that has been cooked. This salad has a lot of textures, and complimentary flavors (nutiness of the edamame, sweetness of beets and carrots) so it’s quite interesting for the palate. It’s bright, it’s fresh, it’s crunchy, so pretty to look at too. The carrots are cut with a peeler to make ribbons, you can’t really yell on the picture since they’re at the bottom of the plate. I used a special vinegar I brought back from France, it’s made with raspberry pulp and is not as acid as regular raspberry vinegar but more fruity and thicker. Here it is – Those fruit pulp vinegars are becoming very popular, they add a lot of character to any dish. You can find different flavors such as mango, fig, etc… Ingredients for 2

• 2 medium size golden beets, peeled and grated
• 4 medium size carrots, peeled and cut in ribbons
• 1 can of hearts of palm, cut in 1 inch pieces
• 4 tbs edamame

For the vinaigrette

• 4 tbs olive oil
• 2 tbs raspberry pulp vinegar
• 1 tsp cilantro, chopped
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Make ribbons with carrots using a potato peeler. Grate beets. Place carrot ribbons on a plate, then add beets.

Divide edamame around and lay hearts of palm all around the plate. Poach eggs.

For the vinaigrette, mix ingredients together. Pour vinaigrette on top of the salad. Add egg and add extra vinaigrette on top.

When I go to the store, I buy everything I get attracted to, so when I go to the store hungry, I get attracted to everything in the store. That’s what they say don’t go shopping when you’re hungry, which is definitely a good advice.

Today one of the magic item that ended up in my cart is haloumi. I adore haloumi, it’s a wonderful cheese from Cyprus, and made with half sheep milk, half goat milk. It’s mainly prepared grilled or fried. It softens when it cooks but never really melts, so it’s perfect for grilling. It’s quite salty so does not need additional salt. You can also use cannellini beans instead of the garbanzo bean salad, it will be equally delicious.

I would put this dish in the fast food or express category. When you think about those two words put together “fast” and “food” they do not have a bad connotation, the bad connotation is that they’ve been used to describe meals served by chains such as McDonalds which are not really healthy.

Ingredients for 2

• haloumi, sliced about 1cm thick
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1.5 cups cooked chick peas
• 1 small red bell pepper, diced in small pieces
• 1 scallion, chopped
• 1 small shallot, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tbs mixed herbs, finely chooped (chives, parsley, mint, etc…)
• 1 tsp meyer lemon juice
• 2 tbs olive oil

Preparation

Mix together all ingredients for dressing (except chick peas, paprika and haloumi) and mix well. Pour dressing on chick peas and mix all ingredients together. Sprinkle paprika on both sides of haloumi, then grill on a grill pan or regular non stick pan. When both sides and golden brown, remove from pan and place on top of chickpea salad. Serve while haloumi is hot.

I get more and more requests for gluten free and vegan dishes, and yes sometimes I like to feature recipes like this one that are unusual still with a little Mediterranean flair. This taboule salad is both gluten free and vegan, light and flavorful. I have to admit that I have not extensively used millet, but will do so form now on, since it’s a versatile and nutritious little grain. There are a few recipes with millet on my blog, and these ones are my all times favorite, goat cheese, mushrooms and millet galettes on leek effilochéée and Quinoa galettes, with bell peppers, mushrooms and mint

Of course millet is known to be a bird’s favorite, so some people feel weird to eat something birds do, but it’s nonetheless delicious on our human table as well, mixed with vegetables, in galettes or in soups. I like its firm texture and unusual flavor. You can substitute millet with quinoa, Israeli couscous, couscous, or any other grain you like in this recipe, if millet is not among your favorite, but i also want to make people more familiar with this grain that has a lot of nutritional benefits.

I usually steam millet in my rice cooker like I would steam rice, or you can boil it as well.

Ingredients for 4 people

• 280 g millet
• 3 zucchini, sliced crosswise
• 1 cup cooked chick peas
• 1 tbs mint, chopped
• 1 tbs cilantro chopped

For the dressing

• 3 tbs fruity olive oil
• juice of 1 Meyer lemon
• 1/2 tsp hot curry powder
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Steam millet in rice cooker or boil in salted water until millet is cooked, about 30 minutes. Grill zucchini slices in a skillet, then cut in half and set aside. When millet is cooked, place in a mixing container and let cool until it gets lukewarm. Mix chickpeas and zucchini with millet. In a small bowl, mix dressing ingredients, pour on millet and toss well. Add chopped mint and cilantro, mix well, adjust salt if needed, add fresh cracked pepper and serve as a side dish or a salad as an appetizer.

]]> http://citronetvanille.com/blog/2012/12/like-birdie-spicy-millet-taboule-with-chick-peas-and-grilled-zucchini/feed/ 0 http://citronetvanille.com/blog/2012/05/mes-petits-choux-prosciutto-wrapped-brussels-sprouts-on-mache-salad-and-roasted-pepper-vinaigrette/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mes-petits-choux-prosciutto-wrapped-brussels-sprouts-on-mache-salad-and-roasted-pepper-vinaigrette http://citronetvanille.com/blog/2012/05/mes-petits-choux-prosciutto-wrapped-brussels-sprouts-on-mache-salad-and-roasted-pepper-vinaigrette/#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 02:40:15 +0000 silvia http://www.citronetvanille.com/blog/?p=14294 Mon petit chou – Choux de Bruxelles enrobés de prosciutto sur lit de mâche et vinaigrette de poivrons grillés

This is truly a fun way to eat Brussels sprouts. In case you thought they were a tiny intimidating or boring, or just unappealing, you can play with them so they become exciting. It’s true they tend to have a strong flavor, but I don’t find this “déplaisant” (literally translated into depleasing, a word that does not exist).

The saltiness and sweetness of the cooked prosciutto contrasts quite well with the strong soft sprout. I think I must have consumed them in any shape and form, shredded, chopped, quartered, whole, roasted, steamed, pureed or any way they can be eaten, so I figured why not wrap them for a change. I rarely use meat when I cook, but in this case, I made an exception. You can use pancetta if you’d prefer, or thin bacon would work too. In France, sprouts are often combined with lard fumé (similar to bacon), like most types of cabbages.

Mâche being so tender, delicate and almost naturally “greasy” when you eat it, tones down the powerful flavor of the Brussels sprouts.

So give Brussels sprouts a chance, after all, they’re not really boring!

Ingredients for 2

For the Brussels sprouts

• 6 Brussels sprouts, cleaned
• 2 slices prosciutto, cut in 2 strips lengthwise
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1 cup mâche salad

For the vinaigrette

• 1/2 red bell pepper, roasted, peeled and diced
• 4 tbs olive oil
• A few drops of lemon oil (to drizzle at the end)
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
• 1 tbs parsley, chopped
• 1 tsp basil, chopped
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Cook sprouts in salted boiling water. Drain and let cool. Wrap 1 strip of prosciutto around each sprout, and using a toothpick close the extremity so that it won’t open while cooking.

Heat olive oil in a pan, and cook wrapped sprouts until golden on all sides. Remove toothpick

For the vinaigrette, combine all ingredients together in a bowl, mix well.

Divide mâche on each plate, top it with three sprouts and pour vinaigrette on top, drizzle with some lemon oil. Serve at room temperature.

When you eat out, salades niçoises are always more or less the same, with minor variations from one restaurant to another…and often a little on the boring side. So after a few thoughts on how to make things a little more exciting and with a different way to prepare them, I came up with a salad that has the ingredients of a salade niçoise (less the salmon), that was lovely. Most of the ingredients are here but in a different way to present and cook them, which modifies all the textures and make them very interesting and exciting. Here the green beans are cut and mixed with the greens and cherry tomatoes. The olives are turned into a tapenade which is an olive paste from the South of France spread on top of the bread. The egg is poached and not boiled and the other final touch is the salt, I used sea weed salt (from Brittany) but of course, you can use any other sea salt.

If you want to remain traditional and feel the salmon shall not be seen on a salade Niçoise, use tuna instead. This salad is really fun, and you can play with it using your imagination as you wish. For instance, if I had quail eggs, I would have poached two quail eggs and made two tartines, instead of one. Now there is not one particular recipe for salade niçoise, and each cook can make it the way he wants, even though the traditional recipe is not supposed to have any cooked ingredients, only raw. So if you want to say that my salad is not a Niçoise, like a Nicois (a person from Nice) would probably say. Well, I am ok with that…it is nonetheless delicious.

Sometimes for specific recipes, I like to remain as close as the original recipe as I can, but in some more “flexible” recipes, I also like to have fun in the kitchen and play around with food…but obviously it needs to be good or it shall not have its spot on the blog.

Ingredients for 2

• 1 salmon filet of about 1/2 lb
• 4 small round yukon potatoes
• 1.5 cups fine green beans
• about 20 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 1 cup of mixed greens or arugula
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 1/2 bell red pepper, roasted,  peeled and cut in stripes
• 2 eggs
• 2 baguettes slices or country bread

For the vinaigrette

• 2 tbs extra virgin unfiltered olive oil
• 3 tbs lemon olive oil
• juice of 1 meyer lemon
• orange-champagne vinegar or any mild fruity vinegar
• about 8 leaves basil, chopped
• Sea weed salt
• pepper

For the tapenade

• 1/4 lb kalamata olives
• 2 good quality small anchovies
• about 6 capers
• 1/2 garlic clove
• 2 tbs olive oil

Preparation

Start by cooking the potatoes in water. When the potatoes are about 3/4 cooked but still a little firm in the center, remove from stove. Let them cool and then peel. Set aside. Cut the salmon in about one inch cube pieces.

Cook green beans in boiling water until cooked but still firm. When cooked remove from stove, then let them cool and cut in about 2 inches pieces.

Using a wooden skewer, place one piece of salmon, then one potato, until you have two pieces each on each skewer.

In the meantime, in a container mix cherry tomatoes, salad, green beans, bell peppers. Prepare vinaigrette by combining all ingredients together.

For the tapenade, mix all ingredients together in a mixer. Toast baguette and spread tapenade on top.

Broil skewer in the oven until golden brown and salmon cooked all the way through or pink (depending on your tastes).

Poach egg in boiling water for about 2 minutes (poaching technique will come in another post).

Pour vinaigrette on salad, toss well and keep some vinaigrette for the skewer.

Plate first salad/beans/tomatoes mixture, then place skewer on top, add the remaining vinaigrette on top of skewer. Serve with tartine of tapenade topped with poached egg, and drizzle with olive oil.

It’s quite a fun way to eat lentils…lentils are very versatile and I think not popular enough especially since they’re highly nutritious. I have rarely seen them in restaurants other than in soups. In France they’re considered rustic, something you would eat during winter and with smoked sausage or meat. I like them with smoked fish like salmon or trout, it tones down the smokiness of the fish (if the fish is too smokey like my salmon, actually this salmon was too smokey and salty). Here I like the combination of a hearty rustic ingredient with a more elegant and refined one. I have always loved contrasts. They’re unexpected, interesting and always leave you a feeling of wanting more.

Lentils and spinach are among the ingredients French kids have a hard time eating, if you ask any kid in France what they don’t like to eat, they’ll probably say, j’aime pas les lentiles et j’aime pas les épinards! but obviously I don’t want to make this a generality.

You can also combine fresh salmon with smoked salmon, then you would need to cut both salmon in cubes. Here I striped the salmon since I only used the smoked kind.

Ingredients for 4

For the lentils

• 200 g lentils du Puy
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 carrot
• 1/2 onion
• 1 celery stick
• 1 clove
• salt
  

For the lentil vinaigrette

• 1 tbs hazelnut or walnut oil
• 1 tsp cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp whole grain mustard
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 1 tbs parsley, finely chopped
• salt and pepper

For the salmon marinade

• 4 large slices of good quality smoked salmon, cut in strips
• 1 orange
• zest of 1/2 orange
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp dill, chopped
• 1/4 tsp fennel pollen
• 1 tsp capers, chopped
• Piment d’Espelette
• Pepper

Preparation

In a pot of water cook lentils with clove, onion, carrot, celery, bay leaf and salt and cook until lentil are tender but not mushy. Drain and remove the cooked vegetables from the lentils and set aside. In a mixing bowl, prepare vinaigrette mixing all ingredients together.

Cut salmon in stripes, mix all ingredients of the marinade and pour over the salmon. Mix well to coat the salmon. Let it marinade in the refrigerator for about one to two hours.

Place a small amount of lentil salad in the middle of a plate (you can use a rind to mount the salad) and top with some salmon stripes. Drizzle some extra marinade on top.