This “Pipérade Revisited” is a colorful dish, simply because it really represents what Citron et Vanille is all about…French, Italian, Mediterranean cuisine with a contemporary twist, using local ingredients.

Pipérade is a traditional Basque recipe (piper meaning pepper in Occitan language) made with Basque peppers, Piment d’Espelette, onions and tomatoes. I twisted it a little to adapt the whole dish with local ingredients and make it a little less traditional with the quail egg. I also used poblano peppers that are a great alternative to Basque peppers and widely available in California.

Usually the egg is added at the end of the cooking process inside the pipérade, I added mine on top of the polenta crostino. The  Jambon de Bayonne (a basque cured ham) is also traditionally cooked and added inside the pipérade. I used Serrano ham, but prosciutto di parma works perfectly fine too. In this version, I grilled the ham and added on the side.

For the crostino, polenta has been cooked in a broth infused with thyme and finished with Basque sheep cheese such as Etorki, but Petit Basque can be a fair alternative if you cannot find Etorki. I topped it all with the cutest of all the eggs, quail egg. I love to substitute quail eggs to regular eggs, they do add an elegant finish to a small bite. This is a very versatile dish, you can serve it as a canape, an appetizer, then you need about 2 per person or make bigger crostoni and serve it as a main course. On fait comme on veut! we do as we please! Now knowing how much I adore making small bites, that’s how I serve mine.

For the polenta, you can use the express polenta, or the regular one which takes over one hour to prepare. It’s up to you, if you have time or not. The express polenta is an alternative when the focus of a dish is not on polenta like this one, and is an add-on.

Ingredients for 4

For the pipérade

• 1 large onion, minced
• 3 poblano peppers, sliced thin lengthwise
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced thin lengthwise
• 4 large ripe tomatoes, peeled and seeds removed
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tbs fresh thyme, chopped
• Piment d’Espelette
• 4 slices cured ham such as Jambon de Bayonne, Serrano ham or Prosciutto di Parma
• 4 quail eggs
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

For the polenta crostino

• 7 oz (or 200 g) polenta
• 3 cups (or 700 ml) vegetable broth
• 1 tbs thyme, chopped finely
• 2 tbs Etorki, grated + some for the shavings
• salt and pepper
• one pinch of sugar

Preparation

For the Pipérade

Heat olive oil in a pan and add onions. When onions are soft and golden brown, add peppers. Cook for out 10 minutes, then add tomates, garlic and herbs, salt and pepper. Adjust with sugar since the tomatoes tend to add a little acidity. Cover and cook slowly for about 30-45 minutes until the pipérade has reached a thick consistency and all the water has evaporated.

For the polenta crostino

Bring broth to a boil, add thyme. Let it boil for a few minutes, then add polenta. Keep stirring until the polenta has absorbed the broth (depending on which type polenta you used). When the polenta is cooked, adjust with salt and add cheese, stir until the cheese has melted and is well incorporated into the polenta.

Pour polenta in a flat tray, the polenta needs to be 1.5 cm thick. Let it cool. When cooled cut with cookie ring of about 6 cm diameter. Grill polenta in a grill pan. Grill each ham slice.

Heat olive oil in a pan, and cook quail eggs, sunny side up. Add salt and pepper.

Using a Ring, form a small tower with tapenade, top it with polenta crostino, add a quail egg, shave some cheese on top, and serve it with a slice of cured ham.

Quail eggs are underused in my opinion…aren’t those adorable? l love those tiny and cute eggs, they’re so delicate with a very fragile shell, and certainly can enhance any velouté. I like anything that comes in a small portion, the beauty of such a tiny egg is that you can fit it all in your mouth and break it inside if you like or break it on top of your soup. As far as eggs are concerned, I have this thing about breaking them, and I hate to see the yolk all over the place.

You can make this soup with just fava beans or peas, or also a mixture of both, they both have very velvety and sweet flavors when puréed. The edamame remain a little crunchy, so it’s important to cook them a little longer and blend them longer too so they are completely puréed into a smooth texture.

If you cannot find quail eggs, you can always use one regular poached egg instead.

When poaching eggs, adding some vinegar is quite an important part of a successful process. Usually the quantity of vinegar is about 10% of the water quantity, and the water needs to boil at high temperature, then to be decreased when pouring the eggs, this way, the whites coagulates around the yolks and don’t get spread out in the water.

Ingredients for 4

• 12.34 oz (or 350 g) fava beans (net weight without the pods)
• 3.52 oz (or 100 g) edamame (fresh or frozen)
• 1.5 shallots, chopped
• 2 garlic clove, crushed
• 2 tbs crème fraîche
• vegetable broth
• 1 tbs olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 12 quail eggs

Preparation

Cook fava beans in a pot of boilng water for about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and peel them. Set aside.

Heat olive oil in a pan, then add shallots and garlic and brown them. If using frozen edamame, add them and cook for about 10-15 minutes, then add peeled fava beans.

Cover with broth, adjust with salt and pepper and cook for another 10 minutes. Add cream and blend in mixer or using an immersion blender. Pass the soup through a sieve and keep warm. IF the soup is too thick add broth to desired consistency.

For the quail eggs, bring about 2 cups of water to a boil with vinegar (preferably white vinegar). Reduce heat. Break carefully quail eggs in a container, then pour them in water, making sure the whites remain around the yolk, using a spoon, keep whites close to the yolks. Cook for one minute, remove from water, and place in a cold water to stop the cooking process.

Divide soups in bowls, then add three poached eggs, sprinkle with paprika and olive oil and serve.