I made this dish a while ago, then never got the chance to finish writing it. So here we are now, during the holiday season with a non Christmassy dish…It’s not quite the best recipe for the occasion but it is definitely delicious so we’ll make it festive.

Anytime I buy octopus, I think about Paul the famous octopus who predicted all the soccer games in the 2010 world cup. I have a weakness for octopus dishes but then when I buy one and see it staring at me, I am thinking, that’s the last time I will buy one. I have strong mixed feelings about it. Eventually, at some point, I will stop buying it. Maybe this one is Arthur, Paul’s relative.

Since I bought Arthur, I will make the best out of it. I have made many octopus dishes before, and this one with a tomato base is a classic Italian or Southern France dish. The white bean puree goes well with the tomato base, and it’s all enhanced by a herb oil. I loved it. Herbs are an essential part of my cooking style, I could not cook without them. They make any dish taste better, they give it more character.

It’s fairly easy to make herb oil. You need excellent olive oil, the most fragrant you can find. I used Paesano brand (from Sicily). I would use some unrefined and unfiltered extra virgin olive oil, cold press. You can use any herbs you want. I used a mixture of parsley, chives, mint, mixed with garlic, jalapeno pepper. The oil needs to be infused for a while, a minimum of two hours. Then you can store it in a glass bottle and use it when needed.

Ingredients for 2-3

For the octopus

• 1 whole large size octopus (about 2.5 lbs)
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 large shallot, diced
• 3 large heirloom tomatoes, peeled, seeds removed and diced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• Piment d’Espelette
• salt and pepper
• 1 tsp tomato vinegar (optional)
• chives for garnish

For the cannelini bean purée

• 1 tbs olive oil
• 2 tbs onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 400 g cooked cannellini beans
• 1/3 cup vegetable broth
• salt and pepper

For the herb oil

• 1 cup unfiltered cold press extra virgin olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 jalapeno pepper
• one handful mixed fresh herbs (mint, parsley, basil, chives, etc…)

Preparation

For the octopus

Cook octopus in boiling water until tender but not over cooked (about 30 minutes) or alternatively in a pressure cooker for 15-20 minutes. When cooked, drain and cut in medium size pieces (about3-4 inches).

Heat olive oil in a dutch oven. Add shallots and brown them. Add tomatoes, garlic, piment d’Espelette, salt and pepper. Let cook for a few minutes. Add wine, stir well and place in the oven with lid on for 20 minutes. Remove lid and continue cooking until some liquid has been absorbed. Remove from oven and add tomato vinegar. Let cook for another minute an serve.

 For the cannellini bean purée

Heat olive oil in a pan. Add onions and let them cook until translucent, then add garlic and stir until fragrant. Add beans and broth, salt and pepper. Let it cook to absorb the flavors for about 15 min. Then mix in a mixer to obtain a smooth puree. Add more broth if too thick.

For the herb oil

Mix all ingredients in a mixer until smooth. You could drain and press the mixture in a cheese cloth to obtain the oil (I like texture so I didn’t, and kept it mixed without pressing the oil)

Serve purée in bottom of plates, add octopus on top and herb oil all around. Sprinkle with chives.

I have made chicken bastilla quite often but never with shrimps. Originally, I was thinking of a vegetarian version, then I thought shrimps would be a good idea. Bastilla is a Moroccan dish usually filled with meat or fish/seafood and wrapped in filo dough, topped with almonds and cinnamon.

The base is of the chicken bastilla, then the difference is that I didn’t use cinnamon nor sugar. I didn’t think it would go well with shrimps, beside I am not a fan of cinnamon. I made a layer of spinach with preserved lemons and kalamata olives, topped with shrimps, and I loved it. This became my favorite thing to make for the moment.

Ingredients for a bastilla (2 people)

For the shrimps mixture

• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1/2 medium yellow onion
• 1 tsp ginger, grated
• 1 lb shrimps, peeled and deveined
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tbs cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1 saffron dose, dissolved in 2 tbs hot broth
• salt and pepper
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 4-6 sheets of whole wheat filo dough (or regular filo dough)
• butter, melted
• 2 tbs silvered almonds, toasted

For the spinach mixture

• 1 tbs olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 10-15 kalamata olives, chopped
• 2 small preserved lemon (or one large), rinsed and minced
• salt and pepper

Preparation

For the shrimp mixture

Heat olive oil in a pan, add onions and cook a few minutes (do not brown) add ginger and cook a few extra minutes. Add shrimps, stir until they turn a little pink but not cooked. Add cumin, coriander, paprika, garlic, cilantro and saffron. Sir well and let it cook until the mixture is cooked and water evaporated. Add egg and cook well. Adjust with salt and pepper and remove from heat.

For the spinach

Heat olive oil in a pan. Add garlic and stir until fragrant. Add spinach, salt and pepper. Cook stirring until spinach is wilted. Squeeze excess water with your hands. Add lemon and olive and mix well.

In two round pans of about 10 cm diameter, coat bottom and sides of pan using a brush. Cut filo dough sheets lengthwise and place those 2 strips of dough at bottom of the pan in a way that the border of the dough shifts to one side. Brush with more butter. Proceed three more times. Sprinkle toasted almonds. Add the last layer of dough.

Place spinach at the bottom, spreading evenly. Add shrimp mixture and start covering the shrimps folding the filo dough edges on top of the shrimps. Brush with butter at each stage of the folding process. Brush again the last sheet of dough.

Sprinkle almonds on top and cook on a pre heated oven at 375F until golden brown.

I haven’t celery rave in a long time, for no specific reason, maybe because I don’t enjoy peeling it. is that a good enough reason? maybe not.

In France we eat celery rave a lot, mainly in rémoulade. Rémoulade is grated celery with mayonnaise, so a big word for something quite simple. In this recipe, I combined it with the sweetness of fennel and scallops.

I have noticed that many Americans don’t like fennel nor liquorice, so if you belong to the fennel-haters category, you can replace it with thinly sliced zucchini and instead of fennel, you can use cumin seeds.

I have been making some mango vinegar and playing with it on some recipes other than salads, and I really like it on seafood.

When cooking the scallops, always add salt at the end, otherwise if added while cooking, the scallops won’t turn brown and will form water. Also, when browning scallops, make sure the butter won’t burn. If it does burn, you need to discard it and use fresh butter. Or alternatively, filter the sauce at the end, so that the sauce looks smooth with no butter residue.

Ingredients for 2

For the celery root purée

• 2 small heads of celery, peeled and diced (1 inch)
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp onion, chopped
• vegetable broth
• 1 tbs heavy cream
• salt and pepper

For the braised fennel

• 1 tbs onion, finely diced
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 large fennel bulb, shaved with a mandoline
• juice of 1 orange
• salt and pepper

For the scallops

• about 5 grams butter
• 4 large scallops (fresh not frozen)
• 1 tsp honey
• 3 tbs mango vinegar
• Fleur de sel

Preparation

For the celery root purée

Heat olive oil in a pan and add onion, let them sweat and add celery root. Cover with broth and let cook until absorbed and until celery is tender. You might need to use more broth in the process. Adjust with salt. Mash with a potatoe masher and add cream. Stir well and keep mashing until smooth and homogeneous.

For the braised fennel

Heat olive oil in a pan. Add onions and fennel and let it cook until fragrant but not until the onion turns golden brown.Add fennel and orange juice, salt and pepper. Cover and let cook at slow heat until orange juice absorbed and fennel tender. Keep warm.

For the scallops

Melt butter in a pan. Add scallops and cook on both sides until golden brown, about 2 minutes each side. Remove from pan and keep warm. Add honey, stir well and deglaze with mango vinegar and stir well.

Using a rind, place purée at the bottom of the plate. Add fennel on top and scallops at the end. Drizzle scallops with fleur de sel. Pour sauce around or on top of scallops and serve hot. You might want to have your plates warmed up before plating.

Bourride is a Provencal dish, let’s say the cousin of bouillabaisse. It’s originally made out of monkfish. In this version, I added shrimps and clams and fennel in the broth. I love the combination of fennel and fish/seafood. It’s a light and flavorful dish that can be enjoyed all year round. Not being difficult to make, it can also be prepared in advance, just get the broth with the vegetables ready the night before and you can only cook the fish the day you are consuming it. That is a big convenience.

These days I have not been a big fish and seafood eater, but once in a while if I make an ocean dish, it needs to be special. Bourride is delicious and light, especially if you don’t add too much aioli.

Bourride is served with aioli. Aioli is used in all Mediterranean basin such as Provence, Spain and Northern Italy. It’s usually a condiment made out of garlic and oil, sometimes an egg is added but for purists, egg is to be avoided.

Ingredients

For the soup

• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1/2 large onion, chopped
• 1 fennel, diced
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced (1/2 inch pieces)
• 1 leek (the white part), sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tbs parsley, chopped
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1.5 lb monkfish, cut in 5 cm pieces
• about 15 shrimps, peeled and deveined
• about 15 clams

For the aioli

• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 yolk
• 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 3.4 oz (or 100 ml) vegetable oil
• 3.4 oz (or 100 ml) olive oil
• salt and pepper

Preparation

For the aioli

In a bowl, or mortar crush garlic, add yolk and mustard then add slowly vegetable oil. Add olive oil and continue stirring until the mixture is smooth. Adjust with salt and pepper.

For the bourride

Heat olive oil in a deep pot. Add cut vegetables and let them sweat for about t0 min until they get soft. Add garlic, parsley and wine. Stir well, then add broth. Let it cook for about 20 min until the vegetables are well cooked. Mash roughly with a potato masher. Remove about 1 laddle of broth and set aside.

Cook monkfish in a little oil on all sides, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

Add monkfish to broth, add shrimps and clams. Cover and cook at medium temperature until the clams open.

When fish is cooked, mix 3-4 tbs aioli with the left aside broth and mix well. Add to the fish/broth mixture. Sprinkle with parsley and serve hot with toasted bread or as is.

]]> http://citronetvanille.com/blog/2016/07/a-different-kind-of-bourride-bourride-of-monkfish-clams-and-shrimps/feed/ 0 http://citronetvanille.com/blog/2016/05/grilled-octopus-fennel-and-fava-bean-saute-roasted-pepper-salsa-mixed-herb-salsa/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=grilled-octopus-fennel-and-fava-bean-saute-roasted-pepper-salsa-mixed-herb-salsa http://citronetvanille.com/blog/2016/05/grilled-octopus-fennel-and-fava-bean-saute-roasted-pepper-salsa-mixed-herb-salsa/#comments Sat, 07 May 2016 22:11:03 +0000 silvia http://www.citronetvanille.com/blog/?p=17784 Poulpe grillé sur lit de fenouil et fèves, coulis de poivrons grillés, et sauce aux fines herbes

Since I came back from Japan, I have been wanting to make Takoyaki which are Japanese octopus balls usually find in the streets of Japan and eaten as snacks. They are delightful (of course if you like octopus). I went to Japan town and got all the ingredients, then when I arrived home, I decided to change my menu and went for a more Mediterranean recipe instead. As we say in French “il n’y a que les imbeciles qui ne changent pas d’avis” (only imbeciles don’t change their mind). I was quite hungry, and I thought I didn’t want to eat something called a “snack”. So takoyaki will have to wait.

Needless to say I adore octopus, in any shape or form, and my two favorite ways to eat it is either as a stew or grilled.

I made this herb salsa a few days ago to eat with grilled fish and I had some left that would be perfect for this dish as well. You don’t need to make two sauces. You can pick between the roasted pepper sauce or this herb one…or both if you don’t mind the extra work (which is very minimal). Honestly, I love to serve it with both. The roasted pepper salsa brings out the sweetness and the herb salsa is more pungy and citrussy and both are really a great combination for grilled octopus.

This dish is fairly simple as far as technique and likelihood to mess it up. Now, it require many different ingredients, but not too many spices. I don’t like dishes that are too complicated where you lose the essence of the primary ingredient, therefore end up not knowing what you are eating anymore. So this dish does not fit in that category despite its ingredients.

I included some saute greens that are optional, but I love my greens so it’s up to you to decide if you want to add some or not. The ones are used are Asian greens that looks like rapini, but any stems green would work.

Ingredients for 2-3

For the roasted pepper salsa

• 2 red peppers
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• cayenne pepper (to taste)
• 2 tbs olive oil
• salt and pepper

For the herb salsa

• 1/2 bunch dill
• 1/2 bunch cilantro
• 1/2 bunch basil
• 1 garlic clove
• zest of 1 meyer lemon
• juice of 1 meyer lemon
• 1/2 ts cumin
• salt and pepper

For the fava beans and fennel saute

• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 fennel head, shaved very finely and thinly
• 1/2 cup fava beans (shelled)
• 2 tbs dry white wine
• salt and pepper
• lemon oil for drizzling

For the octopus

• 400 g cooked octopus
• 1 tbs lemon juice
• 1 tbs olive oil
• salt and pepper

Instructions

For the roasted pepper salsa

Roast peppers under broiler until they turn black on all sides. Remove from oven and let it cool. Remove seeds and skin and place in a mixer with the rest of the ingredients until the mixture becomes smooth.

For the mix herb salsa

Mix all ingredients in a mixer less the lemon zest until fine, like a pesto texture. Add lemon zest at the end.

For the fava bean and fennel saute

Remove fava beans from pod. Bring a water to a boil in a small pot.  Cook fava beans in water for about 3 minutes. Drain and remove the fava bean from their shell. Keep aside.

Heat olive oil in a pan. Add fennel and mirin and cook at medium heat for a few minutes until the fennel starts to soften but still remain firm. Let mirin evaporate. Add fava beans and mix well. Adjust with salt and pepper and drizzle with lemon oil.

For the octopus

You either need precooked octopus you can find at any Asian market or raw octopus that you will cook yourself in water until soft (it should take about 40 minutes). When cooked, cut a few tentacles in about 4.5 inches long. Marinate them in olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper for about one hour. Grill on barbeque on skillet until golden brown and crispy on each sides (about 10 minutes).

I have been thinking about this pasta for a while now…sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and I think about some new recipes, and this one has been occupying my mind lately. I love colors everywhere, and I love especially colorful and vibrant food in my plate, and this is just the right balance of colors, flavors and textures. The first time I discovered spirulina was in France, it was a dried store bought pasta with spirulina. I had no idea what spirulina was until then.

After some research, I found out that spirulina is a blue algae used as a supplement before workouts (either in a pill or as a powder), so I tried it, and I liked its boosting effect, but it tastes like a strong raw seaweed (quite unpleasant). Being high in protein and amino acid, I have been using it as a supplement. The thought of making some pasta with it, kept coming to my mind, and I had to come to an end with this recurring thought. It worked as planned. You end up with beautiful green pasta similar than spinach pasta but without bad seaweed flavor when used as a supplement in a drink.

Spirulina being a seaweed, any fish or seafood based sauce would be ideal. You can use shrimps or seas scallops as well. I have a weakness for octopus…even though, I have a little dilemma with octopus (ever since I found out about Paul the octopus), it’s an intelligent animal so I feel a bit guilty to eat it even though I like its flavor and texture.

Here I used whole grain farro and buckwheat flours but you can also use some other flours of your choice. If you use this combination, I used a ratio of 60/40 (farro/buckwheat), I would not advise to use less than 60g of farro with buckwheat since buckwheat has no gluten so the texture might end up being a bit fragile and the pasta might break in the cooking process.

For the octopus, I usually buy it whole and raw. Some Chinese or Japanese stores sell them precooked in small portions, so if you are not too familiar with its preparation, that would be an easier alternative. If you buy it raw, it needs to be cooked in water (with cloves, bay leaf, celery, carrot, onion) for about 45 min or until tender. Then you need to slice it and use it in the stew.

Ingredients for 2

For the pasta

• 60 g wholegrain farro flour
• 40 g buckwheat flour
•  1 tsp spirulina powder
• 1 egg

For the octopus stew

•  2 tbs olive oil
• 1/4 shallot, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tbs basil chopped
• 1 tbs parsley chopped
• 3 medium heirloom tomatoes, seedless, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 glass dry white wine
• 1 .5 cup octopus, finely sliced
• salt and pepper

Preparation

For the stew

Heat olive oil in a pan, add shallot and let it soften. Add basil, parlsey and garlic and cook until fragrant ensuring no to burn the garlic. Add tomatoes and cook for about 7 minutes, then add wine and let it reduce. Add the octopus and cook for an additional 10 min at low heat.

For the pasta

In a container or large wooden board, mix flours and spirulina. Add egg and mix well, kneading the dough forming a ball. Knead the dough for about 5-10 min. Add flour if sticky. Using a pasta machine, or rolling pin make tagliatelle (noodle shape pasta). Let the pasta dry for about 15 min. Bring a large salted pot of water to boil. Add pasta and cook for a few minutes until the pasta comes floating at the surface. Do not overcook. Drain and serve with the sauce.

These razor clams remind me of my childhood with my grandmother on a beach on the Adriatic. We used to find those inside the sand and pick them to bring home. It’s been so hard to find them in the stores in the US, and even in Europe. I was reading an article saying that they were no longer part of the culinary world and that the chefs stopped serving them in restaurants for years. The good thing is that, they have decided to introduce them back into their menus and you can now find them in the stores.

The ones you find in Italy or France are smaller, not as thick and longer, they look like a knife. Actually the literal translation of “couteau” in French means knife. These razor clams being so big, they need to be cleaned a bit different than the ones you find in Europe. Those come from the Pacific North West so maybe that’s another type of razor clam.

Unfortunately those clams have been previously frozen, the good thing is that it was easy to open them. To clean them you have to remove the digestive system which is the dark part. Cut it off with scissors and it’s done.

Ingredients for 2

• 6 razor clams
• 1 spring shallot
• 1.2 cup parsley
• 3 garlic cloves
• olive oil
• zest of one lemon
• chili flakes (optional)
• salt and pepper
• lemon oil for drizzling

Preparation

For the herb mixture

In a blender, mix all ingredients except lemon zest. The mixture needs to be smooth, but not like a paste, you need some texture

For the clams

If using frozen ones, open them and wash them well. Clean them removing the digestive system, rinse and pat dry. Place clams back on their shell.

Preheat oven at 370 F. Add herb mixture on top of clams and place in oven for about 15 min or less, until clams are cooked but not too hard. Remove from oven and drizzle with olive oil

I have been wanting to make this carpaccio for such a long time, then one thing or another comes up and I end up making something else. Besides, a whole uncooked octopus is hard to find, but lately I saw them at Whole Foods.

The first time I tasted an octopus carpaccio was a few years ago in Italy, in a small restaurant around Lake Como, since then I have been thinking about it. It was such a memorable dish and special moment. The moment might be gone, but I always wanted to try to reproduce the dish.

Last weekend we went to a famous restaurant in Napa where they had an octopus carpaccio on the menu. Needless to say, I order it. I was so excited to taste a Japanese, fusion octopus style carpaccio, and get some inspiration on new flavors. Unfortunately, when the dish arrived, there were a few very tiny and thin slices of cut tentacles buried in salad, that was it. I was so bummed, thinking maybe they had no clue on what the word carpaccio meant or maybe they ran out of octopus, or who knows.

This recipe is fairly simple, yet quite delicate, and light. You just need an empty bottle of plastic (like a water bottle you would buy at the store) to stuff the cooked octopus in it. This way, it will solidifies into a thick block, easy to slice.

Ingredients for 3-4

For the octopus

• 1 large octopus (3-4 lbs uncooked)
• 1 carrot, peeled
• 1 celery stalk
• 1 bay leaf

For the dressing

• 6 tbs live oil
• 2 tbs lemon juice (preferably Meyer)
• Piment d’Espelette
• 1 tbs parsley, chopped
• salt and pepper

Preparation

In a large pot, cook octopus with carrot, celery, bay leaf until tender (about 30-40 min). Let it cool in its water. When cold drain and squeeze excess water. Push the octopus in the plastic bottle, from which you have cut the top (you need to have a cylinder with top cut off). Press hard to compress the octopus. Place in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours.

For the dressing, mix all ingredients together.

Remove the octopus from the bottle by cutting the plastic. Slice very finely and divide on individual plates. Sprinkle with dressing on top and serve cold

Yes, life is a coconut, after the hard work of breaking the shell, you get the good stuff – I am on a coconut craze lately, and I make everyone around me eat coconut. It’s delicious in anything sweet or savory, I just cannot get enough of it. In this recipe, you need some kind of sticky rice, a non sticky rice such as basmati would not work very well. When making the balls, it will fall apart, and you won’t be able to stuff them. Jasmine rice would be better, or if you like the real sticky rice, you can use it too.

I inspired myself from the Italian risotto balls called “supplì“, those delicious rice balls stuffed with mozzarella and fried. Of course, these are more exotic (for me they are, since I did not grow up with Asian flavors) and are perfect when you feel like something different. They should be about 1.5 inches in diameter, a little bigger than a walnut.

Now there are different ways to cook these balls, one way is to steam them, the other way is to bake them. You can chose the method that is more appealing to you. In my case, I rolled them in panko breadcrumbs mixed with shredded coconut and I baked them. If you steam them, no need to roll them in that mixture. I am not a fan of frying, and always bake instead of frying unless, I have been requested a very specific dish, for which I have no other choice. But if you are into frying, you can try it out.

For the stuffing, you can substitute the zucchini with shiitake mushrooms, and of course play with the stuffing if you are in the mood for playing.

For coconut milk quantities, or other liquid when I cook rice, my Cambodian childhood friend taught me to measure the rice/liquid ratio “à vue d’oeil” as we say in French (with naked eye). There needs to be 1 cm (about 0.40 inches) of liquid above the rice. In this case, the metric system makes a lot more sense (as in many other cases!). I will never get used to imperial system.

Ingredients for about 7-8 balls

For the rice

• 1/4 onion, finely chopped
• 1 cup rice
• coconut milk
• 3 tbs shredded coconut, unsweetened (+ 2 tbs)
• 1 cup panko
• 1 egg beaten
• salt
• chili sauce for dipping

For the stuffing

• 1 shallot, chopped finely
• lemongrass (2 inches stem), cut finely
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 6 large shrimps, uncooked and cut very finely
• 1/2 zucchini, grated
• 1 tbs cilantro, finely chopped
• sichuan pepper
• 1 tsp light soy sauce
• salt

 Preparation

For the rice

Heat olive oil in a pan, add onions and cook for about 5 minutes until soft. Add rice and transfer to a rice cooker or a pot. Add salt and coconut milk. Steam rice for about 15-20 minutes until cooked. Remove from stove and let it sit for about 5 minutes.

For the stuffing

Heat olive oil in a pan. Add onion, lemongrass and ginger and cook for about 10 minutes at low heat. Add garlic and stir well. Add shrimps. Using your hands, squeeze water from zucchini and add to the pan. Cook for about 5 minutes at medium heat. remove excess water if any. Add soy sauce, salt and pepper. stir well, then add cilantro. Mix everything well.

Using your hands, take a good amount of rice and place some of the stuffing in the middle, and form a ball.

Mix panko with shredded coconut.

Dip a ball in the beaten egg, then in the panko/coconut mixture.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 400F for about 15 minutes, until the balls turn golden brown. If you want to steam them, omit the panko mixture and steam in a bamboo steamer.

Serve with chili sauce.

I am a heavy smoker of those cigarettes! The excitement is more related to the feuilles de brick (the wrapping sheets, literally translated into “sheet brick”) than to those cigarettes themselves. I used to bring feuilles de brick from France anytime I went there, just because I cannot find them in the US. Strangely enough, no store carries them (even though feuilles de brick are Middle Eastern), not even the Middle Eastern stores. Most people here use filo dough instead or won ton wrappers, which are very different.

I love feuilles de brick just because they are not as fragile as filo dough and the texture is much more pleasant, the “crunch” is very different. You can check more recipe here with feuille de brick.

Now my frustration ended, thanks to Laurent and his “Gourmet and More” Epicerie he opened in San Francisco, in Hayes Valley. Whoever lives in the city has to go to Gourmet and More if they’re into real French products (not imitation). They even have a “cheese room” where they cut the cheese for you, yes! you have “Fromage à la coupe“, like in France, and not wrapped in plastic like at Whole Foods or most stores. They sell boudin noir, boudin blanc, saucisse de Toulouse, de lapin, rillettes, crozet (pasta specialty from Savoie), many olive oil, teas, etc… a heaven for French people or those who like French products.

Anyway, those cigarettes are filled with leeks, shrimps and mushrooms and baked in the oven. You can also fried the cigarettes in a pan with oil but I prefer to bake them to make them lighter and not as oilier. You can fill them with whatever you like and served with a simple green salad as an appetizer or light lunch, they’re delightful.

Don’t forget, if you are rooming around San Francisco one of those days, drop by “Gourmet and More“, say Bonjour to Laurent and Josiane (his wife), get some cheese…and some feuilles de brick!

Ingredients for 4 cigarettes

• 1 tbs olive oil + 1 tsp for basting
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 1 leek, chopped
• 6 large shiitake, finely diced
• 20 medium shrimps, cut finely
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tbs crème fraîche
• 1 tbs chives, chopped finely
• 4 feuilles de brick
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Heat olive oil in a pan, add shallots and cook them for a few minutes until soft. Add leeks and shiitake, cover and cook at medium heat until the vegetables are cooked and the water evaporated. Add shrimps and cook for a few minutes. Adjust with salt and pepper. Add garlic and stir well. Add crème fraîche and cook until the cream has thickened and reduced (no liquid in the pan). Add chives and mix well.

Place about 3 tbs of mixture in a feuille de brick and roll in order to form cylinders, like you would do to make egg rolls.

Baste with some olive oil. Pre-heat oven at 370F and bake for about 20 minutes or until all the sides are golden brown and crunchy. Serve hot on a beg of green mâche or peppery salad.

]]> http://citronetvanille.com/blog/2012/08/do-you-smoke-cigarettes-with-leeks-shrimps-and-shiitake/feed/ 3