Cooking classes with the Laughing Lemon: fennel and carrot salad
Posted: February 9, 2013 Filed under: Salad, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tags: Carrots, Cooking class, Fennel, Laughing Lemon, Middle East, Salad 3 Comments
You may have noticed a lot of Middle Eastern flavors in this blog as of late. Jerusalem – the latest Yotam Ottolenghi‘s book – is partly to be blamed, but… this was how everything really started: The Laughinglemon‘s Moroccan Feast. I knew I would like it when I saw it, and registered without further ado. What I was not expecting was Jack’s pulling his mother’s old family recipes and throw at us a family meal cooked from the heart with all love and care. The kind of thing I will cherish for a very long time. * grab kleenex to wipe a stubborn tear *
As most mothers, Jack’s mother didn’t write her recipes down – why bother if they are normally passed down from generation to generation? And, when she explained the dishes to her sons, she did it as every mother would do. An essential ingredient was forgotten, directions would range from “let a cook for little while, but be careful not to overcook” to a whole time mother classic “add a little bit just like that” or failing to mention the little detail which would have avoided to set the kitchen on fire. Jack and his brother are trying to recover the recipes slowly but surely. and this Moroccan feast is the result of it. The most curious of all was the sudden realization that Jack and I might actually be related. Both our families are of Jewish extraction. Mine became Roman Catholic to escape the Spanish Inquisition. His, most likely fled to Morocco around the same time…
Religion and familiar disputes apart, this spicy carrot and fennel salad was one of the heroes of the day. It is not so straightforward as it might seem and it has a long list of spices, herbs and condiments. The result is totally worthwhile the effort – a fresh and crunchy dish with bold flavors. The type of thing which made K. lose her normal calm-cool-collected state to fight for the last bit (She won. I still have a black eye…).
Roasted beetroot with chestnuts, red onions and balsamic vinegar
Posted: January 22, 2013 Filed under: Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tags: Beetroot, Carlos Horrillo and Patrick Morcas, Chestnuts, Onions, Spain Leave a comment
I was not joking: here it goes #beetrootgate dish number 3. I tried this recipe once, out of one of favorite cookbooks long before I had a blog. As beetroots were pulling up in the fridge, it seemed like a good idea to try it again. And, it was as lovely as I remembered it, with lots of different flavors and textures. A perfect side dish for you winter roasts…
Roasted beetroot with chestnuts, roasted red onions and balsamic vinegar (adapted from Carlos Horrillo and Patrick Morcas’ Tapas: Simple Flavours, Striking Combinations)
Ingredients
- 3 large beetroots washed and cooked, sliced (pay attention not to pull the vinegary ones from the shelf)
- olive oil to taste vinegar to taste
- 3 red onions cut into quarter
- 8 roasted chestnuts, crushed with a mortar and pestle
- balsamic vinegar
- salt and black pepper to taste
Method
Pre-heat your oven to 190oC/3750F/mark 5
Place the sliced beetroots* in a roasting tray, and drizzle them with a generous amount of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Roast for about 25min. Reserve.
Put the quartered onions in a small roasting tray, drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Place them at the bottom of the oven and roast for about 20min. Reserve.
When everything is ready, place a large heavy-based non stick frying pan on a medium heat and put in enough olive oil to coat the bottom. When is piping hot and begins to smoke, drop in half the onions and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 3 min, until the beetroots start to get dark, stirring occasionally, Add half the roasted onions and dash of balsamic vinegar. Mix well, and add the half the chestnuts. Cook together another 3min. Reserve. Repeat whit what is left of the ingredients.
Just when the second batch is about to get ready, put in the reserved portion. Drizzle again with olive and let it cooked until everything is well mixed.
*If you cannot find cooked beetroots, cook them by bringing them to boil in a large pan with salt and water and bring them to simmer for about 3h. After allowing them to cool, peel of the skins.
Beetroot soup with tarragon yogurt ice cubes
Posted: January 18, 2013 Filed under: Soup, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tags: Beetroot, Herbs, Soup Leave a comment
And we here go: #beetrootgate dish number 2. Truth to be said, T. found the recipe and executed it with no fault. Don’t let the unusual combination of flavors stop you to try this soup. In fact, it is delicious. Ideal to serve as an appetizer or for brunch.
Beetroot soup with tarragon yogurt ice cubes (adapted from BBC Goodfood)
Ingredients
For the soup
- 3 tbsp golden caster sugar
- 75ml red wine
- 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1l vegetable stock
- 500g cooked beetroot , unvinegared, roughly chopped
For the yogurt ice cubes
- 500g pot natural yogurt
- small bunch tarragon
Method
For the yogurt ice cubes
To make the ice cubes, mix the yogurt with a handful of chopped tarragon leaves
Half-fill ice cube trays
Cover with cling film and freeze overnight.
For the soup
Put the onions and sugar in a saucepan, cover with a lid, then cook over moderate heat for 10 mins, shaking the pan from time to time.
Pour in the wine and vinegar and bubble away until syrupy.
Now pour in the stock, add the beetroot and a handful of tarragon leaves. Bring to the boil, then cook for 15 mins.
Blend the soup until smooth
Season with lots of black pepper
Serve hot with a yogurt ice cube on top
Sweet spiced duck breast with beetroot and ginger relish
Posted: January 15, 2013 Filed under: Duck, Vegetables | Tags: Betroot, Duck, Spices, Yotam Ottolenghi 1 Comment
The moment I saw this Yotam Ottonlenghi’s alternative Christmas menu, I knew I had to do it. It didn’t take too long to convince three mobile calorie intake units friends to join me in cooking duck for the first time in years this journey. Lucky ladies – it was probably the best meal I cooked this year… As usual, Yotam instructions were so precise that even duck seems easy to cook.
What I could not anticipate was the several dishes of beetroot which followed this one. After an unfortunate chain of events, otherwise known as #beetrootgate, I ended up with a lot – and when I say a lot I really mean a lot – of beetroot in the fridge. Enough to keep this blog busy for the next couple of weeks…
A big thank you to T., my suffering sous-chef for this menu.
Sweet spiced duck breast with beetroot and ginger relish (adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi’s column in The Guardian)
Ingredients
For the duck
- 4 duck breasts, 800g in total
- 1 tsp ground star anise
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- 2 tsp sunflower oil
- Salt and black pepper
For the beetroot relish
- 6 medium beetroots, peeled and sliced 1mm thick
- 300ml red-wine vinegar
- 200g caster sugar
- 1 tsp flaked chilli, or more if you like it spicy
- 15g peeled ginger, finely grated
- 1 tsp black mustard seeds
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme, plus extra for garnish
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 Sichuan peppercorns
Method
Score the duck breasts in three or four parallel lines on an angle across the skin, taking care not to cut through to the meat. Place them in a medium-sized bowl and add the star anise, cloves and oil. Rub the spices into the duck so the breasts are well covered, cover the bowl and refrigerate for an hour or two.
Meanwhile, make the relish. Mix all the ingredients in a large saucepan and add a teaspoon and a half of salt. Bring to a boil and stir to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 40-50 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the beetroot becomes tender, the liquid thick and all but reduced entirely. Remove from the heat and set aside somewhere warm.
Heat the oven to 200C/390F/gas mark 6, and heat a large, heavy-based frying pan on medium heat. Add half a teaspoon of salt and a quarter-teaspoon of black pepper to the duck breast bowl and mix well. Place the breasts skin side down into the hot pan – you won’t need any oil because of the amount of fat in the duck skin – and cook for four to five minutes, regularly spooning out the fat that’s released into the pan. If the skin is getting too dark too quick, lower the heat a little.
Once the skin is a dark golden-brown and crisp, turn over the breasts and sear on the flesh side for three minutes.
Transfer the breasts to a baking tray and finish cooking in the oven for about three minutes, until cooked to medium. Remove from the oven, cover with foil and leave to rest for five minutes.
To serve, slice the breasts on an angle and lay on a plate. Spoon some beetroot relish on to each breast and pour over a little of the syrup. Scatter a few thyme leaves on top and serve immediately
Minestrone soup
Posted: January 6, 2013 Filed under: Soup, Vegetables | Tags: Italy, Sensible cooking, Soup, The Hairy Dieters Leave a comment
After one month of (almost) daily feasts and non stop indulgence, I ended up with a food hangover of biblical proportions. For a couple of days, I’d rather fight my way through the ironing pile than opening a cook book… Unless it was Dave Myers and Si King’s The Hairy Dieters: How to Love Food and Lose Weigh, which promises dishes low in calories and big on flavor. Not small on portions, though… Their 4 servings are the equivalent of 6 of my portions, and I normally don’t eat like a birdie. But, all in all, it was exactly what I was looking for. A light soup to keep me going while fighting the hang over.
Minestrone soup (adapted from Dave Myers and Si King’s The Hairy Dieters: How to Love Food and Lose Weight)
Ingredients
- 4 ripe tomatoes, peeled and diced
- 2 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 1 celery stick finely sliced
- 2 garlic cloves peeled and finely sliced
- 2 medium courgettes diced
- 1,5L of chicken stock
- 50g dried spaghetti
- 1 tablespoon tomato purée
- 200g frozen peas
- 100 savoy cabbage thickly shredded
- 25g of parmesan cheese finely grated
- fresh basil leafs to garnish
- salt and pepper to taste
Method
First, peel the tomatoes. Prepare the iced iced water in advance (basically, water and ice). Bring a medium pot of water to a boil over high heat. Make a small X in the bottom of each tomato with the tip of a knife. Using a slotted spoon, lower them one a time, into the pot for 10-15seconds. Fish them out and tip them into ice water to cool for about 1 minute. Peel the tomatoes, starting from the X mark on the bottom and pulling back the curled skin. You can now chop tomatoes into dices.
In a large non stick frying pan, heat the oil until it is piping hot and drop the onion. Lower the heat and sautée until is soft and translucent.
Add the celery, garlic, leek and courgettes and drop them into the pan with the onion. Still over a low heat for a couple of minutes, then stir in the chopped tomatoes, pour over the chicken stock and bring to the boil.
Break the spaghetti into short lengths and drop them into the pan. Add the tomato purée and bring the soup back to the boil, then cook for 8minutes stirring occasionally. Add the peas, cabbage and cook for another 5 minutes or until the pasta is just tender.
Season the soup with salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Serve with a sprinkling of Parmesan and torn basil leaves if you want.
Roasted codfish with Serrano ham and peppers
Posted: December 28, 2012 Filed under: Fish, Vegetables | Tags: Codfish, Ham, Red pepper, Roast, Vegetables Leave a comment
I am Portuguese and of Catholic extraction. Therefore, my Christmas dinner must be boiled dry codfish, eggs, potatoes and kale, with plenty of olive oil with garlic. There is no way around it, I am afraid. It is been like this for centuries and everybody just keeps up with the tradition.
When I was a kiddie my Mother once tried to a bacalhau conventual [convent style codfish], just to try something new. When the dinner came to the table, an outcry of biblical proportions followed and Christmas was almost cancelled. Everyone survived the trauma, but my Mother never a tried it again. After 3 decades my Father still mentions the infamous year we had baked codfish for dinner. Outrageous – after that, only anarchy could have descended to the civilized world.
This year, I staid in Zurich for Christmas. And when not in Rome … I almost made a point of departing from the usual traditions. Well, sort of… It is still codfish, but fresh. Not boiled, but baked with Serrano ham. And, for a complete departure from the tradition, the recipe was found on a book meant for british dieters. But, please, I beg you, don’t let my family know about it. It will be our little secret.
Roasted codfish with Serrano ham and peppers (adapted from Dave Myers and Si King’s The Hairy Dieters: How to Love Food and Lose Weight)
Ingredients
- 1 red pepper deseeded and cut into thin stripes
- 1 yellow pepper deseed and cut into thin stripes
- 2 courgettes cut into 2cm slices
- 1 medium red onion cut into thin wedges
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 4 thick skinless fresh codfish fillets (about 150g each. A big chunk will also work)
- 4 slices of Serrano ham or any thinly sliced cured ham
- 10g dry white breadcrumbs
- 10g of parmesan cheesed finely grated
- A handfull of parley leafs, finely chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 220oC. Put the peppers, courgettes and onion in a large baking tray and drizzle them with olive oil. Season with a little salt and plenty of black pepper and toss everything until the vegetables are coated with olive oil. Roast for 20mun until softened and lightly charred.
2. Mix the bread crumbs with the cheese and parsley. Reserve.
3. Pat the codfish dry on kitchen paper and remove the bones with a pair of tweezers. Season with a generous amount of pepper. No need to add any salt – the Serrano ham has already plenty of salt on its own. Wrap the each fillet with a slice of ham, making sure they are closed.
4. Take the baking tray out of the oven and make space for the codfish and ham. A few gaps will be suffice. Place the fish on the tray and scatter the Parmesan mix all over the fish and vegetables. In case you worry about soaking the vegetables: the codfish will be sealed inside the Serrano ham and cook on its own juices.
5. Put the tray back in the over for another 12-15min or until the fish is cooked, the ham crisped and the breadcrumbs are lightly browned.
6. Serve immediately.
Baked onions and potatoes with romesco sauce
Posted: October 22, 2012 Filed under: Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tags: Catalonia, Ferran Adria, Onions, Potatoes, Roast, Sauces, Spain 2 Comments
Autumn flavors – roasted potatoes and onions with a nutty sauce to go with it….. hearty food with rich flavors, different textures and enough substance to satisfy your appetite. And, once you have enough romesco sauce on stock, very easy and quick.
Romesco sauce (adapted from Ferran Adrià’s The Family Meal)
Ingredients
- 1 ripe tomato
- 1 whole head of garlic
- 60mL of olive oil
- 70g toasted blanched hazelnuts
- 200 of sliced white country-style bread
- 50 mL of sherry vinegar (fifty, not five hundred)
- 240g of roasted peppers (Adrià recommends Chorizero pepper paste, but I was not able to source. I replaced it an equivalent quantity of with preserved roasted peppers)
Method Pre heat the oven to 200 oC Put the tomato and head of garlic in a roasted tray and cook for about 45min or until is tender and blackened. Peel the tomatoes and garlic cloves and put into a big bowl (more likely, you will have to squeeze the garlic). Roast the hazelnuts in a pan with a bit of olive oil over medium heat, until they are dark golden. Remove, drain with a kitchen paper and set aside. Fry the bread with a bit of olive oil, and break to small pieces with your hands. Add the vinegar, nuts, bread, fried bread and peppers to the bowl where the tomato and garlic are. Process with a hand held blender to make a coarse paste. Blend in the olive oil until smooth. Baked potatoes (adapted from Ferran Adrià’s The Family Meal) Ingredients
- 1 baking potato per person
- 2 small onions per person
- Salt to taste
Method Pre heat the oven to 200 oC Wrap each potato in aluminum foil Put in a roasting tray and bake for about 45min or until the potatoes are soft and onion skins are charred. Cut the potatoes and the onions in half. Season with salt to taste. Serve with the romesco sauce.
Roasted pumpkin wedges with dill sour cream
Posted: September 29, 2012 Filed under: Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tags: Cheese, Herbs, Pumpkin, Yotam Ottolenghi 3 Comments
The good thing is that this is a delicious pumpkin dish. The bad one, that Autumn is here. I somehow feel I didn’t had enough of Summer. From here to Christmas is only a small leap. Thank God for the produce of the season to help me cross this bridge…
Roasted pumpkin wedges with sour cream (adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi’s Plenty)
Ingredients
- For the wedges
- 1 pumpkin (about 700g), desseeded pumpkin, and cut 1 about 2cm slices, skin on
- 50g grated Parmesan
- 3 table spoons of finely chopped thyme
- 6 table spoons of parsley
- the grated zest of 2 lemons
- 2 crushed garlic cloves
- Enough olive oil to brush the pumpkin wedges
For the dill sour cream
- 12o mL of sour cream
- 1 tablespoon of chopped dill
- salt and withe pepper
Method
Pre heat the oven to 190 oC.
Slice the pumpkin, keeping the skin. The wedges should be about 2 cm thick .
Lay the pumpkin wedges on a tray lined with baking parchment and brush them with olive oil
For the crust, by mix in a small bowl the Parmesan, the chopped parsley and thyme, the lemon zest, the garlic and some pepper (check for salt. Normally you won’t need to add it as the Parmesan is salty enough).
Sprinkle generously the wedges, with the crust mix.They should all be covered with a few millimeter layer of crust. If the
Put in the oven and roast for 30min or until the wedges are soft and tender. If the topping starts to get too dark, cover the tray with foil
In the meanwhile, start the dill sour cream. Mix all the ingredients (sour cream dill, salt and pepper).
You can serve it warm or cold (better warm…)
Gazpacho
Posted: August 12, 2012 Filed under: Salad, Soup, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tags: bread, Ferran Adria, Soup, Spain, Summer, Tomato Leave a comment
- 3 bleached garlic cloves, peeled
- 2 onions peeled and chopped in big chunks
- 60g cucumber peeled and chopped in big chunks
- 75g red bell peppers seeded and sliced
- 1Kg rip red tomatoes, chopped in big chunks
- 30g of white rustic bread, without crust, torn into pieces
- 120ml cup water
- 6 tablespoons of olive oil, plus extra to serve
- 2 tbsp sherry vinegar
Method
First, peel the garlic cloves and drop in small saucepan with cold water. Bring the water to a boil. When the water begins to boil, take out the garlic out of the water and put into a bowl of ice water to quickly cool it. Repeat twice, always starting with cold water.
Peel and cut the vegetables into large chunks and put them into a large bowl. Add the tomatoes into large wedges and put in a bowl with the onions, cucumbers, and bell peppers. Add the bread, torn into pieces, then pour over the water. Process everything together using a hand-held blender, about 5 min until is well combined. Add the olive oil, sherry vinegar, salt and pepper and blend the soup until smooth and creamy. Chill in the fridge before serving (at least 2 hours). Serve the gazpacho with a plus an extra drizzle of olive oil. If you want, you can add cured ham, finely chopped egg, tuna, croutons, chopped pepper…..
Spinach and cheese parcels (empanada de espinacas y queso)
Posted: April 22, 2012 Filed under: Pastry and Baking, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tags: Carlos Horrillo and Patrick Morcas, Cheese, Spain, spinach Leave a comment
Once I got the empanada de atun [savoury tuna parcels] properly tested and under control, I decided to expand to other combinations. Not knowing where to start, I turned to Carlos Horrillo and Patrick Morcas, whom seemed to favor spinach, cream cheese and spinach. If it is good enough for Patrick and Carlos, it is also good enough for me…. I am actually quite fond of spinach, which helped a bit my decision. Of course, living in Switzerland, the Cheddar in the original recipe had to be replaced by Emmentaler. No one noticed seemed to complain – if anything it conformed better to the taste of hardened expats living in Switzerland for longer than they want to admit. All in all, a great dish to serve when the occasion requires food easy to eat or informal gatherings. For bonus, it is vegetarian and all the greenies make it look a bit more healthy than its tuna fish counterpart. Eat warm or cold, with a beer or a glass of red wine.
Spinach and cheese parcels (empanada de espinacas y queso, adapted from Carlos Horrillo and Patrick Morcas’ Tapas: Simple Flavours, Striking Combinations)
Ingredients
- 2 packets ready of read-rolled puff pastry (one for the bottom, the other to cover it)
- 800g of fresh spinach, washed
- 100g of full fat creamy cheese, like Philadelphia
- 100g of grated Emmentaler cheese
- Salt and pepper
- Olive oil
- 1 slightly beaten egg
Method
1. Coat the bottom of a heavy bottom non sticky pan with olive oil and put it on high heat, until the olive oil is smoking hot.
2. Drop the the spinach leaves inside, season whit salt and turn the leaves until they start to wilt.
3. Transfer the leaves to sieve lined with kitchen paper, so it absorbs the bitter liquids.
4. Allow to cool, and put them in a large mixing bowl.
5. Add both cheeses to the spinach and mix everything together until it is homogenous.
6. Allow to cool overnight in the fridge
7. Heat the oven to 200 oC
8. Line the bottom and walls of the rectangular baking tray previously buttered. Pinch it with a fork and fold in the e spinach and cheese mixture.
9. Put the second sheet of puff pastry on top, and close the edges trimming the excess pastry. Seal with the beaten egg. You can brush the whole surface to look shiny.
10. Leave in the stove for about 20m (or according to the instructions), until the pastry is done.
Lucie Loves Food 