Patience is the defining ingredient of an authentic Mallorcan Ensaïmada. Hailing from Spain's Balearic Islands, this iconic spiral pastry transforms the most basic staples : flour, water, lard, sugar, eggs, and yeast, into an impossibly airy, delicate, and layered treat. Its history is as layered as its dough, with likely...
This recipe was crafted with meticulous care, patience, and great attention in order to recreate the chicken soup of my dreams: a delicately flavored dish that highlights a perfect balance between all the ingredients, especially the chicken, with an approach that uses every possible part to prepare the broth and soup as completely as possible, all...
After so many years of blogging, and going through old recipe scribblings, I was stunned that I had never published a “macaron” recipe, which is probably one of the desserts I made the most often, before even beginning the blog, so here it is, a greek version and it’s very surprisingly & pleasantly different & not that...
Membrillo is a thickened and sliceable fruit paste, to accompany cheese platters, prepared in autumn, almost always with quince, and sometimes with apples & pears and never, to my knowledge with strawberry tree berries, which grow in our garden, so I gave it a try ! The scientific name of the strawberry tree is ‘arbutus unedo’...
This comforting dessert is well known and straightforward to prepare, though it requires some time, so the following method can be used with a single type or multiple types of rice, along with optional flavor enhancements to demystify and simplify the preparation process ! Arborio round dessert rice, basmati and jasmine rices, whole red rice...
This recipe reimagines the classic French “ficelle” as a hearty, savory breakfast, lunch or snacking bread, with a generous filling of salty, smoked thick-cut bacon, soft-scrambled eggs, sharp cheddar and nutty gruyère, laminated directly into the dough, becoming a slender, high-impact loaf where every bite is a...
After holiday indulgences, it’s perhaps time to enjoy more vegetables again, like this spanish tapa (appetizer) and one of my favorite and probably the simplest preparation ever ! Over the years, I’ve focused on decreasing meat intake and I find myself always pairing their preparation with more and more vegetables or plant foods,...
Three textures : chewy, syrupy and crunchy reunited, to create a magical dessert option made in mostly Balkan villages for centuries, getting the household and its visiting guests through the winter months ! Spoon sweets are a type of sweet preserve that hold a special place in the tradition of hospitality across various regions,...
A simple, nourishing and vegetarian green and yellow soup that I started making last summer in Montreal (at my mother’s request), which is lightly spiced with cumin and coriander seeds and complemented with oregano, rosemary and parsley and brightened with fresh lemon juice, making it a great soup for all seasons ! I make a...
This summer in Montreal, I asked my mom to show me how to make "kolokithàkia yemistà mé avgolémono," a summer dish I hadn't had in years. The beautiful weather matched the delicious meal. The bright lemon and herbs, tender and sweetened zucchini shells, savory beef and rice filling, and creamy egg-lemon...
Experience a no-peel, zero-waste twist on the classic Spanish tapas dish: this high-crunch yet tender double-fried version comes with two updated sauces ! There’s something magical about waking up to market day in Paris, when the sounds of metal poles and the scents of olives, rotisserie meats, fresh fruits, herbs, and earthy vegetables...
Imagine a crunchy and fried exterior breadcrumb shell, that reveals, once you bite into it, a creamy, almost oozing center, made of a thickened béchamel sauce, dotted with pieces of fried ham and onion and cheese ! As you know, I’m often in Spain. The country makes me feel alive and connected to everything, because it truly is a...
Here’s a way to transform lean turkey breasts into flavorful and juicy sausages by incorporating eggplants and mushrooms. These ingredients help absorb added duck or goose fat, deepen the overall flavor, and improve the texture of the sausage. This approach is particularly useful for adapting recipes that use meats with lower fat...
An extremely simple spread that we’re often served when we’re out dining or on vacation but rarely make at home, so it’s easiness and the availability of its basic pantry ingredients mean that it’s time to make some at home ! The initial 5 ingredients which are canned sardines in oil, butter, lemon juice, salt and pepper...
A little bit of this and a little bit of that added, to lighten up the heavier and saltier and denser flavors of the black olives, resulting with a dip or spread that is still powerful but somewhat brightened and better balanced ! Some olives are to be enjoyed as is, when packed in quality olive oil or in a well-balanced brine and some are...