Fattoush salad

Look no further! This is the perfect salad: fresh cucumber, ripe tomatoes, tons of fresh parsley and mint, crispy homemade flat bread croutons and a tangy lemony garlicky dressing… Yes, it is. Perfect.

Here's how you can make Fattoush.



INGREDIENTS (for 4 people):
for the salad
- 1 small head of romaine salad
- 1 cucumber
- 1 large handful of cherry tomatoes
- 1 sweet green pepper
- a bunch of flat leaf parsley
- a bunch of fresh mint
- 1 loaf of Khoubiz or any flat bread like a pita (click here for a recipe)
for the dressing
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 big clove of garlic
- a pinch of salt (to taste)


RECIPE:
- this recipe is so simple! Just chop all the salad ingredients (except the bread) and arrange in a serving bowl

- break the flat bread into bite sized pieces and toast them until crispy and sprinkle over the salad

- prepare the dressing: combine all the ingredients in a bowl and using a stick blender, mix until emulsified, pour over the salad and toss

- Enjoy!

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 ;)

Paupiettes de veau (stuffed veal cutlets)

Another day, another French classic recipe.

Today, I present you with Paupiettes de veau. They are little parcels made of veal cutlets, stuffed with ground pork, veal and herbs. Paupiettes are one of my absolute favorite dishes, and I have such fond memories of my grandmother cooking them for us during our vacations. In France, they can be found ready made at the butcher's, however you really cannot find them outside of France. So I decided to make my own. They are very easy to prepare and delicious!

Try them! They will satisfy your taste buds and impress your guests ;)


INGREDIENTS (makes about 8 Paupiettes):
for the stuffing:
- 1lb boneless pork shoulder
- 1lb cubed veal shoulder
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs (I used Panko)
- 1 large onion and 2 cloves of garlic, finely diced
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- a few sprigs of fresh thyme (dried is fine too)
- 2 tbsp butter
other ingredients:
- 8 large thinly sliced veal cutlets (if they are small, buy more and you can piece them up to make them larger)
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup white wine (I used pinot grigio)
- 1x 8oz cremini mushrooms


RECIPE:
- working in batches, grind the pork and veal shoulder meat with a food processor (or if you're lucky enough to have one, a meat grinder). DO NOT GRIND THE CUTLETS.

- reserve 1/4 of raw onion/garlic for later use. In a small skillet, melt half of the butter and saute about 3/4 of the onion/garlic mix until soft -not brown- over medium heat,.eserve for later.

- in a large bowl, combine the ground meat and the rest of the stuffing ingredients and mix well

- lay the cutlets flat on a clean surface and put a small handful of stuffing inside. Roll the cutlet around the stuffing and secure the parcels with cooking twine

- in a dutch oven, melt the remaining butter over medium-high heat, brown the Paupiettes on all sides and reserve in a plate

- saute the remaining onion/garlic mix in the same pan until soft, over medium heat. They will release moisture and that will deglaze the drippings from the pan. After 2 minutes, add teh sliced mushrooms and cook over medium-high heat until golden

- place the Paupiettes back on top of the mushrooms, add the wine and cook covered over medium-high heat for about 20 minutes

- after 20 minutes, remove the lid add the sour cream and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes, until thickened

- serve with white rice, a lot of sauce and a nice glass of white wine. You can also serve them with peas or green beans.

- Bon appetit!

Bouquet garni (typical herbs assortment for French stews)

Bouquet garni is a generic term used to talk about aromatic herbs usually used in French one-pot dishes. There is no one recipe for it, but it always contains thyme and bay leaves and is frequently bundled into the green part of a leek leaf, tied with twine.

Here is how I do mine.


INGREDIENTS (for one bouquet):
- 1 piece of green leek leaf
- 2 small bay leaves, or 1 big
- 1 sprig of thyme
- 1 sprig of flat leaf parsley
- cooking twine


RECIPE:
- lay all the herbs into the green leek leaf, roll in a bundle and tie with cooking twine

Note: my leek leaf was a little stiff, so my bouquet ressembled a hobbit packed lunch, but you get the idea ;)
- use as directed in your stew recipe

Fish and shrimp risotto

This is more of a what-ever-can-i-come-up-with-to-empty-the-pantry-and-the-freezer kinda mishmash recipe, but it works!

I was craving tomato rice the day I made this recipe, and since I had a TON of frozen fish (that I got for a bargain at the supermarket), I decided to incorporate this maritime ingredient into a risotto.

I made this quite a long time ago, but never really had the time to edit it into a blog entry. Since my next recipe will take another couple of days before I can post it up, I decided to tackle that one and have it ready for you for the weekend.

Hope you'll like!



INGREDIENTS (for 2 to 3 people):
- 1.5 cups arborio rice
- 1 15oz can of crushed tomatoes
- 2 to 3 cups of water (use 2 and then add more if needed)
- 1/2 cup white wine
- olive oil
- 1 shallot, finely diced
- 1 clove of garlic, slivered
- 2 lbs of mixed fish and peeled deveined shrimp, cubed (I used frozen shrimp and fish that I thawed and drained, my personal fish mix was cod, tilapia and flounder)
- salt, pepper
- grated Parmesan cheese to taste


RECIPE:
- in a skillet, heat a glob of olive oil and saute the shallot and garlic until transparent. Do not let it brown.

- add the rice, and coat with oil. Cook for a minute or so on medium-high heat, until the rice is opaque and bright white. Do not let it brown.

- add the wine and a ladle of water, and stir until the liquid is absorbed.

- add the tomatoes and their liquid. Stir until the liquid is absorbed.

- add the rest of the water ladle by ladle, stirring until each ladle has been absorbed before adding the next one, until the rice is almost cooked through (about 25 minutes)
- when the rice is a few minutes shy of being done, add the shrimp, fish cubes, salt and pepper and cook for 5-8 minutes (or until cooked through)

- finish with a healthy dose of grated parmesan cheese

- serve hot, sprinkled with italian parsley

- Enjoy!