Recipe: Tomato & Mozzarella with Sel de Guerande

Remember how I visited Whole Foods on Cambie this weekend?

Well of *course* I couldn't leave empty handed!

I actually circle the store a couple times, oohing and aahing at their beautiful frosted mini cupcakes, their assortment of dried mushrooms, variety of salts, and selection of cheeses. I wanted a lot of products but didn't want to spend that much money, knowing that there was a huge mark up and I already had a fair amount of leftovers and food to work through at home.



I wound up buying some Fleur de Sel (de Guerande) and some dried lobster mushrooms.

For dinner one night, we had a simple salad. What follows is not a traditional recipe, but a sort of arrangement and garnishing of alternating mozzarella and ripe hot house tomatoes with drops of fig-scented balsamic vinegar, a couple pickled capers, a twist or two of black peppercorn, a pinch of chopped parsley, and of course, some fleur de sel.



The fleur de sel is about twenty to thirty times more expensive than regular table salt. This is owed to the fact that it is hand-harvested in a town in France (Guerande). There are different grades of salt coming from Guerande, but Fleur de Sel remains the top quality salt. Fleur de sel has a less harsh taste than table or sea salts and dissolves quickly on the tongue.

I actually debated about getting grey salt de Guerande at Whole Foods, and reasoned that it was half the price of the small tub of salt that I eventually walked out with, for about five times more...but the fancypants in me went with Fleur de Sel. :) Aaaah. Gotta love eating.

Recipe: Zucchini and Carrot Pappardelle with Parsley Sauce

Sunny days call for sunny recipes! . . .too bad this is being posted a day late. Vancouver had a sunny weekend that extended two days into the work week. Unfortunately, this morning it gradually clouded over.

Although, while it was sunny, I had the chance to whip out the pasta machine again and made a batch of pappardelle, a thin, wide ribbon pasta accompanied by equally wide ribbons of tender zucchini and carrots that were sliced thin on my handy mandoline.



I brought the veggies and fresh pasta together with a fresh (and raw!)parsley sauce blended together in my handy magic bullet (this entry should be a kitchen gadget entry!).

Ingredients

2 small zucchinis, trimmed and sliced with a mandoline to 1/8" (~0.3cm) thick
2 small carrots, peeled, trimmed and sliced with a mandoline to 1/8" (~0.3cm) thick
1 pasta dough recipe

1 bunch parsley
1/4 cup piave vecchio, parmesan, romano, or other hard cheese
Juice of half a lemon
5 cloves of roasted garlic
3 T olive oil
2-3 T hazelnuts or pepitas
salt & pepper to taste
1 cup water

Method

Divide the pasta dough recipe into three portions. Roll each portion out with the pasta machine. Start with the lowest setting, run the dough through once, fold the dough into thirds, run through the machine again, and repeat.

Increase the thickness setting and run the dough through the machine; dust lightly with flour if necessary, and run through twice more. Repeat this step with all the thickness settings until you get to setting 6. Dust the pasta strip with more flour, fold or roll loosely into a bundle, and cut into approximately 3/4" (~2cm) strips. Dust with more flour, and hang on suspended wooden spoon handles to dry slightly while you roll out the rest of the dough.

For the sauce, blend together the last 7 ingredients together in a blender, food processor, or magic bullet. Taste for seasoning; add more cheese, salt or pepper to taste. Set sauce aside.

Slice the vegetables with a mandoline to about 1/8" (~0.3cm) thick. Slice the strips lengthwise in half if necessary.

Bring a large stockpot of generously salted water to a rolling boil. Quickly blanch the vegetable strips for 30-60 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon to an ice bath. Drain and reserve in a large bowl for later.

In the same large stock pot, bring the water back to a rolling boil. Drop in the dried pappardelle and stir to loosen and separate the strands. Cook for 5-8 minutes, or until desired doneness. Remove with tongs or a pasta fork to bowl of blanched vegetable strips.

Add parsley sauce to pasta and veggies, toss lightly, and serve!

Be sure to enjoy in the sun. :) It makes all the difference in the world!