Vegetables A La Greque Food

VEGETABLES à LA GRECQUE

Steps:

• In a 3- or 4-quart saucepan combine vinegar, wine, olive oil, garlic cloves, shallot, bouquet garni, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, peppercorns, kosher salt and 3 cups water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook 15 to 30 minutes while you prepare vegetables.
• Add carrots to the broth and simmer 5 minutes. Add cauliflower, bring back to a simmer, and cook another 15 minutes, until carrots and cauliflower are tender but not mushy. Using a slotted spoon, remove vegetables to a bowl. Some of the broth and seeds can come along with them.
• Add mushrooms to broth and simmer 5 minutes. Remove to bowl with carrots and cauliflower.
• Stir broth and ladle 11/2 cups plus some of the coriander seeds into a small saucepan. Set aside.
• Add artichoke hearts to the pot in which you cooked the other vegetables and simmer 25 to 30 minutes, until tender. Transfer to bowl with other cooked vegetables. If using artichoke leaves, steam them now. When finished, discard this broth.
• Bring reserved broth in the small saucepan to a boil and cook until liquid reduces to 1/2 cup. Pour over the vegetables, add lemon juice and fleur de sel and toss. Taste and adjust seasoning. Leave at room temperature until ready to serve (for best flavor, let vegetables marinate for a few hours), or refrigerate for up to 3 days. Just before serving, garnish with herbs and, if you wish, with steamed artichoke leaves, which can be dipped into the marinade. Serve on small plates with the reduced marinade spooned on top.

VEGETABLES à LA GRECQUE

Steps:

• In a pot, bring the liquids, spices and herbs to just below a boil.
• Cook each vegetable, separated by type, in the seasoned liquid. Start with the onion, then fennel, then cauliflower or mushrooms, then celery. Cook each until it can be pierced with a knife and tastes delicious. As each batch is done, scoop it out with a slotted spoon or a hand-held sieve. Place on a cookie sheet to cool.
• If spices or bits of herb stick to the vegetables, put what you can back in the pot and don't worry about the rest - everything will marinate together, so things will redistribute. When all the vegetables are cooked, layer them in a 1-quart Mason jar - it looks nice if you do mushrooms, then onions and so on. Pour all of the cooking liquid over them, without straining. The olive oil in the liquid will rise to the top and create a seal.
• Serve alone as an hors d'oeuvre, or as part of a salad, or on little buttered toasts. Or in an omelet. Or in a sandwich. Anywhere, really, but in a strawberry tart. Refrigerate for up to a month.

VEGETABLES A LA GRECQUE

Steps:

• Warm the oil in a large saucepan over moderate heat; add the fennel and onion.
• Cover and cook for 5 minutes.
• Add the garlic, coriander seeds, and tomatoes and cook, uncovered, until the vegetables are tender and any liquid has disappeared.
• In a separate pan steam the cauliflowers and green beans until just tender.
• Once the fennel and tomato mixture is ready, add the mushrooms and cook gently for 3 to 4 minutes.
• Stir in the cauliflowers and green beans, and season with salt and black pepper.
• Remove from the heat and set aside.
• Sprinkle with parsley and serve warm or cool.

VEGETABLES A LA GRECQUE

Steps:

• Prepare vegetables: In colander, under cold running water, wash green beans; drain well. Cut off ends, leaving beans whole. Set aside. Wash and pare carrots; with sharp knife, cut crosswise into 4-inch pieces; then slice lengthwise into strips 1/2-inch wide.
• Trim root ends of leeks; cut off tops, leaving 1 to 3 inches of green stem; discard tops. With sharp knife, cut in half lengthwise. Wash under cold running water to remove any sand. Wipe mushrooms with damp paper towels; trim the stem ends; cut in half lengthwise.
• Wash zucchini; trim ends; cut into 3-inch pieces; then slice into strips 1/2-inch wide.
• Prepare cooking liquid: In large 10-inch skillet, combine water, wine, lemon juice, olive oil, green onion, salt, peppercorns, thyme and parsley sprigs. Over medium heat, bring to boiling. Add the leeks; simmer, covered, until tender - about 5 minutes. With slotted spoon, remove leeks to shallow dish. Return liquid to boiling. Add carrots; simmer, covered, 10 minutes or until tender. With slotted spoon, remove to the shallow dish. Return liquid to boiling.
• Add green beans; simmer, covered, 7 minutes, or until tender. With slotted spoon, remove beans to shallow dish. Return liquid to boiling. Add zucchini; simmer, covered, 5 minutes, or until tender. With slotted spoon, remove to the shallow dish. Return liquid to boiling.
• Add mushrooms; simmer, covered, 5 minutes, or until tender. With slotted spoon, remove to dish. Arrange vegetables in serving dish.
• Reduce liquid to 2/3 cup; spoon over vegetables. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve hot as side dish or chilled as appetizer.

VEGETABLES A LA GRECQUE

Steps:

• In a large stainless steel bowl, mix the grapeseed oil and all of the vegetables and olives together. In a glass bowl combine the lemon juice, light olive oil, chili flakes, tarragon, rice wine vinegar, and salt and pepper, to taste.
• Combine the dressing with the vegetables and refrigerate for 4 hours, allowing the flavors to meld. When ready to serve, transfer the vegetables to a serving bowl and garnish with scallions.
• Cook's Note: Blanching is a form of cooking by which dropping raw vegetables into boiling salted water for 3 to 5 minutes and then immediately transferring to a bowl of iced water. When "shocking" with ice water, it instantly stops the cooking process.

SEARED RED MULLET WITH à LA GRECQUE VEGETABLES & BASMATI PILAF

Steps:

• Using a very sharp filleting knife, make a cut at the head on a slant, then turn the fish and cut under the dorsal (top) fin.
• Press the fish down firmly with one hand, bending it slightly along the back so that the flesh is taut. Then slide the knife in at the top of the backbone.
• Cut down against the rib cage at a downward slant. Letting the knife do the work, push the tip against the centre of the bone, working your way down to the tail. Turn the fish over and repeat on the other side.
• Trim the fillets neatly. Remove the pin bones using your fingernails or tweezers. In the restaurant kitchen, we use a straight-sided potato peeler, hooking the bone head and twisting it out. After filleting and pin-boning, pat dry (do not rinse or you'll lose flavour).
• Thinly slice the shallots, garlic and carrots. Quarter and core the fennel then slice the fennel quarters as thinly as you can - use a mandolin, if possible.
• Heat 3 tbsp oil in a sauté frying pan and fry the vegetables together for 5 mins with the saffron, cardamom and bay leaf.
• Add 2 tbsp oil and continue cooking for 5 mins. Season well, remove from the heat and stir in the tomatoes, vinegar, 3 tbsp oil, and coriander.
• Heat 2 tbsp oil in a non-stick frying pan and, when hot, lay in the fillets, skin-side down. Season and cook for 2 mins, then carefully turn and cook for 1-2 mins - but no more, the flesh should be slightly undercooked. Remove from the heat.
• Tip half the vegetables into a shallow dish, lay the fillets on top, then cover with the remaining vegetables.
• Leave to marinate for 10 mins before serving warm. Prepare up to this point up to 1 day ahead and keep in the fridge. Bring to room temperature before serving.
• Soak the rice in cold water for 5 mins, then drain well and tip into a bowl. Mix in the grated zests. Add all the spices. Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Make a cartouche (see tip below).
• Heat oil in an ovenproof casserole, then sauté onion for 5 mins. Add rice and wine, boil until evaporated, then add the stock. Bring to the boil.
• Top with the cartouche and a well-fitting lid. Bake for 20 mins, then take out of the oven, uncover, fork the grains, re-cover. Leave to stand for 5 mins, then serve.