Fennel Chops with Tomato-Mushroom Sauce and Gnocchi

 

They really look like lamb chops, don't they?  It's actually a vegetarian dish.  And it's delicious.  Also a great way to use all these mushroom cans that sprouted in my pantry!!

Here we go:

2 fennel bulbs, trimmed, cut into 3/4-inch slices and cored

1/2 cup fine bread crumbs

1/2 cup finely ground Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup chopped parsley

2 eggs

1/2 cup flour

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 onion, diced

1/2 teaspoon Herbes de Provence

3 large garlic cloves, diced

3 small cans button mushrooms, drained and coarsely chopped

1 can chopped tomatoes with juice

1 can water

1/4 cup tomato paste

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 cup gnocchi, cooked for 1 minute in salted boiling water

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese for serving

Salt and pepper

    Boil the fennel wedges in salted water for 15 minutes or until soft.  Drain well and cool.

Make the tomato sauce:  In a 3-quart saucepan, cook the onion and herbes de Provence in the olive oil until brown.  Add the garlic and cook a minute.  Add the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the tomatoes and their juice, water, tomato paste, oregano, bay leaf and parsley.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Adjust seasonings.

In a large bowl or small baking pan, mix the bread crumbs, Parmesan and 1/2 cup parsley.  

In another bowl or pan, beat the eggs.  Place the flour in a third dish.

Dip the cooled fennel wedges or slices in the flour, then the egg and finally the bread crumb mixture.  Place in a single layer on a small baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. (Maybe made 3 hours ahead.)

    In a non-stick frying pan, heat the last 2 tablespoons of olive oil and cook the fennel "chops" in two batches.  Reserve the cooked ones in a 300°F. oven.

    Quickly brown the gnocchi in the same pan for a minute or two.

    Spoon some tomato sauce in a middle of each plate.  Arrange 3 "chops" on top of the sauce and sprinkle with the seared gnocchi and Parmesan cheese.

 

Red Dahl Soup a la Steve

Steve and I have known each other from our days at Williams-Sonoma.  We've shared many food talks over the years but the last one was pretty good. We hadn't talked in almost 3 years and he told me again about his fantastic red lentil soup recipe.  And again, I didn't write it down..  Well, I didn't even write it down when I finally made it!!  But basically, it is one of the best 5 recipes Steve has shared with me in the last 25 years we've known each other.

So from I can remember from making it 2 weeks ago, here is the recipe.  I still have some in the freezer.  Can't wait.  Thank you Steve.  You rock.

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
2 cups chopped carrots
2 cups chopped cauliflower 
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped Swiss chard stems
5 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon mild curry powder
1/2 teaspoon each garam masala, cumin, coriander and turmeric
1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt
2 cups corail lentils ( red lentils), rinsed and drained
1 can coconut milk
1 can chopped tomatoes with juice
1/2 cup golden raisins
6 to 8 cups vegetable broth
1 cup chopped Swiss chard leaves

In a large 8-quart stockpot, heat the oil and add the chopped vegetables.  Cook over medium heat until soft and lightly browned.  Add the spices and salt and stir well, cooking for a couple minutes.  Add the lentils, coconut milk, tomatoes, raisins and broth and cook for 20 minutes or until all is soft.  Add the chard leaves and cook for 5 more minutes.  Adjust seasonings.

Lu Capounata (wanna be stuffed cabbage)

Nowadays, I seem to use Instagram exclusively to post recipes and my culinary adventures.  Today, I thought I would come back here for a bit and write the recipe on my blog just to see if any of you will come to visit... :-)

On Sunday, I went to a cool little monthly farmers market in town and bought this huge green cabbage!  This morning I decided to make some stuffed cabbage rolls or as we call them here Lu Capoun.  You have to par-boil the cabbage leaves and evidently, I got busy with things, over-cooked the leaves and they fell apart when it was time to stuff them… oh well, I decided to layer everything in a pan and bake it, kind of like a lasagna.  It was delicious! I called it Lu Capounata! Easier and a hit with the family.  :-)

1 head of green cabbage, large leaves separated and boiled for 10 minutes (I used the inside small leaves in a vegetable soup)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 white onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 pound ground beef

1 slice Prosciutto, diced

1/4 cup white rice, cooked

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided use

3/4 cup grated Swiss cheese, divided use

3 eggs

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 cups tomato sauce or tomato coulis

3 tablespoons bread crumbs

1 tablespoon butter

    In the pan you used to boil the cabbage leaves, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook until lightly browned.  Add the garlic and cook stirring for a minute.  Add the beef and season with salt and pepper.  Cook until the meat is almost cooked through.  Add the Prosciutto and cook for another minute.  Remove from the heat and add half of the cheeses and eggs.  Mix well.  I could have added some chopped parsley but didn't have any...

   Lightly oil a large gratin dish (or a 9x13-inch baking dish), layer the leaves and meat until done (You should have about 3 layers of each).  Top with the tomato sauce, the other half of the cheeses and the bread crumbs.  Dot with butter and bake at 375 degrees F for 45 minutes.  Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting into squares and serve.

Serves 6

More pictures on my Instagram... califrenchcuisine

 

Normandie.... I can't keep up with myself!!!

 I'm going too fast and seeing too many beautiful things!  I take about 150 pictures everyday and I get to wherever I'm staying and I'm too tired to go through them, write a story and decide which pictures to post... but now here is a recap of my time in Normandie...

September 29: Went to Vernon along the Seine with its famous mill and chateau des Tourelles.  Both painted by Monet.  Then on to Giverny to visit the Musee des Impressionistes and of course, les jardins de Giverny, house of the famous painter.

Septembre 30: Visited le Chateau de Richard Coeur de Lion ou Chateau Gaillard in the Andelys.  Great visit and history and beautiful view of La Seine and the town of Andelys.

Headed to Rouen.  Gorgeous Cathedrale, beautiful clock and architecture.  Had an amazing lunch at the one Michelin star restaurant, L'Odas.

And finally, on to the falaises d'Etretat!  I walked up and down to discover this beautiful coastal part of France.  Didn't know there are holes at the bottom of these giant rocks.  You can walk through several bays and beaches. 

October 1: Another beautiful day, even got a little bit of sunshine and rain..., visiting Honfleur and Trouville, next to Deauville.  Beautiful normande coastal towns.  Had a great lunch with oysters from Isigny, famous for its butter as well.  Bought some cider and calvados!  Land of the apple here... 

On to Caen, with Guillaume le Conquerant (William the Conqueror) and its abbaye, l'Abbaye-aux-Hommes.  Didn't get a chance to visit his wife abbaye though or much of everything else.  A town rich in history to come back to.

October 2:  There was a terrible storm all night long.  Lots of rain and wind.  Many branches on the ground this morning when I left at 7:30am trying to catch the 1st hightide at the Mont Saint Michel.  Mission accomplished!  Beautiful abbaye, conception of the whole mount and history.  It's a big tourist trap place though.  Don't do the 4 museums packages.  Actually one of the building was closed because of the storm, still 18 euros.  And not much more you learn from the pamphlet of the abbaye.  Maybe yes if you like old boat "maquettes" in the Marine "museum".  The Abbaye is 11 euros and worth it.  There's also a residence to visit which I didn't do but I did eat the 38 euros omelet from La Mere Poulard!  A couple of the locals told me not to do it but I had to!  The omelet was good, different, cooked in the hearth with butter.  You can watch the guy beat the crap out of the eggs while making music and cook it in the fire.  You actually don't have to pay for that if you just want to watch.  The service sucked though.  I think they bought their Michelin dots.  Well for the price of the omelet, they can.

I roamed around for about 6 hours, did 10 kms and watched the high and low tides.  It was kind of magic. It was a dream come through.