The arrival of old varieties at market garden stalls is bringing color to our dishes this summer. Tomatoes come in a range from pistachio green to dark red, going through sunny yellow, bright orange, pale pink; eggplants no longer appear only in purple or black, they are clad in white, striped parmesan and a subtle purple; as for zucchini, they play both chromatic and geometric card daring with green and yellow stripes.
Aromatic plants (ah gorgeous purple basil!) And flowers (marigold, panties, dahlias or sunflower) complement this colorful look.
In his work kitchen colors (1), Raphaël Haumont, a physicochemical researcher and lecturer at the University of Paris-Saclay, emphasizes the benefits of a varied and colorful diet.
Indeed, from the fifth century BC, Chinese medicine offers an inventory of foods classified into five large families, related to a planet, a body part, and a taste: red for blood and strength, green for liver, and fiber, yellow for stomach and energy, white for lungs and carbohydrates, and black for kidneys and mineral salts.
→ RECIPE. As a dessert or in salad, figs can be cooked in all sauces
The author also devalues preconceived ideas like orange foods like citrus fruits naturally linked to vitamins, while a glass of parsley juice is much more energetic!
Color students
Some tricks to play student colorists in the oven: to get a surprising, all-natural blue sauce, cook a little purple cabbage in liquid cream and mix. Use this cream with lemon peel and borage flowers to enjoy a potato salad.
To change the look of a rice salad, cook it with a raw beet so that the grains take on a delicate pink. And decorate your rice salad with watermelon cubes and cherry tomatoes.
→ RECIPE. We do not confuse with tabbouleh!
In my library, a monument of gourmet literature, Flavors Directory by Niki Segnit (2). On the cover of the book, a rosette of colors presents 16 main themes, which include 99 flavors, more than 900 combinations and about 200 recipes. For a more historical and scientific approach, see Raphaël Haumont’s book.
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K Whole yellow salad
For 4 people
2 yellow zucchini
1 yellow bell pepper
2 yellow tomatoes
4 small ears
2 young celery stalks
5 cl olive oil
1 tablespoon vinegar
With a mandolin we cut the zucchini into long strips. Cook for 2 minutes in the steam basket.
Peel a squash, grate it and slice it into eight slices. Fry for ten minutes in a pan with olive oil.
In a salad bowl, mix the small corn cobs cut into pieces. Add the tomatoes cut into four pieces and the chopped celery stalks.
Arrange them with salt, pepper, remaining olive oil and cider vinegar.
Add cold pumpkin slices and sweetened peppers.
Gently mix all the ingredients before serving this very cold salad.
► All green salad
For 4 people
2 thin and tender zucchini
1 not too ripe avocado
2 fresh onions
1 thin stalk of celery with some soft leaves
1 cucumber from the vegetable garden
100 gr green beans
100 g of fresh peas
Some arugula branches
Some branches of mushrooms and parsley with flat leaves
1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds
3 cl vinegrette made from olive oil and Reims vinegar
Finely chop the zucchini into slices and strips, do the same with the peeled avocado, fresh onions, celery stalk and cucumber (without peeling it if the skin is too thin).
Cook the beans for 7 minutes in boiling salted water, add the peas and simmer for 1 minute. Drain and immediately immerse the vegetables in ice water.
Mix all the coarsely chopped vegetables, salads and herbs.
Roast the lean pumpkin seeds in a pan, one to two minutes, stirring constantly. Arrange them with salt, pepper, vinegrette.
Let it macerate for half an hour before eating this green salad.
► All red salad
For 4 people
1 raw ton fillet of 400 g
350 g cherry tomatoes
300 gr of stale bread
1 red pepper
8 pink radishes
12 black olives
2 fresh onions
2 tops of cumin powder
2 tablespoons. tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 C. teaspoon sherry vinegar
Finely salt, fleur de sel and ground pepper
Cut the tomatoes in half, arrange in a salad bowl with 1 tablespoon olive oil, vinegar, finely salt and pepper. Leave to marinate for 30 minutes at room temperature. Coat the bell pepper, peel and cut the meat into small cubes. Cut the stale bread into small cubes and radishes in half.
In a pan, with the remaining olive oil, fry the tuna fillet for 1 to 2 minutes on each side, depending on its thickness. Remove from the pan, arrange with cumin, pepper and fleur de sel. Cut into slices 2 mm thick.
Mix diced peppers, olives, bread and radish with tomatoes. Let the bread soak in the tomato marinade for 15 minutes. Arrange the spices and divide the salad into four plates. Place the half-boiled tuna slices and enjoy.
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