Rotini with Brie and Tomatoes

It has been a beautiful summer weekend here in Nittel. The local diving club held their annual swim party last evening. Several of the divers and friends swam a section of the Moselle stopping for refreshments at conveniently located rafts along the way. It was lovely to be outside enjoying the beautiful weather and meeting the friendly people from the village.

Summer also brings tomatoes that are really tomatoes and not just the red globes that try to pass for them the rest of the year. This is a pasta dish that I dream of until this time of year. Every time it comes out a little different depending on the ripeness of the brie, the flavour of the tomatoes and the aroma of the basil.

Rotini with Brie and Tomatoes

500 g (1 lb) rotini
75 mL (5 Tbsp) olive oil
375 g (12 oz) Brie, rind removed
5 ripe tomatoes, chopped
125 mL (1/2 cup) Basil leaves, chopped
Freshly ground black pepper

Cut brie into cubes. Pour olive oil into a large bowl; add brie and toss to mix. Let sit at room temperature for up to 3 hours.
Cook rotini until al dente. Drain and immediately add to brie. Add tomatoes, basil and pepper. Mix well and serve.

Ratatouille - barbecue style

Ratatouille is a French Provençal dish that originated in Nice. Mediterranean vegetables eggplant, zucchini, peppers and tomatoes are traditionally cooked individually to ensure the proper cooking times for each, then assembled to let the flavours blend. It is similar to the Italian caponata and can be served as a meal with bread or rice or as a side dish to accompany fish or meat.
This quick and easy version cooks all the vegetables together in foil over the barbecue. It takes ½ hour to make, tastes delicious and there are no messy pans to clean up!

Ratatouille – barbecue style
Serves 6

1 eggplant, cut into 1 cm (1/2 in) cubes
2 zucchini (courgettes), sliced
1 red pepper, cut in squares
1 green pepper, cut in squares
4 ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped*
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
50 mL (1/4 cup) olive oil
60 mL (2 Tbsp) fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
5 mL (1 tsp) herbes de Provence
Freshly ground black pepper

Place eggplant cubes into a bowl; sprinkle with salt and let stand for 30 minutes. Rinse eggplant under cold water, pat dry with paper towel.
Place eggplant, zucchini, peppers, tomatoes and onion on a large square of heavy foil. Combine other ingredients and pour over vegetables. Seal the foil with a double fold. Place on grill (approx. 10 cm / 4 in. above coals) and cook for 30 min. or until vegetables are tender.

*Add 15 mL (1 Tbsp) of tomato paste if the tomatoes lack flavour.

Grilled Marinated Lamb Chops

I have moved out of my fabulous Paris apartment and have traded the view of La Tour Eiffel for veiws of the Moselle River. We are having a beautiful summer weekend in Nittel on the German side of the border from Luxembourg so a barbecue is on the menu for tonight!




Grilled Marinated Lamb Chops

Serves 6

12 lamb loin chops

Marinade:
250 mL (1 cup) dry red wine
125 mL (½ cup) olive oil
2 green onions, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
15 mL (1 Tbsp) fresh rosemary, minced
Freshly ground black pepper

Place lamb in a shallow pan.
Mix all marinade ingredients together and pour over lamb. Cover and let sit in the refrigerator for several hours, turning the meat occasionally.
Remove lamb from marinade and grill over medium-hot coals until desired doneness, basting frequently with the marinade.

Serve with grilled new potatoes and salad.

Feta Cheese Burgers

HAPPY CANADA DAY to all my Canadian friends. Thinking about Canada Day reminds me of all the wonderful barbeques that we have enjoyed together. Cooking over hot coals is something that I have missed while living in Paris.

A few years ago in Normandy I found little disposable barbecues that cost about 4€. They were foil baking trays equiped with coals and a starter paper. I thought what a great idea for picnics on the beach. The coals were ready in about 15 minutes and stayed hot enough to cook burgers, steaks or fish with potatoes and other veggies. Perfect! The next year I went back to Normandy for my summer vacation and I could not find them anywhere. I wonder what happened to them?



This week's recipe is a burger with a surprise center.

Feta Cheese Burgers Serves 4

750 g (1-1/2 lbs) lean ground lamb
1 mL (1/4 tsp) pepper
1 mL (1/4 tsp) ground cumin
50 g (2 oz) feta cheese
25 mL (2 tbsp) chopped fresh mint

Combine lamb, pepper and cumin. Divide into 4 portions. Cut feta into 4 cubes; flatten and sprinkle with mint. Form 4 meat patties with cheese and mint buried in the centre of each.
Cook over hot coals or broil on a preheated grill, turning once, or until no longer pink inside.

Moules marinières

‘Moules frites’ is a traditional Belgian dish. It does not refer to fried mussels but to mussels served with fries. The restaurant chain Léon de Bruxelles (www.leon-de-bruxelles.fr) does a brisk business in Paris serving mussels in ‘cocottes individuelles’. This is my idea of fast food – something that is quick to prepare and tastes good not the products served at the ubiquitous American chains which are becoming all too present in Paris.

Mussels take a little time to clean but only a few minutes to cook. To clean them – scrub the shells with a brush to remove and sand and adherences. Immediately before using, remove the beard (byssus threads that protrude from the side of the shell) by pulling with your fingers or cutting with a knife. Throw out any broken shells and any mussels that do not close when sharply tapped.
Also discard any that do not open after cooking.

Moules marinières
Serves 4

60g (4 Tbsp) butter
2 onions, chopped
2kg (4 lbs) mussels, cleaned
400mL (1-1/2 cups) dry white wine
1 bay leaf
1 branch fresh thyme
200mL (3/4 cup) crème fraîche or sour cream
60g (4 Tbsp) fresh parsley, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Melt butter in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the onions and cook to soften, stirring frequently to prevent colouring. Add the mussels, wine, bay leaf and thyme. Cover the pot and increase the heat to high for 5-8 minutes, shaking the pot from time to time, just until the mussels open. Throw out any mussels that did not open.

Remove the mussels from the pot, place in a bowl and filter the liquid through a sieve. Reheat the sauce in a pot. Add the crème fraîche or sour cream, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Divide the mussels between 4 bowls and pour over the sauce. Sprinkle with the parsley.

Provide a finger bowl and bowl for the shells.
Serve with slices of baguette.

Date and Orange Loaf

This week’s blog posting is a little late as I was distracted by watching the tennis at Roland Garros and taking a trip to Luxembourg to accept a new job. I will be writing about Luxembourg in future blogs.

Date and Orange Loaf is an easy to make and transport quick bread . It was inspired when a friend brought me a box of dates from Algeria. I don’t eat a lot of dates and didn’t want them to go bad. It is a perfect breakfast treat to prepare in advance when you have guests too.

Date and Orange Loaf

Makes 1 - 23 x 13 cm (9x5-inch ) loaf

250 mL (1 cup) chopped pitted dates
185 mL (3/4 cup) boiling water
5 mL (1 tsp) baking soda
1 small orange, cut in 6 pieces, seeded
375 mL (1-1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
250 mL (1 cup) nuts (optional)
185 mL (3/4 cup) sugar
2 eggs
30 mL (2 tbsp) butter, cut in 4 pieces
5 mL (1 tsp) salt

Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F)

Combine dates, water and baking soda in small bowl; set aside. Grease and flour a 9x5-inch loaf pan.
Place orange pieces in a food processor fitted with a metal blade; process about 15 seconds. Add flour, nuts, sugar, eggs, butter, salt and half the date mixture; process 5 seconds to mix. Add remaining date mixture; process about 15-20 seconds until well mixed. Pour into loaf pan. Bake for 55 -65 minutes until loaf springs back when touched lightly in center. Cool for 10 minutes. Loosen sides with knife and remove from pan.

Greek Pasta Salad

The end of May is my favourite time of the year. The marchés become more vibrant in colour as fruits and vegetables start to come into season. Cherries make an appearance. It stays light until about 9:30 at night. It is when the tennis Grand Slam ‘Roland Garros’ (French Open) is played in Paris. I usually have a house full of tennis mad guests. We spend hours watching, talking and playing tennis, touring the city and enjoying late evening dinners.

This is my favourite pasta salad. I make it to take to Roland Garros, on picnics, for the cottage and on road trips. It can be made a day ahead and stored in the refrigerator.

Greek Pasta Salad
Serves 4 - 6

1 L (4 cups) farfalle*
125 mL (½ cup) cucumber, seeded and diced
250 mL (1 cup) cherry tomatoes
½ small red onion, chopped
125 mL (½ cup) Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
60 mL (¼ cup) fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
125 mL (½ cup) feta cheese, crumbled

Dressing:
60 mL (¼ cup) extra virgin olive oil
45 mL (3 Tbsp) lemon juice
5 mL (1 tsp) anchovy paste
1 clove garlic, minced
2.5 mL (½ tsp) dried oregano
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Dressing:
Combine all ingredients in a jar with tightly fitting lid. Shake well to blend.

Pasta:
Cook farfalle (following directions on pasta package) until al dente); drain well. Place in a serving bowl and toss with half of the dressing. Let cool to room temperature.

Salad:
Add cucumber, tomatoes, onion; olives, parsley and feta to the pasta and toss well with dressing.

*bowtie or butterfly shaped pasta

Bœuf Bourguignon

April was a beautiful warm and sunny month in Paris but in May we have returned to the more typical grey, cool and rainy weather. Thoughts of barbecues and picnics have disappeared as we are bundling up and thoughts of comfort food have come to mind. This prompted me to make a Bœuf Bourguignon (a robust beef stew made with onions, carrots and red Burgundy wine).

This is one of the two most famous dishes of the Bourgogne (Burgundy) region in eastern-central France. The other is Escargots de Bourgogne (snails with garlic parsley butter). I love them both.

Traditional recipes for Bœuf Bourguignon call for the meat to be marinated for at least 12 hours before cooking. The following recipe does not require the meat to be marinated and takes about 30 minutes to prepare and 3 hours of simmering on the stovetop.

Bœuf Bourguignon
Serves 6

30 g (2 Tbsp) butter
30 mL (2 Tbsp) oil
4 carrots, peeled and cut into rounds
2 large onions, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
200 g (7 oz) smoked bacon, chopped
1.5 kg (3 lb) stewing beef, cut into 5 cm (2”) cubes
30 mL (2 Tbsp) flour (optional)
40 cL (1-3/4 cups) hot water
2 chicken stock cubes
75 cL (25 oz) red burgundy wine
45 mL (3 Tbsp) tomato coulis or 2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and crushed
2 bay leaves
2 thyme branches
12 small white onions, whole, peeled
200 g (7 oz) white mushrooms, sliced (optional)
6 branches of flat parsley, chopped
Pepper and salt, freshly ground

In a large casserole, heat the butter and oil, add the chopped onions, garlic, bacon and carrots. Cook for 10 min. until onions are tender and golden. Remove and set aside.
Add beef cubes to the casserole; brown on all sides. Shake the flour over and mix well. Return carrots, bacon, onions and garlic to the pan. Add hot water, bay leaves, stock cubes, thyme, tomatoes, salt, pepper and wine; mix well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to minimum and simmer for 3 hours. Approx. 30 min. before the end of cooking time, add the small onions and mushrooms, if using.
Remove the beef and vegetables to a serving bowl. Reduce the sauce and add to the serving dish. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Serve with a Bourgogne rouge (red wine from the Burgundy).

L'heure d'apéritif

L’heure d’apéritif is the favourite time of day chez Jan. A little something to nosh on served with a glass of wine or a kir while waiting for dinner. The kir of choice is a ‘violette’ – made with Chateau Beauferan’s Crèmeux du Vigneron aromatise à la violette and white wine this produces a lovely pale purple coloured drink. On special occasions, champagne is served.

Typical pre-dinner snacks include:
Slices of horseradish (radis noirs) topped with tarama, caviar and a sprinkling of dill
Tarama served as a dip for radishes
Vietnamese ravioli (ravioli vietnamienne) from DZ Trateur Asiatique on rue Cler or La Grande Epicerie served with a homemade dip of soy sauce, freshly grated ginger and sesame oil
Smoked salmon served with slices of shallots and capers
A selection of olives and sunblushed tomatoes (tomates confits)
Olive tapanade served on tomato or cucumber slices
Homemade tzatziki (refer to Blog posting 18Feb07) served with toasted pita wedges

Visit the friendly vendors on Thursday and Saturday mornings at:
Marché de Saxe / Breteuil
Av. de Saxe, 75007 Paris

Chateau Beauferan is one of the Vignerons Indépendents and are present at the Salon des Vins des Vignerons Indépendants de Paris in the spring and fall.

Chateau Beauferan
870 Chemin de la Degaye
13880 VELAUX
Tél : 04 42 74 73 94
E-mail : château.beauferan@wanadoo.fr
A small selection of Chateau Beauferan's wines are now available in Ontario at LCBO stores and from Arthur Sellers http://www.arthursellers.com/Wineries.asp

Mediterranean Salad

Tomatoes and basil – was there ever a more perfect match? Nothing says summer more than this combination. It is still too early for tomatoes that really taste like tomatoes but basil is becoming more plentiful and flavourful.

The dressing for this salad can be replaced with pesto by adding parmesan cheese and omitting the lemon juice and sun-blushed tomatoes.

Mediterranean Tomato Salad
Serves 4-5

4 ripe tomatoes, sliced
50 mL (1/4 cup) fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
50 mL (1/4 cup) olive oil
20 mL (4 tsp) pine nuts, lightly toasted
10 mL (2 tsp) sun-blushed tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 clove garlic
30 mL (2 Tbsp) lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper

Garnish:
Basil leaves
Pine nuts, chopped

Arrange tomatoes on serving plates.
Process the basil, garlic, pine nuts, sun-blushed tomato and oil in a food processor fitted with a metal blade about 30 seconds. Add lemon juice and pepper, process for 10 seconds or until well blended.
Pour over the tomatoes. Garnish with basil leaves and pine nuts.