FFWD: Mustard Tart

I joined the online cooking club, French Fridays with Dorie (FFWD). We are cooking our way through Around my French Table by Dorie Greenspan. I am really excited about the book and the club - I love cooking homework and I am a bit of a Francophile. This week is week 2 of FFWD and we made the mustard tart.  (Week one was gruyere gougerers - which were phenomenal, but I did not have time to take pictures). I won't be posting FFWD recipes here, but I encourage everyone to buy or borrow a copy of this book -- its gorgeous.

The mustard tart is a bit like a quiche, but does not have any cheese. The custard is egg and creme fraiche based, with both dijon and stone ground mustard mixed in, along with steamed carrots and leeks. It was very tasty! Although I think a little cheese or perhaps more mustard would have given it the extra tang I was looking for.

As my husband said "mmmm mustardy, this needs a bratwurst."

Taste of Amalfi: Hearts of Palm and Avocado Salad

Are you looking for a perfect summertime salad? My mom has been making this salad ever since my parents visited the Amalfi Coast 10 years ago. I have since loved this salad, and appreciate it even more after having spent some time in Praiano, Italy. Something about it brings me back to afternoon Peronis, midnight glasses of Prosecco and limoncello, cherries, olives, - oh the amazing freshness and flavors of the Amalfi Coast!

This salad is even better served with a good crusty bread with a soft inside - a good sourdough is perfect.

Ingredients:

• 2 avocados
• 1 can hearts of palm*
• 2 large tomatoes
• 1/4 red onion
• 3 ears of corn
• 1/2 lemon
  
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon champagne vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste
  

How to:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Once the oven is preheated, place the corn cobs (still in husks) onto the oven racks. Roast for 30 minutes.
   
3. While the corn is roasting, chop up the hearts of palm into 1/2 inch pieces, and slice the onion and tomoatoes.
4. Combine the hearts of palm, onions, tomatoes, and olive oil in a serving bowl. Salt to taste and let marinate while the corn roasts.
5. Remove the corn from the oven, slice the corn off the cob, and combine with salad.
6. Chop the avocados into 1/2 inch pieces, combine with the salad, vinegar, and lemon juice from 1/2 a lemon.

*Note: Hearts of palm can be found in most grocery stores in the canned vegetable aisles. Some brands have very woody exteriors - if that is the case, remove the outer layer. The best brand (and surprisingly, the cheapest!) is Whole Foods 365 brand of hearts of palm - they are the most consistent in size and texture and sometimes go on sale for less than $2 a can!

Spring Spaghetti

Spring has finally sprung! This dish is the perfect reminder that long, warm and sunny days are here. This is one of my all time favorites because it is so light and fresh.

Ingredients:

• Olive oil
• 4 servings of dry spaghetti
• 1 leek, sliced
  
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
  
• 1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1-2 inch pieces
  
• 1.5 cups frozen or fresh peas
• Salt
• Pepper
• Parmesan
  

How to:

1. Bring a large stock pot filled with salted water to a boil. When the water reaches a rolling boil add the dry spaghetti
   
2. Heat a 12 inch skillet and coat with olive oil. Add the leeks and saute until translucent, about 10 minutes
3. Add the garlic, asparagus and 1 ladle of the pasta water to the skillet. Cook about 2 minutes on medium-low heat. Add the peas and stir. Salt and pepper to taste. Turn off the heat.
   
4. Using tongs, add the pasta to the skillet and stir until the vegetables and pasta are mixed well.
   
5. Garnish with olive oil and grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Notes:
It's very important not to overcook the vegetables. Be sure that the vegetables remain bright green and have a snap to them, it adds to the freshness of the dish. Enjoy!

Artichokes Provencal

I have been waiting for baby artichokes to be in season to cook this recipe by Mark Bittman. Baby artichokes grown in California are at my local co-op this week - get them while they last because I know I will be making this at least one more time over the weekend!

Ingredients:

• 6-8 baby artichokes
• 1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
  
• 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup water
• olive oil
• salt

How to:

1. Heat enough olive oil to cover the bottom of a skillet, add whole cloves of garlic and thyme
   
2. Prep the baby artichokes by peeling off the tough outer leaves, trimming the outer edges of the stem, cut the top inch off of the top, and cut in half. Add the artichokes into the skillet.
3. Once the bottom of the artichokes are slightly brown, add the olives and tomatoes.
4. Add in the water, cover and let simmer on medium heat for 20 minutes
5. Salt to taste
6. Serve with good crusty bread and a little grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
   

Notes: This may be good with a pasta or grain like farro. The bread is great since it soaks up all of the juices.

Indoor Sweet and Sour Tofu Kabobs

Anyone anxiously awaiting outdoor barbecue season? Here is an idea - indoor kabobs that fit on a stove top grill pan. These would be great to serve at a party.

I made kabobs with pineapple, tofu, scallions, and orange bell pepper by skewering on toothpicks. Just like kabobs on the grill, be sure to soak the toothpicks in water for a minute. I grilled these on the indoor stove top grill lightly oiled with canola oil.

My main goal with the sweet and sour sauce was to not use ketchup as so many recipes do (even my vegetarian Chinese cookbook in Chinese).

Sweet and Sour Sauce Ingredients:

• 6 ounces pineapple juice
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon water

How to:

1. Combine all of the ingredients except the cornstarch and water in a sauce pot. Heat and let boil for about 30 seconds. Reduce heat.
   
2. Make a slurry by mixing cornstarch and water.
   
3. Slowly add into the sauce pot and stir until thickened.

Note: The sauce would be perfect to add to a stir fry.

Cheese Soufflé

My soufflé dish has been storing onions and garlic for about a year. I think I was traumatized by the Gorgonzola cheese soufflé I made for Valentine's Day last year. It was time to get back to the basics. I cleaned out the garlic and onions peels and made a classic chesse soufflé.

I used this recipe from Alton Brown. I was a little nervous since the recipe calls for greasing the sides of the soufflé dish, which I thought was the ultimate no-no. But, you coat the edges with grated parmesan cheese for the soufflé to catch upon and rise.

This turned out really well and would recommend this recipe especially for first time soufflé makers.

Spinach Gomae

I always order these at sushi restaurants, and then think to myself why am I ordering this when it has to be so easy to make! Well, it is. Almost too easy - especially if you take a couple of shortcuts like frozen spinach and tahini.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 bunches of fresh spinach or 1 large bag of frozen whole leaf spinach
  
• 3 tablespoons tahini
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1.5 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
• water
• sesame seeds
  

How to:

1. Either blanch the fresh spinach and immediately cool in an ice bath or defrost the frozen spinach. In both cases, the spinach should be cold.
   
2. Press all of the water out of the spinach. Using a ring mold (or biscuit cutter) form the spinach.
   
3. Mix the tahini, soy sauce, sugar, and rice vinegar in a bowl. If the mixture is still too thick and not sauce like, slowly add water until the sauce reaches your desired consistency.
4. Pour the sauce over the spinach and garnish with sesame seeds.

Notes: I think the sushi restaurant I order these at the most uses brown rice syrup instead of sugar because the sauce has a more syrupy consistency. The taste was definitely right on, but I might swap out the sugar next time and use brown rice syrup to see if that makes a difference in terms of texture.

Moroccan Chickpea Stew

Are you looking for a dish where the leftovers are not only as good as the day you made it, but maybe even better? Moroccan chickpea stew is one of those dishes for me - it's a hearty meal and somehow keeps tasting better every day.

Ingredients:

For the stew

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
  
• 2 large carrots
• 1/2 head of cauliflower
• 1 medium size eggplant
• 3 small Yukon gold potatoes
• 1 medium size yellow onion
• 28 oz can of tomato puree
• Apx. 14 oz of water
  
• 15 oz. can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup of golden raisins
• 2 tablespoons cumin
• 1 tablespoon turmeric
  
• 1.5 teaspoon ground coriander
  
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2-4 dried whole chilies
  
• salt to taste
  
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt or kefir
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• slivered almonds

For the couscous:

• 1.5 cups of water
• 1 teaspoon bouillon
  
• 1 cup couscous

How to:

1. Chop the onion, eggplant, carrot, cauliflower, and potatoes in to larger than bit size pieces
2. In a large heavy bottom skillet, or a dutch oven, heat the olive oil. Saute the onion until translucent, then add the carrot, cauliflower, potatoes. Add a little salt to taste and cook the veggies for another 5 minutes.
3. Add in the tomato puree, water, cumin, coriander, turmeric, cayenne, cinnamon and chilies. Cover and continue to cook until the carrot and potato are soft enough for a fork to pierce through easily.
4. Add the raisins and chickpeas and cook for another 5 minutes. Salt to taste.
   
5. In a medium size pot bring the water for the couscous and bouillon to a boil. Once the water reaches a boil, turn off the heat and add the couscous. Cover and let rest for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.
   
6. In a small bowl mix the cilantro and yogurt/kefir.
7. Serve the stew over the couscous, and garnish with the yogurt/kefir mixture, and slivered almonds

Shitake and Cabbage Dumplings

In celebration of Chinese New Year, I made some dumplings. It's been a long time since I have made dumplings from scratch, and they definitely reminded me of how delicious homemade dumplings are. I didn't follow a recipe for this and tried to pay attention to the quantities I used, but just play around. The recipe below made enough for about 25-30 dumplings. These turned out really good!

Ingredients

Dumplings:

• Half a head of cabbage
• 10 - 15 shitake mushrooms
• 3 chopped scallions
  
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
• 2 tablespoon sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/2 cup of water
  
• Wonton or dumpling wrappers
  

Dipping Sauce:

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon honey
  
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger
• 1 chopped scallion

How to:

1. Shred the cabbage using the shredding attachment of a food processor.
   
2. Grate the ginger and garlic (see note) and finely dice the scallions and mushrooms.
   
3. Heat one tablespoon of sesame oil in a skillet and add the cabbage, ginger, garlic, mushrooms, and scallions. Saute for about 10 minutes, until the cabbage and mushrooms are soft. Set aside.
4. While the filling is cooling, mix all of the dipping sauce ingredients together.
   
5. Place 1-2 teaspoons of filling into a wonton wrapper - the amount will depend on the size of wrappers you use. Using your finger, wet half of the wonton edges with water - then fold over to seal.
   
6. Heat the two tablespoons of canola and remaining sesame oil in a skillet. Make sure to use a skillet that has a lid. Add the dumplings (do not cover). Pan fry until golden brown. When the dumplings are brown, add the water and cover the skillet with the lid very quickly. Let steam for about 2 minutes.
   

Note: The key to making good dumplings at home is make sure the filling isn't too wet. You don't want it to cause the wrappers to break. Also, be conservative when you wet the edges of the dumplings. One other tip, using a microplane to finely grate the ginger and garlic is a good way to pack in the flavor.

Leek and Fennel Flatbread with Arugula and Pecorino di Truffe

I was roaming the cheese aisle at Lunds over the weekend and came across Pecorino di Truffe. It immediately sent me back to the last time I had truffles. I had ordered a pizza with truffles and arugula at the Morges Tennis Club in Morges, Switzerland for my going away lunch. So using the pecorino on flatbread was a natural step at recreating some of the flavors of that lunch.

Ingredients:

• 2 Leeks
• 1 Fennel bulb
• 1 Bunch of arugula
  
• Olive oil
• Apx. 1/4 cup of white wine
• 1 TB of white wine vinegar
• Pecorino di truffe (or another hard Italian cheese)
• Salt and pepper to taste
  
• 1lb pizza dough
  

How to:

1. Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500 degrees F.
   
2. Heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet. Add sliced leeks and fennel. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sauté until soft. Add the wine and sauté until the majority of the liquid has evaporated.
   
3. Roll out pizza dough on a bit of cornmeal. Drizzle the dough with olive oil. Add the leek and fennel mixture. Bake for about 10 minutes.
4. While the flatbread is baking mix arugula with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. When the flatbread is out of the oven add arugula and slices of the pecorino.

Taste: It turned out really good! It make enough for 3 generous servings.

Notes: I have been on a bread baking kick since receiving Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day for Christmas. For this recipe I used the boule dough. Be sure bake for only 10 minutes - any longer and I think the leeks and fennel would have become a bit charred.