Pink in Amsterdam

 

 

 

Ready for Gay Pride Amsterdam, with my self made Indonesian salad made with grandmom’s recipe. Curious what’s in it? Recipe soon!

Erbeta?

Anyone ever heard of erbeta (in Turkish)? It’s my experiment of the week :) the leaves look crispy and fresh, how would you prepare it?

Saving the culinary arts…

Really cool article, including a home- & handmade burek recipe

http://www.likecroatia.hr/dine-wine-cat/saving-the-culinary-arts

Burek,burek,börek,pita, strudla, savijaca

 

Thank you http://www.likecroatia.hr

Bag Lady…

Here’s a supercool recipe by one of my favourite bloggers;

Bag Lady…. Looking forward to trying this myself soon!

To my Dutch readers out here; I have never seen silicone (baking) paper, where can I buy this? I only know the brown oven paper, and Girlinafoodfrenzy explained that

The paper needs to be waxed so to prevent the juices/moisture escaping.

My Indonesian grandmom would have used bananaleaves, but those aren’t easy to find here either.

Fish in Banana Leaves

I reblogged Girlinafoodfrenzy‘s post because I already know that my pictures (and probably my fish too) will not look as beautiful as hers. Of course I’ll let you all know how my first Fish en Papilotte went! I wonder if it will be as easy as it seems…

Paški sir from Sirana Gligora – Spicy & Cheesy

I was approached (HERE somewhere ) by my Mr. Simon Kerr, of Sirana (Dairy) Gligora from Kolan on the island of Pag in Croatia. Sirana Gligora produces cheese in a generations old traditional way, from the milk of autochthonous sheep that live freely on the islands’ pastures, surrounded by aromatic herbs and breathing in the seawind which also deposits sea salt on the pastures. This ensures the produced cheeses to possess a unique scent and taste, enhanced by Pag’s salted aromatic herbs. Besides the original Paški sir (cheese), Sirana Gligora also produces a small variety of other cheeses, such as goat cheese from milk from Dalmatian goats, as well as cheese from a mixture of cows’ milk from cows from the Dalmatian hinterland with sheep cheese.

I got cheese to sample My Way .

The Trapist Kolan, a flavourful cheese, is for me the mildest of the cheeses I got from Sirana Gligora (unfortunately skuta was not possible to sample in Amsterdam right now, but skuta is actually the mildest of all. Skuta is comparable to ricotta, it’s beautiful fresh cheese and I would make-or at least attempt to make- amazing Croatian pancakes from the oven with that ). It’s perfectly accompanied by a simple homemade Indonesian Sambal Ulek. For me anything is perfectly accompanied by  Sambal ulek ;) , but the flavor of this cheese gets an extra beautiful flavour touch with it.

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The way I make a Sambal Ulek is supersimple;

• Cut 10 (or how many you have in the fridge, then just adapt the amounts to flavour.) fresh spicy red or green chilli peppers with seeds in rings if you like it HOT,

OR,

• Slice the peppers in length, take out the seeds and then slice them if you want it mild.
• Don’t forget to put on gloves! Especially if you have children or pets around, be careful! I never wear the gloves, I’m stubborn and try to use fork and knife but this is not as handy as gloves, so I have gotten spiciness in my eyes more than once.
• Place the peppers in a stone mortar or grinder, add a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of sugar and grind until everything becomes a paste.
• Stir well and add a teaspoon of good vinegar, for example Japanese rice vinegar, Croatian wine vinegar, homemade apple vinegar, whatever (but not balsamico) good vinegar you have around, if you have no vinegar in the house, some lemon juice will do.
• Add a teaspoon of sunflower oil and stir.
• Store for maximum two weeks in a clean glass jar with lid in the fridge.

Oh yeah, you don’t have such a beautiful Indonesian stone mortar or grinder? You can use a blender (or a staafmixer for the Dutch) if there’s no other way.

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I served the Trapist Kolan cut in slices with a Dutch cheese cutter (I’m a huge fan of the Dutch cheese cutter, I’ve never seen it abroad and it’s sooooo handy!) with a Brinove rakija, (comparable to a very good Dutch Jenever, the French Genevièvre, a juniper brandy), an excellent choice.

The rosemary cheese is a strong and spicy cheese, the herbs already complement the cheese beautifully. The structure of the cheese does not allow it to be cut with a Dutch cheesecutter, it crumbles. I sprinkled some dried chilli seeds over the cheese and then poured some excellent virgin Pendolino Istrian olive oil over it. My dried chilli seeds are from Gran Canaria and very, very spicy, the Dutch ones or Croatian ones would be less spicy and allow you to taste the cheese better. Great with some dry crackers or bread.

The Kozlar cheese is semi-firm and is a good goat cheese. What I imagined is true; it makes an unbelievable combination with an exotic spicy sour sweet chutney, such as a spicy Indian mango chutney. I have never made a chutney myself before yet (this one came from a jar), but I’ll let you know when I do.

Sir s tartufima (cheese with black truffels) pairs perfectly with a homemade  bread, to which some dried chilli have been added to the dough.

The original Paški sir is a perfect substitute for Parmesan cheese. It’s excellent with a good pasta, such as spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncino. I needed a much smaller quantity than what I’m used to because the cheese is so tasty and strong.

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Spaghetti Aglio, Olio e Peperoncino ; Simple, filling, yet light. Anyone can cook this, in my house it’s a favourite when lazy or when there are not many ingredients in the house. Here’s the (for 2) recipe MY Way.

• 200g spaghetti (mind you, I don’t weigh my pasta, I guess, but I’m trying to give you some measurements)
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 50ml olive oil
• 1 teaspoon (or more!) dried red chilly flakes to taste
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped flatleaf parsley
• salt and freshly grinded black pepper to taste
• Finely chop the aglio and then warm the olio until it’s hot enough to add the garlic. Make sure the oil is not too hot, this will make your garlic burn!
• Cook your pasta al dente in (enough!) salted water.
• In a saucepan, cook the garlic and olive oil on low heat. Don’t let the garlic get brown, it has to stay golden. Add the chilli., some salt and freshly grinded pepper
• When the pasta is ready, add it to the olive oil, garlic and chilli mixture.
• Serve on plates and grate the Paški sir over the plates. Decorate with the parsley.

Buon Appetito!

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The Zigljen cheese I tried pure. Gorgeous. I just simply felt like having a good piece of cheese and I was once again, not disappointed.

As a final test we cut the rosemary cheese, Trapist Kolan, Paški sir and some average Dutch cheese, made a pizza dough with some oregano picked on the island of Cres in Croatia, dried by the sea air, some amazing olive oil (yes, the virgin Istrian Pendolino again), some garlic & onion, and made a pizza (yes, without the tomato). The pizza had a thin crust and I don’t need to explain you that the combinations of these flavours were amazing, right? The cheese with rosemary seems like made for a pizza. The cheese I liked least on the pizza was the Kolan, it became slightly chewy. BUT all cheeses were still there, besides the Dutch one. We put a lot of Dutch cheese and little Croatian cheese, yet the ruling flavours were those of real cheese, with a touch of garlic and onion and herbs. I could only guess that the Dutch cheese is not made in an as natural way as the Paški sir….

I didn’t only come to conclusions of Sirana Gligora’s Paški sir, but also about spices and my love for them. The Surinam Madame Jeanette, is better eaten cooked than raw. Even for a lover of anything spicy, it’s too spicy. I prefer my Madame Jeanette in a tropical soup or a Surinam brown bean stew. I’ve tried it with some different cheeses but it’s not recommendable.

I’ve also made some random Amsterdam people try some of the cheese, all reactions were extremely positive, they all loved Sirana Gligora’s cheeses, like I do. The best comment I got when I asked about opinions was;
“This tastes like REAL cheese”.  Well that’s exactly what I thought.

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Sirana Gligora’s Paški sir is for sale in stores all over Croatia, as well as in London, The UK. Hopefully this year in Amsterdam, The Netherlands too. I’ll keep you updated about that. More info; http://www.sirena.hr/en/dairy-gligora-s1.htm

Cookingbooks or cookbooks?

I collect cookingbooks. (or cookbooks?) Anyway… books with recipes.

My French, Spanish and the Balkan languages I practise with the help of cookbooks. Yes, and (sometimes) dictionaries. I would like to have cookingbooks from as many countries as possible, but not just any cookbooks, NO, the most complete ones, with the most authentic recipes. The books that have been passed on for a generation or more already, from grandmom to daughter and so on. Even when not cooking or when not hungry, I go through my cookingbooks,  ’cause it makes me happy.

My favourites are;

Hrvatska kuharica by Mr. Gama

The Japanese Kitchen by Hiroko Shimbo

1080 recetas de cocina by Simone Ortega

Recepti sestre Nikoline

Aphrodite, a memoir of the senses by Isabel Allende

Reggae reggae cookbook by Levi Roots

Hrvatski Kolaci

My wishlist contains;

The Silver spoon but of course in Italian; Il cucchiaio d’argento, Het Groot Surinaams Kookboek, an old Dutch cookingbook (still trying to figure out which is the best…), a good Chinese cookingbook (no this one not in its own language…), the best Indonesian cookbook (don’t know which is the best yet, have a lot of smal ones which are not the best…), a good Turkish cookingbook and whatever YOU recommend me…..

What is the best cookbook/cookingbook/recipebook from your country?

Which book best represents the cuisine your country has to offer? Which book do you regularly use? Which book did your mom and grandmom use? which book from your country should I absolutely add to my collection?

Oh yeah and;

Dutch cuisine; stamppot boerenkool (potato kale mash)

Dutch cuisine is not so impressive.

It HAS been once, for sure, but people forgot about all of those stews that cooked for hours and dishes that “our” grandparents’ parents made , mostly ’cause they’re too time consuming. Forgotten ingredients are coming back, it’s not that, but we simply got lazy. In The Netherlands all world cuisines are widely represented, any ingredient is for sale in Amsterdam, but I often wonder if the flavour and the amount of nutrients and vitamins are just as high as when the ingredient is consumed where it grew, naturally, where it originates from?

Next year I’ll spend some time researching & getting into the old Dutch cuisine. For now;

Stamppot boerenkool (potato kale mash)
Boerenkool (kale) was first mentioned in cookbooks from the year 1661. (I’d love to get my hands on a copy of this book for my collection!) In 1661 mashed potatoes were not used in this dish yet, although the sausage was already served with the cabbage in this dish. The dish became popular after a few bad corn-seasons when potatoes became popular as food. Boerenkool contains a lot of carbohydrates, which makes it a popular meal for cold winter days.

for 4 persons;

• 500 grams of boerenkool/ kale, cut and cleaned. Dutch tradition is that the kale is harvested after the first night of frost. If the frost stays out you can put it in the freezer after cleaning and cutting, it will enhance the flavours of the vegetable because the sugars are relased from the leaves after being frozen.
• a kilo of potatoes, peeled and cut
• 1 smoked sausage
• some butter
• some milk
• salt and a pinch of nuttmeg.

Bring the potatoes to boil with some salt. When they are cooked you add the frozen kale and cook for a minute or 2 (or untill taste but not too long!) more. Add the milk, butter and nuttmegg and mash everything together. The Dutch traditionally make a hole in the mash on the plate in which they add some gravy. I generally make the gravy from an onion, some butter or olive oil and fried bacon or panceta, sometimes a spoon of mustard and add this over the mash. Serve with the warm smoked sausage.

Eet smakelijk.

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Magret de canard – recipe

Every since that weekend in Paris, (see here) my first trip to Paris, I occasionally crave for and dream of a nice piece of duckmeat. I have decided recently that I’ll buy a whole duck soon and will prepare it in the oven. Since duck costs € 36,- a kg over here, I decided I needed some practise (never made duck before!) before testing my skills on such an expensive piece of meat. Yesterday I went into a fine butcher in the expensive part of time and asked for some duckmeat. What they offered me was a “magret de canard” of about 400gr, google told me it’s the breast of the duck. That’s what I noticed when I unpacked it too. I’ve got many cookingbooks so combined what I thought would be tastiest (and simplest! I decided not to marinate the meat but to make a sauce.) and here’s my improvised recipe;

• Cut the fat of the duck in squares without cutting into the flesh, do diagonals all the way and again to produce squares on the fat. Leave on the side on room temperature.
• Put your oven on at 150 degrees and prepare a deep dish and tin foil for when the duck is cooked and you keep it hot while you finish the rest of the preparations.
• Cook on a high fire on the fat/skin side for 5 minutes. Do not touch for five minutes, then cook on the flesh side a further 5 minutes.( if the meat is about 2,5 cm think; its 5mins + 5 mins for it to be bloody – it tastes best bloody, but if you want it medium cook 6 mins on fat side and 7 min flesh side).
• Once your duck is done, put it in the oven & cover with the foil ( I put the meat on top of some almost roasted slices of sweet potatoe in an ovendish; amazing combination with the duck!)
• Put the fire of the pan you baked the duck in to minimum, and add some beer to the pan, continuously stirring. I decided I’d add wine to the sauce, but the French sweet dessert-wine I felt like drinking with dinner and thus bought,would make the sauce to sweet in combination with honey, so I poored some of the beer I was drinking while cooking in the pan. I added some (real!) butter, 2 table spoons of honey and 3 teaspoons of balsamic vineagar, kept stirring to use all the juices of the meat and added some thyme (which I picked & dried myself on an island in Croatia). I reduced the liquid by half to get a nice thick sauce.
• Next; Cut the duck into slices about 1cm thick, leaving the fat on there ( it tastes great) and serve with the sauce according to your liking. Some freshly grinded pepper over the meat finished it off for me.

I served the duck with some mashed potatoe,
ovenbaked sweet potatoe slices,
stir-fried crispy Pak choi with garlic
and the balsamic-honey-beer sauce and I loved it. I left it a minute too long in the oven ’cause I’m not a fan of red meat but it was lovely. I’m sure it would have been even tastier if I would have made the meat in goose- or duckfat instead of sunflower-oil.

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Wish I had leftovers for today but this small piece was just a test. Yes. I’m ready for the whole duck.

Next on my shoppinglist is Goose- or duck-fat. Anyone going to France soon & passing by Amsterdam after?

Nelumbo Nucifera – health benefits & roots-recipe

Nelumbo Nucifera (Holy Lotus)

The lotus plant grows in ponds with the flowers, stems and leaves above the water and the root below the water. The roots are rhizomes; plant stems that grow horizontally under or along the ground and often send out roots and shoots. New plants develop from the shoots. The lotus plant is in full bloom in summer. The roots are typically harvested from autumn to winter. Every part of the plant (flowers, stamens, seeds, leaves and the roots) can be used in cooking.  In Asia, the petals are sometimes used for garnish, while the large leaves are used as a wrap for food, not frequently eaten (for example, as a wrapper for zongzi). In Korea, the leaves and petals are used as a tisane. Yeonkkotcha (연꽃차) is made with dried petals of white lotus and yeonipcha (연잎차) is made with the leaves. Young lotus stems are used as a salad ingredient in Vietnamese cuisine. The rhizome called ǒu (藕) in pinyin Chinese, ngau in Cantonese, bhe in Hindi, renkon (レンコン, 蓮根 ) in Japanese, yeongeun (연근 ) in Korean, is used as a vegetable in soups, deep-fried, stir-fried, and braised dishes and the roots are also used in traditional Asian herbal medicine. Petals, leaves, and rhizome can also all be eaten raw, but there is a risk of parasite transmission it is therefore recommended that they be cooked before eating.

Some cool lotus (root) facts & health benefits of lotus (root):

• In Japan, renkon is one of the root vegetables used in tempura and kinpira style cooking. Its slices are sautéed in soy sauce, mirin (rice wine) and chili peppers. Lotus root chips are popular snacks in Japan.
• The root, popularly known as kamal kakari or bhe in India and Bangladesh, is features in variety of curry, stews, and stir-fries.
• Chinese use the root in soups, stuffing, stir-fries, etc. especially in Cantonese style cooking.
• In China, lotus seeds are eaten as snacks, in condiments and as candied.
• Lotus root is often added to a dish to help balance the oiliness and richness of fatty cuts. It is crunchy even after long hours of cooking and it does not have a strong flavour.
• The root can also be juiced raw together with radish to make a vegetable juice mix that help to alleviate internal bleeding in the stomach.
• The lotus root stops diarrhea, clears heat and improve appetite.
• Lotus roots contain much iron, vitamins B & C (100 g root provides 44 mg or 73% of daily-recommended values).
• The rich fibre content of lotus roots stimulates peristalsis and relieves constipation. Drinking 2 to 3 glasses of lotus root juice a day can stop bleeding of the esophagus an stomach (vomiting blood); bleeding of the rectum, intestines or stomach (blood in feces); nose bleeding or gum bleeding. Lotus root soup also serves similar purposes.
• Patients with high fever can drink lotus root drink cold, while those with steady temperature should drink it warm
• Lotus root is one of low calorie root vegetables. 100 g root provides 74 calories.
• Lotus rhizome is very good source of dietary fibers; 100 g flesh provides 4.9 g or 13% of daily-requirement of dietary fiber. The fiber, together with slow digesting complex carbohydrates in the root help reduce blood cholesterol, sugar, body weight and constipation conditions.

 

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As you know, I had a lotus root, to be spend quickly. Too lazy to make chips out of it (and not really a lot of oil in stock), I checked all my cooking-books and none of them had a lotus-root-recipe in them! I continued my search online where I stumbled upon lots of beautiful recipes but I challenged myself to make something filling, simple, with all the ingredients I did have in stock, without having to buy anything. Online I figured out that as long as you precook the root in some acidulated water, you can basically do anything with it,
SO HERE’S MY RECIPE:

• Peel the lotus-root and cut into slices. Aren’t they beautiful?
• To avoid the root from getting dark, immediately place the slices in a pan of water to which  you’ve added 2 teaspoons of vinegar. I immediately turned the fire on so the water could heat, while cutting the rest of the slices.
• Cook for about 20 minutes (Some recipes say 2 min., but this root was a few days old and was still crunchy after 20 min) and don’t throw the water after draining it.
• Bring a liter of water to the boil in a separate pan or in a water-cooker
• Clean 3 cloves of garlic, 2 small or 1 big onion(-s) and 2 “thumbsizes” of ginger
• Chop the onions in small pieces and fry them in sunflower oil & a bit of real butter
• when the onion is almost done, add the garlic cut in thin slices
• dd the ginger, while grating it roughly into the pan, lower the fire for the garlic not to burn, stir the spices, breathe in well. (If you have a cold, this beautiful smell should open you up!)
• Add half a teaspoon of sugar, a little bit of salt and grind some pepper roughly into the pan
• Add 4 cups of rice (for 3 or 4 people. I generally don’t measure much in the kitchen, but guess on feeling, you can change the recipe on feeling to your own liking), stir well so all flavours mix with the rice, make sure nothing burns
• Add the liquid the lotus-root has been cooked in, stir well, add the cooked lotus-root slices
• Add some of the boiled water, stir well. Turn the fire low and guess if the pan has enough liquid, stir every once in a while, try a grain or rice (Ever made a risotto before? It’s all about feeling & practise! I can’t guide you too much here, just try!), the object is to get the rice done without burning and without getting too mushy. Mushy rice is not tasty. You might not need the full litre of water. Make some tea of the rest.
• The last bit of water will dissolve when you shut off the pan, close it with the lid and let it rest for 10 minutes. Then you should have the perfect al dente texture, with a beautiful bouquet of Asian flavours.
• Sorry, forgot to make a pic, but please send me yours!

F.Y.I.; My improvised Lotus-root-rice has been tried by a Thai lady who approved it. She said it tasted Thai because of the flavours, although in Thailand she never tried Lotus root as or in a main dish, only sweet as dessert. Looking forward to her recipe!

Oh yeah and by the way;
From ancient times the lotus has been a divine symbol in Asian traditions representing the virtues of sexual purity and non-attachment.

ThX 2:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelumbo_nucifera
http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/lotus-root.html
http://www.chinesefood-recipes.com/food_articles/lotus_roots_medicinal_properties.php

Ratatouille + recipe

I hate rats.. (Food is fuel. You get picky about what you put in the tank, your engine is gonna die. Now shut up and eat your garbage.) Gross! But still…Remy the Rat is my hero! He’d be my friend!

Fall instead of summer? Babysitting? Little causin over? Like food? Or animations? Here’s my new favourite one;
Ratatouille!
Remy is a young rat in the French countryside who arrives in Paris, only to find out that his cooking idol is dead. When he makes an unusual alliance with a restaurant’s new garbage boy, the culinary and personal adventures begin despite Remy’s family’s skepticism and the rat-hating world of humans.

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I wish I could taste the flavours and smell the smells of this movie..

Well I can! (And so can you..ha!) Let’s get to work ’cause here’s Remy’s original ratatouille recipe!

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Remy’s Ratatouille

For the Piperade (bottom layer):

• 1/2 red bell pepper, seeds and ribs removed
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper, seeds and ribs removed
• 1/2 orange bell pepper, seeds and ribs removed
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion
• 3 tomatoes (about 12 ounces total weight), peeled, seeded and finely diced, juices reserved 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 1 sprig flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 bay leaf
• Kosher salt

For the Vegetables:

• 1 medium zucchini (4 to 5 ounces) sliced in 1/16-inch-thick rounds
• 1 Japanese eggplant (4 to 5 ounces) sliced into 1/16-inch-thick rounds
• 1 yellow (summer) squash (4 to 5 ounces) sliced into 1/16-inch-thick rounds
• 4 Roma tomatoes, sliced into 1/16-inch-thick rounds
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/8 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Vinaigrette:

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• Assorted fresh herbs (such as thyme and chervil)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

• To make the piperade, preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. Place pepper halves on the baking sheet, cut side down. Roast until the skins loosen, about 15 minutes. Remove the peppers from the oven and let rest until cool enough to handle. Reduce the oven temperature to 275 degrees.
• Peel the peppers and discard the skins. Finely chop the peppers; set aside.
• In medium skillet over low heat, combine oil, garlic and onion and saute until very soft but not browned, about 8 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes, their juices, thyme, parsley and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer over low heat and cook until very soft and little liquid remains, about 10 minutes. Do not brown.
• Add the peppers and simmer to soften them. Discard the herbs, then season to taste with salt. Reserve a tablespoon of the mixture, then spread the remainder over the bottom of an 8-inch oven-proof skillet.
• To prepare the vegetables, you will arrange the sliced zucchini, eggplant, squash and tomatoes over the piperade in the skillet.
• Begin by arranging 8 alternating slices of vegetables down the center, overlapping them so that 1/4 inch of each slice is exposed. This will be the center of the spiral. Around the center strip, overlap the vegetables in a close spiral that lets slices mound slightly toward center. All vegetables may not be needed. Set aside.
• In a small bowl, mix the garlic, oil and thyme, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle this over vegetables.
• Cover the skillet with foil and crimp edges to seal well. Bake until the vegetables are tender when tested with a paring knife, about 2 hours. Uncover and bake for another 30 minutes. (Lightly cover with foil if it starts to brown.)
• If there is excess liquid in pan, place it over medium heat on stove until reduced. (At this point it may be cooled, covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days. Serve cold or reheat in 350-degree oven until warm.)
• To make the vinaigrette, in a small bowl whisk together the reserved piperade, oil, vinegar, herbs, and salt and pepper to taste.
• To serve, heat the broiler and place skillet under it until lightly browned. Slice in quarters and lift very carefully onto plate with an offset spatula. Turn spatula 90 degrees as you set the food down, gently fanning the food into fan shape.
• Drizzle the vinaigrette around plate. Serves 4.

 

 Bon Appétit!

p.s.: if you’re brave enough to try the recipe, please post us a pic!

 

 

(thx Pixar & Disney for the material I used here without asking you for permission)