Time flies and my trip back home is sadly over. As years go by, it’s more difficult to be far away from my friends and family, probably because as you grow older, you realize what the essential in a lifetime is.

The good thing is that I am back to San Francisco with lots of new ideas. My layover this time was over 4 hours in beautiful Island. The airport is small but the quality of the stores is amazing as everything else in Island. I have used all my fancy Islandic salts from my previous trip, and lucky me, they had more for sale at the airport. This time I bought some grey lava salt with Islandic herbs.

I am still on my vegan diet and experiments and I love it. Even though France has a history and a culture of meat eaters, over the years it’s easier to find more and more vegetarian and vegan options.

This dish was inspired by my boring 8 hours flight from Reykjavik to San Francisco with nothing else to read and no other distraction than my magazines and meditation books! Believe it or not this is an express dish that is ready in less than 30 minutes, so something to keep handy when you have unexpected guests. For the salt substitute you can use any grainy salt like fleur de sel or anything with a crunchy bite.

The citrussy vinaigrette enhanced by ginger adds a wonderful touch to the zucchini. You will love this simple dish with bold yet smooth flavors.

Ingredients for 3-4

For the yams and avocado tartine

• 2 medium sized yams, peeled lengthwise and cut into 1 cm slices
• olive oil for drizzling
• salt and pepper
• 4 medium ripe avocado
• zest of 1 lime
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 tbs red onion, finely diced
• Islandic grey lava salt with thyme or fleur de sel
• avocado oil for drizzling

For the zucchini tagliatelle

• 3 zucchini
• 1 cup edamame
• 3 tbs olive oil
• 1 tbs tangerine vinegar
• 1 tbs tangerine juice
• 1 tbs chives, chopped
• 1/2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
• 1/2 tsp agave nectar
• salt

Preparation

For the yams

In a large tray, place yam slices and drizzle with olive salt, salt and pepper. Broil in the oven on both sides for about 10 minutes. The yams need to be tender but still firm, in order that they won’t break when handling them. Keep warm.

In a mixing bowl, scoop avocado flesh and mash with a fork. Keep some texture and do not mash to thinly. Add onion, lime. Keep avocado oil and lava salt for the end to drizzle.

For the zucchini/edamame

Form ribbons with zucchini using a spiral slicer or alternatively a julienne slicer, add edamame. In a mixing bowl, mix all vinaigrette ingredients. Pour vinaigrette on top of zucchini/edamame mixture and mix well.

Place some zucchini ribbons on a plate. Add one slice of yams and top it with avocado mash. sprinkle with avocado oil and lava salt.

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/2016/03/crumble-of-artichoke-yams-and-carrot-puree-saute-kale-and-wild-mushrooms/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=crumble-of-artichoke-yams-and-carrot-puree-saute-kale-and-wild-mushrooms http://citronetvanille.com/blog/2016/03/crumble-of-artichoke-yams-and-carrot-puree-saute-kale-and-wild-mushrooms/#comments Tue, 08 Mar 2016 21:27:40 +0000 silvia http://www.citronetvanille.com/blog/?p=17619 Crumble d’artichauts, purée de carottes et yams, chou vert sauté et champignons sauvages

It looks like artichokes are back, so hard to resist. This crumble is composed of five different kinds of vegetables that have a different kind of textures and colors. The more colors the better. I am not “kale obsessed”, it’s just that I bought a huge bag of it, so I need to use it before it turns bad. Spinach or chards would have worked as well.

I kept the crust vegan using olive oil instead of butter, but using butter is fine too. As far as recipes are concerned I am flexible and not a “food nazi”. Sometimes I like to keep dishes vegan, even if I am not a vegan. I love wild mushrooms of any kind, I found this bag of a nice medley and that was perfect.

If you have a bunch of root vegetables, leafy greens and mushrooms and don’t know what to do with them, this crumble would be the solution. You get to eat your five vegetables in a delicious combo.

This can be served with a green salad. I used endives for their slight bitterness which definitely balances out the sweetness of the carrots and yams.

Let’s go green! It’s the color of the future.

For the yams purée

• 1.5 large yams, peeled and cubed
• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
• vegetable broth
• 1 tbs coconut cream
• salt and pepper

For the mushrooms/kale

• 2 tbs chopped onion
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1 pack mixed wild mushrooms
• 3 cups baby kale
• 3 tbs vegetable broth
• salt and pepper

For the artichokes

• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1lb baby artichokes
• 2 tbs white wine
• salt and pepper

For the crumble topping

• 60 g (or 1/2 cup) oat flour
• 4 tbs finely chopped walnuts
• 4 tbs oats
• 1/3 cup, olive oil (or butter)
• 1 tsp thyme
• salt and pepper

Preparation

For the yams purée

In a pan, cook yams and carrots with broth at medium heat until the vegetables are tender, have absorbed the liquid and cooked all the way through. Add salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Add coconut cream and mash with a potato masher. Add more broth if too thick.

For the mushrooms/kale

Heat olive oil in a pan. Add onions and cook until translucent. Add mushrooms and broth. Cover with a lid and cook until the mushrooms are cooked and broth absorbed, about 7-10 minutes. Add baby kale and stir until wilted. Adjust with salt and pepper.

For the artichokes

Start trimming the artichokes by removing the “green leaves” all around and trimming the top. All the “green” part of the leaves needs to be removed. The only part that is left is the heart. Cut it in two or in quarters depending on the size of the artichoke. Place artichokes in a bwol filled with cold water and lemon juice, to prevent discoloring. Heat olive oil in a pan. Add garlic and stir until fragrant (do not burn the garlic). Add artichokes, stir well, then add wine, salt and pepper. Reduce heat, cover with a lid and cook until artichokes are tender and cooked.

 For the crumble

In a bowl, mix all ingredients except the oil (or butter). Add olive oil at the end and using your fingers turn into a crumbly dough with some texture.

In two or three deep dishes, divide the mixtures. Start first with some yams puree, then a layer of the mushrooms/kale and finish with the artichokes. Top with crumble mixture. Cook in a pre-heated oven at 370F for about 20 minutes or until top is golden brown.

We can go simple with a few ingredients, and get a flavorful and nutritious salad. Plant based meals make me happy and in a good mood, as much as running does. So let’s say today I am in an exceptionally wonderful mood. All I ask is to keep eating plants, cooking and running for as long as I can.

I keep forgetting to eat yams, probably because they were not a part of my diet growing up, and I discovered them in the US, so I always buy them, but never use them. I look at them every day, but leave them just where they sit, at the bottom of the refrigerator. Today, I decided to use them one way or another…but definitely the inspiration did not show up instantly. I had to “me creuser les meninges” as we say in French (translated into to rack’s ones brain).

Warm salads are quite a change from the cold ones, and give you a different feeling, you actually feel like you are eating something substantial and nutritious. This salad is absolutely delicious, you need to emphasis on the vinaigrette using Meyer lemon, and the best unrefined olive oil you can find.

For the greens, a friend of mine from Napa who came to visit this weekend, brought a bunch of beautiful black basil she is growing, so I mixed it with the greens I had, and it added such a nice character to this salad. It’s optional, but if you have some fragrant basil, don’t hesitate to use it.

Ingredients for 4

For the salad

• 1 medium size cauliflower, cut in small florets
• 1 yellow bell pepper, cut in small strips, then halved
• 1 small yam, peeled, sliced (1 cm) then each slice cut in quarters
• 1/2 red onion, sliced crosswise
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp curry
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• sald and pepper
• mixed greens + basil

For the vinaigrette

• Olive oil
• zest of one Meyer lemon
• juice of one Meyer lemon
• 1 scallion, chopped
• 1 tsp poppy seeds
• salt and pepper

Preparation

For the salad

Mix all ingredients together. Roast in the oven for 20 min at about 400F. When roasted, remove from the oven and add 2 tbs of vinaigrette, more if necessary. Toss well.

Serve on a bed of greens, adding more vinaigrette if desired.

For the vinaigrette

Mix all ingredients together.

Hello 2015!

I cannot believe and still completely shocked to what happened to the country I grew up in, with the atrocious terrorist attack at Charlie Hebdo in Paris last week. And yes “La liberté est un droit d’expression et un droit universel”, freedom is a right of expression and a universal right. Of course, je suis Charlie.

First post of the year – The holidays have not been filled with rich and indulgent food since I have been sick, so lots of sleeping and little eating has been in the menu of 2014 holiday season.

I haven’t decided yet what the new year resolution will be. Let’s say stay healthy with mind and body which has always been a priority over the years, so let’s start the new year with a light and healthy recipe which will sooth both.

Rockfish looked good and fresh, so I went ahead with it. Rockfish is a generic word for a species called sebastes the most common species is generally found in deep water close to the shores of the Atlantic North West. Some other more uncommon species are found in the less deep waters of the pacific and Indian Ocean.

I like it’s texture and delicate flavor but tends to have a few bones. I don’t mind fish bones, as long as they are thick and easy to remove. I can eat bitter greens with everything, so you could replace dandelions with any other greens. I like bitterness in this combination because it’s a nice addition to the sweetness of the yams and coconut.

Ingredients for 4

For the fish

• 4 rockfish fillets, cut in 2 inches pieces
• 1/2 white onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 2 tomatoes, peeled, seeds removed, and chopped
• 1/2 can coconut milk
• salt and pepper

For the yams

• 2 large yams, peeled and cut lengthwise in fries shape (1 inch wide)
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

For the greens

• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 bunch dandelions, chopped
• 4 cups baby kale or spinach, or any other greens
• chili flakes
• zest of one meyer lemon
• salt and pepper

Preparation

For the rockfish

Heat olive oil in a pan and brown onions. Add ginger and garlic until fragrant, then add curry. Mix well and cook for a few minutes. Add tomatoes and cook for about 5-10 minutes until water evaporates. Remove from heat.

Add fish to the mixture and mix well. Adjust with salt and pepper.

In small individual containers, divide fish mixture, then add some coconut milk and mix well.

Cook in the oven for about 20 min at 370F.

For the yams

Peel the yams and cut lengthwise in 1 inch sticks. Drizzle with olive oil and coat each stick well. Cook in the oven at 380F until cooked all the way through for about 15 min, turning them around to cook evenly on all sides. Add salt and pepper.

For the greens

Heat olive oil in a large pot. Add shallot and garlic and stir until fragrant (make sure not to overcook and burn the garlic). Add greens, chili and lemon zest and cook until greens are wilted. Adjust with salt and pepper.

I got inspired by Indian samosas when I made those. I felt like eating something spicy, salty, but not greasy and since I bought a few brick packs when I was in France, with an expiration date coming close, I figured let’s make something that has the spirit of the samosa but a bit different. Voilà, c’est fait!  If you cannot find bricks, I have seen them sold online tough or in some specialty stores, you can use any kind of dough/wrappers/pastry sheets, etc.. (filo dough, puff pastry, etc…) I love bricks because they get crunchy and are very light.

The stuffing is a mixture of broccoli, yams, carrots and spices. Yams are not often used in French cuisine, but I am starting to like them and use them more often in some savory preparations. I don’t think I can make anything sweet with them, I have a slight blockage about that. In my mind, they’re potatoes and not supposed to be used in desserts. Like my Japanese neighbor has a blockage about rice pudding, I have one about yams combined with sugar.

I loved those crunchy rolls, light, flavorful with lots of texture. It will definitely please vegetarians or vegans if you replace the yogurt sauce with some mint chutney.

Ingredients for 5-6 large rolls

• 1 tbs olive oil (+1 for brushing)
• 1/4 onion, chopped
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 1 carrot, peeled and cut
• 1 small yam, peeled and cut
• 1 tbs cilantro, chopped
• salt and pepper

For the yogurt sauce

• 250 ml plain Greek yogurt
• 1 tsp mint, finely chopped
• 1 tsp scallions, chopped
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• salt and pepper

 Preparation

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add vegetables and cook until tender. Drain and chop vegetables roughly and set aside.

In a pan, heat olive oil, add onion and ginger and let soften. Add garlic until fragrant, a few minutes. Add all the spices, and stir well to combine flavors. Add vegetables, cilantro, salt and pepper and mix well until the vegetables are well coated in the spices. Remove from heat and let cool.

In the meantime, prepare the yogurt sauce by mixing all the ingredients together. Refrigerate.

Take one brick sheet placing it flat on a wooden surface. Place 2-3 tbs of vegetable mixture (depending on how big you want to make the roll) in the middle and roll like you would for a spring roll. Proceed the same way with the other brick sheets. Brush olive oil on top of each roll.

Bake in the oven at 380F for about 10-15 minutes and turn around the rolls to the other side until both sides are golden brown and crunchy. Serve hot with yogurt sauce and a green salad.

Going back to my favorite cuisine, vegetarian…I just love the vibrant colors of vegetables and their versatility, they’re too good to keep aside. In this dish, the bitterness of rapini and sweetness of yams and carrots complement each other very well.

I wanted to make the equivalent of rösti but using yams and carrots. Rösti are a specialty from Switzerland and Alsace region, made with potatoes, sometimes bacon and sometimes onions, there are many variations. Growing up close to Alsace and the Swiss border, I got to eat those growing up at my friends’ house. I have to say that those rösti are delicious, they’re not as crunchy as they would be using regular potatoes, so if you are expecting something firm and croustillant, you will be disappointed but they taste so good especially with the yogurt sauce, so you will definitely forget the lack of crunchiness.

I used plain regular Greek yogurt which taste much better than the nonfat. Sometimes I use nonfat, but lately I have been using the regular kind of dairy with a little fat content. Make sure you are using Greek yogurt, I was looking at the ingredients of some yogurt brands (I don’t remember which brands) and I was shocked to find pectin in the list of ingredients. Usually you use pectin in jams to thicken them. How terrible is that to find in yogurt!

As for the rapini, what to say…they’re green and bitter, one of my favorite greens, very easy to prepare and delicious. You can use spinach, chards, kale, dandelions, etc…or any other greens. This dish is very filling, it will keep you satisfied for a long time, so a great meal to avoid snacking!

Ingredients for 2-3 (about 8-10 rösti)

For the rösti

• 1 small yam (about 200 grams, a little less than 1/2 lb), grated
• 2 medium carrots, grated
• 2 eggs
• 3 tbs cornstarch
• 2 tbs Japanese chives or regular chives, chopped
• 1/4 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1/4 tsp coriander powder
• salt and pepper

For the yogurt sauce

• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• cilantro
• juice of one lemon
• salt and pepper

For the rapini

• 1 bunch rapini
• 2 tbs oil
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Grate carrots and yams and using your hands or a towel squeeze extra liquid. You need to remove as much liquid as you can from carrots and yams to avoid moisture when cooking. Add all the ingredients together, and adjust with salt and and a nice amount of pepper. Heat oil in a pan, place 1.5 tbs of carrot mixture in the pan until you have used all of it. Cook both sides until golden brown.

For the yogurt sauce, mix all ingredients together.

Serve rösti hot with yogurt sauce on the side.

For the rapini, heat olive oil in a pan, add garlic until fragrant but not burnt. Add rapini, salt and pepper and cover with a lid at medium heat. Cook until wilted.

In France Hachis parmentier is something eaten quite frequently and that kids love, due to its combination of potato puree and ground meet. My mom being Italian, she never really prepared this, but when I went to my friend’s houses, hachis parmentier was a dish served quite often. I remember my mom saying that she didn’t like it because it was made with leftover meats therefore not something too exciting (actually people do use meat they had left from pot-au-feu or boiled meats, etc…). A “hachis” is a dish where all the ingredients are ground, chopped alltogether. Haché means ground, viande hachée, ground meat.

Parmentier comes from Antoine Parmentier, a pharmacist and chemist born in the 18e century. After a trip to Ireland, he discovered the health benefits of potatoes and became convinced that potatoes would help treat problems of poor blood circulation, intestinal problems, etc…He introduced potato to Louis XVI to cure starvation and as a result this dish was born. I think the Irish or English version is called Shepherd’s Pie.

I have been wanting to make a vegetarien hachis parmentier and have been thinking about this recipe for quite some time, without really succeeding in finalizing it. Not being a huge fan of potatoes, I wanted to use something “more” than potatoes, so here is a purée of carrots, yams and sweet potatoes and I honestly loved every bite of this hachis parmentier. I cooked the carrots and potatoes in milk so they absorbed a good amount of it while cooking. The hachis is made of wild mushrooms, leeks and celeri…the sweet flavor of the potatoes combined with the nutty mushrooms and melted taleggio is simply fantastic (Taleggio is an Italian soft cheese with a fragrant and strong nutty flavor). Funny, how you can see on the picture some smoke coming up from the hachis, since it came straight out of the oven. I wouldn’t think the smoke would show on a picture.

You can add more mushroom mixture, and play around with the layers, in my version I added a thicker layer of potato mixture, it’s all about how you want it to be. I served this in individual ramequins with a small salad, you can serve hachis parmentier in a large dish and serve it as a meal by itself, it’s a very satisfying meal and really don’t need anything else on the side.

Ingredients for 4 individual hachis

For the mushroom-leek mixture

• 2 shallots, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, finely diced
  
• 1/2 lb mixed mushrooms (cremini, shiitake, chanterelles, etc….) cut in small pieces
• 1 leek, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• thyme
• Taleggio, sliced
• Panko bread crumbs for topping

For the potato-carrot mixture

• 2 large carrots, peeled and cut about 1 inch trunks
• 1 small yam, peeled and cut in about 1 inch pieces
• 1 small sweet potato and cut in about 1 inch pieces
• milk (enough to cover the vegetables)
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Start by preparing the potato-carrot purée. Cook carrots, sweet potatoes, yams in milk at medium heat. When cooked remove from stove, drain milk and keep aside and mash vegetables. Adjust with salt and pepper. If too thick add milk set aside.

Heat olive oil in a pan, add shallots and celery and cook until tender and slightly browned. Add leeks and let them cook covered until tender. Remove from pan and set aside. Add some extra olive oil, and cook mushrooms until water evaporates. When cooked, add leeks and mix well. Add garlic and let cook for a few minutes more. Add thyme, salt and pepper.

In four deep individual dishes or ramequins, place one layer of mushrooms, top it with taleggio, then finish with carrot-potato purée. Sprinkle with panko breadcrumbs. Cook in a pre-heated oven for about 20 minutes, then broil top until it turns golden brown. Serve immediately.