Author: cia

Carrot Vichyssoise

Vichyssoise, pronounced as vee-shee-swaz, is a fancy term for a thick creamy potato soup flavored with leeks, usually served cold.

Ingredients:
3 medium-sized leeks, roughly chopped and thoroughly washed minus the hard green leaves
1 clove garlic, minced
4 small Yukon gold potatoes, peeled; 2 cut into smaller chunks and the other julienned
3 medium-sized carrots, peeled; 2 sliced and 1 julienned
2 1/2 cups of chicken stock
2 cups of whole milk
3 tbsps of fresh chives
olive oil, salt and pepper

1. Heat a stockpot and add olive oil. Cook leeks and garlic until leeks are wilted, about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Add the potato chunks and carrot slices to the pot along with the stock, salt, pepper and 2 cups of water. Cover partially and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and cook vegetables until tender, about 20 minutes.
3. Remove from heat. Stir in milk and purée in blender until smooth. Cool.
4. Cook julienned potatoes and carrots in a separate pot of boiling water until tender, about 3 minutes. Drain and transfer to an ice bath to stop the cooking. Drain and add to puréed soup for garnish. Top with chives.

Related post/s:
Lettuce soup
Good ol’ chicken stock

French Ham with Lavender

How do you dress up ham? If you’re Filipino, there’d be pineapple slices and cherries on top, but if you’re French, you use lavender. I went all over Manhattan to find fresh lavender sprigs and finally found them at a Whole Foods store in Chelsea. I’m not French, of course, but who says I can’t snazz up my ham like they do?

Ingredients:
1 fresh ham, 3 to 4 pounds
1/2 cup garlic, cut into slivers
4 sprigs thyme
2 sprigs rosemary
4 sprigs lavender
1 medium can of diced tomatoes
1 cup lavender honey
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp fennel seed
salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven at 325º. Score the ham crosswise and place in an oven-safe roaster pot of boiling salted water. Simmer for 3 minutes and remove to a platter.
2. Insert half of the garlic into the ham using a knife. Place ham back in pot of water and add the rest of the garlic, all the herbs and the tomatoes. Bring to a boil.
3. Bake in oven for 3 hours, basting occasionally. Cover with aluminum foil if ham browns too quickly. Remove ham from pot when cooked.
4. Reduce remaining liquid over medium fire. Stir in honey, zest and juice of lemon and fennel seeds. Use as glaze for ham.

Related post/s:
Where to get lavender honey

Green and Lima Bean Salad

A very nutritious and green salad that children may hate.

Ingredients:
2 pounds of fresh green beans, ends snapped
1 small box of frozen lima beans
2 tbsps fresh tarragon, finely chopped, plus more for garnish
1 bunch of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup of white wine vinegar
3 tbsps Dijon mustard
1 shallot, finely chopped
salt, pepper, olive oil

1. Cook all the beans in boiling salted water, about 5 minutes. Transfer to an ice bath to stop the cooking.
2. Make vinaigrette. In a medium bowl, combine vinegar, mustard and shallots. Add salt and pepper to taste. Whisk in olive oil until vinaigrette is creamy. Whisk in tarragon and parsley. Toss beans in a large bowl until well coated with vinaigrette. Garnish with remaining tarragon and parsley.

Related post/s:
So you have too much Dijon mustard?

Homemade Meatballs

This is my basic recipe for making meatballs at home using either ground pork, beef or lamb. Depending on the dish I am using the meatballs for, I add breadcrumbs and an egg to make sure they remain intact when added. For more tagine and stew dishes, I skip both, substitute the nutmeg for cumin and usually add some mint.

Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground meat
1/4 cup of parsley, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp plain dried breadcrumbs
1 large egg
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
salt, pepper

1. Combine and mix all the ingredients in a large bowl. Form golf-sized balls with your hands using some breadcrumbs to help them stick together.
2. Arrange on a baking sheet and freeze for an hour. Once frozen, transfer to a re-sealable bag.

Related post/s:
Swedish meatballs
Meatballs with pomegranate molasses

Soy-Glazed Tofu and Carrots

This is one of my mother’s favorite side dishes adapted from Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food.

Ingredients:
1 block of extra-firm tofu, drained, cut into 16 equal pieces
half a package of peeled baby carrots
4 scallions, sliced thinly, lengthwise
2 tbsps vegetable oil
3 tbsps soy sauce
2 tbsps rice vinegar
2 tbsps sesame oil
salt

1. In a large bowl, whisk together vegetable oil, soy sauce and salt. Add carrots and toss. Using a slotted spoon, transfer carrots on a baking sheet. Add tofu to the same marinade turning gently to coat. Transfer to baking sheet as well. Save marinade.
2. Broil carrots and tofu, turning tofu and removing carrots after 15 minutes. Cook the tofu for 15 more.
3. Add cooked carrots and tofu in the leftover marinade and toss gently with scallions, sesame oil and vinegar.

Related post/s:
Everyday Food at Amazon.com