Moroccan Roasted Veg Salad w/ Green Goddess dressing

            

        I like to mix it up. Salads can become slightly “vanilla”, if you know what I mean. When attempting to be healthy, it is important to stray from the every day norm and explore the world of vegetables available to us. 

     You can, of course, switch around the vegetables and use whatever suits you. I have also tried it with roasted shredded carrots and diced zucchini or with caramelized onions and topped with pistachios. 

     If you aren’t finding inspiration in the grocery store, try browsing a farmers market. All those colors and fresh scents drive me wild with new ideas. 

     I’ve served this lovely salad on it’s own or with some roasted chicken breast or salmon, or along side a lamb tagine and couscous but, again, I emphasize the importance of always exploring one's options, so do whatever moves you. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

- Brussel Sprouts- quartered

- Cherry Heirloom tomatoes (or regular ones if you can’t find the different colored heirlooms)- Halved

- Cauliflower florets- sliced

- Cumin

- Butter lettuce
- Roasted sunflower seeds

Green Goddess Dressing:

- 6 Scallions

- ½ cup Basil of basil leaves.

- 1 Garlic cloves

- ½ cup Greek Yogurt

- 1 cup Sour Cream

- 2 tbsp Organic Mayo

- 1 Lemon and lemon zest

- ½ tbsp White Wine Vinegar

- Olive Oil

-S&P

Directions:

-       Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

- Chop vegetables.

-       Toss the Brussel Sprouts,Tomatoes, and Cauliflower with olive oil, S&P, Cumin, squeeze of half a lemon.





-       Roast for 15-20 min or until they are cooked through and lightly crisp.

-       Make Green Goddess Dressing  

   

~ In food processor put yogurt, sour cream, mayo, garlic, basil, scallions, olive oil, lemon zest, lemon, white wine vinegar, and S&P.

-       Arrange the butter lettuce on a platter with the greens of leaves pointing outwards.

-       Scatter the roasted veggies atop the lettuce and drizzle with beautiful green goddess dressing, roasted sunflower seeds and serve. Top with some snipped chives if desired.

(These photos were also taken by Jordan Engle at http://WWW.OGPICS.COM)

Bisous,

Chantilly

Panko Crusted Halibut with Orange Shallot reduction

    Friends are always asking me for unique and simple ways to cook fish. For some reason, fish is always perplexing to peeps.
   I find it to be one of the easiest things to cook, and it needs very little to be scrumptious. A little lemon, salt, and pepper usually does the trick, but in this case I’m going for crispy. Everything tastes even better crispy.

I like this dish because it’s hearty for a fish dish, can be made quickly, and still retains a little flair (with the “reduction” and all). The golden crispy fish pairs wonderfully with this sweet yet savory sauce but I also like to put it in a baguette sandwich with lemon aioli, roasted tomatoes, and some arugula. 

 Ingredients:

 -       4 fillets of Halibut (or any other Whitefish, Seabass, or Tilapia)

-       3 cups of Panko bread crumbs (Japanese breadcrumbs)

-       3 Eggs

-       Lemon/lemon zest

-       Orange/orange zest

-       Olive oil or vegetable oil

-       Organic orange juice

-       3 Shallots

-       Butter

-       Basil

-       Chicken bouillon

-       S&P

Directions:

-       Crack eggs in plate with some lemon zest, juice of half lemon, and pinch of S&P and mix. 

-       Put Panko in another plate with orange zest and S&P.

-       Heat oil in pan while you season the fillets, dip them in egg mixture, and then coat them in the Panko.

-       Crisp the fish in oil (medium/high heat) until it is golden brown (time varies depending on stoves, but when it's golden you're golden) and flip around.

-       Keep the fish in a baking dish covered with foil and reheat in oven when about to serve.

-       Dice shallots finely and sauté in a little butter with S&P until a little soft.

-       Add orange juice and leave on high heat until it reduces to less than half and has a thick,  syrupy consistency.

-       Halfway through cooking add a ½ tsp of chicken bouillon for a little flavor. If you don’t want to use bouillon just add a bit more salt and pepper for seasoning.

-       Slice basil into strips and add to reduction to steep.

-       Add squeeze of orange and some orange zest and let cook for 5 more min.

-       Spoon sauce of crispy fillets with some more fresh basil and serve.

(These photos were also taken by Jordan Engle at http://WWW.OGPICS.COM)

Bisous,

Chantilly

Beet Hummus, English pea, and Feta Crostini

            At elementary school in Paris, there was no cafeteria. Instead, at lunchtime, we would scramble down to the dining room, be dispersed into groups of 7 or 8 and sit at our round table to await our full dining experience. 

            Entrée, Plats, Fromage, Dessert, is how it went and each was as delicious as the next. Pâté, saucisson, soups, stews, pastas, and gooey camembert, our school chefs knew the importance of dining well, even if we were miniature. They would always give me a little more as my “gourmandise” was well known. These experiences definitely played a big part in my culinary education.

            One dish I was not asking for more of was the beet entrée (I think they were canned). These canned atrocities made me hate beets until I was 18 (that’s a long time out of my 21 years). Anyways, at 18, this guy took me to The Little Door in LA and I tasted his Beet and Goat Cheese Salad. Let me tell you, those beets were the most exciting part of that dinner.

            I now like to incorporate beets into a lot of my dishes, mostly vegetarian ones. If you want to feed a vegetarian well, just do something with a beet.

            This recipe is very visually appealing. That fuchsia is mesmerizing and the feta cheese shines perfectly with its white, salty goodness and I used the peas from my mom’s garden!

Ingredients:

 

- 15 ounce can of Chickpeas

- 4 medium sized Beets- Make sure they are firm and fresh.  You can also buy the already cooked ones from most grocery stores.

- Garlic

- Lemon/Zest

- Tahini (not pictured)

- Good Feta cheese 

- English peas

- Pita bread cut into “two-bite sized” triangles

- Olive oil

- S&P

Directions:

-       To roast the beets- Preheat oven to 400 degrees coat with olive oil and sprinkle    with salt. Wrap in foil and cook for about 30 minutes. Again, you can use fresh beets or pre-cooked ones. I have used both options and find that the fresh beets give the hummus a brighter fuchsia color, which I prefer. Either way once it’s all on top of the pita chip it’s delicious.

-       Roast Pita triangles at the same time for 7- 10 minutes or until golden brown.

-       -        In food Processor: blend chickpeas, lemon/zest, garlic, Tahini, olive oil S&P to taste. 

-       Puree until halfway smooth (does that make sense?). 

-       Peel and roughly chop the beets and add to hummus.

-       Puree until smooth. Make sure the beets are well incorporated.

-       Cook the English peas in boiling salted water for 30-45 seconds.

-       Crumble the feta into a bowl so you can easily top the crostini with it.

-          Spread the crisp pita triangle with the beet hummus.

-          Top with a few English peas (I always like to put an odd number) and a couple crumbles of feta. Serve and enjoy!

(These photos were also taken by Jordan Engle at http://WWW.OGPICS.COM)

Bisous,

Chantilly 

Shrimp & Sausage Paella!

            Since I can remember, my father’s favorite dish has been Paella. Growing up, my mom and I would always cook Paella for him, so this year I decided to do that for his birthday.

            This dish basically combines all my loves in one--saffron (I have been known to carry some in my purse), Arborio rice (which, when cooked right, becomes so creamy and texturally interesting) and sausage. Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world because the part that has the delicious spice must be gathered by hand and there are only a few per flower, so it’s a labor-intensive venture. It also one of the most unique fragrances which cannot be replicated without those little orange strands. It grows mostly in North Africa and the Middle East but was first discovered in Greece; and it colors food with a beautiful yellow/golden/orange hue.

Some use regular Spanish rice for this dish but I prefer the consistency of Arborio…obviously. You can add in clams or chicken, or anything you want, as long as you have the couple main ingredients.

My mom loved serving this dish at parties because you bring the whole big cooking wok to the table and, when you remove the lid, this cloud of fragrant, intoxicating steam rises up and drives everyone wild with hunger.

 I’ve never cooked this for anyone who didn't LOVE it! 

Ingredients:

-       6 cloves garlic

-       ½ red onion

-       1 red bell pepper

-       1 orange bell pepper

-       1 green bell pepper

-       2 red jalapenos

-       Cherry tomatoes

-       ¼ cup oregano

-       Chopped Parsley

-       1-1 ½ tsp Saffron

-       Hot Italian sausage or chorizo

-       Shrimp

-       Lemon

-       ½ tsp Paprika

-       1 tsp Cumin

-       Olive oil

-       4 cups Chicken Stock

-       ½ cup of white wine

-       2 cups Arborio Rice

-       S&P

Directions:

                

-       Mince garlic, dice onions and peppers, slice jalapenos, halve the cherry tomatoes.

                              

-       Brown the full sausages in oil in pan. Make sure to poke little holes in the sausage so they don’t burst and take them out once nice and browned. I brown them whole because if you cut them prior to cooking, the meat will squeeze out of its casing and I don’t like it that way. I cut them into nice slices after they’ve cooked like this.

                                        

-       Meanwhile peel and de-vein the shrimp. This is done by making a slight cut along the outside curve. Once you do this, you should easily find a string-like, vein-looking thing that can just be pulled out. This is technically the shrimp’s stomach. I also left the tail on because I think it’s prettier that way.

-       Sear the shrimp until it’s curled and pink. It shouldn’t be cooked all the way through as we will add it back to the paella in the end to finish it off. Same goes for the sausage.

                                      

-       Sautee onion, garlic, bell peppers, jalapeno, cherry tomatoes in all those yummy juices in the pan.

-       Heat the stock in a pot with a pinch of saffron in it.

-       Add saffron to the sautéing veggies - Now I don’t have a specific quantity for you because I basically just add a pinch to every layer. As I do with S&P. SO salt and peppa that now too.

-       Sautee until very fragrant and vegetables begin to soften.

                                      

-       Add rice and sauté again for about 3 min.

-       Add more saffron, paprika, cumin, and half the oregano.

                                      

-       Add stock about a half cup at a time until the liquid evaporates each time.  Keep stirring, cause this is what gets the rice to that creamy texture. This takes about 20 minutes.

-       Add sausage, shrimp, parsley and squeeze of lemon juice, and let cook in the pan, covered, for about 5 minutes.

-       Serve topped with a little parsley.

                                        

Enjoy!

Lots of Bisous!

Chantilly