Ratatouille

Long before being the title to (let's admit it) one of the awesomest Disney/Pixar productions of all time, Ratatouille was a delicious French dish.

Made with sun-gorged vegetables like eggplants, zucchini, bell peppers and tomatoes, it is traditionally served in the South of France or Provence. Not unlike curry, chili or lasagna, there are as many recipes for it as there are cooks.

My favorite way to have it is with buttery, creamy scrambled eggs or cold on a piece of sourdough toast. Delicious!

Here's my recipe.



INGREDIENTS (for 4 people as a side dish):
- 1 large eggplant
- 1 zucchini
- 1 bell pepper (any color)
- 1 bucket of cherry tomatoes (or 3 medium tomatoes)
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 onion
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 sprig of thyme
- 1/4 cup of olive oil, reserve 1 tbsp on the side
- salt and pepper to taste


RECIPE:
- dice the eggplant (about 1/2 inch), salt lightly to draw water out and pat dry with paper towels

- dice the zucchini, pepper, onion and garlic and halve the cherry tomatoes (if using medium tomatoes, cut in eight)

- in a hot pan over medium heat, fry the dried eggplant in the olive oil until golden and reserve in a bowl

- in the remaining tbsp of olive oil, fry the onion and garlic over medium heat until translucent and fragrant, then add the zucchini and pepper and fry for 2-3 minutes over medium heat

- add the cooked eggplants, tomatoes, thyme and bay leaf, cover and let simmer over low heat for 30 minutes

- after 30 minutes, uncover and let simmer for another 15-20 minutes over low heat, stirring often

- serve warm alongside eggs, fish or any meat (goes really well with chicken and pork), room temperature or cold, as a salad or on toast. Ratatouille is delicious any way you eat it!
- enjoy!!

Quick pickled fennel

I don't know about you, but fresh fennel bulbs are one of my absolute favorite vegetables. It is crisp, refreshing, slightly sweet and has this subtle liquorice and anise aftertaste that I just cannot get enough of.

Fennel bulbs and vinegar. Love.

INGREDIENTS:
- 1 fresh fennel bulb
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 2 tbsp salt
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- optional: 1/4 cup sugar (if you like your pickles very salty and vinegary omit this step, but I think it works well in the case of fennel)



RECIPE:
- trim the fennel bulb, remove the core and slice paper-thin with a mandolin

- stuff the fennel snuggly in a mason jar (don't forget the green parts!) and sprinkle with the spices

- bring the water, vinegar, salt and sugar to a boil and pour over the fennel

- close the jar lid and let cool completely before refrigerating for at least 1 day
- eat as a side dish to meat, fish, in a salad or just as a snack!

Celery root salad (celeri rémoulade)

Ok, if you are like me and just went through yet another gargantuan Holiday feast and need to rest your stomach, you should really try this refreshing dish!

Celery root, or celeriac, is a great winter root vegetable to mash or prepare scalloped au gratin, but also tastes amazing when prepared raw in salads. In France, we often prepare it grated in a lemony mayonnaise sauce, full of diced cornichons (French gherkins) and capers: Celeri Remoulade. Such a classic salad, it is served at least once a week in school cafeterias for kids.

Very easy to prepare, only a handful of ingredients and so fresh tasting. Try it and let me know what you think :)


INGREDIENTS (for 4 people):
- 1 medium-sized celery root
- 1/2 cup light mayonnaise (I personnaly like the chemical fat free store bought mayonnaise better, go figure... but you can -and should- absolutely make your own if you prefer to!)
- 1 tsp dijon mustard (Not necessary if you include a spoonful of mustard in your homemade mayonnaise when you make it, however if your own mayo recipe does not have mustard, the tangy taste of Dijon mustard really makes a difference in the salad)
- 1/2 cup of combined gherkins and capers (that may seem like a lot, but I like my Remoulade on the pickle-y side)
- a handful of flat leaf parsley
- 1 lemon
- salt and pepper to taste


RECIPE:
- in a large bowl, add the juice of the lemon in about 3 cups of very cold water. Peel and grate the celery root and soak it in the cold lemony water while you prepare the sauce

- dice the gherkins very finely (about the size of the capers), and add to the mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper. Mix well and pour over the drained (and towel dried) grated celery root.

- Make sure that the celery is well coated and sprinkle with chopped parsley.
- Enjoy!

PS: this salad is an amazing side to a nice grilled steak ;)

Zucchini, chevre and spicy cured sausage quiche

This recipe is a tweaked recreation of a quiche my sister made and told me about yesterday. It sounded so good that I just had to try and make it for myself.

She used real spanish chorizo, a spicy cured sausage, but unfortunately it is very difficult to procure this kind of chorizo where I live. Same thing goes for the goat cheese that she used: she used an aged french chevre, but that is not readily available here either... *insert sad face*

Oh, one more thing... You'll notice that in the ingredients picture, there is a roll of pie crust. Ahem... ok, well I failed Like A Boss at blind baking mine, so I adapted my regular quiche-to-be into a crust-less one. As annoyed as I was at the time, it also shows you how I actually proceed in the kitchen and how it is important to be able to adapt when things don't go as planned :)

Hope you'll like!



INGREDIENTS (for 4 people as a side dish, 2 people as a light dinner):
- 1 large zucchini, diced
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 1 small brie-like goat cheese, or any aged goat cheese you like (or can find), cubed
- about 1/2 cup hot dry sausage of your choice (spanish chorizo or sopressata would be best, but I used hot italian sausage that was available at my supermarket), diced
- 2 large eggs (i know only 1 is pictured, but I ended up adding another one, mid-recipe)
- 1 cup of light cream (only 1/2 cup is pictured, but I added another 1/2 cup mid-recipe)
- optionnal: 1 pie crust (i was planning on using it, but failed miserably... you'll get the details further down)
- salt, pepper to taste
- a sprinkle of smoked paprika (not pictured, but added mid-recipe)


RECIPE:
- preheat your oven at 350F
- crisp up the diced sausage in a dry pan on high heat, until it has rendered a little fat and is golden, reserve on the side

- saute the onion and zucchini in the drippings and a sprinkle of smoked paprika, cook for a few minutes on medium heat and let cool on the side

- in a bowl, mix the eggs and cream

- add the cheese, sausage cubes and zucchini, pour in a dish sprayed with cooking spray and sprinkle with a little smoked paprika

Note: this is where you would have used your pie crust, pre-cooked for 15 minutes at 350F, but as you can see in the picture below, my pie crust was a super-fail! so I improvised and did without!
oopsies!!
- bake in the oven at 350F for 35 minutes, or until firm

- let cool for 10 minutes before serving with a side salad (I used fresh spinach, lemon juice and olive oil)

- enjoy!