A Humble Dinner

I find something so beautifully rustic about unpeeled carrots. As long as you buy organic, a simple wash is all they need. I like the brown tinged rings that the peel gives them and for some reason I find they taste better in their unadulterated state.



Tonight I had a humble supper of oefs en cocotte (shirred eggs) and carrots with shallots and rosemary. I find that the humblest of dishes sometimes taste the best and always seem to ignite all of my visceral senses.



I listened to my carrots and shallots have a conversation as the shallots delicately enveloped the carrot coins with their caramelized sweetness. I love it when the sound of sizzling food almost sounds like music. When you can hear it through a closed lid, you know it's going to taste fantastic.



I rubbed my fingertips through woodsy herbs, freshly grated pecorino romano and garlic. Remember, there are no better kitchen tools than your own two hands. Get into your food; feel the textures, listen to a skillet conversation, let the scents of herbs and red wine vinegar fill your nostrils. Just enjoy your time in the kitchen.



I dipped warm, soft baguette into a bright, velvety yolk that just started to run down my palm. For a humble supper, it completely and totally made my day.

*In terms of recipes, the carrots came from Orangette and the shirred eggs from Barefoot Contessa. My only additions were shallots and rosemary in place of onions and thyme, and using coconut creamer in place of heavy cream and romano in place of parmesan in the eggs.*

Pissaladière (Provencal Onion Tart)

Think of the Pissaladière as France's answer to a pizza. Except this is completely different, texturally, to a pizza. It has a flaky, buttery crust from puff pastry and a sweet caramel flavor from slow, delicately cooked onions.

You could get fancy here and make your own puff pastry, or you could be like me and buy it. Actually, you could also get away with using your favorite pizza dough recipe, but I like using puff pastry here; the flavor and crispness is unbeatable. Whatever the case may be, this is an excellent, easy and elegant meal that comes together quite quickly and goes wonderfully with a side salad and a glass of wine.



Pissaladière
Ingredients
- 1 sheet puff pastry
- 2lbs large yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2-3 sprigs of thyme and rosemary
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/4 cup olive tapenade
- S&P, to taste

Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400.
- Take out your puff pastry and allow to rest for about 30 minutes. On a floured surface, roll out the dough as thinly as possible. Cut edges so you have a neat square/rectangle and discard leftover dough. Prick the bottom with a fork, place on a parchment lined sheet pan and bake for 10 minutes, until golden. Leave oven on and set aside.
- Add a tablespoon of oil or butter to a large pot on low heat. Add garlic, onions and herbs and cook for one hour, stirring frequently. The onions will turn incredibly tender and translucent and make what is called an "onion confit". Remove herb stems and bay leaf.
- Spoon olive tapenade on puff pastry and top with onions. Bake for another 10-15 minutes, or until heated through and brown. Slice into 6 pieces and serve hot or at room temperature.

Serves 6




Mine is pretty basic and very rustic. Traditionally there are French olives and anchovies on top of the onions, but I wanted to keep things simple and get the salty bite from the tapenade. Also, if you want it to look nicer, put the pastry in a tart pan. After going to three stores in search for one and not finding anything like what I needed, I gave up and just used by trusted sheet pan. The best thing about this recipe is that, like pizza, you can customize it to suit your needs.



But trust me, some tender onions and fresh herbs are all you need.

French Garlic Soup For One

Today I'm going to show you how to take these simple, inexpensive ingredients:



and make this:


French garlic soup
Ingredients
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 egg, separated
- 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- S&P, to taste
- Parsley, for garnish

Instructions
- Boil whole peeled garlic cloves in water until tender. Mash them using a fork or the side of a knife and set aside.
- Bring vegetable stock to a low boil. Add mashed garlic, rosemary and thyme and lower to a simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes.
- While it simmers, prepare bread by baking in a 325 oven until dry and golden brown.
- Strain soup to remove herbs and garlic, leaving a clear broth.
- Separate egg yolk and white into two bowls. Whisk whites until frothy. Add egg whites to the simmered broth and whisk until the whites begin to set.
- Temper the egg yolk by adding a ladleful of soup into the bowl with the yolk. Stir, making sure the egg doesn't scramble. Add yolk to the soup and whisk until thickened.
- Place bread on the bottom of your bowl (spread with goat cheese, if desired) and top with soup. Drizzle with a touch of olive oil, garnish with parsley, and serve immediately.


I love this soup because it's so restorative; garlic is a fabulous immune booster. It's wonderful for a cold day or one where you just want to kick back and relax with a simple, elegant dinner.





This is a perfect example of a dish that includes a minimal amount of ingredients but has amazing flavor. The garlic mellows as it cooks, so the soup is delicate and not sharp or overly garlicky. It's also great to have a thick, hearty soup without the addition of butter and cream; it was rich, protein packed, beautifully herbaceous and full of nutrients.

Food Network Inspired

I love The Food Network. I'm sure many of you, being foodies, also love it, but my love can be described by some as unhealthy. Nine times out of ten, The Food Network is what is on my television. When that's not on, it's usually The Cooking Channel or The Travel Channel. I'm not a creature of habit or anything.

I digress. I had no idea what to make for dinner tonight. I initially thought Indian food, but decided to wait and possibly celebrate Indian Wednesday a la Fitnessista.Then I remembered I had a few tomatoes in the fridge which should be used up, so I got to googling tomato recipes. After sifting through pages of marinara and fried green tomatoes, I stumbled upon a recipe from Ina Garten for tomatoes provençal and knew I had to make it. I did, however, make some modifications.


Tomatoes provençal (adapted from Ina Garten)
Ingredients
- 2 medium tomatoes, halved with insides removed
- 1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs*
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 1 tbsp olive oil + more for finishing
- Sprinkling of vegan parmesan
- S&P, to taste

Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400.
- Set tomato halves in a baking dish and season with salt and pepper. Meanwhile, mix breadcrumbs with herbs, salt and pepper. Fill each tomato half with 2-3 tablespoons of breadcrumb mixture. Sprinkle pressed or minced garlic evenly on top and drizzle 1 tsp of olive oil over each tomato half (to keep tomatoes moist).
- Bake for 20 minutes. After 15 minutes, sprinkle with vegan parmesan** and put back into the oven for 5 more minutes, or until top is browned and tomatoes are soft. Drizzle with more olive oil and serve!

* For the breadcrumbs, I cubed 2oz of locally made baguette and toasted them in a 250 oven until bone dry (15-20 minutes). Then I put the cubes into the food processor until they reached my desired consistency.

** I'm sure you can just put the parmesan on top when you first put them in the oven, but I enjoy taking a dish out towards the end and adding the "cheese"; it tickles me.


These were so good for being so simple. The flavors of the herbs came through nicely and the dish tasted so fresh and light. I highly recommend using fresh breadcrumbs and high quality bread because store bought just doesn't compare. I also recommend sprinkling the top with garlic instead of mixing it in with the breadcrumbs because it added another layer of flavor which I enjoyed.


They're so beautiful, too.