tuna niçoise tartine

If I could pick one thing to eat for lunch for the rest of my life, it would be tuna niçoise tartine. The confit garlic aïoli goes beautifully with a medley of fresh herbs as well as the salty acidic punch that you get from the olives and cornichon. 

A tartine is an open-faced French sandwich with savory or sweet toppings. This variation is basically a tuna sandwich on steroids, and it doesn't disappoint. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! Recipe is below.

recipe

for the confit garlic aïoli:

• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 8 oz extra virgin olive oil
• 5 oz canola oil
• 1 large brown egg
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

for the tuna salad:

• 8 oz canned tuna in oil, drained
• 1 tbsp chives, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp cornichon, finely chopped
• 2 tsp flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 2 tsp chervil, finely chopped
• 2 tsp capers, finely chopped
• 2 tsp shallot, minced
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice, or more to taste
• salt and pepper 

to serve:

• 4 thick slices sourdough or pain de campagne
• 4 romaine or butter lettuce leaves
• 12 Niçoise or kalamata olives, sliced in half
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, thinly sliced
• 4 radishes, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp chives, minced
• 8 whole cornichon

1. To make the confit garlic aïoli, pour half of the olive oil into a small saucepan and add the garlic. Cook on low heat for about 20-30 minutes until the garlic becomes soft. Keep a close eye on it - the garlic browns and burns very easily!
2. Remove the garlic and set aside. Combine the garlic oil with the remaining half cup of olive oil and the canola oil. Stir to combine.
3. Run the three garlic cloves, the lemon juice, and the egg through a food processor for 1-2 minutes until smooth. Then, with the motor running, pour in the combined oils very, very slowly. You want a tiny thread of oil pouring from your spout. The aioli won't emulsify properly if you pour too quickly, so be patient with it. Once you have added the combined oils and the mixture has thickened, turn off the machine and season to taste, if needed. 
4. In a medium-sized bowl, add the chopped herbs, capers, cornichon and shallot, the strained tuna, the lemon juice, the paprika, a half cup of the aïoli, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix together until nicely combined. Season to taste. 
5. To assemble the tartines, spread a dollop of the aïoli on each of the four slices of bread. Add 1-2 leaves of the romaine or butter lettuce leaves and a couple heaping tablespoons of the tuna salad to each slice of bread. Top each tartine with the radishes and boiled eggs and olives, and garnish with the minced chives and smoked paprika and whole cornichon. Serve immediately.

Adapted from the Bouchon by Thomas Keller

If you make this recipe, hashtag a pic to #spiceandhutch and post to Instagram, Facebook and/or Twitter. I'd love to see your culinary creations!

creamy pea gazpacho

It's rare that I cook a 100% vegetarian, gluten- and dairy-free dish. But after my recent marathon of sugary baked goods, it's high time for a little something healthy. And green. So green! 

I wanted to make a light and refreshing dish to eat on a hot summer day and gazpacho immediately came to mind. Creamy pea gazpacho, to be exact. The creaminess lends itself to a whole avocado rather than heavy cream or milk, and boiling the peas in vegetable stock and incorporating a generous portion of mint produces a boldly-flavored gazpacho. 

Summer gazpacho screams freshness, but for the sake of saving a bit of time and money, it's perfectly fine to use frozen peas (which I did). You're welcome to use fresh peas and I encourage you to do so if you've got the time to shuck 'em. If you opt for fresh peas, then I suggest buying about 5-6 pounds at your local farmers market or supermarket. That should be sufficient. Enjoy!

recipe

• 5 cups frozen peas (or fresh - see note above)
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme
• 1 medium-sized yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 2 gloves garlic, minced
• 1 small shallot, minced
• 2 cups fresh mint, roughly chopped
• 1 ripe medium-sized avocado, diced
• 1 cup parsley, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1. In a Dutch oven, sauté the onion and shallot for several minutes over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until they become translucent. Add the garlic and sauté for a minute longer. 
2. Pour the vegetable stock into the Dutch oven. Add the thyme and salt and pepper, and bring to a steady boil over medium-high heat.
3. Once the stock starts boiling, add the peas and return to a boil, and cook for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. If using fresh peas, cook for two minutes only.
4. Ladle half of the pea-stock mixture into a blender and add half of the mint, avocado, and parsley. I suggest working with a half-full blender to avoid having hot liquid splash over the sides when you turn on the machine. Blend for three minutes until the mixture is uniformly smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender as needed (you don't want any lumps!) Pour the mixture into a large bowl.
5. Blend the second half of the pea-stock mixture with the mint, avocado and parsley as directed in step #4, and then add it to the large bowl with the first batch of gazpacho. Stir to combine.
6. Allow the gazpacho to cool to room temperature. Taste the gazpacho and add a bit more of the salt and pepper, if you wish. Then cover the bowl in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Serve cold and garnish with a green garnish of your choice, like peas or microgreens or parsley.

If you make this recipe, hashtag a pic to #spiceandhutch and post to Instagram, Facebook and/or Twitter. I'd love to see your culinary creations!