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 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.

Well it might no longer be crab season, but I have urges of a pregnant woman when it has to do with food. Anytime I see crab, I cannot help and buy some. I am a big supporter of eating seasonal and local products, except for crab, I see it, I buy it, which I know goes against what I preach. I hope I will be forgiven.

Don’t get confused, there is no pasta in this dish, just cucumbers cut like spaghetti. I love to make those cucumber spaghetti with fish terrine, or any appetizer bouchée that has seafood in it, it is so refreshing. The thing is you cannot make those ahead of time because the cucumbers produce a lot of water, then they will be soaked in it and lose their crunchy texture. Whenever you grate them, you have to serve them right away.

Crab and shrimps are a great combination. You just need to be careful when you break the shell of the crab legs to remove the flesh, they have some thorns that can be quite dangerous if you are not careful.

Ingredients for 3 (2 crab cakes each) 6 crab cakes

For the crab cakes

• 3/4 lb king crab legs (leave some extra for decoration)
• about 12 large shrimps, ground
• 3 shrimps cut in half for decoration
• 1 egg
• 6 tbs plain bread crumbs
• 1/2 tsp chili flakes
• 1 tsp tarragon, chopped
• 1 tsp capers, chopped
• 1 tbs red onion, chopped
• 1/3 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tbs olive oil
• salt and pepper
• paprika for decoration

For the cucumber spaghetti

• 1 english cucumber
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1/2 tsp hot Dijon mustard
• 1/2 honey
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tsp fennel leaves chopped
• salt and pepper

Preparation

For the crab-shrimp cakes

Break crab legs and remove flesh, set aside. Remove shell from shrimp and devein them. Grind them in a mixer, not too thin. Mix with crab flesh. Add all other ingredients and mix well. For small patties about 2 inches diameter.

Heat olive oil in a pan and cook cakes on both sides until golden brown and cooked all the way through, about 5-6 minutes at medium heat.

For the cucumber spaghetti

Start making the dressing. Mix olive oil, honey, lemon juice, mustard and fennel, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl. Set aside

Peel the cucumbers and grate them lengthwise using a julienne cutter, place in mixing bowl with dressing and serve right away. Spoon a tbs of cucumber in a small plate, add one cake on top and decorate with shrimp cut in 2, topped with a little crab, fennel leaves and paprika.