Okay, you caught me. I missed another French Friday and deprived you of my version of the Chunky Beets and Icy Red Onions. I know. Shame on me. Here’s the really funny part – I DID make this dish. I took pictures of it all the way up to the part when I had to combine the onions, beets and dressing and then…I didn’t even eat it. Jon abhors beets and onions, so there was no way he was going near this one, so I thought I’d make it all for myself.
The thing is, I’m not a beet fan either, no matter how lovely the colour or texture or flavour. A few summers ago, I spent an entire Sunday pickling beets my *totally insane* neighbour and I grew in her backyard and I still haven’t even tried them. I can imagine they’re great, but I just couldn’t bring myself to try them. What is my problem?!
Anyway, moving on to the Salmon and Tomatoes en Papillote – AWESOME! I think my salmon fillets were a bit larger than Dorie’s suggestion of 5 oz. each, so cooking time was about twice as long as she suggested, but I loved everything about it. I went to my favourite fish market in Bloor West Village for the salmon – Snappers Fish Market. I picked up some Atlantic salmon fillets – he had Pacific salmon there, too, but it was far more expensive. I didn’t really know the difference, so I cheaped out, but whatever the case, the salmon was very tender and so tasty! The tomatoes were bursting with flavour, as well. I paired it with a lovely Lemon Risotto recipe from Smitten Kitchen and it all went together very nicely!
I used my fancy fleur de sel for the top of the fish and I finally broke down and bought myself a basil and rosemary plant for my kitchen window sill since I keep buying huge bunches of basil and can’t get them to last more than a day. Frustrating! My downstairs neighbour has a lovely crop of basil growing outside our front door, and every time I see it, I think ‘Pesto pasta!’ or ‘Salsa!’ or ‘Salada Caprese!’. I’m sure she’d let me harvest some if I asked, but I haven’t had a chance to ask yet…plus, she’s doing such a lovely job of keeping our front yard looking quasi-decent with her gardening, that I feel bad just reaping the rewards without helping to maybe weed or cut the grass…
Check out French Fridays with Dorie to see how everyone else in the group fared with these recipes. For more recipes, please check out Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table.
Cheers,
Karla
LEMON RISOTTO – adapted from Smitten Kitchen who adapted it from Bon Appetit, May 2002
Makes 3 first-course or 2 main-course servings.
- 3 cups low-salt chicken or vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 large shallot, chopped
- 1 cup arborio rice or medium-grain white rice
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 1/2 ounces)
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
- Bring broth to simmer in large saucepan over medium heat. Reduce heat to low; cover to keep warm.
- Melt 1 tablespoon butter with oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and saute until tender, about 6 minutes. Add rice; stir 1 minute.
- Add wine and stir until evaporated, about 30 seconds. Add 1 cup hot broth; simmer until absorbed, stirring frequently.
- Add remaining broth 1/2 cup at a time, allowing broth to be absorbed before adding more and stirring frequently until rice is creamy and tender, about 35 minutes.
- Stir in cheese and remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Stir in lemon juice, and lemon peel. Season risotto with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl and serve.
