I cannot believe that my last post goes back to one month ago. Shame on me. I have no excuse, so shame on me twice. I have been back from France, then I got sick, then I have been busy working and busy working out, so one thing added to another, voilà, my blog is being neglected. Quelle honte!

In the vegetarian series, here is a good one. These mushrooms make a great presentation, have a lot of flavor and are light as a feather.

Since I found out that portobello mushrooms are just cremini mushrooms grown to an exaggerated size, I have not been as excited to cook them…yes, hélas the excitement is gone.

Yesterday, strolling around the vegetable section, some fresh and pretty portobello caught my attention. I have been ignoring them for a while, and since I felt like eating mushrooms, I bought them not really knowing how to prepare them. It ended being a light stuffing with finely chopped vegetables, basil, pine nuts and goat cheese. They are ridiculously light so if you are hungry, I suggest eating two with some side dish. I loved the light texture and flavor of the stuffing…so I would say portobello are back in my kitchen. I don’t know for how long, but so far, they’re in.

Ingredients

• 2 large portobellos
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 zucchini
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 4 mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4 onion, chopped
• 2 tbs basil, chopped
• 1 tbs pine nuts
• 2 tbs goat cheese, crumbled
• 1 tbs kalamata olives, chopped
• 2 tbs panko breadcrumbs (plus extra for topping)
• salt and pepper

Preparation

For the stuffing

Chop in a mixer zucchini, onion and bell pepper. The texture needs to be fine but with some pieces.

Heat olive oil in a pan and add mushrooms, let them cook until the water evaporates. Remove from pan.

Chop mushrooms as finely as the other vegetables.

In the same pan, heat olive oil, add zucchini, onion and pepper mixture. Let them cook at medium heat for a few minutes (no water should be left in the pan). If there is still water, remove excess water with a towel or squeeze using your hands when the mixture has cooled down.

Remove from pan and in a mixing bowl mix vegetables with mushrooms. Let it cool. Add the rest of the ingredients (except oil), leaving the goat cheese for the end. The goat cheese needs to keep some crumbly texture so mix carefully all the ingredients.

For the mushrooms

Sprinkle mushrooms with some olive oil, salt and pepper. Broil for 5 minutes.

using a paper towel absorb mushroom water if necessary and pat dry.

Pre heat oven at 375F. Divide the stuffing on each mushroom, sprinkle with some bread crumbs and cook for about 15 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Serve hot with a green salad.

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.

Yes, this is definitely a dish for one of those lazy days, not lazy “like sitting on the sofa”, but lazy “like not feeling to cook” but with a desire to eat something good.

After waiting for a while after for people all day, first to come check out some windows for replacement (and not showing up), for phone calls unreturned, you get into a strange mood and wondering what is wrong. Is it the muggy weather? Is there something up in the air that makes people unreliable? I have no idea. I guess some days are just like that. Well so for one of those days, this is the perfect little thing to do, that will not leave your kitchen messy.

Verrines have been quite popular in France, you just fill them with whatever you like for a fun presentation. Basically, the glass is filled with layers of quinoa, pesto, goat cheese. It can be served lukewarm or cold as a salad or appetizer.

Ingredients for 4

• 250 g quinoa
• vegetable broth
• 6 tbs chick peas (soaked in water or canned)
• 3 zucchini, sliced crosswise
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 4 tbs goat cheese

For the pesto

• 70 g peeled almonds
• 1 garlic clove
• 40 g parmigiano Reggiano, grated
• 50 g basil
• zest of 1 lemon
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Steam quinoa in vegetable broth by adding enough broth to cover the quinoa by 1/2 inch. Bring broth to a boil, then cover with a lid and reduce heat to the minimum. Cook for about 20 minutes or until the quinoa has absorbed all the liquid. The other and quicker alternative is to cook quinoa in a rice cooker. When quinoa is cooked remove pot from the heat and let it cool a little.

Add chick peas to the quinoa and mix well. Grill zucchini in a grill pan and add to the quinoa-chick pea mixture. Add lemon juice, drizzle with olive oil and adjust with salt and pepper.

For the pesto, combine all ingredients together in a mixer to obtain a semi fine paste.

In a glass, add one layer of quinoa, add a layer of pesto, then a layer of goat cheese. Start over with a layer of quinoa. Top it off with some goat cheese, a slice of grilled zucchini and a basil leaf.

I could definitely sleep on top of those stuffed pillows, they’re warm and smell so good. For a long time, I didn’t like to manipulate filo dough, it was either drying too fast, or breaking, so I got annoyed with it and decided to leave it aside. Tant pis!

Then the idea of giving up, annoyed me even more…so I bought a pack of filo dough, and I decided to play with it…so far, the games were fun but I don’t seem to be able to finish the box 30 sheets of dough is quite a lot. It’s much lighter than puff pastry, then if you brush it with olive oil instead of butter, it’s even lighter!

I was reading an article on restaurant food, and it seems like fried food has never been that popular. So for those who like fried food, you can fry those pillows. Filo dough unlike puff pastry can be fried. I baked mine since I am still the “health nut” cook. One of the few things I like fried, is the fried green tomatoes I had once in a restaurant in the city. I can eat this once in a while, but I just don’t feel like frying it at home.

Fresh goat cheese tends to be bland, so I combined it with chives and garlic. When you bite on a crunchy pillow, the aroma of the cooked herbs comes out and you get a delightful sensation, melting cheese, crunchy filo and soft vegetables. Those are quick to prepare and cook, so they’re perfect to be served with a salad for a light lunch or as appetizer if you have unexpected guests.

Ingredients for 4 (2 each)

• 4 sheets filo dough
• 1/2 lb fava beans
• 1 bunch asparagus
• 1/2 lb fresh goat cheese
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tbs chives, chopped
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Cut asparagus in 1 inch pieces and cook in salted boiling water for about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside. Remove beans from the pods and cook in boiling water for three minutes. Drain and remove the peel.

In a small cup mix goat cheese, chives and garlic.

Remove filo dough sheets from box. Lay one sheet flat on a working surface. Brush the sheet with olive oil. Place another sheet on top and cut to have four squares. Place 1 tbs of fava beans and 1 tbs of asparagus in the middle, add salt and pepper. Top it with goat cheese mixture. Bring each side towards the center to form small pillows. Proceed the same way with the rest of the sheets. Brush the top of the pillow with olive oil.

Bake in a non-stick sheet at 370 for about 10 minutes or until the pillows are golden and crunchy. Serve hot.

]]> http://citronetvanille.com/blog/2010/10/get-a-pillow-and-take-a-nap-pillows-with-fava-beans-asparagus-and-feta/feed/ 21 http://citronetvanille.com/blog/2010/04/pink-girlie-gnocchi-red-beet-gnocchi-with-artichokes-goat-cheese-and-chives/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=pink-girlie-gnocchi-red-beet-gnocchi-with-artichokes-goat-cheese-and-chives http://citronetvanille.com/blog/2010/04/pink-girlie-gnocchi-red-beet-gnocchi-with-artichokes-goat-cheese-and-chives/#comments Mon, 12 Apr 2010 06:28:13 +0000 silvia http://www.citronetvanille.com/blog/?p=9576 I gnocchi rosa da donna – Gnocchi rosa con rape rosse, carciofi, caprino ed erba cipollina

I love to play with pasta colors, and I love colorful food, so today everything is pink. Don’t you like pink? I love to wear pink and eat it too! pink, pink, pink and more pink! such a calming and happy color.

Here is a dish that really makes me see la vie en rose, because no matter how careful I was, everything I touched in the kitchen turned pink, the flour paper bag, the oven buttons, and kitchen cabinets. After my pink tagliatelle with red beets, I wanted to make pink gnocchi just for the gorgeous color. It has been such a long time I haven’t made gnocchi, not that I don’t like them, but I think they tend to be too fulfilling for me.

Beets are often used in salads, and I think they can be used in so many ways, like to color pasta and doughs, since beets are often used as a food coloring.

I have been using quite a lot of goat cheese these days, I figured I would use parmesan instead, but since beets and goat cheese are too great of a match, I had no other choice than use it.

My mom’s gnocchi are very traditional made with a tomato base with rabbit and mushroom sauce, like they make in Romagna, so last time I was home and made her those crazy pink gnocchi, she got so excited and curious, non avrei mai pensato fare gli gnocchi colle barabietole! The great thing about my parents is that they taste everything I make even the most unconventional and nontraditional dishes (which is very rare for Italians in their 60s), and they are willing to try new things. Last time I went home, I brought some meat substitute made with soy, and that was the only thing they didn’t like, they tasted a bite and stopped there…but that is understandable, it looks like dog food!

The tricky part (yes there is one…maybe two) is the mashing of the beets, they need to be reduced in purée, so I mixed the potatoes and beets all together, then used a potato masher to crush them well and not leave any chunks of beets. Then when everthing was almost perfectly fine, I used a hand mixer to reduce everything into a smooth purée.

The other tricky part in these gnocchi making process is the flour quantity, I have added gradually flour to my mixture, so I won’t be able to give an exact amount, you will have to determine for yourself when to stop adding flour. Basically, the dough remains sticky, while rolling the strips, it’s ok add flour, but do not add too much flour to the dough mixture, or the gnocchi will be too hard.

Ingredients for 3-4

For the gnocchi dough

• 350 g potatoes (or 3 medium), cooked
• 200 g red beets, cooked
• 1 egg
• flour (1 cup or more)

For the sauce

• 5 medium sized artichokes
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup of dry white wine
• 4 tbs goat cheese
• 2 tbs chives
• 2 tbs olive oil
• juice of one lemon
• salt and pepper

Preparation

In a mixing container, mash potatoes and red beets with a potato masher like mentioned above. You will get a smooth purée. Add one egg and flour. Mix well to combine all ingredients together and obtain a homogeneous dough. The dough needs to be slightly sticky but not too much, then while rolling the strips, you will add extra flour to prevent them from sticking to your working surface. Roll strips, and cut in small 1 inch nuggets. Then using the fork tines or a rigagnocchi (that tool used to curl the gnocchi), “curl” each of them.

Trim your artichokes, by removing the hard leaves around, and the trimming the top leaves. Cut in quarters and place in a large bowl of water with lemon juice (to prevent them from staining).

In a pan, heat olive oil, add garlic, then add artichokes, mix well, then add wine, salt and pepper. Cover and cook at medium heat until artichokes are tender.

In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil, then add gnocchi. When the gnocchi come out on the surface, they’re cooked. Drain them and add to the artichokes pan. Place in a large pasta dish, mix well. Add goat cheese, chives and extra olive oil. Mix carefully not to break the goat cheese. You can substitute parmesan or pecorino to fresh goat cheese.

Have you ever felt like a goat cheese appetizer but not on a salad or on toasts? This warm goat cheese appetizer has been one of my favorites, and makes such an elegant small dish with simple and down to earth flavors.

It’s one of those appetizers, that you make regularly because it’s so good and so quick to prepare, you can prepare the red pepper salsa in advance which can be appreciable when you have guests and many courses, then you don’t have to stay in the kitchen while your guest are having a good time in the living room. Since I love to have everything ready when guest arrive and not drink my glass of wine by myself with my vegetables, I had to find recipes that would allow me to do that.

For a long time, goat cheese was not one of my favorites, I thought it was too strong and smelled like a real goat (the same smell you can encounter at the gym, when people don’t use deodorant and have been working out in dirty clothes). I got to appreciate it more while living in Paris, sometimes during the weekend, all you want to do is get out of the crowded city and explore the countryside, see some greenery and breathe fresh air.

During our weekend getaways, we discovered a few goat farms where they raised goats to produce cheeses. Yes, when you enter the farm the goat smell is hard on your nostrils, much worse than cows or horses, and when you leave, you smell like a goat too, but c’est la nature!!..little by little, I somehow got to appreciate the diversity of goat cheeses and their flavors, and now it’s an ingredient I adore.

Ingredients for 4

• 8 slices of goat cheese (1.5 cm thick)
• 2 red bell peppers
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1.5 tsp honey
• 1 tbs balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbs parsley, chopped
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 2 tbs sunflower oil (or vegetable oil)
• 1 egg
• 1 cup plain bread crumbs
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Cut the cheese in 1/2 inch thick slices. Whisk egg and dip cheese slices in it, then coat with bread crumbs. Set aside.

Broil red pepper under broiler on all sides until the skin grills and turns dark. Remove from the oven, let it cool and remove the skin and the seeds. Cut in small strips, then in small dices. Set aside.

In a pan, heat olive oil and add shallots, brown the shallots, then add garlic. Cook for another few minutes to get the flavors out. Add honey, cook for a few minutes, then add balsamic vinegar, let it reduce. Add red peppers, stir well and coat peppers with mixture. Add parsley. Remove from heat.

In a pan, heat sunflower oil, brown the breaded goat cheese slices on both sides. When golden brown, remove from heat.

Place 2 slices of goat cheese in a plate and divide the red pepper salsa around them.

I made a pizza a few nights ago, something I don’t do as much as I used to, and I had leftover dough I didn’t want to through away. I just hate to throw away food and more so doughs that can be used in so many different ways. I have been thinking to combine goat cheese and lavender on some sort of a tart or small bites, voilà, c’est fait en un tour de main (it’s done in a hand twist if you have dough of course). Those canapés are tiny, about 2 inches in diameter, even though they seem a lot bigger by looking at the picture.

As much as I dislike lavender as a scent, I would never buy lavender soaps or fragrances, but I adore lavender in food, it feels like Provence with its warm and sunny days, vibrant colors and flower fragrances. Lavender is like vanilla for me, the smell in fragrances makes me cringe but I love cooking with it.

The particularity of pizza dough, is that it needs to cook fast at high temperature, to get a crisp bottom and not chewy. Usually I bake it in a very hot oven, at high temperature and the dough is always perfect. Well, it’s perfect for me, since I like it crunchy and not soft and chewy.

I used large oyster mushrooms, but any mushrooms such as cremini, would work fine. You could also use eggplants, that makes a great combination with goat cheese.

Never throw away leftover dough of any kind, you can always use it, it makes beautiful bites so when unexpected guest show up, they come in handy.

For about 12 canapés

• pizza dough or pate brisée
• 1/3 lb mushrooms
• 12 slices goat cheese
• honey
• lavender salt
• 1 tbs olive oil
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Sauté mushrooms, in olive oil, add salt and pepper and let cook until the water evaporates.

Roll dough very thinly, about 2 mm thick. Cut 2 inches circles with a cookie ring. Place some mushrooms, top it with goat cheese. Sprinkle with lavender salt and honey.

Bake in pre-heated oven at 400F for about 10 minutes until the bottom is golden brown and cheese has melted.

Serve hot.

It seems like the traditional British dessert arrived in France and turned savory. Crumbles are becoming very trendy in France and quite popular, I can understand why, they’re just really delicious. So, yes, we stole it from the British and somehow made some transformations to it. I don’t know much about British cuisine, but I know crumble comes straight from the other side of the Channel.

This is my third post featuring a savory crumble, and I will continue to explore them. Crumbles are so good, most of all very easy to make, and certainly always appreciated among guests. They make wonderful appetizers. I just love to nibble on the crust and dig to get what’s underneath. The goat cheese has melted and infused with the garlicky tomato and eggplant, so you can dip some toasted walnut bread in the juices.

I had taken tons of photos yesterday and for whatever strange reason, when I downloaded them on my computer, they had disappeared from the memory card, and by that time my meal was long gone and digested. I was really disappointed – I still don’t know where the problem came, either from the card or the camera. I Certainly did not want to eat the same dish today and honestly, I am a little tired of carbs, on arrête les féculents, let’s stop the carbs before I turn into a giant noodle!!! I have been eating more pasta and rice than usual, so I figured this crumble would fit perfectly my nutritional needs.

Ingredients for 3-4 individual crumbles

• 5 medium size tomatoes, peeled and seedless, cut in quarters
• 1 small eggplant, sliced crosswise
• 4 tbs goat cheese, crumble
• 2 tbs basil, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tbs olive oil
• salt and pepper

For the crumble topping

• 4 tbs white flour
• 5 tbs plain bread crumbs
• 1 tsp herbes de Provence
• 1 1/2 tbs almond meal
• 1 tbs parmesan, grated
• 2 oz (or 50 g) butter
• a little salt and pepper

Preparation

Heat olive oil in a pan, add 1 garlic clove chopped, then add tomatoes, cook for about 5 minutes until the tomatoes are starting to become soft but not mushy. In a grill pan, grill eggplant on both sides. You can also sprinkle them with olive oil, salt and pepper and broil them under broiler.

Start making crumble topping. In a mixing bowl, mix all ingredients together, then add butter and mix from tip of the fingers to make a crumbly dough.

In individual molds, add tomaotes, eggplant and basil. Top with goat cheese and crumble topping.

Cook in a pre-heated oven at 370F for about 30 minutes or until the top has turned golden.

Serve hot with a green salad.

I found those beautiful duck eggs at Whole Foods a couple of days ago, among quail and ostrich eggs! I bought six and just two were left so I figured that was going to be my lunch. First I wasn’t sure if I was going to post it or not, then I decided it would all depend on the final look. Pretty and tasty was going to be posted. Just pretty could have been, but just tasty was not. Obviously it was both.

I am not a huge fan of Whole Foods but some of my clients want only organic products and the only place I can find them is Whole Foods, since the Rainbow does not have any animal-based products. So, I have been shopping there for myself digging for some interesting products as well and I have to admit that they do carry some unusual and local products which makes the shopping quite fun.

I haven’t had duck eggs for such a long time, my mom used to make homemade pasta with them and it makes a beautiful yellow dough. They contain more fat and are tastier than regular eggs. You can use them instead of using regular eggs, but they’re heavier and bigger, and the yolk has a deep orange color. When using duck eggs in recipes, you might need to change proportions, since they’re bigger than regular eggs.

You might wonder what’s the big deal of eating duck eggs? They make great pastries, and do have a special flavorful taste. So those are good enough reasons.

Omelette is the French word for frittata but not sure how to call it in English, I think Americans use the Italian word if I’m not mistaken. This omelette is really delightful, enhanced by herbs and goat cheese combined with the sweetness of caramelized onions, it all makes a great brunch dish.

I love omelettes, but never make them. Don’t you have something you love but never think of making it? In my case, that’s omelette…

Ingredients for 2 omelettes

• 4 duck eggs
• 2 tomatoes, seedless and peeled, roughly chopped
• 1 large yellow onion, sliced
• 2 tbs mixed herbs (basil, chives, parsley, etc..), finely chopped
• 3 tbs goat cheese, crumbled
• 2 tbs olive oil
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Heat olive oil in a pan, add onions and brown them. Add tomatoes, cook for a few minutes, but do not let it turn mushy. Add salt and pepper.

In a mixing bowl, whisk eggs with herbs salt and pepper. Pour on top of onion mixture. Cover with a lid and cookd until the bottom part is golden brown, and top of omelette is cooked. Add goat cheese on half the side of the omelette and fold the other half on top. Cook for a few more minutes and serve with a green salad.

I am still in the middle of boxes and no kitchen cabinets and no silverware and tons of boxes filled with junk stuff…the bad news is that I need to cook tomorrow for some new clients and that I am still wondering how it will happen…All I want right now is sleep 24 hours straight.

This is the second post featuring a sandwich, just because I am not a sandwich fan…but sometimes, they can be fun to make, even if you don’t eat them. I wouldn’t say this is a quick one to make, since you need to grill your vegetables first but still it’s fun put it together and look at all the bright colors combined. When you organize a picnic party, those can come in handy since they’re tons of vegetables packed in two slices of bread, so instead of eating junk food at a picnic, you can actually enjoy some healthy food.

Sandwiches for me, were only eaten during the time my parents and I would leave Nancy to drive to Italy. My mom would make a few of them for the 10 hour drive trip, since my dad would drive straight, without any stop in between point A to point B. You needed to have some sort of food handy in the car. My mom would get up at 2 am and make a few panini per il viaggio and by 3 am we would be on the road. I hated to get up at 2 am…but my dad always wanted to hit the road on Sunday at 3 am because there would be no truck on the freeways (trucks don’t drive on Sundays) and the freeways in Europe are not as large as the one in the US…now at 70 years of old, he still gets up at 2 am to hit the road at 3 pm and there is nothing and no one that will make him change his mind.

In France, the most traditional sandwich you get, is the jambon, beurre, cornichons = ham, butter and cornichons (It’s not really a sandwich country). On a great crunchy baguette, with great ham and salted butter, it’s wonderful. What I like about the real French baguette is that there is very little crumb, the middle is airy and not dense, so it’s not as filling as some other breads. Now many boulangeries are making some fancy sandwiches with all kinds of baguettes and all kinds of stuffing (but always on baguette) and even though I am not a sandwich fan, I somehow like the ones on baguettes once in a rare while because they have a lovely crust and almost no mie (the breadcrumb inside) that is the stuffy part.

Ingredients for 4

For the Kalamata olive tapenade spread

• 1 cup kalamata olives
• 1/4 cup capers
• 3 tbs. olive oil
• ½ tsp garlic crushed
• ½ tsp. extra strong Dijon mustard

For the sandwich

• 2 small size eggplants, cut crosswise
• 3 zucchini, sliced lengthwise
• 4 tbs sundried tomatoes
• 1 cup arugula
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 4 tsp parsley, chopped
• 2 tsp oregano, chopped
• 1 tsp crushed garlic
• 4 tbs crumbled goat cheese
• 4 tbs roasted peppers, sliced and well drained
• 2 tsp olive oil

Preparation

For the spread

mix all ingredients in a mixer.

For the sandwich

Grill eggplants and zucchini in a grill pan or regular grill. Place in a mixing bowl with sliced roasted peppers. Add parsley, oregano, olive oil, salt and pepper. Set aside.
Cut country bread in two, grill on a grill pan or regular grill.
Spread 1 tbs. of tapenade on each slices of the bread. Add arugula, avocado, grilled zucchini and eggplant. Add sundried tomatoes, roasted peppers and goat cheese.

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