Marche Dimanche

Strawberry Ice Cream Without An Ice Cream Machine

    Can you smell it??? The fragrance of strawberries and fresh basil is intoxicating. This strawberry ice cream is not silky smooth, but rather it has texture and a vibrant color. And the joy of making it is that you can do it without having to have an ice cream machine.

    I discovered the technique when I was visiting a friend and was responsible for making dessert. I was yearning for ice cream and she didn't have a machine. So I played around with a blender and it resulted in a quick delicious ice cream that was amazingly easy to make. No fancy ingredients. No eggs. Just fruit and cream.

    Here are the steps to making it:

    Start with heavy cream and some flavorings like sugar, vanilla and almond extract.

    Take frozen strawberries out of the freezer and allow them to thaw for about 15 minutes, or just long enough so that they are not rock hard but still frozen. Add them to a blender and whiz with the heavy cream mixture until smooth.

    Then pour the ice cream into a freezer container and freeze at least an hour or until it is scoopable.

    
    Sooooo delicious and so easy. Next time I will add some minced fresh basil leaves to the ice cream mixture. I really liked the combination. You can make this with any frozen fruit.....then fold in nuts, chocolate, crumbled amaretti cookies, or anything else.

    When you are in a hurry, when you don't have a machine, and when you don't want to fuss, this produces an old fashioned kind of ice cream delivering old fashioned goodness.

Serves 4

Strawberry Ice Cream Without An Ice Cream Machine

Ingredients

• 24 ounces frozen strawberries
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Cooking Directions

1. Take the frozen strawberries out of the freezer and allow to thaw for at least 15 minutes. They can still be frozen, just not rock hard! Then put all of the strawberries in a blender.
2. Whisk the sugar, vanilla extract, almond extract, and heavy cream together and add to the blender. Blend until smooth.
3. Transfer the strawberry cream mixture to a container and put in the freezer for at least one hour or until it can easily be scooped. Serve.

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Homemade Pickled Ginger

     You know the pink tinted slices of pickled ginger that are served with sushi? I made some sushi the other day, but couldn't find the pickled ginger in the store, so I made some---and it is so far superior to the restaurant and bottled variety that I wanted to share the recipe with you! And it is so easy to do at home I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner.

     What you see in the picture above is the finished product. I ground pink peppercorns into the liquid the ginger cooked in and it added a layer of sophistication that I adore. I also ended up with lots of delicious sauce as well that I froze and will go beautifully with almost any meat, chicken or fish dish. 

    So you simply peel some ginger. Then with a vegetable peeler, peel off thin slices of ginger. I used a knob about two fingers long. In a medium sauce pan, I added 1 3/4 cups of white vinegar and 1/2 cup of sugar and cooked the mixture until the sugar was disolved. Then I added a dash of sea salt, a dash of cinnamon, and freshly ground pink peppercorns. I also threw in a dash of Mirin (sweetened Japanese wine). You can add more sugar if it is too tart when you taste it. Adjust for the taste you are looking for.

    Then I added the sliced ginger and only cooked it for about 4 minutes. Done! When it was cool, I served it with my sushi. I know you are going to love this one! (Save the cooking liquid to use as a sauce for another meal.)

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Red Peppers for a Blue Fish

 

    The boyfriend is coming this weekend and, coincidentally, red peppers were on sale.

    He adores roasted red peppers, and I just bought beautiful filets of bluefish that I plan to charcoal grill on the patio for our Saturday dinner. Why not make a roasted pepper compote to side them with? 

    I just finished making it and the aroma still lingers in whisps here and there when I walk through the house, reminding me of so many summers in the south of France. I grew masses of them in my garden there and had sweet red peppers to put into everything---to stuff, to make salads and soups with, and sometimes I would go crazy and make a red pepper ice cream that was surprising as well as pretty to look at.

    This afternoon I roasted the red peppers over an open flame on my stove until they were quite charred.   

    

    I put them in a bowl and covered them with plastic wrap for about 20 minutes so that they would be easy to peel. Then I scraped off most of the skin, but left bits of charred pieces because I love the flavor it gives. Sliced them into long pieces.........

    Then I sliced garlic and shallots very thinly and added them to the peppers on a big baking sheet. I tossed everything with extra virgin olive oil, a couple of tablespoons of white vinegar, a tablespoon of sugar, a pinch of salt and fresh thyme, then put it in a 400 degree oven for 25 minutes until the red peppers were soft and the garlic and shallots slightly caramelized. 

    When they came out of the oven and had cooled, I put them in a flat dish with more extra virgin olive oil. They will marinate overnight and be ready to side my charcoal grilled bluefish. Red peppers for a blue fish.

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Chilled Celery Soup with Radish Shreds

    The scents of a place stay with me forever. Inspired by the memory of picking fresh celery in my garden and holding the sun-warmed leaves up to breath in their aroma as if they were flowers, I decided to use extra celery to make an aromatic chilled soup.

    I knew the aroma would come from just chopped celery leaves piled on top of my soup. I also had some radishes, so I decided to shred them and add them as a garnish as well. Pretty. Crunchy. The heat of the radish against the cool greeness of the celery.

    And so I began to layer. First by melting sweet butter then sauteeing a diced shallot.

    Then I chopped the celery stalks and added them to cook for just 4 minutes.....

    

    I put them in a blender with some water and seasonings and finally with some yogurt.....and my soup tasted superb. I'm glad I didn't add chicken broth. The water allowed the flavor of the celery to shine through. 

    I chilled the soup for a couple of hours, and when I was ready to serve it I topped it with chopped celery leaves and radish shreds. It was simple, quick, inexpensive, healthy---and actually tasted so good I am going to add it to my go-to recipes. The flavor is interesting enough to be presented as an amuse or as a soup shot. 

    Someone gave me a present of two small cutters that make cookies or toasts that can be hung on a bowl or cup like little wings. I think warm toast wings were the perfect finishing touch for this heavenly soup!

Serves 4

Chilled Celery Soup with Radish Shreds

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons sweet butter
• 1 large shallot, peeled and diced
• 1/2 tablespoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
• 4 stalks celery, cleaned and sliced (reserve leaves)
• 2 cups water
• 1 dash Tabasco
• 1/2 cup yogurt
• 3 radishes, grated

Cooking Directions

1. Melt the sweet butter and add the shallot. Cook until just tender, about 2 minutes.
2. Add the salt, oregano, thyme, and celery and saute for about 4 minutes.
3. Transfer the celery mixture to a blender and add 2 cups of water.
4. Blend.
5. Add a dash of Tabasco and the yogurt. Blend well and put the soup in the refrigerator to chill for at least two hours.
6. When you are ready to serve, chop the reserved celery leaves and top the soup with the celery leaves and shredded radishes.

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From My French Kitchen: Salad With Flowers

    Outside my kitchen in France, if you walked through the gate and up the hill, you would find a big vegetable garden where I also grew edible flowers and herbs.

    I loved dropping colorful flowers and miniature violettes into salads for color and whimsy.

   So today, I was in Connecticut visiting a friend who had scored fresh edible flowers from a local organic greenhouse. I just couldn't resist! I made us a salad. A few leaves of lettuce. Some shards of aged cheese. Snips of chives. Edible flowers. And a light sprinkle of balsamic vinaigrette.

    It tasted amazing and it looked so beautiful that I took the picture above to share with you and to encourage you to add flowers to your cooking. You only need one or two. 

    I love oil painting. Maybe it is the addition of color or surprise that is so appealing to me.

    Or, when served under the dappled light of a table outside, that a salad can become so much more than a mere salad. It can become a thing of beauty.

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Pressed Flower Cookies

 

 

 

Cool As A Cucumber

    And all of a sudden it was summer. And all of a sudden we were craving popsicles and wearing flip flops. 

    The boyfriend asked for chicken last night. I grilled chicken skewers and pineapple chunks. I made cool-as-a-cucumber raita sauce for them. And cool-as-a-cucumber cucumber-infused Aquavit shots, chilled on a bed of ice. Nice.

    In Indian cuisine and Greek cuisine there is a sauce made from yogurt and cucumbers that is meant to cool the palate. Greece's Tzatziki Sauce and India's Raita share these two ingredients then veer off with their own spices. I opted for the garlic-free Indian raita, which I made a couple of hours ahead so that the spices could mingle and deepen. Cumin is perfect for deepening a sauce, grounding it. 

    The first step is to grate the cucumber and squeeze it dry of all water.

    Then I mixed it into yogurt, added spices and fresh cilantro, and put it into the refrigerator.

    For so little effort, so much flavor. I love guacamole, but I tire of it. This is a refreshing sauce/condiment that can also be used as a dip and offers an alternative that is cool and light.

    I pair tequila with guacamole. I pair cucumber Aquavit with raita. Chill both well.

Raita Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 large cucumber, peeled
• 2 cups Greek yogurt
• 1 handful of fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

Cooking Directions

1. Grate the cucumber into a piece of cheesecloth or paper towel. Wrap the cucumber up and then squeeze out the water.
2. In a medium bowl, add the cucumber, yogurt, cilantro, cumin, nutmeg, salt and pepper and taste to adjust seasoning to your taste.
3. Refrigerate at least 2 hours to allow the flavors to develop then serve.
4. Optional: decorate with a dash of paprika and cumin.

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Carrot Cashew Soup with Cilantro Drizzle

    It always amazes me how a handful of ingredients can come together in such stunning ways. Take carrots and raw cashews. Who knew? Combining them with some chicken broth resulted in an extraordinarily different kind of soup. It is creamy and light as a cloud at the same time. Neither liquid nor broth, but more of a puree with texture. 

    First I cooked the carrots in chicken broth until they were tender, then I dropped them into a blender with cups of raw cashews, salt, and a dash of ground cloves. 

    I loved the taste, but wanted to layer on another flavor. At first I thought about topping the soup with a swirl of port glaze. I've always loved carrots and port together. Yet, when I spied a bunch of cilantro sitting on the kitchen counter, I opted for the green. With a quick pulse or two in the food processor with some deep green oil, salt and bit of garlic, I had my drizzle. This soup is sublime. Healthy. Simple. And totally satisfying. 

    The more drizzle, the better! Enjoy!

Serves 4 big bowls.

Carrot Cashew Soup

Ingredients

• 32 ounces chicken broth
• 8 large carrots, peeled
• 3 cups raw cashews
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Cooking Directions

1. Heat the chicken broth in a pot big enough to hold all the carrots.
2. Slice the carrots, add them to the broth, and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.
3. Add the cooked carrots to a blender with one cup of the broth and blend. Add another cup of broth and blend again.
4. Add the 3 cups of cashews and blend.
5. Add the rest of the broth and blend.
6. Now add your seasonings. Add in the salt and ground cloves and blend well. Taste and add more of either spice to your liking. The soup is now still hot and ready to serve.

Cilantro Drizzle

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 garlic clove, peeled
• 2 teaspoons sea salt

Cooking Directions

1. Put all the ingredients in a food processor and blend.
2. Taste for seasoning and adjust to your taste.
3. Spoon this drizzle over the Carrot Cashew Soup and serve.

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Watermelon Kiwi Balsamic Salad

.....with ground pink peppercorns. I am so addicted to this salad that when I make it I make another plate so that I can have seconds! The idea came from a salad my friend makes with tomatoes and watermelon, which I am also crazy about. 

    It is simplicity itself to make and cool and refreshing. Slice a cube of watermelon. With the pointed end of a small knife, carve out a circle in the center and down into the cube enough to hold dressing. Do the same with a ripe kiwi. Then fill them with balsamic cream, which you can find in the supermarket in the vinegar section.

    Balsamic cream is imported from Modena, Italy and it is made from concentrated grape must and balsamic vinegar. It is creamy and luscious against the texture of the fruit, hugging each bite. If you try it, let me know what you think!

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Pressed Flower Cookies

    I caught drift of a conversation in one of my cooking classes that fascinated me. One of my students was raving about the beautiful flower cookies she had at a wedding at an inn last summer. 

    It sounded so Scandinavian. So whimsical. So I got online and searched for a recipe and finally found a clue that there might be one on Martha Stewart's web site, but still couldn't find them....not even a picture! However, there was a blog post about using pansies to decorate sugar cookies and that was enough information to get me started. 

    I was lucky to find organic edible pansies and drove home with two clay pots of them in the passenger's seat, their flowers and my hair fluttering in the wind from the open window. 

    When I got home I took out butter to come to room temperature and carefully snipped each beautiful flower from the plants before me. 

    I decided to make butter shortbread cookies, as they are a breeze to make and amazing dipped into Earl Gray tea.

    You begin to make the cookies by mashing soft butter with sugar, vanilla and almond extract.

    Then you add in flour and mash again with a fork until it all starts to come together. You'll roll out the dough, and use a cookie cutter to make the cookies. 

    While they are baking in the oven, rinse the blossoms and dry them on a paper towel. Some of mine were ruffled like petticoats and worked, but I think the single layer pansies worked best............

    When they were finished, I smiled, thinking---some people press flowers between the pages of a book. I press mine into cookies.

    

Pressed Flower Cookies

(recipe adapted from Gourmet Cookbook Shortbread Cookies)

Ingredients

• 2 sticks sweet butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 cups all purpose flour

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Put the butter, sugar, vanilla and almond extracts into a medium size bowl and with a fork begin to mash the ingredients into the butter.
3. Pour half of the flour in, and continue to combine with a fork. Pour in the second half and continue to combine with a fork.
4. Do this until a soft dough forms and you can reach down with clean hands and pull it together into a ball.
5. Transfer the ball to a clean, floured work surface and flatten with your hands. Roll out with a rolling pin to about 1/4 inch thickness.
6. With a cookie cutter, cut out cookies from the dough and transfer them to an ungreased baking sheet.
7. Put the baking sheet into the oven and bake the cookies until they are golden brown, about 15 minutes.
8. Remove and cool completely.

To continue with the pressed flowers:

Pressed Flowers

Ingredients

• 16 edible pansy flowers
• 1 egg white, beaten
• 1/2 tablespoon sugar

Cooking Directions

1. Rinse and dry the flowers.
2. Beat the sugar into the egg white.
3. Brush the beaten egg white mixture onto each cookie with a pastry brush.
4. Top each cookie with a flower, pressing with your fingers gently to flatten them.
5. Gently brush over the flowers with more of the beaten egg white.
6. Put the cookies back on the baking sheet and put back in the oven (375 degrees) for about 5 minutes, until the egg white mixture has dried.
7. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow to cool before serving.

Rhubarb Yogurt Muffins

 

    My grandmother used to serve stewed fruit before breakfast. A small bowl of stewed prunes. A small bowl of stewed peaches. A small bowl of stewed strawberries and rhubarb.

    It was of time and place, a ritual of dishes that always appeared on her table when she was a wife preparing food for her family and later for us as grandchildren. 

    Now, when rhubarb is in season, I crave her stewed strawberries and rhubarb. I have had many small bowls recently. To carry her into my life, in this time and place, I took some rhubarb and yogurt and made muffins.

    I can see her smile. She delighted in food, and especially food her granddaughter made for her.

    I hope you enjoy these.........!

    The recipe makes a dozen medium-size muffins. (You can also switch out the yogurt and use fat free, the flour to use whole wheat flour, or the vanilla and almond extracts and use maple syrup.)

Rhubarb Yogurt Muffins

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (or already ground)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup Greek yogurt
• 8 tablespoons sweet butter, melted
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 1/2 cups finely slice rhubarb, cleaned and trimmed
• 1/4 cup sugar or sugar sprinkles

Cooking Directions

1. Whisk the flour, baking powder, sugar, baking soda, nutmeg and salt in a large bowl until well combined.
2. In another bowl, mix the wet ingredients: yogurt, butter, eggs, vanilla and almond extracts.
3. Stir the wet into the dry ingredients until blended. Do not over mix.
4. Fold in the rhubarb.
5. Spoon the muffin batter into a muffin tin to the top of the rims.
6. Sprinkle the sugar or sugar sprinkles on top and place the muffin tin in the oven.
7. They take about 17 to 20 minutes to bake. Take them out when they are golden. Cool for 5 minutes then serve.

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Raw Roots Beans and Shoots Salad

    

    Do you have a friend who, when you are with them, no words are needed? They know you so well, and you know them so well, that a peaceful contentment surrounds you every time you are with them? A friend in this lifetime, two souls who will meet again in other lifetimes? My best friend and I have this amazing kind of friendship. 

     In the last couple of years she has gone raw. She calls it, "eating sprouts," and her expertise in creating delicious raw cuisine is impressive. 

    This salad is in her honor. I hope she likes it!

    It takes only three ingredients: carrots (roots), beans (fava), and shoots (pea). It won't work if you use very big or old carrots better suited for the soup pot. It works beautifully if you use small or medium sized carrots from the garden, which are tender and bursting with sweetness.

    Shave the carrots. Toss them in a simple vinaigrette. And surround them with a handful of fresh fava beans and pea shoots. 

    With a few basic foodstuffs and just a touch of luck in finding the very best, freshest, tenderest ingredients, it is possible to create a flavorful dish that would impress even my best friend. 

Serves 2

Raw Roots Beans and Shoots Salad

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 pinches fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon water
• 6 fresh carrots
• 14 fresh fava beans
• 1 bunch fresh pea shoots

Cooking Directions

1. Place the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, salt and water in a small bowl and whisk well.
2. Clean the carrots. With a vegetable peeler, shave them into a salad bowl.
3. Add the fava beans and 1/2 of the pea shoots.
4. Pour in the vinaigrette and toss well.
5. Plate and sprinkle the remaining pea shoots on top.

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Homemade Orange Liqueur

 

    Every Easter in my village of Bar-sur-Loup in France there is a festival celebrating the orange. And everyone in the village makes something using the fruit, from orange wine, to orange liqueur, to orange flavored pastries, orange flower water, and orange marmalade. 

    I couldn't be there this year, but I am with them in spirit. I just found some beautiful Cara Cara oranges in the market which have an aromatic peel and a golden-pink color to the juice. So I decided to make homemade orange liqueur. It will take two months to develop, so by the end of June I should have my Bar-Sur-Loup Orange Liqueur to sip and share with friends.

    I will also make a bottle now so that students at my cooking class in July will be able to taste what I will be teaching them to make that day. 

   I also want to make another bottle for my blogging friend, Shawnie. We live far away from each other but we share a love of good food. She is making some as well, and we plan to exchange bottles and blog about it later this summer. 

    A couple of bottles for me, several to give to neighbors and loved ones. I will be making quite a few! In the near future I will also be making homemade limoncello and bitters and will post the recipes and instructions here. (If you make them along with me, let me know how they turn out! I'll post your pix and comments.)

    Making orange liqueur is really easy. The only thing that you have to pay attention to is peeling the oranges, because you want the peel to be almost paper thin with no white pith. Use a very sharp vegetable peeler to do this. If you don't have one, it is really worth getting a new one. 

    Take the orange in one hand, and with the other hand begin to pull the vegetable peeler very lightly across the orange peel in small forward motions rather than long deep ones. After a couple of tries you will feel it happening, and from then on peeling will almost be an instinctive motion you could do with your eyes closed. The perfume from the oil in the peel is so relaxing it is like slipping into a warm bath.

    Put the peel into two sterilized Ball Jars.

    Next, slice and juice the oranges.......Cara Cara's have this lovely color!

    After you have added the orange juice to the simple syrup, pour it on top of the orange peels in the Ball jars.......

    After the liquid has cooled, pour in vodka to the top and seal the jars....

    Special equipment:  Two 24-ounce Ball Jars (or your favorite canning jars) with screw tops. One and a half of the Ball Jars will fill to the top one tall decorative bottle with a cork or screw top. (Fill them in one month)

Homemade Orange Liqueur

Ingredients

• 8 oranges, washed and dried
• 4 cups sugar
• 1 cup water
• 4 cups  vodka

Cooking Directions

1. Sterilize 2 Ball jars and their lids by running them through the dishwasher or by placing them in a big pot of boiling water for 10 minutes.
2. With a vegetable peeler, peel the peel from 8 oranges (not the pith) and divide evenly between the two jars.
3. Juice the oranges, then strain away the pulp and pits until you are left with a clear orange juice.
4. In a saucepan, place the sugar and water and bring to a boil. Once it has boiled the liquid will turn clear.
5. Now add 1 cup of the orange juice to the sugar simple syrup and bring it back to a boil.
6. Pour the orange sugar syrup into the 2 jars, on top of the peels, dividing equally.
7. Cool completely.
8. Pour 2 cups of vodka into each jar, cover, and shake. Store in a dark cool place.
9. Mark on your calendar: in one month, strain the liquid and throw away the peel. Pour into decorative sterilized bottles with corks or secure caps. Store in a dark cool place.
10. Mark your calendar: in one more month, your homemade orange liquor will be ready to drink!

Quick Pork Chops with Sweet and Sour Sauces

    I didn't have time to do shopping yesterday after having done taxes and having written a couple of food articles. I knew dinner would be created from whatever I had on hand! (I'm sure you know the feeling!)

    I found 2 large boneless pork chops in the refrigerator that I bought a couple of days ago, 1 large ripe mango, and I found cranberries in the freezer. 

    Armed with these ingredients and a little help from some rum, I created two vibrant sauces and seared the pork chops---all within about 20 minutes. It was easy and quick and perfect for weeknights when you are stretched for time. The bonus was that it turned out to be fabulous, a recipe I'm definitely adding to my collection.

    For the red sour sauce: make a simple syrup in a saucepan, add the cranberries, and cook for about 8-10 minutes until they pop and soften. Pour through a sieve to pull out the cooked cranberries. You'll be left with a clear red sauce to which you will add some lemon juice and vinegar and set aside.

    For the yellow sweet sauce: Peel and slice 1 mango. Whiz it in a food processor with some rum (I used white rum) and set aside.

    Sear the pork chops until they are done and plate. 

Serves 2

Quick Pork Chops with Sweet and Sour Sauces

Ingredients

• 3 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries, whole
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 mango
• 3 tablespoons rum
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 large pork chops

Cooking Directions

1. In a saucepan, pour 1/2 cup of water and add 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar. Cook for a minute to allow the sugar to dissolve. Add the cranberries and cook for 8-10 minutes on medium high heat until they pop and soften. Pour the cranberry mixture through a sieve and rub with the back of a spoon to produce as much clear cranberry liquid as possible. Return the liquid to the saucepan (discard the mashed cranberries) and add the juice of 1/2 a lemon and 2 tablespoons of white vinegar. Reserve.
2. Peel and slice 1 mango. Whizz the slices in a food processor with 3 tablespoons rum. Blend until smooth. Reserve.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil until very hot in a skillet, then add the 2 pork chops and cook on high heat to sear one side golden brown. Turn them over and cook until they are done and are no longer pink in the middle. The time it takes depends upon how thick your pork chops are.
4. Spoon the red sauce on the two plates. Spoon the yellow sauce beside it. Place a large pork chop in the middle of each plate and serve.

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Wine Mousse

    Sometimes I feel like a comforting dessert, like a vanilla or chocolate mousse, but then end up playing with the recipe. Today I felt like vanilla mousse, and as I was flipping through the recipe cards I have filled out since I was in high school, I came across one from my German teacher. Her recipe was for Wine Jelly, and she noted on the back that it was a favorite of her mother's. It was made with German white wine and gelatin. So I thought, why not add white wine to my mousse? 

    As you can see above, the mousse came out amazingly fluffy and cloud-like. It had an air of sophistication from the subtle hint of wine. And the tart strawberries and kiwi provided a wake-up zing. I padded the bottom of the individual bowls with crisp savoyarde biscuits and I also marinated the strawberries in white wine. 

    The recipe makes enough for 4 generous servings and goes like this:

    Wash the strawberries, slice them and sprinkle them with a bit of sugar. Pour 2 tablespoons (or more) of white wine over the berries and toss. Peel and slice 1 kiwi.     

    Next, beat the egg yolks until they are pale and fluffy. Add in the sugar and beat the egg mixture until it is fluffy and well blended, about 3 minutes. Add in the white wine (I used dry white wine, but sweet white wine would work well also). Beat again and then pour the egg mixture into a medium sized bowl.

    Beat the egg whites until they hold soft peaks and remove to a separate bowl.

    Beat the cold heavy cream until soft peaks form.

    Then gently fold the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture, and follow by folding in the beaten heavy cream. This is your mousse. 

    Lay broken savoyarde biscuits at the bottom of individual serving dishes.

    Spoon strawberries over the biscuits and let the wine berry juice drain over the biscuits as well.

    Ladle the mousse over the berries, and decorate the top of the mousse with berries and slices of kiwi. You can serve this mousse immediately, but if you refrigerate it for at least a couple of hours, it has a chance to marinate and become a luscious texture. It's even great the next day. Enjoy!!

 Serves 4

Wine Mousse

Ingredients

• 12 strawberries
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 8 tablespoons dry white wine
• 1 kiwi, peeled
• 4 egg yolks, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons dry white wine
• 4 egg whites, room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartare
• 1 cup cold heavy cream
• 12 savoyard biscuits (hard lady fingers)

Cooking Directions

1. Wash the strawberries, core them, and slice them again into smaller pieces. Place them in a bowl, sprinkle the sugar and white wine over them and toss. Reserve.
2. Slice the kiwi and reserve.
3. Beat the 4 egg yolks until pale yellow and fluffy. Add in the cup sugar and beat about 3 minutes. Add the 2 tablespoons white wine, beat to incorporate, and remove the egg yolk mixture to a medium size bowl.
4. Beat the 4 egg whites with 1/4 teaspoon of cream of tartare until they hold soft peaks. Reserve in another bowl.
5. Beat 1 cup cold heavy cream until it holds soft peaks. Reserve.
6. Gently fold the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture until blended, taking care to preserve the air and volume of the mixture. Then gently fold in the whipped cream until blended.
7. To assemble, break the savoyard biscuits to fit into the bottom of individual serving bowls. Spoon the strawberries and strawberry juice over the biscuits. Spoon wine mousse over the strawberries.
8. To decorate: arrange some of the strawberries over the top along with a slice of kiwi and serve or refrigerate until ready to serve.

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A Platter Of Artichokes & Asparagus

 

 

 

 

Just below the Spanish Steps in Rome is a restaurant where the ladies who are shopping the chic next few streets stop in for a lunch of steamed vegetables drizzled with a bit of olive oil and lemon.

    I can imagine them, on this sunny warm day, drifting in to this one restaurant for its spring vegetables. Although casual, the atmosphere is draped with white tablecloths and sparkled by shimmers of wine glasses catching the sun. 

    At this time of year, Rome is adored for its tender, baby purple artichokes and pencil thin asparagus--as thin as the ladies lifting them to their lips. A couple of hours north in the city of Nice, vendors in the Cours Saleya open air market stand before carefully arranged pyramids of tiny purple tipped artichokes, so tender you barely need to cook them.

    I could only find large artichokes today, so I am going to prepare them with more attention to cooking them till they are soft, and less to munching on tender raw leaves!

 

    What's the best way to clean an artichoke? The way I do it is to lay a clean tea towel on a kitchen counter, hold the stem end of the artichoke with one hand, and with a sharp knife slice off the top third of the bulb then begin to pare away the outside skin of the stem and cut away the bottom of the stem when it begins to feel stiff. Rub the outside with lemon to keep all from browning.

    Then I peel off all of the exterior tough leaves until I get to the softer inside leaves. 

    As I clean each artichoke I drop it into a big bowl of water that I have added the juice of one lemon to. This will keep them from browning before I want to use them.

    Then take each spear of asparagus and snap off the ends where they break easily to get rid of the woody ends. With your sharp paring knife, or a vegetable peeler, clean off the outer skin of each asparagus spear. 

    I cook the artichokes and asparagus (see directions below) and reserve them till cool.

    When the artichokes are cool to the touch, slice them vertically and very carefully scoop out the fuzzy interior.

    Next, I make a quick mixture (chopped parsley, lemon peel and garlic) and whizzzzz it in a food processor with extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice.

    This is the puree that I put in a bowl to dip the vegetables in. I reserve about 1/2 cup and add 1/2 cup more of olive oil to make a liquid dressing to drizzle over the vegetables as well. (Today I had spring ramp leaves to add to the puree which was amazing!)    

    I place each vegetable on a serving plate, cover with the parsley lemon oil, and place in a cool place until ready to serve so that the vegetables have at least an hour to marinate. I can't tell you how easily this dish transports me back to that restaurant beneath the Spanish Steps in Rome! 

A Platter of Artichokes & Asparagus

Ingredients

• 1 lemon
• 2 artichokes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 bunch asparagus
• 1 bunch parsley, leaves not stalks
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 lemon, zested and juice reserved
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil, for parsley puree
• 1/4 cup reserved water from cooking vegetables
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil to thin out puree

Cooking Directions

1. Add lemon juice and halves to a bowl of cold water, squeezing the halves to release more juice.
2. Clean artichokes: place a sturdy kitchen towel on your counter to use to anchor the artichokes as you clean them. Hold the stem of an artichoke and cut off the top third of the artichoke and discard. Bend back its outer leaves until they snap off close to base (keep stem attached). Work your way down to the pale yellow tender leaves. Pare off the outer skin of the artichoke stem.
3. Immediately drop the artichokes into the lemon water as you finish them to keep them from browning.
4. Find a small enough sauce pot so that the artichokes can stand up in it with the stems pointing upwards, then fill the pot with 1 cup water and 1 cup of the lemon water, salt and pepper.
5. Simmer the artichokes, with a lid on the pot, for about minutes, or until fork tender.
6. Lift the artichokes out of the water and place on a plate to cool. Reserve the liquid.
7. Cut off the woody ends of your asparagus then, with a vegetable peeler, very gently peel away the skin of the aspargus and drop the spears into the lemon water.
8. When the artichokes are cool enough to touch, place them on your kitchen tea towel so they don't slip and carefully slice each one vertically in half.
9. Very gently scoop out and throw away the fuzzy center bits. Reserve the artichoke halves.
10. In a skillet, place enough water to barely cover all the asparagus and simmer them very quickly in the same water reserved from cooking the artichokes and cook just until they are barely tender, approximately 3 minutes. Remove and cool. Reserve the cooking liquid to use in the dressing.
11. Make the dressing: in a food processor, add the parsley, garlic, lemon zest, juice from one lemon, and whiz until well blended. Then very slowly drip in the olive oil until you make achieve a smooth consistency.
12. Remove the parsley lemon puree to a small bowl and whisk in more olive oil until you achieve a liquid dressing to pour over the artichokes and asparagus. Test the flavor first and add more lemon juice or salt to taste. Ladle into a bowl so that you can dip the vegetables in before eating, and reserve 1/4 cup to make a salad dressing to drizzle over the vegetables by adding more olive oil until you reach a consistency you like.
13. Arrange the artichokes and asparagus on a serving platter, drizzle the parsley lemon dressing over, and serve.

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Ruby Melon Soup

    Alchemy is about taking something ugly or considered of little value and making something beautiful or valuable out of it. Consider the humble beet. A root vegetable with exquisite flavor, but just begging for the wave of a wand and a little magic.

    I had these 3 organic beets and 1 cantaloupe--- and then I remembered a day when I was sailing in the Caribbean on a huge yacht as a guest of a friend of a friend. Lucky me! The yacht was called Mirabelle, and it was sleek and modern and, for a foodie, it was sheer heaven with a large galley and two decks with dining areas.

    However, there was a chef on board. A wonderful chef that conjured up magic with sometimes less than beautiful produce she found in island markets. I remembered one meal she made for us. A cold, refreshing cantaloupe soup followed by large shrimp she had grilled over charcoal on the barbeque she attached to the aft railing. She served us the soup in shooter glasses, and the shrimp ringing a bowl of her version of guacamole. We were meant to dip the shrimp into the guacamole and eat them that way. Magic. She waved her wand again and unveiled a simple one layer chocolate cake in the shape of a heart. It was light as air and had a flavor as deep as the sea we were gently rocking on.

    Long story short, I remembered falling under the spell of the chilled soup. 

    So I took my 3 humble beet roots and 1 cantaloupe and decided to make a chilled soup. 

    I sliced the beet roots and cooked them in water with their skins on. When they were tender, the skins slipped right off and I popped them in the food processor.

    Whizzzzzzz, a dash of salt, a little sugar. What next? I had a small container of Greek yogurt, so that was whizzzzzzzzed in as well. Delightful. 

    Next, I took one slice of the cantaloupe, diced it, and tossed it in oil and vinegar.

     Soup's on!

    I so loved this soup and the way it turned out that I wanted to share it with you. Children would love it. It is elegant enough to serve for a dinner party. It is healthy, and it costs pennies per serving. Above all, it was magical.

Ruby Melon Soup

Ingredients

• 3 fresh beets
• 1 cantaloupe
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt (for the vinaigrette)
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt (for the beet mixture)
• 4 teaspoons sugar
• 6 ounces Greek yogurt

Cooking Directions

1. Wash and slice your beets. There is no need to peel them. Place them in a pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Simmer until the beets are fork tender.
2. In the meantime, slice a piece of cantaloupe, cut off the skin, and dice the melon.
3. In a small bowl, whisk the olive oil, vinegar and salt.
4. Toss the diced cantaloupe in the oil and vinegar mixture and reserve.
5. When the beets are cooked, make sure to reserve the red beet liquid they are cooking in by draining it off into a separate bowl.
6. Peel the beets and place them in a food processor.
7. Add 2 cups of the red beet liquid and blend until very smooth.
8. Add the salt and sugar and blend again.
9. Add the container of Greek yogurt and blend well.
10. Ladle the ruby red beet soup into 2 bowls, place a small mound of the cantaloupe in the center of each bowl, and serve.

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Green Tea Creme Caramel

 
  Although it is cold today, flowers are blooming in central park. Daffodils and purple hyancinth and white tulips. And as I walked this morning under a cherry tree in full bloom, the wind picked up and a shower of sweet pink and white petals fell around me like a swirl of snowflakes in a blizzard. 

    It is spring. Finally! And I am euphoric. I am swept up by cherry blossoms in one of my favorite cities in the world (NYC), and I am staying with family where there is a kitchen to play in just steps from great food markets. I have a long list of dishes I want to make for them while I am here, but during a conversation last night about a food truck they suggested I try that makes Green Tea Creme Caramel---I was taken with the idea of making one.

    I wasn't able to find green tea powder, which I thought might give the most flavor to the creme caramel, but I came back with organic green tea bags and, after experimenting steeping them in milk, found that using green tea bags works beautifully. Some of the tea leaves escaped into the milk giving it a sublime color and flavor boost. It took about 15 minutes to achieve a fresh, green tea taste.

    Tea and flowers and perfume have fragrances able to evoke feelings of contentment and happiness, which is probably why they are so treasured. As the milk and tea simmered, it released an aroma both floral and green that still lingered throughout the kitchen after the creme caramel was finished baking.

    All that needed to be added were a few well beaten eggs.

    To make the caramel, I melted a cup of sugar until it bubbled and turned a lacquered mahogany, then swirled it in the bottom and along the sides of a souffle dish. 

    All that was left to do was to mix the eggs into the green tea milk, pour it into the souffle dish, lay the souffle dish in a water bath, and put it in the oven to bake.

        I went back to the park and when no one was looking scooped up some cherry blossom branches that had fallen. When I serve my family my Green Tea Creme Caramel tonight, I am going to bring out a small bouquet of the cherry blossoms to celebrate spring, our being together in NYC again, and our sharing what began as their suggestion and turned into my obsession. 

 

Green Tea Creme Caramel

Special equipment: souffle dish

Ingredients

• 4 cups whole milk
• 5 green tea bags
• 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 6 whole eggs
• 1 egg white
• 1 cup sugar

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.
2. In a medium saucepan, heat 4 cups of whole milk. When the milk is warm, drop in 5 green tea bags. Simmer the milk and tea bags for about 15 minutes to allow the tea to steep in the milk to develop flavor.
3. Whisk in the sugar and allow to dissolve. Whisk in the vanilla essence. Set aside off the heat.
4. In a glass or stainless steel bowl, whisk together 6 whole eggs and 1 egg white. Set aside.
5. In a medium saucepan, heat 1 cup sugar and allow it to melt. Use a wooden spoon to stir it at the end when it has liquified, just to break up any small bits of sugar. Then leave to cook again until it starts to bubble and has taken on a lovely mahogany color.
6. Very, very carefully pour the hot sugar liquid into your souffle mold so as not to burn your hands, and then pick up the mold and carefully swirl the hot sugar liquid across the bottom and around the sides of the mold---again, taking care not to burn yourself. The sugar should solidify into a glossy hard mahogany coating.
7. At this point, pour some hot water into a baking pan large enough to hold your souffle mold. Fill it about 1-2 inches. This is the water bath your souffle dish will be lowered into and then baked in the oven.
8. Now pour the green tea milk into the beaten eggs and mix well. Then pour this mixture into the souffle mold, put the mold in the pan of hot water and place the pan in the oven.
9. Cook the green tea creme caramel for an hour or more. Typically, this recipe should cook for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes. You'll want to take it out when the center jiggles just a little when you shake the pan.
10. Cool, then put in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or until chilled throughout. Serve.

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Ode to Hollandaise Sauce

 

    I closed my eyes and opened my mouth to the oyster shell being introduced to my mouth. A cool plump oyster with a dollop of warm lemony hollandaise sauce slid down onto my tongue and I savored every taste sensation with delight. 

    Who knew? Hollandaise sauce on top of an oyster? But that day, when I was a child, my father lit the spark for a my enduring love for this heart-stopping sauce. Even though as an adult I tend to cook on the healthier side of the food equation, there are two or three celebratory occasions every year when I whip up a lovely custardy sauce to spoon over poached fish or a poached egg.

     Everything tastes better with a good hollandaise. Everything dies with a badly made one. Vegetables get a kick being dunked in it. If you add garlic you have an aioli to die for. In fact, this last weekend when I was giving a brunch class, my students wanted to know what else they could do with the basic hollandaise I had just taught them.

    So I am going to share with you the basic sauce and then offer some interesting renditions! Hollandaise is made with only four ingredients to begin with: egg yolks, melted butter, lemon juice, and salt---and it is an almost perfect blank canvas to color with added flavors. So here we go.

    You can use a bain marie, or simply take a skillet and fill it with about two inches of water and bring to a simmer.  

    In a smaller heat proof bowl or smaller pot, place 4 room temperature egg yolks and begin to whisk by hand. Your smaller bowl or pot will be placed in the simmering water, but don't let the water below boil. Whisk the egg yolks until they gain a light lemon color and begin to thicken a bit. Keep whisking. Then begin to slowly stream in the hot melted butter (1 stick or 8 tablespoons) while you continue to whisk. As soon as you see your sauce thickening up, take it off the heat and keep whisking. Then put it back on the heat and whisk. This back and forth motion ensures it won't cook too quickly and it allows you to control the consistency of the sauce. Only when you reach the consistency you want do you then introduce fresh lemon juice and salt to taste (about 5 minutes).

    I like mine lemony, so for 4 egg yolks I will add in two tablespoons of lemon juice and a pinch of salt. And there you have it. Hollandaise sauce.

    Renditions: 

    1. Caesar Salad Hollandaise Sauce: mash in a mortar and pestle 2 anchovy filets and a clove of garlic, then whisk into your sauce. You can shower freshly grated Parmesan over the sauce as well.

    2. Red Wine Hollandaise Sauce: use only 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of red wine (more to taste). This sauce is excellent over a grilled steak.

    3. Classic Bernaise Sauce:  heat 1/4 cup white wine, 1/4 cup white vinegar, 1 shallot minced, and a handful of fresh minced tarragon leaves. Bring to boil and simmer for 4 minutes. Cool then add to the hollandaise sauce.

    4. Chipotle Hollandaise Sauce: drain out 1 tablespoon of the sauce from a can of chipotles in Adobe. Whisk into your hollandaise---excellent over a Mexican or Latin inspired brunch dish with poached eggs.

    5. Mousseline Sauce: whisk in whipped cream into the hollandaise sauce and slather over fish fillets. I sometimes run them under the broiler so that the sauce bubbles and browns slightly.

    6. Orange Hollandaise Sauce: zest in orange peel and substitute the lemon juice with fresh orange juice.

    Have I enticed you? On my birthday or special occassions, it is still a platter of plump oysters and a duo of Hollandaise sauce and Mignonette sauce to top them that sets the tone for celebration. Oh, and a glass of champagne is always nice too!

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Shopping Open Air Markets in the South of France

 

     Don't rush. Let's enjoy our breakfast, he said. The papers were laid out. A fresh baguette from the bakery up the hill. Bees were humming around the jar of honey and the sugar-sweet fragrance from my fruit basket was intoxicating. 

    So I poured coffee from the thermos, plopped two sugar cubes and milk into the cup, and dove into a basket for a pain au chocolate---it was warm enough that the chocolate had melted inside and it was scrumptious and oozing with bitter chocolate.

     We dallied our way down to the village and parked the car. I had my wicker shopping basket under my arm. He had his camera. The light was beautiful.

    Every stall you pass, in an open air market in the south of France, is like opening a present. A total delight. Sometimes I forget I'm looking at food---it's more like looking at paintings, only they smell divine.

    I hear each click from his camera ahead of me. I pull out my camera and take my own. His are of walnut faces, browned by years in the sun. Mine are of sea-green doorways and billowing lace curtains.

    When I find something I love, like fresh purple garlic, I stuff it into my basket as if I've won a trophy. I buy local, without much effort, because the markets around me are populated by local farmers. Even if I shop at the beautiful open air market in St. Tropez, a couple of hours away, I am still buying local produce that is grown around St. Tropez or that comes down in little jitneys from farms up in the mountains and hills surrounding the village that morning. All fresh. One stall wouldn't be able to compete with the next if it wasn't the very best they could offer.

    Bouquets of radishes and carrots, a still life set beside a purple cabbage. The Dutch would have painted a dew drop on a leaf, and a little lady bug on the shelf below. Me? I'm thinking salad.

     Oh, the baby Cavaillon mellons! I can smell them yards away. Yes, please! 

    And the strawberries! I take four to make fresh jam the next day and keep some to eat on the way home. 

    Even though my garden is full of ripe tomatoes, I can never get enough or eat enough. We'll be having a lot of tomatoes this week!

 

    And in the Nice market, I know I can find the freshest anchovies, because they literally scoop them up out of the sea along the coast and bring them to the market within minutes. 

    But open air markets in the south of France aren't just about food. There's the odd hat or two! Saucy hand woven baskets. Richly colored cloths for the table. And the sound of music, laughter, and church bells chiming. It is an event. Even my dogs know market days, waiting by the front door with anticipation.

    Let's not rush back. Let's get a coffee! 

    Yes, I said. I knew the routine. We'd make a trip now to his favorite patisserie. We'd carry our box to a table at a cafe. We'd tuck the dogs under our table to sleep. And we'd share each morsel of abundantly beautiful pastries. That's what shopping in the open air markets in the south of France is all about.

 

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About Paper Napkins

 

    I write down almost every meal I have ever enjoyed in my diary. And I have a lot of diaries stacked on the bookshelf. Some meals were remembered on the back of a paper napkin, which I then tucked into my diary. Some were remembered from a wine label soaked off, dried, and kept as a memento.

    And then there were those to be forgotten, yet were remembered. As in the meal my friend's mother cooked for us one day when I was in my teens. Evaporated milk from a can was the main ingredient of the dessert she made for us. Onto our plates, right before our eyes, a can of peas was emptied. Then a can of tuna. Then a can of french fried onions, which his mother crushed in her hands and sprinkled on top. 

    My friend grew up eating out of a can. It is for this reason that I take such great pleasure cooking for him, because when I do he is delighted at having something to eat that wasn't out of a can. And this is the long explanation of why I decided to make him a home cooked meal for his birthday. It didn't take very long, other than preparing the eggplant the night before, and it was absolutely delicious paired with a good Bordeaux and candle light.

    I ran out of room in my diary, so I saved the recipe as I developed it on the back of a big paper napkin......because it turned out to be a meal to be remembered.

    The first part is to marinate eggplant slices overnight in the refrigerator in a slightly sweet honey thyme bath. 

    When you are ready to prepare the dish, allow yourself about half an hour. You will want to make a fresh raw tomato sauce to circle the dish with, and a simple breadcrumb crust to top the filet mignon with.

    This dish is not the most beautiful dish I have ever made, but it is by far one of the most delicious and satisfying. The sizzling crust on the top of the filet mignon has a kick of mustard and crushed peppercorns. The filet is butter tender. The eggplant layer below is custardy and aromatic. And the fresh tomato sauce surrounding it all is a stunning reminder of how good a raw tomato sauce can be.

    Good food is a gift to be shared and enjoyed together. I hope my friend liked his homemade birthday gift. I enjoyed his smile across the table and sharing it with him.

Serves Two

Printable Recipe

Filet Mignon with Candied Eggplant

Candied Eggplant

Ingredients

• 2 small eggplant, washed and pat dry
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 3 teaspoons honey
• 4 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Cooking Directions

1. Slice the eggplants into 1/8 inch slices.
2. In a saucepan, heat the olive oil and add the eggplant slices to cook them on high for about 2 minutes on each side or until they are lightly browned.
3. In another saucepan, add the vinegar, honey, water, thyme leaves, salt and cinnamon and bring to a boil.
4. Lay the eggplant slices in a large dish and pour the honey vinegar sauce over them. Allow to cool, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight or for 24 hours.

Fresh Raw Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

• 2 Roma tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Cooking Directions

1. Slice the Roma tomatoes and add them to a food processor.
2. Whizz until pureed.
3. Hold a fine sieve over a bowl and pour the tomato mixture into the sieve, then using a spoon, press the tomato mixture through the sieve so that you have tomato liquid in the bowl.
4. Add the olive oil, vinegar, and sea salt and whisk well.

Crust For Filet Mignons

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons breadcrumbs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Grey Poupon Dijon mustard
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon crushed black or pink peppercorns

Filet Mignons

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 6 ounce to 8 ounce filet mignons

Cooking Directions

1. Heat the olive oil until it is very hot in a saute pan then add the filet mignons and cook for 1 minute each side to brown. Reserve.

To Assemble The Dish:

Ingredients

• 2 Plates (warmed) and fresh thyme to garnish

Cooking Directions

1. Heat the broiler of your oven.
2. Put a dollop of the crust on top of the filets mignons and run them under the broiler until the crust is sizzling and golden brown. Remove.
3. Remove the eggplant slices from the oven and overlap the slices on each plate in the center.
4. Place the filet mignon on top of the eggplant slices.
5. Spoon the fresh raw tomato sauce around the eggplant and serve.

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Thank you, enjoy!