I had a very little time for lunch yesterday since I had a doctor’s appointment early in the afternoon. I currently have no car, looking to buy one, so public transportation here I come…

I evaluated it would take me over one hour to get to the doctor, since I had to make a connection. I don’t know if any of you have ever taken public transportation in San Francisco, but some Muni lines are nice and clean and some others are packed, loud, people yelling, insulting one another and dirty…unfortunately I had to take that one. At that point, I wished I had a car…I think something should be done to improve the public transportation system and the quality of the streets. Better public transportation would help the environment and decrease the traffic.

Before my trip to hell, I found the perfect fast food plate. Honestly, this is fast food. It took me less than 30 minutes to put it all together and perfectly flavored and balanced. I like fresh herbs, and food that doesn’t cook for hours soaked in heavy sauces. I love fresh crisp flavors, and this fish dish fits that category. There are few simple ingredients such as lemon juice, herbs, etc…nothing too complex, so nothing overpowering to confuse your palate.

This dish smells and tastes comme la Provence with the fennel and lavender. This is perfect for one of those days when you don’t have too much time too spend in the kitchen but still want to eat a decent healthy meal.

Ingredients for 2

For the cod

• 2 cod fillets
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tbs olive oil
• lavender salt
• pepper

For the vegetables

• 2 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
• 3 potatoes, sliced crosswise
• 1 heirloom tomato, cut in half
• 1/4 tsp cumin powder
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tbs parsley, finely chopped
• 1 tbs mint, finely chopped
• one pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp cider vinegar
• 1 tbs olive oil + 1
• salt and pepper
• Fleur de sel for the tomato

Preparation

First prepare the potatoes. Drizzle them with salt, pepper, olive oil and cider vinegar. Place in the oven and broil on both sides until golden brown and cooked all the way through. While potatoes are cooking, grill the fennel on a grill pan. Add fennel to the potatoes.

Drizzle cod with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Broil on both sides until cooked all the way through.

Grill tomatoes on grill pan.

In a small mixing bowl, mix olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, parsley, mint, cumin powder, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Pour on top of fennel, potato mixture and toss.

Add lavender salt on top of cod, drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil.

Add Fleur de sel and pepper on top of tomato halves and a little olive oil.

Serve each item in a plate.

I got a little sick this weekend, another weird migraine that made me drained, so anytime I get sick, I like to eat soups…I know I made one not that long ago, but when I feel sick, soups are great to get re-hydrated and they seem to coat my stomach very nicely. Do I sound like a grandma? maybe. I haven’t made that root vegetable soup for a long time, and had everything in the refrigerator to make one…so here we go grandma started to peel the vegetables and the soup was on its way.

I love root vegetables in so many ways, and in a soups, they’re delicious. All those flavors are combined together to make a smooth and velvety purée. Rutabaga had a bad reputation in Europe especially among people who went through the second world war, since it was the only vegetable they could find during that time. It’s basically an hybrid vegetable that was produced due to the “hybridisation” of a turnip and a cabbage.

My mom adores to puré her vegetable soup and anytime I go home, there is a huge pot filled with some kind of colorful soup for dinner, we rarely have heavy dinners… I am so spoiled that I turn into a brat, a real “bratty” brat…that would be me, la fille indigne (the unworthy daughter) instead of eating her soup, I make the “Maggi” soup called Sveltesse 0% that is an dehydrated soup with 50 calories per bag. You just pour boiling water on top et voilà! you have a quick soup with 50 calories that tastes good (for a dehydrated soup, it does). I have no idea why, or how…I never eat any kind of that stuff, ever, but for whatever unexplained reason, when I am home, I like the Sveltesse soups. Of course, I get the annoyed stare from my mom, who got somehow used to it, but cannot help to give me the look.

I think we all have our “devil food“, and I admit it with no shame, that Sveltesse 0% is my little devil soup, well at least it’s not some heavy chocolate cake filled with butter and corn syrup.

I never eat that kind of thing here, when I go home, I rarely cook, since two cooks in the kitchen are too many, then I break the habits, all habits. I even turn into a meat eater, not that much but I eat prosciutto, and salami. Something I rarely do here. When you change environment, I think you tend to change your habits also, and adapt to the local way of living..if you don’t, it can be a nightmare.

The little twist of the soup is the cream of tarragon, and turnip chip…the turnip chip looks like one but is not fried, it’s just cooked in the oven.

Ingredients for 6

For the soup

• 2 carrots, peeled and cut in chunks
• 1 medium size potato, peeled and cut in chunks
• 1 onion, diced
• 1/2 sweet potato, peeled and cut in chunks
• 3 turnips (2 for the soup, 1 for the chips), peeled and cut in chunks, except the one for the chips
• 1 parsnip, peeled and cut in chunks
• 1 rutabaga, peeled and cut in chunks
• 1 cup celeri head, peeled and cut in chunks
• vegetable broth
• 1 tbs olive oil
• salt and pepper

For the tarragon cream

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tbs plain yogurt
• 1 tbs chopped tarragon
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• salt and pepper

Preparation

For the soup

In a large pot, heat olive oil, then add onions and bown them. Add the rest of the vegetables, salt and pepper and stir and cook for about 5-10 minutes. Add broth, enough to cover the vegetables by 1/3 inch. Simmer until the vegetables are cooked. Add broth as needed, to always have the same quantity on top of the vegetables.

When vegetable are cooked, mix with a hand blender or mixer. Adjust salt and pepper and serve with a tsp of cream of tarragon and 2 turnip chips.

For the turnip chips

Slice the turnips about 2mm slice. Boil in water for a 5 minutes. Drain and pat dry, then place in the oven and let it dry, sprinkle with olive oil and salt. Let it dry some more until the chip is crunchy.

For the tarragon cream

Whip heavy cream. In a mixing container, mix yogurt, lemon juice, tarragon, salt and pepper. Carefully add whipped cream.

]]> http://citronetvanille.com/blog/2009/10/where-are-your-roots-vegetable-root-soup-with-turnip-chips-and-tarragon-cream/feed/ 17