Seared Salmon Filets with Sauteed Spinach

I spent 10 hours on the back of a motorcycle today.  That is a lot of time where you can't really busy yourself by reading or watching TV or making muffins.

I thought almost exclusively of one thing today (besides hoping not to die in an accident during the crazy storm).

My perfect wild caught salmon I would be enjoying later on... and about all the delicate preparations I would bestow upon it.. and the sweet aroma that would waft from it when lightly seared... and the bed of sautéed spinach I would make for it, being careful to massage each leaf in order to properly receive my dear salmon.
I would first make its skin sizzle, then let it lightly color flesh side, giving a perfect harmony of textures when brought to my mouth, letting my tongue dismantle it and savor the flavor of the warm cooked top and the raw creamy inside....

Serves 1
Ingredients
150-200g skin on salmon filet
1 bunch spinach, washed and spun
2 Tbsp EVOO
3 small garlic cloves, grated
1 tsp fresh cracked pepper
juice from 1/2 lemon
some fleur de sel
1 tsp piment d'espelette
Directions
1.  Toss the spinach with 1 1/2 Tbsp EVOO, garlic, 3/4 tsp pepper, 1/4 juice of lemon, 1/2 tsp piment d'espelette, and some fleur de sel.
2.  Sautee the spinach in a wok until wilted.. about 3-4 minutes, stirring.
3.  Rub 1/2 Tbsp EVOO all over the salmon filet, along with 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/4 juice lemon, 1/2 tsp piment d'espelette, and some fleur de sel.
4.  Heat a heavy based pan to high and sear the salmon skin side down for about 2 minutes, then flip it over and sear for another 2 minutes.
It should be seared on the outside, and warm but still raw in the center, which gives it that addicting tenderness you cannot refuse under any circumstances.

This is soul food, if your soul is noble enough to handle it.

Lamb Shank Confit with Cilantro Mint Ratatouille

I may be committing Ratatouille sacrilege, but there is something so exciting about stepping outside the cookie cutter boundaries of traditional French food, I just can't help myself.  Something feels so wrong but so right about using cilantro and mint in place of basil or thyme, and using chilis instead of bell peppers.  It gives the ratatouille a whole new identity that is magnified by the Lamb Shank Confit.  Confit is a French word used to describe cooking something in sugar (like jam) or low and slow in it's own juices (like duck legs).  Cooking lamb in it's own juices is something that is just amazing and incredibly easy with a crockpot.  Everything just magically happens on its own, even the browning.  Lamb shanks are especially perfect for this cooking method, and it won't heat up your kitchen in this blistering heat!

The best part of the confit is sucking the marrow out of the lamb bones when nobody is looking.  It's so rewarding and delicious..

Serves 4

Ingredients

For Lamb Shank Confit:

2 lamb shanks

1 onion, sliced

4 cloves garlic, sliced

2 Tbsp EVOO

3/4 cup water

1 tsp salt

few cracks pepper

3 Tbsp dried thyme

For Ratatouille:

1 very large eggplant, cubed

1 large zucchini, cubed

juice from 1/2 lemon

1 large shallot, chopped

3 cloves garlic, grated

2 bell peppers (I used Moroccon light green chilis), chopped

2 large very juicy tomatoes, chopped

3 Tbsp very fine quality EVOO

1 large handful chopped cilantro

1  handful chopped mint

2 chopped scallions

1 tsp fresh cracked pepper

2 (or more) tsp flake salt/fleur de sel
Directions

1.  Prepare the confit.  Place all the lamb shank ingredients in the crockpot and cook on low for 6-7 hours, turning the meat once (since it will be above the liquid level and will brown.  After this time, the meat should be falling off the bones.

2.  Prepare the Ratatouille.  Soak the cubed eggplant in a large bowl of salted water for about 15-20 minutes, then drain.  This will prevent the eggplant from being an oil sponge.  I learned this method from a Sichuan eggplant recipe and find it to work beautifully.
During this time you can prep your other ingredients or go over the day's events, contemplating whether or not you made the right choices, or if the right choices were made for you, but then realizing those choices were made out of love for you, so in some way you should be grateful, but your heart just doesn't beat in a way that makes sense..
and then reflecting on all the wonderful experiences you've had and may never have again.
The show must go on.....I suppose.

3.  Heat the olive oil in a wok and add the shallots.  Cook until translucent, then add the soaked eggplant cubes.  Stir well so all the pieces are coated with oil add lemon juice, some fleur de sel and pepper.  Cook for about 5 minutes then push to the side of the pan.

4.  Add the zucchini cubes.  Stir well and cook for a bit longer than the eggplant, then push to the side.

5.  Add the garlic and bell peppers.  Stir fry about 1-2 minutes, then add the tomatoes.  

6.  When the tomatoes start becoming a bit mushy (maybe 2-3 minutes) add most of the scallions, cilantro, and mint, keeping enough to sprinkle on as garnish.

7.  Stir, cover, and cook on low heat for about 20-30 minutes, making sure that nothing sticks to the bottom of your wok.
8.  Add some more fleur de sel and cracked pepper to taste.

Serve hot or warm.  I served it over some bulgur/quinoa mix and sprinkled with some punchy herbs.
This is comfort food, but stil rather healthy.. it's a great twist to the tradition!

Deviled Eggs with Tuna

Deviled eggs has been requested many times, but I've never gotten around to making them because;

-It was never the right "time"

-I didn't have enough eggs at the time of request

-I thought I had to "snow" egg whites for some unknown reason and I'm not a big fan of that

-Peeling hard-boiled eggs is annoying with an ugly result

Well, it turns out that;

-Any time is the right time..guests or not, hors d'oeuvres or dinner..deviled eggs are always welcome

-I've since increased my weekly egg purchase, so this week I did have enough eggs

-There is no eggwhite beating involved, only forkmashing

-If you steam the eggs, peeling is easy and beautiful!

So without any reasonable excuse and the motivation inspired by my bamboo steamer basket, deviled eggs happened tonight for dinner...and the best part is I made enough for tomorrow's lunch as well, whiwh makes the pleasure last much longer than just popping one or two at happy hour.

Yield 16 halves (4 meals if served with sides)

Ingredients

8 farm fresh medium eggs

1 can of tuna, drained

1 1/2 Tbsp good quality mayonnaise

1 1/2 tsp strong mustard

Juice from 1/4 lemon

2 Tbsp chopped scallions

1 Tbsp chopped cilantro

1/8 tsp crushed piment d'espelette

1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Crumbled feta for garnish

Paprika sprinkled for garnish

Directions

1.  Steam the eggs on high for 7 minutes, then place in an ice bath to stop the cooking.

2.  Peel and halve the eggs.  They should be hard boiled, but not chalky, as so..

3.  Scoop out the yolks into a bowl and add the tuna, mayo, lemon juice, mustard, pepper, piment d'espelette, scallions, black pepper, and cilantro.  Stir well with a fork until the mixture is even and scoop worthy.

4.  Place one heaping tsp of the mixture into each egg half.  Garnish with some crumbled feta ans a shake of paprika.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.  I ate this immediately alongside some roasted asparagus and a salad with chopped cucumber, tomatoes, capers, and aah yes, feta.

Goat feta.  It is driving me crazy.  I don't know if I should ask forgiveness for trespassing its purity or feel grace that I have been blessed enough to reveal its ability to comprehend...

These are known as Oeufs Mimosa in French.  I am unable to correctly label this as either French or American, so I labeled as both.  I suppose the feta is more European, but these are clearly cross cultural with those scallions and cilantro!

Sweet Potato Bun Tom (Shrimp Noodle)

 Vietnamese cuisine is very popular here in France.  One of the most popular summer dishes is one called Bo Bun, which is a simple hot curried beef strip on cold rice noodle salad with lots of raw toppings and a Nuac Mam Cham vinegarette.

Bo is beef and Bun is Noodle in Vietnamese, but here, they tend to call any combination "Bo Bun" which is perfectly fine since it makes it more familiar coming off the French tongue and this less "scary" to eat at a non-French restaurant.  The real word for shrimp in Vietnamese is Tom, which is why I named my dish Bun Tom (also because I promised my friend Pascale I would wait for her before making Bo Bun...so technically, I haven't made it yet and I will make it the "real" way when she gets back).  The other change I made from the traditional Bo Bun is the choice of noodles.  During my recent trip to Asian Wonderland, I found these noodles made from sweet pototatoes.  After doing some research, I found they keep their chewy al dente texture after being cooked, they are low calorie, low carb (but also low protein), but work well in hot stir fries just as well as in cold noodle salads.  they are most widely used to make Korean Japchae, but I had never seen such intriguing noodles before.  After cooking, the texture is a bit like glass noodles but they swell thicker and are pleasantly chewy.  I think these are my new favorite noodle (other than linguine)!

So after a long hot day of being outside under the sun, a cold meal seemed like the perfect remedy to cool down my inner parts.

Ooh I really should watch what I say... That sounds kind of exciting..

Serves 2

Ingredients

150g (approz 5.5oz) sweet potato noodles

4 Cha Gio (Nem or eggroll) thickly sliced

1/4 cucumber, julienned

1 medium carrot, julienned

400g (14oz) cooked shrimp, peeled and halved

1 handful chopped scallions

1 handful chopped mint

1 handful chopped cilantro

1 handful crushed peanuts

Sauce:

Nuac Mam Cham minus sugar

1 tsp dried lemongrass
1 tsp grated ginger

Pinch turmeric

1 Tbsp mirin (instead of sugar in the nuac mam cham)

Directions

1.  Cook the sweet potato noodles in a pot of boiling water for 5 minutes (or follow package instructions.  Drain and soak in an ice bath to cool.  This is a cold salad.  Noodles need to be cold.

2.  Make the sauce by mixing all the ingredients together.

3.  Assemble.  Place the noodles at the bottom of a serving bowl, then place the shrimp, herbs, veggies, and cha gio pieces along the circumference..because if you can't integrate geometry or calculus words into your recipes, what would be the point?

Place the chopped peanuts in the center.

Spoon some of the sauce over your bowl before tossing it around with your chopsticks.

Here it looks a bit messier, but isn't the best part of a perfectly made bed the satisfaction you get in tearing it open?

*Fight food without the egg rolls
**Gluten free if egg rolls made with rice paper only.

Pizza with Roasted Veggies and Goat Feta

I am at a time in my life where I will cross cultural boundaries with no shame...and I will put feta on everything.

Yes, everything.

On over easy eggs, on roasted eggplant, of course in salads, in quiche, and today on pizza.  Why not?
This is very similar to the Grilled Veggie Pizza I've made before, but with that extra punch that feta delivers so well...
And it works beautifully with the roasted zucchini, bells, and tomatoes on a watercress pesto spread.

Cha Gio/Egg Rolls/Nem Ran

 As I continue my Asian Persuasion, I have landed yet again in Vietnam, where I have tinkered before, but never to this glorious extent.

Cha Gio or as they are more commonly known in France, Nems, or Egg Rolls, have been on my list of recipes to try again but actually succeed at.  My nimble 30 year old fingers can now expertly shape falafel, samosas, and pakoras, so egg rolls shouldn't be such a mystery.

They are NOT a mystery, but a rediscovery!  The best nems I'd ever had in my life were from that little Cambodian restaurant where I used to live in Picardy, Le Angkor.  I don't have very many homemade eggroll memories from Asian friends..I actually have more Chile Relleno and Ceviche memories than anything else.

Mmmm Chiles Rellenos...on a side note, I may have found the perfect European substitute for California Chiles used in Chile Rellenos, but that will come later on after I figure out how to make Queso Fresco.

Back to my Cha Gio!

I received my Kenwood Meat Grinder yesterday and after cleaning it I just couldn't wait until Friday to be able to actually put it to good use.  Of course, I was expecting the lovely auto-gift, so I casually had the mint, spring roll wrappers, wood ear mushrooms, cellophane noodles, and random turkey pieces ready to go.  All I needed was to have those turkey pieces ground into something homogenous and cooked to put into my eggroll mixture.

That thing is amazing!  Sure it's very loud and very slow, but I don't really mind waiting 3 minutes for 1 lb of meat to be ground with quality steel cutters.

Ooh I liiike it!

So once you figure out the correct nem rolling technique, the secret is really in the filling.  Actually, the correct rolling technique is just as important as the quality and flavor of the filling.  Maybe that's why eggrolls may seem scary to beginners (as I once was).  You can get one part spot on but completely screw up the other part, which ruins the whole experience.
Recipe inspired by KL's Cooking with Mom.

Yield exactly 40 Cha Gio

Ingredients

1 packet (40) Spring Roll wrappers

1 lb ground turkey (or mix of turkey, chicken, crab, shrimp or pork)
1 Tbsp oil
1 Tbsp dark soy sauce

1 section (2oz) bean thread noodles, soaked, drained, and cut

1 cup (80g - 2.8oz) dried wood ear mushrooms, soaked, drained, and sliced

4 medium carrots, julienned

1 small kohlrabi (or cabbage), julienned

1/2 onion, diced

1 2-egg thin omelet, sliced

1 handful chopped cilantro

1 Tbsp fish sauce

1 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp ground white pepper
1 egg yolk
oil for frying (I used a mix of sunflower and canola)
1 beaten egg white for sealing

For wrapping:
Romaine or Batavia leaves
Mint leaves

Nuac Mam Cham (Dipping Sauce) for 20 Nems:

2 1/2 Tbsp fish sauce

3 1/2 Tbsp rice vinegar

2 cloves garlic, grated

1 piment oiseau (birds eye chili) chopped and seeded

1 tsp sugar

2 Tbsp lemon juice

Directions
1.  Brown the ground meat with the 1 tbsp oil and dark soy sauce until fully cooked.  Drain and let cool in a mixing bowl.
2.  Add the cut bean thread noodles, mushrooms, carrots, kohlrabi, onions, omelet, cilantro, fish sauce, sugar, white pepper, and yolk to the ground meat and stir well to mix everything evenly.

3.  Assemble.  Place a heaping tablespoon of filling on one corner of a wrapper.

4.  Tuck in the bottom corner and roll halfway into the egg roll.

5.  Fold the sides in, then tuck and roll until you reach the last corner.  Brush some egg white wash on the corner before finishing the roll so that it seals.  For a more native description of how to do this, check out SteamyKitchen.
They should be tightly rolled as so

6.  Fry.  I realized I didn't have enough sunflower oil to do any frying as I was already 3/4 the way done rolling my nems.  You think that's going to stop me?  I had enough canola oil to complete the deal.
Here's a funny story.  The French think you will be poisoned if you use canola oil for anything other than seasoning.  They have strict indications to never use it for cooking.
Bah.. nobody else in the world follows those rules anyway.
In hind site.. it works very well for frying.. although I probably wouldn't reuse the same oil.  I'd use fresh each time.  It darkened a bit toward the 40th spring roll.

Fry until golden on all sides, about 5 minutes, being sure to turn them at least once to check the other side.

7.  Reserve onto paper towels.

Serve hot with some batavia or romaine and mint leaves accompanied by a sexy hot dipping sauce.

These were crunchy, non greasy, full of freshness and flavor, and full of intense satisfaction.  They come very very close to the ones from Angkor so its nice to know that Yes I Can!
I froze over half of them and will reheat them in the oven when needed, as I do with samosas so they stay crunchy.  They are going to be killer on a Bo Bun Noodle salad!!
This is exactly what I was hoping for out of D-Day 2014!

* these can be GF if rice paper and GF soy sauce is used instead of spring roll paper.
See GF recipe here.

Grated Carrot Kohlrabi and Herbed Salad

I'm on yet another carrot craze.  I want to put them everywhere.. desserts, roasted, raw, alone, with friends, but most importantly, in my welcoming mouth.
After hand grating a bunch of carrots for the halwa cookies, I switched grates and started on these.  I have no idea what motivates me sometimes..
I had a few slices of that delicious spinach thing over there to finish and I'm quite enjoying the contrast of warm/cold on the same plate.
Then this salad was born.. and the mint leaves wanted join the fun!

Serves 3-4 as a side

Ingredients

3 medium carrots, coarsely grated

1 small kohlrabi, coarsely grated

juice from 1 lime

2 Tbsp EVOO

pinch fleur de sel

some freshly cracked black pepper

1 handful chopped cilantro

1 handful chopped mint leaves

3 Tbsp pitted sliced olives

1 tsp caraway seeds

1/4 chopped red onion

few more olives for garnish

few marinated anchovies for garnish (optional)

Directions

Toss together and serve cold.

The mint gives it a nice bite and mixes well with the sweetness of the kohlrabi.

This was another perfect side to my slice of Spinach Feta Quiche.. and if I had more feta I would have added it to the salad as well!

Carrot Halwa Cookies

I love halwa.  I love all the sweet cardamom nutty goodness that leaves a long lasting aftertaste.

Halwa, however, is not very portable or easily distributable, and it's usually best after having eaten Indian cuisine.  Cookies are appropriate anytime, anywhere, are and don't need to be refigerated or heated.

So...I created the halwa cookie.  The carrot halwa cookie.  And let me tell you, I'm very happy I did since I don't have any Indian cuisine ready to eat after which it would be appropriate to eat normal carrot halwa.

Ha!
Yield 44 cookies

Ingredients:

100g (3.5oz) room temperature butter

300g (10.6oz) sweetened condensed milk
200g (7oz) finely grated carrots (about 5 medium)

1/4tsp cinnamon

8 cardamom pods, dry roasted and ground (about 2 tsp)

140g (5oz) whole wheat flour (or just 1 cup of each)

100g (3.5oz) almond powder
100g (3.5oz) chickpea flour
pinch of salt
2 handfuls raisins

toppings:

pistachios

unsalted cashews

Directions

1.  Sift together the flours, almond powder, and salt.  Set aside.

2.  In a separate mixing bowl, cream the butter and add the condensed milk, cardamom, and cinnamon.  Beat well.

3.  Get rid of your whip and switch to a wooden spoon or spatula.  Fold in the finely grated carrots.   Then add the dry mixture little by little into the wet mixture until all incorporated.  The end result should be very sticky, but not as if the dough had eggs in it.  This is eggless.  Fold in the raisins.

4.  Get your toppings ready.   Take a tablespoon sized amount of dough and kindly shape it onto your cookie sheet.  Press on the pistachios and cashews (or whatever other nuts you see fit) and repeat for the rest of the batch.  I didn't have enough pistachios so half of the batch has both pistachios and cashews, and the other half has cashews only.

5.  Bake at 185°C 350°F for about 20 minutes.  Carefully remove and let cool on a wire rack.

These were exactly as I imagined them to be.  Chewy yet structured, bursting with bits of different flavors at a time with that happy aftertaste of cardamom that lingers...

Tahini Fig Muffins

This morning I woke up with 3 ideas floating around..

I need a meat grinder

I want carrot halwa

I need to try putting tahini in a muffin

As I'm writing this, my snazzy meat grinder will be arriving on thursday.. (Major event), I have a batch of Indian fusion cookies finishing up in the oven, and my tahini muffins are staring at me from the table, inviting me to nibble their earlobes.

Yes..they are a major success!  I might not be the first person in the world to do it, but I freestyled the recipe from beginning to end, hoping they would come out like a muffin (and not like custard as the avocado ones did) and I'm very proud to say that they are rather delicious, especially with those baby dried figs hiding inside them!

Yield 16 muffins
Ingredients
2 eggs, well beaten
100g (3.5oz) cane sugar
1 packet vanilla sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup milk
1 plain yogurt
200g (7oz) tahini (I used Cortas)
60g (2oz) canola oil
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
150g (5.3oz) whole wheat flour
chopped dried figs for filling
Sesame seeds for garnish
Directions
1.  Beat together the eggs, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, milk, yogurt, oil, and tahini.  Beat it well.  The mixture should not be pasty.  If it is, add just a bit of milk.  The tahini will cramp up at first, and then relax.  You need to be gentle with her.. she's new to muffins..
2.  Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt.  Carefully stir in the flour mixture until just combined.
3.  Fill your buttered muffin tins 3/4 full, drop in some chopped figs (and make sure they are covered by the batter), sprinkle some sesame seeds on top and bake for 18-20 minutes at 180°C 350°F.

Tahini can almost be used interchangeably with peanut butter, so I was almost sure this would work, but I had no idea how delectable and addicting these would be!

Spinach Feta Quiche in a Sumac-Laced Shortcrust

It is officially quiche season!  It's actually always quiche season, but as the weather warms, it's nice to be able to sit down to some not so steaming hot food with a nice cold salad.  That is exactly what quiche brings into the picture.  It can be made ahead of time, then eaten when slightly cooled, or cooled completey, especially when that quiche has festive ingredients such as spinach, feta, red onion, and mint!
Here I used finely chopped frozen spinach, but tis the season for fresh.. go for it if you have it:
I also did a little twist on the shortcrust.  Instead of paprika, I added sumac and za'atar.  Since it's been a while, I've reposted my shortcrust ingredients with the new little twist.  The only thing I change is the spices and egg to water ratio.  When I use the whole egg, I use less water.  When I make a dessert shortcrust, I usually add about 1 Tbsp sugar.

Serves 6 as a meal, 8 or more as an appetizer
Ingredients
For the Sumac-Laced Shortcrust:

125g (4.4oz) buckwheat flour

125g (4.4oz) whole wheat flour

100g (3.5oz) room temperature butter

1 Tbsp yeast extract (non active)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp sumac

1 tsp za'atar

1 egg yolk

approximately 5 cL water
use the method and precook at 200°C (400°F) for 10 minutes

For the Quiche:
1 slightly precooked shortcrust

350g (12oz) thawed spinach (or lightly cooked fresh)

200g (7oz) feta, crumbled (I used Gazi)
1/4 red onion, sliced
1 Tbsp chopped cilantro
3 Tbsp chopped mint leaves

3 beaten eggs

3/4 cup heavy cream

1 cup milk

1 tsp piment d'espelette
pinch nutmeg
fresh cracked pepper
pinch of salt

Directions
1.  Beat the eggs very very well until they become bubbly, then add in the cream, milk, piment d'espelette, pepper, and salt and beat well.
2.  In your delicious precooked shortcrust, place a layer of spinach, then sprinkle on the cilantro, some of the red onion, and most of the feta.  Add the rest of the spinach, red onions, and feta, and sprinkle on the mint leaves.
3.  Pour the beaten egg mixture "appareil" all over the filling into the shortcrust.
4.  Bake for 45-55 minutes at 180°C (350°F).

Remove and let cool at least 20 minutes before tearing it apart.

I absolutely loved this.  I cut it into 6 and 1 slice was more than enough (along with a tomato salad and all the raw veggie and anchovy happy hour business that preceded this).  It's funny how something so simple can be so satisfyingly filling!