Leftover Beef

In the fridge a great piece of cooked roast beef , this is not the season for cold roastbeef and quite frankly I prefer to cook shepperd'pie with chopped steak ( no horse ...) of the best quality...
Actually you can do this recipe with any piece of leftover cooked meat from the barbecue, also with chicken or turkey.
I would not do it with leftover lamb .

Ingredients

1. A piece of left over cooked beef
2. A cabbage
3. A packet of rice noodles
4. A chopped onion
5. Soy sauce
6. Juice of half a lemon
7. A bunch of parsley or coriander

Slice the rest of the roastbeef in thick stripes

Chop the cabbage

following the instructions on the packet immerse the rice noodles and then drain

It's very important to cut the noodles!

Splash some olive oil in a wok and throw in the onions keeping a strong fire,

when the onions start to color add the cabbage stirring all the time with a wooden spoon,

when the cabbage is almost done add the meat then the noodles lemon juice and soy sauce.

mix well

sprinkle with the chopped parsley or coriander.

serve!

visual delights

All of last year has been hellish works in our house with lots of hiccups...
so finally now I can get back to my blog...As my kitchen was flooded
my thoughtful husband took me out for top lunches ,these are treats from la reserve in Geneva.
The Cafe Lauren in the spa has this wonderful chef and I want to share her brilliant
flair...
Exquisite flavors , healthy food and visual delights...

salmon" agro dolce "with spinach

cod and carrot puree

chicken and mixed vegetables

pumpkin soup with fried pumpkin seeds

curried vegetables and quinoa

cod,vegetables,dill and sesame seeds

sashimi of salmon with herbs

carpaccio of strawberries

rasberry biscuit

crab rolls

soft boiled egg on a bed of beans and mushrooms

pumpkin soup with fried porcini mushrooms

chicken and mixed veggies

crumble and sherbet

poetic sherbet

carpaccio of tuna with herbs

squid and mixed vegetables

poached pear and yoghurt sherbet

salmon tartare

langoustines on a bed of vegetables

curried vegetables on rice

quinoa and vegetables

a "simple" mixed salad

soft boiled egg cozy with green asparagus

chicken curry

grilled sea bream , salad and tomato relish

pea soup

salmon with "spaghetti"vegetables

raspberries with custard

celeriac soup

fish with sesame crust

stuffed cherry tomato

seared tuna

Tramaland

Every year when we do a road trip through France we try to stay at Puymirol (next to Agen) where Michel Trama
and his wife have a wonderful relais chateau.
the food is to die and here are a few pictures of his "cristalline" fruit and vegetables.
by the way his cristalline cook book is a work of art.
www.editionsdelamartiniere.fr/ouvrage/cristallines/
this winter we are extremely tempted to go when the black truffles are on...

from Oxtail a la Colombiana to Boeuf Ficelle

Actually this can take a couple of posts and three days..
I'm having Hubert and Sylvie for lunch and we are in the southwest of France , where food is talked about all day , all night , all year...you get the picture...So I always try to cook something special and  I've ordered a super de luxe beef fillet to do a "boeuf ficelle" which is basically poached beef in broth...But HA not any broth...a super de luxe home made broth hence the oxtail!
Which I will use for the broth and then cook a la colombiana..
It sounds like a bad TV series but I promise it will be worth the read..

DAY ONE

Ingredients for the broth

perfect oxtail

1. A nice oxtail cut and tied
2. Two or three bones (ask your butcher they come for free)
3. Two carrots peeled and halved
4. One fat leek cut in half
5. two stems of celery cut in three pieces
6. Three small whole turnips or a big one cut in four pieces
7. Two whole unpeeled onions grilled in the oven for about 20 minutes
8. Four cloves ,a stem of rosemary, a laurel leaf , a sage leaf , a tea spoon of hot chile , coarse salt

free bones  from the butcher

vegetables

grilled onions to color  the broth

Plonk the meat and the bones in a big pot and add COLD water.

Then bring to a boil while skimming like mad the revolting foam,this is the key to a perfect broth!
When the skimming is done and the liquid boils happily throw in all the rest of the ingredients , put the lid on ,keep the pot on a low fire and forget about it for the next four hours.
then once cooled put it in the fridge overnight.As it's  cold outside it stands on the window sill.

DAY TWO

The next morning you declare war on grease...Most of it has risen to the surface and is easy to discard but still the broth has to be strained through a sieve and cloth.

discard the vegetables,the carrots are perfect for the dog , keep the ox tail aside degrease and shred it.

for the master

for the king

ingredients for the oxtail a la colombiana

1. shredded ox tail
2. One onion
3. A cup of concentrated tomato paste
4. Half a glass of white wine
5. A tea spoon of sugar
6. A dash of hot chile
7. Some broth
8. coriander or parsley to give a nice touch of green

Brown the onion in olive oil  , a splash of white wine , then mix in  tomato paste, sugar and chile.
Add the meat, cover and cook on low fire for about an hour adding some broth if needed.
Serve with a sprinkle of herbs. My neighbor Michelle made some "escoton" which is the french south west cousin of  italian polenta but you can opt for polenta or rice or mashed potatoes...
Anything gooey that absorbs the sauce!

Enjoy!

 DAY THREE

Now today lets get down to serious business!
Boeuf ficelle served with boiled vegetables and a salmoriglio sauce.I could have done the typical green sauce , or a tomato sauce or horseradish...But I decided to live dangerously and try a new recipe!!!

ingredients

1. A nice piece of beef filet tied up 
2. A bunch of carrots
3. A bunch of turnips
4. Half a kilo of small potatoes
5. A bunch of parsley and a few leaves of fresh oregano
6. A garlic clove
7. The juice of two lemons
8. A glass of olive oil
9. Coarse salt on the table

Actually as far as the vegetables are concerned you can use whatever you fancy...
leeks , onion , cabbage , celery ...ect
The leftover vegetables will make a nice soup so figure out yourself the quantities...The broth can be used for a wonderful risotto...
Boil the vegetables in the broth for about half an hour.
Prepare a sturdy wooden spoon to hang your meat , the broth must be boiling and the meat should be poached without touching bottom or sides of the pot.
If you like your meat red , it takes about 25 minutes for three pounds.

salmoriglio sauce

whisk a glass of olive oil  adding slowly a glass of tepid water , then the lemon juice , when the mix looks quite thick add the chopped parsley,garlic and oregano.then heat the sauce on a slow fire always whisking for about five minutes , it's ready ! and it was a great success , a very light sauce to remember , it should also go well with grilled fish , or any adventurous barbecue.

the vegetables cook slowly in the broth

the meat is tied up and ready to swim

About 25 minutes hanging there

A dash of parsley for the color

Perfect meat,perfect taste

 Serve with the salmoriglio sauce on the side , coarse salt and mustard.
It was worth it !!!!!