Debate still raging as to what is included in Salad Nicoise.

This was the salad we had in Bordeaux which changed
my thinking about Salad Nicoise

Hi  there
I know the debate still rages re what should be included in a Salad Nicoise.  Having had the incredible experience of french salads, I am humbled re even making a suggestion.
However, moving on, the above photo included a delightful combination. 

The recipe below, features tuna but! ......  it can be salmon and (maybe) doesn't have to include egg.

Clara
Well , when I was in France I think my name was Claire, as I definitely felt French.

For 4 serves

16 chat (baby) potatoes, halved - brushed with olive oil and seasoned with sea salt and cracked black pepper
8 cloves garlic, skin on
4 x 175g tuna/salmon steaks
4 tbsp capers, rinsed
1/4 cup  olive oil
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
200g  / 7 oz green beans, trimmed and blanched
1/3 cup  small black olives

This is tuna but do your own thing

A variation with salmon instead of tuna. 
Rocket was added as well.

Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Coat the potato with  a little oil and
salt and place on a baking tray with the garlic. Bake for 20—25 minutes
or until the potatoes are golden and garlic is soft.

Brush the tuna with a little olive oil and sprinkle with pepper. Heat a frying pan over
high heat. Add the tuna and capers and cook for 2 minutes each side or until the tuna is well seared.  Or BBQ the tuna or salmon and add the capers to the final dish.

To make the dressing, squeeze the garlic from its skin and whisk together with the oil and vinegar
To assemble, place the potato, beans, olives and capers on serving plates. Top with the tuna and spoon over the dressing. Serves 4.

Asian Herb Salad is a huge success.



With  a wonderfully wild freshness due to the overuse of
delicate herbs, this is a definite Clara favourite. 

Hi there lovers of Asian Salad
Asian herb salad got the tick with key players at the birthday party.  It went perfectly with the first course of BBQ chicken skewers served Asian style.  See link below
 The wonderfully wild freshness  is achieved by massive overuse of delicate herbs along with an Asian dressing. 
Clara

Ingredients
250g / 8 oz rocket (arugula) leaves - (rimmed of excess stems (substitute any peppery lettuce)
125g / 4oz  each of mint, basil, cilentro leaves  (leaves picked from stems, washed and spun dry)
30g / 1 oz chervil if available
2/3 cup canned bamboo shoots - (preferably already cut into matchstick)

Dressing
2 shallots, peeled, halved, and finely sliced
l tbsp rice vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
l tsp sugar
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp mirin
sea salt and pepper

For the dressing, mix the shallots, rice vinegar, and sugar together in
a small bowl and set aside.
Trim any excess stems from the arugula, and pick the herb leaves from
their stems. Rinse and spin dry the arugula and herbs. Cut the bamboo
shoots into matchsticks.
To make the dressing, whisk the olive oil, sesame oil, mirin, sea salt, and
pepper together in a large bowl. Stir in the shallot mixture, then taste
and adjust the flavors.
Very lightly toss the arugula, bamboo shoots, and herbs in the dressing,
and serve, with chopsticks.

Link for chicken skewers belowhttp://fitinyourjeanscuisine.blogspot.com/2010/10/skewers-capture-finger-food.html

Leafy green vegetables are like the 'little black dress' of the vegetable world

Hi there
Back on track with green leaves which we need to eat heaps of since we are grazers.

Leafy green vegetables are like the 'little black dress' of the vegetable world. They go with just about everything and they’re appropriate for every occasion. Green leaves are perhaps the most anti-ageing of all foods and since I am passionate about my greens, once I start on them I seem to need to give all the good news. (below)
Hope you are all eating plenty of fresh green leaves.
Clara

Obviously, the best way to eat greens is uncooked, fresh from the garden, with Spinach or Rocket being my favourites because of their versatility. They can be stir fried in a little olive oil, wilted by steaming for a very short time, but I love them when added to cooked vegetables, at the last minute for extra colour and super nutrition.

We need heaps of green leaves  because we are grazers

Sichuan Style Spinach or Green Leaves
30g peanut oil
20 black peppercorns
4 dried red chillies
2 garlic cloves
2 bunches English spinach
Sea salt
30ml chinese wine
Dash sesame oil
Heat oil over medium heat, add groundpeppercorns and chilli until fragrant. Remove, add garlic, then wine, salt, spinach and cook until wilted and liquid nearly evaporated. Add seasoning, and chilli.

It was common for our ancient ancestors to eat up to six pounds of leaves per day, ie a grocery bag full of greens each and every day? Calorie for calorie, they are perhaps the most concentrated source of nutrition of any food. They are a rich source of minerals (including iron, calcium, potassium, and magnesium) and vitamins, including vitamins K, C, E, and many of the B vitamins. They also provide a variety of phytonutrients including beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin, which protect our cells from damage and our eyes from age-related problems, can help prevent age-related cognitive decline and may also reduce your risk of skin canceramong many other effects. Dark green leaves even contain small amounts of Omega-3 fats.
Almost Carb-Free, with the carbs that are there packed in layers of fibre, which make them very slow to digest.


Perhaps the star of these nutrients is Vitamin K. A cup of most cooked greens provides at least nine times the minimum recommended intake of Vitamin K, and even a couple of cups of dark salad greens usually provide the minimum all on their own. Recent research has provided evidence that this vitamin may be even more important functions.
Vitamin K
•Regulates blood clotting
•Helps protect bones from osteoporosis
•May be a key regulator of inflammation, and may help protect us from inflammatory diseases including arthritis.
Fat-soluble vitamin, so make sure to put dressing on your salad, or cook your greens with oil.
Quick-cooking Greens
These greens can either be eaten raw or lightly cooked. Six cups of raw greens become approximately one cup of cooked greens and take only a few minutes to cook. Spinach, Chard, Rocket, Beet Greens, Dandelion greens, Sorrel and Cabbage belong in this category.
Greens should be dry or almost dry, after washing; store in a bag with as much of the air pushed out as you easily can. I like to put a barely damp paper towel in for just the right amount of moisture. Then, put them in the vegetable drawer of your fridge.

Re the very delicious, very wicked Pear and Almond cake. And real reasons french women don't get fat

Hi skinny jean wearers

Clara's first attempt at  
Pear and Almond Cake
tasted amazing but didn't look
quite the same as Belinda's

Veronica, http://stantoninteriorstyle.blogspot.com who passed this recipe on to me,  commented,

"Clara, the cake is very good but don't eat too much or you won't fit into your jeans! "

And she is absolutely correct!  It should have come with a warning so here is a retrospective one. 

What was I thinking?  I promise it won't happen again, but here is a little justification via an article in the weekend Telegraph.

The secret - small portions.

"Oui! the secret's out: real reasons french women don't get fat." And the relevant point here follows  exactly what Veronica wrote. 

"They eat cake and chocolate - Why it works paradoxically: not having a list of forbidden foods can put an end to bingeing, Sainsbury-Salis says.  French women only eat small amounts of treat foods- and those foods are available in small portions." 

There were a few other hints which I will tell you about in the next blog.

Cheers

Clara

ps I only ate one and a half pieces with low fat, low sugar icecream .......it was a special occasion.......... hmmmmmmmm

Passing on a delicious Almond and Pear cake recipe

Yes, yet another delicious pear recipe  - OK last one! This time thanks to my friend, Veronicahttp://stantoninteriorstyle.blogspot.com . Check out her blogspot for some stylish elegant ideas.
I'm making this delicious dessert  / cake for the birthday lunch this weekend.  Clara
Veronica writes, "I'm deviating from decorating today to pass on this really scrumptious cake recipe which is from Belinda Jeffery's latest book "A Country Cookbook", a beautiful book with terrific recipes which would be an excellent addition to your cook book collection.

 

PEAR & ALMOND CAKE

From The Country Cookbook by Belinda Jeffery

<> <>

180g / 6oz almond meal 80g  / 3oz  self-raising flour ¼ teaspoon salt 4 free-range eggs 250g / 8oz caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract ¼ teaspoon almond essence

125g / 4oz unsalted butter, melted & cooled Icing sugar, for dusting Greek yoghurt, to serve (or cream) MUSCAT-POACHED PEARS 2 fairly large just-ripe pears 1 cup (250ml) Muscat (or pear nectar) A squeeze of lemon juice

To poach the pears, peel, quarter and core pears. Fit them snugly in a single layer in a frying pan and pour over Muscat and lemon juice. Heat to medium-high and when it comes to the boil turn down so it bubbles gently. Cover and poach the pears for about 10 minutes until tender.

Transfer pears to a bowl. Increase heat under the pan and reduce the cooking liquid to ½ cup. Pour over the pears and cool.

Preheat oven to 180°C / 355 F. Butter a shallow 24cm cake tin and line base & sides with buttered baking paper. Dust lightly with flour and set aside.

Put the almond meal, flour and salt into a large bowl and whisk them together with a balloon whisk for 40 seconds.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, vanilla extract and almond essence until they’re thoroughly combined, then mix in the cooled butter until it disappears. Scrape this buttery mixture into the almond meal mixture and stir them together. Spread the resulting batter evenly into the prepared tin.

Take the pear quarters out of their liquid and pat them dry. Halve each quarter lengthways and lay them decoratively over the top of the batter (there is no need to press them in as they will sink a bit as the cake bakes). Sprinkle a tiny bit of caster sugar over each slice of pear.

Bake for about 45-50 minutes, or until the top springs back slowly when gently pressed and a fine skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. You may find that after 40 minutes or so the top is looking quite brown enough – if this is the case, just sit a sheet of foil loosely on top of the cake to stop it getting any darker.

Transfer the cake to a rack and leave it to cool in the tin until it’s barely warm. Carefully invert the cake onto the rack, remove the tin and paper, then invert it again onto a plate so it’s pear-side up. Dust lightly with icing sugar and serve with cream or yoghurt.

Pears marry well in peppery salads with stronger cheeses

Continuing my love affair with pears - whether it be the rusty-coloured beurre bosc, yellow-russet josephine to the winter nelis or honey pear.  The delicate sweet flavour of pears marries so well with peppery rocket and the stronger Parmesan or Roquefort cheeses. 
Clara

Pear, rocket and parmesan cheese salad

Pear, rocket and parmesan cheese salad

1 bunch rocket, trimmed
1/2 small green oakleaf lettuce, washed, dried
(If desired, you can use all rocket if you prefer
125g / 4 oz piece Parmesan, shaved

2 (about 250g/8oz) ripe pears (like beurre bosc, packham or williams). Peel, quarter and core the pear. Slice each quarter into three or four.

To make the dressing, place 2 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp cider vinegar or balsamic vinegar in a small bowl.  Add the pear and toss gently. Season with ground pepper.
When ready to serve place the rocket, lettuce and parmesan in a large bowl, add the pears with the dressing, and a sprinkle of salt and toss well. Serve immediately.

Witlof,  pear and  hazelnut salad with roquefort

Serves 4

Variation - Roquefort was unavailable so I bought Gorgonzola instead.
It tasted great but was too soft for the salad
so I rolled small portions in crushed hazel nuts

1 bunch rocket, washed and chopped
2 heads witlof - red if possible - or other bitter lettuce, separated, washed and dried
4 tbsp hazelnuts, roasted skin rubbed off and coursely chopped
1 tbsp chopped chives
250g/8oz Roquefort or other firm blue cheese (for crumbling)
1 clove  garlic  cut in half to rub the inside of the salad bowl
2 firm pears- about 300g  such as william or corella peeled, halved, cored with quarters cut into 3 or 4 slices.  Place in the salad bowl (which has been rubbed with the garlic) with 2 to 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp white wine vinegar and juice of 1/2 a lemon. Add ground pepper and toss gently.

When ready to serve, add witlof, rocket and hazelnuts to bowl with pears, season lightly with salt and toss gently.   Finish with crumbled cheese and a sprinkling of chives.