PANZANELLA, a lovely bread and tomato salad

There are so many ways to make panzanella! Sometimes, in summer, I make a very simple version just by cutting up stale bread into chunks, combining it with a sliced tomato, and mixing it up with some lemon juice and olive oil. If I want to get fancy I top it with a little crumbled feta cheese. Very simple and it hits the spot.   

Panzanella is a summertime bread salad made popular by the Florentines. It's a good way to use up leftover bread, and it's true peasant fare, which means it's really good. In addition to the bread, panzanella includes tomatoes, lots of basil, and sometimes other fresh vegetables. The salad is dressed with olive oil, lemon juice, or vinegar. It's a great choice for dinner on a hot, hot, day. I made some recently when the temperature was hovering around 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and here's how I put it together:

Get a piece of stale bread and cut it into cubes. Sprinkle with olive oil and mix well. Place the bread cubes in a skillet and cook them on the stovetop. Make sure they are cooked on all sides. As soon as the cubes finish cooking add some grated pecorino cheese and mix. Set the bread cubes aside and let them cool. 

In a large bowl toss the following: 1 sliced large tomato, some cherry tomatoes of various colours cut in half,  a few Kalamata olives cut in half, lots of basil leaves coarsely chopped, and a little Italian parsley coarsely chopped. 

Make a dressing by combining 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of white balsamic vinegar, 5 tablespoons of olive oil, some black pepper, a dash of salt, and a pinch of fresh thyme. Pour it over the salad. Add the reserved bread and toss everything well. Top the salad with a small amount of crumbled feta cheese. Chill for about an hour in order to allow the flavours to blend, then serve and enjoy!!! 

FILLET of COD en PAPILLOTE

Here's a recipe for fillet of fish en papillote that can be prepared both with salmon or cod. I happened to find some nice cod in the market, so cod it was. There just aren't enough good things I can say about this recipe.  The fish came out tasting incredibly delicious! This is a recipe by Dorie Greenspan that's meant to treasure and make again and again. 

En papillote is a method of cooking by wrapping food in parchment paper or aluminium foil. This method seals in the flavours during the cooking process and renders a more aromatic and tender product. That's exactly what happened here. The aroma of the cod was incredible and its texture was truly succulent.
 

I made two fish packets.  To start off, I washed the fish well and patted it dry. Then I placed it in a bowl and seasoned it with salt and pepper. I sprinkled the juice of one lemon over the fish and I let it absorb the lemon flavour while I continued my prep work. I made some tomato concassé, which is nothing else than diced tomatoes, peeled and with the seeds removed. I always do this when I cook with fresh tomatoes because I really dislike finding loose tomato skins or seeds in my food; they are tough and bitter, so out they go! I salted the tomatoes and sautéed them in some olive oil. Then I cut two large pieces of aluminium foil and placed them on the counter. After that, all that was left to do was a layering of ingredients. Some basil leaves went on the foil, then the fish, then the tomatoes then some lemon rind.

The layering continued with some chopped scallions, a couple of thinly cut lemon slices, a few dashes of olive oil, a bit more basil and a sprig of fresh thyme. I folded the foil over the fish and herbs, forming well-sealed packets. The fish cooked in a 400° F oven for about 12 minutes. 

I opened up the foil packets and a fragrant puff of steam rose up from them, catching me by surprise. But I soon breathed in the aroma of basil, thyme and lemon.  

The fish was plated and served right away. It was seasoned perfectly, and the en papillote method had ensured the cod came out very tender. 

How can I not cook this again?

Beet Salad with Goat Cheese, Mint, and Mustard Vinaigrette

Beets! This root vegetable makes a delicious and nutritious salad, especially in fall and winter. Boiling is the most common way of cooking beets for salad. However, beets are messy to boil. The solution is to bake them and also to arrange parchment paper on the baking dish so that it's easier to clean. You can combine the greens to be used and you could also add pistachios to the salad. The beets go really well with walnuts and the goat cheese goes well with pistachios. You could also add feta or substitute the goat cheese for feta. Enjoy putting the salad together. Make it yours!

Ingredients:

3 beets 
2 cloves garlic, peeled and cut in half
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil
white balsamic vinegar

lemon juice
some dried oregano

some walnuts, roasted

mint leaves

goat cheese, cut in bite-sized pieces

arugula or lettuce or both

one small, red onion -- slice and place in a bowl of cold water, then place the bowl in the refrigerator until it's time for the onions to go on top of the beets. This way, the onions will have a very nice crunch.

Directions:

• Slice the onion and place the slices in a bowl of cold water, then place the bowl in the refrigerator and leave it there until it's time for the onions to go on top of the beets. This way, the onions will have a very nice crunch.
• Preheat the oven to 375 F. 
• Cut off the leaves and wash the beets. Peel them and cut them in half.  
• Choose a baking dish with a cover and line the bottom and sides with parchment paper. Add the beets and the garlic, season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with olive oil, cover and bake for about forty minutes until the beets are soft.
• Take them out of the oven and let them cool until they can be handled. Discard the garlic pieces and cut the beets into slices. 
• Make a vinaigrette using Dijon mustard, lemon juice, salt and pepper, dried oregano, white balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  
• Toss the beets with the dressing, cover them and place them in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
• When ready to serve, take the onions out of the refrigerator and drain well. 
• Arrange some arugula or lettuce on a serving platter and top these greens with the beet/vinaigrette mixture. 
• Decorate the salad with chopped mint leaves, goat cheese, sliced cold red onions, and some chopped roasted walnuts.