Gougeres (savory choux pastry with cheese)

Since I'm so not into bakery, or pastry for that matter, I'm really proud to introduce the gougeres I had prepared for New Year's eve. Can you believe they were a success? I still can't. I've seen so many people around me (except for my friend Bertrand who will always remain my favorite master baker) blowing this dish that I cannot resist to show them to the world. Enjoy. By the way, I used the recipe from The French Laundry Cookbook (also available here). However, you might want to add each egg separately (and not all at once as recommended in the book) and wait for a few minutes to let the dough rest before adding the eggs. I baked them at 400 F for about 20 minutes.

Tarte au citron

You may not know it, since it has become so ubiquitous in bistrots around the world, but lemon tart is a typical Nicois dish. In Nicois dialect, it is called tourta de limoun and is usually made with lemons from Menton (you remember the place where I had a fantastic lunch at Mirazur? It's there and Mauro Colagreco, by the way, is lucky enough to have in his restaurant backyard a beautiful garden with lemon trees).

Lemons have been cultivated in the region since Ancient times and thrive thanks to the forgiving climate. The fruit is believed to have been imported by the Greeks after they founded the city of Nice around 350 BC.

But let's get back to the recipe. There are many ways to prepare this dessert but Thomas Keller's recipe is in my opinion the best as it produces a particularly light result. In addition, the pine nut crust tastes sweeter and its crumbly texture is less filling than a traditional pate sucree. Instead of Menton lemons that are not available in the US, I adopted a more American approach by using Meyer lemons. Feel free to use local citrus if you can.


Pine nut crust (makes dough for 3 tarts):

2 cups pine nuts
1/3 cup sugar
3 cups flour
8 ounces butter at room temperature
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract


Place the pine nuts in a food processor and pulse until pureed. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix by hand or with a food processor. Divide the dough into 3 equal parts. Keep one and freeze the other two after wrapping them in plastic paper.

Lemon tart (serves 6):

1/3 pine nut crust
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice
3 ounces cold butter cut into 6 pieces

Preheat the oven at 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9-inch flutted tart pan with a removable bottom (I use a 12-inch but you may prefer a thicker dough). Bake the crust for 20-30 minutes until golden brown.

Prepare the sabayon while the crust is cooling. Mix the eggs, yolks and sugar in a bowl until this mixture is smooth. Set the bowl above a pot of boiling water. Whisk the mixture until thickened. Add 1/3 of the lemon juice. Whisk until thick. Add another 1/3 of lemon juice. Whisk until thick. Add the remaining lemon juice and whisk until thick again.

Turn off the heat and whisk the butter in the sabayon one piece at a time. Pour the sabayon into the crust. Place the pan under the broiler until brown.

Omelette jambon-fromage

Believe it or not but I was not a great fan of omelettes (or mushrooms by the way) until my mid-twenties (oh yeah, I'm that old!). Hence my frustration as a kid when we would come down from mushroom hunting sessions on Sunday nights which were also the occasion for my parents and their friends to indulge on mushroom omelette. I still feel the same when people around me moan in appreciation while eating oysters, which I've tried repeatedly over the years but cannot come to genuinely enjoy.

However, the rise of Sunday brunch in France over the last decade (and the diversified egg dishes that came with it) as well as the fantastic eggs benedict served in the US, that I discovered 10 years ago during my first stay in Chicago, changed my taste forever. I've become an egg maniac and I like to prepare them multiple ways as you may have noticed over the last 3 posts. The following recipe is directly inspired from the snack section of the fantastic Alain Ducasse's Grand Livre de Cuisine Bistrots, Brasserie et Restaurants de tradition that I've been using intensively over the last couple of years.

It goes without saying that, beyond a little technique (you are supposed to flip the pan to half-roll the omelette on itself), the success of this simple recipe mostly relies on the quality of the ingredients. So don't be cheap, buy the best eggs, cheese and ham you can find. It's worth it.



Ingredients (serves 2)

5 large eggs
80 g (3 oz) grated Comte cheese (gruyere also works fine)
1 large and thick enough slice of boiled ham
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt
Pepper

1. Break the eggs into a mixing bowl and beat them with a fork. Don't overbeat. Add 2 pinches of salt and a little pepper.
2. Cut the slice of ham into 1/2-inch dices and add to the eggs mixture.
3. Heat the oil over medium heat in a non-stick pan. Add the egg mixture. When the center has started coagulating, spread the cheese over the omelette. Make sure to lift the sides of the omelette regularly so it does not stick to the pan.
4. Roll the omelette on itself. Try not to overcook so it remains creamy or even "baveux" if that's the way you like it.
5. Serve as shown on the pictures.

Crique ardechoise et frisee

Not sure I have already mentioned this but my mother is from Ardeche, a French departement located on the left bank of the Rhone. It is surrounded by Isere, Gard, Drome (where I was born), Loire, Haute-Loire, Lozere and Vaucluse departements and thus constitutes a sort of frontier that separates North and South of France. It is also a very interesting and varied region especially as far as food is concerned. I used to spend quite a few week ends every year at my grandparents there when I was a kid. Playing among the chestnut trees and discovering the pleasure to eat raspberries and blackberries from the bush were among the activities that kept my cousins and myself busy for whole days.

Criques would be a specialty originating from Ardeche. I say "would" because some attribute the recipe to Provence or Auvergne cooks. No matter where it comes from, this peasant recipe is another illustration of how to turn simple ingredients into a wonderful and satisfying dish.

It is the dish my grandmother used to cook for me every time I would visit her (herbs beignets were also another favorite). It is also that dish, served with frisee, that would greet me more often than not on Saturdays when I came back from school. Needless to say that it holds a particular place in my culinary memories. But before you throw yourself into testing that recipe, a last piece of advice: be generous with garlic and anchovies since they will give a special twist and distinctive Southern French character to the recipe.



Ingredients (serves 2):
Crique:
3 large potatoes
5 garlic cloves
2 tbsp parsley
1 large egg
1 tbsp olive oil
Sea Salt (2 pinches)
Black Pepper

Frisee/vinaigrette:
1 small frisee
5 anchovies
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp jerez vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

1. Peel the potatoes and grate them (I use the thin grid of a hand-grater but you can obviously use a food processor).
2. Mix the grated potatoes with the egg, finely chopped garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. Using a fine sieve, get rid of the excess liquid contained in the mixture. You want to obtain an almost dry blend.
3. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan. Spread the potato mixture in the pan like a pancake and cook on medium heat until slightly brown and crispy on the bottom. Don't forget to lift the crique's sides all along the process so it doesn't stick. Flip and cook on the other side until done.
4. Prepare a vinaigrette mixing olive oil, vinegar, anchovies, salt and pepper. My mother even adds garlic to the mix but as there is already quite a bit of it in the crique, you may not want to have too much of a good thing, right?
5. Blend the frisee and the vinaigrette (use your hands to do so and the result will be even better) just before serving the salad and half of the crique on each plate.

Tortilla de patatas my way

Whether you call it tortilla, omelette or frittata, this egg-dish is ubiquitous across Mediterranean countries and is the staple food for snacks, get-togethers with friends either at home or in a bar. Some like it warm, other prefer to have it cold. I like it both ways. It is also delicious between two slices of baguette in a sandwich.

You can also prepare it with zucchini or mushrooms among many other ingredients. The version presented here is made with potatoes. You may also want to add chorizo or bacon as it will bring a smoky note that goes so well with eggs and potatoes. Since I had neither of them, I replaced chorizo by Pimenton de la Vera, the Spanish take on smoky paprika that gives its characteristic taste and flavor to chorizo.

You may have heard about the French's love for "baveuses" (slimy may be the closest translation) omelettes. However, the following recipe features a more "solid" texture that calls for a little bit more cooking time and eggs beaten slightly longer. I think "baveuse" texture is better suited to plain or cheese/ham omelettes. But ultimately, it's up to you and your taste buds.

This simple dish is the ideal companion of Sundays' brunches. Accompanied by a slice of ham (Prosciutto di San Daniele, Jamon Iberico de Bellota or local) and a glass of good red wine, life doesn't get any better than this.



Ingredients (serves 2-3):

7 large eggs
2 medium potatoes
1 shallot
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp Pimenton
1/2 tsp Piment d'Espelette
4 pinches sea salt

1. Peel the potatoes and cut them into 1/2 inch dices.
2. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan. Cook the potatoes on medium heat until almost tender (cover them 5 minutes after starting the process. They should not become brown). Season with 2 pinches of salt. Add the shallots and cook until they are soft and the potatoes fully tender.
3. Crack the eggs open into a mixing bowl. Beat them. Add 2 pinches of salt and the piment d'Espelette.
4. Add the egg mixture to the potatoes and shallots. Cook on medium heat until there is almost no liquid remaining on top and the bottom boasts the nice color shown on the above pictures. During that process, make sure to lift the sides of the omelette with a plastic spatula so it does not stick to the pan. Flip it and cook for 5 more minutes or until done on the other side.
5. Serve with sea salt on top.

Keep it simple: mini heirloom tomato salad

I'm leaving today for France and I suspect that tomatoes' season will be over when I'm back. That is the reason why I could not resist to buy these 5 beautiful "mini" heirloom tomatoes yesterday evening when I was shopping at Whole Foods. They are locally grown and bear the poetic names of Green Zebra, Cherokee Purple, Costoluto Genovese and Yellow Teardrop.

I like to serve these small wonders in the most simple way. I slice them, sprinkle some sea salt and drizzle an olive oil-Jerez vinaigrette on the top. No tossing, no dicing, no nothing: just the ingredient in its purest and primal shape. This is one my favorite salad because each type of tomato tastes different from sweet to acidic or tart and they form a perfect combination with the vinaigrette. In a nutshell, it is my way to celebrate the fruits of the summer and try to make it last a bit longer.

Ingredients:

5 heirloom tomatoes

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp Jerez Vinegar

Maldon sea salt

Black pepper

1. Slice each tomato and sprinkle a little sea salt on each slice.

2. Combine the olive oil, vinegar, a little sea salt and black pepper in a bowl. Whip to emulsify.

3. Drizzle the vinaigrette on the tomato slices.

Brandade-stuffed pimientos with tomato-piquillo salsa

How ironic life can be! I spent the entire previous post praising Ducasse's Grand Livre de Cuisine "Mediterrannee" and the first recipe published on this blog is an adaptation of a dish from the Grand Livre de Cuisine "Bistrots, Brasseries et Restaurants de Tradition". Regardless of the source, the flavors of this dish remain definitely Mediterranean (pimientos rellenos are served in most tapas bars across Spain) although I must say there is a pronounced Basque touch to it (pimientos are grown in Navarre and espelette pepper, used in the salsa, is produced in the French Basque Country).

This is a dish I first made last year and that I found quite satisfying at the time. The contrast between the sweet peppers and the saltier brandade really worked wonders with the salsa. It reminded me so much of the days I had spent in San Sebastian a few years ago. But that night my wife was traveling in Boston or some place close I guess. And as a meal is not really what it should be when not shared with your significant other, I had told her I would cook that again. It took me more than a year to do so. However, when I stumbled upon glass jars of pimientos del piquillo in Whole Foods yesterday, it reminded me I had a promise to honor. As cod also looked extremely fresh at the fish stand, I knew this had to be THE night for stuffed pimientos.

It is obviously preferable to use fresh pimientos and roast them on the gas burner or under the broil until they are blackened and blistered. Then, you let them rest in a plastic bag for 10 minutes so you can peel them much more easily. Unfortunately, I have never found fresh pimientos in the US so I use those in jars. As they are preserved in olive olive oil, they act as a nice replacement. Just make sure you buy pimientos from Lodosa (otherwise they would not be real piquillos and obviously would not taste as such).

As for the brandade, a Nimes' specialty consisting of mashed potatoes mixed with cod, garlic parsley and olive oil, you should try to use salt cod (the famous Spanish bacalao or morue in French) as it really tastes better. But, once again, the fishmonger at Whole Foods has only "regular" cod, which still works fine, though. Note that the original recipe of brandade contains milk or cream. Feel free to add some if you want to obtain creamier taste and texture.

I also suggest you add a pinch of espelette pepper, that you can source here, to the salsa. Tastier than black pepper and milder than cayenne with a smoky touch. You won't regret it. Buen provecho!


Ingredients (for 12 stuffed pimientos):

2 jars of pimientos del piquillo (or 24 fresh pimientos roasted and peeled)

2 medium Yukon Gold Potatoes

0.4 lbs of cod

3 garlic cloves (crushed and finely chopped)

2 tbsp of parsley

1/4 cup Heavy cream

1.5 cup Tomato puree

Olive oil

Salt

Espelette pepper


1. Make sure you remove all the seeds from the 12 piquillos that will be stuffed.

2. Place the potatoes in a sauce pan. Cover with water. Take to a boil until cooked through. Do the same with the cod.

3. Crumble the cod and saute it in olive oil for 3-4 minutes with the minced garlic and the parsley.

4. Peel the potatoes and mashed them. Mix with the cod, garlic and parsley. Add olive oil and mix with a wooden spoon until smooth. Season with salt to taste. This is your brandade.

5. Put the brandade in a freezer bag. Cut the tip and use it as a pastry bag to stuff the piquillos.

6. Prepare the salsa by mixing with a blender together the cream, 6-7 coarsely chopped piquillos and heated tomato puree. Season with salt and Espelette pepper to taste.

7. Preheat the oven at 425 degrees F. Put the stuffed piquillos on a baking tray and sprinkle them with olive oil. Put into the oven for 5 minutes. Serve.

Next on Aioli & Co

I have been slower than initially planned to update this blog with new posts. The main reason is that I have ordered a new digital camera that I still have not received. This should be solved, hopefully, by the end of this week and I should be able to upload mouth-watering (let's be modest) pictures in addition to plain text. But before that, if that can help, I just wanted to provide a sneak preview of what's to come:

-There will definitely be a post about my favorite book on Mediterranean cuisine with a sophisticated twist. A bible that I suggest everyone passionate about the subject should buy.

-Ratatouille should be the first recipe since the dish is still in season and remains so emblematic of the region this blog deals with.

-I will then provide a detailed account (as well as pictures) of my upcoming trip to Southern France and Riviera. It should also include stories / pictures of farmers' markets, food served in some of the best restaurants of the region and whatever surprise this trip will offer.

-As the first stop of this trip will be Paris, I may also take advantage of staying there to write about a couple of culinary experiences.

Why another food blog?

If you are reading this, we certainly belong to the same "tribe": the food lovers who cannot spend a single day without having their dose of food reading (in addition of good food itself), be it on the internet or elsewhere. And the world wide web indeed caters to every foodie category and particular interest: wine, recipes, restaurant reviews, regional foods, ... We all have our favorites sources to get our daily fix: as customary, some of mine are shown on the right sidebar of this page. I encourage you to visit those sites and enjoy the writing of incredibly talented individuals.

That being said, for a native of Southern France like me, options are much more limited when it comes to fully satisfy my passion for Provencale and Nicoise cuisines. There are obviously plenty of web sites containing plain recipes (often without the attractive pictures and proper background you could expect though) but nothing really more than that. And as far as blogs written in English are concerned, not much at all. Hence the "aioli" project.

I obviously do not claim to be THE expert on this topic (Elizabeth David, Richard Olney and Patricia Wells, among others, have done quite a good job, right?). I do not either pretend to fully address such a vast subject, which would be far too ambitious. My goal is simply to provide, above and beyond recipes, a personal insight on food, wine, cookbooks, restaurants and chefs of this region.

From time to time (and more often than not I must say), I might also venture into discussions on other Mediterranean cuisines since they all share, to a large extent, the same common heritage. I may also write about my culinary adventures in New York or wherever travel may take me. In a nutshell, I would like to share my passion for good food in general with a focus on Mediterranean in particular.