Spaghetti with Sausage and Cilantro Pesto

Who says pesto can only be made with basil and pine nuts? Certainly not me! I have been testing different ways of making pesto - using different types of herbs and nuts to see how the flavors changes. I tried this cilantro (or coriander) pesto a couple nights ago and was pleasantly surprised by the result. Cilantro can be a little overpowering at times, so I used a handful of peas in the mixture to soften its taste and it worked well with mild Italian sausage.

The point is.. I might be a bit of a rebel (but certainly not a maverick!) and don't really like following recipes too closely. I do when I bake - doughs can turn out seriously wrong if you don't follow ratios - but when I cook savory foods, I tend to let my imagination go. Pesto is one of those things I tend to have a sudden craving for, so it helps to be able to tweak the original recipe and make it with what I have on hand that day.

Recipe (for 4)
One bunch of cilantro
2 small garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1/4 cup of good quality extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup of pine nuts, lightly toasted if possible
1/4 cup of frozen peas, thawed
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
Salt and freshly ground pepper
450 g spaghetti (for 4 people)
2 good quality mild Italian sausages from your Deli
2 tablespoons of bread crumbs

To make the pesto: In a blender place the cilantro, garlic and pine nuts. Pulse. Slowly add the olive oil while blending. Once half of the oil is added, add the peas. Pulse again. Add the lemon juice. Once the mixture is smooth (but still a little chunky) add the Parmesan and pulse again. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Reserve.

Boil the water for the pasta. Salt generously and cook the spaghetti for the indicated time on the package until al dente. While the pasta is cooking, heat a pan to medium high heat with a good drizzle of olive oil. Slice the sausage and add to the hot pan in a single layer. Do not move the sausage for about 3 minutes. Turn on the oven side once the sausage is nicely browned. Add the breadcrumbs to the pan. Cook for another 2-3 minutes. Make sure the breadcrumbs are nicely toasted and coat the sausage. Once the sausage is cooked through, remove and place on a paper towel to soak up excess fat.

Once the pasta is cooked, add a small ladle of the pasta water to your reserved pesto to loosen the sauce. Drain the pasta and transfer to the pan with the sausage. Add the sausage, the pesto and mix in. Serve. Enjoy!

Lemon Risotto with Pea Puree and Mushrooms

There's just something about risotto. I don't know if it's the way you see the strands of rice start binding together gently or if it is its velvety and creamy texture once done, but it gets me every time. In fact, this is one of the meals I find myself making the most because it's so easy. I remember reading about how tedious it was to make and how you had to be behind your stove carefully making sure the rice didn't burn. The reality is that risotto is very quick to make (about 20 minutes) and can usually be made with ingredients most of us already have on hand. A few things, however, can turn a risotto from a simple weeknight supper to an amazing meal. First, using good quality stock really does make a difference, and in the case of risotto it makes the whole dish take on a richer and more intense flavor. You can obviously make it with store bought stock if that's all you have, but if you want to make this a real treat, homemade stock is definitely the way to go.

For having made stock over and over again at culinary school, I can assure you that chicken stock is pretty easy to make. Veal and beef stocks are more tedious to master, take a long time and require ingredients the regular cook does not have at home (like veal bones!). Chicken stock, however, uses the simplest ingredients. It does take about 2 hours to make, but you just need to skim off the fat from time to time once it's on the stove, so you really just need to be home and you can be doing something else while your stock is slowly simmering away. Chicken stock also freezes very well, so you can make a big batch every couple months and freeze them in individual ziploc bags that you can then take out as needed.

Once you have good stock, it's almost impossible to end up with a bad risotto, as long as you let it gently simmer away to get the rice to slowly release its starch and allow the strands to slowly meld together. I treat risotto much as I do pizza: as long as you have ingredients that complement one another, you really don't have to follow a recipe, and the possibilities are endless.



Recipe (for 4)
1 1/2 cup of arborio rice
4 cups of chicken stock
1 cup of thawed frozen peas
1/2 lemon, juice and zest
3 shallots, diced finely
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
1 glass of good quality white wine
2 tablespoons of butter
A large handful of cremini mushrooms
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmesan, and extra for serving

In a pot, bring the stock to a boil, reduce to a low simmer.
In a saucepan, add the butter and a good drizzle of olive oil on medium low heat. Once the butter is melted, add the shallots, the garlic, 2 sprigs of thyme and the oregano. Once the shallots have softened (about 2 minutes), add the rice and coat with the butter, stirring until the rice looks lightly toasted. Add the wine and gently stir. Once the wine has almost evaporated, add the stock, ladle by ladle. Keep adding stock once it has almost evaporated in the pan. Season with salt and pepper.

In the meantime, heat some olive oil on medium high heat in a separate pan. Add the 2 remaining sprigs of thyme. Add the chopped mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the mushrooms are cooked through. Reserve.

In a mortar, add the peas, lemon juice and zest, a good drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper. Crush with the pestle until the mixture binds together but is still chunky. Reserve.

While you are making the pea puree and cooking the mushrooms, keep a constant eye on the rice, keep adding stock and stirring gently. After about 12 minutes, taste and adjust seasoning (do not put too much salt because the Parmesan is quite salty). Once the rice is cooked, add the mushrooms and Parmesan. Fold them in gently. Add the pea puree just long enough for it to be cooked through. Serve immediately, with shaved Parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil. Enjoy!

Mushroom and Roquefort Tartelettes

So.. it has been a while since I was able to write. It's not that I haven't been cooking, I've actually been cooking more than I ever have before but I've had little time to blog about it. Now that I have a little more time, you can be sure that what I have been making will be documented very soon. I am also thinking of migrating to blogger..any thought about whether it's a good idea or not are welcome!

As for these individual tarts, they were made last night and turned out really well. I have been buying the magazine Delicious. every chance I get. I highly recommend it. Granted, it is a bit of a splurge and will set you back 10 something dollars, but it's worth it. The recipes are mouth-watering, clear and easy to follow. This recipe was adapted from the latest edition of the magazine. I liked using roquefort too, as it gave the tarts a real pungeant flavor. Roquefort can be an acquired taste for some (it is one of the strongest blue cheeses around, and probably not the best date smell!), but it really has a creamy goodness that works perfectly with the sweet shallots and flaky dough. Puff pastry is also one of my favorite ingredients to use to make any meal simple and chic. So here goes!

Recipe (for 6 individual tarts)
1 sheet of puff pastry (left in the fridge to defrost)
3 handfuls of muhsrooms (use any kind you have on hand)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
6 shallots, sliced
A teaspoon of brown sugar
Roquefort cheese (or any blue cheese)
Frisee salad
1 egg yolk, beaten
Extra virgin olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Salt and Pepper
A muffin pan (preferably silicone)

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Lay out the pastry dough and cut out circles of dough a little larger than the size of the muffin molds. Grease the inside of the pan and place each circle of dough in the mold. Once filled, place the muffin pan in the fridge to stay cold.

Place a pan on medium-low heat with a good drizzle of olive oil. Cook the shallots gently, stirring often for abour 20 minutes, until the shallots are softened. In the meantime, cook the mushrooms and garlic separetely in another pan. Cook the mushrooms for about 5 minutes, and season with salt and pepper. Once cooked, place the mushrooms on a paper towel to soak up the moisture. If there is not much moisture, the puff pastry will be too humid, not hold together well, and taste mushy.. so soaking up some of the moisture really helps! Mix the mushroom and shallots together. Reserve.

Take out the pastry dough. Sprinkle the bottom of each molded circle with brown sugar. Add an euqal amount of the msuhroom/shallot mixture in each circle of dough. Brush the sides of the dough with the beaten egg (this helps the dough to get golden brown in the oven). Place in the oven for 10 minutes, or until the puff pastry is golden brown.

In the meantime, dress the frisee with a good drizzle of olive oil and a small drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Taste, and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Take the tarts out of the muffin pan, add the crumbled roquefort and top with a few sprigs of frisee. Serve warm. Enjoy!

Lamb and Pine Nut Kebabs

These were made a little while ago, and I just realized I hadn't posted the recipe. It's actually been one of my favorite dishes made this summer (so far!). I've been using our newest purchase (a barbecue!) as much as possible while the warm(ish) weather lasts. The kebabs turned out well... although Oliver and I both forgot to soak the skewers we were using...which is definitely a must when placing wood on an open fire! Battling the small flames of the barbecue certainly played a part in making the experience of outdoor cooking that much more adventurous!



Recipe, adapted from Cooking Morrocan (serves 4)
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons of chopped parsley
1 tablespoon of chopped coriander leaves
500 g (1 lb 2 oz) of ground lamb
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of paprika
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
A handful of pine nuts
Salt and pepper to taste
8 skewers, soaked in water for 20 minutes before using
Lemon wedges and salad leaves to serve

Put the onion, parsley and coriander in a food processor and process to a puree. Add the lamb, cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper, and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Process to a paste, scrapping the side of the bowl occasionally.

Place a pan on medium heat. Add the pine nuts and toast them, stirring them often. As soon as they start browning and become fragrant, remove them from the pan. Coarsely chop them and fold them in to the lamb mixture. Divide the mixture into 8 even portions. Form into about 9 cm long cylinders (3 1/2 inches) and leave to chill for an hour in the fridge.

Insert the soaked skewers through the center of each lamb sausage. Cook on hot oiled barbecue or indoor grill until cooked through (about 5 minutes on each side). Gently turn the kebabs often to insure that they don't stick to the grill. They will feel firm when lightly pressed with tongs once they are cooked.

Serve with lemon wedges and lettuce leaves. Enjoy!

Eggplant Puree with Ricotta, Coppa and Chives

I've always liked presenting food in transparent glasses. This works particularly well when you are serving food with different textures and colors, and makes you want to dig in instantly! I made these a little while ago for my family during a vacation in the South of France, and they were pretty easy to put together for a crowd. I like these types of appetizers because they are so versatile. You can change the herbs or the cured ham depending on what you've got on hand.



Recipe, adapted from the Jose Marechal's book Verrines. (makes eight)

2 large eggplants
2 shallots
1/4 cup of plain yogurt
1 garlic clove
A handful of chopped chives
1/4 teaspoon of lemon juice
Salt and pepper
8 thin slices of coppa
400 grams of ricotta

Extra Virgin Olive oil

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on a aluminum-lined cookie sheet in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the eggplant in soft. Scoop out the flesh and place it in the bowl of a mixer. Add the garlic, half of the chives, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth. Add a drizzle of olive oil. Taste and adjust seasoning. Mix in the yogurt. Place in the fridge to cool.
Mix the ricotta with the lemon juice and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and a good drizzle of olive oil
Cut each slice of coppa into small pieces.
Assemble the appetizer by placing a couple spoonfuls of eggplant puree, topped with a spoonful of ricotta, a few pieces of coppa. Garnish with the chopped chives and serve with crusty bread. Enjoy!

Prosciutto-wrapped Asparagus

Often times, the most simple recipes turn out to be the ones you want to make over and over again because they are so delicious. This recipe fits this category perfectly. Having recently purchased a barbecue, I have been grilling a lot and discovering the joys of outdoor cooking (on a balcony that is). Grilled asparagus is fast and delicious, and it took minutes to put this whole recipe together. Please feel free to share your favorite grilling recipes here, I would love to know what has been making your best-recipe list this summer!

Recipe:
Asparagus
Good quality thinly sliced prosciutto
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
Lemon juice

Turn on your barbecue (or indoor grill) to medium heat. Drizzle a little olive oil on the asparagus and season with salt and pepper. Grill for about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, and wrap the prosciutto around the stems as soon as the asparagus is cold enough to handle. Wrap the prosciutto tightly to ensure that it will stick to the asparagus. Grill for an additional 2-4 minutes depending on how cooked you want the asparagus and how crispy you want the prosciutto. Drizzle with a little lemon juice, and serve warm or at room temperature.

Pan-Seared Sea Bass with Olive Tapenade and Lemon Arugula

With the summer in full swing, I have been very keen on cooking simple flavorful meals with crisp and fresh flavors. I was inspired by one of Jamie Oliver's recipes in which he paired monkish with an olive salsa. Bass was the fish we had on hand though, so bass it was! I often turn to Jamie Oliver when I'm looking for great flavor combinations that transform into rustic and colorful dishes. Fish can however be a little tricky to cook, as fillets such as this one cook relatively fast and over-cook pretty fast too. Loyal to my culinary school knowledge, I crisped the fish skin in a hot skillet and finished the cooking in the oven. It turned out well, and the whole dish came together nicely. The rest of the olive tapenade was then used on crusty bread. I have been deliberately writing out my blog recipes more liberally than I used to. I find it difficult to set exact quantities of salt, or oil to be used. That depends on not only taste, but the size of your pan, the quantity of vegetable that you have on hand, the weight and thickness of the fish or meat that your are using etc. I have learned a lot about cooking by learning how to taste my food. I now taste my food constantly as I am cooking it to adjust seasoning and flavor. I have also learned to use ratios in the kitchen rather than exact quantities. For salad dressings for instance, the standard ratio is usually 3 parts fat to 1 part acidity. This ratio works for olive oil and vinegar dressings as it does for lemon and oil ones. Let me know if you have any comments on this new setup of recipes as I do intend them on being as clear as can be!
Recipe: (for 2)
2 bass fillets
Lemon juice
Salt and Pepper

Olive Tapenade:
A good handful of good quality black olives, finely diced
1/2 tomato, diced
1 tablespoon of capers, drained and sliced
Lemon juice
Balsamic vinegar
Salt and Pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
A handful of fresh oregano and basil, finely chopped

Arugula Salad:
A handful of arugula
Lemon juice
Salt and Pepper

Make the tapenade by mixing the olives, capers, herbs and tomatoes. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Drizzle in some balsamic vinegar and lemon juice and taste again. Add a good drizzle of olive oil to bind all the ingredients together. You can also do this in a blender. Reserve.Preheat your oven to 400 F. Pat the fish dry. Season generously with salt and pepper. Heat a skillet to medium high heat and add some oil. Once the oil is hot, add the fish, skin side down, and press it down with a fish spatula to make it doesn't curl up and crisps evenly. Leave to cook for about 2-3 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish. Shake the pan at times to make sure the fish does not stick. Once the skin has crisped and browned nicely, flip the fish over on the flesh side and cook for 30 seconds. Put the skillet in the oven and cook for 2-3 minutes until cooked through. The fish is done when it's flaky but still slightly bouncy to the touch.Toss the arugula with a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper. The ratio should be 3 to 1 with 3 parts olive oil to 1 part lemon. Serve the fish on top of the arugula and spoon over the tapenade. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil. Enjoy!

Caponata-stuffed Mushrooms

I have been meaning to post my caponata recipe for a while. I like this recipe because it can be applied to so many different dishes. You can serve the caponata simply tossed with penne, served with a firm piece of fish, to top a bruschetta, or, as I've done here, as a filling for mushrooms. It's also a great recipes for those days where you want something hearty but don't have that much time to cook.

I haven't been cooking nearly as much as I would want. A lot of our kitchen utensils are still in boxes (we are pretty slow at the whole moving thing!) and our kitchen, had, up to a few days ago, been housing excess boxes as well. Things are slowly moving forward though, and with my cookbook collection out again, I have never been in such a good cleaning mood. For now though, the aroma of this simple meal wafted through our new place and helped make it feel a bit more like home..



Recipe (for 4), adapted from Jamie Oliver's Jamie's Italy
1 italian eggplant, diced
1 tablespoon of capers, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar
2 large tomatoes, diced
A handful of chopped parsley (leaves and stems to be kept separately)
Salt and pepper to taste
Extra virgin olive oil
1/2 red onion, diced
3 cloved of garlic, minced
Large button mushrooms

Cook the eggplant in a pan on high heat with some olive oil. The eggplant should cook on one layer, so you might have to cook it in batches. Cook the eggplant for 4-5 minutes until it softens. Season with salt and pepper. Add the onion, garlic and parsley stems. Cook for an additional 2 minutes, stirring often. Add the red wine vinegar, capers and tomatoes and cook for another 2 minutes. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Rid the mushrooms of their stems and scoop out some of the inside to obtain a large surface to welcome stuffing. Grill the mushrooms (or saute) until lightly golden brown. Fill with the caponata. Enjoy!

Lemon Calamari and Cherry Tomato Salad

I stopped by the local market a couple days ago in search of some fresh fish. I was in the mood for bass but couldn't find it at the fishmonger. Montreal is a strange city when it comes to fish and seafood. Growing up in Paris (which isn't exactly a maritime city) I was used to the great abundance of local markets and the easiness to find great varieties of fish at anytime of year. Montreal, for a reason that I have yet to discover, offers very little variety of fish in most places, and what is offered is quite expensive. Frustrated at the sight of the fish available, I settled for calamari.

I found grilling calamari to be quite the experience. Being not incredibly awake while making lunch, I attempted to gently place the calamari on our indoor grill. The tentacles danced to the sizzling oil, and, for a second, I thought it might still be alive. Fortunately for me, it wasn't. I was clearly in no mood for a fight. It's surprising how easy, and quick, it is to cook calamari. It must, actually, be cooked in a couple minutes to prevent it from becoming tough and chewy, so it's really an easy solution for a quick meal.

Recipe (for 2)

4 calamari, tubes and tentacles
8 medium size cherry tomatoes
1/2 lemon, juice and zest
Extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, crushed and minced
2 green onions, sliced
A couple sprigs of fresh thyme, picked
Salt and pepper to taste

Slit the calamari tubes on one side to open them up, and lightly score one side. Place them in a bowl and add half the lemon juice, the zest, the garlic, half of the thyme, salt and pepper and a good drizzle of olive oil. Leave to marinate while you make the tomato salad. Quarter the tomatoes and place them in a bowl. Add the sliced scallions, the rest of the lemon juice and the rest of thyme. Drizzle with olive oil and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.

Get your grill on medium high heat. Once it's hot, place the calamari on the grill. gently pressing down so they don't curl up too much. After 1 minute turn them around. Make sure to pour the extra thyme and garlic over top. Cook for another minute. Remove from the heat and slice in bite-size pieces. Add to the tomato salad and toss. Adjust seasoning. Enjoy!

Spaghetti with Broccolini, Sausage and Chili Flakes

I've always really enjoyed pasta lightly tossed with vegetables rather than swimming in sauce. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy a heart-warming slice of meaty lasgna from time to time, but when I am in the mood for something quick, flavourful and light, I always opt for simple pasta dishes like this one. I have been meaning to try the combination of a bitter vegetable with sweet sausage (especially since tasting sausage and swiss chard penne at Mario Batali's Otto in New York), so this is my take on that combination of flavors.

I have been in the process of moving apartments since I've been back in Montreal.. so the cooking has been minimal, and with minimal tools. It's always a nice feeling when good food comes out of your kitchen in minutes, made with few ingredients and requires very little cleanup.

Recipe
For 4

A bunch of broccolini, disregarding the stems
2 sweet Italian sausages, casing removed
1/8 cup of dry white wine
A pinch of chili flakes
6 garlic cloves, crushed and minced
Parmesan cheese to taste
Salt and pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
A good handful of spaghetti

Cook the spaghetti in boiling water following the instructions on the box. Cut the broccolini into bite size pieces and steam for 2-3 minutes until soft. In a pan, add a good drizzle of oilve oil and the garlic. Start up the heat on medium low to gently infuse the flavor of the garlic in the oil without burning the garlic. After about 3 minutes, add the sausage (that has been taken out of its casing) and break up the meat with the back of a wooden spoon. The meat will start to cook and change color. Once the meat has just changed color toss in the broccolini and saute on higher heat. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Add the white wine and leave to reduce. Drain the pasta (but not excessively as some startch in the cooking water will help the sauce to bind together). Add the pasta to the pan, saute and adjust seasoning. Add the chili flakes, parmesan flakes and serve. Enjoy!

Salmon Tartare with Pickled Cucumbers, Red Onions and Capers

An amuse bouche usually consists of a small bite-size treat, courtesy of the chef, that opens up your palate for the meal to come. They are sometimes incredibly intricate, sometimes very simple, and are meant to showcase the restaurant's culinary vision. One of the stations at the French Culinary Institute's restaurant comes up with a different amuse bouche every day. When my turn arrived, I came up with this concoction, a fresh way to get your appetite going on a warm sunny day. The tricky part was to plate quickly as the customers ordered their food. The salmon had to be mixed with the marinade at the last minute to ensure that the salmon would maintain its vivid orange color, so we rapidly found ourselves plating a dozen tartares at a time. It was worth it though, as the plates looked beautiful and the salmon turned out tasty, yet simple. You can definitely serve this as an appetizer as I did with the leftovers.

Since then, I have graduated, and been adorned with a proper chef's hat! The real professional kitchen life will come soon, but I am for now savoring a bit of relaxing time after an intense 6 months of training to become a chef.



Recipe
Salmon fillet
A handful of capers, rinsed and coarsely chopped
One diced red onion
2 tablespoons yuzu juice
Extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup of rice wine vinegar
1/4 lemon, juice and zest
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup of parmesan
Half cucumber, sliced very thin
Chives, to garnish

Place the cucumber in a bowl. Add the rice wine vinegar and yuzu. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Leave for at least an hour in the fridge so that the cucumbers get a nice pickly taste.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grate parmesan and spread on a silk pad sheet set on top of a sheet pan. If you don't have one, you can use parchment paper. Spread the cheese on an even layer making a rough rectangular shape. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Break into pieces and reserve.

Dice the salmon and place it into a bowl. Remove any gray areas in the flesh, as well as the skin. Cover and place in the fridge. In a separate bowl, mix the red onions, capers, lemon juice and zest. Drizzle generously with olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Once you are ready to serve, add the caper and onion mixture to the salmon. Do not do this too much in advance or the salmon will change color with the acidity of the lemon.

Place a mound of salmon tartare on the plate, and serve with cucumber, a piece of parmesan and a piece of chive as you please. Enjoy!

Warm Chocolate Tart with Candied Orange

Chocolate tarts are an easy seller for most people. Warm chocolaty filling and a crunchy crust make for a delicious dessert at any time of year. This tart has been very popular in the restaurant, and is served with homemade caramel ice cream.

The kitchen has been incredibly warm these past few days although the pastry kitchen - which is generally blessed with more fresh air- has made the heat a little more bearable. The pastry kitchen at l'Ecole is cooler than the other stations in the restaurant but even so, it has been quite the challenge to plate ice cream scoops and run to the front of the kitchen before they look like soup. Rolling out dough has also been a little more fussy than usual, and even on cold marble, the tart dough was very quickly too soft to handle. The trick has been to roll it out on floured parchment paper, and to use a second piece of it to flip the dough around and make sure it doesn't stick.

Heat really is the evil cousin of the kitchen and I'm not sure I'm completely used to performing sometimes tedious or physically demanding tasks while all you I am dreaming about is a pool and iced cocktails. But when I start plating dishes such as this chocolate tart, it's easier to put things back into perspective. This beautiful - and tasty! - food will soon be served to a crowd waiting in the dining room who will, hopefully, leave their table satisfied.



Recipe (makes about 30 individual tarts)
Tart Dough:
450 grams butter
200 grams sugar
2 egg yolks
15 milliliters heavy cream
510 grams flour

Filling:
280 grams of bittersweet chocolate
4 egg yolks
2 whole eggs
55 grams of sugar
Zest of 1 orange
170 grams of softened butter
Icing sugar for garnish

Candied Orange Peel:
Peel of 2 oranges, cut into thin matchsticks
2 cups of sugar
2 cups of water
Extra water to blanch

Dough:
Place the butter and sugar in a mixer and mix until softened - don't overbeat. In a bowl, mix the egg yolks and heavy cream and add slowly to the mixer. Once the mixture is smooth, turn off the machine and add the flour all at once. Mix until the dough holds together but do not overbeat. Let the dough rest in the fridge for at least an hour.
Once the dough has rested, take it out and roll in out gently into a thin disc. Butter 3 1/2 inch tartlet molds and gently cut out circles of dough to fit them. Place the circles to chill in the fridge (or freezer) until they are cold. They should be cold and just maleable enough to be placed in the molds. Even if they seem a little bit hard, press them between your two palms and they will be maleable in no time. They should still be cold when placed in the oven, so try to fill your mold quickly and do them in batches if you plan on making a few. Bake at 325 F (making sure to place beans or another heavy element inside so that the dough does not rise. Bake for about 10 minutes or until the sides of the crust are light golden-brown in color.
Remove the beans and bake for another 2 minutes. Leave to cool.

Filling:
Melt the chocolate. While it is melting, place the yolks, whole eggs and sugar in a mixer. Mix for about 5 minutes, until the mixture thickens and forms ribbons. Add the butter, zest and mix it with a spatula. Add the melted chocolate.
Fill the cooled tart doughs with the filling and bake at 325 F for an additional 6 minutes.

Candied Orange:
Place the peels in a pot of hot water and blanch 3 times to remove bitterness. Make a simple syrup by dissolving 2 cups of sugar in 2 cups of water. Add the peels to the syrup and cook on low heat for about 20 minutes or until the peels are translucent.

Serve the tart warm sprinkled with icing sugar and candied orange.

Chocolate and Raspberry Filled Crepes

Crepes have a always been a sort of weekend tradition in my family. As one of the few recipes that my mother masters to perfection, we were treated to crepes simply dressed with granulated sugar and a squeeze of lemon. At culinary school, we made the classic 'crepes suzette' made with orange compound butter, and flambéed with orange liqueur. The ones featured here were were however filled with melted bittersweet chocolate and raspberries... the main reason being that red berries are delicious at this time of year, and that Oliver and I had an early morning craving for chocolate.

The only real trick to crepes is making sure that there are no lumps in the batter, and that you give the batter time to rest.. so patience is key! I tend to prefer crepes to pancakes because they are so much lighter in taste and texture and really create a blank canvas to play with.. as well as a little taste of home.



Recipe:
125 grams (1 cup) flour
Pinch of salt
20 grams (1 tablespoon) of sugar
2 whole eggs
250 ml milk
2 cups of raspberries
Zest of half an orange and lemon
1/2 cup of bittersweet chocolate chips
Room temperature butter

Place the flour, salt and sugar into a bowl and form a well in the center. Add the eggs in the well, whisking constantly to make sure the dry ingredients get incorporated smoothly. Add the milk in small batches. Once the mixture is smooth, leave to rest for an hour in the fridge.

Heat a knob of butter in a non-stick pan. Once the butter starts to foam up, place a ladle of crepe batter in the pan and twirl the mixture to obtain a thin and even layer of crepe. Once the crepe starts to firm up, add a couple tablespoons of chocolate, and sprinkle with orange and lemon zest on one half of the crepe. Add a few raspberries and leave to cook for about 2 minutes until the raspberries start to full apart. Fold in the empty side of the crepe ontop of the filling and cook for another minute. Fold the crepe into a triangle and serve immediately. Garnish with extra raspberries and orange zest. Enjoy!

Soba Noodles with Peanut Sauce

Jenn came up to visit this weekend and so I thought cook up this simple little dish that I know she likes. Peanut sauces, either as a dipping sauce, or with chicken skewers or noodles, occupy a central place in the pantheon of North Americanized Asian cuisine and are always very popular. I find that restaurants often make the sauces a little too sweet, so I had a fun time trying to balance the different flavors making up this sauce.



Recipe (Adapted from Ted Allen's The Food You Want To Eat, published at leitesculinaria.com)
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
1/3 cup roasted peanuts
1/3 cup light soy sauce
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon mirin
2 medium garlic cloves
1 small cucumber
1/2 pound soba noodles
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 scallions, sliced

Dry roast the sesame seeds in a wok or cast iron pan under medium for 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently. In a small food processor, blend the peanuts, sesame oil, half of the sesame seeds, peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, mirin and garlic until the consistency of a thick sauce. Slice the cucumbers in half lengthwise, scoop out the insides with a fork and slice into U-shaped pieces. Cook the noodles in boiling water as directed on the package. Drain, rinse in cold water, and re-immerse in some boiling to reheat. Drain again, mix in with the sauce, cucumber, scallions, cilantro and remaining sesame seeds. Serve hot or cold.

Seared Sesame Seed Tuna Sandwich

I just ended my rotation at the 'sandwich station' of the restaurant. Sandwiches are often very underrated, and considered to be the cheap relative to a fancy meal. The sandwich station at the restaurant is a way for us culinary students to re-think this all-time lunch favorite. I decided to try making a gourmet fresh tuna sandwich, with velvety avocado and a soy and scallion marinade.

Up to now, we had only been assigned recipes that had been tested by our chefs and that we tried to execute as best we could for our customers. This was thus a new opportunity to get creative, and come up with a different sandwich special to be served every day.

Since then I have begun my last month of school culinary .. so, if all goes well, I will be adorned with a chef's hat in a month exactly!




Recipe:
Tuna loin
Sesame seeds
2 scallions
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
2 teaspoons of lemon juice
1/2 avocado, sliced
Salt and Pepper
Olive oil and canola oil
Bordelais bread

Cut the bread into thin slices. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill to obtain a nice grill mark and set aside. Season the tuna loin on all sides, generously, with salt and pepper. Pat with an even coat of sesame seeds making sure all sides are covered. Place a pan on high heat. Once it's warm, drizzle in some canola oil. Once the pan is steaming hot (and the oil starts to fume) delicately place the tuna loin inside. Make sure the oil is hot enough or the tuna will stick to the pan. Sear the tuna on all sides until the sesame seeds are nicely golden. Leave to rest on a cooling rack.
In a bowl, mix the soy sauce, lemon juice, rice wine vinegar and sesame oil. Taste and adjust seasoning and acidity. Add the thinly sliced scallions.
Carefully slice the tuna. Layer the tuna on the bread alternating with the slices of avocado. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with the marinade. Enjoy!

Passion Fruit Baked Alaska

Pastry can seem a little daunting to a lot of cooks. Measurements are much more key than for savory recipes, and the job often more tedious. However, for me, it's usually pure joy. I have always enjoyed the wonders that come out of pastry kitchens, so being able to work all day with a pastry chef was a sort of childhood dream come true. The smell of the pastry kitchen was also a pleasant change from the steaming hot fish and meat stations, and the calm found there was soothing.

These Baked Alaska were a real pleasure for the eye. I also like the element of surprise: how this spiky white coat hides a soft and smooth scoop of ice cream and a chocolaty moist cake. Speaking of the cake.. it is addictive. It would work nicely to make ice cream sandwiches with, and is really easy and quick to make.

The only problem with this dessert is having to serve it quickly so it doesn't start to melt. I will let you imagine what that can cause in a professional kitchen when the whole restaurant suddenly wants a Baked Alaska for dessert!



Base Cake:
345 grams of bittersweet chocolate
8 eggs, separated
2 tablespoons of vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoons of espresso extract
Large pinch of Kosher salt
140 grams of granulated sugar

Meringue
4 egg whites
200 of granulated sugar

Passion fruit ice cream
Rasberries, for garnish

For the cake:
Preheat your oven to 325 F (162 C). Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. In the meantime, in a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks, extracts, and salt. Temper the yolk mixture with the melted chocolate (by adding a little chocolate at first, mixing well and then adding the rest of the chocolate).
In an electric mixer bowl, place the egg whites and sugar. Mix until soft peaks form. Gently fold the meringue into the chocolate mixture unti, just blended in. Grease a parchment-lined cookie sheet (with Pam!) and pour the chocolate mixture in. With a pastry scraper flatten out the mixture to obtain an even 1/4 inch layer. Bake for 5-6 minutes or until the cake is just set.
Leave the cake to cool. Once it has, using a cookie cutter just slightly bigger than an ice cream scoop, cut out chocolate cake circles and lay them out small cookie sheet. Scoop a scoop of ice cream in the center of each circle (as quickly as possible so that the ice cream does not get a chance to melt) and place in the freezer. In the meantime, make your meringue.

Meringue
In a bowl, whisk the egg whites and sugar together until well combined. Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water. The bowl should fit the top of the pot snuggly but the water should not touch the bowl. The water should not boil or the eggs will scramble. Whisk constantly so that the eggs do not get a chance to coagulate. Once the egg mixture is a little warmer than body temperature (about 110 degrees) turn off the heat. Place the mixture in a electric mixing bowl. Whisk until stiff peaks form and the mixture is glossy.
Place the mixture into a piping bag with a medium size tip. Take the cakes and their scoops out of the freezer. Pipe little meringue peaks all around the ice cream, making they are all close to one another. If the ice cream is melting too fast, you might have to put it back in the freezer for a few minutes before piping again. Once the meringue is piped all around the ice cream, quickly torch the sides of the meringue, making wave movements, and working quickly so that the meringue does not burn.

Serve with raspberries. Enjoy!

Chicken Piccata

I have been meaning to post this recipe for a while, but for some reason I never got around to taking a picture of it. We have talked a lot about flavor combinations at school and what makes a dish work. The three components that seem to come back in various forms are a mix of saltiness, fat and acidic flavors. Chicken piccata makes perfect use of all three: saltiness with capers, fat with butter and acid with lemon. This really is one of my favorite dishes. It's so simple to make, and also works great with fish.

I have moved on to the pasty section of the kitchen, so I will be posting about those adventures very soon. I have a newfound appreciation for kitchen life everyday. It definitely is one of the most physical jobs I have ever had, at times one of the most stressful, but generally one of the most pleasing. There is just something so special about spending time concocting flavors and aromas for the unique goal of pleasing.



Recipe for two (adapted from the Barefoot Contessa)

2 split (1 whole) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg
1/2 tablespoon water
3/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
Good olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons of capers, washed and drained
Sliced lemon, for serving
2 teaspoons of dried oregano

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Place each chicken breast between 2 sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap and pound out to 1/4-inch thick. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper and dried oregano.

Mix the flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper in a shallow plate. In a second plate, beat the egg and 1/2 tablespoon of water together. Place the bread crumbs on a third plate. Dip each chicken breast first in the flour, shake off the excess, and then dip in the egg and bread crumb mixtures.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium to medium-low heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook for 2 minutes on each side, until browned. Place them on the sheet pan and allow them to bake for 5 to 10 minutes while you make the sauce.

For the sauce, wipe out the saute pan with a dry paper towel. Over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and then add the lemon juice, wine, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Boil over high heat until reduced in half, about 2 minutes. Off the heat, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and the capers, and swirl to combine. Pour the sauce over the chicken breasts. Enjoy!

Salt and Pepper Shrimp

So here I am with my first post in far too long. I have to apologize, as Jenn is the one who spends most of her day in a professional kitchen and yet she is the one who still finds time to come home and post in her spare time!

Salt and Pepper Shrimp is a pretty much a standard at most chinese restaurants, and is usually done deep-fried. This variation (another winner from Into the Vietnamese Kitchen) is a pan-fried version that is really simple, and delicious. It's great for those evenings when you're both short on time and have an empty fridge (the only perishable thing it calls for is ginger and scallions). It's traditional to use smaller, thin-shelled shrimp and eat them whole (the shell crisps up nicely and gives a nice crunch), but I've used peeled as well with great success.



Recipe:

2 teaspoons of cornstarch
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of pepper
1 teaspoon of sugar
400g of small, frozen shrimp.

2 cloves of garlic, sliced.
2 inch piece of ginger, sliced
3-4 scallions cut into 1 inch pieces
3-4 dried chilies, deseeded and cut in half (optional)

Defrost, trim and rise the shrimp. Mix together the cornstarch, salt, pepper and sugar and add the shrimp. Heat a wok or cast-iron pan on medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon of oil. Spread the shrimp on the pan in a single layer, being careful not to crowd the pan. Cook in batches if necessary. Leave the shrimp untouched for 30-45 seconds, allowing them to crisp. Gently turn them over, to do the other side. Stir fry gently for another 2-3 minutes and remove the shrimp from the pan.

Lower the heat to medium low, add a little more oil. Add the ginger, garlic, and chiles (if using), and stir fry gently to release the flavor into the oil. Just as the garlic begins to crisp, add the scallions and the shrimp back into the wok. Stir fry for 20-30 seconds. Serve with rice.

Seared Salmon with Pea Risotto and Tomato Puree

I have started cooking for the school's restaurant, and, to say the truth, it has been quite the ride so far. There is a mix of stress, excitement, and genuine pleasure which all mixed together make for fast-paced days with very little time to rest. I am getting used to all the organization that a professional kitchen demands, and the real pleasure of cooking for busy and hungry New Yorkers.

A lot of the time spent in a kitchen is prep work. In the morning, fish or meat must be prepared, cleaned, portioned and made ready to use. Vegetables must be pre-cooked, and certain things cooked partially only. Risotto, which has quite a fussy texture for instance, must be cooked 80% of the way in the morning, and then set to cool by being spread on parchment-lined sheet pans. The risotto is then re-moistened with chicken stock when ordered, and then garnished with finishing touches such as cheese and peas.

Kitchen life, in many ways, resembles the strict setup of army life. Organization is key, hierarchies must be respected, and the chef must be addressed by reminding oneself that he or she is, indeed, the leader of the day. "Yes chef", and "no chef" are the only acceptable answers to be pronounced. The "barker", or frenetically angry cook at the front of the kitchen makes sure that orders are respected and deadlines not passed. He screams "order in" once a meal had been ordered, and "fire" once the meal is to be brought to the customer right away. The cooks are expected to be disciplined, respectful of orders and extremely meticulous.
Although, I have never experienced the battlefield firsthand, I can rest assured that life in the kitchen has already brought me pretty close.



Recipe
Salmon:
4 salmon fillets
2 tablespoons of whole butter
A drizzle of blended oil
Salt and pepper

Risotto:
About 3 cups of chicken stock
1 cup of arborio rice
A knob of butter
2 minced shallots
2 minced garlic cloves
2 sprigs of thyme
1 bay leaf
1 glass of white wine
A good handful of grated Parmesan cheese
A handful of peas, cooked

Pea Puree
1/4 cup of heavy cream
3 tablespoons of water
Salt and Pepper
1/2 cup of peas

Tomato Broth:
4 tomatoes
1 minced shallot
1 minced garlic clove
1 sprig of thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon of sugar

Garnish
Chopped chives
Basil leaves

Pea Puree:
Start by making the pea puree. In a blender, mix the peas, water, salt and pepper and blend until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and add the cream. Mix well.

Tomato Broth:
Take two of the tomatoes, remove the cores and chop in half. Remove the seed and transfer to a separate bowl. Using a blender, blend the tomatoes until you obtain a smooth puree. Strain through a fine strainer. Disregard the tomato foam that is too thick to be strained. Transfer the strained liquid to a bowl, add the sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. Strain the seeds as well, and add the liquid strained to the bowl. Reserve.
Peel and core the other 2 tomatoes. Chop finely. In a pan, heat some oil and add the shallots, garlic and thyme. Once the shallots are softened, add the tomatoes. Season. Cook on low heat until the moisture has mostly evaporated. Reserve.
Risotto:
Heat the stock in a pot - bring to a boil and reduce to a low simmer. Melt the butter in a pan on medium low heat and add the shallots, garlic, thyme and bay leaf. When the shallots begin to soften, add the rice. Mix with a wooden spoon until lightly toasted. Add the wine and stir constantly. Once the wine has evaporated, add the stock, ladle by ladle, gently stirring. Add more stock once the rice has absorbed the liquid. Adjust the seasoning during this process. After about 18 minutes of cooking time, the rice should be tender and creamy. Add the cheese, peas, pea puree and stir until smooth.

Salmon:
Preheat oven to 450 F. Season the fillets with salt and pepper. Drizzle some oil in a oven-proof pan on medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the salmon, skin side down. Press the fish down to make sure it does not curl. Once the fish skin begins to become crispy (after 2-3 minutes), add the knob of butter. Gently pour the fat out of the pan and transfer to the oven. Cook for an additional 1-3 minutes for a medium rare salmon.

In a pan, heat the two types of tomato preparations together.

Plate by placing a circle of risotto in the middle of each plate. Circle with the tomato broth and top with the salmon fillet, some basil leaves and chopped chives . Enjoy!

Swordfish and Cilantro Spring Salad

The last few days have been pretty busy. I have been in the 'production' section of the kitchen, which basically means that I have been prepping food for the school's restaurant. In other words, I have been making stocks, butchering ducks, deboning legs of lamb and cleaning a lot - a lot - of chicken bones.

Making stock has taken on quite a different meaning for me. It is no longer the gentle process of having chicken bones simmer down with water on the stove while I read a book on the couch. Oh no. Stocks are here made for about 200 people, and are made simultaneously: chicken, veal and fish stocks all competing to be the most odorous. The fish stock we made last week, for instance, had 30 bass heads starring back at me while I was trying to skim the fat from the rim of the stock. Fish stock is cruel, very cruel. It must remain clear and transparent in order to be called a good stock, and that means that certain elements must be removed from the stock. Eye balls, when left intact will not harm a stock, but if pierced can render the water cloudy and opaque. The fish eyes must thus be removed one by one....using a melon baller and sharp pairing knife.

Back to more colorful discussions now! I was inspired by Bobby Flay's twist on the classic French 'nicoise' salad and decided to try my own. The colors in the salad were beautiful for spring, and the cilantro proved to be a great last minute addition.


Recipe (for 2 people as a main dish or 4 as an appetizer)

1 swordfish fillet
A handful of green beans
6 fingerling potatoes
A dozen nicoise olives
1 yellow tomato
1 handful of cilantro

Vinaigrette
3 tablespoons of olive oil + 1 tablespoon for the garlic
2 cloves of garlic
A small handful of cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste

Start by cooking the potatoes by placing it in a pot of cold salted water. Bring to a boil and leave to cook until tender (about 15 minutes). In a separate pot, cook the beans. They are ready when cooked through but still crunchy. Once cooked, placed in a bowl of ice and cold water to stop the cooking process and allow the beans to maintain their vivid green color.
Brush the swordfish with olive oil on both sides and season with salt and pepper. Cook on medium high heat for about 3-6 minutes on each side, depending on the size of your fillet. Once cooked, slice in thin layers.
Thinly slice the tomato and reserve.

Vinaigrette:
Slice the garlic into thin garlic chips. Place the 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan and add the garlic. Turn the heat to low and stir regularly. When the garlic starts to change color remove from the heat and reserve (this should take a few minutes). Finely chop the cilantro. In a small bowl, add the 3 tablespoons of olive oil, the cilantro and the garlic-infused oil. Whisk and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Assemble the salad by placing the olives, tomato, cilantro, beans and potatoes in a salad bowl. Pour the vinaigrette and gently mix to coat. Add the fish fillet on top. Enjoy!