Clafoutis Provencal & Cookbook Sundays # 11

My goodness where did the last week go to?  It seems to have vanished in a flash, and here we are at Saturday evening again and time for another Cookbook Sundays.  If you've been delving into your cookbooks lately, I'd love you to share your post with me and my friends who are trying to get those cookbooks down off the bookshelves and onto the kitchen bench.  Keep reading for full details on how to participate.

In the meantime ... what did I conjure up from my cookbooks this week?  In actual fact my recipe this week comes from "The French Women Don't Get Fat Cookbook".  This book is not in my collection, and is probably not the kind of book that I would buy.  But I was at the library the other day, and it was out on display.  Don't really know what made me pick it up, but the book immediately fell open at this recipe and I knew that I just had to make it.

Now, one glimpse at my photos, and you won't need me to tell you that this dish is not going to win any beauty contests.  It's brown food, people, and not even Lord Lichfield could have made this look good.  Still, for all its wallflower looks, this dish delivers on flavour.

In the introduction to this recipe, the author says, "Clafoutis usually refers to a dessert preparation, but in Provence it can be a savory yet still rich dish with cheese, eggs, and bread."  The sweetness of peppers in this dish, with the pungency of garlic, the salty brininess of black olives, the earthy herbaceousness (probably not a real word, but you know what I mean) of basil, and the nutty, tangy Parmesan makes a great combination.  If I had a disappointment in this dish it was probably the aubergine.  Now I love aubergine - it's one of my favourite vegetables - but in this dish it somehow didn't shine and didn't do anything to enhance the dish.  I would definitely make this dish again, but I think I would use red peppers instead of yellow - I think red have just a bit more sweetness and more flavour, also the bright colour I think would look a bit more appealing.  Other changes I would make ... I think some slow roasted tomatoes would be great in here, for both colour and flavour, and I feel inclined to swap the aubergines out for some courgette - again I think the colour and flavour would be better here.  But, hey, really you could put just about anything in here.  You could even take this in a totally different direction using some Italian sausage or chorizo, with sweet potato or pumpkin, some spinach and blue cheese ... mmmmm, think I just might have to try that.

A funny thing ...  The recipe stated that it would serve 4 and I have to say that when I got it out of the oven, my first thought was "Well that's obviously why French women don't get fat - this would barely feed two".  I was wrong - I served this as a main meal with a light green salad, and it would easily give 3-4 servings.  I think this dish would really shine served for a late summer lunch, followed by a long siesta.

Clafoutis Provencal Recipe

Adapted from recipe by Mireille Guiliano from

The French Women Don't Get Fat Cookbook

Serves 3 to 4

Vegetarian

Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

1x medium aubergine, cut into 1 cm (1/2 in) dice

1x yellow pepper, deseeded & cut into 1 cm (1/2 in) dice

flaky sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

1x slice of bread, crusts removed

2x garlic cloves, peeled

1 cup ricotta

3x large free-range eggs

2 tablespoons fresh basil, roughly chopped

1/2 cup black olives, stones removed and halved

3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

fresh basil to garnish

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F).

Grease a 20 cm (8 in) square baking dish with butter and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in pan set over medium heat, and saute the yellow pepper and aubergine until softened and just starting to caramelise.  Season with flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Set aside to cool.

Put bread, garlic, eggs and ricotta into a food processor, and process until smooth.  Remove to a bowl;  add the basil, olives, Parmesan, and the cooled aubergine and pepper mixture;  season with more flaky sea salt and black pepper;  and mix everything together gently.

Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and put into the hot oven.  Bake for 30-35 minutes until lightly golden on top.  Take care not to overcook.

Remove from the oven and serve warm, garnished with extra basil.  A crisp green salad makes a good accompaniment.

Now read on to learn more about Cookbook Sundays.

 

If you're anything like me you have dozens of cookbooks gathering dust on your bookshelves, some of which have never even been cooked from.  Sure I spent hours browsing through them when I first bought them, marking all the recipes I was going to make with little post-it notes, and yet still those books languish in the bookcase and never make it to the kitchen.  There are others from which I have made but one recipe which was such a resounding success that I've made it over and over again, and yet somehow I've never made anything else from that book.  Sound a bit familiar?!

Take comfort - you are not alone, and now Cookbook Sundays is your opportunity to change that.  Every Sunday I'm going to share with you a recipe that I haven't made before from one of my ever expanding collection of cookbooks.  And, because I know that if you have read this far then you are guilty of this too, I'm inviting you to join in with me.  Each week my Cookbook Sundays post will have a linky for you to share something you've cooked from one of your cookbooks.

The rules for joining in are simple:

1. Your post must state the author and the title of the book your recipe has come from.
2. Your post must mention Cookbook Sundays and link back to this post.  Including the Cookbook Sundays badge is optional, but always appreciated.
3. You may submit as many entries as you like, and you may use the same cookbook as many times as you like.  Old posts are also welcome.
4. Lastly,  remember that what goes around, comes around - one of the reasons you are participating in this is because you want people to read your posts, so do the right thing and go and visit a few of the other participants - you can even "Like" your favourites. 

Now, go and dust off those cookbooks and get cooking!  Use the linky tool at the end of this post to submit your entry/entries - simply scroll down to where it says "You are next ... Click here to enter", and then follow the instructions.  The linky will be open for one week.

Lastly, if you would like to use the Cookbook Sundays badge in your post, simply copy the code in the box beside the badge below and paste it into your post.  Feel free to also use it in your sidebar if you wish.

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Fettucine with Spinach, Crab & Lemon

Thank you to so many of you, who stopped by my blog over the last week and left your lovely messages of support.  I had certainly missed you all and it has been wonderful to reconnect with so many of you again.

As I am now slowly starting to get back on my feet, I was eager to join back in with the I Heart Cooking Clubs group - I have always enjoyed cooking along with a fantastic group of people here, and in the short time that I have been gone they have taken up with a new chef (as they do every six months).  So now they are cooking with Jamie Oliver, and the theme this week is "Plenty-o-Pasta".  Well you all know how much I like a good pasta dish, so I didn't need any extra encouragement to take this opportunity to join back in with the group, and push along a little further in getting back into my "blogging-stride".

So I decided to seek inspiration in a copy of the Jamie Magazine Recipe Yearbook 2009/10 that Alli (Pease Pudding) had very kindly left me as bedside reading - I felt sure there would be a pasta dish there which would tempt my taste buds, and I was not disappointed.  In fact, not surprisingly, there were several recipes for some great looking pasta dishes - but it was a recipe for Spinach & Lemon Linguine that really captivated my interest, and I decided that just such a dish would be the perfect home for a beautiful big bunch of fresh spinach I had picked up last weekend at the Hobsonville Point Farmers Market.  (This is a relatively small local market, but there are a number of excellent and innovative suppliers, and the quality of all the produce was absolutely outstanding.)

Now, I did tweak the recipe a little.  Firstly, I didn't have any linguine on hand, but I did happen to have a box of fettucine in the cupboard which I felt would make a perfectly acceptable substitute.  While I was there, I also discovered a tin of crab meat in the cupboard and thought that would make a great addition - and it did.  The original recipe calls for a large red chilli, but I had some of those teeny, tiny, but very hot birds eye chillies which I had also bought at the market and used one of those instead.  It may have been tiny but it still delivered a bit of heat and made my lips tingle.  I also cut back on the garlic a bit, using only one clove instead of the three in the original recipe, simply because too much garlic when you're getting up-close and personal with your yoga students can be a little unpleasant - so if you like garlicky feel free to add more.  Lastly, Jamie suggests serving with a grating of fresh parmesan (optionally);  however, because I had added the crab meat I decided to leave out the parmesan.  Instead I tried a couple of different serving alternatives, which you can read about in the recipe notes.

This was a great pasta dish - fresh and flavourful, plenty of great texture, and very quick to prepare - another one of those dishes that comes together literally in just the time it takes to boil water and cook pasta.  It's absolutely my kind of pasta dish, and I will definitely make it again - I hope you'll try it.

Fettucine with Spinach Crab & Lemon Recipe

Adapted from recipe for Spinach & Lemon Linguine in

Jamie Magazine Recipe Yearbook 2009/2010

Makes 2 generous servings

Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

250g fettucine

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup fresh breadcrumbs

grated zest of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

1 small, hot, birds-eye chilli, finely chopped

170g crab meat

200g spinach

juice of 1 lemon

flaky sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

ricotta cheese/poached egg to serve 

(optional additions - see note at end of recipe)

Bring a large pan of water to the boil over high heat.  Once it is boiling, salt the water liberally, then add the pasta and cook until al dente according to the directions on the packet.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the first quantity of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, add the breadcrumbs, and fry until crispy and golden.  Remove breadcrumbs to a paper towel to drain, then mix through the grated lemon zest, and set aside.

Return the pan to the heat, and add the second quantity of olive oil.  Add the chilli and garlic, and cook for a moment or two, just until the garlic begins to turn golden.  Add the crab meat, and continue stirring for a couple of minutes, then add the spinach and continue cooking until the spinach has wilted.  Season to taste with flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Reserve a cup of the pasta water and set aside.  Drain the pasta, and then add it to the pan with the spinach and crab.  Add the lemon juice, and also stir through a little of the reserved pasta water if it seems necessary.

Sprinkle the mixture of lemon zest and breadcrumbs over the top and serve immediately.

Note: Although this quantity made two large helpings, as mentioned, I was actually eating alone so I ate it over two nights.  On the first night, I added a couple of generous spoonfuls of soft ricotta cheese and stirred it through before adding the breadcrumb topping.  This added a nice creaminess and reinforced the lemoniness of the dish - definitely a good addition.  On the second night, I reheated the leftovers and served a poached egg on top - a runny yolk to fork through the pasta being of paramount importance here.  Personally, this was my favourite way of serving it and I only wished that I had done this on the first night, when of course the pasta was at its best rather than the reheated version.  Please note, if you don’t like eggs with runny yolks, don’t bother with this variation as a poached egg on top with a hard yolk will do absolutely nothing for this dish whatsoever.  Either of these additions is entirely optional and the dish will not suffer in anyway if you leave them out entirely - it has more than enough going on to stand on its own without any added extras.

Interested in getting to know Jamie a bit better?  Then do go and visit my friends at I Heart Cooking Clubs and see what they've all been cooking up ....

.... or check out Jamies Italy and many of his other great titles, available from Amazon or Fishpond NZ.

         

Whole-Wheat Fettucine with Green Beans, Ricotta & Lemon

Have you noticed (how could you not, really?) that over the last week nearly everyone in the blogoshpere is talking about "resolutions", and my friends at I Heart Cooking Clubs are no exception.  We continue to cook with Giada de Laurentiis and our theme this week, unsurprisingly, is Resolutions.  Well, I've got to tell you that I resolved many years ago never to make another New Year's resolution - I don't think I've ever heard of anybody who ever actually managed to keep one, so who needs to set themselves up for that kind of failure.  So no resolutions for this girl.  I do however think that this is a valuable time for some reflection - to contemplate the things that you may have changed over the last year that have had a positive affect on your life (and perhaps on others around you), and consider what actions might continue that positive momentum.

A couple of years ago I happened to find myself with time on my hands at Brisbane airport, as I waited for my flight home after a two week yoga workshop on Stradbroke Island.  Having a browse around the book store, as you do, "The Ethics of What We Eat" by Peter Singer & Jim Mason seemed to literally jump off the shelf at me, and I have to say that my attitude to food was irrevocably changed from that moment on.  So much of what I read was a real eye-opener, while other content was more thought-provoking than challenging.  The end result though was that I am no longer able to just unconsciously put anything on my plate without thinking about where it has come from and what the consequences of getting it to my plate may have been.  I don't have all the answers yet (probably never will), but at least I'm thinking about it, and everything I buy for my table now involves a conscious decision to get it there.

I've always liked making things from scratch, and this has become even more important to me.  I think I've developed a lot of skills over the years, and I continue to take on new challenges and learn how to make new things.  Last year I made cheese for the first time, thanks to the inspiration and encouragement of Natashya and Heather at Forging Fromage, and I discovered the joys of making my own ice cream (almost completely eliminating store bought ice cream from my freezer).  I got more consistent about making my own bread, and even started doing the occasional bit of baking.  I learned how to clean a squid, and even cleaned and gutted sardines (but that's for another post).

So I'm not making any sweeping resolutions here - I'm just reinforcing my commitment to continuing to develop my knowledge and understanding, and keep my mind open to constantly learning new skills.  Two things that I do want to do are reduce the amount of white flour and sugar in my diet and begin to use more whole grains - I think there is a whole new world out there for me to discover.  I'm also keen to make more of my own pasta - I eat a lot of pasta, and there is no doubt that a packet of pasta in the pantry is the ultimate convenience food - but I really want to take my time over it more often and develop my pasta-making skills.

With these things in mind, the recipe for Whole-Wheat Linguine with Green Beans, Ricotta and Lemon from Giada's Kitchen, seemed like a great place to start - whole-wheat pasta, green beans and tomatoes are tossed together in a light creamy sauce, which is made by simply combining ricotta with some of the pasta water - result a beautiful, luscious sauce, without a trace of heaviness.  The whole thing is finished off with a sprinkling of lemon zest (of course it does, this is a Giada recipe after all), which really brings a bright, fresh note to this dish.  This dish is truly the work of moments, but since I had a leisurely afternoon to spare yesterday I also opted to make my own whole-wheat fettucine (I used the recipe here for whole-wheat pasta, but halved the quantity which gave enough for two very generous servings) and my own ricotta.

Now you may think that sounds like a lot of effort - but truly, I don't think there would have been more than 30 minutes actual labour involved;  and, since the only other effort required for this dish is trimming a few beans, sauteeing them off with a little chopped garlic, halving some cherry tomatoes, and boiling a pot of water, this is hardly arduous work.

I promise you that making your own pasta and ricotta is deeply rewarding - it's the kind of work where the sense of satisfaction derived from its completion is about three times the actual effort that went in.  By all means, use store-bought pasta and ricotta here if you like - heck, that's what I do a lot of the time and I would never denigrate that - but if you have the time to spare and the inclination I urge you to try making your own.  Either way, do try this dish - deliciously light, fresh and healthy, it is the absolute antithesis of so many rich, heavy pasta dishes.  You can find the original recipe here or on page 112 of Giada's Kitchen - I made no changes (other than to reduce the quantities since I was eating on my own), and nor do I recommend any.

Interested in getting to know Giada a bit better?  Then do go and visit my friends at I Heart Cooking Clubs and see what they've all been cooking up ....

.... or check out Giada's Kitchen and many of her other titles, available from Amazon, Book Depository UK and Fishpond NZ

       

I'm also submitting this post to Presto Pasta Nights, which is being hosted this week by Claire at Chez Cayenne - you will be able to see a full round-up of all the submissions there on Friday 14 January.   I'm looking forward to checking out a whole lot of new pasta dishes.

This post is also submitted to the Hearth and Soul and  Decidedly Healthy or Horribly Decadent blog hops.

Roasted Aubergine & Green Olive Salad with Homemade Mizithra

Some of you will recall an earlier post in which I told you about my trip to Greece, to the island of Paros, back in June this year.  There are not enough superlatives to describe my trip, which was very profound on many levels, but I'm sure it will come as no surprise to know that a major highlight for me was of course the food.  One of the things I especially came to love was a local cheese called mizithra.  Every few days we would wander down the little lane in this photo to the "fruit and veggie man", who also happened to be the "mizithra man" - he had big tubs of it, and would scoop out a big spoonful onto a sheet of lightly waxed paper, which would then be taken home to be used in all sorts of salads.  I also loved it on toast with the local bitter orange preserves.

Mizithra is a soft cheese, with a mild, ever-so-slightly-salty flavour - somewhat similar to ricotta, but with a firmer texture.  It doesn't have a stand-out flavour, so not really one to eat on its own - it is much better suited to crumbling into salads, or into pasta dishes, or maybe mix with some rice as a stuffing for peppers or tomatoes.  Really, you could use it pretty much anywhere that you might ordinarily use feta, and is definitely useful when you want a slightly more subtle flavour than you might expect from feta.  I also love it on toast with apricot jam - you could actually spread the mizithra on the toast instead of butter, then dollop the jam on top, but I like to go the whole hog - butter first, then the jam, and then crumble the mizithra on top.

Sadly, however, mizithra is not a cheese that you can buy here in New Zealand (not to my knowledge anyhow - if you know otherwise, please let me know), and it's certainly a product I've been missing since I came home.  Imagine my excitement then, when I recently joined in with the Forging Fromage group to make my own ricotta and discovered the path to true happiness - yes, I could make my own mizithra.  This was incredibly easy to make, and kept well, and has now become a regular staple in my kitchen.   Since I didn't make any changes to the recipe whatsoever, I'm not going to repeat it here, but you can find the recipe in this post at Forging Fromage - follow the simple instructions and you can't go wrong.  I have a feeling that the mizithra we ate in Greece was actually made from sheep's milk, and I would love to try making it with sheep's milk, but of course that is not a readily available ingredient here.  I have been told though that we can get sheep's milk powder here, so I am going to try a batch using that sometime soon - I'll be sure to let you know how that goes.  Of course if there is anyone out there who has tried that please let me know how it worked for you.

One of my favourite uses for mizithra is in this salad - this has a great combination of flavours and textures, and it's one that I make over and over again - I'm sure you will too.  You don't have to be too precise about quantities here - feel free to add a bit more of this, a little less of that, as the feeling takes you.  If you don't have access to mizithra, and can't be bothered to make any for this recipe, just substitute with feta.  I also use the flesh of half a preserved lemon in this salad - if you don't have that, just use freshly grated lemon zest instead - but the salty tang of preserved lemon really adds an extra dimension that makes up for the mildness of the cheese.

Roasted Aubergine, Green Olive & Mizithra Salad

1 medium/large aubergine

olive oil

salt & pepper

handful of green olives

flesh of 1/2 a preserved lemon, thinly sliced

(or freshly grated lemon zest)

rocket (or other salad leaves)

mizithra (or feta)

For the dressing:

extra virgin olive oil

freshly squeezed lemon juice

honey

salt & pepper

To garnish:

1 lemon

generous handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Cut the aubergine into chunks.

Toss aubergine chunks in olive oil, sprinkle over some flaky sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Roast in a fairly hot oven - about 200 degrees C (390 degrees F), until soft and golden brown.  Remove to a bowl and set aside.

While the aubergine is roasting, heat up a grill pan, cut a lemon in half, and grill the lemon (cut-side down) until charred and the juices are starting to run.  Set aside for garnishing.

Add the preserved lemon and some green olives to the bowl containing the roasted aubergine - use as many as you like - at least a generous handful.  I used these gorgeous Sicilian green olives from the Mediterranean Warehouse.

Next make the dressing, using approximately 2 parts extra virgin olive oil (the best you can lay your hands on) to 1 part freshly squeezed lemon juice.  Sweeten with a little bit of runny honey, and season with flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Taste and adjust the lemon juice, honey or seasoning to suit your palate.  Pour the dressing over the aubergine and olive mixture and toss to coat everything well.

Arrange rocket leaves (that's arugula to some of you), or whatever salad leaves you have available, on a platter.  Distribute the aubergine and olive mixture over the top, then crumble pieces of mizithra or feta over the top.  Garnish with chopped flat-leaf parsley and the char-grilled lemon halves.

I'm submitting this post to Forging Fromage (home of cheesy friends) and Hearth 'n' Soul (where you'll find lots of great cooks passionate about creating good food, and with many a good tale to tell) - hope you'll go and visit:

  

I'm also linking this post to Let's Do Lunch at My Sweet and Savory