Watercress Salad and Cilantro Dressing

A colorful diet is a healthful diet.  Orignally I was looking for jicama to add to this salad.  It was supposed to be a jicama watercress salad with mango slices except that I couldn't find it nearby.  My brain still thinks we are in San Diego but being back in Paris, this meant I'd have to find a specialty Mexican store (not near me).  Popular in Mexican cuisine, jicama has also spread to find itself cultivated in Asia.  Ding!  So off I went to my local Asian stores in search of jicama.  Well, I didn't quite find the jicama, nor was there a ripe mango ready for me, but I did wind up with a bunch of fresh nèfles (very similar to the loquats of Asia).  

Upon arriving at home I was greeted by Lady Jo and was handed a basket of organic veggies.  She was on duty call at her local organic co-op and got dibs on the veggies left behind.  Now, just so you know, I fully support the "No Veggies Left Behind" act and accepted the vegetables gracefully.  I eyed the big beetroot—for that would feed me for at least a week—and whipped out my mandoline to get working on it.  So this is how a dish begins to transforms itself, jicama replaced by beet root and mangos by nèfles.  Ooh, what else can I use on my mandoline since I have it out— ahhh...yes, carrots... then a little bit of this, and a little bit of that...

Watercress Salad and Cilantro Dressing

INGREDIENTS//Serves 4-6

• 1 bunch watercress
• 2 carrots, julienned
• 1 medium beetroot, julienned
• 1 cup loquats (neflè), cut into bite-size pieces; mango is also a good substitution.
• Handful of sunflower seeds and linseeds (flaxseeds)

Dressing

• 1 bunch coriander (cilantro)
• 1 shallot
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• 1/2 inch of ginger, fresh and grated
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 Thai chili, cut a piece according to your spice level
• 1 1/2 tablespoon tamari sauce (or soy sauce)
• 1/2 teaspoon honey (optional)
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon vegetable or canonla oil

INSTRUCTIONS

Rinse the watercress and put it in your salad spinner.

Prepare a medium size bowl.  Separate and discard the stalks from the leaves, keeping just the thin, top bit of the stalks attached to the leaves.

With your mandoline, prepared your carrots and beetroot and set them aside.

Cut your fruit into bite size pieces.

Prepare your dressing by combing all the ingredients into a food processor.

Process until smooth.

In a salad bowl, add your watercress and pour in the dressing.

Toss together so that the watercress is drenched in the dressing, and then add in the rest of the ingredients.

Sprinkle some sunflower seeds and linseeds (flaxseeds) over your salad before serving.


 

Ratatouille Quesadilla

I just got back from San Diego, where I was paying a visit to meet my newborn niece, Sabine.  Unbiased of course, she is gorgeous.  Her nickname is "Bean" because that's what came out of her older sister's mouth when she was all of one year old trying to pronounce "Sabine".   Ever since she started out as a 'lil bean in her mama's belly, she's been referred to as "Bean".

Bean has that baby smell that I quickly got addicted to.  Every early morning, 6 a.m. to be precise, I would wake up and head to the kitchen: to find her, hold her, press my nose against her head and then inhale her baby scent.  If you are wondering why the kitchen, it's because my brother-in-law has started his day and mine (bless his heart) with a whole other scent, the coffee drop—Japanese style drip.  He has his tools in order: grinder, scale, and drip filter,

This is how my mornings played out until I got over my jet lag: rise and shine at 6 a.m. soon became rise and snooze til 9 a.m.  Although I still had Bean's baby scent to look forward to, gone was the aroma of the other bean —the coffee bean.  My brother-in-law was long gone and off to work.

Besides sniffing Bean's head and drinking coffee from the drip, I did eat a lot of Mexican food.  Afterall, San Diego is just next door.  I thought I knew it all from my days milling about at Mexican family soccer games in some Brooklyn park, where I could eat freshly made tortillas and salsa off their portable, makeshift grills right out of the backs and trunks of their cars, and buy Tecate beers straight from their coolers, all for two dollars.  Apparently not.
 

I discovered an ingredient called hominy that I'll have to search for in Paris.  Once I find it, I'm keen on making a fish based or vegetarian based pozole which I'll share with you in the future.  As for now, I have French Provençale ratatouille leftovers that I've converted into a Mexican quesadilla dish.  Olé!

Ratatouille Quesadilla

INGREDIENTS//Serves 4

•  1 x 400 gram tin of red kidney beans or other bean of preference
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 150 grams of emmental cheese
• 2 cups ratatouille or any vegetable filling
• 1/2 bunch fresh coriander (cilantro)
• 2 large flour tortillas
• Dallop of sour cream or crème fraîche

INSTRUCTIONS

Add some cooking oil in a pan and cook the shallots over medium heat until they have softened. 

Add the tin of beans and stir.

Throw in your spices: cumin, chili powder.   Stir it up a bit.

Then transfer it to a small mixing bowl and mash it up with a fork or a masher.

Since I had ratatouille left over, you can choose any combination of vegetables; just cook it beforehand.   My kids love this with spinach, so I simply steam the spinach.

Lay out your tortilla and spread half of it with the bean mash, and the other half with your vegetable filling of choice.  Be careful not to add too much filling otherwise it will fall out.  Try to keep it thinly spread.  Sprinkle some coriander over the cheese.

Grab two to three handfuls of cheese and spread over the beans.

Place it on a large cooking pan over medium heat and cook until the bottom of the tortilla warms up and starts to speckle up golden brown.

Using a spatula, fold the quesadilla in half.  Press down on the quesadilla with the back side of the spatula and cook until the whole side is golden brown and then flip and repeat.

Transfer to a cutting board and cut them into wedges.

Serve along witha dallop of sour cream or crème fraîche (depending on which country you live in) and garnish with coriandre.


 

Steamed Pandan Cake

So this is what I've done with the pandan extract from last week's post, I have steamed a cake that has come out nice, spongy, and green with a taste of pandan.  Coconut is a popular match to this particular pandan flavor, so sprinkle some dried, shredded coconut over it— toasted or not— and have yourself a tea break.

.

Steamed Pandan Cake

INGREDIENTS

• 2 eggs
• 100 grams brown sugar
• 2 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil, unrefined (virgin)
• 1/2 cup almond milk (non-sweetened)
• 3 tablespoon pandan extract (home made)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 200 grams flour

INSTRUCTIONS

In a medium size mixing bowl, combine your eggs, brown sugar, and coconut oil.  Mix together.

Add the rest of the ingredients.

Add the pandan extract in the almond milk, and keep mixing until everything is combined smoothly.

Sift the flour and then fold it into the mixture.

Pour the batter into individual cupcake molds, ramakans, or whatever mold you like that fits in your steamer basket and cover.   Place in a pot filled with an inch or two of boiling water making sure the bottom layer of the bamboo steamer basket doesn't touch the water.   Steam for 12 minutes or until you can slide a knife through the center to see if it comes out clean so that you know it's cooked through.

Let it cool.   Generously sprinkle some grated cococnut over it and serve.

Pandan Extract

Growing up, we used to take road trips with my family over the weekend.  We always drove through the city early Saturday mornings making a pit stop in Chinatown before heading onto one of the bridges or through the tunnels out of the city.  Our breakfast ritual was congee at a hole in the wall joint on Madison Street, then we would load up at the Chinese bakery on freshly made cha siu bao (BBQ pork buns) and swiss rolls for the ride—boy, I loved those spongy cakes rolled up with the light, whipped cream filling.

Those swiss rolls usually came in a yellow sponge cake or a green sponge cake option.  The pandan extract is what makes it green and what gives it its peculiar earthy and nutty taste.  It's often said that it's the " vanilla bean' of South East Asia, commonly used in pastries for not only coloring but for its aroma as well.  Pandan leaves are used in cooking too so that one can grill, fry, and steam their pandan wrapped fish and meats. 

You can buy pandan extract at the Asian stores but they usually contain some artificial coloring.  I like to go the natural route as much as possible...

...and after having one too many boxes of industrial packaged swiss rolls from our local Asian markets (thankful at least that there is the pandan option) over the past year, I decided to see if I could conjure up a piece of my childhood memory by squeezing out some fresh, green pandan extract to experiment in my next homemade adventure.

Pandan Extract

INGREDIENTS//Yields 1/3 cup extract (approx. 7 tablespoons)

• 9 Pandan leaves
• 1/2 cup water

INSTRUCTIONS

Rinse your pandan leaves in a big bowl.  Be sure to get out all the dirt and sand.

Using your kitchen shears, cut up your pandan leaves into 1/2 inch pieces.

Put it all in the blender, add some water.  Pulse,  stopping occasionally to swipe down the sides.  Repeat this process until you get a dark green, saturated liquid,  making sure all the leaves are finely pulverized.

Pour the pulverized pandan and its liquid into a strainer, and with the backside of a spoon press down on the leaves to extract the liquid.

Pour the liquid into a small glass jar and seal tightly.  This can be stored in the fridge up to a week.

Chickpea Sweet Corn Veggie Power Patty

When it comes to serving a veggie patty chez moi, I have to dress it up for my husband.  He's been raised a true carnivore and he's ambivalent towards words like "veggie patty".  It's not that he doesn't like his veggies, he does; he just doesn't need them to be meat replacements.  So no interpretations needed for a burger at ours.  I just serve him the whole veggie plate experience.  There's sustenance to these power patties and they go great on a salad and keep you nourished for hours.  

Veggie patties are wonderful since you can mix any veggies you want in it along with any spices, beans, grains, or tofu, and usually some breadcrumbs and nuts.  I played around and grounded whole oats to use as my binder.  This replaced the breadcrumbs.  This recipe is just one of many that you can conjure up in your own magic mixing bowl. 

Chickpea Sweet Corn Carrot Veggie Patty

BAKE TIME

Total bake time is 20 minutes at 200° C (390° F). 
10 minutes per side.

INGREDIENTS//yields 12 medium size patties or 16 small patties

• 3 cups chickpeas (2 x 400 gram tinned chickpeas)
• 2 teaspoon cumin
• 2 teaspoon paprika
• 3 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 2 cups sweet corn (15 oz tin or 425 ml tin)
• 1 carrot, grated (optional)
• 50 grams of almonds, finely chopped
• 1/2 bunch of fresh flat parsley, finely chopped
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 100 grams of roasted kasha (buckwheat) groats, blended into crumbs
• 50 grams whole oats, blended into flour
• 200 grams feta cheese (optional)
• Salt (adjust according to taste)

PREPARATION

Blend your whole oats and almonds separately and put it in aside.
In a food processor, finely chop your parsley and shallot.  Lay it aside in small bowl.

INSTRUCTIONS

In a small size pan, heat up some cooking oil, and cook the grated carrots until softened.  Then set it aside to cool.

In a large mixing bowl add the chickpeas and mash by hand using a masher making sure no whole pieces are left.  Mash until soft but with some coarse texture left in it.

Mix in your spices: cumin, paprika, chili powder, garlic.

Add the sweet corn and the cooled cooked carrots.  Combine together.

Add the blended oats.

Crumble the feta cheese and add it into the mix (optional).

Stir in the almonds, shallots, and the parsley.

Add salt according to taste.

Scoop the mixture with wet hands to form your patties.

Using a basting brush, slightly brush the sides of the patty with olive oil.

Pre-heat your oven and line your baking tray with parchment paper.

Coat your patty lightly in the blended roasted kasha and place on the baking tray.

Put it in the oven and bake at 200°C for 20 minutes.

NOTE

I did have some dried herb called ache de montagne on hand so I crumpled some up for seasoning.  It happened to be one of those seasonal herbs added into an organic basket from the local farmers.  I did some research and it's called lovage in English.  It has an unsubtle taste, much like celery. 

 

Tzaziki

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 English cucumber (long green ones), deseeded and grated (preferably organic so you can keep the skin on)
• 150 grams of Greek yogurt
• 1/4 clove garlic, crushed and minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 tablesoon lemon juice
•  1 tablespoon chives, diced
•  Salt (according to taste)

INSTRUCTIONS

If you are using an organic cucumber there is no need to peel it.  However, with a conventional cucumber I usually peel the skin off.  Halve the cucumber lengthwise.  Take a teaspoon and scrape out the seeds. 

Grate the cucumber using the large hole of a box grater.

Salt the deseeded and grated cucumber and let sit for 15 minutes so that the water comes out of it. 

Mix the garlic, olive oil and lemon juice into the yogurt.  Stir well. 

Squeeze the excess water out of the cucumbers using your hand or a cheesecloth and then add the cucumbers into the yogurt mix.

Add the chives and salt to taste.
 

Tarte aux Épinards

This is one of my first, self-impressed French dishes I have ever made.  I learned it from ma belle-mère—yep, my mother-in-law— that's how we address our mother-in-laws in France.  It can be so ironic for many, but I got lucky; I truly do have a belle-mère. 

The kids call her "Mamie Jacotte", an affectionate term rather than the literal translation, "grand-mère";  Jacotte is shortened from Jacqueline.  She's not only a fantastic belle-mère and grand-mère, but a wonderful cook.  I have picked up many of her tips and recipes in cooking and this is just one of many. 

Ma belle-mère makes simple and intricate dishes.  I usually opt for the former recipes.

Tarte aux Épinards

• 1 puff pastry
• 500 grams spinach, frozen or 700 grams of spinach, fresh
• 1 clove garlic, minced and sauté
• 4 eggs
• 4 heaping tablespoons crème fraîche
• 100 grams of emmental cheese
• a pinch of nutmeg
• Salt and pepper according to taste

INSTRUCTIONS//serves 4-6

Take your tart or quiche pan (around 10 inches in diameter, 1-1/2 to 2 inches deep or 25 cm in diameter, 4 cm deep) and roll out the puff pastry and place it into the pan.  Press the pastry into the sides of the pan. 

Use a fork to poke some holes into the bottom of the puff pastry to release any trapped air and to keep it from puffing up when baking. 

Once your oven is pre-heated at 190° C (375°F), place it in the oven to bake for around 10 minutes or until the puff pastry changes color to a golden brown.   This step is called blind baking; It partially cooks the pastry dough to prevent a soggy crust.  Check often during the duration of this time so that if you catch your pastry puffing up, just slide it out of the oven, take a fork to poke more holes and press the pastry back down into place, and place back into the oven.  Some people use ceramic beans or dried beans to keep the pastry from puffing up. 

Take it out of the oven and place the spinach filling inside.

Spinach Filling:

If you are using frozen spinach, cook it down on low heat until it thaws.  Drain out the excess liquid.  If you are using fresh spinach, begin with the the next step.

Sauté your garlic in a pan with a half tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. 

Then add your spinach and toss it around with the garlic.  Sauté for a couple of minutes and add some salt.  With fresh spinach, sauté and then cover the pan with a lid to let cook for 5-10 minutes or until wilted.  It should be a nice, saturated green.  With a pair of tongs, take out the cooked spinach and place it in a bowl and leave it aside to cool down.  Push down with the pair of tongs or a fork to get rid of excess liquid.

In a medium size mixing bowl, beat in 4 whole eggs.

Add your heaping dallops of crème fraîche and mix.

Stir in the emmental cheese.

Then a pinch of nutmeg, some salt and pepper according to taste.

Mix the spinach in with the egg, crème fraîche, cheese batter.  Stir until the spinach is evenly mixed in.

Pour this mixture into your blind baked puff pastry and place it in the oven for 40-45 minutes at 190° C (375° F).
 

NOTE

I have used both fresh and frozen spinach for this recipe.  It just depends on what I have in my fridge.  In France, I buy the frozen spinanch with their stems (épinards en branche).  If I use fresh spinach I trim the thicker part of the stems and keep an inch or two below the leaf.  You can also use 125 grams of yogurt to replace the crème fraîche. 

Les Chouquettes

Les chouquettes

I came home from the playground one day and put this on my list of things to make. I was intrigued and inspired by an acquaintance deemed a Papa Poule—an attentive, protective, and doting father— who had his child's doll and scooter in one hand, and a bag of his fresh, homemade chouquettes in the other.

I gathered my ingredients and was hit with an obstacle: I couldn't find sucre en grains or sucre perlé in any of the supermarkets nearby.  Obsessed as I can become, I ran to every grocery store and bakery in the area in search of these sugary, white pearls.  Returning home, ruffled by defeat, and saving this battle for another day in another arrondisement, I recounted my story in quest for these sugary, white pearls to Denis and Sandrine, our building's concierge and my neighbor.  Denis also happens to be a wonderful, certified baker and he gave me a few tips on how to make the chouquettes. He said he would pop by to check on how it was all coming along once I had found all my ingredients.  

Hours later, there was a knock on my door.  I swung the door wide open to find a bag of the sugary, white pearls dangling in front of me with Sandrine behind it.  Elle est trop chou!—She is such a darling!  She happened to be in the 2e and passed by G. Detou, the well-known bakery and cooking ingredients store, and picked me up a kilo of sucre perlé. 

Feeling like I just won the lottery, I ran down to tell Denis that I had a kilo of my sugary, white pearls.  Denis brought over his baker's toolbox, got right in the kitchen, and showed me how it's done.  Il est chou!—He's a darling!

Water, butter, and salt

Take the pot off the heat, add your flour, and with a spatula, vigorously beat it in until you get a dough paste balling up.

Mix one egg in at a time

Fill piping bag and squeeze silver dollar size dough drops.

Shake off the excess pearl sugar.

190° Celcius for 20 minutes

Melt it down

Place the pot back on the heat and keep stirring until the paste of ball unsticks to the sides of the pot.  Shake the pot around so that the ball of dough paste rolls around in the pot unsticking itself from the sides of the pot.

Achieve a glossy dough paste

Pour on the pearl sugar and shake the baking try up and over bringing it down the row.

Ready for the oven.

Et voilà...golden chouquettes.  Lightly crispy on the outside.  Airy and moist on the inside.

Denis' Homemade Chouquettes

INGREDIENTS//Yields 80

•  500 ml of water
•  200 grams butter, unsalted
•  4 grams salt
•  300 grams flour (T45)
•  500 grams egg
•  300 grams pearl sugar (a.k.a. hail sugar and nib sugar)

INSTRUCTIONS

In a medium size pot, add your water, butter, and salt.  Bring it to a boil.

Take the pot off the heat, add your flour, and with a spatula, vigorously beat it in until you get a dough paste balling up.

Place the pot back on the heat and keep stirring until the paste of ball unsticks to the sides of the pot.  Shake the pot around so that the ball of dough paste rolls around in the pot unsticking itself from the sides of the pot.

Transfer the dough into a large inox mixing bowl.  Gradually beat in one egg at a time, and keep stirring until you get a glossy consistency.  If you scoop a bit of dough up with your clean finger, the dough should pull and fall back into place.

Pour pearl sugar along the top row of your choux pastry. Shake the tray up and down to toss the pearl sugar around so that it moves its way down to coat the choux pastry.

Denis used a 15mm tip for the pastry/piping bag.  Fill it half way with the dough, and squeeze out small rounds on a baking tray lined with parchment paper leaving an inch apart between them. 

Bake in oven at 190° Celcius (approx. 375° F) for twenty minutes.

NOTE

Using a piping bag looks easier than it is.  I kept getting pointy tips on the top of my choux/puff pastry.  Denis told me it was because I was lifting the piping bag after squeezing out the dough too quickly.  To get the choux/puff pastry nice and round at the top: squeeze out the dough, keep the tip in the dough, make an escargot figure, and then sweep off to the side.  This should give your choux a nice and rounded top.

I also ran across this article on French wheat flour explaining flour types.  I used T45 for this recipe which is regarded as a pastry flour.

Gluten-Free Oatmeal Cookies

Fortunately, I don't have celiac disease, and I am not gluten intolerant, or anything of that sort; but I do like to experiment with different kinds of nutritional therapy and ingredients.  I choose a varied and moderate regimen when it comes to food, and since it seems impossible for my family to avoid glutttonous, glutinous treats, on occasion I try to make snack time gluten-free and homemade.  Le goûter in France takes place right around 4:30 p.m., when pre-school and primary school lets out, a.k.a. snack time and the witching hour—we all know what a pack of hungry wolves look like.   Usually you'll see the parents waiting around for their kids with a pack of biscuits, a fresh pain au chocolat straight from the bakery, or other viennoiserie in hand.   Traditionally, it would be a tartine: a slice of bread topped with confiture and butter or a piece of chocolate.  Oldies are goodies for sure—just the other day I saw a bakery offering mini brioches stuffed with a chocolate bar.  Trust me, I was tempted to reenact a childhood experience I missed out on.  It's on my radar for the next time.

Gluten-Free Oatmeal Cookies

INGREDIENTS//Yields 18

•  3/4 cup gluten-free all purpose flour (my mix: 1/2 cup rice & millet flour, 1/4 cup oat flour)
•  1 teaspoon baking powder
•  1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
•  1/2 teaspoon salt
•  1/2 cup packed brown sugar (2/3 cup if you prefer sweeter)
•  113 grams butter, softened (1/2 cup or 1 stick)
•  1 egg
•  1 1/2 cups oats
•  1/3 cup raisins (optional)
•  1/2 cup nuts, roughly chopped (optional- hazelnuts, walnuts, macadamia nuts)

INSTRUCTIONS

In a medium size mixing bowl combine the first six ingredients.

Add the softened butter and combine it with the ingredients.

Stir in the egg and mix until creamy.

Gradually stir in your oats: alternate between your oats, raisins, and nuts.

Pre-heat over to 190° Celcius (375° F).

Roll your dough into two inch balls.  Place it on your baking sheet leaving about two to three inches apart.

Bake for 8 minutes or until the edges have turned golden brown. 

Let it cool a little before removing from baking sheet.   Then let it cool down completely.

NOTE

Do not overbake your cookies otherwise they will be crunchy.  These cookies come out thin.  The dough spreads out in the oven.  Mine turn out crispy along the edges, sticky and chewy throughout the cookie. 

Spring Watercress Soup

Welcome spring, oh how I've been waiting for you to arrive.  I'm craving spring greens like watercress but somehow the salad route is not the way I want to go.  It's still pretty gray and cold these days in Paris so I think a warm detox soup is in order.  Watercress is apparently a powerhouse veggie, high in many nutirents especially vitamin K and vitamin A—good for the bones and the eyes, and a versatile vegetable that can be steamed, eaten raw as a salad, and liquidized into soup.

Watercress Soup (Soupe au Cresson)
 

INGREDIENTS//Serves 6

• 40 grams butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 4 potatoes (small to medium), rough chop
• 1.5 litres of vegetable stock
• 2 bunches watercress, rough chop


INSTRUCTIONS

In a large saucepan, heat up your butter and then toss in the onion, shallot, and garlic.  Sauté for about a minute or two.

Add the potatoes and sauté them all together until translucent.

Add 1.5 liters of vegetable broth to the ingredients, cover, and bring it to a boil.  Then lower the heat and simmer until the potatoes are soft.

Rinse the watercress clean.  Tear off about a half inch of the ends and rough chop the rest.

Add the watercress.  Cook for a few minutes or until the watercress has wilted.

Allow the soup to cool.  Using a hand blender, mix until smooth. 

Rewarm over low heat before serving.  Serve with a drizzle of olive oil or a dallop of crème fraîche with some toasted pine nuts.

NOTE

I never ate so much butter until I arrived in France.  It's just superior to the American one.  Simple as that.  No competition.  I use butter to sauté my alliums and potatoes in this recipe but you can choose your oil of preference.

 

Céleri Rave Crab Salad

Céleri Rave, Celery Root, Celeriac

There's a great quote by Diana Vreeland,  something along the lines about "accentuating a model's flaws".   There is superficial beauty but then there is all that other beauty:  that one offbeat mole, a freckle-filled face, scars, and lines between your eyebrows, on top of your forehead, and around the eyes from lifetime narratives.  

I guess that's what happened when I saw the celeriac—even its name sounds ill-favored (but not ill-flavored)—with all its warty exterior and bumpy bulges, it piqued my interest enough to wonder what was inside of it and what it tasted like. 

The celeriac is a root vegetable and is commonly served in France as a céleri rémoulade— sounds fancy, n'est-ce pas?  It's basically grated celery root mixed in with lemon juice to keep its color white, and mixed in with some mayonnaise.   The taste of it brought back memories of the Waldorf salad that I actually ate at the Waldorf Astoria back in the day.   Maybe the fancy name?  More likely, the celery based taste.  So I had to toss in the apple, the crab meat and the walnuts, making it a slight upgrade to the basic céleri rémoulade.  If you like the Waldorf salad, you'll enjoy this one.

Céleri Rave Crab Salad

INGREDIENTS//Serves 4-6

• 500 grams of céleri rave, grated
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 2 carrots, grated
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger, fresh and grated
• 2/3 cup homemade mayonnaise or store bought mayo
• 170 grams crab meat, shredded (6 ounce tin), or 1/2 cup
• 1 red apple or granny smith depending on your taste, grated
• 70 grams walnuts, crushed
• 1 bunch dill
• 1 scallion


INSTRUCTIONS

Peel and rinse your céleri rave.

Cut into large chunks and grate your céleri rave using the large hole side of a grater box.

In a mixing bowl with the céleri rave, add the lemon juice.

Grate your carrots with the large hole side of a grater box.

Combine with the celery root, and add paprika and fresh ginger.

Mix in the mayonnaise.

Grate your apple with the large hole of the grater box, and add it to the combined ingredients.

Chop up your scallions and dill, crush your walnuts, and add them to the salad.  Stir in well and and then season with salt and pepper according to taste.

 

Homemade Mayo

INGREDIENTS//Yields 2/3 cup

• 1 egg, yellow
• 1 heaping teaspoon of Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup of oil, neutral
• 2 tablespoons vinegar, apple cider or white wine vinegar
• Pinch of salt and pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

In a small mixing bowl, add your egg yellow and whisk.  

Then whisk in the mustard.

When a creamy texture starts to form, gradually add in some oil (up to half) and continue to whisk at the same time.  The mayo will start to thicken.

When half the oil is used, add in a tablespoon of the vinegar and continue to whisk together.  The mayo will loosen up.

Then gradually add in the remaining oil, whisking, and finishing off the second tablespoon of vinegar, whisking it continuosly.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

NOTE

Since the homemade mayo is so easy to make, I haven't bothered trying the store bought mayo for this recipe. 

 

Velouté de Panais

I love being reintroduced to a vegetable.  I must admit, I put parsnip on the back burner for a while.  I just got tired of roasting them or mixing them up with potatoes that I just plain 'ole forgot about 'em—out of sight, out of mind.   Most recently, I came across this delicious soup and I had to share because it's so simple to make and it's simply nutritious.  Via Brussels,  this recipe has landed on the right table.  Remember Lady Jo from the ginger biscuit recipe?  Well, this one is from another Jo (-hanna) and it's all in the family.

Velouté de Panais (Parsnip Soup)

INGREDIENTS//Serves 4

• 2 large parsnips or 4 medium size parsnips, chopped
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 litre vegetable stock ( 1 vegetable stock cube)

INSTRUCTIONS

Wash and peel your parnsips. 

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat and cook the onions for a couple of minutes before tossing in the parsnips.  The onions should be translucent and the parsnips should turn golden brown.

Add a litre of water to the parnsip and onion mix and add a vegetable stock cube.

Bring it to a boil over medium heat and then lower heat to simmer until the parsnips are tender.

Let it cool slightly.  With a slotted spoon scoop out the parsnips and the onions, and put it in the blender adding half the vegetable broth.  Purée until smooth and keep adding some vegetable broth that's left over and blend together until you get the soup consistency that you like.  The more broth you add, the thinner your soup will be.
 

NOTE

I was wondering what the soup would taste like without adding a vegetable stock cube.  So in my second batch of soup I omitted it.  The flavor of the parsnip is robust, sweet like a carrot but with a consistency of butternut squash.  It's like drinking a warm sweet nectar—too sweet for me.  The vegetable stock brought out the savoriness of the soup which was the perfect balance.
 

Spinach Wonton Ravioli

Viktor, my six year old son, and I filled and folded 35 spinach wonton raviolis.  He's quite the meticulous one; thus, the model perfect raviolis.  It was a cold and gray afternoon, and we were cozy at home busy adding more raviolis to our lot and looking forward to dinner.

It snowed while Viktor and I were setting up to photograph these wonton raviolis.  We were so engrossed with how to steady the reflector while he would be assisting in the "snowfall scene" of the Parmigiano Reggiano that we didn't even notice the real snowfall scene happening right outside.  It was already late in the afternoon and we were racing against the light of day.   He was busy grating away at the cheese and I was looking through the view finder trying to capture the moment.  Through the view finder all I could see were these white, fluffy flakes of cheese falling upon the wonton raviolis and thinking to myself, this looks like a beautiful snow flurry scene and how nice it would be if it happened just once before spring comes upon us. 

Interrupted by a phone call from "Papa" asking if it was snowing by us because we get all kinds of different weather in different parts of this city at the same time—lo and behold, large, fluffy snowflakes tumbling down right under our nose, and not the Parmigiano Reggiano ones, but the real ones!  We dropped everything, and ran to get our boots, coats, mittens, bonnets and scraves—the whole bundle—so that we could play under the snowfall.

Spinach Wonton Ravioli

INGREDIENTS//yields 35 raviolis

• 500 grams spinach, fresh (cooks down to approx. 250 grams)
• 250 grams ricotta cheese
• 3 heaping tablespoons Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
• 1 egg, divided (yellow and white)
• Pinch of nutmeg
• Salt and pepper, according to taste
• 1 pack wonton wrappers

INSTRUCTIONS

Take a large pot and fill it with roughly 3 inches of water.   Bring the water to a boil.  Add your fresh spinach and some salt and close the cover to steam your spinach.   It should take about 5 minutes.  Once it is a saturated, dark and wilty green, take it off the stove and let it cool on the side.

Place your egg yellow, ricotta cheese, Parmigiano Reggiano, nutmeg, salt and pepper in a medium size mixing bowl.  Mix by hand.

Take your cooled down spinach and squeeze out as much excess water possible.   Place it on a cutting board and chop finely.

Add the spinach to the mixing bowl with the rest of the ingredients and mix it together.

You can also transfer the spinach to a food processor and process with the rest of the ingredients until smooth if you don't want to mix by hand.

Lay out your wonton wrapper and place 1/2 tablespoon of the spinach filling in the center of the wrapper.

Brush some egg white along the edges of the wonton wrapper and take one corner of the wrapper and fold over to meet the other corner.  Gently press down from the center towards the edges to press out any air and to seal the wonton ravioli. 

Dust a baking sheet with some flour and line up your raviolis.

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.   Add some raviolis making sure not to overcrowd them in the pot.  Boil for 3 minutes and take them out with a slotted spoon and transfer them to a plate.

Grate some Parmigiano Reggiano and drizzle some olive oil over the spinach wonton raviolis and serve immediately. 

NOTE

The wonton skins are delicate and they cook quickly.   They will burst if you let them cook too long.
My mother in law gave me a great tip...I freeze a whole untreated lemon so that I have it on hand for use.
I grate a bit of this frozen lemon over my raviolis along with the grated cheese and olive oil for a fresh twist. 
 

Glass Noodle Salad

I recall visting Thai friends on lazy, sweltering afternoons in their homes and finding their extended family members under the influence of indolent heat, sprawled out on timeworn floors of the veranda supported by equally timeworn stilts peacefully resting in the shade.  It made me want to do the same and I was welcome to lay out my sarong and find a spot.  A comfortable position would soon be found; I was happy to have escaped the sun rays, dust billows from back country roads, and scooter vibrations relishing the shade and tranquility until a platter of fresh herbs and vegetables would arrive with some nam phrik, a chili shrimp paste based sauce, to dip into.  Slowly, the family members would wake; sounds of squeaks and creaks from the wooden planks and shuffling would stir as they gathered around the platter to share this afternoon snack.  As I bit into this fresh, crisp combination of raw herb and vegetable dipped into nam phrik on this hot and lazy, sultry day my senses had been awakened.

While eating my way through Thailand in the early 90's, my palate received an education in appreciation of fresh herbs and raw vegetables.   A habit I picked up is adding fresh herbs (herbs! herbs! herbs!) to almost everything.  I love that it simply livens any plate up with subtlety and adds bursts of flavor to it.   In this glass noodle dish, be very generous with your herbs. 

Glass Noodle Salad

INGREDIENTS//serves 8-10

• 500 grams cellophane noodles (a.k.a vermicelli bean thread, glass, and mung bean noodles)
• 7 whole carrots, raw and julienned
• 250 grams snowpeas, raw and julienned
• 2 celery branches (optional), raw and julienned
• 1-2 bunches of fresh coriander
• Bunch of fresh mint

Dressing

• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• A thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, grated
• A thumb's length of lemongrass (optional), slit lengthwise and bruised slightly
• 2 tablespoons or 50 grams palm sugar or regular sugar
• 1/2 cup sushi vinegar or apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablesoons soy sauce or tamari sauce (gluten-free)
• 1 tablespoon Sriracha
• 4 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 whole lime
• 2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce or Vietnamnese vegetarian fish sauce

INSTRUCTIONS

Bring a big pot of water to boil and then turn it off.  

Soak the noodles in the boiled water for 5-7 minutes.  Drain.  Then run under cool water and drain again.  The noodles will look white and translucent.  Transfer it to a large mixing bowl.

Add some sesame oil to the noodles to keep them from sticking. 

Using a pair of kitchen shears, cut through the noodles to shorten their length.  Leave on the side and begin to prepare the vegetables. 

Combine all your prepared raw vegetables in a medium mixing bowl and set it aside.

Rinse and dry your coriander and mint.  Tear the coriander leaves and the mint leaves off their stems or simply use your kitchen shears and trim the herbs into a bowl. 

Combine your noodles and vegetables.  Add the dressing. 

Toss together, add the herbs, and toss again.

This is a great dish to prepare in advance.  I find the longer the noodles and vegetables sit in the dressing, the more flavor it soaks up.

DRESSING

In a measuring cup add the shallot, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, and palm sugar. 

Pour in the sushi vinegar, add the tamari (or soy sauce), the Sriracha, sesame oil and the juice of the whole limes.   Stir until all the ingredients are mixed in together.  (If you don't mind bits and pieces of the shallot, garlic and ginger—this is the way I do it by hand.  Otherwise, throw everything into a blender although you will have pulp from the ginger so you'll have to pass it through a strainer).

If you use lemongrass, let the dressing stand (the longer the better—for at least an hour) until the flavor of the lemongrass infuses into the dressing.  Then discard the lemongrass and mix the dressing in with the noodles in the mixing bowl.  Add the vegetables and herbs and toss until everything is coated with the dressing.

NOTE

You can switch your vegetables up between carrots, beansprouts, snow peas, celery and whatever other vegetable you imagine to go along with it.  My favorite combo is with carrots and snowpeas.  You can also top it off with some tofu, shrimp or morsels of chicken.
 

Homemade Scones. An Afternoon with an Englishman...

John's Scones

I had the pleasure of being invited over for afternoon tea at a true Englishman's home.  Since I knew what was in the making, I asked John if I could come over earlier to photograph behind the scenes. 

Curdled Milk. To curdle milk, add lemon juice and the vanilla extract to the milk. Mix it together and set it aside to curdle for 15 minutes or longer.

Ingredients.

Sift the flour in a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar, salt, baking powder and rub in the butter. Make a well in the middle of the dough and add the curdled milk, and stir it up with a spatula.

Knead the dough until it is soft and dry, and not sticking to your fingers.

Using a 5 cm round cutter to stamp out rounds from the dough. There should be a "whoosh" sound when you plunge your cutter into the pile of dough.

Using a pastry brush, slightly brush over the scone rounds with the egg wash.
Place them into the oven for 20-30 minutes at 170° C (about 335° F°).

Clotted cream and jam.

Homemade scones

Tea time with scones.

"...And suddenly the memory revealed itself. The taste was that of the little piece of madeleine which on Sunday mornings at Combray (because on those mornings I did not go out before mass), when I went to say good morning to her in her bedroom, my aunt Léonie used to give me, dipping it first in her own cup of tea or tisane. The sight of the little madeleine had recalled nothing to my mind before I tasted it...And all from my cup of tea." — An excerpt from Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust.

We all have those moments, don't we?  For John, it’s hot milk, which evokes memories of cold winter mornings getting ready for school and porridge for breakfast.

I wonder though, the next time when I am invited over by an English person for tea on a rainy afternoon if it will trigger a “scone” moment.

John's Scones

PREPARATION

Curdle your milk first and set aside while preparing the dough.

INGREDIENTS//yields 10

• 400 grams all purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1 sachet baking powder
• 80 grams butter, softened
• 250 grams raisins
• 250 ml (8.4 oz) milk
• 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg

INSTRUCTIONS

To curdle milk,  add lemon juice and the vanilla extract to the milk.   Mix it together and set it aside to curdle for 15 minutes or longer.

Sift the flour in a large mixing bowl.  Add the sugar, salt, baking powder and rub in the butter.   Make a well in the middle of the dough and add the curdled milk, and stir it up with a spatula.

Stir in the raisins.

Gather the dough and place on a floured flat surface.  Knead the dough and keep adding some flour while kneading until you have a soft dry dough that's not sticking to your fingers.

Take a 5 centimeter round cutter and stamp out rounds from the dough.  There should be a "whoosh" sound when you plunge your cutter into the pile of dough.  

Place it on a baking sheet.  Continue to knead together the rest of the dough stamping out the rest of the dough in rounds.

In a small bowl,  crack an egg and whisk it for your egg wash. 

Using a pastry brush, slightly brush over the scone rounds with the egg wash.

Place them into the oven for 20-30 minutes at 170° C (about 335° F°).

Check to see if they have risen and if they are golden brown before taking them out.

Place it aside to cool.

Serve with clotted cream and a little jam.

Scenes from Chinese New Year...bring on the Prosperity Toss Salad.

I have my own version of the Joy Luck Club going on in Paris.  The scenes are centered around food and drinks rather than playing mahjong, and we have a cast of Parisian born kids in place of ABC's—American born Chinese .  We sure do eat, drink, clink, and talk a lot.   Ali is a member of the "club" and she is the hostess with the mostess.  We rang in the new year with a traditional Singaporean dish, the Prosperity Toss Salad.  That's where her orgins lie, though she's a SoCal girl at heart.  We've created our own tradition for celebrating CNY which is a hodgepodge of favorite dishes made by each one of us.  Suddenly we have a long table abound with food from various cultural influences.   For starters of course, we had to start off with some oysters.  It's difficult to escape France's fresh shucked wintery oysters.

Prepping for the Prosperity Toss Salad, YúShēng (魚生)

The Singaporean Prosperity Toss Salad or YúShēng (魚生)  is made up of several ingredients with meaning.  As a tradition, certain foods had to be served as they were symbolic based upon pronunciation or appearance of these foods.  Yú Shēng is literally translated as "raw fish".  The chinese character for fish (魚), pronounced yú sounds the same for the Chinese word "abundance" (餘), and shēng (生) which means raw and life also sounds the same as the character meaning to rise (升).  This all equates to wishing one abundance, vigour, prosperity, and long life.

Prosperity Toss Salad, YúShēng (魚生). 

Everyone gathers together to toss, toss, toss...the higher you toss, the more fortunate you may be.

Shout out "lo hei, lo hei" while tossing.  May your luck and fortune keep rising.

Then stuff yourself silly with everything else around you...

Laksa on the Stove

A Bowl of Laksa

Jiao Zi

Pomelo Salad

Sapodilla Fruit

Litchis, Mangoes, and Starfruit

Growing up, we used to get pulled out of school for the day to celebrate Chinese New Year.   Lion dances, dragon dances, banging drums, clanging cymbals, crashing gongs, and firecrackers at the feet, hanging above or behind you filled the streets.  My sister and I would giggle watching the crowd of people milling about in Chinatown trying to catch a glimpse of all this with hands to their ears whilst jerking suddenly as a firecracker has just gone off in front of their next step.   This was way more exciting than sitting in the classroom for the day.  Everything on this day is colorful, exciting, and lively.  Happy to hear that it is an official holiday in NYC as of this year! 

Wishing you all a very happy and healthy Chinese New Year of the Monkey!

Ali's Prosperity Toss Salad

INGREDIENTS//serves 6

• 300 grams salmon, sushi grade raw
•  1/2 pomelo, peeled and seperated into small segments
• 2 cups carrot, julienned
• 2 cups white radish, julienned
• 2 cups cucumber, julienned
• 1 cup jelly fish (optional—for the squeamish ones)
• 2 stalks spring onions, chopped
• 5 wonton wrap skins, deep fried
• 3 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 3 tablespoons roasted peanuts, crushed

Sauce

•  6 tablespoons Chinese plum sauce
•  2 tablespoons sesame oil
•  1 lime, juiced
•  3-4 tablespoons hot water

INSTRUCTIONS

Peel and julienne all your vegetables with a mandoline or a julienne peeler: carrots, white radish, cucumbers.
Arrange them on a large platter next to another.

Slice the salmon into thin slices and arrange them on the platter wtih the vegetables.

Chop your spring onions and sprinkle over the ingredients on the platter.

Prepare your crispy wonton peels.   Cut your wonton wrap skins in 1/4 inch strips.  

In a pan, heat enough oil to cover the wonton strips.   Once hot, add the wonton strips in and fry until golden brown and crispy. 

As you take them out of the pan, place them on a paper towel so that the excess oil is absorbed.  Once it's cooled down, add it to the salad.

Prepare your sauce by mixing all the ingredients together.  Add water tablespoon by tablespoon to dilute the sauce and mix well so that it spreads easily over the salad.

Once the salad is assembled, gather everyone around it with a pair of chopsticks.

Sprinkle the crushed peanuts and the sesame seeds over the salad, finally pouring the sauce all over the top of the salad.

Everyone digs in and tosses.  Don't forget to shout out "lo hei, lo hei"!

La Chandeleur...the day we must eat crêpe.

February 2 marks the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox making it a cross quarter day and known as La Chandeleur in France.  Basically, it's crêpe day in France based on traditions and superstitions.   Stemming from both pagan and religious origins, the color and shape of the crêpe symbolizes the sun as days become longer and warmer; while winter wheat is being sowed, leftover flour from the previous harvest is used to make these crêpes in hopes of prosperity for the following harvest.   The Christian orgins involve Jesus so I won't get into further detail, just that He is the "light of the world", hence Festival of the Lights (La Chandeleur).

I think every French person has earned their rite of passage in crêpe making and they'll be more than happy to tell you what's wrong with yours.  You can never pin them down to exact measurements.  They just know.  I usually have to show my batter to a French friend to make sure I've got the consistency down pat.  That's just one hurdle because forming those perfectly round crêpes is another.   Then there is the decision making for the filling and the fine art of folding.  

Finally with a stack of crêpes in front of us and a choice of fillings:  jams, fresh sliced fruit, whipped cream, chocolate sauce, salted caramel sauce, lemon halves, granulated sugar, and a bit of Grand Marnier (my husband's preference).   My daughter and son, who have eight and six years on me in crêpe tasting, give me articulated critiques after each crêpe we have personally created and devoured together.

Basic Handmade Crêpe

INGREDIENTS//yields 15

• 300 grams all-purpose flour
• Pinch of salt
• 4 eggs
• 600 ml milk
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sunflower, vegetable, or olive oil or (30 grams unsalted butter)

INSTRUCTIONS

In a large mixing bowl make a well in the center of the flour.  Add a pinch of salt.

Add one egg at a time into the well of flour.  Whisking each egg in with some flour each time as to avoid clumps.

Gradually add in the milk, stirring to combine.

Add the oil and continue to stir until it's well integrated.  The texture of your batter should be smooth and the consistency should be thin but not too thin (think Half and Half).

Let your batter rest for 30 minutes or longer.

Lightly coat your crêpe pan or a non-stick pan (I used a 9 1/2 inch or 25 cm pan) with some oil.

Holding the pan with one hand and using a ladle with the other, spoon out some batter and pour the batter into the pan while swirling your wrist so that the batter spreads and covers the surface of the whole pan.  Slighty brown both sides by flipping the crêpe ounce it turns a soft yellow color with golden speckles or simply use a spatula to turn it over.

NOTE

Depending how large your ladle is you will have to figure out the right amount of batter just enough to thinly spread and cover the surface of your pan.  I filled half my ladle for the size of my pan.

Hijiki Tofu Patty

Reminiscing my Dojo days in NYC...

Back in the 80's and early 90's, vegetarian restaurants were few and far between to be found in New York.  As far as I could recollect there was Dojo which was a vegetarian friendly restaurant, Angelica's Kitchen, a vegetarian restaurant and Souen, a macrobiotic restaurant.   I ate at these places so often when I was a student at NYU that it has pretty much shaped the way I eat regularly.  I love all things tofu, sea vegetables, rice, beans, and veggies.  Give me a hijiki tofu burger from Dojo's or a dragon bowl from Angelica's anyday.

Since Dojo's hijiki tofu burger and their carrot ginger dressing recipe are top secret,  I can only do a rendition of it— but it's oooh, so good!  This is one of my fave comfort foods and it runs in the family. 

Serve it along with some brown rice, fresh raw veggies, topped off with Dojo style carrot ginger dressing. 

DRIED HIJIKI

The yin and the yang of food...

Growing up my mum always told me "oh, you're too yin",  meaning that my body was deficient in qi or vital energy.  I always had cold hands and feet no matter how hot and humid it was on a summer day which is a symptom of yin.  I even wore socks under my duvet covers.   She would place bowls of tonic soups in front of me urging me to eat.  Soups such as yam and ginger slices, and Chinese herbal chicken soup comprising of korean ginseng, red dates (jujubes or hong zao), astragalus root (huang qi), codonopsis root (dang shen), and Chinese yam (huai shan) . Then there were the tea concoctions such as astragalus, red dates, and goji berries.   These replenishing soups and teas were to increase my yang in order to restore the balance in my body.  If I had chapped lips, I was suddenly told "oh, you're too yang", and that was quickly followed up with more soups and teas such as the green bean soup (mung beans or lu duo) with rock sugar and the chrysanthemum tea to increase my yin.

The relative levels of yin and yang in our bodies are continuously changing and they need to coexist harmoniously.  Most of us are naturally more yin or yang.   When out of balance symptoms can be observed like those cold feet and chapped lips of mine.

Hijiki is one of hundreds of seaweed types that can be classified as a brown seaweed and is considered yang.  Seaweeds break down into three broad basic categories: red algae, green algae and brown algae.  You can buy dried hijiki at any of the Japanese or Korean food stores on or near rue St Anne in the 1er or 2e arrondisement of Paris.  It is first soaked in water and then drained to use in cooking with other ingredients.

Hijiki Tofu Patty

PREPARATION

Soak hijiki in 2 cups of water for 30 minutes.
Press and drain tofu for 20-30 minutes.

INGREDIENTS//yields 8-10 patties or 4 burger-size patties

• 5 grams dried hijiki seaweed
• 12 ounces firm tofu
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon ginger, fresh and finely grated
• 1 medium carrot, grated
• pinch of ground white pepper
• 1 tablespoon white miso
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon tamari sauce
• 2 scallions (white and light green parts finely chopped)
• 2 teaspoons sesame seeds, toasted

INSTRUCTIONS

Soak dried hijiki in warm water for 30 minutes, rinse and then drain.  Set it aside.

To rinse and drain liquid from the tofu.  Cut through tofu in 1/2 inch slices and press between heavy cutting boards to drain any excess water for about 30 minutes or simply use a cheese cloth to squeeze out the excess water.  The tofu will be crumbled anyway.

Sauté the carrots, garlic, and ginger in a tablespoon of vegetable oil until the carrots are limp.  Add a pinch of white pepper.  In a bowl, add the miso and crumble the tofu.  Use your hands to mix the crumbled tofu and the miso paste together. 

Stir in the cooked carrots and the hijiki.  Then add the tamari sauce, sesame oil, scallions, and sesame seeds. 
Mix it all together.

Form the mixture into round patties and place them on a baking sheet.  Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes at 175° C (350° F).

Carrot Ginger Dressing
 

INGREDIENTS//yields 1.5 cup dressing

• 3 large carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 large shallot, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 thumbs length fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon sweet white miso
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons roasted sesame seed oil
• 1/4 cup grapeseed oil, olive oil, or vegetable oil
•  4 tablespoons water

INSTRUCTIONS

In a blender or food processor add the carrots, shallot, and ginger and pulse until finely chopped.

Scrape down the sides with a spatula.  Add the miso, vinegar and sesame seed oil and blend together.

Add some water and slowly drizzle in the oil. 


NOTE 

I also like to add zucchini to the hijiki tofu patty mix.  You can simply add a half zucchini (grated) in with the carrot and sauté together.   Then follow the rest of the directions.  As I've said before any extra veggies I can sneak into a recipe makes me feel good, especially when I watch my kids gobble it up!

Pâté aux Pommes de Terre

There was an interesting article in the NY Times a few months back.  It was about families in the city and in Brooklyn forming tight-knit communities who live in the same building or in the same neighborhood.  They were willing to sacrifice space and to stay put in their close-fitting apartments to forge their children's close relationships with their neighbor's children.  It then turns into a nice network between the parents where they can rest worry free knowing that their child is just next door, upstairs or downstairs.   Inevitably, gatherings and dinners are hosted between them deepening their relationships, and eventually leading to kid sleepovers and babysitting swaps.  

This story hit home.  I live in a 14-story building and I keep an open door policy the minute the kids get home.   They are usually rotating between our home and their neighborly friends' homes.  Instead of running through backyards, my kids are runnng down the hall or up and down between floors of our building.  They love this liberty of being able to run between their friends' apartments on their own.  I love it too since I know there is always a surrogate parent around to keep an eye out for them, one of whom is my neighbor Natalie.  

Nat is originally an Auvergnate (someone from Auvergne, located in the middle of France).  Just a tidbit of history, she comes from the ancient provinces of Bourbonnais (where the long string of Kings in France were sired) which now comprises territory in the department of Alliers, and some in the department of Puy-de-Dômes and Cher.  Alliers and Puy-de-Dômes make up part of the Auvergne region.   Fast forward—Nat has a daughter who is in the same class as my daughter.  Needless to say, our daughters spend a lot of time together which in turn means we moms usually find each other around wine o'clock for a quick catch up and to pick up or drop off the kids.  It was during one of these times that I found myself in her apartment, glass of red in hand, learning how to put this charmingly simple pâté aux pommes de terre together.   A speciality dish from Bourbonnais—her personal tip to me was "lay that butter on"!

Pâté aux Pommes de Terre

INGREDIENTS//serves 6

• 1 medium size onion
• 4-5 medium size potatoes
• 2 pâtes brisée (tart pastry)
• Bunch of fresh flat parslely
• 50 grams unsalted butter
• 20 cl crème fraîche
• Salt and pepper according to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Slice your onions thinly and put it aside.

Peel your potatoes.  Using a mandoline or a sharp knife slice the potatoes into slivers.  Salt them slightly and put them aside.

Take your tart or quiche pan (around 10 inches in diameter, 1-1/2 to 2 inches deep or 25 cm in diameter, 4 cm deep) and roll out one tart pastry and place it into the pan.  Press the pastry into the sides of the pan. 

Use a fork to poke some holes into the bottom of the tart pastry and place in the oven to bake for 3-5 minutes so that it's slighty baked.  Take it out of the oven and then begin layering your ingredients.

Getting back to your potatoes, wipe off the excess moisture and place a layer of potatoes covering the entire tart pastry.  Follow up with a layer of sliced onions, then snip (I love to use scissors in the kitchen) some parsley leaves all over.  Add slivers of unsalted butter all around.  Repeat the layering until you have used all your ingredients.

Roll out your second tart pastry and place it over the layered potato tart.  Fit the top into the tart.  You'll need to press down gently along the top edge of the tart pastry to even out the crust edges with the underlying tart.  Then press along the sides to seal the pastry together.

Take a paring knife and with the sharp tip cut out a one inch circle in the middle of the tart pastry.

Place it in the oven at 190° C (375° F) for 45 minutes.

The tart pastry should be golden brown.  Take it out of the oven. 

Keep your oven mittens on.  Hold onto the pan and use the paring knife with your other hand to cut along the interior seam of the potato tart.

Take a large size spatula and slip it under the top tart pastry and lift up to place it on a flat surface on the side.

Prepare the crème fraîche.  Add some salt and pepper and stir it up with a fork.  Scoop out the the crème fraîche and spread it all over the open face potato tart.   Finally, cover it with the tart pastry that you lifted off earlier and put it back in the over for 5-10 minutes so that the crème fraîche spreads through the layers.  Then it's ready to be served.  Bon appétit!

Healthy Baked Salmon Panko Crusted Nuggets

Panko is a Japanese breadcrumb.  It is airier, flakier, and crispier than the Western breadcrumbs.  It adds a delicate crunch to whatever you coat it on and seems to make everything taste good.   Pan means bread in Japanese and ko* means child.  I guess we could think of it as offsprings from a bread loaf?   A popular plate in Japan is tonkatsu which is a deep fried pork cutlet that is coated with panko crumbs.  It's usually served along side with shredded white cabbage.  I stopped eating meat a long while ago so I usually use fish, tofu, beans, or nuts as meat replacements.  I loved tonkatsu as a kid.  Because the tonkatsu is fried, I naturally craved the raw cabbage salad on the side to combat all that grease in my stomach.  So if you want to opt for a healthier alternative using the baking method, try this baked salmon panko crusted nugget recipe. 

Bull-Dog tonkatsu sauce is the dressing and dip for the cabbage salad and the tonkatsu.  The sauce has a flavor that consists of apple purée, tomato paste, carrots, prune paste, onions, and apricot purée.  It's basically an interpretation on the Worcestershire sauce suited for Japanese cuisine.  It is sweeter and thicker.   To reconcile my Asian taste buds and fond memories of my times in a tonkatsuya (tonkatsu house)—a place specialized in serving tonkatsu and perhaps other deep fried dishes, I serve this baked panko crusted salmon dish with a side of shredded white cabbage using the Bull-Dog tonkatsu sauce for myself.   Otherwise it's a versatile dish.  It can be a starter, snack, hors d'ouevre or main dish and you can serve it with a tartar sauce dip.

Baked Salmon Panko Crusted Nuggets

INGREDIENTS//yields 18 pieces

• 1 cup (50 grams) panko
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 salmon fillets, deboned (180-200 grams, approx. 6-7 ounces)

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat up a medium size pan over medium heat. 

Pour the panko crumbs into the pan and stir often until it turns golden brown.  Once golden brown, take it off the heat and let it cool.  Mix in your black and white pepper, and salt.

Pre-heat your oven to 200° C (between 390°-400° F)

Take your salmon fillets and cut them into little square pieces about 1/2 - 3/4 inch thick (about 1 1/2 cm).

Place the salmon into the panko crumbs and press down with your palms with enough pressure so that the crumbs stick.  No egg and flour involved here!  The piece of fish will flatten out a bit. 

Place each piece onto a baking tray.  Then place in the oven for 10 minutes unitl golden brown.

Homemade Tartar Sauce

INGREDIENTS//yields 1/2 cup

• 1 tablespoon cornichon, finely chopped (about 10 pieces)
• 1/2 shallot, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon capers, finely chopped (about 10)
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 lemon wedge
•  Salt and pepper (adjust to taste)

INSTRUCTIONS

Finely chop your first three ingredients: cornichon, caper, shallot. 

In a bowl, add the finely chopped ingredients with the mustard. 

Then fold in the mayonnaise. 

Squeeze some lemon.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

NOTE

I bought two salmon fillets that were 180 grams and 200 grams each.  I got 18 nugget pieces out of it.  Depending on how thin or thick you cut your pieces of salmon,  oven time may be shorter or longer.  Just be careful not to overcook your fish—nothing is worse than dried out fish. 

*My Japanese friend Yoshi pointed out to me that "ko" in panko is this Japanese character (粉 ) which means powder.  The "ko" I was referencing is this character (子) which means child.   It all sounds the same but has different meanings.   You think this is considered a homonym in Japanese?!

La Galette des Rois

Go figure, I've had an epiphany to make a King cake on the day of Ephiphany!  In France one can find a galette des rois before the first Sunday in the new year comes around.  Bakeries are cashing in on this lovely, flaky, delectable dessert in anticipation of Epiphany, on January 6th.  I decided to spare some euros this year and make one myself, much motivated by the fact that my then four-year-old son came home with the recipe from his teacher at school.  If she can do it with a class of twenty-four four-year-olds, I can certainly manage one with my two kiddies. 

In the French tradition,  a fève (a bean) is placed in the galette des rois.  Nowadays it's replaced by tiny figurines of some historical, religious representation or some beautiful collectible designy things.  Umm—I think this would be a choking hazard in the U.S.?  Anyhow, the fun bit is that the youngest child in the group you are sharing this galette des rois with goes under the table and shouts out the names of whom the pieces of cake should be distributed to.  The lucky one who gets the fève in their piece of cake is then king for the day and gets to wear the crown and choose his queen.  Otherwise, as my daughter would say— queen for the day and then choosing her king.  

We made our own crowns to go with this king cake but golden crowns (sort of similar to slimmer versions of the Burger King ones but without its logo)  are given along with the cakes that you buy at the bakery and even the ones sold in the supermarket.  Here's a fun fact, apparently the Elysée Palace, the official residence of the President of the French Republic is not served a galette des rois with a fève in it due to rules of etiquette.  I suppose just in case he doesn't draw the king?

La Galette Des Rois

INGREDIENTS//serves 6

• 2 puff pastry
• 100 grams butter, softened
• 100 grams sugar
• 4 large eggs, divided (for egg wash)
• 100 grams of almond flour (ground almond usually made from blanched almonds without skin)

Egg Wash

• 1 egg, yolk
• 1 egg, whole
• 1 tablespoon water

PREPARTION

Cut each puff pastry to 24 cm ( approx. 9.5 inches) in diameter. Keep them refigerated until ready to use. Otherwise it gets soft and sticky and becomes hard to work with.  

BAKE TIME

Total baking time is 1 hour.  Starting off at 180°C (350°F) for 20 minutes, then lowering the temperature to 160°C (320°F) and baking for 20 minutes, and then at 145°C (290°) for the remainder of the time.

INSTRUCTIONS//serves 6

Filling:  Cream the butter and the sugar together with a mixer or by hand using a whisk in a medium inox bowl.  To do so,  mix the butter until it looks whitish in color.  Then add the sugar and mix well, working it into a smooth mass.

Add one whole egg, mix, and add half the almond flour.   Then add the second whole egg.  Continue to mix and add the rest of the almond meal.  Then put it aside until ready to use.

Optional: You can use a pastry bag (piping bag) for your filling using a large round tip.  Put it aside until ready to use.

Egg Wash:  In a small bowl mix one egg yolk and one whole egg together.  Add a tablespoon of water and mix.  Set aside until ready to use.
 

Take out one of the refigerated puff pastry and and lay it out on a silicone baking sheet or parchment paper.   Fill it in with the almond filling either using the pastry bag or just a spoon to spread it out.  If you are using the pastry bag, hold it up horizontally and squeeze out your filling starting in the center moving in a clockwise direction reaching about 2 cm (approx. 1 inch) before the edge.  If you are using a spoon, scoop the filling and spread it evenly around the puff pastry leaving the same 2 cm around the edge.

The French use a fève that is placed in the filling near the border.  For those who are more safety conscious, you can use a piece of dried fruit in place of the fève.

Brush some water along the ring of the filling.  

Take the second refigerated puff pastry out and place it directly over the filled puff pastry you are working with.

Press down, moving around the edge of the filling to seal it. 

Lift up silicone baking sheet or parchment paper with the pastry on it and flip it over upside down to another baking sheet. 

Take the sharp tip of a knife, holding it horizontilly, tap into the edges around the pastry.  This helps to seal the puff pastry together. 

Brush a layer of egg wash over the top and then refigerate for 20 minutes.  Take it out and then give it a second brushing of egg wash.   Then use the tip of a paring knife to carve gently into the puff pastry to decorate.

Poke holes using the paring knife all around the top of the pastry avoiding the center before placing in the oven to bake.  Remember to start off at 180°C and continue to bake down to 145°C as noted above.

Optional: You can glaze your baked cake with maple syrup or chestnut syrup to give it beautiful sheen.

NOTE

This recipe comes from Chef Nicolas Bernardé.  You can watch him making it and maybe practice your French at the same time?  For my egg wash I added some water to thin it out so that the glaze doesn't have too much of an eggy look on top of my cake.  My baking time was only an hour.  He states 1 hour 20 minutes.  I also didn't put the finishing glaze on my baked king cake since I think the almond filling is sweet enough for my family.  It also prevents those potential sticky little fingers from getting all over the place.