I know that some of you might think that woman at Citron et Vanille doesn’t make real food, those bites and tiny little things cannot satisfy a hunger, and does not seem like “food”. Real people want real food. I will have to somehow disagree un petit peu!

I love to serve LOTS of small bites, full of flavors when I entertain. Now for example if this will sound more real to you, you can take a regular size plate, place some sprouts, spinach leaves and place with 3 or 4 bites, and top it off with the sauce. Does it sound more real? If you do actually present it that way, it will look not only very real, but incredibly flavorful as well.

I don’t know about you, but my favorite dishes to prepare are appetizers and hors d’oeuvres. I never liked gigantic plates of food in front of me, I find this overwhelming to look at, never knowing where to start.

I rarely use tofu and fish, probably because in my mind tofu is vegan and mixing it with fish defeats its purpose, well the combination of those two ingredients made the bites very moist and soft. For the harissa sauce, there are a few different versions but I like this one. You can decrease the degree of the heat by adding more or less chili peppers. You can make extra harissa and use it with grilled meats or fish, or even spread it on sandwiches or just on toasted bread. The proportions I list here will give you extra, so if you want less, decrease proportions. You can keep the sauce in an air-tight container for about one week.

I just realized that this weekend is Mother’s day in the US, in France is the last Sunday of May, so I imagine many celebration dishes will be all over the web. This could be a nice way to start the celebration of motherhood, thinking about it, my mom would like it, it is somehow like her, soft inside, with a touch of fire on the outside. So happy mother’s day to American moms!

Ingredients for about 10 bites

For the bouchées

• 4.23 oz (or 120 g) extra firm tofu
• 4.23 oz (or 120 g) cod or any dense white fish
• 1 scallion, chopped
• 2 tbs cilantro, chopped
• paprika
• cumin
• salt and pepper
• spinach leaves for decoration
• alfalfa sprouts for decoration

For the harissa sauce

• 2 red bell peppers
• 2 red chili peppers
• 1/4 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/2 tsp caraway seeds
• 3 tbs olive oil
• salt and pepper

Preparation

For the fish-tofu bites

Blend all ingredients in a mixer and grind to a fine consistency but not too fine, you still want to see the “green” inside. Form small balls the size of a walnut. Place in a sheet and broil under broiler. Broil until golden brown on all sides.

For the harissa

Char broil, red bell peppers and red chili pepper under broiler, until the skin has grilled and starts detaching from the peppers. Remove from the oven, let them cool. Peel and remove the seeds from peppers.

Blend all ingredients in a blender into a smooth purée-type of consistency.

Serve in ceramic spoons or in small dishes. Place one spinach leaf, some alfalfa sprouts and one fish-tofu bite topped with harissa sauce.

Some days, you just feel like something hearty, healthy with lost of flavors…so I decided to finally cook those mung beans I had for a while in my pantry. They’re round with a bright green color, they’re very nourishing while being very light to digest. In India, they’re used in Ayurvedic cooking. In some other parts of Asia, they are used in sweet dishes and pastes but I like them cooked as the Indian Moong Dhal and eat them as a side dish. Actually, mung beans are green with the husk, when dehusked they’re yellow and they’re used and called Moong Dhal in Indian cuisine .

Chermoula is a Moroccan mixture or paste to be more accurate of parsley and cilantro with various spices and is used on fish, or meat to enhance its flavor. It’s tangy and so flavorful that is a delight on anything. I love it even on toasted bread. There are so many variations of chermoula recipes. Some recipes include red onions, some have more cilantro than parsley, some add chili. So to each its own, now it must to always have cumin and garlic.

This whole dish combination has a nice exotic twist and the kale makes it very well balanced. The kale is simply enhanced by red bell peppers, garlic and onions which enhance the whole dish without adding too many complicated flavors to it, since chermoula and dhal are quite flavorful. I am not sure why this kale is called red kale, since there is nothing red in it and is called “chou frisé” in French (curly kale), and there is nothing curly in it either. Actually I don’t know if it’s the accurate name but that’s what it said on the label. I think sometimes labels are confusing.

I soaked the beans for about 4 hours in water, but they cook quite quickly so that is not necessary. I always count about 2.46 oz (or 70 g) per person of rice or beans as a side dish, you might want to add more.

Ingredients for 4

For the mung beans

• 10.60 oz (or 300 g) mung beans
• 2 tsp ginger, grated
• 2 garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp turmeric
• salt and pepper

For the shrimps

• 24 large tiger shrimps, peeled and deveined
• 1 bunch parsley
• 1/2 bunch cilantro
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tbs lemon zest
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

For the kale

• 2 bunches red kale, stems removed
• 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 large ripe tomatoes, peeled and seedless
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• one pinch cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper

Preparation

For the mung beans

Cook the beans in water and add ginger, garlic, turmeric and salt. Let it simmer and add water if necessary, they will absorb a lot of it, so keep checking it. When the beans are soft and tender but not mushy, remove from the pan.

For the shrimps

Place all ingredients in a mixer and mix to a fine consistency but not like a paste, you need to see pieces of herbs. remove and keep aside. Marinate the shrimps with half of this mixture and refrigerate for about 3 hours minimum. In a wok, heat olive oil, saute shrimps, then when the shrimps are half cooked, add the rest of the chermoula and stir well.

For the kale

Bring water to a boil, and cook kale for about 5-7 minutes until tender. Drain excess water, set aside and let it cool. Chop roughly.

In a pan, heat olive oil, add onions and let it brown, add bell peppers, cover  and cook for about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, garlic, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper, and let cook until the tomatoes are cooked and water evaporated. Add kale and saute in the tomato/red pepper fondue. Drizzle with olive oil and dress in plate.