Greek Salad

One of the bitterest disappointments I've ever experienced in the realm of mediocre restaurant food is Greek salad. After ordering it twice (at different restaurants, too!) and landing myself a plate full of lettuce and shredded carrots, with two or three olives and a few pathetic flakes of feta cheese, I learned my lesson; when I want Greek salad (also known as horiatiki salata, meaning "country salad"), I make it at home!

A couple of summers ago, the intense heat led my mother and I to create a Sunday night ritual: I'd go over to her place, we'd make a gargantuan bowl of Greek salad and stuff our faces watching "True Blood" and drinking ice-cold white wine. Good times! It is our ritualistic recipe I'll be sharing today. I can't guarantee the authenticity, but I can promise you it contains no boring lettuce and carrot filler (a crime against good Greek salad committed by Americans).

Greek salad is made to be very refreshing; that country enjoys the kind of weather which requires cooling food and lots of long naps. Needless to say that very fresh and crisp ingredients are key to a great Greek salad. Crunchy, cool cucumbers, ripe tomatoes bursting with flavor, piquant red onions and the briny taste of lots of feta and Kalamata olives, the ensemble drizzled in fruity oil and lemon juice. That's what fresh summer food is all about!

One should be very generous with the feta and olives when making a Greek salad, since it's a defining feature of the dish. My mom and I love both, so we tend to go a little crazy... Some people add green bell peppers to it. If that's your thing, simply julienne your pepper and add to the bowl. I skip the bell peppers because I find they don't really add anything to this vegetable equation of awesomeness, but that's just me.

I like to keep the dressing very simple because I want the veggies' flavors to really shine through (fresh, ripe vegetables are supposed to taste great without any fuss; if they don't, there is a big problem), but this is one recipe where there is absolutely no excuse to not use cold-pressed, extra-virgin olive oil. If you can find some that's imported from Greece, kudos! Drizzle the colorful mix with the liquid gold, a hint of red wine vinegar and some lemon juice and you are good to go!

This recipe serves 4, unless you are as voracious as my mother and I are. It's also a fail-proof crowd-pleaser, so if you are bringing it to a pot-luck or barbecue, double the quantities.

2 cucumbers, cut into thin half-moons
2 ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 medium red onion, cut into thin rings
1 to 1 1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted
1 to 1 1/2 cup feta cheese, cubed
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Olive oil
Red wine vinegar
2 lemons, juiced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 heaping teaspoon dried oregano
Sea salt and ground pepper

Cut up all the vegetables and put them in a large bowl with the olives and the feta. Toss to mix well. In a small bowl, pour about 4 tablespoons of olive oil, add 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, the lemon juice, the chopped garlic and the oregano. Blend vigorously. Divide the salad in serving bowls, drizzle with the dressing and sprinkle with a few crushes of sea salt and pepper.

I could live off this beautifully colorful salad when it's hot and sunny outside. It makes a great light meal, paired with a piece of bread and some hummus, or a refreshing side to grilled meats. Dry white wine is great with Greek salad, but it also goes perfectly with cold light beers.

Niçoise Salad

The nice weather is sticking around, and so is my insatiable appetite for fresh stuff! At the risk of being redundant, here is another salad recipe, but this one is way more bulky: a real meal-salad, the famous Niçoise! My coworker mentioned making some last week, and I have been craving it ever since. The Niçoise is a salad that became strangely fashionable in recent years, which amuses me very much, as it was originally meant as a cheap, filling salad. Just like when jeans (which used to be a strictly lower-class garments) ascended to haute couture, the working-class meal transcended to fine cuisine!

The recipe was first introduced to North America by none other than Julia Child, and some of the ingredients are still hotly debated by purists, particularly in the Nice region, where they don't like the addition of steamed potatoes (as this salad originally contained no cooked vegetables of any kind). Personally, it reminds me very much of puttanesca sauce, because a lot of the ingredients are preserves. In fashionable restaurants, the canned tuna is often replaced with fresh pan-seared tuna. Though very elegant, this luxurious twist on the original recipe seems a bit odd to me, as a salad made mostly of preserves ought to be a fairly inexpensive, yet elegant and nourishing meal. If you have the budget to afford fresh tuna, feel free to indulge, but there is nothing wrong with the canned stuff (as long as it's dolphin-safe, of course!).

A word about hard-boiled eggs: I know it can seem a bit scary if you've never hard-boiled an egg before. How do you know it's done? That's when a kitchen timer comes in very handy, because there are no external signs that the egg is done. Get a small sauce pan, fill it halfway with water, add a pinch of salt (this helps prevent the egg from cracking) and bring to a boil. When the water is boiling, dip your egg in the water with a spoon a couple of times (again, to prevent the abrupt temperature change-related cracks), then lower the egg so it is submerged. You may have to experiment a bit, but the general rule of thumb is that it takes 10 minutes to hard-boil a large egg. Take it out of the saucepan with a spoon, and when it's cool enough to handle, gently knock it with the back of that same spoon until the shell cracks, and peel it off.

Kill two birds with one stone and marathon-steam your potatoes and green beans! Get your steaming apparatus ready and steam the potatoes for 10 to 15 minutes (depending on the size), until they are easily pierced with a fork. Add the beans to the steamer and steam for 2 minutes, until they are bright green. Fill a bowl halfway with ice water while everything steams. As soon as the veggies are done, transfer them to the ice water bowl and let them cool while you get everything else ready.

Yes, I know, it's an awful lot of prep for a salad. But trust me, it's worth all the fussing!

Older recipes for Niçoise salad contain raw red bell pepper and anchovies, two things that I am not especially fond of even if they are prevalent in southern French cuisine, so my version omits them (I decided to replace anchovies with artichoke hearts), but I kept the spirit of the salad alive with tuna, green beans and black olives. At the risk of shocking purists, I decided to add some steamed baby potatoes. Just because I love potatoes.

8 cups Romaine lettuce, washed, drained and dried, chopped
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 pound green beans, steamed, stalks trimmed
1/2 pound red-skin baby potatoes, steamed and quartered
3 hard boiled eggs, sliced
1/2 cup Niçoise or Kalamata olives
1 can flaked white tuna, drained
1 can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
Chopped parsley, for garnish

In French cuisine, presentation is almost as important as composition, and Niçoise is no exception. Of course, you can toss everything together in a big bowl (it's what I do most of the time if I am not entertaining), but to create an traditionally elegant plate like what you'd be served if you wandered in a fancy café, here is what you do! Create a bed of lettuce in 4 serving plates. Then divide the tomatoes, potatoes, eggs, artichoke and green beans between the plates, keeping the ingredients together (e.g. a small pile of tomatoes, a small pile of potatoes, etc.), scoop some tuna in the middle of the place and sprinkle with black olives. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve the dressing on the side so your guests can add it to their taste.

Obviously, it's not a vegetarian-friendly salad, but there is a vegan version "Appetite for Reduction" which, although highly inauthentic, makes a very decent substitution for veg-heads, or for people like my boyfriend, who simply don't like canned tuna. It's also a lighter version, because as yummy as it is, classic Niçoise salad is not exactly diet food. Try the following version if you are watching your waistline:

1 (16 ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 tablespoons capers

1/2 pound baby red potatoes, steamed

1/2 pound green beans, stalks trimmed, steamed

1/2 small red onion, cut into thin strips

1/3 cup of Niçoise or Kalamata olives

8 cups chopped red leaf lettuce

1 cup cherry tomatoes

Fresh parsley and chopped chives, for garnish

Place the chickpeas in a mixing bowl, and mash them with a fork or small potato masher. There should be no whole chickpeas left, but it shouldn't be completely smooth either. Add the capers and 2 tablespoons of whichever dressing you decided to use (dressing recipes are just below). Mix well and set aside. Place the lettuce in wide bowls or plates. Place a handful each of potatoes and green beans in piles on the lettuce, along with a wedge of sliced onion and a handful of tomatoes. Place a scoop of the chickpea mixture in the center and top with the olives. Garnish with fresh herbs and serve the dressing on the side.

You could also use a ripe avocado, thinly sliced, to replace the eggs, instead of the red onion.

Here are a few great dressings that go well with this French classic. There require the use of a food processor; when I make dressings, I like to use the blender attachment of my little Cusinart Smart Stick immersion blender. That gizmo was worth every penny!

This one is from Nadia G.'s "Cookin' for Trouble", and I have to confess that it's my one of my favorite salad dressings. Ever. It's sweet, with just enough tang from the garlic and mustard, and if you use walnut oil, the nutty finish is to die for:

2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons honey
2 garlic cloves
1/3 cup cider vinegar
2/3 cup walnut (or olive) oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

Combine the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth, thick and emulsified.

The following two are from the aforementioned "Appetite for Reduction".

Balsamic Vinaigrette:

1/4 cup cashews

2 tablespoons scallions, chopped

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon agave nectar

3/4 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Put the cashews in a food processor and pulse. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend for at least 5 minutes, using a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides often, until completely smooth. Transfer to a sealable container and refrigerate until ready to use.

Green Goddess Garlic Dressing:

2 to 3 garlic cloves, peeled

1/2 cup fresh chives

1/2 cup fresh parsley

2 tablespoons tahini

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1 tablespoon miso

1/3 cup water

2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

Pulse the garlic, chives and parsley in a food processor until chopped up. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides a few times. Transfer to a sealable container and refrigerate until ready to use. It will thicken a bit when chilled, so don't be temped to thin it with more water!

Whichever version you decided to make, Niçoise is really a full meal of a salad, and is a perfect lunch or light summer dinner. A crisp, slightly sweet white wine or rosé is de rigueur here; C'est La Vie would be my pick.

Cherry Tomato and Olive Penne

Cherry tomatoes have got to be the cutest vegetable ever. So small and plump. They also happen to be some of the few tomatoes that still taste of something, and are therefore really great to make light pasta sauces with!

I always keep my eyes peeled for new pasta ideas. As much I love my old favorite sauces and enjoy preparing them over and over again, trying out new ones is so exciting (wow, that makes it sound like my life is so boring...)! I ran across this one browsing www.loveandoliveoil.com, and being crazy about olives, I just had to try it.

Having a variety of quick pasta sauces in your repertoire comes in handy on weeknights, and leftovers make simple and delicious lunches. This one strikes a lovely balance between the sweet cherry tomatoes and the tangy olives, and serves 4.

1 pound penne rigate
3 tablespoons olive oil
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium white onion, chopped
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
1 (5 ounce) can tomato paste
1/3 cup white wine
3 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 to 1 teaspoon red chili flakes, to taste
Sea salt and ground pepper, to taste
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
1/4 cup grated Parmesan (optional)

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the penne until it is almost al dente (just barely undercooked - the pasta will finish cooking in the sauce). Reserve 1 cup pasta water and drain. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion, and cook, stirring, until the onion is slightly soft (don't let the garlic brown). Add the cherry tomatoes and cook 3-4 minutes. Add tomato paste, white wine, basil, oregano, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook over medium heat until the tomatoes begin to break down, about 8-10 minutes. Add the penne, olives, and the Parmesan (if using) to the skillet and toss to combine. Add some of the reserved pasta water and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until heated through and pasta is perfectly al dente. Serve with more Parmesan if desired.

I used a combination of cherry and grape tomatoes, having both handy at the time. It made for a fresh and lovely plate of pasta, lightly coated in garlicky-tomato goodness. I guarantee olive-lovers with lick their plates and ask for seconds!

Serve it with a nice robust red wine, that will balance out the flavor of the cherry tomatoes and heighten the salty bites of the Kalamatas.

Tomato, Olive and Basil Risotto

My best friend if one of those infuriating intuitive cooks, who eyeballs all her quantities, throws random stuff in the cooking pot, doesn't write anything down and always makes delicious food. I have a love-hate relationship with her cooking method: I love it because it's freaking good, and I hate it because I can never reproduce her stuff at home. The only method that works is to lure her in my kitchen with the promise of dessert, then watch her every move and take manic notes.

Risotto is something I had tried making once, and it turned out too dry. For Miss I-Cook-With-My-Eyes-Closed (I love you, V!), risotto is something she considers a quick meal. I had been anxious to watch her at work and figure it out.

This is her recipe, and it is to die for! Creamy, sticky and flavorful. Everything a risotto ought to be! She also had a few important tips to share concerning cooking risotto:

• Use a spatula with an angle to stir, to avoid some rice getting stuck at the bottom of your pan and not cooking well.
• The rule of thumb for the liquid/rice ratio is: 3/1. For example, in the recipe below, she used 3 cups of broth and tomato liquid for 1 cup of arborio rice.
• Keep the heat relatively low; risotto should cook very slowly, so adjust and reduce the heat to keep it slow and constant.
• Never stop stirring! The rice first needs to absorb the fattiness from the butter and oil at the beginning of the process so it can release it's starch at the end, and constant stirring is vital for a creamy and sticky risotto.

Now, to your pots and pans!

1 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
6 Kalamata olives, finely chopped
1 (28 ounce) can whole tomatoes, juice reserved and tomatoes coarsely chopped
Chicken broth
1/2 tablespoon dried basil
1 small handful fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 cup arborio rice
3/4 to 1 cup grated Parmesan

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup butter, cut into 4 squares

Pour the juice from the can of tomatoes in a 4-cups measuring cup. Top with chicken broth until you have 3 cups of liquid. Pour that liquid in a small sauce pan, and heat over medium heat until it comes to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat to keep it simmering. In a large sauce pan, heat the onions, garlic and 1 piece of butter in 1/4 cup of olive oil, over medium-low heat. Sprinkle with the dry basil. Mix and cook until the onions are soft. Add the olives and about half the tomatoes, being careful to add no liquid from the can. Add another piece of butter, 1/4 cup olive oil and the arborio rice. Cook, stirring constantly for an entire minute. Add 1 ladle of the liquid. Cook, stirring constantly, until all the liquid is absorbed. Add another ladle and repeat the process. Keep adding the tomato-chicken broth mix in ladlefuls and stirring until the mixture is creamy until you run out of liquid. The whole process may take up to an hour, because the more liquid is added, the longer it takes to absorb. When adding the last ladle, also add the fresh basil leaves. When the mixture is thick and sticky, remove from the heat, add a third piece of butter and the Parmesan. Mix well until they are both fully incorporated. Let the risotto sit, covered for 3 to 4 minutes, so the flavors blend.

Yes, I noticed half the tomatoes and the final piece of butter were never thrown in the pot, but that's the V-Wonder's way. My job was only to write down what she did. The really important thing is that this risotto was the BOMB! I can say in all honesty that it was the best risotto I ever ate, and that I can only pray I'll be able to do this again without her in the kitchen.

We enjoyed it as a side-dish to some pork tenderloin cooked in mustard and beer (another one of her eyeballing miracles), but I could have easily fed exclusively on that risotto. The glass of Arrogant Frog red wine that I had with it was perfect.

Every Friday evening should feature such good friends and good food! Much love and gratitude to the lovely Véronique for sharing her magic with me! <3

Pastis Chicken

As much as I am obsessed with Paris, I am also totally fascinated with Provence. This undying love started when I was about five years old, and I got my little hands on Marcel Pagnol's books about his childhood (yes, I could read at a creepily advanced level quite early, thanks to my linguist mother and school teacher grandfather: the sadists used to give me dictations for - their - fun when I was less than 3-foot high). His descriptions of the country where he grew up are so loving, evocative and vivid that I just fell head over heels in love with everything Provence-ish. I find the accent so beautiful, the wines so amazing, the cuisine irresistible… I can never get sick of looking at pictures of the lavender fields, calanques (sea-side natural formations of stunning beauty) and papal palaces. When I need a solid dose of undiluted beauty, I go to my drawing room and take out the now dog-eared Pagnol or Jean Giono books and read until I am in tears of literary ecstasy.

(If a certain Russian hottie is reading this, there is a major hint about travel plans that could be devised in the foreseeable future… Just sayin'…)

But Pagnol is hands down my favorite French writer, and I have devoured his books, plays and movies. I know his work by heart. In his pages (and in the lines of his movies), there are very frequent mentions of the typical Provençal aperitif, pastis. I was in hysterics when I realized the S.A.Q. (Quebec's liquor store chain) carries the Ricard brand of pastis, and I make sure I get a bottle every summer, as it is the ideal summer drink, light and refreshing, with a little taste of sunlight and cicadas (no, it doesn't literally taste of cicadas, but you know what I mean). It's a liquor made from anise seeds, and tastes like sweet licorice. The proper French ways to drink it is in a old-fashion glass, diluted with flat water and a few ice cubes.

I was horribly insulted when I did an internship in France and was told by people my age that pastis was a drink for "les vieux cons" (an expression which basically means "lame old men"). Screw that; I kept ordering it anyway. I love it. If that makes me lame, I can deal with it.

I dig Provençal cooking, which is the perfect hybrid between French and Italian cuisine. So many of the ingredients I love are grown and produced there: olives (and their precious oil), tomatoes, onions, artichokes, eggplants, pine nuts, lemons, apricots, almonds… They also produce amazing cheeses and wines, and the most amazing cooking herbs like savory, thyme and oregano. It's by the sea, so they have a million ways of cooking fishes, mussels, shellfish… And all their cuisine is amazingly healthy, rich in vitamins and low in fat. Sounds to me like Provence just may be Heaven for the gourmandes like myself (again, wink-wink, nudge-nudge, baby!).

I've played around with Provençal recipes several times before, but it had never crossed my mind to cook with pastis. When I found the recipe below (in the brilliant Mireille Guiliano's "French Women For All Seasons"), I almost smacked myself because I cook with wine and spirits regularly, but it had never occurred to me to use pastis in food. Dummy. All the other ingredients also got my taste buds' attention. I just had to try it, and I had the last of this year's Ricard left from the warm days (I was so good this year, I barely finished a bottle). I also love any recipe that I can cook in Betty-the-Dutchoven;  it just makes me feel awesome and old-school.

2/3 cup pastis
1/3 cup and 3 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt and ground pepper
1 3-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces
2 onions, peeled and sliced
4 tomatoes, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
2 teaspoons dried rosemary
2/3 cup black olives, pitted and chopped
1 cup fresh basil, slivered

Mix the pastis and oil. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Arrange the chicken pieces in one layer in a shallow dish. Drizzle with the marinade and cover the dish with plastic. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours (up to overnight). Warm the last 3 tablespoons of oil in a Dutchoven over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Add the tomatoes, garlic and fennel seeds. Continue cooking for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken and the marinade to the Dutchoven. Cover and simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes. Add the olives and 1/3 of the basil. Cover and continue to cook until the chicken is tender, about 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve with rice, garnished with the rest of the basil.

 
I loved this recipe on top of wild rice (President's Choice sells an awesome blend of brown rice and wild rice that works very well with saucy chicken dishes like this one). The book also suggested noodles, but I can't really see that as anything else than messy. On the other hand, baked potatoes would absorb the delicious cooking juices. So would couscous or quinoa, of course, so don't be shy to go down that more exotic road.

Do use a whole chicken: the fat from the skin and bones will absorb much more flavor that way, and keep the meat nice and tender. I tried substituting the whole bird for 4 chicken breasts, and they turned out a bit dry. The taste of the marinade is subtle, so don't be shy to add plenty of fresh pepper, and season it more generously with the herbs if you want it very fragrant.

And of course, you can drink pastis with it, but as it is more of a pre-meal drink, I suggest picking up a well-balanced white or rosé wine. Too dry would clash with the sweetness of the pastis, and too sweet would be off with the salty olives and onions.