Tag Archives: carrots

Meatless braised artichoke with potato, carrots and peas (suitable for vegetarians)

Posted on March 9, 2020 | Leave a comment

Artichoke is high in fibers and antioxidants, it maintains a healthy heart, reduces bad cholesterol, prevents and treats cancer, improves digestion and acts as a diuretic.

Did you know that if artichoke is left to grow wild, it blossoms into large purple flowers? yes artichoke is a bud of a thistle!

This astounding vegetable can be consumed from leaves to heart and even the bottom, this recipe calls for hearts. Braised artichoke hearts with carrots, potato cubes and peas. It’s usually presented as a side dish, salad or mezza, but if paired with rice you can eat as a main dish.

you will need (serves 4):

medium onion finely diced
400 g artichoke hearts
1 cup carrots, chopped in small cubes
1 cup potato, chopped in small cubes
1 cup peas
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
juice of one big lemon
3 cups water
salt to taste

Sautée the onion in butter until fragrant, add the flower and let it cook a bit until it starts to have a golden shade, then pour the lemon. Whisk the mix the same way of doing the roux then the water little by little. You will obtain a silky and viscous sauce. Add the artichoke, potato, carrots and peas and let it cook on low flame until tender.

As i said you can serve it cold as a mezza or hot with rice, or maybe why not trying it with mashed potato. I am personally a big fan of this dish. I love vegetables and i love everything that has citrus, so it is a heavenly combination. Give it a try and i am sure you will love it.

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Basil, shrimp, avocado and mango fresh rolls

Posted on November 1, 2017 | Leave a comment

These colorful rolls bring sweet memories for me, they remind me of my favorite asian restaurant when i used to live in Bahrain, These rolls were on my to cook list for so long. Usually they are called Vietnamese fresh rolls, but since it’s not the classic recipe, i didn’t dare call them so! This is my own version of fresh rolls using a symphony of ingredients that i found going heavenly together.

These effortless rolls are the freshest, nutrient packed, crunchy and sweet while looking fabulously colorful! Finally, having them ready on my plate, these happy rolls added some brightness to my day!

Usually they are served with a Vietnamese peanut sauce made of peanut butter and hoisin sauce which is thinned out with either milk or water, vinegar for a bit of tang, garlic and a touch of chilli. Personally, i prefer the Thai sweet sauce! It’s all up to your taste at the end.

To prepare 15 rolls (one pack) you will need:

1 pack of rice paper (about 15 papers)
500g shrimps cooked and deveined (you can also broil in the oven)
1 medium mango cut a la julienne
1 avocado sliced
4-5 iceberg leaves
a bunch of fresh mint leaves
a bunch of fresh basil leaves
2 medium carrots finely julienned

Take 1 rice paper and place in a shallow plate filled with warm water. Allow rice paper to soften for about 10 seconds. Remove and lay flat on working table – be gentle so you don’t rip the delicate paper. If this is your first time to use this type of paper, you will rip some in the beginning until u get used to 🙂

Start layering all veggies and fruits in the center of rice paper, Start with the lettuce so it holds the other ingredients. On the top part of the rice paper, place 3 shrimps with a mint leaf in between, or avocado to have the final look as per the photo below. Your rice paper rolls should look pretty with the shrimps and mint leaves or avocado on the smooth side of the roll and the seam on the underside of the roll.

Fold the left and right edges of the rice paper in, then starting from the bottom, roll up to cover the lettuce bundle, keep rolling firmly to reach the shrimps. The rice paper is sticky, it will seal itself.

Serve immediately with the dipping sauce. These rolls are to be eaten fresh and on the spot, with time the rice paper gets dry and chewy.

If you’ve tried this or any other recipe on the blog please let me know the result, I love hearing from you!

And if you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.

A heart warming broccoli cheese soup

Posted on January 31, 2017 | 1 comment

So full of flavors and warming the heart, exactly what i needed today! The weather is going crazy here (doha), calling for a hearty soup to tame the cold!

It’s an absolutely perfect comfort food, if you like soup, you’ll be rewarded with the best, creamiest and richest one.

-“What’s that amazing smell?”. It’s broccoli and cheddar cheese hun.

It’s an easy soup to make and is ready in half an hour. To serve 4 generous portions you will need:

50g butter
1 medium onion finely diced 0r 1/2 cup
1 large carrot chopped (small pieces) or 2/3 cup
1 tsp garlic salt\ powder
1/4 cup flour
3 cups vegetable broth
1/2 liter or 2 cups milk
1 medium head of broccoli florets chopped
225g or 1 cup of freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese
salt and black pepper to taste

Heat the butter until melted. Add onion and carrots and saute until onion is translucent and fragrant (about 3-4 minutes). Stir in the garlic salt and flour and saute for another minute. Whisk in the vegetable broth, (you can use chicken broth also but i liked to keep it vegetarian) and milk. Combine well before adding the broccoli florets. Don’t cut them too small, keep some as medium chunks. When the soup reaches a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes or until broccoli is cooked. Use salt responsibly as the stock and the cheese will do the job. Stir in the freshly grated cheddar, i said freshly grated because the ready grated ones that comes in bags are coated and doesn’t melt easily. Whisk until cheese is completely melt (2-3 minutes) and serve immediately.

Even people who don’t like broccoli will love it when bathing in a creamy and cheesy broth. It doesn’t just warm your body but your soul too!

There’s a few optional spices, that makes it not taste boring, like paprika or mustard powder, they’re not mandatory if you don’t keep them on hand, but they do add extra depth of flavor. I wanted to serve my children so i kept it mild.

Don’t forget to give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More posts are yet to come.

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Posted in appetizers & salads

Tagged broccoli, broth, carrots, cheddar cheese, comfort food, cream, doha, easy, food blog, food blogger, food photography, food porn, hearty soup, jaymmy, lebanon, marmite et ponpon, milk, no fail, qatar, quick, recipe, soup

“Mini chef in the kitchen” 2- Jus de lapin (carrot-banana-mandarin smoothie)

Posted on April 30, 2015 | Leave a comment

In the “mini chef in the kitchen” series, today we are preparing a healthy fruit smoothie to beat the heat.

Giving the juice a creative name, attracts your kids attention and stimulates their curiosity. There is no way they won’t try it especially if they are picky eaters like my son.

“jus de lapin” or rabbit juice because it contains carrots and has a bright orange color!

You will need

1 large carrot
1 big banana
juice of 3 mandarines
half cup ice (optional)
1 tsp honey (optional)

Mix all and blend for 2-3 minutes until smooth and frothy.

My son is not fan of sweet taste, i didn’t add the honey since the mandarin were not very sour.

If the fruits are already cold or some frozen, you can skip adding ice. I put two colorful ice sticks for fun and to keep it chilled.

This activity provides your kids with plenty of opportunities to learn. Click on benefits of cooking with your kids to know more about it.

To add more fun and encourage Nady to have the whole smoothie i prepared moustache cut out and insert it in the straw. Click here for the printable file.

There are endless options for smoothies, use the favorite fruits of your kids, or even introduce some other veggies like celery, spinach or cucumber and make the green giant.

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.

ginger scented rice pilaf with whole roast fish

Posted on September 5, 2014 | 5 comments

A small introduction for wonderers…

Pilaf is the way of cooking the rice. Also known as pilav or palaw in which rice is cooked in seasoned broth. The yellow to brown color is attained by stirring in onion or spices. Depending on the cuisine it might have also meat, chicken, fish, vegetables or dried fruits.

Initially i was making a whole roast fish but didn’t want to present it solo. I thought of roast potatoes and vegetables then i said why not rice?!

To not go classic, i thought of rice pilaf with a twist! Ginger and cilantro, two of my favorite deep flavors that blends together perfectly. The outcome was heavenly tasty.

Ginger scented rice pilaf:

1 1/4 cup rice
1/2 cup carrots diced finely
1/2 cup onion diced finely
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cube vegetable bouillon (almost 5g)/ broth
2 1/2 cups water
2 tbsp fresh cilantro (coriander) chopped

Heat olive oil in sauce pan. Add ginger, onion, carrots and stir until fragrant for 3-4 minutes.

Add rice, bouillon and water and bring to boil. Cover with a lid, reduce heat to low and let it simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove from heat, cover the pan with a towel and let it sit for 15 minutes. Remove the lid and fluff the rice with a fork. Toss in the cilantro and taste to check if you need to add salt (optional) and serve immediately.

The house was full of aroma! Couldn’t wait until the fish was completely roast to start eating. If you are not fan of fish i am sure this rice will pair nicely with chicken, beef or prawns. I can even eat it alone!

To roast the fish there are many ways. My favorite is “en papillote”, the same principle as wrapping in foil with enough liquid to create steam, but using greaseproof paper to create individual portions when you are baking medium or small size fish.

I put chopped cilantro, lemon slices, lemon juice, salt, pepper (quantity as per your taste) and drizzled some garlic olive oil before wrapping the fish. Baked in the oven (for 240°C) for 20 minutes.

Fish is easily overcooked therefore care must be taken when using the oven. When roasting a whole fish always ensure the skin is on.