Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

I have been following the blog Manger for a while now and am thrilled that the author Mimi Thorisson is coming out with a new book this Fall.  Manger is the French word for “To Eat”.  Mimi lives in the Medoc region of France with her husband and growing family.  Her blog is beautiful both in her prose and the photography.  Her husband is a professional photographer and is responsible for the ethereal images.

To celebrate the publication of her new book  A Kitchen in France, I will give one lucky winner a copy of the book.  Since it will not be published until this Fall,  you will have to wait to receive your copy.  Mimi’s food is as unique as she is with an emphasis on seasonal ingredients.  I have tried several of her recipes and have been very happy with the results.

These Zucchini Flans are very easy to make and a good use for the ubiquitous summer zucchini that will be in our markets soon.  They make a lovely light breakfast or side dish for any of your summer meals.  I changed the recipe a bit by using basil instead of mint.  They are very adaptive and gluten free since they use cornstarch instead of flour.

To win a copy of the cookbook, you have two chances.  Leave a comment on this post for one chance.  Follow my new Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen Facebook page for another chance.  Let me know in a separate comment if you are following me on Facebook.

ZUCCHINI FLANS

2 large zucchini, sliced in half-rounds
5 eggs
4 tbsp cornstarch (maïzana in France)
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
A handful of chopped basil
1/2 cup grated cheese (Emmental or Gruyère)
2 shallots, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, sliced finely
½ tsp nutmeg
Salt & black pepper

Preheat oven 180°C/ 350 F
Slice zucchini thinly in half rounds. Slice shallots and garlic finely. In a large frying pan, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil and fry shallots, garlic and zucchini for a few minutes, until slightly golden.
In a large bowl, whisk eggs and cornstarch, then add grated cheese, nutmeg, salt & pepper. Combine zucchini/shallots/garlic, lemon juice and sliced basil – stir gently.
Pour mixture into a muffin pan. Bake in oven for 20 minutes, until slightly golden on top.
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I am back with another zucchini recipe.  Even though we do not have a garden this year, I can’t help but being obsessed with this prolific summer vegetable.  There are so many things you can do with zucchini.  Patricia Wells featured this recipe in her Provence Cookbook.  The unique aspect of the recipe is the curry powder that is added to the ingredients.  Not everyone loves curry.  I served this to my friend Jackie, who is not a curry lover, and she loved the dish.  The curry is subtle but distinct.  Jackie is babysitting for our dog Daisy at the lake while we are in Michigan.

I am traveling right now so do not know when I will have a chance to blog in the near future.  I will be back soon.  Enjoy the cooler weather.  We are going to a hometown football game in Michigan this Friday.  It is supposed to be in the 40’s.  Orange and Black, Fight Fight!  I bought a beautiful apricot silk top to wear to the reunion with my black slacks but realized belatedly that I would be wearing our school colors.  I thought that might be a bit too much.  I exchanged it for a different color.

ZUCCHINI GALETTE (Patricia Wells)

1 pound zucchini ( 4 medium), trimmed
2 teaspoons fine sea salt
2 large eggs
1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 teaspoon curry powder

Fresh tomato sauce (optional)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Using the coarse grating blade of a food processor, coarsely grate the zucchini.  Transfer to a colander, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the salt, and let sit to drain for 30 minutes.  Rinse the zucchini under cold running water, spread it out in an absorbent dish towel (or layers of paper towels), and press to remove as much liquid as possible.

Place the eggs in a large bowl and beat lightly with a fork.  Add the bread crumbs, cheese, curry powder and final teaspoon of salt.  Add the zucchini and stir to thoroughly coat the zucchini with the batter.  Place in a 10 1/2-inch round baking dish and even out the top with the back of a spatula.

Place in the center of the oven and bake until golden, 15 to 20 minutes.  Serve with a fresh tomato sauce, if desired.

Printable recipe

When in doubt about what to have for supper, I tend to favor making a quiche.  After all, the ingredients are always in my fridge.  As luck would have it, I also had a perfectly formed pie crust in its pan in my freezer from a previous cook-a-thon.  The inspiration for using zucchini came from a post by David Lebovitz.  Here is the picture from his blog that inspired me.  The tart was made by a friend that he was visiting in the French countryside.

Quiches and tarts seem very French to me.  I guess that is one of the reasons I am drawn to them.  It may also have something to do with the buttery richness of the pastry.  There is something to be said for the creative ways that the French use seasonal vegetables.

The other ingredients in this particular quiche were bacon, Gruyere cheese and a pinch of nutmeg.  Because my pie pan, which I picked up at an antique store,  was very shallow I needed only 2 eggs and 1 cup of cream.  The quiche was one of the best I’ve ever made.  The pastry is a “no fail” recipe from Ina Garten.  I strongly suggest that you get out your food processor and make a batch of pastry dough.  Either freeze it in individual discs or do like I did and have it ready to go in your pie plates.  You won’t be sorry.

Hope everyone had a great Labor Day Weekend.  We spent four wonderful days with the extended family and enjoyed swimming, tubing, skiing, hiking and eating.  Everyone slowed down long enough for this group picture (minus David and me.)

ZUCCHINI QUICHE (Adapted from Gourmet Magazine)

1  9- inch partially baked pastry dough (recipe follows)

1/4 lb sliced bacon, coarsely chopped
2 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1/8-inch thick slices
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup whole milk
Coasley ground black pepper to taste
3 large eggs
1 cup Gruyere cheese, coarsely grated

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Cook bacon in a 12-inch skillet over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until just crisp.  Transfer bacon with a slotted spoon to a paper-towel-lined plate, reserving the fat in the skillet.  Add the zucchini and 1/4 teaspoon salt and saute over moderately high heat, stirring frequently, until zucchini is tender and starting to brown, about 5 minutes, then transfer with slotted spoon to a plate.

In a large bowl, whisk together the beaten eggs, cream, milk, pepper and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt.  Stir in the bacon, zucchini, and cheese and pour into prepared piecrust.  Bake until filling is just set, 25 to 30 minutes.  Transfer quiche in pan to rack to cool slightly and serve.

PERFECT PIE CRUST (Ina Garten)

Makes 2 10-inch crusts

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) very cold unsalted butter
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup very cold vegetable shortening (Crisco)
6 to 8 tablespoons (about 1/2 cup) ice water

Dice the butter and return it to the refrigerator while you prepare the flour mixture.  Place the flour, salt,and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse a few times to mix.  Add the butter and shortening.  Pulse 8 to 12 times, until the butter is the size of peas.  With the machine running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse the machine until the dough begins to form a ball.  Dump out on a floured board and roll into a ball.  Divide the dough in half and flatten each ball into a disc.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.  At this point you could freeze one or both of the discs.

If using immediately, generously flour a board and roll one of the discs into a circle, rolling from the center to the edge, turning and flouring the dough to make sure it doesn’t stick to the board.  Fold the dough in half, place in a pie pan, and unfold to fit the pan.  Crimp edges. Repeat with second dough round. Can be frozen, well wrapped, at this point.

If using for quiche immediately, return dough in its pan to refrigerator for 30 minutes.  Remove from fridge and line with parchment paper.  Dump enough dried beans into parchment paper lining to fill the pan 3/4 full.  Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.  Carefully remove parchment paper and beans from pie plate and continue to bake for 5 more minutes until pastry is just starting to brown.  Remove from oven.  Proceed with quiche recipe.

Printable recipe