Fast & Delicious: Citrus Scallop Carpaccio

No cooking time, super simple and delicious, this recipe is for you! It is very stylish and tastes great. Try this Scallops Carpaccio, you'll love it. You can also prepare this carpaccio with other fish pieces like salmon, cod or rockfish.

Serves 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes + 3 hours in the fridge
NO cooking time!
Difficulty: *

Ingredients:
- 4 big sea scallops
- juice of a 1/2 lime
- 1 mandarin, preferably organic (or tangerine, or even a small orange)
- 4 tablespoons good quality olive oil
- salt and pepper/red pepper berries

1. Rinse the scallops and pat them dry.
2. Slice each scallop thinly horizontally.
3. Arrange on plates in layers.
4. Grate the mandarin zest and reserve.
5. In a bowl, mix the olive oil, the lime juice, the mandarin zest and a pinch of salt.
6. Drizzle the citrus olive oil over the scallops. You can use a pastry brush to make sure all the pieces are coated.
7. Cover with a plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Grind some pepper or red pepper berries on top, and serve with a sprouts salad and toasted bread.

French Chocolate Macaroons

Macaroons are small cookies which look like mini-burgers :) They are perfect for any occasion but you'll need time and probably practice to get perfectly shaped macaroons. However, if you are not too picky with the way they look, that's good because they'll still be delicious and melt in your mouth.

For about 15-20 macaroons
Preparation time: 1 hour
Baking time: 12-15 minutes per baking sheet
Special equipment: parchment paper, a gallon-size sealable plastic bag or pastry bag
Difficulty: ***

Ingredients:

For the macaroons
- 2/3 cup (90g) ground almonds
- 3/4 cup (100g) confectioners' sugar
- 1/8 cup (15g) cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup (90g) caster sugar
- 2 egg whites

For the chocolate ganache
- 1 1/4 cup dark or milk chocolate
- a bit less than a cup (0.8 cup or 21cl) whipping cream

1. Make the ganache.
Place the chocolate in a bowl. Boil the whipping cream and pour it over the chocolate. Cover and let melt for about 3 minutes. Stir the ganache until very smooth. When the mix is warm, add the soft butter cut into small pieces and stir. Cover with plastic film and let stand in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

2. Make the macaroons.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a food processor, pulse almond powder with the confectioners' sugar and the cocoa powder until very fine, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt in another bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until they just hold soft peaks.
Add caster sugar, little by little, then increase speed to high and continue to beat until whites just hold stiff, glossy peaks.

Stir almond mixture into meringue very slowly with a rubber spatula until completely incorporated. The batter should be shiny and smooth but not liquid!

Spoon batter into bag, pressing out excess air, and snip off 1 corner of plastic bag to create a 1/4-inch opening. Twist bag firmly just above batter, then pipe peaked mounds of batter (about 1-inch diameter) onto lined sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. Let cookies stand, uncovered, at room temperature until tops are no longer sticky and a light crust forms, 20 to 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 300°F / 150°C.
Bake cookies until crisp and edges are just slightly darker, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool completely on sheets.

3. To assemble the macaroons, carefully peel cookies from parchment. Spoon the ganache into another plastic bag (like described above) or use a pastry bag and sandwich a thin layer of ganache (using a plastic bag as described above, or a pastry bag) between flat sides of cookies.

If you can wait, macaroons are even more delicious the next day. They can be kept in an open box in the fridge.

Scallops on a bed of leeks

This dish is perfect for a "chic" diner. Scallops are a delicate ingredient which marries perfectly with leeks, which belong to the same family as onion and garlic. Leeks have a very mild taste and they are very good bones, joints, arteries and connective tissues. Make sure you include them in your diet thanks to this great recipe!

Serves 2
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: **


Ingredients:
- 8 nice and big scallops (4 per person) - Use more if your scallops are on the smaller size
- 4 leeks
- 1 + 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/3 cup (50 ml) water
- salt & pepper
- a pinch of paprika

First, wash the leeks. Make sure you do it properly since the layers might trap some dirt. Trim the leeks, keeping only the white onion base and light green stalk. The dark green portion is usually discarded since it has less flavor and can be bitter.

Chop the white base of the leeks into slices about 1 inch (1.5 cm) thick.
Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large pan. Add the leek slices and the water and let "melt" on medium heat for about 10 minutes, until the water is gone.
If you see that the water evaporated but the leeks are not melted (=tender) enough, add a little bit of water and continue cooking on low heat.
Do not let the leek slices brown, they should keep their origial color!

Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a frying pan. Pat dry the scallops with kitchen paper and season with salt and pepper on each side.
When the frying pan is hot, add the scallops and let brown for about 2/3 minutes. Return the scallops and do the same on the other side.
**Do not overcook the scallops since they can become chewy. Be also aware of the risks of undercooked meat, poultry, seafood, shellfish and eggs consumption.**

Once the scallops are cooked as you like, lay a bed of melted leeks on a plate and place 4 scallops on top. Add a pinch of paprika on the scallops to add color. Repeat for the second plate.

If you liked this recipe, let me know!

Spiced Duck and Potato Soufflé: Stylish!

You can plan on cooking Duck for Valentine's Day this year, it 's very simple and it's original. I suggest that you serve it with a light Potato Soufflé: simple and memorable!! The flavors of both dishes marry well together and you'll surprise your partner with the secret ingredient used in the Soufflé.... sssshhhh.


Serves 2
Preparation: 5 minutes for the Duck + 1 hour marinating, 10 minutes for the Soufflé
Cooking time: 5 minutes for the Duck, 10 minutes for the Soufflé
Difficulty: *

Ingredients for the duck:
- 2 duck breasts (about 1 pound)
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper
For the marinade:
- juice of 1/2 lime
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon ground 5-spices
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Ingredients for the Potato Soufflé:
- 1/2 cup mashed potatoes
- 1/2 tablespoon fennel seeds -this is the secret ingredient!-
- 1 egg
- salt and pepper

For the Duck:
Remove the skin off the duck breasts and cut each breast into 4 slices (not too thin).
Prepare the marinade: wisk together the lime juice and spices in a non-metallic dish and add some pepper. Coat the duck breast slices with the marinade, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
In a big frying pan, heat one tablespoon of olive oil. When hot, fry the duck breast slices for about 1 minute on each side.
Reduce the heat to low, add the honey and let cook for 2 to 3 additional minutes.
Serve immediately.

Prepare the Potato Soufflés (make sure they'll be ready at the same time as the duck - you can let the soufflés stand for about 5 minutes before serving):
Separate the egg white and the yolk.
Mix together the mashed potatoes, the fennel seeds and the egg yolk.
Add a pinch of salt to the egg white and beat until stiff.
Delicately mix the stiff egg white and the mashed potatoes.
Preheat your oven at 400°F / 200°C.
Fill in 2 small ramequins with the preparation and bake in the oven for about 10 minutes. Your soufflés will be fluffly and light.

Enjoy, and Happy Valentine's Day!!