After my little trip to Portland, I came back very inspired, with lots of recipe ideas. I think I fell in love with the city, its beautiful trails and restaurant scene, not to mention the gorgeous neighborhoods with magnificent trees and greenery. Portland truly has great quality produce and what a wonderful city if you care for great organic and fresh food and the outdoors. It’s heaven. At least, I hope heaven will be like that.

After a delightful lunch at Tasty n Alder, downtown Portland, where I ordered a salade niçoise and smoked trout board, it gave me the idea to play around with the salad, its content and texture.

The traditional salade niçoise (from the city of Nice in France) has similar ingredients, except for the bitter greens which I added here. I grilled some radicchio and endive, and made my egg “à la coque” as we say (in the shell) instead of hard boiled egg. I did not add red peppers because I used a vinegar with infused red peppers. The potatoes are broiled in the oven and the salad is a mix of shredded endives and radicchio with anchovies and capers. This salad can be served lukewarm, or cold. I like it lukewarm when I am not in the mood for a salad.

You need top ingredients to truly appreciate this salad. Get the best tomatoes, green beans and olive oil.

There are different steps in this recipe, but well worth it. If you are in hurry, I would not recommend this, but if you have some time ahead and in the mood for a wholesome and delicious meal, try it out.

Ingredients for 2

• 100 g (or two handful) thin green beans
• 4 small red potatoes, cut in halves
• 3 small endives, cut lengthwise
• 1 head of radicchio, cut in small quarters
• 8 small farm tomatoes
• 1/2 red tuna steak
• 1 tsp red and black sesame seeds
• 4 anchovies, chopped
• 1 tsp capers, chopped
• 1 tbs olive oil

For the vinaigrette

•  1 tbs kalamata olives, chopped
• 3 tbs olive oil (raw and unrefined)
• 1 tbs red pepper vinegar (or any other mild vinegar)
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tsp chives, chopped
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Cook green beans in a pot of salted boiling water.

Season potatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper and broil in the oven until golden brown on both sides.

Heat up a skillet and grill radicchio and endive on both sides. Keep warm.

In small pan, place eggs and count three minutes after the water started boiling. Remove from stove and cut the top of the egg.

Coat tuna with white and black sesame seeds. Heat up a grill pan or skillet and grill on both sides, making sure not to over cook it. The middle needs to remain a little pink (or up to your tastes). Adjust with salt and pepper. Cut in 5mm slices.

In a mixing container, combine shredded endive and radicchio and add anchovies, capers, olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss well.

In a large plate, place one egg in the center of the plate. Arrange some shredded salad around. Place nicely all other ingredients around the plate. Drizzle with vinaigrette.

For the vinaigrette

Combine all ingredients together.

Today I had in mind to make something completely different for lunch. I have no idea why I ended up with this recipe. Mysteries of the brain. It certainly made my day. This is vegan, not that I am vegan but sometimes I like a clean, no-animal dish. It just depends on what I had during the week and this week, I think I had too much fish/seafood. My body clearly communicates with me on what he wants, and today he said no dairy and no animals please. So I had to listen. The body knows.

Originally, I was thinking to eat a potatoes or yams mille feuilles as a main dish (literally translated into “thousand leaves”, not sure what the English translation is, and I am not motivated to Google it). Usually mille feuille is a famous traditional French pastry made with layers of puff pastry with layers of vanilla custard. In this case, since it’s a multi layer vegetable dish, we can also call it mille feuille.

Then I thought ok, yam mille feuille sounds great but what do I eat with it…since it’s more of a side dish than anything else. One thought is always leading to another one, and another one, and finally I decided on tofu.

I used heirloom tomatoes because they have a less seeds and not watery like the other tomatoes. Besides, they have sweet delicious flavors.

This dish is simple. What I mean by simple is in terms of flavors, it’s subtle and nothing strong or overpowering, or pungent. Nothing like that, just simple, a few herbs, no spices or chili. Mellow and very pleasant. I enjoyed myself, and ate many portions that I was not suppose to. Tant pis!

Ingredients for 2

For the mille feuilles

• 1/2 large yams, peeled and sliced thin using a mandoline
• 2 zucchini, sliced thin using a mandoline
• 1 large garlic clove, peeled and crushed
• 2 tbs basil (or mixed herbs such as parsley, chives, etc…), finely chopped
• 1 tbs olive oil
• salt and pepper

For the tofu

• 1 tbs vegetable oil
• 2 tofu steaks (3/4 in thick, 2.5 inches x 3.5 inches)
• corn starch (enough for dusting two sides of the tofu)
• 1 tsp sugar
• 3 tbs soy sauce (reduced salt)
• 1 tsp mirin

For the mushrooms/tomato fondue

• 1 tbs olive oil1
• 1 large shallot, finely diced
• 1.5 cups mixed wild mushrooms (maitake, trumpet royale, pioppini, forest nameko, etc…)
• 2 medium heirloom tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 2 tbs dry white wine
• salt and pepper

Preparation

For the mille feuilles

Preheat oven at 375F.

Using a mandoline, slice yams and zucchini into very thin slices. Place in a mixing container and combine the two vegetables. In a small bowl, mix olive oil, garlic and basil (or mixed herbs). And add salt and pepper. Mix well to coat the vegetable slices.

Using a muffin rack, place one slice of yam, then a few slices of zucchini, alternating until you reach the top.

Bake in the oven until cooked and browned on top (about 15-20 min)

For the tofu steak

Heat vegetable oil in a pan. Coat tofu with corn starch and remove excess starch. Brown tofu on both sides until golden brown and crunchy. Remove oil from the pan. In a bowl, mix soy sauce, sugar and mirin. Add this mixture to the tofu and reduce heat. Cook for a few minutes until tofu is caramelized and sauce reduced.

For the tomato-mushrooms fondue

Heat olive oil in a pan. Add shallots and cook until soft. Add mushrooms and cook stirring for a few minutes, then add tomatoes and wine. Adjust with salt and pepper. Cook until water evaporates and drizzle with olive oil.

Serve mille feuilles on the sides with tofu steak in the middle topped with tomato-mushroom fondue. Sprinkle with basil and serve hot.

]]> http://citronetvanille.com/blog/2016/09/yams-and-zucchini-mille-feuilles-saute-tofu-steak-wild-mushrooms-and-tomato-fondue/feed/ 0 http://citronetvanille.com/blog/2016/06/no-flour-pizza-cauliflower-crust-pizza-with-mushrooms-fontina-cherry-tomatoes-and-basil/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=no-flour-pizza-cauliflower-crust-pizza-with-mushrooms-fontina-cherry-tomatoes-and-basil http://citronetvanille.com/blog/2016/06/no-flour-pizza-cauliflower-crust-pizza-with-mushrooms-fontina-cherry-tomatoes-and-basil/#comments Sun, 05 Jun 2016 21:03:41 +0000 silvia http://www.citronetvanille.com/blog/?p=17931 La pizza senza farina – Pizza con impasto al cavolfiore, funghi, fontina pomodori e basilico

I wanted to take more different pictures of this pizza with a more close up on a cut slice but unfortunately, my battery went off, so all I had time to take was a whole pizza uncut.

Since everyone has been talking about this pizza from a friend in Island to another friend in Italy, I wanted to try it out for myself. The particularity of this pizza is that the crust is made out of ground cauliflower, cheese and eggs, no flour. The first time I made it, the crust was a bit soft and soaked, due to the fact that I did not squeeze enough liquid from the cauliflower, but with a delicious flavor, so I wanted to make it right with a decent textured crust. The secret is to squeeze all water from the cauliflower after it’s been microwaved.

I am used to Italian pizza, the way they’re served in Italy. Usually, they don’t put any garlic, or onions, the ingredients are simple and of good quality so I like to keep simple. Of course, you can put any toppings of your choice, the focus of this pizza is primary its crust, not the toppings.

For the tomato sauce, I like to use whole San Marzano tomatoes, that I crush in the mixer, make sure you don’t buy the kind with added basil or garlic, or onion. They tend to be acidic and with a strong unnatural flavor.

I was skeptical at first, then after tasting it, I was amazed at the crust texture, it was so delicious that you forget that there is no dough…no flour, no yeast, just cauliflower. Now it’s an all time favorite in this house!

Ingredients for a large pizza

For the crust

• One large cauliflower, finely grated
• 120 g hard mozzarella, finely grated
• 50 g parmigiano reggiano, finely grated
• 2 eggs
• salt

For the toppings

• 1 small can of plain and whole San Marzano tomatoes
• about 10 large crimini mushrooms, sliced
• 50 g Italian fontina cheese, thinly sliced
• 100 g mozzarella, sliced
• 1 box of cherry tomatoes, cut in halves
• dried oregano for sprinkling
• 4-5 large leaves of fresh basil, chopped or en chiffonade
• extra virgin olive oil for sprinkling

Instructions

For the toppings

Cook mushrooms in a little olive oil and salt, until water evaporates. Keep aside. Cook crushed tomatoes with a little salt in a pot until you obtain a thick sauce, with no water (about 10 minutes). Set those aside.

For the crust

Microwave ground cauliflower in a large container for about 8-10 minutes. Remove from microwave and let it cool. Place cauliflower in a cheese cloth or a large cotton towel and squeeze firmly until the water comes out. You need to remove the excess moisture from the cauliflower. In another container, mix cauliflower, cheeses, eggs and salt. Mix well until you obtain an homogeneous dough.

Pre heat oven at 420F. Cut parchment paper the size of your pizza pan. Spread the dough evenly on top of the parchment paper. The crust should be about 3-4 mm thick. Form a nice a smooth round circle with your dough.

Place in the oven for about 15 minutes until the dough gets lightly golden. Remove from the oven and start adding the toppings.

Spread tomato sauce first, then add mushrooms. The next layer is the cheese, place cheese slices evenly on top, add cherry tomatoes, and finish with oregano.

Cook in a pre heated oven at 420F until cheese has melted. Add basil and drizzle with some olive oil. Serve hot

Believe it or not, this dish belongs to the express category. Today feeling exhausted and hungry, and not in the best mood, probably because of a foggy weather (San Francisco weather in the summer), like we say in French, “le ciel me tombe sur la tête“, the sky is falling on my head, which means that everything is so heavy that you have no energy.

I am dreaming on a relaxing vacation on a tropical island with white beach, some sun and nothing else. Since that is not possible right now, I decided to bring some sun inside the house, and what better to enlighten your day, than a vibrant and delicious vegetable dish?

Of course, being exhausted, I did not envision myself, spending hours cooking and cleaning afterwards. Mentally, it was impossible. So here we go, we have broccoli as the lead actor and a bunch of secondary vegetables that play an important role as well. Never undermined the role of a secondary actor, it changes the whole play.

The baby kale saute, is really optional, you could very well serve these galettes with the butter bean salad only. I was in the mood for some kale, and it complement this dish quite well, so I added it. It’s not essential.

Ingredients for 3-4

For the galettes

• 2 cups broccoli floret (some stem too)
• 1 tbs cumin seeds toasted
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• chili flakes (to taste)
• 4 tbs feta, crumbled
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• salt and pepper
• Greek yogurt (optional)

For the kale

• 2 cups baby kale
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• salt and pepper

For the butter bean-avocado salad

• 1 cup butter beans, cooked
• 2 heirloom tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 avocado, diced
• 1 tbs fresh mint, chopped
• 1 tsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• 1 tbs olive oil
• salt and pepper

Preparation

For the galettes

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook broccoli for about 3 minutes, until lightly cooked and  crunchy (if too cooked the broccoli will absorb too much water and the galettes will remain soggy). Drain and chop roughly. In a mixing container, mix broccoli, cumin and flour. Mix well all ingredients. Then add eggs and mix to obtain an homogenous mixture. Add garlic and chili and mix well. At the end, add feta carefully making sure not to break the pieces of feta. You need some unbroken pieces of feta in the galettes.

Heat oil in a large pan. Take some mixture (the equivalency of 2 tbs) and form small galettes. Cook on both sides until golden brown and cooked all the way through.

For the kale

Heat olive oil in a large pot, add garlic until fragrant. Add kale and cook at high heat until wilted. Adjust with salt and pepper.

For the butter bean-avocado salad

Mix all ingredients together, keep chilled.

I had two corn cobs that I had no inspiration on how to prepare, so after going through Plenty the book of Yotam Ottolenghi, I came across an interesting idea…using fresh corn to make polenta. Why not? This intrigued me so I decided to use his idea to prepare the polenta (except that I did not add feta in the polenta), then made a sauce with wild mushrooms, pancetta and tomatoes, a more traditional sauce, that of course could be used on regular polenta (his recipe is made with an eggplant sauce).

The flavor is quite surprising, the corn being sweet, when it’s crushed its sweetness is amplified, so in that sense, it’s different from regular polenta made with corn flour. I liked the texture but I thought the sweetness of the corn was a little too much for me, since sweetness is not my “element”. I think it’s worth trying and definitely a lighter alternative to regular polenta.

Ingredients for 2

• 2 corns on the cob
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 2 tbs pancetta, chopped (optional)
• 1/2 shallot, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tsp parsley, chopped
• 1 tsp basil, chopped
• 2 tomatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 cup of mixed wild mushrooms, cut roughly
• parmesan shaved
• truffle oil
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Start preparing the polenta. Cut the corn from cob and cook in water for about 10 minutes (the water needs to cover the corn). Drain and keep water. Blend corn in a blender, adding some water if it gets too thick. Place back in the pan and cook for another additional 15 minutes, adding water if it thickens too much. Adjust with salt. Add 1 tsp butter at the end of the cooking process.

In a pan, heat olive oil, cook pancetta until crispy, then remove from the pan. In the same pan, add shallots and let them sweat. Add herbs and garlic and cook for a few minutes at low temperature until fragrant. Add mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook until water evaporates. Add tomatoes and cook for a few minutes until soft and no water is left in the pan. Add pancetta and mix well.

Pour some polenta in a deep plate, top with a few tablespoons of mushroom sauce. Add parmesan shavings and drizzle with truffle oil.

]]> http://citronetvanille.com/blog/2013/06/fresh-corn-polenta-wild-mushrooms-sauce-with-herbs-and-truffle-oil/feed/ 0 http://citronetvanille.com/blog/2013/05/one-old-and-rustic-pasta-tuscan-pici-with-aglione-sauce-and-artichokes/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=one-old-and-rustic-pasta-tuscan-pici-with-aglione-sauce-and-artichokes http://citronetvanille.com/blog/2013/05/one-old-and-rustic-pasta-tuscan-pici-with-aglione-sauce-and-artichokes/#comments Sat, 18 May 2013 14:27:48 +0000 silvia http://www.citronetvanille.com/blog/?p=15884 Pasta rustica – Pici Toscani all’aglione e carciofini

Going back to what I like best…making homemade pasta. I made these to my parents when I went visit and they loved it. Marche (where my family is from) and Tuscany are close by regions and have similar cuisines (of course with some variations), So these “pici” also called Pinci, Umbrichelli (little werms?) and are typically Tuscan but familiar in Central Italy as well. My grandmother used to make similar pasta with fava bean flour and with the same sauce, lots of garlic and fresh tomato.

Pici take a while to make, because you have to roll each little strip “striscia” by hand…but time doesn’t count when you get so excited making something you absolutely love. Pici are delicious, they’re a bit chewy because they’re made without eggs, only water, salt and olive oil. So if you like chewy textures, you’ll like those. They could be considered an old cousin of our modern spaghetti.

The dough needs to be knead for about 10-15 minutes, until very smooth and non sticky. Form a  round and regular ball. Then using a rolling pin, roll it flat to about a 5 mm sheet. Cut little strips of about 1 cm width and using your hand roll each strip to form a string of about 3mm (I am sorry I don’t know how to accurately convert it into inches) in this case, the metric system should be used for accuracy. Pici cannot be made too much ahead of time. The ideal is to made them and cook them right away. Pici are long and should not be cut, so it can get a little messy when eaten.

Usually those are served with aglione sauce (aglio means garlic) which is a sauce with fresh tomatoes and lots of garlic, or some meat based ragu. I made an aglione base sauce and added baby artichokes. From now on, this will be my favorite pasta, I simply love its texture, firm and a bit chewy. If you like this type of texture, this pasta is for you.

Ingredients for 2

For the pici

• 0.55 lb (or 250 g) flour
• 0.50 cups (or 125 ml) water
• 1 tbs olive oil
• a pinch of salt

For the sauce

• 2 tbs olive oil
• 5 cloves, garlic cut or crushed
• 8 baby artichokes, trimmed and cut in quarters
• 1/2 glass white wine
• 3 large tomatoes well ripe peeled and cut or 1/2 can San Marzano tomatoes crushed
• cayenne to taste
• salt and pepper
• basil

Preparation

First start making the sauce. In a pan, heat olive oil, then add garlic, stir well. Add artichokes, drizzle with wine, let it cook at high heat for 30 seconds, then add tomatoes. Turn heat down, add cayenne, salt and pepper, cover with lid and let cook until the artichokes are tender and water evaporates from tomatoes.

Make pici as described above. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, then add pici. Cook for about 8-10 minutes. They need to be cooked but still a bit firm. I like my pasta on the hard side, so try them out while cooking and see the way you like them. Drain well and serve with sauce. Mix well. Add basil and parmesan.

Tian is a traditional dish from Provence, and should be made in a clay dish…since I just broke mine, I had to use a Pyrex one. The vegetables are sliced thinly, placed upright and cooked in the oven for a long time. You can add goat cheese as well, but I wanted to keep it vegan and light, so to get additional Mediterranean flavors, I served it with a tapenade tartine. This is a very simple dish to make yet delicious due to the slow cooking of the vegetables and all the herbs that have infused in it.

Of course, there are various recipes for tian, some people don’t add onions, but fennel, or potatoes, but tomatoes, zucchini and eggplants should always be around. You can play around with herbs, cheese, etc…but I wanted to keep it simple. Sometimes I like simple flavors and don’t want to add too many intricate and complex flavors into a dish. The slow cooking turned the vegetable almost “confits” in the herbs and own juices.

Usually tians are served with grilled meats or fishes, they add wonderful aromas to a dish. I have to admit that I ate the whole tian by myself and was still hungry. Usually this would be sufficient for four, if you serve it with a fish or meat, or also rice in case you want to keep it vegetarian. It really depends on how much vegetables your guests can eat. Quand on aime, on ne compte pas, that’s what the French say, when you love, you don’t count…which is true for many things. The tapenade tartine is a nice element if you want to keep your meal vegan, that olive spread is simply divine with this tian.

Ingredients for 3-4

• 3 large tomatoes, sliced crosswise
• 3 zucchini, sliced crosswise
• 2 medium eggplants, sliced crosswise
• 1 onion,
• lavender salt
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
• 1 tsp fresh oregano, chopped
• 1 tsp basil, chopped finely
• 2 tbs olive oil
• pepper

For the tapenade, see recipe here

Preparation

Spread some olive oil, all over the dish, preferably a clay dish.

Place all vegetables upright in the dish, alternating between a slice of tomato, two slices of zucchini (since the zucchini tend to be smaller), one slice of eggplant, and onion. The vegetables need to be tightly arranged so they stand still.

Add herbs and garlic, sprinkle with lavender salt and pepper. Add olive oil all over the vegetables.

Cover with aluminium foil and cook in a pre heated oven at 365-370 for about 40-45 minutes. Remove the foil and let the vegetables get golden brown.

I bought a new mandoline before I would slice a few of my fingers, one day I cut the tip of my index while shaving fennel and had to go to the emergency room, so my new mandoline is much better and safer, and in the kitchen safety is somehow an important part of the whole game.

With my new De Buyer (being faithful to European made utensils because I know them better, I had to buy a French one, actually I have Japanese knives that are incredible) and one of the great feature of this mandoline is that you can adjust the thickness of the cut by twisting the handle from left to right or right to left. The blade is lightly dented so you can get a very thin and sharp cut, or a thick (and still sharp) cut, even on soft fruits and vegetables like very ripe kiwis or oranges.

So to try out my new mandoline, I wanted to make a whole dish with sliced vegetables because I just felt like playing with it. I’m sure I am not the only one who loves to play with a brand new toy. When I buy new clothes, I have to wear them right away, even if I have to run to the store buy salt, I can wear a brand new silk shirt just for the simple pleasure to wear something new. When it comes to kitchen utensils, it’s the same. What to do with 12 zucchini and a mandoline? well you just go crazy and slice them to make tagliatelle. So here they are…

My mom makes an traditional Italian dish made with pasta and chick peas so I used her tomato sauce twisting it around a little and used it on the zucchini tagliatelle. I really loved this dish, it’s savory, fragrant due to the oregano, light and nutritious, so how can you say no to that? This is a fairly simple dish, with a few ingredients which most of the time, if you have great quality ingredients, turns out delicious. You can taste all the ingredients in one bite and it all blends in a beautiful symphony of flavors.

For the tomato purée, I used the imported Italian tomato sauce from Parmalat, it’s just crushed tomatoes with nothing else added, they have quite a un-acidic flavor unlike some other tomatoes. Parmalat is a very famous brand in Italy and I knew them for their dairy products and mainly milk that was sold in card board like here they would sell orange juice, which healthier to use than canned tomatoes. I was excited to be able to find the Parmalat tomatoes. Grazie Parmalat! You can use fresh tomatoes too, but they need to be of good quality or the sauce will not be as good.

Ingredients for 2-3 as a side dish

• 6 zucchini sliced lengthwise
• 7 oz (or 200 g) cooked chick peas
• 10 oz (or 300 g) good quality crushed tomato or fresh tomatoes
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 tsp fresh oregano, chopped
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 1 garlic clove
• cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper
• fresh shaved parmesan for garnish

Preparation

Start preparing the sauce. In a small pot, heat olive oil, add garlic, stir for about 30 seconds, then oregano. After about 1 minutes (watch out not to burn the garlic) add 1 cup tomatoes, salt, pepper and cayenne.  Add wine. Let the sauce cook until the water has evaporated, add chick peas and cook for an additional 10 minutes.

Using the mandoline, slice zucchini lenghtwise in about 2mm ribbons. Bring salted water to a boil, add zucchini and cook for about 30 seconds. Drain, and carefull pat dry with a towel, making sure not to break the zucchini. Add to the tomato sauce, stir carefully. Add extra oregano, and serve with sahved parmesan on top.

Caviar d’aubergine is a typical French dish, but it does not mean it includes caviar in its ingredient list, it’s basically a vegan dish if you don’t add the parmesan on top. Eggplant caviar is made out of eggplants roasted in the oven and reduced into a purée with herbs and garlic. Of course there are various variations of eggplant caviar. You can add herbes de Provence instead of just thyme, or lavender. I’ve had close friends who don’t like eggplants and loved this dish, so I guess it’s a way to initiate the non eggplant lovers to this wonderful vegetable.

Tartare describes a way of preparing ingredients, like you have tuna tartar, and salmon tartar where the fishes have been cut in tiny cubes, then marinated. In this case, the tomato is peeled, cut in small cubes, marinated with herbs and olives and finally placed in the refrigerator for about an hour. So that is called a tartare.

You can make nice presentations with the contrasts of colors, the red, the green, the white and light brown, it looks very summery and fresh. Being such a light and pretty dish, with contrasts of flavors and textures, you can serve it as a light appetizer, it will put you or your guests en appétit (in appetite) for the next courses, it’s screaming, I’m hungry now and I want more! I love this dish, it’s fresh, light, full of flavors and textures and so far everyone who tasted loved it too. Ca sent les vacances!

Ingredients for 4

• 5 medium size tomatoes
• 1 large size eggplant
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• juice of 1 small meyer lemon
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• pepper
• arugula and shaved parmesan for garnish

For the vinaigrette

• 1 tbs kalamata olives, chopped
• 1 tsp capers, chopped (optional)
• 1 tsb parsley, finely chopped
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Cut eggplants in two lenghtwise. Using a knife, make three incisions from top to bottom of eggplant. Sprinkle with thyme, salt and pepper. Place on top of parchment paper, placing the flat surface down. Cook in a pre-heated oven at 390F for about 30 minutes or until eggplants are soft. Remove from oven and let cool.

Using a spoon, remove eggplant flesh making sure to drain the water and remove the peel. Place in a mixing bowl. Using a blender, blend eggplant with garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Let it cool.

Bring a pot of water to a boil, and add tomatoes for about 10 seconds, drain, peel, remove the seeds and cut tomatoes in small cubes. Remove excess water.

Refrigerate tomatoes for about 30 minutes.

Mix vinaigrette ingredients all together and add to tomatoes. Spare some vinaigrette to add at the end. Mix well.

Using a rind, place tomatoes layer on your plate, then spoon one tbs of eggplant caviar on top, add shaved parmesan and arugula.

What do you do when you have dandelions in the refrigerator, no time to cook and a huge craving for dandelions? Well, you can make this lovely tartine. I did not feel like having just a plate of sauté dandelions, so tartines are always a great way to combine greens and other vegetables, and top it off with a poached egg.

Ah my beloved dandelions, did you know that the word dandelions came from the French “dent de lion” or “Lion tooth” because of the dented sides of the leaves that look like lion’s teeth? so “dent de lion” became dandelion!

I loved the wild ones, and I used to go pick them up in the field with my parents and eat tons of them when I was still living at home. I think that time of ramasser les pissenlits et les manger (dandelions pick up and eating) is part of my best memories. If I start doing that here, people would think either I am homeless or insane. My neighbor’s garden has tons of dandelions, and I have been staring at them for a while but obviously I don’t see myself going there with a knife and start digging their garden. The farmed dandelions are not as bitter and the leaves are a lot longer, so I prefer from far the wild ones.

I could not find the exact English for word tartine, it is typically French, basically a slice of bread with a bunch of different things on top, or a simple tartine de beurre, which can be a delight if you have great bread and salted butter. Tartine cannot be translated by toast which is mostly made with American style bread (loaves style). So I will leave tartine as being a tartine.

When grilling the tomatoes, do not over-grill them or they’ll get mushy, just one or two minutes each side. The olive vinaigrette adds a final delicious touch to the tartine.

For 3 tartines

• 3 slices of country bread
  
• 1 bunch dandelion
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 3 tomatoes, sliced
• 3 eggs
• lavender salt
• sea salt and pepper

For the vinaigrette

• 2 tbs olive oil
• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbs kalamata olives, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tbs parsley, chopped
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Wash dandelions.  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add dandelions and cook for 5-7 minutes until tender. Remove from stove and drain. Let it cool and squeeze with your hands extra water.

Heat olive oil in a pan, add 1 garlic clove, stir well and add dandelions, adjust with salt and pepper, and sauté to coat dandelions with oil and garlic.

In a grill pan, grill tomatoes. Remove from the grill and sprinkle with lavender salt and pepper.

Poach egg in water.

Grill each side of bread and top with dandelions, then add tomatoes, and egg. Add vinaigrette on top.