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Roasted cauliflower with red harissa

8 Jan

I love my veggies. But like with most foods, it’s hard to find new recipes that are worthy of a spot on my weekly menu. I know you see a lot of restaurant reviews and higher calorie foods on this blog, but the truth is, on weekdays, we eat quite healthy around here and we don’t have hours to spend in the kitchen or running to the market to get obscure ingredients. And Ottolenghi’s veggie-centric recipes are amazing and all, but a tad too involved for the everyday… So “healthy”, “quick” and ”easy” are search terms I tend to google a lot. And when I stumble upon something that also provides a party in my mouth, it’s a winner.

Golden brown, fragrant, delicious roasted cauliflower is a sinch to make. And healthy to boot!

Roasted cauliflower is the bomb. It’s popping up everywhere – food blogs, cooking shows, magazines - in different variations. I favour indian spices and kick it up a notch with a red harissa sauce made with roasted red bell peppers (that I buy in a jar for weeknight cooking!), jalapeno peppers and garlic. Do it! This week. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Recipe
Adapted from Food Network Canada, courtesy of Roger Mooking.
Makes about 4 portions

3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon of cumin
1/2 tablespoon of turmeric
1 head of cauliflower, cut into large chunks
Salt and pepper to taste

See recipe for red harissa here.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. In a bowl, combine all ingredients until cauliflower is well covered with spices. Cook 20 to 30 minutes. Serve with red harissa sauce. Voilà!

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Fregola sarde, légumes rôtis et mimolette

21 Nov

J’abandonne les livres de recette. Au diable les quantités précises et les étapes à suivre! Dernièrement, j’ai le goût d’improviser, de me laisser inspirer par un ingrédient, un souvenir, une idée… Et c’est exactement ce que j’ai fait avec cette recette de fregola sarde aux légumes-racines rôtis et fromage mimolette. Je me suis inspirée d’un plat que j’ai adoré au restaurant La Salle à Manger sur Mont-Royal. Dans leur cas, il s’agissait d’un farrotto – genre de risotto où on remplace le riz par des grains d’épeautre – mais après un essai complètement lamentable avec le farro, j’ai opté pour la fregola sarde, qui ressemble au couscous israélien mais plus dur.

Fregola sarde, légumes-racines rôtis et mimolette. Inspiré d'un plat au resto, d'une recette de légumes rôtis que je fais depuis un moment et de notre obsession familiale pour le mimolette.

Étant donné mon état d’esprit rebelle, je vous partage une méthode davantage qu’une recette précise… Adaptez-là à vos goûts et amusez-vous. Ce n’est que de la bouffe après tout!

Fregola sarde trouvée au Marché Atwater.

“Recette” sans façons
Donne environ 4 portions

- 1/3 paquet de fregola sarde
- Environ 5 tasses de bouillon de poulet pour cuire la fregola (vous pouvez remplacer par de l’eau salée)
- Légumes-racines au choix : 3 panais, 3 carottes, 4 betteraves, 6 ou 7 petits oignons, etc.
- Miel
- Beurre
- Romarin ou thym
- Sel et poivre
- Roquette
- Aneth
- Noix de pin rôties
- Huile d’olive
- Fromage mimolette râpé (quantité au goût, mais le plat qui a inspiré cette “recette” en regorgeait!)

Préchauffer le four à 400 degrés F. Laver et couper des légumes-racines en gros morceaux. Faire fondre quelques cuillères à table de beurre dans une poêle. Ajouter environ 1 c. à table de miel et quelques branches de romarin ou de thym effeuillées. Mettre les légumes dans la poêle et bien enrober. Laisser cuire quelques minutes. Transférer les légumes sur  une taule à biscuits et enfourner pendant environ 40 minutes ou jusqu’à ce qu’ils soient rôtis.

Pendant ce temps, porter l’eau salée ou le bouillon de poulet à ébullition. Faire cuire la fregola comme des pâtes jusqu’à tendreté désirée en réservant un peu d’eau ou de bouillon de cuisson (environ 1/4 de tasse).

Dans un petit bol, mélanger la roquette, les noix de pin, l’aneth et un filet d’huile. Salez et poivrez au goût.

Remettre la fregola cuite dans le chaudron. Y ajouter les légumes rôtis, le mimolette et un peu de liquide de cuisson réservé si nécessaire. Mélanger le tout. Servir dans des bols et coiffer de la salade de roquette.

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Ottolenghi trial no. 3 – Mushroom ragout

5 Oct

I don’t get mushroom haters. In fact, they really annoy me. How can you eliminate an entire ingredient from your diet regardless of how it is prepared? It just doesn’t make sense.

Mushroom ragout with poached egg - the beautiful end result.

Last week, I took full advantage of a “Jess night” to cook up the best mushroom recipe I could find while my mushroom-hating other half was hanging out with the boys. I was inspired by a dish my friend ordered the night before at Chez Victoire, a relatively new bistro on Mont-Royal, and of which I was terribly jealous. The crab cakes I ordered paled in comparison to the rich, meaty and comforting mushroom ragout she was enjoying.

My search for the perfect mushroom dish inevitably led me to Yotam Ottolenghi’s cookbook Plenty (see my previous Ottolenghi trials here and here). The way this London-based chef deals with veggies is mind-blowing. It seems he can turn the simplest, most boring veg into an elegant main course.

Mushroom ragout in progress

This dish came quite close to the Chez Victoire version and even features a poached egg, which offers extra richness. I’m sure that if I reduced the broth a little more and perfected my egg-poaching technique, it would have been heaven. Nonetheless, it rocked the house.

Recipe
Adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi’s Plenty
Makes 4 portions

½ oz (1 package) dried porcini mushrooms
2 ½ cups of water
1 ¼ lbs (about 4 packages) mixed fresh mushrooms of your choice
Small sourdough or other crusty bread
6 or 7 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 medium onion, sliced
1 medium carrot, peeled and sliced
3 celery stalks, sliced
½ cup white wine
3 thyme springs
Salt
4 eggs (recipe calls for duck eggs but I used regular)
Vinegar for poaching
½ cup sour cream
2 tbsp chopped tarragon
2 tbsp chopped parsley
Black pepper
Olive oil (recipe calls for truffle oil)

Prep mushrooms and make croutons
Put the dried porcini in 1 cup of water and soak for about 30 minutes. Clean fresh mushrooms and cut the bigger ones into large chunks. Preheat oven to 400 °F.

Cut bread into 1 inch cubes and toss with 2 tbsp of olive oil, garlic and salt. Spread on baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 15 minutes or until brown.

Brown the shrooms
Heat olive oil in large heavy pan and brown mushrooms (about 1-2 minutes) in batches, adding oil as needed. Avoid crowding the pan and resist the urge to stir. Turn them over once – that’s it. Reserve mushrooms in a bowl.

Make a broth
Add a splash more oil to the pan and throw in onion, carrot and celery. Sauté 5 minutes without browning and add the wine. Remove porcini from water, squeeze out extra liquid and reserve. Add the soaking liquid to the pan with remaining ½ cup of water, thyme and salt. Simmer for 20 – 30 minutes or until there is about ½ cup of liquid left. Strain, discard veggies, return to the pan and set aside.

Poach your eggs
Fill a saucepan with enough water to cover eggs, add a splash of vinegar and bring to a rapid boil. Break one egg into shallow bowl and gently pour into boiling water. Immediately remove from heat and set aside. After 4 minutes, the egg should be perfect. Lift it out of the pan and place in bowl of warm water. Do over with all your eggs. Dry on paper towel when they are all done.

Finish the sauce and assemble the dish
Heat up the stock and add all of the mushrooms (don’t forget the porcini), sour cream, most of the herbs and salt and pepper to taste.

Place a few croutons in each bowl, top with mushroom ragout and poached egg. Add a little more herbs, black pepper and drizzle of oil to garnish.

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Baba Ghanoush – an alternative (or complement) to humus

14 Sep

Some leftover eggplant and a fun-to-pronounce name made me want to reproduce this delicious Mediterranean dip that I had sampled as a meze (Turkish equivalent to tapas) while travelling around Turkey last year. The recipe originated from Lebanon, where it is served as a starter. It’s also very popular in Egypt, but traditionally served as a side dish or “salad”.

Baba ghanoush, pita and olives: great snack!

When taken on its own, I find cooked eggplant can have a somewhat odd texture and a strong smell that can be overpowering. Maybe it’s the mushroom hater in me that’s doing all the trash talking, but I’m sure I’m not the only one out there who feels this way…

Well, let me tell you that baba ghanoush removes all these little “inconveniences”. Its smooth texture is packed with a rich flavour created by the combination of eggplant and tahini, and elevated by a hint of heat from the cayenne.

I find baba ghanoush to be a perfect alternative (or complement) to humus. It’s delicious, easy to make, healthy, and it disappears in minutes when you serve it with pita bread and olives.

Ingredients:

(yields about 300 ml)
1 large eggplant
¼ cup tahini (sesame paste, can be found in supermarkets)
Juice of 1 lemon
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp Italian parsley, finely chopped
1 tsp cumin
Pinch of cayenne (or more to taste)
Pinch of salt

Directions:

  1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the eggplant in half, lengthwise. Place eggplant on a baking sheet, flat side down, and bake for about 30-35 minutes or until the meat is tender. Let cool for 10 minutes.
  2. With a spoon, detach cooked eggplant from skin and place in a food processor or blender to create a puree. Do not blend for too long, traditional baba ghanoush is not perfectly smooth.
  3. Place eggplant puree in a bowl, and mix in all other ingredients. Add olive oil until desired texture is reached.
  4. Garnish with a few parsley leaves and drizzle of olive oil.

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Salade de haricots et salsa verde

3 Jul

Enfin, il fait soleil à Montréal! Après tous ces mois interminables de pluie et de temps gris, j’avais presqu’oublié qu’il faisait beau ici l’été. Quand arrivent les premiers “vrais” jours d’été, je me sens choyée d’être Montréalaise et de partager la joie collective de toute la ville qui semble se réveiller et se remettre à vivre. Si l’hiver est long et ardu, l’été est d’autant plus apprécié. Une des choses que j’aime le plus de l’été, ce sont les BBQ entre amis ou avec ma famille. Beaux, bons, pas compliqués et on peut se concentrer sur l’essentiel : la compagnie.

Salade de haricots, tomates raisins, olives kalamata, oignon rouge et salsa verde crémeuse.

Cette salade de haricots est un super accompagnement pour les viandes grillées et fait changement des classiques salades de pâtes ou de patates. Selon ma tante, les haricots se remplacent bien par des pois chiches pour un lunch plus consistant. Et cette variation sur le thème de la “salsa verde” mexicaine, qui contient fines herbes, avocat et yogourt, peut être apprêtée à toutes sortes de sauces (wow, quel jeux de mots ici!). Par exemple, vous pourriez mettre plus de yogourt, moins d’huile et passer le tout au robot pour transformer la salsa en trempette.

Recette
Source : www.Foodnetwork.com, Christine Cushing Live.
Donne 4 ou 5 portions.

1 lb. de haricots jaunes, blanchis quelques minutes (croquants, mais pas crus)
2 tasses de tomates raisins coupées en deux
1/2 tasse d’olives kalamata dénoyautées et tranchées
1/2 petit oignon rouge tranché finement

Salsa verde:
1 avocado mur, pelé et coupé en dés
5-6 échalottes, partie verte seulement, hachées
2 c. à table de coriandre fraîche hachée
2 c. à table de persil italien haché
6 feuilles de basilic hachées
jus de 2 limes
1/2 c. à thé de cumin
sel et poivre au goût
1/4 de tasse d’huile d’olive
1 c. à table de yogourt nature

Mélanger tous les ingrédients de la salsa verde dans un petit bol et réserver. Mettre les haricots, les tomates, les olives et les oignons dans un bol à salade. Verser la salsa verde sur la salade et mélanger pour bien enrober.

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Asperges, prosciutto & sauce moutarde

12 Jun

À servir en apéro ou en entrées individuelles

Quel excellent souper d’été improvisé hier : asperges, pétoncles, homard, fraises du Québec… Miam ! Même les soupers à la bonne franquette sont dignes des dieux chez la Belle Blonde. Étant donné l’organisation dernière minute, nous nous sommes séparé les plats à préparer et j’ai hérité des bouchées pour l’apéro et du dessert. Le repas se voulait léger, j’ai donc opté pour une entrée d’asperges enroulées de prosciutto servies avec une sauce crème fraîche et moutarde. C’est la deuxième fois que je la prépare et je vais définitivement l’ajouter à mes recettes régulières. Elle se prépare en deux temps, trois mouvements et ça fait différent du classique plat de crudités, fromages et craquelins. Pour le dessert, j’ai fait des mini shortcakes aux fraises que je garde pour un prochain billet, mais re-miam ! Il étaient tout aussi délicieux.

Recette
Source: Pasta et cetera, À la Di Stasio

Donne 32 bouchées

1/2 tasse de crème fraîche
(Vous en trouverez avec la crème sûre en épicerie, mais vous pouvez remplacer par du fromage à la crème fouetté avec un peu de lait ou de crème, ou encore, par du yogourt nature égoutté pendant une heure dans une passoire tapissée de cotton fromage ou d’essuie-tout.)
2 c. à soupe de moutarde à l’ancienne
Zeste de 1 citron
16 asperges moyennes
8 tranches minces de prosciutto
Sel et poivre

Mélanger la crème fraîche, la moutarde et le zeste dans un petit bol. Saler et poivrer au goût et réserver. Blanchir les asperges dans une casserole d’eau bouillante salée pendant 2 ou 3 minutes. Dès qu’elles sont prêtes, les plonger dans de l’eau glacée pour arrêter la cuisson. Égoutter et couper en deux. Couper les tranches de prosciutto en quatre (en deux sur la longueur et sur la largeur) et les enrouler autour des moitiés d’asperge. Déposer sur un plat de service avec la sauce dans un petit bol à trempette.

Pensez aussi à servir cette recette en entrée, sur des assiettes individuelles en nappant chaque portion d’un filet de sauce.

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Ottolenghi trial no.2 – Quinoa and grilled sourdough salad

11 May

Yes, my quest for healthy, veggie-filled recipes continues! This salad was a great success. It’s a mix between a Lebanese fattouch, an italian panzanella and a Greek salad. The result is juicy, crunchy, tangy, fresh and beautiful (hey, we eat with our eyes too!). It makes a a great lunch or side dish for a BBQ or picnic. I added feta (Bulgarian, of course) and called it dinner.

Quinoa and grilled sourdough salad - feta was my addition!

Recipe for 4 medium servings
Adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi’s Plenty.

1/4 cup quinoa
4 slices of sourdough bread
1/3 cup olive oil + extra for bread
Salt
4 ripe medium tomatoes
3 small cucumbers, unpeeled
1/2 small red onion (I found this was a lot, so feel free to reduce)
4 tbsp chopped cilantro
1 1/2 tbsp chopped mint
2 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp lemon juice
3/4 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, crushed
black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place the quinoa in a pot of boiling water and cook until tender, between 9 and 11 minutes. Drain in a fine sieve, rinse under cold water and leave to dry.

Brush the bread with oil and sprinkle with salt. Place on a baking sheet and cook for 10 minutes on each side, or until completely dry and  crisp. Let cool and break into bitesize pieces.

Dice the tomatoes and cucumber. Finely slice the onion. Place in a mixing bowl and combine with all other ingredients, including quinoa and bread. Taste and adjust seasoning. I added salt – I think it’s a must!

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Ottolenghi trial no. 1 – Quesadillas

4 May

As some of you know, I’ve been eagerly awaiting to receive a cookbook I ordered to refresh my roster of veggie recipes. It finally arrived and I love it! Plenty: Vibrant Vegetable Recipes by Yotam Ottolenghi, a well-known London chef, is chocked full of “non-vegetarian”, or non-boring!, vegetable recipes. If you’re interested, read the review in the Globe and Mail. I got my copy from Chapters for $28, taxes and delivery included. That’s less than half the $60 a fancy bookstore near home was asking for it!

Great collection of "non vegetarian" vegetable recipes by Yotam Ottolenghi.

The first Ottolenghi recipe I tried was quesadillas. Just in time for Cinco de Mayo! This version is filled with a homemade black bean paste and salsa, as well as sharp cheddar cheese. If I make this recipe again, I will definitely tweak the assembly. The various components in the quesadillas are delicious but I found the final result to be sloppy…  Next time, I will only stuff the quesadillas with the bean paste and cheese, and serve the salsa and sour cream on the side. I’m not a huge fan of warm tomatoes anyways.

Sloppy looking result, but great taste. Next time, I'll make a few changes to the proposed assembly.

Just a note – I decided to make homemade tortillas and I highly recommend it if you have the inkling and the little extra time. The quesadilla recipe is simple and I think going homemade all the way really contributes to the experience. I used a recipe from the Homesick Texan blog. It’s a Tex-Mex white flour version of tortillas, which are traditionally made with corn flour. Mine turned out puffier and saltier than most tortillas I’ve tasted before but I really liked them. They reminded me of naan bread, which I love.

Homemade "naan-ish" tortillas. Loved them!

Recipe for 8 quesadillas (4 portions)

Black Bean Paste
1 ½ cups of cooked black beans (canned are fine)
1 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
1 bunch of cilantro (leaves and stalks, about 1 oz.) chopped
Juice of 1 lime
¼ tsp salt

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse into a paste.

The taste of the bean paste was above my expectations. I’m not a huge fan of legumes, but the spices add a kick, the cilantro adds freshness and the lime sharpens everything up.

Salsa
½ small red onion, thinly sliced
½ tbsp white wine vinegar
3 green onions, thinly sliced
5 medium tomatoes, diced
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 mild fresh red chile, finely diced (I substituted with jalapeno and it worked fine)
1 bunch of cilantro (leaves and stalks, about another 1 oz.), finely-chopped
¾ tsp salt
Juice of ½ lime
2 ripe medium avocados, diced

Soak the red onion in a large bowl in the vinegar for a few minutes. Then add all of the other ingredients and stir. Note: be careful not to stir too much or everything will “mush together”.

Simple salsa

Extra ingredients to assemble the quesadillas
8 tortillas
¾ cup sour cream
Grated sharp cheddar cheese
6 tbsp drained and roughly chopped pickled jalapenos (I found them with the Mexican food at the supermarket)

Heat up the BBQ or frying pan (preferably ridged).

Spread about 2 tbsp of bean paste on each tortilla. Over half of the bean paste, spread one spoonful of sour cream and sprinkle cheese and pickled jalapenos. If you decide to respect the original recipe and want the salsa inside the quesadilla, add a tablespoon of it as well. Otherwise, keep it on the side for now.

Quesadillas in the making

Fold the tortilla in half and heat on each side for 2 or 3 minutes. The filling should be warm and the tortilla browned or charred (on the BBQ).

Cut each tortilla in half and serve with a side of salsa.

I have a feeling there will be many more Ottolenghi trials on this blog. Stay tuned!

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