Category: arugula

Beef Fillet, Persil & Arugula, or Friend’s day in Argentina plus a Diet

Posted on July 15, 2010 by fromBAtoParis

July 20th is Friend’s Day (Dia del Amigo) in Argentina. I don’t know when this tradition started, but sure after 1969, since, for some reason, the date chosen was that of the man stepping on the moon. Whichever the reason, it is a big date for us…friendship is something we cherish, and honor to extents, that some other people find us a bit “over-sentimental”, but that’s the way we are…for good or for bad, passionate people!

On this day we do what we can to show our friends that we care, that we appreciate, in one word, that we love them!!! We go from buying a little something for each of our friends, to sharing a meal together (on this date, impossible to improvise! reservations at restaurants have to be made in advance!!!), dropping by just to share a few mates, or sending an SMS….(which is the second almost-impossible thing, since the network becomes “clogged”, so many people trying to send SMS together at the same time….

So I wanted to celebrate with my friends here…but on July 20th there will be nobody (not even me!) so we anticipated!! BUT, one friend told me: “I am on a VERY strict diet…in a restaurant, it will be difficult for me to find something…PLUS, I follow the protein diet, which means only meat, only fish or chicken…with no vegs!” So we decided to do it at home, and, what are friends for?, we would ALL eat grilled meat with virtually nothing else! (After all, our D-Day is lurking near….the dreaded day when we must face the world in our swimsuits ;D

Believe it or not, this very simple presentation of grilled meat pleased everybody!! We were all happy: my dieting friend removed the onions, cheese, arugula and persil…(I think she “cheated” and ate the cherry tomato !!??!!), and we all indulged in what we do best….talking!! dealing with serious subjects such as:

our children’s performance in all the exams kids have to pass in France: Bac, Bac français, Brevet…nerve-wracking experiences for all the family…not only the child. Why are there so many crucial-for-your-future-ruining-your-youth exams here?

And not so serious as ……

our national team performance in the last World Soccer Cup ….Please, Diego (Maradona) we love you but we would prefer a professional coach next time!!
Mrs Carla Bruni-Sarkozy ‘s dress for the July14th parade…(Didn’t she wear almost the same last year?) What? she bought two for the price of one at the “soldes”(sales)?
with the second glass of wine (completely out of diet!) we grew less philosophical and we turned to “substantial” topics shown in our not-precisely-Nobel-Prize-in-Literature magazines…Elle and Marie France….

Thank you girls for being there…for holding the big white board so that my picture would get more light…(though if you look closely…one of my friends in reflected on the fork!! What a shame!!( that’s not professional, Cristina…), for cleaning my kitchen, for smoking in the balcony….thanks for all!!

If you celebrate Friend’s Day in your country, just have fun sharing…and if there isn’t a Friend’s Day, you should create one….! You know what I love the most about this day? When a long lost friend, whom you haven’t seen for ages, calls you! There isn’t a better surprise !!!

It takes so little to make someone happy….

PS: Yes, those of you living in France guessed right…my friend is following the Dr Dukan method (quite popular now in France). However, I am, by no means, “sponsoring this method”…I am not a doctor first, so I do not know if it is good for our health or not…and this post is by no means doing publicity of this method!) I just mentioned it as a fact of life…in the same way I would have mentioned the Atkins, or any other, if my friend had been following that diet…

Please, consult your doctor before starting any diet!!!

Want the recipe?

Actually, there is almost no recipe….

You will need one beef fillet that you will cut into 1cm slices (calculate 2 per person), some arugula and some persil ( previously rinsed); some cheese cut into thin slices with the potato peeler (it should be parmesan, but I didn’t have at home, so I used Gouda), two red onions (sliced not so thin), some cherry tomatoes….

Cook the beef “tournedos” (slices) in your grill pan 30″/1′ each side. Season to taste. Drizzle the arugula/persil with a vinaigrette made of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, salt & pepper. Place on top of the tournedo, together with the cheese slices. Place the other tournedo on top. Decorate with the onion rings (which you have previously sauté in olive oil) and the cherry tomatoes….

It wouldn’t be me if I didn’t sprinkle the whole with “fleur de sel” and a combination of sunflower (or other) oil and piment d’Espelette (or paprika, or Spanish pimenton)

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Elle à Table

Posted in arugula, beef fillet | 20 Replies

Beef Carpaccio, with Basil, Red Pepper and Mozzarella Madeleines, or when Italy marries "la France"

Posted on May 21, 2010 by fromBAtoParis

Even in Paris, after a cold spell, warm weather is coming….we feel like eating lighter, fresher things…. ( women like me have nightmares of looking like Moby Dick ON the beach !! ), so for whatever reason, health, weather or personal vanity (or the three at the same time!), this marks the beginning of my “summer” posts….devoted to low-calory-easy-to-digest-fast-to-make meals….Well, don’t get overexcited (or too sad), due to my French training, I will give you something buttery or creamy from time to time….Who said a salad dish can’t have a crème brûlée as final touch?

Now for the beef carpaccio…..classic Italian dish to which I have added my personal French touch, some madeleines: basil, red pepper and mozzarella cheese!.…

The arugula, basil, red peppers and the pine nuts accentuate the Italian/south of France scents and flavours….

The dish is named Carpaccio, after the name of an Italian painter, famous for its colourful paintings….Now, there are two stories associated with it: Mrs Cipriani, in Venice, or a rich lady from Milan, were advised by their doctors to eat raw meat….apparently, it was not considered very “elegant” to eat raw meat so they named the dish “carpaccio” so that no one would notice….
I do not know which story is true…but I love Venice, Milan and Carpaccio, so…..
AND I would like to point out, eating carpaccio IS elegant, “n’est-ce pas?” (isn’t it?).
Enjoy it !!!

Now for the recipe…….

Beef Carpaccio
(serves 4)

* beef fillet, 300gr

* lemon, 1

* extra virgin olive oil, 4 tablespoons

* balsamic vinegar (optional), 1 tablespoon

* arugula leaves, 100gr

* fleur de sel and freshly ground pepper

* parmesan cheese, 50gr

* pine nuts, 30gr

Put the beef fillet (trimmed of any excess fat) in the freezer for 30′. This will help you cut the slices very thinly, if not, ask your butcher to do it for you (with the machine). Place the slices forming a rosette. Drizzle it with a little lemon juice, 1 tablespoon olive oil, fleur de sel and pepper (to taste). In the center, place the arugula leaves mixed with the pine nuts. Sprinkle with a vinaigrette made with the rest of olive oil, balsamic vinegar (optional), salt and pepper. Shave thin slices of Parmesan with your potato peeler. Top on the arugula.

Red Bell Peppers, Basil, and Mozzarella Madeleines

(for 16 madeleines aprox (normal size)

* basil leaves, 10gr

* red bell peppers, 1, for this recipe, but since we are roasting them, you can prepare more

* eggs, 3

* mozzarella cheese, 100gr

* parmesan cheese, grated, 15gr

* all purpose flour, 150gr

* baking powder, 1 coffeespoon.

* roasted red bell pepper, 60gr

* olive oil, 5 tablespoons

* salt and pepper

To roast the peppers, put them on a baking tray, in the oven, under the broiler. Roast them till the skin blackens. Take them out. Put them in a plastic bag, seal it, wait 30′. The steam will help for the peeling. Remove the skin and seeds.

Dice the mozzarella, the peppers. Slice the basil leaves thinly (previously washed and rinsed). Mix the flour and baking powder. Whisk the eggs with the parmesan cheese. Combine the flour and baking powder with the eggs and parmesan. Fold in the mozzarella, peppers and basil, the oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Combine well. Refrigerate at least for one hour.

Pre-heat the oven 180°C. Place a baking tray in the oven. Butter and flour your madeleine molds. Put the madeleine batter into a piping bag, and fill 2/3 of the madeleines molds. Refrigerate again with the mold. Bake for 10′ placing the mold on the hot baking tray. This temperature shock will make the madeleine have its bump. If you are using a mini Madeleine mold, baking time is 7′. Take them out of the oven. Wait for some minutes before unmolding. Let them cool on a rack. Repeat the process with the rest of the batter.

Posted in arugula, beef, carpaccio, French classics, Italian, madeleines | 24 Replies

St Valentine’s Menu (1) / Plat: Arugula Risotto, perfumed with Truffles & Scallops

Posted on February 1, 2010 by fromBAtoParis

How about making together a complete St Valentine’s Menu? A special occasion to share with our “Prince Charmant”? (or our Beautiful Cinderella) So, I will begin today with the Main Course !!!! I thought of something easy to make but a bit sophisticated….we are not going to spend one evening with candlelights eating a hamburger, are we?

I learnt to make this recipe when I was working at O’Farrell’s. It is not exactly their original recipe: they added a mashed potato, but for the sake of making it “light”, I decided to leave it out….

For this Arugula Risotto, perfumed with Truffles, and Scallops (for 2), you will need

Carnaroli or Arborio rice, 280 gr.
Chicken Stock, 500 gr.
White wine, 1/2 cup.
Arugula, thoroughly cleaned and coarsely chopped, 40 gr.
Butter or Mascarpone, 1 big tablespoon.
Parmesan Cheese, grated, 2 tablespoons.
Black Truffles, 2.
Black Truffle oil, 2 tablespoons.
Olive oil, 2 tablesp.
Small onion, diced, 1.
Scallops, 6.
Marsala wine, 2 tablespoon.

Marinate the scallops in the marsala wine and black truffle oil. In a saucepan, warm the olive oil. Sauté the onion until traslucent. Add the rice, stir it over high heat until it gets a “pearl” colour. Add the white wine, cook until it evaporates. Start adding the hot stock, little by little, waiting till complete evaporation before adding more. This should take 15/20′. When the rice is “al dente”, creamy and a bit moist, put it aside, let it set 2/3′. Then add the cold butter or the mascarpone (I prefer mascarpone because it is lighter). Last minute, add the arugula.

On a hot non-stick frying, put the scallops (remove the excess oil and marsala), cook them 1′ each side. For the cheese “tuiles”, on a silpat, make a “tuile” of cheese, bake 180°C until golden.

Put the rice on your dish, then the 3 scallops, slice the truffles for decoration. Add the cheese tuile !!!

Enjoy it !!!!

To get in the mood, anything better than a song in French? France First Lady, Carla Bruni, singing “L’amour“
…..and don’t forget to tell your beloved one how much you love him/her…

PS: I know it’s crisis time and the truffles and truffle oil might be a bit expensive…if you can, stick to the oil, because it adds a very special and unique flavour, and a touch of class! Leave out the truffles. Even if you use olive oil, instead of the black truffle one, the recipe will still be a success !!!