cauliflower

Pistachio – Cumin Crusted Rack of Lamb & A Roasted Cauliflower – Hazelnut Salad

14.01.2013 26 Comments

I have had the images for this post up and ready for words for about a week now. It’s not that I can’t find the words to go along. It’s just that I am ever near long enough the computer to sit down and write.

We had such a great time at the beach with my parents, my brother and his family that diving right back into work mode was a blessing and a curse at the same time. It’s been busy around here but having my parents stay with me here in Birmingham for a couple of weeks shifted the rhythm even further.

It’s good. It’s all good. It’s actually awesome to have them around and see the new house, the new job, the new town. They really get a handle on my new situation and all the questions they had are being answered. My photo schedule, the way we do things, the people I work with, the places I like to go to for dinner, a drink or to shop. Things are about as new to them as they are to me and we share discoveries and new finds everyday.

It’s really nice to come home after a long day and start cooking with my mom. Chopping, dicing, searing, etc… while sipping a glass of wine and watching the end of an old movie or listening to the radio. We have more quiet time for serious talks, or to simply catch up on news about the family at large.

It’s been raining lots lately and we have been enjoying a few comforting and hearty meals. The kind to make you feel instantly better and warm inside after being caught by a heavy rain.

Stews, fish soups, long cooked dishes, and roasted veggie soups have permeated the air around for days now, filling me with a bit of nostalgia. The flavors and spices of my grandmother's stews and roasts come into to our conversation almost at every meal. Her cooking while being so intricately French provincial was so influenced by her life in Northern Africa and encounters with other army wives.

It might be for this reason that I have absolutely loved every page turned in the new cookbook by Ottolenghi, Jerusalem, co-authored with Sami Tamimi. I hear my stomach growl at just about every recipe and my eyes pop out from every stunning picture. I find my family’s cooking in so many of the recipes in the book.

I don’t know if we are atypical or just reflect an era (military, moves, oversea travels, wars, etc…) but some of my most vivid food memories are as much of harissa, Berber couscous and papaya with lime juice as they are of cassoulet and Bouillabaisse.

In that regard, the book completely appeals to me. The way Ottolenghi and Tamimi look at culinary traditions and influences. Understanding that one dish may have the same root but different interpretations in neighboring cultures, civilizations or countries. They understood that cooking is honoring ones traditions as well as sharing common flavors, differences in interpretations. Food travels. It is not one to be of only one people and one culture. It is alive. It reflects peoples, generations and history. It is humanity.

I get that. Especially when sitting down at the dinner table around a plate of Pistachio Crusted Lamb and a side or Roasted Cauliflower & Hazelnut Salad. (recipes after the jump). I get the sharing, the cultural influences, and the roots. The history that brought this plate and the chatter about it, in front of me. I happily grab my fork and ask my mother for one more story about my grandmother. About her own childhood. About mine with her.

Only a few more days and they will be heading back to France. A few more days to revel in the memories and the times we are living in the present. I am grateful for the love and time they give me these few short weeks. It’s been quite nice, indeed…

I hope you all have a wonderful week too!

Chilled Cucumber Avocado Soup & Cauliflower Prosciutto Flatbread

06.08.2012 33 Comments

Barely home from Washington, D.C that we are repacking and heading out tomorrow (insanely early) morning for Seattle. Yep. It’s the Summer of packed crazy but absolutely delicious adventures. And yes also to the fact that I will probably end up using (or abusing) every superlative adjectives I know along the way.

Going to Seattle for work is about as stressful as a week by a blue lagoon. Whether it is for a shoot or in this instance a workshop I am teaching with Clare Barboza and Becky Selengut, I can tell you that the conversations, good meals and bottomless glasses of wine make up for the brain power exhaustion and relative dépaysement. I am ok with being tired, being away and making a little home away from home, mentally and physically. The people, the jobs, the things I learn, the things I pass on. It keeps me energized.

If asked, I doubt that my fridge and pantry would agree to my definition of a life well balanced. We have kept the minimum of supplies around to avoid any spoilage and waste. Nothing irks me more than wasting food because of ill planning or "voir plus grand que son estomac" (seeing larger than one’s appetite). I do leave a few things for the house sitters to nibble on but not enough to warrant big trips to the grocery store.

A miscalculation of the meals we would eat at home this weekend created a surplus of vegetables and a quick scramble to use them in interesting ways while keeping up with the semi plan we have going on. I have no idea how my two cucumbers turned into four from grocery list to grocery cart but I was very glad they did after taking the first couple of sips from the Chilled Cucumber and Avocado Soup they contributed to.

Refreshing, creamy and light, this soup is going to be on heavy rotation as soon as we come back from Seattle. I have a real fondness for chilled cucumber soup. Or rather a fond nostalgia for the dish. When I first moved Charleston, my roomate at the time took me to a (now closed) French inspired bistro on Market street that served one of the best Cucumber Dill Yogurt soup I had ever had. Wait, the only had I had ever had so far!

I tried many times to recreate the soup but there was always something missing. Probably the moment more than the recipe and ingredients. I decided that rather than driving my senses crazy, I’d make a completely different version. One we could equally love and come back to. After a few tries, this is the one we settled on. The base rarely varies but the toppings change depending on what’s around. Crumbled feta, sliced beets, radishes, herbs, a drizzle of truffle or avocado oil, lemon zest,… the possibilities are indeed endless.

I admit, I would have never thought about putting cauliflower on flatbread had it not been for the Winter issue of Donna Hay magazine a couple of months ago. I read over the recipe, bookmarked it in a far corner of my brain, bought cauliflower and prosciutto and went about my business. And completely forgot about it all. Until yesterday that I was making dinner and the common "oops…not enough days, too many recipes to try" moment took place.

I took the elements of the original recipe, minus the cheese, and turned them in a crispy thin flatbread that was the perfect match to grilled shrimp and a big fennel, arugula salad with crunchy leftover cauliflower. Simple, light and one more way to sneak in vegetables into the meal. Made me want to try the cheesy version when we get back in town next week.

Off to (re) pack!

Chilled Cucumber and Avocado Soup:

Makes enough for 4 as a main course

Ingredients:
2 large cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and roughly chopped (about 1 to 1/2 pounds)
1/2 medium avocado, peeled and roughly chopped
1 small sweet onion, roughly chopped
1 cups sour cream
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon each lemon verbena and lemon thyme
salt and pepper to taste

Toppings options: (as many or as little as you desire)
fresh herbs
sliced beets or radishes
feta or goat cheese
shaved parmesan

Directions:
Place all the ingredients for the soup in a blender or food processor and puree until super smooth. I use my Blendtec which makes it extremely smooth in no time. Depending on how silky you want your soup to be, you might have to pass it through a sieve a couple of times.
Refrigerate for about a couple of hours and serve cold.

———————————————————————————

Cauliflower & Prosciutto Flatbread:

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients:
Pizza dough for one 16-inch pizza stone (I use half the recipe of my favorite pizza crust here)
For a gluten free crust, see here
1 to 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced cauliflower
4 oz finely chopped prosciutto
1/4 cup finely grated parmesan
olive oil
1 tablespoon cornmeal
salt and pepper to taste
fresh thyme to garnish

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400F.
With your hands, stretch your dough to a large circle, about one inch wider than the surface of your stone.
Sprinkle the cornmeal over the surface of the stone (do not worry about heating it up as if making pizza). Place your dough over it and form a border with the extra inch of your dough.
Scatter evenly the cauliflower, prosciutto and parmesan over it. Drizzle a little olive oil, salt and pepper.
Cook for about 20-25 minutes or until the cauliflower is golden brown.
Let cool slightly and eat!

Root Vegetable Soup & Herbed Goat Cheese Tartines

20.02.2012 34 Comments

To say that it has not really been good "soup weather" around here this winter would be an understatement. We have spent more days in short sleeves and sandals than in sweaters and boots. Granted South Carolina has a sub tropical weather year round and we do joke that we have two seasons, Hot and Hotter also called Humid and More Humid. Yet, February is a month we all look forward to as it usually offers a bit of a chill, a couple of weeks of fireplaces burning, of hoodies and gloves.

Not this year. I can count on both hands the days I wore a sweater and on one those when I put my coat on. And boy do I love Winter. I grew up in an area of Provence where the Mistral wind often blew stronger in the Winter time, giving way to clear and chilly skies. Here the winds unmistakably bring thunderstorms or clear warm days. If I want a Winter mood, it is up to me to create it.

Soup will put me in an instant winter cozy mood. But here obviously, soups cannot be only for cold grey days. I grew up with my mom serving soup every dinner before the rest of the meal but I did not really continue that habit once I moved away on my own. Instead, soups of all kinds became standard lunch fare at the house. Piping hot a few times but mostly warm or room temperature to be able to taste every bit of subtleties in the marriage of the vegetables used and their dance on my palate.

This soup is no exception to my rushing to lunch time every day. I am not much of a breakfast eater and I usually work straight through lunch but comes 2pm and my stomach wants to jump hoops and make loud cavernous noises until I settle it down with a little something. I find the most satisfying lunch to be a big cup of soup and a tartine these days.

I can sit down, catch up on the news around, satisfy my hunger and recharge my internal batteries with the minimum fuss and the most gratifying bowl of goodness. I usually start a big pot of soup while I cook other things for dinner or as soon as I get up and start production on my shoots for the day. The smells wrapping up or kicking off a day at work are tantalizing enough to make me wish for that first spoonful with great anticipation.

This soup has been made three times in the last ten days. We just can’t get enough of it. My friend John who is a chef at my favorite restaurant downtown, reminded me that most of the vegetables I used for it were what we call back home "les légumes oubliés" or heirloom vegetables. Vegetables that are finely and firmly coming back on menus and dinner tables all around.

Sunchokes or Jerusalem Artichokes (topinambours), parsnips, turnips. I added Vidalia onions, cauliflower and a bit of rosemary to round up the flavors. Served with a slice of grilled bread smeared a bit or goat cheese mixed with plenty of herbs and topped with a few slices of radishes and it was the perfect lunch.

I am thinking of adding a poached egg to my tartine next time and makes this dinner…

(Mostly) Root Vegetable Soup & Herbed Goat Cheese Tartines:

Serves 4 as a main dish

Ingredients:
1 small head of cauliflower
3 cloves garlic
3 to 4 small Vidalia onions
1 pound sunchokes (peeled and quartered)
4 turnips (peeled and quartered)
3 parsnips (peeled and cut into 1-inch thick rounds)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 or 2 rosemary sprigs
1/2 to 1 cup water, or veggie or chicken stock

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F and position a rack in the middle.
Trim the outer leaves from the cauliflower head. Cut in quarters, remove the core, and cut the cauliflower into medium size florets. Place on a large baking sheet.
Peel the garlic and place on the baking sheet with the cauliflower.
Trim the white part from the green stalk of the Vidalia onions. Keep the white part and cut into medium sized chunks. Wash well under water and place also on the baking sheet.
Finely add the sunchokes, turnips and parsnips to the same baking sheet.
Drizzle with the oil, salt and pepper. Place the rosemary on top and roast for about 20-25 minutes. Remove the rosemary.
Let cool slightly. Place in a food processor, start running the machine and add enough water to have a creamy soup. Re-season if necessary with salt and pepper. Serve with the herbed goat cheese tartines.

Herb Goat Cheese & Radish Tartines:

Makes 2 tartines per person

8 slices of your favorite bread
8 oz plain goat cheese, at room temperature
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 teaspoon parsley, finely chopped
1 small bunch radishes (about 6 to 8) cut into thin slices

Grill or toast the bread and set aside.
In a small bowl, mix together the goat cheese and herbs until well blended.
Spread some of the goat cheese mixture on the tartines, top with some radish slices.

Soul Satisfying Roasted Cauliflower, Leek & Garlic Soup and Lemon Fritters

18.08.2011 62 Comments

I seriously feel like starting this post with "oh what a week…!" to the tune of "oh what a night.." At least, just listening to it makes my feet move under my chair. That’s a good thing. I am allowing myself to make room for a giggle and a laugh. It’s been such a week for friends and family, near and far. And us trying to navigate the waves and splashes.

Today my heart is a complete split of heavy and light. I guess I could spend the next couple of paragraphs telling you why. But honestly, I am tired of those funky vibes I have experienced all week. Mine included. These two posts will update you on why I have been quiet and reflective lately. And why today I still can’t put the broken pieces of heart back together. I’ve done my kicking and screaming, even if only in my head but I have also welcome every opportunity to change my mind today. That much funk always drives me up the wall. Or to the kitchen actually!

I cooked a lot over the last few days. Always therapeutic. I’ve made a bunch of good for the soul comforting foods. I also made some pretty aromatic dishes to soothe my bronchitis. I packed a few containers full of good and healthy recipes for Bill while I am gone this week. Stirring soup very effectively took my mind away on vacation for a few minutes. Zesting and juicing lemons filled the space with invigorating energy.

Whisking batters, roasting vegetables, hearing the motor of the food processor happily whirl away. Listening to the sizzle of the oil when my friend Laura and I made lemon fritters one night she came over for dinner. It never gets easier, it just gets different. One thing for sure is that friends and keeping busy are always great ingredients to make things better.

I hate that work is taking me away this week and I won’t be home with the husband and the pups for a good ten days. I also love that my kind of work gives me the chance to do something a bit different than my usual week. See, I am leaving in the morning and heading out to Seattle for a shoot. My friend Clare Barboza is shooting Jeanne Sauvage’s (from The Art Of Gluten Free Baking) first cookbook on gluten free holiday baking and she asked me to come do the styling. As I told them both earlier, I am very much looking forward to rest my photographer’s eyes and put my styling goggles on for a week!

I love Clare and her photography, I love Jeanne’s recipes (and I get to meet her chickens!), the publisher (Chronicles) and it’s Seattle! My last visit was a bit short there so I am looking forward to a longer stay and some fun happenings! Our shooting and baking/prep schedule is packed (just as my suitcase!) but you can bet I’ll do my best to find time for a little fun!

I hate to leave Bill with the pups, that’s a given, but I hate to leave him without something comforting to eat, especially the first night I am gone. When I made a Roasted Cauliflower, Leek and Garlic Soup the other day, he asked that I made another batch to store away while he’d be alone with his books. I am kinda sad I can’t sneak a cup on the plane with me. It’s really good. Don’t let its creamy grey color fool you…there is nothing bland or blah about this soup. Creamy, toasty, garlicky. Silky.

When I wasn’t feeling good this past weekend, I texted Laura that I had absolutely no appetite. She texted me back a very worried "really? nothing?" I know.…worried me too actually. I am never one without an appetite, even sick. I paused for a second and thought "actually…lemon fritters sound really really good right now!". We rarely do fried anything but that fried little pieces of dough were always in my grandmother’s arsenal remedy when we were sick. It worked back then. And it worked again this time!

Good friends, good food, good drinks and tons of good laughs sure made me feel better on all front this past week. I wish mending the world troubles would be as easy as writing a prescription for each but that’s always a start…

Roasted Cauliflower, Leek and Garlic Soup:

Serves 6-8 as an appetizer, 4 as an main dish

Ingredients:
1 small head of cauliflower
1 whole head garlic
2 leeks
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 to 1 cup water, or veggie or chicken stock

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F (convection) and position a rack in the middle.
Trim the outer leaves from the cauliflower head. Cut in quarters, remove the core, and cut the cauliflower into medium size florets. Place on a large baking sheet.
Cut the garlic head in half, place on the baking sheet with the cauliflower.
Trim the white part from the green stalk of the leeks. Keep the white part and cut into medium sized chunks. Wash well under water and place also on the baking sheet.
Drizzle with the oil, salt and pepper. Roast for about 20-25 minutes.
Let cool slightly. Place in a food processor, start running the machine and add enough water to have a creamy soup. Re-season if necessary with salt and pepper. Serve.

————————————————————————–

Lemon Fritters:
Make about 20 to 30 small fritters

Ingredients:
1 -2 cups canola oil
1 cup sugar
zest and juice of one lemon
2 eggs
1 cup millet flour
1 cup rice flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup milk

Heat oil in medium large cast iron pan until temperature reaches 375F.
In a large bowl, whisk the sugar, lemon zest, juice and eggs until well blended. Add the millet, rice flour and baking powder, along with the milk. Mix well until the mixture is smooth. Drop by large spoonfuls into the hot oil. Do not over crowd the pan or it will lower the heat too much and you will end up with soggy fritters. Let cook for 2 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Roasted Vegetable Soup With Polenta Croutons

20.01.2010 59 Comments

Before I talk about this soup, let me announce the winner of the Heavenly Cakes book giveway: congrats to Diane from Spice Sisters. Email your mailing address at mytartelette{at}gmail{dot}com and the book is on its way to you. Now back to our regular programming…

What an amazing five days I just had in Atlanta! The city sure knows how to do sugar! The Sugar Coma tour I was part of was nothing short of outstanding. Shameeka, hostess with the mostess of The Broke Socialite proved everyone that planners and vendors can go above and beyond everyone’s idea of a good time without robbing a bank. I will do a full recap of the weekend, macaron workshop included as soon as I properly sift (pun intended) through all my pictures.

After two tours of some of the best sweet spots of the city, I was seriously craving vegetables on my way home. And salt! I must say I was impatiently awaiting dinner so that I could have a bowl of this Roasted Vegetable Soup. We liked it so much that I even called B. from the airport this morning to make sure he had not eaten the last bit I had tucked away in the freezer. No clue what he’d eat. I would have this. Not sure I’d share either. But I did. I can’t be the only one moaning at the dinner table now can I?!

There is something about roasted vegetables that sets them in a category completely apart. I can’t tell between the natural sugar from the vegetables being released as they roast, the slightly brown and crispy edge they get, or the deep aroma permeating my kitchen, which one sends my senses in a frenzy. Something does. I guess it’s the whole package. Roast anything and you’ll be a happier human being. I’m serious.

What I love about this soup beside its simplicity of preparation is the tremendous versatility it offers you as far as flavoring and textures. One night we had it on the chunky side, with a little drizzle of avocado oil and a dash of freshly cracked peppercorn and a few parsley leaves. The day after I served it for lunch a little bit smoother with oregano and thyme and some chorizo salt from Secret Salt Sea Salts. Always with some gluten free polenta croutons. They really helped round up the flavors and textures of the soup.

Seems like Spring came in early while I was away but that will not deter me from making soups. Good for the soul and easiest lunch or dinner to make when you’re pressed for time because leftovers are always better the next day, right?!

If you want a sneak preview of what we did during the morning session of the Sugar Coma Tour, check out Mark's pictures from the morning session and Bakerella’s post on the afternoon session.

Warming up a bowl of soup as I get ready to edit my pictures. It’s always fun to revisit a trip…

Roasted Vegetable Soup:

Serves 4 to 6

1 head cauliflower, broken off into small chunks
4 small-medium turnips, quartered (don’t worry about peeling them)
4 cloves of garlic, smashed with the back of your knife
4 baby onion (or 1 small onion), sliced lenghtwise
2 small potatoes (mine were the size of a clementine)
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper
1/2 cups – 1 cup water (or chicken or veggie stock)

Garnishes: flavored sea salts, herbs, croutons, drizzle of oil (almond, avocado, pumpkin – your preference).

Preheat the oven to 375F. Place all the vegetables on a baking sheet or in a pan in one single layer and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast until golden brown, about 30-40 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.
Add about 1/2 cup water or stock and puree in a blender or with an immersion blender. Check if the consistency and seasoning are to your liking and adjust accordingly.
Serve with croutons and garnishes of your choice.

Le P’tit Coin Francais:

Soupe de legumes
Pour 4 a 6 personnes

1 petit chou-fleur, coupe en petits morceaux
4 petit navets, coupes en quatre (la peau y passe aussi)
4 gousse d’ail, ecrasee (peau y passe aussi)
4 petits onions nouveaux ou 1 petit onion
2 petite pommes de terre
filet d’huile d’olive
sel et poivre

Prechauffez le four a 190C. Mettre tous les legumes dans un plat ou sur une plaque a cuisson avec rebords. Ajoutez un filet d’huile et assaisonnez.
Faites cuire les legumes pendant 30-40 minutes ou jusqu’a qu’ils soient bien dores.
Laissez les refroidir un peu. Ajouter un petit verre d’eau et passez au robot pour mouliner.
Ajustez la texture en ajoutant plus d’eau si vous desirez. Assaisonnez de nouveau si necessaire.

Servir avec differentes herbes, croutons etc…