Like many of us, when I was younger, I didn’t eat enough vegetables, even though I didn’t hate them. Laziness must have had a lot to do with it, but also lack of experience. In the canteen, the vegetables offered were either boiled – no comment – or sometimes mixed with mayonnaise that tasted more than chemical – hello industrial macedoine – in other words, a range of rare delicacy that forges some enmities in some people… With age, but especially by reading hundreds and hundreds of recipes, I learned that the problem with vegetables that are sometimes disliked is not the vegetables, far from it, but rather the way of preparing them. And the seasoning too, we don’t think enough about seasoning.
Vegetables can be enjoyed raw in brunoise, tartare, carpaccio, salad; or cooked candied with olive oil, roasted in the oven, stuffed or not, mixed into a purée, arranged on a pretty pastry for a perfect summer savory tart, etc.
Vegetables are not lacking in taste either. Taste must be brought out, complemented, amplified, magnified! The most basic of all enhancers is salt. Salt is a no-brainer, but a touch of fleur de sel on tomatoes that are beautifully reddened in the middle of summer, accompanied by a drizzle of olive oil and a few leaves of fresh basil, and the plate already takes on another dimension. Cooking is also about mixing tastes to create a new overall taste. It is by combining different ingredients, textures, and cooking methods that we reveal flavors. Simply preparing sliced tomatoes or coral lentils with a little salt will always be effective but will sometimes lack panache and depth. You can play here and there with powdered or grated spices, fresh or dried aromatic herbs solo or in an orchestra, coconut milk or cream for roundness, fresh or dried fruits for the sweet and salty score, and the whole will be more than harmonious.
But vegetables are not the only option in vegetarian cuisine, many other foods complement the divine vegetables like seeds, cereals, eggs, cheeses for the gourmet, without forgetting the famous legumes. Chickpeas for example, are wonderful! They become in turn hummus, falafels or panisses (based on chickpea flour). So many different recipes based on the same ingredient.
Vegetarian cooking is an infinite field of possibilities that I can’t wait to explore this summer. Especially with the following 3 recipes.
Recipe #1: Provençal vegetable tian
© Joann Pai
With a well-known and recognized assembly, the Provençal tian is recognizable among all dishes thanks to its vegetables placed as vertically as possible (not completely at 90° either), then slowly candied in the oven with the favorite ingredient of Provençal cuisine: olive oil. The tian is as beautiful as it is good! And if it is prepared with local products (even if we are not in the South) of local origin, and from organic farming, it is even better.
How do we do it? Rub the inside of the dish(es) (preferably a tian dish!) with 1 peeled and halved clove of garlic, then chop it.
Cut 5 tomatoes, 2 zucchini, 2 eggplants and 1 peeled onion into 0.5 cm thick slices.
Arrange the vegetable slices vertically, alternating the colours and sprinkling a little garlic from time to time. Also add thyme leaves, rosemary and 2 torn bay leaves between the vegetable slices. Tighten well.
Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Bake for 40 minutes in the oven preheated to 180°C. The cooking time should be adjusted if you are making several tians in smaller containers.
Remove from the oven when the edges of the vegetables are nicely browned. Serve hot or warm with a little fresh basil.
For 6 people
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Recipe #2: Panisses
© Anne Bergeron
Well-known in the South of France, panisses are fritters made from chickpea flour and water, which take the form of fries. While they are traditionally fried in a deep fryer to obtain that delicious crispiness that we love so much, they can also be cooked in the oven for a lighter result. Here, the Michelin-starred chef we love, Stéphanie Le Quellec, adds salt subtly flavored with thyme and lime to her panisses.
How do we do it? Boil 1 liter of water with a pinch of salt and 2 turns of the pepper mill. Gradually add 300 g of sifted chickpea flour. Cook over medium heat until thickened, stirring constantly to obtain a pastry cream texture.
Pour the mixture into an oiled dish to a thickness of 1 cm. Cover with cling film and leave to cool for 30 minutes.
Prepare the scented salt. Strip and chop 1 sprig of thyme. Mix with the zest of 1 untreated lime, salt and pepper.
Cut the dough into sticks about 10 cm long and 1 cm thick. Dip them in a frying oil bath at 180°C until they are colored.
Take out the panisses and place them on absorbent paper. Season immediately with the flavored salt.
For 4 people
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Recipe #3: Feta, halloumi and mint turnovers
© Rina Nurra
Always generous and gourmet, Alan Geaam’s cuisine is a promise of a fragrant journey, easy to reproduce at home, even if you are not a chef! So when I discovered this recipe available in his second book “Comme à Beyrouth” (published by Webedia books) and its ease of execution, I knew that I had to reproduce it urgently. Thank you chef!
How do we do it? We start by preparing the turnover dough. Pour 23 cl of milk into a saucepan and let it warm slightly. Remove from the heat, add 10 g of crumbled fresh baker’s yeast and let it rest for 20 minutes.
Mix the milk and 7 cl of sunflower oil in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the leaf, then add 400 g of flour, 5 g of salt and 10 g of sugar. Knead for 10 minutes. Remove and set aside for 1 hour at room temperature.
We continue with the stuffing. Cut 100 g of feta and 200 g of halloumi into small cubes. Chop 5 g of parsley and 5 g of dried mint, then add 1 g of anise powder and a little white pepper. Pass the preparation through a mincer. Set aside in a cool place.
Roll out the dough on a floured work surface to a thickness of 3 to 4 mm. Cut out 10 discs of 10 cm in diameter.
Place 1 large tablespoon of stuffing in the center of each disk of dough, then close in two by pressing on the edges with a fork. Heat a bath of oil to 180 °C in a sauté pan and fry the turnovers for 5 minutes, or cook for 20 minutes in an oven preheated to 180 °C.
For 5 people
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