Salade de roquette, poires et pancetta; arugula, pear and pancetta salad

Dear readers,

A few simple ingredients come together in an unexpected way to create a delicate beginning for a luxurious dinner.

I thought about giving you a very easy and quick recipe yet delicious, earthy flavors. It won’t take you more than 25 minutes to prepare this salad, so perfect for executives on a time crunch or busy mothers.

Here it comes, let’s cook !!

culinary yours

Recipe for 4 persons

For vinaigrette

• 1 tablespoon Champagne vinegar
• 1 tablespoon mild honey
• 1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

For salad

• 5 thin slice of pancetta (4 to 5 slices)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 firm-ripe pears
• 600 gr baby arugula or torn larger arugula
• 100 gr ricotta salata, thinly shaved with a vegetable peeler

 

Make vinaigrette:
Whisk together vinegar, honey, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a salad bowl. Add oil in a slow stream, whisking until combined well.

Make salad:
Cook pancetta in oil in a 24 cm heavy skillet over moderate heat, turning frequently, until just crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain (pancetta will crisp as it cools). Tear into bite-size pieces.

Halve pears lengthwise, core, and cut lengthwise into half a cm thick slices.

Add pears to dressing along with arugula, cheese, and pancetta, tossing to coat

Soupe a l’oignon, crouton au Gruyere; French onion soup with Gruyere crouton

Hi Folks, 

A little bowl of warmth and comfort

Sadly, summer is leaving us and slowly going to be replaced by autumn and then winter; these will be the better times to make this wonderful traditional recipe. 

What’s better than a steaming bowl of onion soup topped with melting Gruyere and grilled to perfection… 

You’d be surprised at how easy it is to make great Onion soup, so scroll down a bit, and let’s get going. 

Culinary yours

Original French Onion soup with Gruyere crouton

For 2 persons

INGREDIENTS

500 gr yellow onions, halved and thinly cut lengthwise

3 to 5 sprigs of fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Fresh cracked pepper

1 teaspoon all-purpose flour

125 ml dry white wine

500 ml beef stock

250 ml water

2 cm-thick slice of ciabatta bread cut in half

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

250 gr grated Swiss Gruyère cheese

In a pot melt the butter over low heat. Add the onions, thyme, bay leaf, and salt and pepper to taste and cook until the onions are deep amber and exceedingly soft, stirring occasionally, 25 to 30 minutes. Add the flour and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, then add the wine, increase the heat, and let the wine bubble away for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the beef stock and water, and let the soup simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, allowing the flavors to meld together. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat the oven to broil. Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven.

Place the ciabatta on the middle rack of the oven and toast until crispy, about 2 to 3 minutes per side.

Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs from the soup and discard. Pour the soup into two ovenproof bowls, float the toasted ciabatta on top, and cover it with a thick layer of the Gruyère. Put the soup bowls under the broiler on the middle rack and cook 3 to 5 minutes, or until the cheese is fully melted and golden.

Gravelax de saumon a l’aneth, salmon Gravelax with dill and mustard sauce.

Dear readers,    

Delicately set atop your prefered bread, a real treat for all.

I’m on a roll, here is a new recipe, perfect for this coming winter diner, the richness of the salmon paired with the freshness of the dill…a trully amazing appetizer.

 And note that you might have a bit of extra for this coming week end pic nic.

 

 

 

For 6 persons

 

 

Gravlax

• 1 teaspoon whole white peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 2 tablespoons sea salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 salmon fillet, skin on
• 1 cup chopped fresh dill, divided

Sauce

• 2 tablespoons honey mustard
• 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
• 3 tablespoons grapeseed oil or canola oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

 

• Mini pumpernickel or brioche toasts
• Dill sprigs

For gravlax:
Heat all peppercorns and coriander seeds in small skillet over medium-high heat until spices are fragrant and seeds jump slightly, shaking skillet frequently, about 2 minutes. Crush spices in mortar with pestle or transfer to work surface, cover with kitchen towel and crush with mallet or bottom of heavy pan. Transfer spices to small bowl. Mix in salt and sugar.

Using small sharp knife, poke 12 small holes through skin of salmon. Rub 1/3 of spice mixture over skin. Sprinkle 1/3 cup chopped dill in bottom of 7x7x2-inch or 8x8x2-inch glass baking dish. Place salmon, skin side down, atop dill. Rub remaining spice mixture into top of salmon. Press 2/3 cup chopped dill onto salmon. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing directly onto fish. Place plate or another pan atop plastic. Place heavy cans on plate. Refrigerate 2 to 3 days.

For sauce:
Whisk mustard and vinegar in small bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in oil. Stir in chopped dill and salt. Season with ground black pepper. (Sauce can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill.)

Scrape spices and dill off both sides of salmon (some spice mixture will remain). Using knife with long thin blade, thinly slice salmon diagonally at 45-degree angle from top of fillet toward skin.

Arrange toasts on platter; top with salmon slices, sauce, and dill sprigs. You can also serve it with a dollop of lemony whipped cream.

Well, I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as me.

Wishing you a bon appetit.

Culinary yours

Oeuf cocotte au bacon et epinards, baked farmed egg with bacon and spinach

Dear readers, 

Deliciously baked egg, a classic, but always so tasty.

today is a new day, a beautiful day under the Saudi sun, and with this new day, comes a new recipe ! this is a traditional french dish, beautiful baked eggs. It’s easy and fast to do, it should take you no more than 45 min to prepare and serve; and to top it off, you can play around with this recipe, changing the garnish, adding some nice wild mushrooms can be very tasty too.

In short, let your creativity flow and have fun.

Makes 4 servings

• 6 slices smoked bacon
• 500 gr baby spinach
• 2 whole wheat or sourdough English muffins, split horizontally, well toasted
• 4 large eggs
• 4 tablespoons whipping cream

 

• Special equipment: 4 individual ramekin

Preheat oven to 180 C. Cook bacon in large skillet over medium heat until crisp; transfer to paper towels. Pour off drippings from skillet; reserve drippings. Add spinach to pan, sprinkle with pepper, and toss over medium heat, 1 minute. Transfer to strainer set over bowl to drain. Brush four 1-cup ramekins with drippings. Crumble bacon.

Place 1 toasted English muffin half, split side up, in each ramekin. Divide spinach among ramekins, then sprinkle bacon over, dividing equally. With back of spoon, shape a well in center of each ramekin. Gently crack 1 egg into well in each ramekin, keeping yolk intact. Drizzle 1 tablespoon cream over each egg. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake eggs until whites are just set but yolks are still runny, 14 to 16 minutes.

La mousse au chocolat or the velvety chocolate mousse

HUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Ok, first recipe.

I know there will be lots of fans around the world for this recipe, everywhere I’ve been, it has always pleased everyone.

Friends, family, guests and customers, all gave in to temptation and finished their portion, and the general consensus is: HUMMMMMMM

So, to make that exquisite recipe, you’ll need:

– 200 gr dark chocolate                       – 100 gr butter                      – 7 egg yolk

– 10 egg white                                       – 25 gr sugar

To start with, chose the best chocolate you can get your hands on, it’s very important, break it in small pieces and put in a container that you can set atop of a double boiler. Add in the butter and leave to melt until smooth.

Once the chocolate is melted, let it cool down a bit and with a spatula, mix in the egg yolks one by one until it gets a shiny texture.

Now, with a whisk, or a table top mixer, beat the egg white with the sugar until they get stiff but supple.

Lastly, with a rubber spatula, mix into the chocolate mixture the egg whites. 30% first, so the mass gets softer and then, slowly fold in the remaining.

Take care not to mix too much, or the egg white will liquify and the mousse won’t be firm enough.

Set the mousse in individual containers or in a big dish, set in the fridge for at least 4 hours and after that, come back here and comment on the recipe.

TIPS: Chose a chocolate high in cocoa content to get an intense mousse, Valrhona brand is the best.

The Rolls Royce of Chocolate

You can also flavor the melted chocolate/butter mix with any kind of alcohol of your choice (Whiskey is good).

Culinary yours

New category, RECIPES !!!

Hi to all,

Finally, I got around into making a recipe page on the site, i will upload some step by step on several recipes but you can also ask me for a particular one.

I’ll be more than happy to answer your queries. So stay tune for the first recipe that should come online very soon !!!

Sharpen your knives, stimulate your tastebuds,  it’s coming !!!

Culinary yours