Growing up, I have always asked my parents why did they have to move to the most rainy and muggy part of France where I was born and raised, and not in the South. My dad would nod his head “ma insomma Silvia, siamo andati dove c’era lavoro!”. Ok fine, they moved where there was work, but still that did not justify living in that terrible weather. I always dreamed that one day, I would be living in a very warm and sunny place where I wouldn’t have to wear socks and a weather that would not make my hair curl. Here I am…not exactly warm and sunny but I don’t have to wear socks, my hair does curl…BUT it’s definitely a beautiful city. I guess, you cannot have it all.

Kale is a great leafy vegetables and can be accommodated in so many different ways. In Italy they make wonderful soups with it, and this one is one among many. You could of course use cannellini beans for a variation, or chards instead of kale.

When using kale, I blanch it for a few minutes, to get rid of the dark water it produces. I gratinated it with comté cheese, not really an Italian cheese, but it melts well. You could use fontina for a more Italian touch, but Italians and French are cousins, so their cuisine is quite related. We say Italians are like the French but with a smile…which is quite close to the reality.

This soup is very simple, so if one day, you buy kale and have no inspiration about how to prepare it, try this soup, it’s healthy, delicious and quite simple. Crack a good amount of fresh pepper on top and it’s ready to be consumed…without moderation!

Ingredients for 4

• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 celery stick, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• vegetable broth
• 1 bunch kale, blanched and chopped
• 1 lb (or 400 g) cooked chick peas
• comté cheese (or gruyère), grated
• salt and cracked pepper

Preparation

Heat olive oil in a pot. Add onions, carrots, celery and garlic. Cook for about 10 minutes until the vegetables soften. In the meantime blanch kale or chards in salted boiling water for a few minutes. Drain, squeeze some liquid and chop. Add broth to the vegetables then add kale. Let it simmer for about 45 minutes, then add chick peas, let it cook for another 10-15 minutes.

Serve in bowls and sprinkle with a good amount of comté cheese or gruyère. Place under broiler and let it melt and become golden brown. Crack black pepper on top and serve hot with toasted country bread.

 After a few recipes mixing shrimps and cannellini beans, or shrimps and fava beans, let’s have fun with chick peas, I think they’re closer to a bean than a pea, called pois chiche in French but it seems like it’s closer to a pea than a bean nonetheless so delicious in any form, salads, soups, stews, purees, and anything else.

I am getting a guest tomorrow for two weeks, she is coming from Paris and is 13 years old. I heard the pretty girl is picky, so I will have to figure out some “teenager friendly” menus during her stay. Not sure what it is, but I am quite certain it has to do with potatoes and pasta. I don’t remember what I ate during my teens years, my mom cooked a large variety of dishes, but at 13, honestly I don’t remember what I loved to eat. All I remember is that I was a little chubby, did not like it and I always wanted to hide.

This purée could resemble hummus, but actually, there is no tahini in it, and is thinner and creamier and is really more like a purée than anything else. It was like eating velvet, absolutely delightful.

This purée will go perfectly well with grilled fish too, and much more delicate than a potato purée. Actually, I don’t like any type of potato purée served with fish, and it seems like many restaurants are going that route. As for the skewer, the rosemary branch adds such a fragrant and unique touch to the dish. A consommer sans moderation! (to be consumed without moderation). I will certainly file this in my “to do it again and again” list of appetizers.

Ingredients for 4 people

For the purée

• 450 g cooked chick peas or canned one
• 1 garlic glove
• cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp powder cumin
• 1 tbs lemon juice
•  salt and pepper
•  1 tbs extra virgin olive oil

For the shrimps

• 20 large shrimps, de-shelled and deveined
• 1 tbs fresh rosemary, chopped
• 4 branches rosemary
• 1 tbs orange juice
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbs olive oil
• lemon oil
• sea weed salt or regular salt

Preparation

Drain chick peas and keep some of the cooking liquid. Mix chick peas in a mixer to obtain a smooth texture. Adjust with water to make the paste a little thinner. Add all other ingredients and set aside.

Marinate shrimps with olive oil, orange juice, balsamic vinegar, some of the rosemary, salt and pepper for about one hour.

Remove shrimps from marinade. Place 5 shrimps in one rosemary branch and grill on a skillet or grill pan.

Spoon 2-3 tbs of puree in a plate, place 1 skewer on top and drizzle with lemon oil and chopped rosemary.

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.