Salted Kiss - Le Baiser salé - Recipes Blog

Beetroots,Leek and Walnuts salad

30/5/2021

This delicious salad is inspired by Georgian cuisine. The beetroots and leeks can be cooked well ahead of time, even a day in advance. I have kept the two elements of the salad separate until serving so the beetroot doesn't colour the leek red.

Ingredients for 4 :
4 medium beetroots
4 small leeks, cut into 10cm segments
20g fresh coriander, roughly chopped
25g fresh rocket
Optional : 30g pomegrante seeds
Dressing :
100g walnuts, coarsely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
50ml apple vinegar
2 tbsp walnut oil
2tbsp macademia oil
Salt and pepper to taste.
Optional : 1/4tps chilli flakes
2 tbsp tamarind water
Method
Preheat the oven to 220/200 fan/Gaz Mark 7
Wrap the beetroots individually in tin foil and roast them in the oven for 60-80 minutes, depending on their size. Check, if cooked, you should be able to stick a small knife through to the centre easily. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
Peel the beets, halve them and cut each half into wedges, set aside.
Place the leeks in a medium pan with salted water, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes, until just cooked. It is important to simmer them gently and not to overcook them so they don't fall apart. Drain and refresh under cold water, then, with a sharp knife, cut each segment into 2 smaller pieces and pat dry.
Set aside, separately from the beetroots.
While the vegetables are cooking mix all the ingredients and set aside for at least 10 minutes for all the flavours to come together.
Divide the walnut dressing and the fresh coriander equally between the beets and the leeks and toss gently.
Add salt and pepper if needed.
When ready to serve, spread most of the beetroots on a serving platter, top some rocket, then most of the leeks, then the remaining beetroots and finish with more leek and Rocket. Sprinkle over the pomegranate seeds, if using then serve.

Gougeres

21/6/2020

Gougeres are savoury French cheese puffs made from pate aux choux dough with Gruyere cheese. They are perfect bite-size appetisers and they will disappear very quickly once on the table :)

Ingredients : (make about 28 gougeres)

80g of butter
80g of flour
3 eggs
200ml water
50g gruyere or any hard grated cheeses.
A large pinch of salt
Pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 200C
Line 1 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Stage 1

In a medium saucepan, combine the water, butter and salt and bring to a boil.
As soon as the liquid is boiling take the pan out of the heat.
Toss in flour at once and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until a smooth dough forms.
Stir over low heat until it dries out and pulls away from the pan, about 1 minute.
Scrape the dough into a bowl and let cool for 1 minute.
Beat the eggs into the dough to introduce as much air as you can by lifting the spoon high and let the dough falls integrating air bubbles then add 40g of cheese and a pinch of pepper.
When making the choux pastry, it is important to be sure that the eggs are fully incorporated into the batter, don’t worry if the batter separates and looks curdled at first. Keep beating and it will come together.

Stage 2

With the help of a dessert spoon make small blobs (3cm diameter approx.) onto the baking sheets, 5 centimetres apart leaving room for them to expand.
Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 22 minutes or until puffed and golden brown.
Don’t open the oven door during the cooking, otherwise the gougeres will deflate or will be dry.
Serve hot or let cool and refrigerate or freeze.

You can make them a day ahead and store them in an airtight container.
Gougeres freeze well for up to one month.
After baking, allow them to cool completely. When you return home, spread the gougeres out on a baking sheet, cover the sheet with plastic wrap and freeze them until they are firm.
Then store them in a sturdy box.

Lambis soup

11/4/2020

The conch has been used in many ways not only as a trumpet or a Cameo but as well as money or personal adornment even building material and its meat is absolutely delicious!
The meat of the Queen Conchs or Lambis in French Guadeloupe, is eaten raw in salads or served in fritter, salad and soups, curries and ceviche.
It is a traditional meal of the Caribbean’s sea regions and I have eaten a delicious soup when
working in the Guadeloupe.

Ingredients

1 kg conch flesh cleaned and cut in big pieces
4 garlic cloves
1 bouquet garni,
4 juicy tomatoes medium size, chopped
2 onions finely chopped, julienned
2 red capsicums
A medium size red pepper
Juice of 1 lime or lemon
1 small bouquet of fresh flat parsley finely chopped
4 sprig fresh thyme
4 or 5 chives finely chopped
2 tablespoon of olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

In a large heavy bottom pot make a court bouillon with the conches, the bouquet garni, ½ red pepper and 1 crushed garlic clove.
Cook for about 40 to 50 minutes or longer until fully cooked.
Strain the liquid and set it aside.
Cut the conches into smaller pieces. Finely mince the parsley and crush the remaining garlic.
Quarter tomatoes and finely slice the capsicums.
In a pan heat oil, add garlic and minced herbs.
Add tomatoes, capsicums, onions, chives and let it cook until the tomatoes have released their juices.
Add the conch pieces and let pan fried for a few minutes.
Add conch cooking liquid mixed with lime juice.
Add thyme.
Cover and let simmer on medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes.
Salt and pepper.

You can serve it with a dhal or rice with red beans or even pasta like in Italy

CLAFOUTIS

10/4/2020

Hailing from central France, this dense and rich flan is made with black cherries embraced in an eggy batter that bakes up like a flan in the middle and a cake around the edges.
It is impressive enough to serve to last minute dinner guests and yet it’s low-effort enough to make for yourself when craving for something sweet hits
Traditionally, clafoutis are made with dark cherries but as summer progresses into fall, you can make clafoutis with any fruit that’s in season,
like plums, blackberries, apples even dry prunes or apricots.

Ingredients for 6

1 teaspoon of unsalted butter
400 g cherries
150g plain flour
120g sugar
3 eggs
300ml whole milk
A pinch of sea salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract or a Tahitian vanilla bean ( I recommend to fly to Tahiti to buy some, you will never regret !! :)

Method

Move your oven rack to the middle and preheat the oven to 220C.
Mix the sugar with the eggs until the mixture whitens.
Add the mixture to the the flour then the salt and mix well, then gradually pour the milk until totally smooth.
Add the vanilla.
Grease a 25cm round baking dish or a rectangular cake dish with the softened butter.
Dot the cherries (stoned, if you prefer) around the base of the dish. The French traditional method is we don’t pit our cherries as it gives an almond flavour but there is an issue, is that eating a lovely clafoutis and then biting into hard pit is not fun !
Pour over the batter until the cherries are just covered.
Place in the oven to bake for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until puffy and golden.

It’s fantastic straight out of the oven, but letting it cool to room temperature firms up the custard and allows the flavours to meld, providing an entirely different experience.

MADELEINES

9/4/2020

MADELEINES “She sent for one of those squat plump little cakes called “petites madeleines,” which look as though they had been molded in the fluted valve of a scallop shell … I raised to my lips a spoonful of the tea in which I had soaked a morsel of the cake. No sooner had the warm liquid mixed with the crumbs touched my palate than a shudder ran through me and I stopped, intent upon the extraordinary thing that was happening to me. An exquisite pleasure invaded my senses … And suddenly the memory revealed itself. The taste was that of the little piece of madeleine…”
Marcel Proust

Reverence to Joel Robuchon’s recipe

Ingredients for 24 Honey madeleines

Unsalted butter, softened, for greasing the pans, approx. 2 tbsp
200g unsalted butter
200g sugar (powdered sugar)
80g all-purpose flour
80g ground almonds (almond meal)
6 large egg whites
1 tablespoon strong-flavoured honey
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Options :

Lemon Madeleine
Add 6cl organic/ lemons juice and the zest of 2 organic lemons
Hazelnuts Madeleine
Add 80g hazelnuts powder
and only 50g of grounds almonds
You can add as well 100g of hazelnuts paste or 100g hazelnuts chocolat (melted) but it is not essential.
Pistachios Madeleine
Add 80g unsalted, ground pistachios
and only 50g ground almonds
and ½ teaspoon of green additive colour (be careful with the quantity, the last time I have added it, it ended up with fluorescent Madeleines as you can see in the photos above :)
I found that the pistachios are not very powerful in terms of taste so if you can add few drops of pistachios essence if you can find it if not
make sure to still add the ground almonds

Basic method

In a saucepan heat the butter over medium-high heat. It will bubble, then foam and finally the solids in the butter will brown and smell nutty.
Strain the browned butter into a bowl and allow it to cool. It shouldn’t be solid, but no longer hot.
Sift together the sugar, flour and almond meal. (in case of preparing one or more other options, please add the other ingredients listed)
Beat the egg whites until foamy, but still very soft, so they run off the beater when it is lifted. Whisk in the dry ingredients.
Add the brown butter, honey and vanilla. If you want a lemon scented cake, then stir in the zest and juice.
Generously grease the pan with butter. (I highly recommend getting a nonstick Madeleine pan) and sprinkle a little bit of flour, trow away the excess.
Fill the pans with the batter.
Chill for at least 1hour, but this can be done a day or two ahead.
After one hour or two, preheat the oven to 180/185 C
Bake the cakes for about 12/16 minutes or until they are golden brown on the edges and pale, but firm on the top.
Check every 5 minutes, depending on your oven, as the cooking process is very quick and it can burn in a micro second.
The cakes will dome on the top and that is part of their signature look.

Serve warm or allow to cool with a delicious vervain tea or and vanilla ice cream.

Tabbouleh

14/12/2019

This Middle Eastern inspired salad is vibrant fresh and perfect as a summer salad
Or as accompaniment to grilled fish or meat.

Ingredients

250g cooked couscous or fine bulghur
3 cucumbers finely diced
3 tomatoes finely chopped
1 medium green onion finely sliced use common onion if no green onion
1 lemon juice
1 big bouquet of parsley finely sliced
Few leaves of coriander finely sliced
One bunch of chopped fresh mint
1 capsicum finely sliced
Salt and pepper
4 tbsps extra virgin , cold pressed Olive oil
Optional : ½ teaspoon of Sumac

Methods
Cook the couscous link

Bulghur method :
Put the bulghur in a bowl cover it with 250ml of boiling water,
Cover the bowl and
Let it sit at least 20 minutes.
Let it cool.
Salade :
You need the chop the vegetable as finely as possible.
Mix all the finely sliced ingredients with the couscous,
Add lemon juice and olive oil
Add salt and pepper
Mix well.
Adjust seasoning and olive oil as needed
For best results, cover the tabbouleh and refrigerate for 30 minutes

COUSCOUS

13/12/2019

COUSCOUS
Don’t we just love a quick and easy dish? I know I do. I love it so much that I have
called my cat “couscous” This is the most ridiculously simple side, super volatile that tastes just as good cold for Tabbouleh as it does hot for Tajines. It is wonderfully light and healthy.

Ingredients
500g of instant couscous (couscous are tiny grains made from wheat, it’s essential teeny pasta)
If you are using a different kind of couscous as the whole grain couscous for example, read the how to cook method written on the packaging.
500ml water or stock (stock add flavour)
60g butter
Salt
Cumin and paprika optional

Methods

Bring the water to boil, when it is boiling add the couscous
Add the butter and stir
Add a big pinch of salt
Add cumin, paprika and if you wish
Turn off the heat.
Wait 5 /10 minutes

The water must have been absorbed by the couscous
With a fork, fluff and separate it so every grain is detached as much as possible.
Buddy it up with a Tajine

Beetroot, yoghurt, lemon and cumin seeds salad

28/7/2019

This gorgeous, jewel-toned salad features roasted beets tossed with a toasted cumin-infused olive oil, red onions, lemon, fresh dill and dollops of creamy tahini yoghurt, pretty and delicious!

For 4 people

Ingredients:

100g of fresh dill
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion
1 tablespoon tahini
4 tablespoons of Greek yoghurt
1 teaspoon of lemon zest and all its juice
1 tablespoon of cumin seeds
4/5 beetroots ( if you use cooked beetroots, skip the first stages)
Salt and pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 220.
Wrap each beet individually in aluminium foil. Place on a baking sheet and roast for 30 to 60 minutes (time will vary depending on the size of your beets) until a knife inserted into the beet goes through smoothly.
Let cool slightly, then, when cool enough to handle, rub the beets with paper towels to remove the skins (they should slide right off).
Cut into slices or wedges, then place in a large mixing bowl to cool.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a small frying pan set over medium heat. Add cumin seeds and cook for about 3 minutes or until fragrant and starting to pop.
Pour warm oil over the beets. Add onion, lemon zests, lemon juice, and half of the dill and toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl or divide among plates.
Mix together the yogurt and tahini. Dollop on top of beets in a few places and sprinkle with remaining dill.Serve at room temperature.

The beet mixture will keep, refrigerated in an airtight container, up to a day ahead of time. Top with yogurt and fresh dill just before serving.
You can use a small preserved lemon, very thinly sliced (seeds discarded) instead of zest.
The recipe comes from Ottolenghi SIMPLE, one or my favorite cookbook of the moment.

Panna Cotta and Mango coulis with agar-agar

9/6/2019

Vegetarian Panna Cotta and Mango coulis – with agar-agar.

Panna Cotta is a traditional Italian dessert which literally translates as 'cooked cream'. A good panna cotta is one that is only just set but can still stand unsupported once out of the mould. Panna cotta is very easy to make with very few ingredients and can be made a day before a dinner partyto save time.
Agar, sometimes referred to as Agar-agar, comes from seaweed, and can be used in place of gelatine. It is unflavoured, sets much more quickly than gelatine, and will provide a firmer set than gelatine. It comes in two varieties, flakes and powder. In this recipe I’ve used powder, it is easier to use than the flakes as it dissolves quickly.
You need to bring to a boil agar-agar in order for the setting to occur (gelatine leaves can be dissolved in warm or cold liquid and left to set)

For 4 or 5

Panna Cotta ingredients:

600ml liquid fresh cream
65g of white sugar
1 Vanilla pod,seeds scraped
2g of Agar-agar powder

Mango coulis ingredients
1 big mango peeled and cut in big pieces
60g of white sugar
15ml water

Panna Cotta method :

Place the cream in a small saucepan along with the Agar agar, sugar and vanilla seeds.
Place the saucepan over medium heat and gently bring to a boil.
As soon as the cream is bubbling (you can check on the edge of the pan where the first fine bubbles are coming up), reduce the heat and gently boil for exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Remove from the heat and pour into five or six individual ramekin dishes.
Chill at least 2 h in the refrigerator.

Before serving, pour over the mangos coulis and add a mint or rose leaf even few raspberries for colour and deco.

Coulis method :
If using fresh, peel and core mangoes then cut into big pieces.
In a food processor or blender combine the mangoes, sugar and water.
Blend until completely smooth, test and add water if too thick.

This easy mango coulis recipe is quick to make, and can be put to use in a plethora of desserts. Spread into cakes,drizzle over ice cream or spoon onto yogurt, this is a truly versatile sauce that you'll want in your repertoire.

Lemon and Orange Mousse

23/2/2019

Lemon and Orange Mousse

Looking for a light, creamy and super easy dessert ? This mousse au citron is delicious. The best thing about this mousse besides its deliciousness is that it’s made with simple ingredients and you only need 10/15 minute to prepare it.

For 4 gourmets

Ingredients :

2 medium lemons juice
1 orange zest
3 free range eggs, separated
250g Mascarpone
100g sugar

Method :

Whisk together the egg yolks and the sugar until it is well mixed.
Add the mascarpone and whisk well.
Add the lemon juice and half of the orange zests.
Set aside.
In a bowl (as cold as possible) whip the white eggs with an electric whisk in high speed until peaks form when the whisk is removed.
Gently and carefully fold the beaten whites into the cold lemon mixture.
Stir the mixture gently until it begins to thicken.
Pour the mixture onto 4 little bowls and sprinkle the rest of the orange zests over the top of the mouse and leave them in the fridge for about 3 hours.

You can use heavy cream instead of mascarpone
You can add ½ cup good bottled lemon curd at room temperature

Author

I wish to share with you my cuisine. For me cooking is cultivating an art as delicate
as it is succulent.
It gives l'amour de la vie, heals and softens the abrupt edges of life.
I love comments and feedback, and please, don't hesitate to share as well your best recipes with us, write them in Contact and it will be posted

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