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Shrimp tartare with avocado and strawberries

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Shrimp tartar with strawberries and avocado

Shrimp tartar with strawberries and avocado

Shrimp tartar is quite simple to make and taste simply divine, without saying it’s looks irresistible. The base of the dish is similar to a shrimp ceviche, simply needing to marinate the fresh shrimps in lime juice for a couple of hours. The bigger the size of the shrimp the longer you’ll need to marinate it. By definition, tartar means finely cut and raw meat… In restaurants, the eternal favorites are the salmon, tuna or beef tartare. In this shrimp case, I’ve used fresh shrimps. Usually, tartare dishes aren’t marinated in acidic marinade for that long… the shrimps, here, were in lime juice for about 24 hours, but you could easily just marinated them 3 hours. The result would be a softer texture but as delicious… and it’s really important you get really fresh seafood to make this appetizer. shrimptartarepinShrimp tartar with strawberries and avocado

I believe strawberries and avocados are a match made in heaven. First, their colors are the perfect dynamic and appetizing pair and the creamy smooth avocado and the acidic and fruity strawberry pair beautifully.

You can use this as a tapas dish also, simply add the 3 components to a nice presentation spoon or small bowl and voilà! I assure you, there isn’t a better way to start an evening then this!

So let’s get that fresh and light bite going!

Shrimp tartar with strawberries and avocado

makes 4 appetizers / 8 tapas

IShrimp tartar with strawberries and avocadongredients
  • 1 big avocado in small cubes
  • 40 small fresh shrimps
  • 6 strawberries in small cubes
  • 10 chives finely cut
  • 3-4 limes (3 1/2 for the marinade and 1/2 for the avocado)
  • 1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • salt, pepper
Directions
  1. Clean the shrimps, take the veins out and wash them in cold water
  2. Add the shrimps to a small bowl with the lime juice, salt (enough to barely cover them)
  3. Let marinate in the fridge for 3 hours to 24 hours (longer the tougher the texture)
  4. Cut the avocado, strawberry and chives
  5. Add to the avocado, olive oil, chives, a lime squeeze, salt and pepper and mix
  6. In the center of a plate, add a small cookie cutter (the metal cylinder) add a bottom layer of avocado mix, then the lime marinated shrimps then top with strawberries and a leaf of coriander *optional
  7. Take out the cookie cutter and voilà!

Serve as it is or with a nest of lettuce of your choice. Enjoy!

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Desserts

Vanilla Sponge Cake with Strawberries

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Vanilla Sponge Cake with strawberries

Vanilla cake with strawberries

Yesterday was the birthday of my husband and he is such a traditional guy… meaning … every year, he wants the same exact cake; a simply white vanilla cake with strawberries. I, on the other hand, am a nontraditional one and love to change a little something every time I make his cake… I change it just enough, so he doesn’t feel much of the difference… For example last year, I add a lemon essence to the cake… The year before that, I’ve used blueberries and raspberries as extras… and this year I’ve made a sponge cake and add some almonds. I wanted to add a little rum syrup to the sponge cake… but I’ve got lazy… maybe next year.spongecakepin

The magic in sponge cake is in the egg whites. No need for baking powder, the eggs will make the magic happen. This type of cake result into a quite airy and fluffy one, perfect to receive those thick layers of whipped cream on it. The almond touch will bring a crunch to the cake and don’t forget to add lots of strawberries in the middle layer.

Let’s make that birthday cake!

Vanilla Sponge Cake with Strawberries

Ingredients
  • plenty of strawberries! (min 40)
  • 700ml cream
  • 100g of powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 200g of slices almonds
Sponge cakeVanilla cake with strawberries
  • 250g (1 cup) white flour
  • 250g (1 cup) sugar
  • 6 eggs (separated)
  • 200ml milk
  • 100ml sunflower oil
  • 2 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp salt
Directions
Sponge cake

Bring oven to 180°C (350F)

  1. In a bowl, mix the 6 egg yolks with the sugar until light yellow
  2. In another big bowl, mix the whites until dense and fluffy
  3. Add the vanilla, milk and oil to the yolks, mix
  4. Add the whites to the mixture with a spatula, try to mix gently until homogene
  5. Pass the flour through a sieve, in 4-5 separate times, into the eggs mixture, each time, mix gently with the spatula (need to keep the air from the egg whites)
  6. Finish with a touch of salt (yes, very important even in sweets)
  7. Add the mixture in 2 (9inch wide) cake mold, I did it in only 1…(doubles the cooking time)
  8. Cook about 25 minutes (in 2 molds) or 50 minutes (in one) check if it’s well cooked by inserting a toothpick.
  9. Let cool 15 minutes before cutting the sponge cake
The grand finale
  1. Cut the cake so you’ll get 2 flat and even parts
  2. In a big bowl, add the cream, vanilla extract and powdered sugar and whip it until fluffy
  3. Wash the strawberries, keep the good looking ones for the top part and the less lucky ones for the middle part of the cake
  4. Install the bottom part of your cake on the serving plate, add whipped cream, then cut strawberries and again a bit of whipped cream
  5. Add the second layer of sponge cake and cover  the whole cake with the whipped cream
  6. Add gently the sliced almonds to the side
  7. Top with the strawberries and voilà!

Enjoy!

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Desserts

Strawberries with coco-lime mousse

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Strawberries with Coco-lime

Strawberries with Coco-lime

You’ll say this looks exactly like the simple cup of strawberries topped with whipped cream… boring… but you are far from the truth! This is a coconut milk infused with kaffir lime mousse. As soon as you’ll taste it, you’ll wish for the rest of your life, to have this mousse instead of that whipped cream. I ate it, at first, in one of my favorite restaurant, as a side cream to a “Chocolate fondant” dessert… So delicious! Another plus is: whipped cream is fat while this is made with coconut milk which is way lighter.cocomoussepin

I’ve used a siphon to foam it, obviously you can do it without, but then it’s simply gonna be a liquid, which taste as good though… Siphon is the laStrawberries with coco-lime moussest “kitchen gadget” I got myself… especially to reproduce this coco-lime mousse and I don’t regret it at all. You can do millions of recipes with it, cold to warm, from mousse to soups and it won’t break your budget since it’s pretty cheap online and doesn’t take a lot of space, since it’s a simple bottle.

The only “ick” is the time it takes to cool it, so you have to make it in advance like 6 hours is a secure number, because after 4 hours, my mousse wasn’t coming out foamy. It’s especially long if you have to warm up the liquid before… if not then you won’t need to wait that long.

So let’s get to that revelation mousse!

Strawberries with coco-lime mousse

Instrument
  • Siphon *optional
Ingredients
  • Strawberries
Coco-lime Mousse
  • 500ml coconut milk
  • 2 tbsp powdered sugar, or white sugar
  • 7 kaffir lime leaves, break leaves once (see the asian market, they sell it frozen)
  • 1 tsp coconut oil
  • 1 gelatine leaf
  • 1 pinch of salt
Directions
  1. Soak the gelatine leaf into cold water
  2. Add the coconut milk, kaffir lime leaves, sugar and salt to simmer for 6-7 minutes
  3. When the cooking is over, add the gelatine leaf and mix
  4. Take the leaves out
  5. Add the liquid to a siphon
  6. Let cool in the fridge, open bottled until cool (minimum 1 hour)
  7. Close it up, fill with N2O, lay in the fridge for minimum 6 hours
  8. Cut the strawberries, add mousse et voilà!

Enjoy on a sunny day!

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Desserts

Strawberry crumble

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Strawberry crumble

Strawberry crumble

This is the healthiest alternative to a conventional crumble, and obviously it’s equally delicious! Is there someone on this earth who doesn’t like strawberries? All you’ll need for this recipe is a bunch of those “ruby jewels” that is strawberries and some good old friend: oat. It’s such an easy and simple dessert, that nobody should be able to resist.

I, personally, am a big fan of fruity dessert, although I try to cut on the sugar, with this recipe though, I get to eat a fruity and crunchy bite in a healthier way. So let’s get those oven proof ramekin or small pot you own and let’s get that fruity bite ready!

Strawberry crumble

Makes 1 portion

IngredientsStrawberry crumble
  • 8 sliced strawberries
  • 3 tbsp oat
  • 1 tbsp melted butter
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 tbsp flour
  • 1 tbsp of maple sirup (or honey)
  • 1 tsp white sugar
  • pinch of salt
Directions

Bring the oven to 180°C (350F)

  1. Add the strawberries in the bottom of a ramekin or small oven proof pot
  2. Add the maple sirup to the strawberries
  3. In a bowl mix the oat, salt, white sugar, coconut oil and flour
  4. Melt the butter and add to the mix
  5. Top the strawberry with the oat mixture
  6. Bake for about 25 minutes

Let it cool before jumping in… Enjoy!

 

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Main Meals

Red beets and quinoa patties

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Beets quinoa patties

Beets quinoa patties

Red beetroot, red quinoa, red pepper and why not a few strawberries to make it extra red and tasty. Those red patties are a great alternative to falafel or even meat, they go where you like them to go, whether it’s a veggie burger, a wrap, a salad or just a snack by itself. They are also gluten free since buckwheat flour is used. You simply have to do different shapes, depending on what you intend to do with them. I usually like to put a bunch of different Beets quinoa pattiesvegetables on the table with those red patties, and everyone does their own mix. You can add a nice tzatziki with it or a sweet mustard (mango mustard is great to, if you have some at home). In my case I did it with tzatziki a la Maria-Pia. As sidekicks;  avocados, goat cheese, spinach and tomatoes are fantastic.

Those red patties are not only healthy, tasty and light but a good deed. See… as scientists told us, the amount of meat we consume is pretty intense, not only is it bad for our health, but our environment. I’m not myself a vegetarian, but I do not want to simply ignore it either… if everyone would try to cut their meat intake that would make the world a much better place. The bovine meat is, by the way, the worst on the scale of impact for the environment, so why not skip that beef patty and try out this one… You won’t regret it.

So here is the recipe to your new alternative to beef!

Red beets and quinoa patties

Makes 4 portions

IngredientsBeets quinoa patties
  • 1 big precooked beetroot (250g)
  • 60g red quinoa
  • 1 onion
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 250g chickpeas
  • 5 strawberries *optional
  • 40g crunched pistachios
  • 100g buckwheat flour
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • salt, red pepper
Toppings * suggestions
  • avocado
  • baby spinach
  • tomatoes
  • goat cheese
  • Tzatziki
Directions

Bring the oven to 180C° (350F)

  1. Start by cooking the quinoa
  2. In a mixer, add the onions, garlic, chickpeas and mix (not too fine, so we can get bite of chickpeas ones in a while)
  3. Reserve into big bowl
  4. In the mixer, add the beets, strawberries, pistachios and mix
  5. Add to beets to the big bowl
  6. Add the quinoa, vinegar, olive oil, egg and mix
  7. Pour in the flour in a few times, and mix with a wooden spoon until the consistency is holding  on the side of the bowl without falling down.
  8. Add baking sheet to a tray and make the balls the size you want, whether it’s a golf ball size of beef patty size, but it should all be the same size, otherwise it will cook unevenly (I did 2 different batches).
  9. Cook for 20-25 minutes depending of the size of your patties
  10. Let cool a bit, serve with healthy wraps or burger bread, avocado, tzatziki, tomatoes, salad of your choice and goat cheese

Enjoy!

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