Grilled Fennel Salad

Grilled fennel and purple onions, simply dressed with lemon juice and olive oil, make a lovely fresh salad.

When I was a young girl, I didn’t know anyone with a food allergy.   By the time my own babies came along and grew to school-age, a couple of their classmates were mildly allergic to nuts.   Now it seems like allergies and intolerances are rampant and many have become life-threatening.  Which is rather scary.  I am in awe of the parents who work hard to make life normal for those children, working on recipes that eliminate the offending ingredients but still taste great.

Our host for this week’s Sunday Supper , Bea of The Not So Cheesy Kitchen, is one such mom.  Her daughters cannot eat milk sugar (lactose) in any form, so her blog is a fabulous dairy-free resource with delicious recipes.  Most posts include photos of her adorable daughters offering their opinion on the dishes with one or two thumbs up, which means that Bea’s recipes are not only healthy but kid-friendly and approved.  Which, I am sure you will agree, is very important to a successful Sunday Supper.

This week the Sunday Supper group explores “free-from” recipes, so there are tasty options for everyone, no matter what their food allergies or diet restrictions.

Ingredients
1 large or 2-3 small fennel bulbs, preferably with some fronds
1 small purple onion
Olive oil
Juice of half a lemon
Sea salt
Black pepper

Method
Cut the frond off of the fennel bulbs and set aside.  Trim the tough stems and discard.  Now cut the bulbs from top to bottom into slices which are a little skinnier than half an inch or 1 cm thick.

Slice the onion very thinly.

Put the onion in your salad bowl and sprinkle with sea salt.  Squeeze over the juice of your lemon.  Set aside.  This will take some of the sharpness out of the raw onion.

Heat your griddle pan till it is searing hot.  Lay the fennel slices on the griddle and weigh them down with something heavy, like a full kettle.  Cook for three to four minutes or until the fennel softens just slightly and there are lovely char marks on one side.

Turn the fennel slices over and weigh them down again.  Cook for another three or four minutes, making sure to get some charred lines on the other side.

Remove the fennel to a cutting board and allow to cool.

Chop the grilled fennel up and add it to the salad bowl.

Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper.  Give the whole thing a good stir and add more salt, pepper and olive oil to taste.

Top with the chopped fennel fronds.

I served this alongside the smothered pork chops and potatoes from my recent Mothers' Day post.     It is a great fresh complement to a rich meal.

Enjoy!

Have a look at all the wonderful "free from" recipes this week.  It's a fabulous round up of flavor!

Breakfast

• Dairy, Egg, Gluten, Nut & Soy Free Brown Rice Breakfast Pudding by girlichef
• Dairy & Nut and Sugar Free Blueberry Tangerine Muffins by Vintage Kitchen
• Dairy, Egg, Gluten, Nut, and Soy Free Homemade Mango Jam Recipe by Masala Herb
  
  

Main Courses

• Gluten Free Nothing Missing Manicotti by Jane’s Adventures in Dinner
• Gluten Free Sun-Dried Tomato & Feta Meatballs over Courgette Noodles bySmall Wallet, Big Appetite
• Gluten Free Pizza by Cravings of a Lunatic
• Dairy, Egg & Nut Free Balsamic Portobello Burgers by Curious Cuisinere
• Dairy, Egg, Gluten & Nut Free Mushroom Risotto Bake by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Gluten Free Enoki Mushroom & Pine Nut Quinoa by Family Foodie
• Dairy, Egg & Gluten Free Vegan Mac and “Cheese” by Webicurean
• Dairy, Egg & Nut Free Creamy Mushrooms on Pasta by The Not So Cheesy Kitchen
  
  

Sides

• Gluten Free Persian Cucumber Yogurt by Shockingly Delicious
• Gluten Free Quinoa with Olives, Basil and Sun-dried Tomatoes by That Skinny Chick Can Bake!!!
• Dairy Free Farro and Fruit Salad by Magnolia Days 
• Dairy, Egg, Gluten & Dairy Free Fattoush Salad by From the Bookshelf
• Gluten Free Chickpea Fritters by The Lovely Pantry
• Dairy, Egg, and Gluten Free Black Bean and Mango Salad by Soni’s Food
• Dairy, Egg, Gluten, and Nut Free Grilled Fennel Salad by Food Lust People Love
  
  

Breads

• Dairy & Gluten Free French Bread by Blueberries and Blessings
• Dairy & Gluten Free Crunchy Almond Sesame Crackers by Sue’s Nutrition Buzz
  
  

Treats

• Dairy & Gluten Free Individual Chocolate Pavlovas by The Girl in The Little Red Kitchen
• Gluten Free Flourless Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies by Juanita’s Cocina
• Dairy, Egg & Gluten Free Apple Almond Butter Cookies by What Smells So Good?
• Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies with Almond Flour by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Nut Free Lemon Cardamom Wedding Cookies by Gourmet Drizzles
• Dairy Free Chocolate Gelato by Growing Up Gabel 
• Dairy, Egg, Gluten & Sugar Free Cantaloupe, Strawberry, & Coconut Gazpacho by Peanut Butter and Peppers
• Gluten Free Meringue Kisses with Dulce de Lece by Basic N Delicious
• Dairy & Egg Free Vegan Everyday Chocolate Loaf by Gotta Get Baked
• Gluten, Dairy, and Nut Free Coconut Macaroons by Happy Baking Days
• Dairy, Egg, Gluten & Soy Free Tastes like Chocolate Ice Cream by Cookistry
• Gluten Free Mousse & Cookies by Ninja Baking
• Gluten Free Brown Butter Snickerdooles by Pies and Plots
• Dairy, Egg & Soy Free Chai Spice Coconut Ice Cream by Daily Dish Recipes
• Gluten Free Lemonade Dip by The Messy Baker
• Nut & Fat Free Chocolate Angel Food Cake by Table for Seven

Drinks

• Gluten & Dairy Free Honey Bear Smoothies by Neighborfood
• Sugar Free Strawberry Meyer Lemonade by The Weekend Gourmet
  

Garlic Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Pasta

It’s summer time and the tomatoes are easy!  Actually, the eggplants are here in abundance as well.  As you all know roasting vegetables concentrates their flavors and adds a hint of smokiness that enhances everything under the sun.  Here’s a simple dish that is tons tastier than the effort required to make it.  Because it is made from the ripest tomatoes and the sweetest baby eggplant brushed with garlic-infused olive oil and roasted until sticky and intense.  Just toss them with pasta to spread the love.

Ingredients

11 small eggplants

Sea salt
2-3 cloves garlic

1/4 cup or 60ml olive oil plus more for greasing the baking sheet

3 medium red ripe tomatoes

10 1/2 oz or 300g your pasta of choice (I used whole wheat penne.)

Parmesan for serving (optional)

Method

Preheat our oven to 400°F or 200°C and grease your baking sheet with olive oil. 

Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise and layer them in a colander.  Sprinkle each layer with salt and leave to drain.

Mince the garlic and pop it in a small pot with the 1/4 cup or 60ml olive oil.  Heat the oil gently and remove it from the stove as soon as the garlic starts to sizzle a little bit.  You do not want it to turn brown at all.

Slice the tomatoes into thick slices and cut the little core pieces out.  Lay the slices out your greased baking sheet.

Rinse the salt and the brown stuff off of the eggplants and line them up on the baking sheet with the tomatoes.

Brush the eggplants and tomato slices with the garlic infused olive oil.  Sprinkle everything with sea salt.

Pop the baking pan in the oven and roast for 20-30 minutes or until the edges of the vegetables are turning brown.  Turn them over and brush them again with more of the garlic olive oil.  

Return the baking pan to the oven for another 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook your pasta according to package instructions in some lightly salted water.  When the pasta is boiled, reserve a cup of the pasta water and drain the rest. 

Return the pasta to the hot pot and pour the remaining garlic olive oil into the pasta and stir.

When the vegetables are done, scrape the baking pan to remove the eggplants and tomato slices and any sticky stuff you can get off of the pan as well.

Add them to the pasta pot and stir thoroughly.  

If the pasta seems dry, add a little of the reserved pasta water. Serve with some grated Parmesan, if desired.

This dish is so rich and flavorful!

Enjoy!

Soupe au Pistou #CookforJulia

Soupe au Pistou is a classic vegetable soup with a topping of tomato pesto from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child.

Julia Child’s first television show was aired in February 1963, just 19 days after yours truly made my world debut.  And yet, this woman has influenced me in tangible ways.  First off, I have learned that fear of failure has no place in the kitchen.  As Julia said, “In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude.”  Even as medical professionals were saying to avoid butter and eat lower fat margarine, I held to Julia’s belief that butter was not evil.  (And we were vindicated!)  “Everything in moderation, including moderation.”

I have learned to enjoy a glass of wine while cooking, at least on weekends.  I have learned to wing it, as if cameras were rolling, if something doesn’t go the way it should while cooking.  I have learned that we learn best by doing.  A quote from the famous fallen potato pancake episode:  “The only way you learn to flip things is just to flip them!”  Also, "every woman should have a blowtorch."  I agree, Julia, and I do!  

I have learned that a cook should never deprecate her own food.  Accept compliments graciously.  And most importantly, share.  Share food, share skills, share recipes.  Thank you, Julia Child, for doing just that.  We have been blessed by your generosity.  Long may your legacy continue!

In honor of Julia’s 100^th birthday, folks worldwide are cooking her recipes and PBS, where you can still see her shows, is celebrating one of its biggest stars.  Head over to their site and check out the recipes and cook one in honor of a great lady. 

I’ve chosen a recipe from Julia’s first and most famous book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking (mine is the 1971 edition) - a lovely summery vegetable soup finished with a sharp garlic tomato pistou that I believe honors her love of fresh produce cooked into the ultimate comfort food.   Who doesn’t feel better after a bowl of soup?

Ingredients

For the soup:

Good drizzle olive oil for sautéing vegetables

6 oz or 170g onions

7 oz or 200g carrots

10 oz or 280g potatoes

1 tablespoon salt (I used 1 tablespoon vegetable stock powder and 1 teaspoon of fine sea salt.)

7 oz or 200g fresh green beans

14 oz or 400g can cannellini beans

1 oz or 30g spaghetti or vermicelli.  (I used tagliatelle.  Because that’s what I had.)

1 slice stale white bread

A few good grinds of fresh black pepper

Pinch of saffron

For the pistou:

4 cloves garlic

4 tablespoons tomato paste

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or 1 1/2 tablespoons dried basil (I actually used 1 tablespoon dried oregano.  Can’t seem to find fresh basil this time of year in Egypt and because I love the fresh stuff, I’ve never bought dried basil.)

1 oz or 30g Parmesan cheese plus more for serving, if desired

1/4 cup or 60ml fruity olive oil

Method

Peel your onions and dice them finely.  Drizzle a little olive oil in pot big enough to hold at least 5-quarts or 4.75 liters.  Put your onions in to sweat over a low heat while you peel and chop your carrots and potatoes.

Peel the carrots and cut them into small squares.  Pop them in the pot with the onions and give it a good stir.  Give the pot another drizzle of olive oil, if it looks dry. 

Peel the potatoes and cut them into small squares.  Add them to the onion pot and stir briefly.

Add in three quarts or just under three liters of water.  Season with the salt or the stock powder and salt, if desired.  Cook over a medium heat for 30-40 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the pistou.  Put your tomato paste into a mortar with your fresh or dried herb and four cloves of garlic.  Bash it about gently until the garlic is no longer visible.

Grate your Parmesan and add it to the mortar.  Mix thoroughly. 

Add enough olive oil to loosen it up a bit – about 1/4 cup or 60ml.   Set this aside.

Top and tail your green beans and cut them into short lengths.  Crush your pasta of choice into small pieces as well.

Crumble your stale bread slice or cut it into tiny pieces with a serrated knife and rinse your cannellini beans and leave in the colander to drain.  (Sorry - forgot to take a photo of the bread!)

When you are about 20 minutes from serving, add the green beans, cannellini beans and pasta to the pot.   Give it a good stir and let it cook for a few minutes.

Add the bread and stir.  Cook for about 15 minutes.  The bread will disintegrate and thicken the broth deliciously.  If it is too thick for your taste, add a little more water. 

Season with black pepper and the pinch of saffron.

Remove some of the broth with a ladle or measuring cup and add it into the tomato pistou.   Stir to loosen. 

Some green beans slipped in.  Not a big deal.  Just try to mix without mashing them. 

Reserve two or three teaspoons of pistou (for garnish when serving) and stir the rest of it into the soup.  Taste for seasoning and add more salt, if necessary.  The Parmesan may have added enough, but it is a good idea to check before serving.

Serve each bowl topped with a reserved 1/2 teaspoon of pistou and some extra grated Parmesan, if desired.   (At our house, extra Parmesan is compulsory.)

Enjoy!  Now give this a try or go to the PBS site and choose yourself a Julia recipe!  Or at the very least, open a bottle of wine and raise a toast.  To Julia!

You might be interested in these other Julia Child recipes I have made:

Rustic Potato Bread - because there is nothing more divine that the smell of bread baking and you can't beat this potato bread for a soft crumb and crunchy crust.  No bread pan required!

and Coq au Vin with Cornish Game Hens - Julia's classic French dish with little birds

and Cherry Clafoutis - Once again, a classic French dessert.  Cherries in a eggy batter, baked to fluffy perfection.