Some recipes are full of surprises - White Pesto Liguria

When I saw this recipe, I was like, WHAT!? I re-read it five times trying to determine where they typo ended and the insanity began. I'm not accustomed to preparing potatoes with pasta. If you're going for authentic, the original recipe should be prepared with Trofie pasta, but it's a bit scarce in Paris, so I'm substituting quinoa penne.

1/2 pound (500g) Trofie pasta (or penne pasta)
4 red potatoes
1/4 pound fresh green beans
1 tbsp (càs) olive oil
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/3 cup pesto
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Put the pasta on to boil.

Quarter the red potatoes, and trim the green beans. Sauté the veggies in the olive oil. Near the end add the crushed garlic.

Stir the sauce together : yogurt, pesto, parmesan. Toss with pasta and veggies.

Homemade Pesto

2 oz (50 g) fresh basil leaves
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp (càs) pine nuts
6 tbsp (càs) extra virgin olive oil
1 oz (25 g) Pecorino Romano*

Mix in a blender. Serve immediately, or store in the fridge.

* substitute fresh Parmesan if you like

Tastes Like Spring - Classic Risotto Italiano Alla Fungaiola

Risotto Italiano Alla Fungaiola
1lb (500 g) risotto rice (round Arborio)
olive oil
*optional splash of white wine
1 onion
1 branch of celery
1 clove of garlic
10 oz (300 g) mushrooms of your choice
6 cups natural chicken broth
3/4 cup (50 cl) sour cream (crème fraîche)
2 cup (150 g) fresh or frozen peas
1 or 2 sprigs of parsley (1 ou 2 brins de persil)
5 oz (150 g) fresh parmesan grated

In a large thick bottomed pot, soften the diced onion and diced celery and pressed garlic in olive oil. This is where you would add the splash of white wine if you want.

I used baby portobello mushrooms this time. Slice the mushrooms and cook them separately - Don't crowd the mushrooms!

When the onions are soft, add the rice to the pot and stir until rice has absorbed the oil and becomes transparent.

Add just enough broth to cover the rice. Allow it to boil uncovered until the rice has absorbed all the liquid. Continue adding broth to keep the rice moist until it is thoroughly cooked 15-20 minutes. The risotto should be slightly firm and creamy, not mushy.

Stir in the dollop of sour cream, peas, mushrooms and then add the grated parmesan. Stir well. Dress with sprigs of parsley, and serve steaming hot!

*I made this without broth the other day, I just used water. Turned out great!

Because eating should leave you feeling great! - Moussaka Allègée

Who knew a detox fitness retreat could taste so great!

A friend of mine came back from her detox fitness retreat, pumped and ready to live healthy. We talked late into the night about the great friends she met; real quality people who are seeking healthy lifestyles. And we talked food! Menus, calories, and most of all recipes!

Here's her favorite recipe direct from the nutritionist's desk, but you'll never believe it...

Moussaka Allègée
serves 6

2 lb (800g) ground chuck (beef 5%)
3 (9 inch) eggplant / aubergine (750g)
2 tbsp (càs) olive oil
1 large onion
1 tbsp (càs) corn starch (maïzena) ***
1 cup (8 oz / 250g) yogurt 0% fat
3 large tomatoes (375g)
fresh grated nutmeg
1 oz fresh grated parmesan
1 whole egg + 1 egg white
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).

Slice 2 of the eggplants into centimeter thick slices and salt them so that they start to give off their juices.

Poke the other eggplant with a sharp knife and boil it whole in salt water for 10 minutes. This just gives them a good head start while you're busy grilling...

Grill the sliced eggplants brushing both sides with olive oil.

Soften the diced onion on medium high heat in a thick bottomed pot with no oil, but a spray of water to keep them from drying out as they soften.

Mix the cornstarch into 1/2 of the yogurt.

Peel the whole eggplants and cook the flesh with the onions until it becomes sauce-like.
Peel the tomatoes and add them to to this sauce. When they boil down to sauce add the ground beef. Then when the beef is browned, add the yogurt-cornstarch mixture and grate the nutmeg directly into the pot, add just a pinch of salt and ground black pepper.

Layer your baking pan with grilled sliced eggplant. Cover with the sauce, and sprinkle fresh grated parmesan on top. Repeat as necessary.

Beat the egg, plus the egg white, plus the other half of the yogurt. Pour this over the entire dish, grate fresh nutmeg directly over this cream layer, and sprinkle with fresh parmesan cheese.

Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 20 minutes.

***Nichole's variation - If you don't have cornstarch you can thicken the sauce any way you want. Lite : 1 tbsp of rice flour. Less light : 1 tbsp of instant potato flakes.

Lasagnes à la Béchamel - French Lasagne

Lasagnes à la Béchamel
Family sized recipe for 6-10

1 batch of Simply Mouthwatering Homemade Sauce
1 box of lasagna noodles
1 onion
1 carrot
1 branch of celeri
olive oil
5 oz (150g) ground pork
8 oz (250g) ground chuck (beef 5%)
2 batches of Sauce Béchamel
fresh basil

First get your Simply Mouthwatering Homemade Sauce ready and stewing on the stove.

Then soften the diced onion, carrot and celeri in the olive oil. To these sumptuous vegetables, do add the ground pork first, and after five minutes add the ground chuck.

Meanwhile, prepare a double batch of Sauce Béchamel recipe.

When the meat is thoroughly cooked add 1/2 of the Sauce Béchamel.

Boil your lasagna noodles 8 minutes.

Layer noodles, tomato sauce, meat sauce, and basil leaves. Repeat until you run out.

End by pouring the rest of your reserved Sauce Béchamel sufficiently smothering the lasagna with a perfect smooth finish that will become golden and bubbly in cheese during the baking process.

Bake at 356°F (180°C) for 35 min.

Simply Mouthwatering Homemade Sauce

Your tomato sauce is only as good as the ingredients that you put into it.

Welcome to the story of how one of the world's most mouthwatering, healthy!!!, tastes-like-home foods has become one of our family's most unappreciated over-processed meals.

Here's what I'm thinking, I'm thinking that when scientists study the health benefits of tomatoes, I doubt they're referring to the hyper concentrated paste mixed with sugar, artificial aromas and multiple conservatives. My hunch comes from the fact that simple homemade sauce tastes very different from the canned stuff. Everybody knows you are what you eat, right? And yet something as simple as tomato sauce has become our family's cop-out food. Listen to what we say ... "No, honey that will take too long to prepare, let's just make pasta." What was I thinking? I mean seriously? Since when did tomato sauce take on fast-food status?

Now wait a minute, I reflect to myself, tomato sauce doesn't actually take that long to make... I mean, sure, it takes longer than opening the commercial can, but someone still has to cook the noodles right? And some of you girls are already taking the time to add ground beef to your sauce, and if that's the case, I say go all the way, make your own sauce girl! You're gonna love it!

Simply Mouthwatering Homemade Sauce
Olive oil
4 large tomatoes
1 onion
1 carrot
2 garlic cloves (gousses)
Fresh Parsley

If you've never peeled a tomato, here's what you do : Bring a pot of water to a boil, drop the tomatoes in for 30 seconds or until their skins get baggy. Pull out the tomatoes and the skins should fall right off.

In a deep pot soften the diced carrot and onion and the minced garlic in the olive oil over medium heat. Add the tomatoes. Simmer for a half hour. You know the tomato sauce is ready when you see the tomato paste separate from the oil, so look for pools of oil when you stir, that will indicate the peak moment to serve your sauce. Season with parsley, salt, and pepper.

Meanwhile, you can cook up your meat separately and add it in as this sauce is simmering.

Tourte Salé à la Sardine et au Curry

What's a Tourte?
I was looking for dish that was light and savory. A tourte is a culinary delight that offers a unique presentation. A round flakey pastry stuffed with meat and goodies, it is as much of a delight to make as it is to savor alone or with guests. Always served with a bed of leafy lettuce drizzled with Mamie's Dressing. As I'm writing this I'm thinking, gee, I can't believe I haven't shared that recipe yet! It's a staple in every French home! Even kids know how to make it... So you'll have to enjoy that with this recipe. Don't forget to click the link to retrieve the ingredients before you head out to the store.

The Perfect Seasoning
As I was hiking the pilgrimage of Saint James in Portugal and Spain, I ate a lot of Spanish empanadas. One day in particular I accidentally forgot to take lunch break and was starving when I reached a medieval village and directly entered the first open restaurant on my path. I promptly used their restrooms and took a seat at the counter around the servers who were busily drying dishes. I ordered a bottled water and an empanada and was presented three overstuffed triangles neatly wrapped in filo dough. These little delectable packages became my favorite empanadas of all time. But the stuffings were far from the normal spanish recipe, launching my quest to recreate that lovely experience.

Now that I've got the seasoning proportions correct, I was ready to try it on my friends. So I served a Tourte stuffed with everything I remembered from my vacation. Success. It's perfectly savory, not salty, and the fish is such a light flavor almost like an afterthought, it's easy to forget that it's there. The curry is lightly spicy, but not overwhelming. The potatoes soaked in all the juices such that it was not soggy and in the end the curry potatoes really take center stage.

And, soon I plan to serve this recipe as an hors d'oeuvre by wrapping the filling in filo dough at our next dinner party. But that will have to wait, because I don't have any dinner parties planned anytime soon.

Tourte Salé à la Sardine et au Curry

2 puff pastry crusts
3 tbsp (càs) Olive oil
2 med potatoes
1 clove garlic
3 red kiri chilis
1 dried red thai pepper (or a dash of dried red pepper flakes)
1 onion
1 can of sardines
1/2 fresh lime
1/2 tsp (càc) sugar
1 egg yolk

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Lay one puff pastry crust in your tart pan. Leave an inch drap over the edge of the pan on all sides. (Please note, that this is not a pie pan. It is a shallow, flat, round pan with decorative sides, if you do not have a tart pan, then you can use a pizza pan.)


I par-boiled my potato slices before starting the recipe. A short 5 minutes in boiling water should be sufficient to give 1 cm thick slices of potatoes a good head start.

Then, in a large shallow saucepan simmer sliced potatoes, onions, crushed garlic and chilis in a bit of olive oil. Add the sardines, curry, lime juice, and sugar until heated through.

Spread this mixture across the prepared pastry dough, and lay the second puff pastry crust over top. Fold down the edges and pinch them in regular intervals so they seal and draw designs in the top crust for decoration. Beat the egg yolk and brush on the top of the exposed puff pastry for a perfect golden appearance.

Bake 50 minutes. It should get deep golden brown. If it starts getting too dark you can put a piece of aluminum foil over the top, but I didn't need to for mine.

Serve hot - on a bed of leafy lettuce drizzled with Mamie's Dressing. Bon Appetit!