Three Courses of French Vegetarian Goodness

Three Courses of French Vegetarian Goodness:

Braised Baby Artichokes over Brown Rice with Tomato Coulis & Goat Cheese Stuffed Roasted Tomato

Now, anyone familiar with French food will probably be wondering how I could pull off a decent, multi-course French dinner given my status as vegetarian and subsequent lack of desire to prepare, let alone eat, a meaty dish.  

But, happily for me, one of my more productive means of procrastination is perusing online cooking and recipe sites for recipes that sound particularly interesting, challenging, or which meet some other criteria I've deemed of the utmost importance (most recently, I've been pursing BBQ'd meat substitutes). 

On one of my many sojourns through the wonderful world of online cooking resources, I came across a set of recipes on Food and Wine magazine's website, intriguingly titled: "French Provincial Vegetarian."  I clicked the link excitedly and found myself anything but disappointed.  

In fact, I was quite happy to be staring at a French Vegetarian menu developed by Chef Alain Coumont.  

The menu included:

• Braised baby artichokes (with tomato coulis and brown rice) http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/braised-baby-artichokes-with-tomato-coulis
  
• Tomato Coulishttp://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/tomato-coulis-alain-coumont
  
• Oven-roasted tomatoes stuffed with goat cheese http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/oven-roasted-tomatoes-stuffed-with-goat-cheese
  
• Chilled zucchini soup 
  http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/chilled-zucchini-soup-with-purslane
  
• Mocha Pots
  I changed things up a bit and pursued a dessert recipe on my own.http://www.delish.com/recipefinder/mocha-pots-chocolate-desserts
  

Alterations:

As usual, I made some alterations to the original recipes (links found above, next to the bulleted menu items) but given my unfamiliarity with French cooking a I was less comfortable than usual with making too many spur-of-the-moment changes.  

Chilled Zucchini Soup

My major cooking intervention came in the form of adding greater quantities of spices than the recipes called for, and occasionally adding an extra clove of garlic or bit more chopped onion or basil.  This was all in the service of producing a more robust flavor and I would recommend that anyone embarking upon these recipes start off with recommended amounts and slowly adapt things to their taste.  

The other major changes I made were to reduce serving sizes and I opted to use canned whole artichokes (HEB brand) rather than preparing fresh artichokes for the artichoke dish.  This eliminated the need to pare the artichokes and then soak them in lemon-water (although I drizzled lemon on the canned artichokes prior to cooking).  This adaptation necessitated that I add the artichokes later in the cooking process than originally called for in order to prevent them from becoming overdone. 

NOTE: Every recipe I made could be made Gluten Free if you are following a GF diet.  It would require using certified GF ingredients but no other alteration to the recipes.

Results:

Although I don't typically tackle multiple dishes when I make dinner (I usually opt for a one course, one-food meal), I found Coumont's recipes to be relatively easy to make (balking popular conceptions of the complexity of French cooking), if still time consuming.  

I was able to make two of the recipes, the chilled zucchini soup and tomato coulis, the day before the dinner and enjoyed the fact that I was able to tackle things across two days rather than slaving away in the kitchen nonstop for a full day.

Mocha Pots, fresh out of oven

Overall, my experiment in vegetarian French cooking was a success.  The artichokes with tomato coulis and brown rice combo. was a hit, and the oven-baked tomatoes stuffed with goat cheese are absolutely heavenly.  

The chilled zucchini soup was good, but less of a pleaser than the other dishes.  It is a nice, light first course, but I feel it needs something like a nice crusty, toasted bread paired with it to be really successful.  

The Mocha Pots for dessert also turned out well.  I made them fresh after dinner so they could be consumed while still warm and I put a healthy dollop of reduced fat whipped cream on top before serving.  All in all, a great night of foodie decadence of the Provencal French Vegetarian variety. 

Product Review: Cafe Du Monde Chicory Coffee

Product Review: Cafe Du Monde Chicory Coffee
{GF* +  Vegan  + Vegetarian + Low-Carb}

Cafe Du Monde Chicory Coffee
with Almond Milk

When living a Gluten-Free, vegan, vegetarian, or low-carb lifestyle there are many amazing New Orleans food favorites that get taken, literally, off of the table.  Gumbo, Jambalaya, Po Boys and Beignets are forbidden to Gluten-Free eaters due to the flour-content of roux (used in much Canjun cooking) and also used for baking the Po Boy sandwich bread and Beignets.  For low-carb eaters, Gumbo and Jambalaya are taken out of the running by the high-carb rice they are served with, while vegetarian eaters probably won't be able to easily find veggie-friendly versions.  Vegans eaters are mostly just out of luck.

Pretty crappy, huh?  Well, don't get too down yet.  You CAN still get a taste of New Orleans even if you practice any one of these diets.  But, instead of *eating* New Orleans, you'll be *drinking* it.  I'm talking about Cafe Du Monde Chicory Coffee!

Cafe Du Monde Chicory Coffee: New Orleans Flavors for the Gluten-Free, Vegan, Vegetarian and/or Low-Carb Eater

Cafe Du Monde Chicory Coffee is available online at Cafe Du Monde's website, Cafe Du Monde Coffee, at many grocery stores in the South, including Super Target, and through online retailers such as Amazon.com.  

Cafe Du Monde's Chicory coffee is a great way to experience or remind yourself of the great flavors of New Orleans in the comfort of your home and without wandering outside of the Gluten-Free, Vegetarian or Vegan, or Low Carb diet(s) you practice.  

What is Chicory, Anyway?

Well now, that's a good question!  It's lettuce!  

Well, not exactly.  Chicory is made from the roots of endive plants, a type of lettuce that is from the same family as daisies.  You've probably eaten endive in salads and never known it--it comes in multiple varieties, including curly varieties sometimes referred to as frisee.  

Endive, leaf-form

The leaf of the endive can be somewhat bitter, but the roots--from which chicory is derived via roasting and grinding--is actually used to tame down the bitterness of coffee and to impart a slightly chocolaty flavor.  The end result is a more complex coffee drinking experience where the sometimes overpowering bitterness of coffee is subdued to allow for more subtle flavors, including the chocolate-like flavor of the chicory itself, to shine through.

Why is Chicory Coffee Representative of New Orleans Flavors?

As is true of much of New Orleans' most famous and well loved cuisine, Chicory coffee has its roots in French and French-Creole culture.  

Chicory itself became an additive in coffee during the French civil war.  With very small stocks of many food products, including coffee, the French would add chicory to their coffee to make their stores last longer.  This French culinary tradition was later brought to New Orleans along with many other French eating customs.  

Today, chicory coffee serves as the base of the Cafe Au Lait's (half milk / half coffee) you can (and should) order at many New Orleans eating establishments, including the famous Cafe Du Monde (made famous for their beignets).  

Chicory coffee is, I found from experience, such a cultural symbol of New Orleans food culture and history that old advertisements for chicory coffees constitute the subject matter of many postcards for sale at local bakeries and coffee houses.  If you've been to New Orleans you've probably spotted for yourself a postcard for sale like the one at the left!

Product Recommendation

Go for it!  Cafe Du Monde's Chicory Coffee is well loved and easily available--no matter how near to or far from New Orleans you are geographically.  I've been drinking my Cafe Du Monde Chicory Coffee with chocolate soy milk (to boost the chocolate flavor of the chicory) and with unsweetened plain almond milk.  Either milk substitute goes well in the Chicory Coffee.  

And, if you're feeling *really* authentic, bust out some dairy milk and mix yourself up a Cafe Au Lait--remember, it's just 1/2 milk and 1/2 Chicory coffee.  Easy!

* Note--There are no gluten containing ingredients in the Cafe Du Monde Chicory Coffee and GF eaters have routinely reported using this product safely (I could find no contradictory instances).  However, there is no GF labeling. 

Happy, Health, Weird Eating!
Kate