Asian-Style Cioppino Recipe (Seafood Stew)

The weather is getting cold and damp, so I thought a cioppino-style soup was a good solution to fight the low temperatures we've been having. I didn't really make the authentic San Franciscan fish stew, nor the traditional Provençal version of bouillabaisse, but a more Asian adaptation of the seafood soup using ingredients I recently received from our friends at AsianFoodGrocer.com. The major change is that I made the broth using bonito flakes, Asian mushrooms and miso paste. Otherwise, the seafood soup is cooked with the more common ingredients such as fresh tomatoes, corn, fish and shellfish and flavored with fennel, mushrooms, garlic, lime peel, dill and saffron.



I also cracked one separately cooked Dungeness crab and gathered the meat at the last minute to add to the bass fillets, mussels, clams and small shrimp already cooking in the soup. I served it just the way I would bouillabaisse (the Southern-French stew originated in Marseille) with garlic bread and rouille sauce, which is a saffron-flavored mayonnaise. To bouillabaisse purists, the addition of bonito flakes and miso paste may seem sacrilegious, but I think it was a refreshing twist with an Asian flair.


If you’re considering making this dish, I have some good news: our friend Gustavo from AsianFoodGrocer.com is kindly giving away a $50 gift card that you can win this week on Pham Fatale! The deadline is Sunday, October 16th, 2011. And for those of you who can't wait to try AsianFoodGrocer.com products, head over to their online store, enter coupon code PHAMFATALE during checkout (exclusively for Pham Fatale readers) and get 10% off your entire order; the coupon expires on October 22nd, 2011 so make the most of it!

Walnut Nectarine Tart Recipe

I stopped by Costco this week and found that nectarines were still on sale. Our family has been enjoying juicy, sweet stone fruit all summer and I was hoping this case of them would live up to our recent experiences. Alas, these nectarines weren't nearly as flavorful as the ones from earlier in the summer. Instead of letting them rot in our fruit basket ignominiously, I decided to give them a new and much more delicious life by baking them in a frangipane fruit tart.

For this version, I pre-baked store-bought puff pastry that I layered with walnut buttercream and nectarines. Making the nut butter cream for the tart has become one of my specialties; I could make this dessert with my eyes closed. It's very simple, and if you do this as much as I have, it will become second nature for you as well. Finally, I gave the product a professional look by glazing the tart with nectarine jam. The result was absolutely delectable!

French Toast Recipe (Pain Perdu)

I had some gata bread that had been going stale on the kitchen counter this weekend. In case you don’t know, gata bread is a soft, chewy, Armenian sweet bread that pairs wonderfully with coffee. Given my aversion to waste, I immediately thought it would make the perfect breakfast if I soaked it in a little egg-sugar-milk mixture. It's called pain perdu, which literally translates to "lost bread” ("French toast" in English).

To accompany the French toast, I made a compote de figues, simply "fig sauce". I placed the bread on a bed of crème anglaise and topped it with freshly whipped cream and a dusting of cocoa powder.

You’ll like this so much you’ll find yourself purposely letting bread get a little dry. And it’s not just great at breakfast; French toast also makes a tasty after-school snack for children (goûter in French).

Mushroom Cheese Tart (Savory Tart Recipe)

Making savory tarts is pretty simple. All you need is a crust, a filling and usually a cheese topping. I pair these tarts with a green salad, which make a healthful, tasty, light meal.

I prepared a vegetarian tart with California Lavash pizza lavash as the pie crust. I put together two layers of lavash for sturdiness. The filling is a combination of caramelized onions, sautéed mushrooms, marinara sauce and soy chorizo. I garnished the tart with goat cheese topping and shredded Parmesan.

I've really enjoyed cooking with California Lavash breads; check back again tomorrow and see another new recipe using the delicious soft flatbread! And don't forget to enter our giveaway this week. Just click the "like" button below and you’re entered in the contest! At the end of the week, we’ll pick three winners at random who will win two bags of whole wheat, original, spinach and pizza lavash. You’ll l♥ve it!

Fig Dessert Cup Recipe

I've recently received feedback about PhamFatale, saying that some of the recipes I post seem too complicated and the instructions can sometimes be a bit intimidating. If that describes you, then you are going to love this recipe. It may look fancy and complex, but it’s actually very simple.

The basics of these cute little desserts are roasted figs in individual baked lavash bread cups. I filled the edible cups with store-bought instant pistachio pudding and sprinkled the top of the fruit with crushed pistachios to repeat the flavor from the filling. I prepared the receptacle for each dessert by molding rounds of lavash bread in the cavity of mini-tart pans. I separately roasted fresh figs from our garden that I drizzled with flavorful maple syrup. Doesn't that sound yummy?



It took me no time to complete this elegant-looking sweet treat. So next time you want to serve dessert, give this recipe a try. If you really want to impress your friends, call it "figues rôties à la pistache". French names make everything sound fancy!