Carpaccio of turnip and pear

I was on the phone with my sister Denise the other day and she told me about a fabulous salad she created for some family catering. The way she described it reminded me of a carpaccio which I absolutely love. The turnip cut very thinly with a mandoline will absorb all the juices from the dressing making it ever so tender and delectable. This recipe is definitely one of my favorite raw recipe. It's very elegant as well. Ideal as an appetizer.

Serves 1 as a main meal

Ingredients

1 small young turnip, sliced paper thin with a mandoline or potato peeler if you don't own a mandoline.

3 cups Baby arugula

1 small young pear, sliced paper thin

1/2 cup almonds, soaked over night and pulsed 5-6 times in your food processor or until crumbly (it's not absolutely necessary that they soak over night but they are much more tender and will resemble more of a hard cheese texture rather then a nut)

Olive oil

Lemon juice

Salt and pepper

Instructions

Place one layer of turnips on a plate. Drizzle with olive oil and fresh lemon juice, season with salt and pepper. On top of turnips, add on layer of arugula. On top of arugula add one layer of pears and continue these 4 steps until you have no more ingredients. Let the salad marinate for 5 minutes and serve.

Kale Nicoise

There is two types of green kale. One is the Scotch type and have gray-green and very curled and crumpled leaves and there is the Siberian type which is blue-green and less curled. I find the Siberian to be more tender and not as bitter.

Today my friend Maria asked me what to do with kale and I thought maybe other people were wondering the same. Some recipes on my blog do include kale but I noticed that I don't have any where the main ingredient is actually kale.

Kale is part of the cabbage family, it's full of vitamin K, A, C and it contains, to name only a few, a very generous amount of manganese, fiber, calcium, Omega 3, etc... Studies have proved that eating kale reduces the risk of cancer (especially ovarian cancer), optimize your cells detoxification, lower cataract risk, promote lung health, boost immune system, slow loss of mental function and much more...

Now, you know why I include kale in my recipes as much as I possibly can (it's great in smoothies and in juices)

Ingredients
2-3 tbsp of olive oil
1 shallot, chopped
1 big garlic clove, minced
Dash of crushed pepper
4-5 cups of kale, cleaned and chopped
1 medium tomato, cubed
1 tbsp capers
10 kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
Salt and Pepper

Directions
Heat up olive oil in a medium size skillet over medium heat. When oil is hot but not smoking, add shallot, garlic and crushed pepper and saute for 1-2 minutes or until shallot becomes transparent but not brown. Add kale and saute for 2 minutes or just until it starts wilting. Remove from heat (I just don't like mine to be over cooked, almost in it's raw form, but you can leave it a little longer if you like it more cooked). Add tomatoes, capers, olives, salt and pepper.

Note: if your kale is bitter add a little bit of agave syrup, honey or maple syrup (like a tsp, taste it and add some more if needed)

3 spices chicken thins

I often pound chicken breasts because it cooks in no time and it's becomes more tender. This recipe is great with any saute veggies but also the next day, sliced thinly in a salad.

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 chicken breast, butterflied and pounded as thin as you can without breaking the meat

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp crushed pepper

1 hand full fresh cilantro, chopped

1 medium garlic clove, minced

zest of one lemon, chopped

Direction

Set chicken breast aside. Mix all remaining ingredients in a bowl big enough to hold the pounded chicken breast. Take one chicken breast and press it down in the spice mixture. Repeat with second chicken breast. Heat up a skillet on medium-high heat. Add 2 tbsp of olive oil. When oil is hot but not smoking add the chicken breast. Leave 3 minutes on one side (do not disturb), flip on the other side and continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes or until pink as just disappeared. Do not overcook or it will be dry.