Fresh spring rolls and asian dipping sauce&Other Recipes

I’ll spare you the joke of making spring rolls deep in the middle of summer, kay? We’ll stay friends that way. Also, you should know that it’s always spring in my head. Not.

What I won’t spare you is the eugenics of these pics. I admit it: I hid the ugly ones, and only displayed the best-looking, last-rolled ones. If I claim that I’m not exactly a practical person, will it exempt me at all? There is a bit of a learning curve as far as rolling spring rolls is concerned. If it took me two tries to make it look okay-good, I think the average human will need just one. At least that’s what I’ve heard.

Another confession: I didn’t exactly rack my brain to come up with a name for the dipping sauce. It only used staple Asian ingredients? Done, I have a name. It’s summer after all, let’s not work this brain into overdrive.

And since it’s summer, as I previously stated, I’m dialing down the blabber, and letting you cook and learn to roll, if you haven’t done so already. This is definitely something that you want to make once in your life, however messy your kitchen ends up looking. Or maybe it’s just me.

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Fresh spring rolls and asian dipping sauce

Prep time: 40 minutes
No cooking
Yields 10 large spring rolls
Ingredients:
For the fresh spring rolls: 
- 10 rice sheets
- 3 oz rice vermicelli
- 3 oz bean sprouts (1 heaping cup)
- 10 leaves lettuce
- 1/2 cucumber
- 1 carrot
- 15 cooked shrimps, peeled
- 1 handful fresh cilantro, with thin stems
- 1 handful fresh mint leaves
For the dipping sauce:
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 thumb fresh ginger, finely minced
Directions:
1. To make the spring rolls: soak the vermicelli in hot water for about 10 minutes, until tender. Drain and set aside.
2. Peel and julienne the carrots. Remove seeds from the cucumber and julienne as well. Set aside on a plate. Cut the shrimps in half lengthwise, set aside. Prepare the bean sprouts, lettuce, and herbs on your working surface to have on hand. Prepare a large bowl full of tepid water for the rice sheets.
3. Soak a first rice sheet for 5 to 10 seconds in the tepid water, it will still be a bit hard but will continue to soften will you garnish it. Place open on a chopping board, place a lettuce leave in the center (lengthwise), add herbs on top, then a few bean sprouts and a very small handful of vermicelli lengthwise. Then place a few stick cucumber and carrot on the side of the lettuce leave, and 2 or 3 shrimp halves (open face on top) on the side.

(don’t ask me why it gets darker with every pic, a cloud may have passed by my kitchen at that moment) 

4. Fold the flap nearer to you tightly over the vermicelli and crudites but not the shrimp (so we see them better on the finished roll), fold the two flaps on the side tightly, and finish rolling over the shrimp to form a roll. Repeat with the rest of the rice sheets.
5. To make the dipping sauce: mix together all the ingredients. Refrigerate or serve immediately.
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My tips:
- I’ve tried making the rolls with whole shrimps and halved shrimps; with whole shrimps, they will stick out of the roll once it’s rolled up –but you will also taste them better…
- Omit the shrimp and you’ve got a vegan dish! Magic.

Zucchini baba ganoush

I’m away from my laptop and my beloved internet this week, everything here has been pre-planned, so I can basically say whatever I want, it’s not really me talking right now. It’s pre-me from a few days ago. Oh hey present-me. The magic of blogging and inter-self conversation.

I could talk about anything, but I will talk about zucchini, since it’s in season right now. No one wants to miss that window.

Quite surprisingly, this spread/dish/what have you was to die for. I’m saying surprisingly because some of the ingredients sounded a bit strange at first (uncooked egg? goat cheese yogurt?), I wasn’t sure they were going to serve any purpose besides making the dish look or even simply sound fancy, but one should never doubt Yotam Ottolenghi. I was punished enough: this was so good that my better half just couldn’t get enough of it. It’s impressive how a handful of simple ingredients can come together when they’re being assembled by the magic hands of Ottolenghi. I’ll never get over him. Thank goodness I have a better half who, though the name doesn’t even ring a bell to him, loves his food about as much as I do. It also helps on the creepily-in-love-with-a-world-famous-chef front. You know, how the creepiness is slightly dialed down when you’re not single. Or maybe it’s just my imagination.

Alright, I’ve rambled long enough on the joys of talking to your future self and the madness that is my love for Y.O, so I’ll let you go back to whatever you were doing before landing here, I’m sure it was way more useful to the world. I’ll see you next week!

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Zucchini baba ganoush

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1 h
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients :
- 3 lb zucchini (about 4 zucchinis)
- 1/2 cup pine nuts
- 1/3 cup goat milk yogurt
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 heavy pinch piment d’Espelette (or mild chili powder)
- ½ tsp sesame seeds
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Directions :
1. Grill the whole zucchinis in the oven at 410°F for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until soft and the skin is dark, turning them once or twice while grilling. Peel and drain, set aside.
2. Toast the pine nuts in a skillet without grease for 2 -3 minutes, stirring constantly.
3. In a small saucepan over low heat, heat the egg and yogurt with freshly cracked black pepper, stirring constantly for 2 – 3 minutes, until warm and smooth. Set aside.
4. In a medium bowl, mash the zucchini flesh with a knife and fork, add the crushed garlic, lemon juice and chili powder, stir well. Stir in the egg and yogurt mixture, until well combined.
5. Sprinkle with the pine nuts, thyme and sesame seeds and serve at room temperature or refrigerate until ready to serve.
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My tips :
- Substitute 1 tsp zaatar for the sesame and thyme (what the original recipe called for, I just didn’t have it on hand.)
- This can work as a dip, or also really well reheated with pasta, or just by the spoonful.

Moroccan baked cheese briouats (phyllo triangles)

This is the dumpling version of my favorite dip in the whole world (which is a testament if I ever needed one that I’m still a long ways from becoming a vegan.) I literally used the same ingredient mix and worked the little magic to turn sheets into triangles, and there you had it –one of those Saturday lunches when you feel like you got it just right. And you’re already looking forward to dinner since you made enough for leftovers.
That is, until some voracious blind belly gulps them all down mid-afternoon, and there’s not even one little golden triangle left for you to snack on by tea time.
Okay, I don’t drink tea, and yet this is a true story.

So I renewed the experiment in another setting: people over for dinner, nighttime appetizer: would the golden triangles work their magic again? Except for the last one who lingered sad and lonely on the serving plate for a whole 40 seconds (a collateral damage of overpoliteness forbidding you from ever taking the last of anything, for sure), they disappeared in the Bermuda triangles of palates and laughter just as fast as the first batch.

Easy, tasty, oriental and versatile. There’s really not much I can do to resist that kind of temptation.

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Moroccan baked cheese briouats (phyllo triangles)

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Yields 20 triangles
Ingredients:
- 10 sheets phyllo dough
- 7 oz feta, crumbled
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt (low fat for me)
- 1 tsp zaatar or dried thyme
- 3 – 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp sesame seeds.
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicon mat.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the feta, yogurt and zaatar with a fork, until incorporated.
3. Prepare the olive oil in a small bowl. Use scissors to cut the phyllo sheets in half, and fold the round part back on top if you’re using round-shaped sheets. Brush a bit of olive oil on the sheet, place 1/2 tablespoonful of the cheese filling on the side and fold back into a triangle. Place them on prepared baking sheet, brush a bit more olive oil on top, and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

3. Bake for about 10 minutes, until the egdes are golden and the sheets have firmed up. Serve warm, as an appetizer or with a salad.
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My tips:
- You can substitute 10 oz fresh goat cheese for the feta+yogurt filling.
- Do not hesitate to stuff the sheets with quite a bit of filling, the phyllo holds up pretty well when it bakes.

Thai red curry hummus

This has to win some sort of prize for the quickest yet most satisfying recipe out there. I wish there were such contests, I would so attend all of them. I’m not one for games and awards (though I do love to win, sue me), but can you imagine an award ceremony for quick yet satisfying recipes? Not to mention super long-lasting. I made a lot of this hummus, and it lasted several days, which was the perfect addition to pretty much anything we had on the table every single meal.

I’m usually super lazy to make hummus, for whatever reason, but this reconciled me with homemade hummus. And reminded me how utterly awesome red curry paste is. How could I forget? I survived on curry through most of last summer. The mind can be so unreliable sometimes. You would think that something you’ve eaten over and over and delighted your palate with would stick to your weekly meal plan. Well, I forget.

So this is a little reminder of what vacation tastes like.

And it’s ready in under 5 minutes. And it spices up your life just the right amount. In case you’re a Spice Girls fan or something.

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Thai red curry hummus

Prep time : 10 minutes
No cooking
Serves 4
Ingredients :
- 1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (or 1 ½ heaping cups chickpeas)
- ¼ cup + 1 tbsp coconut milk
- 3 tbsp fresh lime juice (1 – 2 limes)
- 1 small clove garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp red curry paste
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp tahini
- a few leaves fresh cilantro, to serve
Directions :
1. Place all the ingredients except the cilantro in the bowl of the food processor and puree until smooth.
2. Serve with a few leaves cilantro on top and pitta bread, or refrigerate until ready to serve.
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My tips :
- 1 tbsp thai red curry yields a pretty hot hummus already, but the original recipe suggests to 2 tbsp for the boldest. It seems that the hotness fades a bit after you refrigerate the dip for ½ hour (I have no scientific explanation to support this claim.)
- Freeze the leftover coconut milk and thai curry for later use.

Sundried tomato, walnut and cheese terrine

I feel like what makes us human are our intrinsic contradictions. For example, one week I’ll post about the benefits and joys of vegan eating, and the next I’ll suggest you make a dish with cheese and eggs in it. That’s me. I’m pretty sure a lot of people (wishful thinking) have the same approach to living. You try out things, but it doesn’t mean that you have to erase who you used to be altogether.

I don’t know. What I do know is that I was very pleased with how this terrine turned out. When I set out to make it, I was mostly glad I was finally delving into the world of vegetarian patés and terrines. I thought it was fancy and fun. But I didn’t think the first attempt was going to turn out so delicious. I should have known: basil, cheese, sundried tomatoes, walnuts – what’s not to like? A 3 year old could have told me it would work.

I struggled with the recipe name here once again, because it does look like what we call ‘terrine’ in France, which is a sort of harder textured paté with bits in it, so this seemed to fit the bill perfectly, but I don’t really know about terrines outside of the French-speaking world. If you come up with anything more convincing, let me know!

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Sundried tomato, walnut and cheese terrine

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes
Yields 1 large terrine
Ingredients:
- 2 medium onions, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 eggs
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 small bunch fresh basil, leaves picked
- 4 oz Comté cheese (or other hard cheese), cubed
- 6 sundried tomatoes
- 4.5 oz walnuts
- 4 tbsp breadcrumbs
Directions:
1. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, and sauté the onions for about 10 minutes, until tender and golden.
2. Preheat oven to 350°C. Line a loaf pan or a square 7.5″ pan with parchment.
3. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and mustard with a fork. Add the basil, cheese, tomatoes, walnuts and breadcrumbs to the bowl of the food processor, and pulse a few times, until you get very coarse crumbs (it’s okay if some larger bits remain.)
4. Add this mixture to the egg mix and stir well. Adjust seasoning, then pour into prepared pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving as appetizer or as a main dish with a salad.
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My tips:
- Do not overmix the ingredients in the food processor, to keep a ‘meat-like’ consistency.
- You can serve this terrine warm or at room temperature.

Gözleme with spinach, feta and mint

I haven’t made a Turkish dish in a long while, even though Turkish cuisine stands tall as one of my favorite cuisines ever. I’ve never set foot in the country, but I fantasize it as one that holds all the ingredients and dishes I could ever hope for. Starting with these.

I distinctly remember the first time I came across gözleme: I was at a farmer’s market in a Turkish neighborhood in north-east London, and it was love at first sight. The dough, the bread, the spinach, the exoticism, the smell… Everything just appealed to me. Would you believe me if I told you I didn’t even taste one that day? And yet it’s true. I just kept that memory in my heart and decided I had to make them, soon. Ahem, that was three years ago.

Fortunately, as fate would have it, gözleme and I crossed paths again recently; it might have been by chance, but I knew now it was the right timing. Since I had a bit of time last weekend, I set out to make gözleme. That’s when I fell in love, part 2.

This are such exquisite little pockets of fresh spinach and mint with just the right amount of melty and salty feta, it feels like there’s an infinite amount of love wrapped inside them. Incidentally, they might make a bit of a mess in your kitchen, so you might think at first they’re not on your side, but the best advice I could give you is to just give in and go with the fact that your first gözleme ever might not be the prettiest one (kind of like your first art project in primary school — or every art project you’ve ever turned in if you’re anything like me). That’s okay, I suggest you just save that first one for your love, who, since he/she loves you unconditionally, will adore it anyway, and reserve the prettier looking ones (the learning curve is very steep) to your more looks-oriented guests.

Truth be told, whatever they look like, they are bound to be a hit whoever you offer them to. I couldn’t have concurred more with every single person who praised me on these (and that was a *lot*), even though I didn’t feel entirely responsible for them — they are so perfect, there had to be some divine gesture hidden behind them.

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Gözleme with spinach, feta and mint

Prep time: 40 minutes
Rising time: 30 minutes to 1 h
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Yields 12 large triangles (serves 4 to 6)
Ingredients:
For the dough:
- 17 oz (3 2/3 cups) T65 flour
- 1 packet instant dry yeast (use the amount according to the amount of flour)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup + 2 1/2 tbsp lukewarm water (not hot!)
For the filling:
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 yellow onions, chopped
- 14 oz fresh spinach, rinsed
- 1 pinch chili powder (or to taste)
- 1 drizzle olive oil + more to brush
- 1/2 bunch fresh mint, chopped
- 5 oz feta, crumbled
- a few toasted pine nuts (optional)
Directions:
1. To make the dough: combine the flour, salt and yeast in the bowl of your electric mixer fitted with the hook. Add the lukewarm water and start kneading for about 10 minutes, until smooth and combined. Sprinkle flour on the sides of the bowl, cover with a towel, and let rise for 30 minutes to 1 hour, until doubled in size, in a place with no drought (a turned off oven, for instance.)
2. In the meantime, make the filling: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute, until fragrant, then add the onions and chili powder, and saute for 8 – 10 minutes, until soft and slightly golden. Stir in the fresh spinach, season with salt and pepper, and cook for a few minutes, until wilted (do not overcook or spinach will reduce a lot.) Drain if necessary, and set aside to cool, then add the chopped mint. Adjust seasoning.
3. To assemble: Place the dough on a floured surface, shape into a roll and cut it into 6 even parts. Place one part on the floured surface and roll into a thin disc, about 10 to 12″ in diameter. Place filling in a rectangular shape in the middle of the disc, sprinkle with feta and a few pine nuts (if using), then fold each flap to the center as if you were a gift wrap. Press gently with your fingers to seal.




4. Place the filled rectangle on a plate, and brush olive oil on one side. Heat a skillet (cast iron skillet preferably, I used a regular skillet) over medium-high heat, then place the rectangle oiled side down to brown for a few minutes, until golden. While the bottom side cooks, brush the top side with olive oil, then flip and cook for a few minutes on the other side. Let cool for a few minutes before halving with a sharp knife, then serve warm, with a lemon + Greek yogurt dip for example. Repeat with the rest of the dough and filling. The gözleme reheats beautifully in a preheated oven at 300°F for 10 minutes.
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My tips:
- Do not chop the mint too long ahead, or it will brown quickly.
- The rising time depends on the quality of your electric mixer, your yeast, and the temperature in your kitchen. Secure the rising by heating your oven for a few minutes, turning it off, and then placing the bowl in your oven.
- You can also make half disc-shaped gözleme: just add filling to half your disc of dough (leaving edges to seal) and fold the other half over it, sealing the sides with your fingertips.
- You will most probably have filling leftovers: serve them as a side with pasta, rice or any grain, it’s delicious.

Sesame beetroot dip

I’ve been on a string of very lazy recipes it seems. After the very minimalist kale recipe I posted last week, I’m continuing on with this dip, which has been labeled as ‘hummus’ on a lot of blogs, by the way. Not that I’m pointing any fingers, I’m not one to judge no, it’s just that it doesn’t taste a thing like hummus to me. But maybe I have a narrow mind as far as hummus is concerned. But I get it, there’s tahini + another veggie, so it becomes ‘another veggie hummus’. Not so convinced, still.

What I *am* convinced about is the beauty and genius of this dip. It took my by storm and I’m never letting go now. I must have done it about eighteen times in the past month, and know that if you’re ever coming to my house in the next ten or twelve years, this will be on the table. Along with my other favorite dip in the world. It just so happens that the two go oh so well together.

And now for the reasons why this dip is so close to my heart: one, it’s pretty and pink. Ok, it might be more on the purple side, but pink is easier to sell, and also I supposedly *hate* purple (not in this instance, I assure you). Second, it’s just so so so easy to make it doesn’t make sense. Third, it tastes good just after you’ve made it, great the next day, and out-of-this-world two days later. I don’t know what it is, it might have to do with some beetroot specificity, I’m not a beetroot expert I admit. Either way, something that gets better and better (as any good stew would) works for me, considering that’s how I want to see the world. If you get better with age, you always have something to look forward to (i.e. tomorrow), are you following me? Incidentally, if I get better with age too, which I sure hope I am, it wouldn’t be the worst thing.

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Sesame beetroot dip

Prep time: 5 minutes
No cooking time
Yields about 2 cups
Ingredients: 
- 10.5 oz cooked beetroots (about 2 beets), cubed
- 3 tbsp sesame paste (tahini)
- 1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
- 1 tsp sesame seeds or 1 sprig fresh parsley, to serve
Directions: 
1. Puree the beetroot in the bowl of your food processor until finely minced, scraping the sides of the bowl as you go. Add the sesame paste and puree until combined.
2. Gradually add the sesame oil, until the texture is smooth with very fine grains. Serve immediately, sprinkled with sesame seeds or parsley, along with bread or crudites, or refrigerate for up to 2 -3 days.
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My tips: 
- I usually wing the sesame paste an oil measurements, leaving the food processor on until I find the desired texture. Feel free to adjust!
- I have found this dip tastes waaay better after it’s been sitting for a few hours/one or two days. I suggest you make it a couple hours ahead!
- Serve it with this dip. I swear it works.

Pumpkin and kasha cakes

So, have you recovered from your latest foodgasm yet? No, not yet? To think that I waited a whole day for a new recipe to be sure you had fully digested all the goodness… Might not have been enough. But I really couldn’t wait to post these.

First of all, my friend Lau’ was looking for this recipe on the blog last week and couldn’t find it, which bugged me, so it ended up being the next published post on the list. I hate it when people like something I make and then are frustrated because the recipe doesn’t show up. I wish there were an instant ‘photograph-touch up-write-proofread recipe’ button that would go off the minute the dish was consumed and approved. Or… that would probably defeat the whole purpose of having a blog.

But it would be nice though sometimes.

Secondly, I wanted to share this recipe with you *today* because I felt now was as good a time as any to kick off the healthy recipe streak. Between two major holidays, even before you have time to utter your new year’s resolutions, or even to ponder if you should make them since you never follow them anyway, I thought I’d feed you something good, something easy, something to put you on the right track.

Get a closer look.

Now, if you’re an American reading this, you might be thinking ‘Who’s this philistine who posts pumpkin recipes in late December?’, and you might have a point too. But if I may, I’ll just say that pumpkin is valid throughout winter in my book, especially when it serves the purpose of making tasty/healty savory cakes, which in turn serve the many purposes of appetizers/sides with meat or poultry/snacks in time of desperate need for food 24/7. Because we all know that the more you eat, the more food you stomach requires.
If you’re anything like me, you’re going through a phase of binge-eating (it’s not your fault, it’s the holidays!): this is where pumpkin and kasha cakes will come in handy when you need to steer clear from cheese/foie gras/carbs/…

I have something with slashes today.

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Pumpkin and kasha cakes

Prep time : 10 minutes
Cooking time : 15 minutes
Yields about 20 small cakes
Ingredients :
- 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin
- ½ cup uncooked kasha
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 small handful fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped + more to garnish
- 2 tbsp butter
Directions :
1. Cook the kasha according to package instructions.
2. Mix together all the ingredients except the butter in a large bowl, until combined.
3. Heat ½ tbsp butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Roll a walnut size portion of the mix into a ball between your palms, then flatten it and place it in the skillet. Repeat until the skillet is full, then cook for 3 to 5 minutes on each side, flipping carefully (they break apart easily), until golden on both sides. Add a bit of butter for each new batch. Serve warm garnished with a leaf of flat leaf parsley.
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My tips :
- Subsitute cilantro for the parsley.
- You can also sauté fresh onions with one clove garlic and add them to the mix instead of garlic and onion powder.

Cheese cornmeal biscuits

Biscuits are such a wonderful invention. Especially from a European perspective, where biscuits are usually seen as a sweet snack. Turning them into salty delights just makes me happy. Cheese cheese cheese yes please. Who needs sugar/chocolate when you have cheese?

It’s a real question.

So I made cheese biscuits once, and then twice, and then two more times before the month was over. They are so incredibly easy to whip up it’s disconcerting, and the result on people, whatever the occasion, is consistent: they gulp them down. Be it as a side with soup, or as appetizers (oh, they make great appetizers for the lazy in me!), you’ll never have leftovers.

I don’t know that cornmeal makes an ontological difference in terms of taste here, but this recipe hasn’t failed me so I’m sticking to it. And it might have something to do with the texture, so I’ll leave well alone and won’t pretend that I’m a biscuit expert. What I know for sure is that 2015 will begin and end with me making these biscuits every chance I get.

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Cheddar cornmeal biscuits

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Yields about 15 biscuits
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter OR 1/2 cup vegetable oil 
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar or Swiss cheese
- 1 cup milk
Directions:
1. Preheat oven at 450°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or silpat.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar and baking powder. Stir in the butter or oil and mix with your hands or a spatula (with the oil) until the mixture is crumbly. Stir in the cheese and milk, until combined.
3. Drop (or shape) a walnut-size ball of dough on prepared sheet, sprinkle with extra cheese and freshly ground pepper, then repeat with the rest of the dough. Bake for 10- 15 minutes (check regularly! they get dark fast), until golden but still slightly soft. Let cool for a couple minutes before serving.
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My tips:
- You can make the dough a bit ahead (say a couple hours) and then
- In my experience, you don’t need to set the biscuits several inches apart on the baking sheet, since they don’t spread by a lot.
- Shape them in the palm of your hands if you want a smooth finish, or just roughly for a more crumbly look.

White bean pumpkin dip

I’ll start with a pretty heavy disclaimer straight up: this dip was clearly not the most sought after dish at my Thanksgiving party (I know, I’m a great euphemizer.) That’s not to mean that it was *disliked*, but I like to think that the rest was SO incredibly awesome that it overshadowed the poor little pumkin dip.

Now if I dig further, and I like to do that too, I realize one thing: the reason why this dip wasn’t absolutely perfect was simply that it was too garlicky. Which is something that can be easily fixed, you will agree with me. I adapted the measurements below according to your taste in garlic (from zero to one garlic clove, or somewhere in between.) I know I love garlic, to the point where I spent last Halloween with other garlic-loving friends (how cool are my friends?) at ‘The Stinking Rose’, if you’ve ever heard of it. It was one of the most hilarious meals I’ve ever had.

But I’m digressing. My point is, sure I can have garlic in every single course of my meal -including wine, that’s right- now and then, but I think that as far as this dip is concerned, laying low on or even omitting the garlic altogether isn’t such a bad idea.

I feel like I’m saying garlic a lot.

So why is this dip interesting to you, the non-garlic obsessed cook, then? One, because it’s a variation on hummus only with white beans, which I think is cool. Second, because it’s one of the very few *salty* pumpkin dips I came across after an extensive online research, and that has to be worth something. Third, because I love how cute and fall-like the orange color came out. And finally, since you’re on this blog, it’s obviously a quick and easy recipe, ready in minutes, with the added bonus of keeping very well for several days (make ahead!)

White beans, let’s be friends for good.

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White bean pumpkin dip

Prep time: 10 minutes
No cooking
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 (15 oz) can white beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 clove garlic, minced (optional!)
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 1/4 cup lemon (1 lemon)
- salt and pepper
- sunflower seeds, to serve
Directions: 
1. Mix all the ingredients together except the sunflower seeds in the food processor, until blended and smooth.
2. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with sunflower seeds and serve at room temperature. This dip keeps refrigerated in an airtight compartment for several days.
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My tips: 
- If you would still like a garlic flavor without it overpowering the other ingredients, you can use garlic powder instead of minced fresh garlic.
- Substitute chick peas for the white beans for a taste closer to hummus (this tip isn’t mine.)

Pumpkin bites with morbier cheese and pumpkin seeds

These little soldier looking bites may seem weird to you (way to go Clem, point out the flaws in the opening sentence), but it’s fine, they looked weird to me too when they came out of the oven. It’s the damn cheese. The cheese. It’s a love hate relationship with it. Who am I kidding, I just love it. I could never hate it, it’s too good. So what happened there is that the cheese was so melty and irresistible that it kind of misshaped (first time I use that word, for sure) the cute little bites. I mean, the pumpkin was in place, the egg and milk and pumpkin seeds were in place, but the cheese had to come and screw all of that up. But it’s fair. Because cheese is a million times better than any of the other ingredients in there.

Take a closer look.

Don’t they look pretty decent now that I’ve given you all that talk about cheese? And not just any cheese you know, morbier. Morbier, even. That’s right, it should be spelt with caps. It’s a soft cheese from the mountains, I’m not sure which mountains, but who cares. If you’ve ever had reblochon, you know what I’m talking about. It’s the same general idea.

When I was living in the US the first year (I might have told that story before), I was a young and innocent girl and thought that the food in the US wouldn’t be too hard to deal with when you come from France. After just a few weeks, I was miserable. And then a friend visited me, and she brought Morbier. Wow. I still remember what it felt like to have that first bite.

So I chose Morbier in this recipe, and I decided to go with pumpkin because, well, it’s fall so I figured I might as well go with the flow. I threw in a couple pumpkin seeds, to make sure that you *get* it, it’s all about fall and pumpkin. But really, really, it’s all about cheese in my head; fat, greasy, insanely tasty cheese. _____________________________________________________

Pumpkin bites with morbier cheese and pumpkin seeds

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Yields 30 small bites
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup milk
- 5 oz morbier cheese (or other soft mountain cheese), finely diced
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 pinch ground nutmeg
- 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 340°F. Grease bite pans, if necessary (I used cannelé pans, but use any type you have.) In a bowl, stir together the flour and baking powder.
2. In a medium bowl, beat the egg and milk with a fork. Stir in the pumpkin, nutmeg, diced cheese and 3/4 of the pumpkin seeds. Season with salt. Stir in the flour mixture, until incorporated.
3. Place a few pumpkin seeds at the bottom of each pan if you wish, or just use the last 1/4 to sprinkle at the top once you’ve filled the pans, depending on the shape of your pans. Fill with the mixture, making sure you don’t leave to much cheese on top so it doesn’t overflow, then bake for 20 to 30 minutes, checking regularly, until the cheese is golden and the consistency is firm. Let cool for a few minutes before removing from pans and serving.
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My tips:
- Substitute reblochon cheese.
- Be sure to dice the cheese finely, so you limit the amount of melted cheese which will overflow while baking.

Caramelized onion dip

I know I’ve been gone a while, but at least I’m back on time to ‘celebrate’ 4th of July. I’m using typed air quotes here (are you following?) because I’m actually not going to celebrate anything over here, but I’m happy for my American friends who get to celebrate and have fun and enjoy a long weekend, while dipping their fingers in this dip. It’s kinda hard not to.

We French people didn’t really have a ‘dip culture’ (is that a thing?) until very recently. I’ve always been wary of dips that include some kind of creaminess on top of the star ingredient, but this one, I instantly wanted to make. I don’t know if it was the onions, or the cream, or the cream, or the cream. It just appealed to me. A lot of the time my recipe selection relies on recipe crushes: I see you, I want to try you out instantly.

Plus it’s also the kind of recipe that takes absolutely no effort to prepare -once you’ve chopped the onions that is. Bake, mix, refrigerate, enjoy. By the pool, with a cold beer beverage in your hand, while someone -certainly not me – is heating up the barbecue. Ah, feels good to be American sometimes…

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Caramelized onion dip

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 1 1/2 hours
Yields about 2 cups (serves 4 to 6)
Ingredients:
- 2 yellow onions (about 2 cups), chopped
- 1 tbsp melted butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup cream cheese
- 1/2 cup low fat sour cream
- 1 pinch salt
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp herbs de Provence (or dried thyme)
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Place the onions in a thin layer in a baking dish, stir in melted butter and olive oil to coat. Cover with foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes, and lowering to 350°F after 1 hour if they are starting to burn. Let cool.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together all ingredients. Refrigerate overnight and serve with bread or crudités. ______________________________________________
My tips:
- The dip is very tasty even if it hasn’t been refrigerated overnight, in case you haven’t planned ahead.

Red pepper walnut dip

Do you have those blogs that you’ve been following for what seems like forever? I’m sure you do. And do you, like me, feel like you know their author almost to the point where they’re your friends or something, since they’re such a big part of your daily routine (gee, I sound like a no-life creep)? You do? Pheww. I was beginning to feel a tad lonely here. Elly is one of those bloggers for me. Her blog is one of the first I started following, and there’s something so accessible about her recipes that I just love.

Now, I’m aware that telling you about my time-consuming habit of reading food blogs kind of goes against my tirade earlier in the week about how I want to stick to using cookbooks for inspiration. So now is as good a time as any to admit that this particular dip recipe has been in my drafts since September. I have no idea why it was delayed for so long, but what matters is that it’s here now. And that you can find out about Elly.

Subsequently, you will make this insanely easy and quick dip, and you will love Elly and me and everyone who gets to taste it and likes you a little bit more after doing so.

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Red pepper walnut dip

Prep time: 35 minutes
No cooking 
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 cup roasted red pepper, sliced
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 medium onion
- 3/4 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp chili powder (or to taste)
- 1/2 tbsp honey
- 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Directions:
1. Soak the walnuts in water for 30 minutes. Drain.
2. Place all the ingredients in the food processor and mix until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.  Refrigerate or serve immediately with pita bread.
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My tips:
- I used jarred grilled peppers because I was in a pinch (bad bad me) but it was so good I can’t really say that I regretted it.
- Substitute pomegranate molasses for the honey + balsamic. That’s the original recipe.
- This dip is pretty garlic-y. If you’re not so much into it just use less.
Source: adapted from Elly Says Opa.

Posted in: Appetizers, vegetarian \ Tagged: quick and easy, vegetables, Middle-Eastern, nuts, gluten-free, savory & sweet, vegan

Herb fried shrimp

Fried shrimp. Fried food. I always thought it was beyond my reach, what with oil splattered all over my kitchen ceiling, and my arteries crying their heart out (pun intended) after every bite. I. Was. Stupid. Okay, fried food is definitely not the healthiest food of all, but as everything these days, it works in moderation. Plus it’s seafood, so it’s good for you.

Thanks to these little fried bites, here is my new year’s resolution: to conquer my fears in all things seemingly unattainable. I think it’s a pretty good resolution, however skeptical I am of the whole ‘new year’s resolution’ concept. Let’s be honest, for all of us mere humans, ten days from now, they will all have gone down the drain. But we’re humans, so it’s okay. Oh yeah, because I have *another* new year’s resolution: to be more tolerant with my own weaknesses. There’s only so much you can do, so do it, and if you can’t, don’t beat yourself up for too long over it. Wow, I’m being surprisingly philosophical so early in the morning.

I have solid hopes for 2014. I hope you do too. If this year starts with fried shrimp, it cannot be all that bad. Happy 2014, y’all.

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Herb fried shrimp

Prep time: 20 minutes
Chill time: 1 h
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves 3 – 4 (or more as an appetizer)
Ingredients:
- 9 oz cooked shrimp
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 shallot
- 1 or 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 handful fresh chives, chopped
- 1 handful fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
- 1 1/2 cup flour
- 1 packet active dry yeast (2 tsp)
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2/3 cup lukewarm water
- 1 cup vegetable oil (for frying)
- salt and pepper
Directions:
1. Shell the shrimp keeping only the tails. Peel and mince the garlic and shallot. In a medium bowl, stir together the mustard, lemon juice, shallot, garlic and chopped herbs. Add the shelled shrimp and stir well to coat. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. To make the batter, mix the flour, yeast, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Add the lukewarm water and stir well with a wooden spoon. Stir in the egg and olive oil, until no lumps remain. Cover with a clean towel and let rise for 30 – 40 minutes at room temperature.
3. Heat the vegetable oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes, until hot but not boiling. Dip the marinated shrimp in the batter to coat generously (except for the tail) then place them in the Dutch oven and fry for about 3 minutes on each side, until golden. Place them on a plate lined with paper towel, and serve warm.
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My tips :
- I used active dry yeast, which I thought worked really well, but you can apparently substitute baking powder in the batter.
- Mix the leftover batter and marinade and fry them in the remaining frying oil to make savory beignets; they’re to die for.
- You can fry the shrimp ahead and reheat them in the microwave.

Sicilian caponata

I just discovered caponata. Caponata is the thing, man. To think that I saw it in the same aisle as all the dips for so long, asked myself what it was for so long, wondered if it could really outshine my regular dip options for appetizers for so long, and never did anything about it until now. Big big mistake. I can’t exactly convey how awesome it is with just the outside appearance. True, it looks like your average ratatouille. Only it has NOTHING to do with ratatouille. If I tell you that there are capers, anchovies, celery, vinegar in it, would it convince you? What? You don’t like any of those four ingredients? Join the club! Still, after careful taste-testing, I decided that those apparently not-so-sexy ingredients were the secret reason why caponata is so much more than ratatouille.

One thing you should know about caponata: it is so many things at once. It can work as a spread served on top of crusty bread as an appetizer, or as a sauce on pasta (wait till you see what I have in store for Friday…) or as a simple side dish with meat or fish. I have a sneaky feeling all those times when I was at a loss for what to do as a vegetable dish, when I wanted to have a tasty vegetarian option made with simple ingredients, all those times the answer was caponata.

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Sicilian caponata

Prep time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients:
- 2 medium eggplants
- 3 – 4 stalks celery, chopped
- 3 medium yellow onions, chopped
- 1 (15 oz) can crushed tomatoes
- 5.5 oz pitted green olives, chopped
- 1 tbsp capers with anchovies, chopped
- 2 – 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
Directions:
1. Cut the eggplants into 1/2-inch cubes, sprinkle lightly with salt, place in a microwave safe tupperware, cover (leave the lid ajar if it doesn’t have a hole) and microwave on medium power for 10 – 12 minutes. The cubes should be soft but not mushy. (Alternatively, steam the eggplant.)
2. In the meantime, blanche the celery for a few minutes, drain and set aside.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions, capers, anchovies and olives, and saute for 10 minutes, until softened but not browned. Add the crushed tomatoes, eggplants and celery, stir well, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in the sugar and vinegar and serve warm or reheated the next day (it’s even more flavorful!)
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My tips:
- If you don’t have capers with anchovies, just use 1/2 tbsp capers and 1/2 tbsp anchovies. Feel free to use more of each if you like them a lot.
- You can also serve caponata as an appetizer spread with bread.

Zucchini feta fritters with basil

I know I’m being so blasphemous posting a zucchini recipe this time of year, but hey, just bookmark it till next summer and we’ll remain friends, okay? I made these in September, and I have to admit it kind of skipped my mind that they were almost out of season already and I had to rush rush rush to post the recipe. September is generally not a good month to rush rush rush into things. As far as September goes, I’ll be more into the Green Day philosophy. Sorry for the reference. But really though, the other day I was watching my friend’s cat taking its daily 8-hour nap on the couch, with a ray of warm fall sun falling right onto its head, and I was just so jealous. Why can’t my life be more like a cat’s life? Sleeping 16 hours a day: yes! Only waking up to eat and be cuddled: yes! There’s really no catch in that kind of life. Sigh.

Still, I’m writing this post on a crisp sunny morning, and I’m trying to be reminded of the good things of fall. Maybe a crisp sunny morning is one of them. Not convinced just yet. Doesn’t matter, in just eight short months it will be summer again and I’ll be able to lie in the sun all day long eating zucchini fritters with a hint of fresh feta and basil. That’s the life.

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Zucchini feta fritters with basil

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Serves 10 – 12 (yields about 3 dozen fritters)
Ingredients:
- 12 cups unpeeled grated zucchini
- 7 oz feta, coarsely crumbled
- 1/2 lb green onions, finely chopped
- 1 bunch fresh basil, chopped
- 3 cups flour
- 6 eggs
- salt and pepper
- vegetable oil, for frying
Directions: 
1. In a very large bowl, mix the zucchini, feta, green onions, basil, flour, eggs, salt and pepper, until well combined.
2. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large skillet, spoon 1 – 2 tablespoonfuls of the batter into the skillet, flatten slightly, let cook for 3 – 5 minutes (until lightly browned), flip and cook for 2 – 4 minutes. Remove from pan and repeat with the rest of the batter, adding a bit of oil between each batch. Serve warm with a yogurt and green onion dip, or tzatziki.
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My tips:
- This recipe makes A LOT of fritters. Just freeze some after frying them, thaw them and reheat them in a preheated oven for 10 – 15 minutes before serving.