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.

Don’t throw away the green leaves of the root vegetables, they’re completely eatable and delicious. Beets are a zero waste vegetable. You can prepare the beet leaves like any other greens. Saute it, raw in salads, pesto, soups, etc…

The pasta is a mixture of buckwheat flour and wholewheat flour. Buckwheat has no gluten so you need to mix it with some other flour in order to make a pasta that will not break. I have always disliked broken tagliatelle. When I was a child, I would refuse to eat spaghetti or any type of long pasta if it was broken, and up to these days, I really don’t like broken pasta. It’s very important that the pasta keeps its original shape. You can play around with the flours ratio like 2/3 buckwheat 1/3 wholewheat, brown rice flour, etc…but the more flour with gluten you use, the better the texture. I used brown rice flour in this recipe to try out the texture. Also, you can add parmesan in the pesto, I did not add any cheese this time, I wanted to keep it more simple.

Ingredients for 3-4

for the pasta

• 200 g buckwheat pasta
• 100 g brown rice flour (or wholewheat flour)
• 2 eggs

For the pesto

• 2 bunches of beet leaves
• juice of one lemon juice
• 2 tbs toasted walnuts
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 3 tbs parmesan (optional)

For the beets

• 1/2 lb golden baby beets, peeled and quartered
• olive oil
• balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper

Preparation

For the pasta

Mix both flours in a large container. Add eggs and mix well to obtain an homogeneous texture. Knead dough until soft and smooth, make a round ball with dough and let it rest for 30 min under a cloth. Using a long rolling pin, start rolling the dough until thin (1mm). Let it rest a few minutes. Add extra flour if needed, and fold dough bringing two sides toward center. Cut into strips about 3/4 cm thick. Let it rest for about 20 minutes.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta, stir carefully and make sure not to break pasta. When the pasta comes at the surface (a few minutes later), drain pasta. Add beets and a few tbs of pesto. Mix well and serve hot.

For the pesto

Mix all ingredients together in a mixer to form a paste. Adjust with oil if too thick

For the beets

Place beets on a tray. Add salt, pepper, oil and vinegar and coat the beets. Roast in a pre heated oven at 390F until tender.

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

This morning I went shopping and I had beets on the menu…as usual this store (which I am not going to mention) never has what I need, some days there are no leeks, no scallions or no basmati rice, or no won ton wrappers, etc…so I have to somehow contain my frustration.

This morning was not that bad, I was looking for lose beets, and I could only find beets by the bunch with the leaves on. The good thing about this, is that you can use the leaves. So if you happen to buy beets with their leaves and stems on, do not throw them away. You can use them like you would use spinach, kale, or any other greens.

I remove the stems that were a bit hard and only kept the leaves.

In this recipe, I added a few spices to enhance the whole dish. It’s a fragrant way to cook greens and it was just what I was in the mood for. You can eat this as a side dish, I ate it with some marinated sardines and it made my day…if you try it, it might make yours too!

 Ingredients for 2

• 3 bunches of beet greens, roughly chopped
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1 tbs raisins (soaked in water for 10 min)
• salt and pepper

 Preparation

Heat olive oil in a large pot and brown cumin seeds until fragrant. Add garlic and turmeric and stir a low heat until fragrant (you don’t want to burn the turmeric, it will be bitter). Add greens and cook until wilted. Adjust with salt and pepper and add raisins. Drizzle with olive oil and eat hot or warm.

Beets are so lovely, I love them in any shape or form. It’s the type of vegetable you either love or hate. Most people who tasted this soup, loved it. I guess it has to do with its smooth and delicate flavor. When you think about a beet soup, you imagine something different, and certainly not as good.

The good thing about summer, (even if you don’t know it’s summer by looking at the weather here in San Francisco) is that the stores are filled with exciting seasonal vegetables such as these beautiful spring shallots. Usually, you only find them in May-June so whenever they’re available, I get excited like a kid in a candy store. Like any other fresh vegetable, they need to be consumed fast, unlike the dried shallots.

Ingredients for 3-4

• 2 spring shallots, cut
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 2 large carrots, peeled and cut in slices
• 5 medium size beets, peeled and cut in small pieces
• Vegetable broth (just enough to cover the vegetables)
• salt
• yogurt (optional)

Preparation

In a large pot, heat olive oil. Add shallots and cumin. Stir and cook until fragrant. Add beets and carrots. Cook at medium heat for a few minutes mixing well. Add broth and let cook for about 30 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Adjust with salt.

Place the cooked vegetable in a blender and puree it.

Serve hot in bowls with yogurt and some green shallot stems.

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.

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.

Who said kekabs have to be with meat? you can do anything you usually do with meat using vegetables, some vegetables are more adapted to certain cooking methods, but are incredibly versatile.

I haven’t used haloumi in a long time, and really felt like grilling cheese, and especially haloumi with its delicate texture and pungent flavor. You can find some other haloumi recipe here and here. I bought some pomegranate molasses at my favorite Greek grocery store (called the Fruit Barn), and had to find a way to use it. Sometimes I can get a little obsessive, when I buy a new ingredient, I won’t stop thinking until I find a recipe to use it.

Pomegranate molasses is widely used in Lebanese and Iranian cuisine not really in French or Italian cuisines, but is definitely a Mediterranean ingredient. I loved the pomegranate juices you get in Israel, in those fruit juice joints in any street, they’re so refreshing and healthy. So pomegranate molasses is produced by reducing pomegranate juice, you get some syrupy texture, half sweet, half acidic.

Basically the natural sweetness of those kebabs produced by beets and sweet potatoes is a very pleasant sensation for your palate. It’s enhanced by the bitterness of arugula and acidity of pomegranate molasses, so you’ll see how delightful these kebabs are. The stars of this dish are definitely the haloumi and the pomegranate molasses.

Ingredients for 6 kebabs

For the kebabs

• 3 medium size beets, peeled and cut in 1 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut in 1 1/2 cubes
• 1 piece haloumi, cut in cubes (similar sizes than beets and potatoes)
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 tbs balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper

For the arugula-lime sauce

• 1.5 cups arugula
• 1 tbs pomegranade molasses
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 tbs raw cashews
• 1 garlic clove
• 3 tbs olive oil
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Start preparing the arugula dipping sauce. Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend, until obtained a paste, but not too thin.

Start first by roasting beets. Place cut beets in a sheet, coat them with oil and vinegar, salt and pepper and broil in a 375F oven for about 20 minutes or until just tender. Remove from heat and keep warm.

Proceed using the same method with potatoes. Keep warm.

Using a wooden skewer, add one beet cube, then one potato cube, haloumi, another beet, and potato.

Heat a skillet or a grill pan, and grill each skewer, until the haloumi is grilled on all sides. Add some dipping sauce, and serve hot. You can serve the sauce on the side.

On my stay in Tel Aviv, I walked almost all over the city for five days…the weather was beautiful, it felt so much like summer to me so while France was snowed in, I enjoyed my five days as if it was the last time I would be in short sleeves and eat croissants on a terrace.

As much as Jerusalem had a magic light, Tel Aviv had amazing restaurants, I loved all of them, everything was fresh and exquisite and I got to explore the city and its great neighborhoods and specialties with my map (and my high heels, shameless to say). As bad as I get in orienting myself, sometimes I think I have a disease. I can drive or walk every day by the same place, without ever remembering it. Maybe the “tête en l’air” virus.

I did remember Ben Yehuda street and the green restaurant that had been intriguing me for days with its flashy green color. It was a colorful looking place that seemed to serve organic food and decided to give it a try. It was a mixture of a traditional Californian vegetarian cafe type of decor combined with a Mediterranean menu which intrigued me. Every item on the menu had a calorie count and was under 300 calories per dish. I was not aware that Israelis were that health conscious. I finally ordered the lentil salad not knowing what to expect and thinking how exciting a bowl of lentils could be? Well, it could certainly be very exciting! that was seriously the most, delicious, flavorful, healthy lentil dish salad I had in quite a long time.

I loved it so much, that I wanted to try to reproduce it from what I remembered and it turned out quite well. Who can say no to a one meal bowl full of nutrients with so little calories? Certainly not me.

Ingredients for 2

• about 5.30 oz  (or 150 g) green lentils
• 3 medium size beets (golden or red), cooked and diced
• 1 cup arugula
• 2 tbs feta, crumbled
• 2 tbs mint, chopped
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1/3 tsp cumin powder
• juice of 1 lemon
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Cook lentils in salted water until cooked but not mushy. Drain and set aside.

Cook beets in water until tender, about 45 min. Let cool, then peel them. Cut in about 1 inches pieces and add to the lentils, then add arugula. Add mint and scallion and mix well.

In a bowl, mix cumin, olive oil and lemon juice, salt and pepper. Mix well.

Pour dressing on top of the salad and toss. Add feta and mix carefully.

I went for a little walk downtown today since my car did not run, the internet and the phone were completely dead, so I decided to take a day off rooming around the city. It had been a while I did not get the chance to do so and that was the perfect excuse for it. When technology decides to let you down, just go back to the basics.

You can feel the holiday spirit all over the city, all the Christmas colors are out, what an exciting feeling! Let’s not jump right onto Christmas since Thanksgiving is not here yet, it’s right across the corner and I haven’t yet decided what to serve for dinner. All the beautiful stemware and dinnerware in display makes me want to buy it all. I love a beautiful table for special occasions and was trying to find some special theme for Thursday night dinner.

In France, we serve turkey for Christmas, La dinde de Noël traditionally served with chestnuts. So that’s the way I will prepare my turkey, with chestnuts and with lots of vegetable side orders. I will call it “Thanksmas”.

We also serve many trendy appetizers like this one called verrines. They’re usually served in small glasses and in small quantities. Un Verre = A Glass. Verrines can be exotic, classics, sophisticated, it all depend on the ingredients. I bought beautiful golden beets and wanted to use the ricotta with them. Beet’s sweetness goes wonderfully well with soft cheeses such as goat cheese, ricotta, etc… You can add some sundried tomatoes on top of the ricotta or a crispy pancetta slice. It’s also delicious served with toasted country bread on the side, so you can spread some of the beet/ricotta mixture on top.

Ingredients for 4 verrines

For the beets

• 4 medium size golden beets, thinly diced
• 2 tbs sunflower seeds
• 1 tbs red onion, thinly chopped
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 tsp raspberry vinegar
• salt and pepper

For the ricotta

• 8 tbs ricotta
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tsp chives, chopped
• 1 tsp parsley, chopped
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp olive oil
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Wash beets and cook them in water or steam them for about 30 minutes or until they’re cooked all the way through. When cooked let them cool and peel them. Cut them is small cubes (1/3 of an inch). In a container, add beats and all other ingredients. Set aside

In a bowl, mix ricotta with all the ingredients.

Using a small glass container, add 2-3 tbs beets (depending on the size of your glass). Place 2-3 tbs ricotta on top. sprinkle with fresh pepper and a little olive oil. Decorate with chives and a cherry tomato cut in half.

Eat with toasted country bread.