Vegetables

Quiche Maraîchère- French Fridays with Dorie

April 11, 2014 by Renee

Quiche is synonymous with Spring and Summer eating. This Quiche Maraîchère is actually the second quiche I’ve made in a week. The weather is finally turning warmer and thoughts of lighter fare with fresh vegetables and greens are quickly replacing the heavy sauces and meat and potato laden stews that were sustaining through this extremely long, cold winter.

I am looking forward to the delicate Spring asparagus and the crisp, sweet summer tomatoes to be in season. We are not quite there yet, but getting much closer. In the meantime, it’s great to try some new recipes in anticipation of those long summer days where you want to eat something a bit brighter and fresh.

This week’s French Friday’s with Dorie does just that. This delicious Quiche Maraîchère has a lot more vegetables than custard and is not too heavy at all. With celery, leeks, bell peppers and carrots, you certainly get your fill of fresh vegetables. I am sure you can even toss in some broccoli and/or asparagus and spinach and it would still have been quite good.

The only modification I made was that I ran out of Gruyère (Quelle horreur!)and used cheddar instead. (Side note: Did you know that when you vacuum pack shredded cheese that it turns back into a solid hunk of cheese? It does! I bought a huge bag of shredded cheese from Costco and knowing that we can’t possibly eat that much (we do eat a LOT but not that much at once) it was divided into a few bags that we vacuumed packed. Well, fast forward a few months- we go to open the shredded cheese and it’s a solid brick of cheese shreds! Who knew!?!)

It made for a few terrific lunches and even a quick dinner one night when I just didn’t have the will (or desire) to make anything at all.

For the crust, it was the standard Pate Brisee. It’s the crust that I live by. Perfect for sweet and savory. It’s no fuss and comes out perfect every single time. You can find it here with a more summery dish- and one of my favorites- Tomato Tart and Pate Brisee recipe.

I’ll definitely make this one again. But I think I may even add more vegetables next time.

If you want to make this yourself, you can find the recipe here. But you should buy the book (and cook along with us). It’s great fun! Every Friday we make a new recipe. For details and to see how others are recreating the dishes from this awesome book, check out the FFWD site.

Buy the book:

Potato Crisp, Roasted Vegetable, and Herbed Goat Cheese Napoleon Recipe

May 14, 2013 by Renee

Next weekend I am attending Eat, Write, Retreat in Philadelphia. It’s the first conference this year that I am attending and I cannot be more excited. Attendees were invited to enter the Amazing Apps Culinary Challenge where they would be shipped a surprise ingredient to create a healthy appetizer. As an extra special bonus, entrants were also sent several OXO tools to aid in the creation of our dishes. My secret ingredient was a variety of potatoes from the The United States Potato Board (USPB). OXO also sent along a 3-in-1 Adjustable Potato Ricer and three of their graters- a Zester, Medium and Coarse graters. I am such a geek for new kitchen tools and I absolutely love OXO for their high quality, durable products, not to mention their Good Grips, which makes them so comfortable to use!

Most people think of potatoes as they do rice, a relatively boring side dish, a starch that often needs to be complimented by another vegetable. But in reality, potatoes are incredibly versatile and can stand alone on a plate. They are also very healthy, at just 110 calories for a medium sized potato and packed with vitamin C. Did you know, if eaten with the skin on, a potato has more potassium than a banana? Well, it does- one of the fun facts I learned from reading the materials that were sent along with the potatoes. Also, potatoes are completely FAT-FREE! That fact alone should make them even more appealing for adding them to your diet. They already are one of my most favorite foods.

Because they are so versatile, it took me a long time to narrow it down to just one idea for this challenge. In the end, I combined many of my favorite flavors to make one incredible stack of potato goodness, a Potato Crisp, Roasted Vegetable, and Herbed Goat Cheese Napoleon.

Potato Crisp, Roasted Vegetable, and Herbed Goat Cheese Napoleon Recipe

Prep time

45 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

1 hour 5 mins

Author: Renee

Serves: 4

Ingredients

For the Crisps:

4 Medium Potatoes
2 Egg Whites
4 Tbs. Butter
2 Tbs. Heavy Cream
2 Tbs Chives, chopped
3 Tbs Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese

For the Filling:

2 Red Peppers, Roasted over an open flame and peeled
2 Medium Zucchini, thinly sliced and dry grilled
1 cup Goat Cheese (Pre- Made Herbed or Create your own; Garlic, Chives, Onions, Thyme, Rosemary etc.)

For the Topping:

1 Medium Onion, thinly sliced
1 Tbs. Flour
2 Tbs. Vegetable Oil
Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar to Drizzle

Method

Peel and chop potatoes. Boil until soft. Pass the potatoes through the OXO 3-in 1 Adjustable Potato Ricer into a large bowl.
Add butter, egg whites, heavy cream and chives. Fold in until smooth but gently so as not to create a gummy mixture.
Using the OXO Medium Grater, grate Parmesan cheese directly into the potato mixture. Fold in without over working the potatoes.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Create a template out of a thin piece of cardboard (part of a pizza box lid works great!) by cutting a 3"x 3"square from the middle. Place the template on a silicone baking mat. With a spatula, spread an even layer of potato over the template. Remove the template and there will be a square of mashed potato on your mat. Repeat until you have 20 squares.
Bake the squares for 8-10 minutes, being careful that they do not get too brown.
Remove from oven and cool.
Prepare the fried onions by dredging the onion slices lightly in the flour and then frying in the vegetable oil over medium heat until brown and crisp. Drain on paper towels and set aside until ready to use.

Assemble the Napoleon:

On a plate, lay down one crisp, add a layer of herbed goat cheese, followed by another crisp. Add a layer of red peppers followed by another crisp. Add a layer of herbed goat cheese followed by a crisp. Add the zucchini layer and a crisp. Top with the fried onions.
Drizzle with olive oil and Balsamic vinegar and serve to many "oohs and ah's" from your guests.

See how it’s done-

Method

1. Peel and chop potatoes. Boil until soft. Pass the potatoes through the OXO 3-in 1 Adjustable Potato Ricer into a large bowl.

2. Add butter, egg whites, heavy cream and chives. Fold in until smooth but gently so as not to create a gummy mixture.

3. Using the OXO Medium Grater, grate Parmesan cheese directly into the potato mixture. Fold in without over working the potatoes.

4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

5. Create a template out of a thin piece of cardboard (part of a pizza box lid works great!) by cutting a 3″x 3″square from the middle. Place the template on a silicone baking mat. With a spatula, spread an even layer of potato over the template. Remove the template and there will be a square of mashed potato on your mat. Repeat until you have 20 squares.

6. Bake the squares for 8-10 minutes, being careful that they do not get too brown.

7. Remove from oven and cool.

8. Prepare the fried onions by dredging the onion slices lightly in the flour and then frying in the vegetable oil over medium heat until brown and crisp. Drain on paper towels and set aside until ready to use.

Assemble the Napoleon:

On a plate, lay down one crisp, add a layer of herbed goat cheese, followed by another crisp. Add a layer of red peppers followed by another crisp. Add a layer of herbed goat cheese followed by a crisp. Add the zucchini layer and a crisp. Top with the fried onions.

Drizzle with olive oil and Balsamic vinegar and serve to many “oohs and ah’s” from your guests.

Serves 4.

Disclosure: As an Eat Write Retreat registrant, I received samples from The U.S. Potato Board and a variety of OXO tools to help create this recipe. With this post I am eligible to win prizes in the Amazing Apps Culinary Challenge. All thoughts and opinions are my own with a big shout out ‘Thank You’ to OXO for the awesome tools!

Brown Sugar Squash and Brussels Sprouts en Papillote- French Fridays with Dorie

February 2, 2013 by Renee

When I saw this recipe on the list I was excited to make it as it contains some of my favorite flavors- squash, apples, brown sugar and Brussels sprouts. After last weeks less then stellar recipe, my anticipation grew throughout the week waiting for Friday to arrive. Unfortunately, I spent most of Friday in bed with a migraine so Ari took the helm for this recipe.

The recipe was as easy as could be. I had bought pre-cut squash rather then having to deal with peeling and butchering a whole one. Oddly, the recipe says papillote- which traditionally is parchment paper, but in the directions it says aluminium foil. Ari stuck to the traditional method and used parchment but I am sure either would have been fine.

After filling the four packages, he had some of the vegetables leftover so those were baked separately in a roasting pan. I am so glad there was more than those four packages left! He brought me up a tray with a single package in it and I sent him back for the all the rest!

The squash and apple were soft and tender and Brussels sprouts were sweet with the brown sugar. It was incredibly good and I am happy to say, that this recipe will definitely be made again (& again)!

Sorry, but I cannot share the recipe- but you can (and should!) buy the book and cook along with us. It’s great fun! Every Friday we make a new recipe. And I can’t wait for next weeks! For details and to see how others are recreating the dishes from this awesome book, check out the FFWD site.

Buy the book: