Posted on by Myfrenchkitchen

Fava and petit pois salad.

It may seem that all we eat in this house, is salad. Well, in spring and summer, that is pretty much the case! The vegetables and fruit are so beautiful and abundant that we can’t do it any differently. And because of the freshness it would be a shame to dress them up. We leave “creative cooking” for the colder months and eat fresh and simple in spring and summer.

Here is another salad, straightforward and unadorned.

Fava and peitit pois salad.

Decide whether you’d like to serve this on the side or as a starter or even as a light meal and measure your quantities according to that.

Fresh fava beans, blanched in boiling water and shelled. OR use frozen fava beans, treated the same way. I find the frozen beans in excellent condition and much easier when pressed for time. The same goes for the peas. Go fresh and hull them if you have lazy weekend days on hand, otherwise go frozen. I’m not such a purist that I would bend backwards just for the sake of announcing: “I’ve hulled my own, garden picked peas!” Some frozen products are really great substitutes and I have no qualm in using them…petit pois, fava and spinach, comes to mind.

  • Fresh/frozen fava beans blanched and shelled.
  • Fresh/frozen petit pois, blanched
  • A spring onion, finely chopped
  • A handful of dry roasted sunflower seeds
  • a spoonful or two of caraway seeds (or cumin seeds)
  • A vinaigrette made of olive oil, feshly squeezed lemon juice, white balsamic vinegar(optional), salt and pepper
  1. Mix all the ingredients toghether gently and serve at room temperature, decorated with some herbs of your choice.
  2. Serve as a starter with a cold dry white wine of your choice or a cold rose, seeing that we’re in spring/summer. Maybe something like your trusted Sauvignon Blanc, from our region here in the France Loire valley or why not a crisp Tariquet Ugni Blanc/Colombard from the south west of France.

…five, six, seven, eight….

This is an entry for WHB at Kalyn’s kitchen, this week hosted by Sweetnicks.

 

Posted on by Myfrenchkitchen

Kiwi and crab salad

“Dear Mom

Thank you for your letter and the parcel with all the delicious goodies….

…I invited some friends over this past weekend for lunch and I made this little salad for a starter. It reminded me of home and early summers in your garden. Everybody loved the combination of crab with kiwi and I got so many compliments, I almost felt like a renowned chef! It is light which had everybody enjoying their chocolate dessert with full gusto! I am amazed at how many men are keeping an eye on their weight! I am sure you and Dad will love it too….

With much love from me.”

“Oh, and by the way, could you send me some recipes on healthy summer lunches; there’s this new cute guy at the tennis club I need to impress…”

Kiwi and crab salad

  • 6 kiwis
  • 2 cans of crabmeat
  • grated rind of one lemon
  • juice of 1/2 lemon
  • toasted sesame seeds
  • a few sprigs of chives
  • a few chervil leaves
  • a few crushed red pepercorns(optional)
  • salt and pepper
  1. Cut the tops off the kiwis, remove the flesh with a spoon and dice finely. Turn the hollowed out kiwis upside down on toweling paper to drain.
  2. Drain the crab meat and add to the diced kiwi. (Don’t use all the kiwi flesh if it seem too much)
  3. Add the lemon juice, lemon rind, chopped herbs and toasted sesame seeds to the crab meat. Season to taste
  4. Fill the kiwis with the crabfilling and decorate with a sprig of chervil and a sprinkling of crushed red peppercorns.

                                     Serves 6

Alternative: serve the crab salad on a bed on mixed salad leaves or on slices of toasted baguettes.