We had this soup over the summer when we visited our friends Yann and Bernard in their charming Britanny house. It was a shock to me as I never tasted anything like that before. The combination of the lemon zest, the cream, safron and vegetables made it very special and made you crave for more. The soup was served cold, but you can also choose to serve it hot. When I asked Bernard where he got the recipe, he said it was from a book called "Le Citron", which is entirely composed of recipes that include lemon. One extra bonus to the soup: it is a one-pot project, my favorite!

Ingredients (Serves 4)

2 large carrots, cut in small cubes

2 zucchinis, cut in small cubes

1 liter chicken stock (or 1 liter water with 1 large tbsp of Better than Bouillon)

1 lemon zest and lemon juice

2 tbsp creme fraiche (or heavy whipping cream)

1 pinch safron

2 egg yolks

In a large saucepan, bring the chicken bouillon to a boil with the saffron. Add the carrots, cook for 5 minutes. Add the zucchinis and continue the cooking for about 10 more minutes, until the vegetables are cooked.

With a stick blender, bring vegetables and bouillon to a creamy soup consistency. Continue cooking on low.

In a bowl, mix the egg yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice and cream. 

With a laddle, pour some of the soup into the bowl in order not to shock the cream mixture. Add everything back into the saucepan. Cook on low for a few more minutes - do not boil.

Serve cold or hot.

 

 

This pasta recipe was inspired by Ottolenghi's Simple book. I tried to simplify it further in terms of reducing the number of dishes to wash. It turned out very tasty, with the exploding flavors of fresh garlic and oregano. The roasted eggplant adds a nice and meaty texture.

Serves four

 

Ingredients

3 small/medium eggplants

5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 pinch of dried chili flakes

1 large can of whole peeled tomatoes (San Marzano)

5 large oregano sprigs

1 tsp sugar

300g spaghetti

50g shaved mature pecorino or parmesan

1 cup fresh basil leaves

Preheat the oven to 450F.

Using a peeler, shave off long strips of eggplant so that they look striped, like zebras. Cut crosswise into 1cm slices. Cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Place the eggplants on the baking sheet, sprinkle generously with salt, pepper and olive oil. Mix with your hands then spread out the slices on the baking sheet. Roast for 30-35 minutes, until dark golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

Put some olive oil in a sauté pan and place over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and chile flakes and fry for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the garlic is golden brown. Do not let it burn! Add the tomatoes and their juice, oregano, sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, and a grind of pepper. Decrease the heat to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes, until the sauce is thick. Remove the oregano sprigs, and stir in the eggplant. 

Cook to spaghetti al dente, then stir in the sauce and mix well, adding half of the basil and cheese. Divide the pasta among 4 shallow bowls and top with the remaining cheese and basil.

 

In a previous plum clafoutis post, I left readers thinking I totally hated cherry clafoutis. I did suffer childhood trauma due to the fact that my paternal grandmother, a cold woman but a great cook, did not  remove the cherry stones, and me and my cousins were always scared of biting or swallowing one. 

I recently changed my mind after our visit to Fix Farms, a wonderful orchard in the outskirts of Hudson, NY. We picked so many cherries that we needed to cook them if we didn't want them to go to waste. So I used that old Elle A Table recipe and decided to pit the cherries, a messy but relatively easy task. And I was pleasantly surprised at how good that clafoutis tasted. This is now my second cherry clafoutis in three days, back by popular demand!


Ingredients

3 eggs
100g sugar + 1 tbsp for the bottom of the dish
150g milk
150g heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
50g melted unsalted butter + some for the pie dish
A pinch of salt
80g flour
2 tbsp rhum
A handful of ripe cherries, stone removed

Preheat the oven at 400F.

Grease the pie dish with butter and sprinkle with some sugar. Put the pitted cherries at the bottom of the pie dish.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk all the other ingredients, starting with the dry ones (sugar, flour and salt), then the eggs, and gradually the wet ones (milk, cream, butter, rhum and vanilla). The consistency of the batter should be close to a thick crepe batter. Pour the batter into the pie dish.

Put in the oven for about 25 minutes. The top should be brown but the middle should still have the consistency of a flan. Eat warm or cold.

 

 

This is yet another NY Times recipe that I adapted to make it even easier and faster than the original one. I like it because it is packed with the full flavors of roasted brussels sprouts, as well as the  crunchiness of the gnocchi. The originality of this recipe comes from the fact that the gnocchi are browned in a skillet with butter, instead of being boiled in water. This gives them a nice crunchiness and makes them less mushy than the traditional way of cooking.

Ingredients (serves 4):

2 tbsp butter
2 packs store bought fresh gnocchi
2 cups brussels sprouts
1/2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
Grated Parmesan

Pre-heat the oven to 425F.

Wash the brussels sprouts, trim and slice them in two lengthwise, and put them on a baking tray lined with aluminum foil. Sprinkle generously with olive oil, salt and pepper, mix well and make sure the sprouts are placed cut face down. Put in the oven for about 20-25 minutes, until fully roasted. Mix a few times during the roasting process.

In a large frying pan or skillet, melt the butter and add the gnocchi. Cook on high for about 5-10 minutes, mixing regularly, until the gnocchi are cooked and have a nice golden color.

Stir in the brussels sprouts, honey and chili flakes, and combine together. Serve with grated Parmesan.

Lately I have been spending much more time than I would like browsing the internet, reading the latest news about the virus and ordering stuff online that I don't really need. One positive is that I have spent more time cooking than I ever did over the past few years. One of my favorite sources for recipes is the NY Times, which has also started publishing convenient pantry-friendly recipes.

Last week I tried their pasta e ceci recipe, an Italian pasta and chickpea stew which turned out quite nice. The following day I served the leftovers as a side of cold pasta salad. I just adapted the NYT recipe with stuff I had in my own kitchen, including substituting the suggested kale (which I did not have) for baby spinach leaves. I also added fresh basil which gave it some additional flavor.

Ingredients (serves 6):

One onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
One small can chopped San Marzano tomatoes
One small can chick peas, drained
A bunch of fresh basil leaves
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
1/2 tsp dry oregano
One box Ditalini pasta (I used Barilla)
2 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
Some fresh grated parmesan

In a large saucepan, heat some olive oil, add the onion and saute until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, chili flakes and oregano. Mix and cook for a few minutes. Pour the chick peas and chopped tomatoes, mix well. Add 2 cups of water, salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then add the pasta. Cook for about 10 minutes, until the pasta is al dente. Fold in the spinach and basil leaves and serve immediately with fresh grated parmesan.

As you all well know, I have zero Italian origins. Even though I love Italian food, I have been reluctant to post Italian recipes because I do not consider them my forte and some people do it much better than I do. However, given the exceptional circumstances and as a tribute to our suffering Italian friends, I am sharing my take on an Italian classic, risotto. My version is more "facile" since I am using a bouillon cube and boiling water as opposed to making a separate vegetable bouillon. Instead of mushrooms, I sometimes use asparagus or the classic sofrito made with onion, carrots and celery.

Ingredients (serves 4):

2 cups Arborio rice
1 box fresh mushrooms, washed and cut in slices
50g butter
1/2 cup grated fresh parmigiano
1/2 cup dry white wine (pinot grigio is fine)
1 vegetable bouillon cube
1/2 onion, finely chopped

In a frying pan, heat some butter. Add the mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook on high until all the water has evaporated and the mushrooms have a nice golden brown color, which takes about 10 minutes.



Boil some water in a kettle.

In a large saucepan, heat some butter. Add the chopped onion and cook for a few minutes, until it gets a nice gold color. Add the rice and mix well. Cook on low until the rice becomes translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Add the white wine, mix and cook until the wine has fully evaporated. Add the bouillon cube and about one cup of boiling water. Add around half of the cooked mushrooms and keep the rest for serving. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Mix well and cook until most the water has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add water, one cup at a time, until the rice is cooked al dente, about 20-25 minutes in total. Remember to stir constantly as the rice cooks.

Once the rice is cooked, mix in about 2 tbsp of butter and 2tbsp of parmesan.

Serve with the remaining mushrooms and some more parmesan on top.

This recipe is the first of our survivalist series, aka how to cook healthy and tasty food using a maximum of pantry items and a minimum of fresh ingredients. This asparagus quiche recipe is one of my classics. You will find an alternative one with kale and feta on this blog. Another option is to make a mushroom quiche, in which case you will replace the boiled asparagus with sliced mushrooms that are first browned in a pan with butter (make sure all the water has evaporated).

Ingredients (serves 4):

Every Saturday, I like to prepare a fresh salad for lunch. But I inevitably end up with some sort of cobb salad combination, which I have gotten a little tired of. So last weekend I opened my Yotam Ottolenghi book, Plenty, in search of new ideas. And I came across a nice combination of ingredients including green peas and fingerling potatoes, which are relevant to the spring season. This is my own take on it. The flavors are enhanced by a pesto based vinaigrette. As I am a bit lazy and after all this blog is not called Facile for nothing, I used an already made pesto sauce from the store. Feel free to make your own if you have the time or energy for that.

Ingredients (for six)
1 container mixed greens
1 bag frozen peas
1 cup Fingerling potatoes
1/2 half container Feta cheese
Fresh basil leaves
6 large eggs (one per person)
2 tbsp Pesto sauce
Olive oil
Apple vinegar

Cook the potatoes: put the potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water with salt. Bring to a boil and cook for about 1/2 hour (depending on their size), until the potatoes are tender but not mushy. Drain, let them cool down and cut in pieces.

Cook the peas: boil water with salt. Add the frozen peas and cook for about 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Cook the eggs (mollet style): in a saucepan, bring some water to a boil, add the eggs. Cook for 7 minutes, drain the water and pour some cold water to stop the cooking. Remove the eggshells and set aside.

Prepare the vinaigrette: in a small container, mix the pesto sauce with about 1 tbsp of olive oil and 1/2 tbsp of vinegar. Drizzle in a few drops of water to make the vinaigrette thinner if necessary.

Assemble the salad in a large salad bowl: start with the greens, add the potatoes, the peas, sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese and some basil leaves. Pour the vinaigrette and mix well. Serve onto plates and add an egg on top, sliced in two.