Appetizers · Do-ahead · Meat

My roasted fig, prosciutto and blue cheese baguette

This is fantastic with such an orgy of flavors and textures in the mouth.
Very simple, but make sure your ingredients are the best you can find.

1 French baguette
2 packs Italian thinly sliced prosciuto (Spend the money on the genuine Italian made prosciutto, not some trader Joes or any other store “knock-off)
6 oz St Agur, cheese, Gorgonzola or Roquefort, softened at room temperature.
8 fresh ripe figs
Raw or brown sugar to sprinkle on the figs

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

Slice the French baguette diagonally, wiping each side with a little olive oil and roast on a baking sheet till crisp. Turn halfway through the roasting. Be careful they don’t burn. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Lay the thin slices of prosciutto on a baking sheet topped with either a silicone mat or a piece of baking parchment. Roast at 400 degrees for about 6 – 8 minutes till the pieces are really crisp. Remove and set aside.

Slice each fig into 3 slices and set aside.

Set up your station and on another lined baking sheet, place the roasted slices of baguette, break up the slices of prosciutto and lay them over the slices of bread, then add the fig slices to the prosciutto. Sprinkle the fig slices with the sugar, keeping the sugared side facing upwards. Top the figs with generous slices of blue cheese.
Roast at 400 degrees for 5 – 7 minutes till the cheese is well melted and the figs are heated through.

Serve with lots of napkins!!

Do-ahead · Nuts · Pasta · Sauces · Vegetarian pasta

Pesto a la Arriabiata sauce

We are going out for dinner tonight to some vegetarian friends and I didn’t just want to take wine, so was wondering what I could make with whatever I had in the house that only took 30 minutes.
Looking outside on the table, I noticed the three full basil plants we bought at Trader Joes.
“Ahh, pesto sauce”, I thought, “but how could I make it different”?

My husband came into the kitchen while I was throwing stuff into the processor and after I made it, pronounced it “lovely” so that was the seal I needed.

1 whole (full-leaved) Trader Joes basil plant stripped completely and the leaves washed and spun in the salad spinner.
5 cloves garlic
1/2 cup grated fresh Parmegiano Reggiano cheese
1/4 tsp dried red chilli flakes
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 to 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp drained capers
1/2 heaped cup pitted kalamata olives
6 sun dried tomatoes (in oil)
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
1/2 lemon, juice only

(cream added can make it more luxurious!)

Start by putting all the basil into a food processor and turn it on. Through the tube in the top, put the garlic, chilli flakes, olive oil, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, capers,sun dried tomatoes, pine nuts, lemon juice, olives and anything else you may have forgotten.
Puree for a few minutes, then taste and add more seasoning if it needs it.
Pour into a lovely glass jar with a lid and you have a great pasta sauce, or a base for crunchy, toasted bruschetta, or a base for many seafood dishes. It’s lovely as a dip for grilled shrimp, a coating on a piece of white fish, or even added to a soup as a dollop in the middle of the bowl just as you serve it, as in “pistou”.

There are endless ways to use it and it lasts a long time, including freezes well.
The Trader Joes basil plants are the most economical way to make pesto based sauces if you don’t grow basil. Unforunately we are having a battle with the garden snails and they claimed this year’s basil!

Do-ahead · Egg based · Gluten Free · Grains

Provencal gratin of spinach and zucchini

Provence (my most favorite part of the world) is known for it’s terracotta (baked earth) flower pots, urns, tiles and even cooking dishes. A “Tian”is a type of earthenware gratin dish which also gives it’s name to the food cooked in it.
They are generally vegetable oriented; and often rice grown in the Camargue (the marsh land of Provence) is added to the dish to make it more substantial.
This is an easy dish to double.

Serves 6 – 8

Ingredients
1 1/2lbs fresh spinach, washed
3 good sized zucchini, grated
4 oz short or medium grained rice
2 large onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
4 extra large whole eggs
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
2 tsps salt
freshly ground black  pepper
good pinch grated nutmeg

Assembly and Presentation
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Oil a fairly large earthenware oven dish with a bit of olive oil.
In a saute pan cook the chopped onions and garlic until soft. Season with salt and pepper and add the grated zucchini and cook for an additional 10 minutes until the zucchini is wilted.

Blanch the spinach in boiling salted water for 2 minutes. Drain and refresh under cold water. Squeeze out the excess liquid and chop the spinach.
Put the rice in a pan of boiling salted water and simmer for 12 minutes. Drain.
Beat the eggs and gradually stir in the milk. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Add the zucchini, spinach. rice and parmesan.

Pour into the gratin dish and bake for 30 minutes. Serve hot .

Asian flavors · Fish · Gluten Free · Nuts

Caramel Salmon with Lime (CleanCuisine)

This is an unbeatable salad combination of Thai tastes, c/o Jill Duplex, a wonderful Australian cookery book writer. The flavors in this dish are chilli, cilantro, mint, sugar, lime juice and fish sauce, all perfect for a piece of delicate, rich salmon.
A really innovative, tasty, complex salad dish for either a main course or a starter.

Serves 4

4 thick salmon fillets, skinned (choose wild salmon, if possible)
200 grams bean sprouts
2 tbsps vegetable oil
50 grams fresh mint leaves, left whole
25 grams cilantro leaves, left whole
3 scallions, finely chopped
2 tbsps salted or dry roasted peanuts, crushed coarsely
1 lime, quartered

Sauce
100 grams soft brown sugar
125 mls water
1 red chilli, finely sliced
3 cm knob of fresh ginger, finely sliced
2 garlic cloves peeled and smashed
4 tbsps Thai fish sauce
4 tbsps fresh lime juice

To make the sauce, use the ingredients in the “sauce” list only. Dissolve the sugar in the water in a small pan and bring to the boil, stirring.
Add the chilli, ginger and garlic and let it bubble away to reduce (but do not boil over!) for 4 – 5 minutes until quite syrupy.
Remove from the heat and add the fish sauce and the lime juice.

Cut the salmon into bite-sized pieces, about 3cm square and coat lightly in the caramel sauce.
Pour a jug of boiling water over the bean sprouts then drain and set aside.
Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan and fry the salmon quickly until caramelized, keeping the inside pink.

Combine the salmon, mint, coriander, scallions and bean sprouts in a bowl and toss well.
Strain the sauce and keep warm, if necessary, reheat.
Arrange on warmed dinner plates, spoon the warm sauce over the top and scatter with peanuts.

Serve with the lime wedges and plenty of steamed rice.

Gluten Free · Grains

Leek, spinach and dill weed pilaf

I serve this with the “Mediterranean Fish Dish” and countless other dishes, as the leeks give such a wonderful flavor through the rice. A lot of people don’t like leeks, but you won’t even know what they are by the time you’ve finished the dish!

Serves 4

4 good sized leeks, rinsed and chopped lengthways, then across in 1/2 inch slices.
Butter
8 oz washed baby spinach
1 good tbsp dried dill weed.
salt and pepper
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup long grain rice

Saute the leeks in a good knob of butter and add the dill weed. When they are soft, add the rice and stir, coating well with the leeks and butter, season with salt and pepper. Add the chicken broth and spinach, bring to the boil, stir well and turn down to low. Cover  and cook with the lid on following the cooking time on your rice packet. (Usually 20 minutes)
When ready, give a stir and serve.

Fish · Gluten Free

My Mediterranean Fish dish (CleanCuisine)

Yesterday I bought some orange roughy, normally when we eat white fish we like either Halibut or Chilean sea bass as our everyday fish, but sea bass is so pricey that I decided to try orange roughy.
I also decided to try a dish with mainly pantry ingredients and it turned out so well, here it is.
The amounts of ingredients can be varied according to taste, but this is approximately what I did.
It was gorgeous, robust but very light!

serves 4

2lbs orange roughy or halibut fillets (a firm fish works better for this dish)
3 good sized onions, sliced
4 big cloves garlic, crushed
3 lemons plus grated rind of them all.
1/3 cup drained capers
1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives, halved
10 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
salt and pepper
butter and olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a large shallow, heavy frying pan that is oven proof and has a lid, (I use a large round, shallow, Le Creuset pan)  and saute the onions and garlic very slowly in the butter/olive oil mixture for about 30 – 40 minutes or until caramelized, adding the capers, olives, lemon rind, salt and pepper.

Add the lemon juice and cherry tomatoes. Mix well and lay the seasoned fish fillets on top, spooning some of the goodness below on top of the fillets. Sprinkle a little lemon juice over the fish fillets and put the lid on.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes. Check to see if the fish is done. There should be a good amount of juice too.
I serve it with a rice pilaf made with sauteed leeks, spinach and dill weed.

 

Do-ahead · Gluten Free · Vegetable sides

Mashed rosemary white beans

This is lovely as a replacement for mashed potatoes, especially with lamb.

2 (15 oz) cans of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 -3 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
a few sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped finely
1/3 to 1/2 cup chicken stock
salt and pepper

In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil, garlic and rosemary over medium – low heat. Saute till fragrant.
Add the beans and chicken stock.
Increase the heat to medium and stir the beans.
Continue to stir until the beans begin to soften, approximately 8 minutes.
Using a potato masher, mash the beans until they reach the desired consistency.
Add the salt and pepper to taste and serve warm.
(I used a bit of cream at the end to make it even silkier and it worked a treat!)

Do-ahead · Gluten Free · Vegetable sides · Vegetable-related

Eggplant Gateau

Eggplant is so simple, elegant and utterly Provencal using only eggplant, cherry tomatoes, basil, garlic and parmesan.
All you need is a loose bottom cake tin. I use a round 9″ diameter one, but it doesn’t really matter what shape or size, just make sure it’s non stick and you spray olive oil as an extra guarantee that it’ll come away from the tin when ready to serve.

Serves 6

3 medium eggplants, thinly sliced
olive oil, to drizzle
Large piece of unsalted butter
2 lbs cherry tomatoes, halved
3 – 5 garlic cloves, minced
large handful of fresh basil
sea salt and ground black pepper
8 – 10oz grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

Heat the oven to 350 F.
Thinly slice the eggplants and lay the slices out on two large oiled baking sheets. Drizzle with olive oil and bake for about 8 minutes, till softened and lightly browned.

Melt butter in a large saute pan and cook the cherry tomatoes with the garlic until softened and pulpy. Tear the basil leaves and stir in, season with salt and pepper.

Layer 1/4 of the eggplant slices over the base of the cake tin, top with 1/3 of the tomato mixture, then sprinkle well with some parmesan cheese.





















Add another layer of eggplant, then another 1/3 of the tomato/basil mixture, then more parmesan cheese.
Repeat this again, finishing with a layer of eggplant to cover, then a generous sprinkling of parmesan cheese.

Don’t worry if you use more ingredients than the recipe says, you can really put as many layers as you want.


Put the cake tin on a baking sheet so that if any juices run out, they won’t mess up your oven. Bake it at 350F  for about 30- 45 mins, looking at it after 30 to see if the top is nicely browned.
It will be done when the cheese topping is bubbling and browned.
Let it stand for 5 minutes, then slip out of the tin onto a large plate.
Cut into wedges and serve.

Appetizers · Do-ahead · Fish · Gluten Free

Smoked trout mousse

This always goes down really well and people are very surprised at the “zestiness” of the flavors.
I buy the ready prepared, boned smoked trout available at Gelsons and some other markets, usually near the smoked salmon section. Prepare the mousse a day ahead of serving to allow time for the flavors to really take off!
Adjust the seasonings on the day of serving.

Makes about 1 cup and serves 4 – 6 people

1 large shallot
1/2 lb smoked trout, skinned and boned ( You can use up to 10 oz and it’s great)
6 heaped tbsp good quality mayonnaise
3 tbsp cream cheese. at room temperature
1 1/2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 heaped tbsp finely chopped fresh dill
white pepper
fresh dill sprigs for decoration
lightly toasted thin baguette slices or crackers

In a food processor fitted with the metal blade, mince the shallot. Add the fish, mayonnaise, cream cheese, lime juice, chopped dill and white pepper and process until pureed.
Taste for seasoning.
Spoon the mousse into a lovely 1 1/2 cup dish and garnish with the dill sprigs.
Serve with the baguette slices or crackers.
remember to leave overnight in the fridge before serving.

Can be prepared up to 3 days ahead, covered and refrigerated.

Do-ahead · Gluten Free · Vegan · Whole30 compliant

Oven dried heirloom tomatoes

I have in my oven at the moment, 8 sliced heirloom tomatoes slowly releasing their sweet smell as they very slowly “oven-dry” for 2 – 3 days.
By that I mean, I cut the tomatoes in 1/2 (or sometimes 1/3rds if they are big).  I then lay them on a silicone mat on a baking tray and sprinkle them with olive oil, salt and freshly ground pepper, then sprinkle chopped fresh thyme,  garlic, marjoram and a spray of balsamic vinegar on them.
The oven has a pilot light, so is always warm, but I set it to 200 degrees or the lowest it will go and leave them in for 2 -3  days, checking on them from time to time.

They are wonderful in pasta dishes or sandwiches and store so well in the fridge.