Les Fromages

So..Today I went to the new Whole Foods that just opened on Bowery and Houston..Bowery & Houston??? yes, such is life.
It is ridiculously big, and like everything in this city has an overwhelming selection of pretty much anything from the food world that one can imagine. It feels more like a mall than a store, but there were not too many people, and tons of free samples - which is always a score in my books.
What they do have is a full service fromagerie onsite, and a cool (as in temperature) room where they sell many fresh cheeses - it's an equivalent La Fromagerie in London...so I had to wonder in.
Cheese is my weakness, I just cant resist. Ever since I was in France having cheese and figs from farmers markets every day I am powerless before the grand fromage..
I know it's a bit grown up to be speaking about cheese, but it's so wonderful I just gotta. It's not like evaluating wine..I promise.
So I will begin with the cheese that I fell in love with in France 7 years ago now. It's a common one there, but you can find it anywhere really - although quality is really not the same unless you pay like $10 for small button - which I will not..

The cheese is called Saint-Marcellin. Here is what Wikepedia had to say about it:
Saint-Marcellin is a type of soft cheese with a runny interior and a strong flavour originating from the former Dauphiné region of France. It is generally small in size and has a mottled creamy-white exterior. It is about 50% fat and its level of runniness depends on its age. It is similar to Saint-Félicien cheese. Saint-Marcellin cheese is named after the city of Saint-Marcellin.

This is what I have to say about it: it rocks - but it's not for everyone. It's similar to brie, but has a much stronger flavour - mouldy, musky sort of flavour. It's delicious. In France it's sold on its own, in the US it usually comes in a ceramic dish, but I think the level of freshness is not the same. The middle is runny and beautiful, it goes really well with fresh figs - in my humble personal opinion.

While I was at the Wholefoods today, the really friendly woman who works in the cheese area gave me different samples. One cheese which I tried was really beautiful - thank god it was $18 for a small log. Otherwise I would probably buy it - and finish in one sitting..argh. It's called Chabichou du Poitou. It was actually somewhat similar to the taste of Saint-Marcellin, but it's a goat's milk cheese, which gives it a different sort of flavour. I favour goat and sheep milk cheeses...I don't have a real explanation as to why. It's also soft in the middle - and is amazing.
It comes from Loire valley region of France. I found this info on it from Teddington Cheese Wire (sorry it's a bit long, but interesting because it gives some history of the region etc):

The 'Saracens' were a people of Arab descent, who originally settled in the south of Spain but then gradually moved north into France. By the 8th century they had reached Poitiers in the Loire valley, but it was at this point that they were finally repelled. When they were expelled from France, they left behind not only goats, but also recipes for making cheese from their milk. The Loire valley became the starting point in the history of goats' milk cheese in France, and remains the most important area of production.

Villages on either side of the Loire river produce goats' milk cheeses of different sizes and shapes. These cheeses have delicately varied flavours and include five AOC's - a classification given to cheeses in the same way as wines. In the eastern part of the area there is the small drum-shaped Crottin de Chavignol; to the west the log-shaped Saint Maure de Tourraine; to the north of the central region the round-shaped Selles-sur-Cher; to the south the pyramid-shaped Valençay and to the south-west the cone-shaped Chabichou de Poitou. Poitou is the most important goat breading region in France. The Chabichou du Poitou takes its name from the local dialect word for 'goat' derived from the Arabic 'chebli'.

The cheese is emphatically goaty in flavour and aroma. The paste is firm and white and the rind is pale blue-grey in colour. There are many industrial versions of this cheese but ours is made using traditional farmhouse methods.

Each cheese is approximately 6cm high, is cone-shaped with a 4cm base and a 3cm top, weighs 100 to 150grammes and has a minimum fat content of 45%. Cheeses are available throughout the year and the best are made from spring to autumn. Chabichou can be eaten fresh or matured for four weeks in a cool and humid cellar, during which time the blue-grey rind develops.

Chabichou can be accompanied with Sancerre, Pouilly Fumé or the red wines of the Loire. The cheese is excellent both on the cheese-board and for cooking; it is fabulous when sliced and grilled.
The last cheese I found recently that was amazing was one whose name I can not pronounce. Nor can I find any real info on it. I found it at the local cheese shop on Bedford ave - it was not expensive, so I bought it on a whim - my sole purchase at that pretentious, overpriced..anyway. Thank you Bedford cheese shop for having this amazing cheese. Really.
The cheese is called Buure-Weichchäsli. I definitely can not pronouce the name - it comes from Switzerland, although I remember the label being in Italian. Perhaps I should get it again, and draw the label... It's a small crottin (button), with very soft runny middle, and amazing flavour. This is a cow's milk cheese - I think it's my favourite one up to date..

That's it for today kids.

Tomato & mustard tart

This is a really great recipe. I used to give food parties...for a while I was really into middle-eastern food, and then into french. So this is from the french period. I made lots of tarts - but this one is really beautiful. I found the original recipe somewhere online, so I don't really know who to give credit to for this. I think it's a traditional recipe from Provence. It's after making this tart that I discovered Herbes de Provence, and since then have used them in nearly all of my dishes..
You will need
For the crust:
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons ice water

This will make a 9"-10" tart/quiche shell
First mix the flour and the salt. Add butter - the easiest way is to do this is in a food processor. I did not have one so I grated the cold butter and used a fork for mixing before. It works. Add ice water a little at a time while mixing the dough. Don't mix too much - only until it's all one consistency. You can add a bit more water and flour if you feel there is a need .. I usually eyeball it.
Wrap in a plastic wrap and stick in the fridge or even the freezer if you don't have time. In the fridge from 1hour or more, obviously with the freezer you gotta watch out - you could end up with a frozen dough ball on your hands.
The purpose of this is it gets the crust to be tender and flaky..

Once the dough is chilled roll it out to about 1/4 inch thickness and place into a fluted, buttered pan. I really like the french fluted square pans with removable bottom for making tarts - I think square is a nicer aesthetically for this sort of thing - but obviously none of this is terribly important. You can use any regular baking pan if you like.

(this a standard pâte brisée pie shell recipe, you will find small variations of this, but this is a simplest one really)

For the filling:

About 1 cup of cherry or grape tomatoes cut in halves or sliced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/5 cups of grated or sliced gruyère or emmentaler cheese
Whole grain mustard (or Dijon mustard)
A few fresh basil leaves

Herbes de Provence seasoning

Spread thin layer of mustard over the crust - once again this really depends on your taste.
Place most of the cheese on top evenly. Add tomatoes and use the rest of the cheese. Add pieces or whole basil leaves and sprinkle liberally with Herbes de Provence. Pour olive oil on top. Once again I really like olive oil, you can use less or more, but don't omit it altogether.

Now bake at 375F preheated oven until the top is golden brown - it should take about 45-60 min, but keep checking. I suggest the lower/middle rack for this.

Enjoy, this tart rules.
p.s. After I did the illustrations for this, & posted the recipe, I realized how amazing the ingredients look in comparison to the finished product. Not that the tart looks bad, but the bright red tomatoes, herbs, etc..they are so beautiful, nature is just perfect.

Carrot Salad

I used to have these neighbors - Kevin and Bill when I lived on 10th st - they were a funny couple. Bill used to go on how instead of eating pasta, he grates raw vegetables - like squash etc. So somehow indirectly these two got me experimenting with grated salads. I grated courgettes (zucchini), parsnips, radishes, etc all of these usually with olive oil, some garlic and salt. They were some of my favorite salads for a while.

This is a simple carrot salad, but it's really nice.

1-2 Large carrots - peeled
3-4 cloves of garlic - peeled
Salt to taste
3-4 Tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil (I usually just pour, for I like the taste)
I have an olive oil recommendation -Olio Beato - it's sold in US and UK - it's Italian in origin, and some of the best I've had outside of the Mediterranean.
Herbes De Provence seasoning - about 2 Tablespoon
1 Teaspoon of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. (Not for health reasons, but apple cider seems to work best here. Balsamic can work as well)
Handful of nuts: Cashews, almonds work well. Pumpkin seeds go quite nicely as well.

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Grate the carrots on a FINE grater.
Crate/or crush and chop garlic and mix with the carrots
Add salt, olive oil, herbes de Provence (a rather indispensable ingredient), and teaspoon of vinegar/lemon juice and mix well. Sprinkle a little of the seasoning on top.
Crush the nuts and sprinkle over the top of the salad.

It's ready to serve.
I often add a bit of sliced avocado on the side - it goes very well. Dark rye german bread is also a good compliment to this salad.

Baba Ganouj

I got this recipe from Nebil with whom I used to work. He's a really great chef, and takes a lot of joy in making food - as well as eating it. Nebil is originally from Turkey, so this is an authentic version.

What you will need:
1 large eggplant - whole
3-5 Cloves of garlic (depending on taste, but this taste really great with lots of garlic)
3-6 Tablespoons of Tahina (or Tahini - ground sesame paste) Here is a tip: avoid tahini from various healthy/organic companies. For some reason it just does not taste right. Just get a standard middle eastern tahini, and you will be set.

Juice of 1-2 lemons (to taste)
Olive oil
Parsley - chopped
Salt to taste

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The eggplant is typically flame broiled. Yet some how in a modern household I can't see one standing over a flame turning the thing. If you have a barbeque - great. If not, just place eggplant on a baking sheet, pierce with a fork in several places and broil until it's soft.


Let the egglplant cool until it's possible to hand without burning yourself, and peel the skin off. The skin should come off easily.

Take the soft part and mix with tahina, salt and lemon juice. I suggest using a fork - if you stick this in a blender it will become a mush, so just gently mash with a fork until it's homogenous.
Add garlic - make sure it's very finely chopped.
Transfer into a clean container, sprinkle with olive oil, parsley and put aside for an hour or so.
It's then ready to serve or can be kept in the fridge..don't ask me for how long, I usually finish this the same day.

Carrot-Ginger Soup

Ok, so this is has been done many times by many people. Yet it's still a great soup when done right.

Here's what you will need:
Sweet Carrots - quantity depends on how many people are eating, I would say for 2 people about 4 large carrots - peeled or scrubbed.

1 Onion - red or any color really

1 Potato - but you can also use cauliflower instead. Sliced.

3-4 Cloves of garlic - I like garlic;)

Fresh ginger - the quantity really depends on your taste. For a soup with 4 carrots I would usa about 1 in. of fresh ginger root. Peeled and cut.

Salt to taste

Some olive oil

Handful of chopped parsley

Some sour cream or plain yogurt

Some toasted croutons. (Cut some french bread into cubes or slices, toss with olive oil and salt and/or herbs, and throw on a baking sheet and into the oven for a few minutes (400F should be fine) Bake croutons start getting hard/crispy, make sure the whole lot doesn't burn burn - which I have done many times now..)

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Bring water to boil in about a 2 qt pan - 3/4 full of water.

Cut carrots into one inch pieces and place in the water, add onion, sliced potato/cauliflower. Cook for about 10min and then add garlic cloves, ginger and salt to taste.

Cook in a closed pot at medium temperature until the vegetables - just soft - so you can stick a fork through the carrots.

Remove from the fire, and add a little olive oil - 1 tablespoon should do the trick. Now to puree the soup you can use three things:
1. Blender
2. Hand Blender - which is what I use usually.
3. I you own no appliances and are poor use a potato masher. Just make sure it's not plastic, heat and plastic are not a good combo.

Once the soup is pureed it can be served.

Put into each plate, add a spoonful of yogurt, sprinkle some chopped parsley on top and toss in croutons.

The colors are really great this way, and you will enjoy your soup.

Instead of carrots you can use parsnips - omit the ginger in this case - it's a great soup as well.

Chocolate Potatoes

Chocolate potatoes? Yes, chocolate potatoes. Anyone from the wild Eastern Europe would probably know what they are . In fact there is no potatoes in these, they are a really great dessert. My grandmother taught me how to make these. She is this Ukrainian matron, who gave enormous feasts in her day...artery bursting Russian food. I once had a ridiculous party where I cooked quantitatively something close to what my grandmother did - and gained a whole new level of appreciation and disbelief for her. It's really exhausting...

You will need:
200g of sweet vanilla biscuits - I like to use Maria - they are a common one you will find in most stores.
3/4 stick of softened butter
6 Tablespoons of condensed milk
2-4 (or more) Tablespoons of wine, or liqueur - cognac, brandy etc.
Some unsweetened cocoa powder and sugar - either powdered or granulated.


Crush the biscuits into really small crumbs - you can put them in a blender or a food processor. If you don't have these stick them in a sturdy bag, and roll a rolling pin, or a jar over them..
Add in the butter into the crumb mixture a little bit a time - this will be a hard workable mixture. Don't be afraid to use your hands - which once again should be washed..(;)
Add the condensed milk and finally the wine and mix well

Mix the cocoa powder and sugar together well, and place in a flat plate.
Now take the biscuit mass roll into little potato shapes and roll in the cocoa/sugar mixture until will coated and set on a separate platter.
When all of the 'dough' is used up and all of the potatoes are shaped place in a refrigerator and let stand. The taste actually becomes better if you leave in the fridge overnight.

They keep well for a few days.

Apple Crisp

This is not a beautiful dessert, but it's really nice. Whenever I go to visit my parents my mom tries to get me to make it..
The recipe was partially taken from one of the Julia Child's books. She's very cool - in an insane foodie sort of way. My favourite line by her is " if it tastes bland you just douse it in Bourbon.."

I never follow recipes, so in fact this one has become my own..and you should likewise modify - it keeps things interesting. So this is what you will need:

The filling:
6 Tart apples - I like Granny Smith (don't use Bramleys - they turn into mush)
Juice of 1 - 2 lemons - really depends on your taste
1 tablespoon of white sugar
Cinnamon - use to taste - I like a lot, so usually toss in a two tablespoons or so
A little butter
I usually like to add berries - quantity does not matter.
1/2-1 cup of Raspberries, or Cranberries make the crisp exciting..
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Peel and core the apples, and slice them into thin slices (about 1/4 -1/3 inch in thickness)
Mix all of the above ingredients and place in a glass covered (<--important) dish. Place in the oven to cook (350F should do nicely) for about 25 minutes, or until the apples start becoming a little soft and give some juice. in the meantime:

The crumble:
1 cup of oats
1/2 cup of flour
3/4 cup of Brown Sugar
3/4 stick of butter (cold)
you can also add some crushed nuts - walnuts, almonds or filberts work best. But hey if you feel like experimenting with other kind - why not?

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Cut up butter into small pieces and add all of the dry ingredients
Mix the mixture (you can with your hands, just make sure you wash them ;) until everything is coated with butter, the crumble is crumbly - small balls about 1/3 in in diameter.

Now check on the filling - are the apples starting to get soft? Make sure they are not mush.

Butter a square or a round pan and place a little of the topping on the bottom. Now place all of the hot apples on top, and cover with the rest of the crumble topping.

The whole lot goes into the oven (uncovered this time) for about 45minutes - or until the crumble is golden brown - 425F should do the trick.

Now take out, cool and serve..alone or with ice cream.
Presto!