This recipe is neither French nor Italian but Middle Eastern. I first tasted molokhia when I lived in London at a Palestinian lady’s house. My good friend Stephanie and I wanted to learn English so in our 20′s we went to live in London (which needless to say was a long time ago!!). We rented two rooms at this wonderful lady’s house who was a writer mostly focusing on women condition in Islamic countries. That was the first time I ever tasted or heard about molokhia. She treated us with chicken molokhia once in a while which was a feast for us. Molokhia is basically the leaves of jute, a green leafy vegetable, a little bitter. Its texture is a little slimy like okra, so if you like okra, you’ll like molokhia.

Then we went back to France, time went by and living in a small town in France, molokhia was nowhere to be found in the markets in France. Not that long ago (about 20 years later), strolling down the frozen section of a middle eastern store in San Francisco, I found frozen molokhia. I could not believe it! Here I am with three bags of frozen molokhia, and no idea on how to prepare it.

After some intense searching, I found various recipes for molokhia, one of which is a Tunisian version and is made out of dry leaves and prepared with lamb and like a thick stew consistency. The one I tasted 20 years ago was made out of fresh leaves, with chicken and with a consistency of a soup and eaten as a soup. I found a recipe from Cairo similar to what I was used to, so Inspired myself from this recipe – It is usually served with rice but I was in the mood for quinoa, and it just works as well.

 Preparation for 2

• Fish broth
• 2 small tomatoes, peel, seeds removed, and diced
• 2 tbs chopped onion
• 1 bag frozen molokhia
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1 jalapeno pepper, diced
• 3 tbs cilantro, chopped
• 8 garlic cloves, crushed
• 3 tbs olive oil
• 8 shrimps, peeled and deveined
• salt and pepper
• juice of 1/2 lemon

Preparation

In a medium pot, heat fish stock, then add frozen molokhia, tomatoes, onions, cumin powder, coriander powder, salt and pepper. Cook for about 20 minutes. Add cilantro. In a pan, add olive oil and garlic and cook until fragrant but don’t burn the garlic. Add to the molokhia pot and cook for a few minutes. In the meantime, saute shrimps and keep warm. Add lemon to molokhia, stir well and serve molokhia with shrimps and rice or quinoa.

I was reading an article on cauliflower on a French magazine, and I thought I would like to try roasting it whole. What a wonderful idea to slowly cook a whole cauliflower in the oven, rubbed with herbs and spices. For those who love vegetables and who watch their calories intake, this is a perfect meal.

You can serve this cauliflower with various side dishes who will enhance the whole meal. I love mixing cauliflower and bell peppers, probably a childhood combination that my mom used to do.

The cauliflower remains firm yet soft, I like firm vegetables. If you like them more cooked, then you have to leave the cauliflower in the oven longer, or boil it for 5-10 min prior to baking it. In addition to the pepper salsa, I served it with some yogurt sauce, that’s optional. I love yogurt sauce in general with spicy dishes.

I loved it so much that I ate a whole cauliflower by myself. Talking about moderation…I know, that is a bit exaggerated but as we say in French “quand on aime, on ne compte pas“, when we love, we don’t count. Se here we go…

Ingredients

For the cauliflower

•  1 whole cauliflower
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin

For the bell pepper salsa

• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 green bell pepper
• 1 tbs olive oil
• juice of one meyer lemon
• 1 tsp chives, chopped
• salt and pepper

For the yogurt sauce

• 5 tbs plain Greek yogurt
• 1.5 tsp mixed herbs (parsley, cilantro, tarragon, etc…)
•  1 tsp lemon juice
• salt and pepper

Preparation

First roast the peppers in the oven. Place under broiler and cook until the skin gets burnt. Turn around peppers until the whole peppers are roasted. Remove from the oven and let them cool. Remove skin and seeds. Cut peppers in small cubes. Mix all ingredients together and set aside.
Wash cauliflower and dry well with a towel. Mix together all other ingredients in a bowl and rub cauliflower with it. Let it sit for about an hour.

Preheat oven at 375F and bake cauliflower for about one hour. Check after 45 min with a knife to see if it’s cooked or still hard and add more cooking time according to how you’d like to eat the cauliflower.

For the yogurt sauce, mix all ingredients together in a bowl.

Cut cauliflower in portions, like you would cut a cake. Serve with side dishes.

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/2010/07/my-romantic-egg-oeuf-cocotte-with-salmon-asparagus-and-a-cilantro-coconut-pesto/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=my-romantic-egg-oeuf-cocotte-with-salmon-asparagus-and-a-cilantro-coconut-pesto http://citronetvanille.com/blog/2010/07/my-romantic-egg-oeuf-cocotte-with-salmon-asparagus-and-a-cilantro-coconut-pesto/#comments Thu, 15 Jul 2010 05:20:17 +0000 silvia http://www.citronetvanille.com/blog/?p=11787 Mon oeuf romantique – Oeuf cocotte au saumon et asperges, pesto de coriandre et noix de coco

Thanks so much for all your kinds words on my previous post, you guys are really wonderful, kind and generous of your time. I do appreciate it a lot.

I think this dish is perfect for a tête à tête dinner (according to the dictionary, tête à tête is also used in English) to share with someone you care. I have been alone for about two weeks now, due to business trips of TP so I decided to have a tête à tête dinner with myself and I was quite happy about it.

Well, I think no matter what, you need to treat yourself as often as you can (that’s my theory on life) and enjoy anything even if you are by yourself.

My dog and bird are keeping me company…so temporarily being alone has some good sides and bad sides. You tend to enjoy the whole bed, no daily laundry, no mess around but then when you find a half mouse dead in your patio with just the tale and  legs, you have to figure out a way to clean it…I suspect the neighbors cats left it as a present.

After one hour of thinking how to remove it, I was embarrassed to ask my neighbor (the most adorable neighbors you can dream of) but I didn’t want to leave this mess in the patio and lacked courage to pick it up, so I had to tell them that Mr. Cat must have played too hard with a mouse again, so Gary cleaned it up for me. Thanks Gary!

We do use cilantro and coconut in French cuisine, even though it’s not really something you would use on a daily basis, and parsley is more frequently used than cilantro, those two ingredients are not unfamiliar to our cuisine. This fragrant pesto is delicious, the raw coconut adds a smooth finish to the dish. Oeuf cocotte is such a versatile dish and so much fun to eat. You can also use fava beans instead of the asparagus and white fish instead of the salmon, just play with it.

This combination is truly a harmonious blend of flavors, and a perfect little dish for a light diner en amoureux… or a diner for treating yourself!

Ingredients for 4

• 2 salmon fillet or 7 oz (or 200 g), diced
• 6 asparagus, cut in one inch pieces
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 3 tbs dry white wine
• 3 tbs crème fraîche
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 2 eggs
• salt and pepper

For the cilantro-coconut pesto

• 1/2 bunch cilantro
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 0.70 oz (or 20 g) raw unsweetened coconut shredded
• 4 tbs olive oil
• salt and pepper

Preparation

For the cilantro-coconut pesto

Mix all ingredients in a blender.

Heat olive oil in a pan, add shallots and brown them. Add asparagus, wine, salt and pepper. Cover and cook until asparagus are cooked but still crunchy. Add salmon and cook for a few minutes. Add 2 tbs of pesto and stir for 30 seconds. Add cream and let it reduce a little.

Divide teh mixture into ramequins. Break on egg on top, add salt and pepper. Cook in a pre-heated oven until the yolks are runny and the whites still a little transparent. Serve with extra pesto on the side.

Today I said goodbye to my long time and faithful friend, my VW Golf I had for over 10 years, and that over the years turned into an old lady. I gave it to a charity and I have to admit that when the tow-truck came pick it up, I was somehow sad. I know it’s just a thing, and I should not get attached to material, but still, it was the first car I got in the US and I was somehow attached to it.  We went through some good and bad times together. I did not feel comfortable selling it, since the steering wheel was really hard to manoeuvre and I stopped driving it for a month, fearing it would break down in the middle of the street…and many other things were wrong with it, so I figured I would give it to charity.  C’est la vie, nothing lasts and things like people sooner or later quietly go. 

OK, let’s not dwell on this, it’s just a car after all! 

Let’s go back to the fun world of cooking, I love to play with quinoa, it’s delicious in soups, salads, taboule and any kind of side dishes. The great flavor comes from the herb salsa I made, which enhanced this whole salad.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1/2 cauliflower
• 2 carrots
• 1 cup  cooked cannelli beans
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 celeri stick
• 3 cloves

For the salsa

• 2 scallions
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/2 bunch parsley
• 1/2 bunch cilantro
• 1/3 bunch mint
• 5 tbs olive oil
• 1 tbs balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• a pinch chili powder
• salt and pepper

Preparation

If you are using dried cannelli beans, they need to be soaked overnight in water, if you didn’t have any and don’t have time, you can use canned beans, but they don’t taste as good as the dried ones.

Cook quinoa by steaming it, like you would make steamed rice. Add double its volume of water, bring to a boil, and reduce heat to a minimum and cover with lid. Cook for about 20 minutes.

If used, dried cannelli beans, cook them in water for about 30 minutes with 1/2 onion, 3 cloves, 1 celery stick, and 2 bay leaves. When cooked remove onion, cloves, celery, bay leaves, and drain beans.

Cut cauliflower in small florets, cut carrots in slices, then cut in half. Steam for about 10 minutes and set aside.

Mix the salsa ingredients in a mixer to make it into a smooth mixture.

When quinoa is cooked, place in a mixing bowl, add vegetables. Spoon salsa at the end and mix well.

After coming back from New Orleans, I stuffed my fridge with fish and seafood, and it’s almost reaching to an end…I feel so much better when I have light lunches like this one, I get extra energy for the rest of the day.

San Francisco has been quite gloomy lately, the fog has a tough time disappearing and the wind makes you feel like you are in winter. We all know that San Francisco weather is what it is in summer, so I will stop complaining…but still I do enjoy the hot summer nights where you can wear tank tops and can sip a anything you want in a restaurant patio without worrying about the wind blowing your napkin away.

I used sockeye wild salmon for this salad, after reading that farm raised salmon has been injected with artificial color to get that orangey-pinky color, I got a little reluctant to get farm raised salmon. My dilemma is that by fishing in the oceans, wild species, we contribute to its extinction, and maybe one day there will be no more fishes in the oceans. Obviously wild salmon tastes much better and sockeye salmon has such a beautiful deep red color, but at what cost do we want to contribute to destruction the of the environment?

It’s something that has been bothering me and I will have to do more research on the subject. 

Anyway, if you are anti-wild salmon for environmental reasons and feel comfortable consuming farm raised salmon, it’s up to you, I don’t want to eat artificial coloring if no need to.

Ingredients for 2

For the salmon and marinade

• 1/2 lb of salmon fillet
• 1 tbs shoyu or soy sauce
• 1 tbs balsamic vinegar
• 1 small piece ginger, grated
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tbs sesame seeds
• sichuan pepper

For the salad

• 1 carrot, cut in strips
• 1/2 lb cherry medley tomatoes
• 6 radishes
• 1/4 red onion, finely chopped

For the vinaigrette

• 2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
• Juice of one lemon
• 1 tbs cilantro, finely chopped
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Marinate salmon in marinade ingredients for about 4 hours. Cut in thin strips, add sesame seeds and broil in oven for a few minutes.

For the carrots, you can use a potato peeler to get those thin strips, if the strips are too wide, cut them in half lengthwise. Slice radishes in thin slices. Mix the rest of the ingredients all together. Add vinaigrette and toss. Keep some vinaigrette to sprinkle on top of the salmon.

When salmon is cooked, plate with some salad in the middle of the plate and salmon strips on top. Sprinkle with remaining vinaigrette.