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Today a new English speaking newspaper is launched in France, called French Week.
Here is my piece from the first edition.
Summer Time – And The Eating Is Easy.
As the summer soars to its zenith, French cooking down shifts and moves outdoors. To enjoy seasonal food with a minimum of effort, there are some basic rules of engagement when organising meals: Keep cooking time short, and enjoy the best and freshest your region has to offer.
Markets such as the one at Thouars in the Poitou Charentes is a fine example of locally produced food that can minimize effort in the kitchen while still being able to eat like a king. Sprawling over the Place Lavault every Friday, it exudes a national enthusiasm for the French love of food, convivial conversation with the prospect of a good meal to follow.
This month Charentais melon, grown a few kilometres away is the jewel in the market’s crown. Goats’ cheese, in a myriad of guises is another regional speciality, and can be combined with other locally produced ingredients such as honey and walnuts to produce a meal in moments to be taken to your favourite picnic spot. Specialist items, such as rosewater and walnut oil, often only available at the market can add an extra dimension to these simply prepared feasts.
Walnut And Goat’s Cheese Salad.
Ingredients
1small lettuce
1 small cucumber
4 tomatoes
200g goats’ cheese
100 g fresh shelled walnuts
2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 tbsp walnut oil
1 tbsp white wine or honey vinegar
1 tspn mustard
1 tspn honey
Salt to taste.
Method
To make the vinaigrette, place oils, vinegar, mustard, honey and salt into a screw top jar.
Shake jar to combine.
Wash salad vegetables.
Slice cucumber and tomatoes.
Combine vegetables in a large bowl.
Crumble or cube goats’ cheese.
Gently brown walnuts in a dry frying pan and add to bowl.
Pour over vinaigrette.
Toss ingredients together before serving.
Rosewater Fruit Salad.
Ingredients
1 ripe Charentias melon
300g strawberries
2 tbsp rosewater
Method
Cut melon into four.
Slice flesh from each segment and cut into cubes.
Wash and hull strawberries and cut in half
Cover bowl and leave for at least an hour before serving at room temperature.
Combine fruits in a bowl and sprinkle over rosewater.
Mix fruit to incorporate rosewater.
     
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Before my trip to England, people warned me about the food. The frequently repeated refrain was, “I had a wonderful time in England, but the food was AWFUL!” They would then elaborate with stories of tough meat, mushy vegetables, and general blandness.
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Sabudana/ Sago Thalipeeth is another traditional maharashtrian flatbread which is mainly prepared during fasting days. These are made using the same ingredients as the sabudana khichdi but are definitely more forgiving - unlike sabudana khichdi where the sago soaking process is the crucial step in its preparation, these thalipeeths turn out well even if the sago is not perfectly soaked. Though, I love khichdi very much, sometimes I prefer these thalipeeths over the usual sabudana/ sago khichdi. I usually make these with leftover khichdi, by adding some more boiled mashed potatoes and adjusting the seasonings as needed. But last week, I soaked some sago and made these from scratch. I served these with some sweet yogurt, but they also go very well with peanut- cilantro chutney. These taste awesome and you will have to make these to believe me!
Ingredients -
1 cup sabudana/ sago
2 large boiled potatoes (@ 3 cups mashed potatoes)
7 green thai chillies
1 cup dry roasted and shelled peanuts
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 cup finely chopped cilantro
2 tbsps sugar / to taste
Salt to taste
oil/ ghee for frying
Method -
1. Wash the sabudana throughly with water and discard the white water, drain and set aside. Sprinkle the sabudana with some water and toss them with a spoon. Repeat this process every 30 mins or so for the next 2-3 hrs or till the sabudana is soft. 2. Grind the peanuts, green chillies and cumin seeds into a coarse powder. 3. Place the sabudana in a bowl and add the mashed potatoes, peanut- chilli- cumin powder, cilantro, sugar and salt. Mix them well and form a dough. 4. Heat a skillet while you prepare the thalipeeths. 5. Take a medium size ziploc bag and place the ziploc on the rolling board/ polpat. Apply some water on the surface of the bag and place a medium size ball of the thalipeeth dough on it. Wet your hands and gently flatten the dough ball into a round thalipeeth. 6. Slowly lift the thalipeeth and roast it on the hot skillet on both sides. Drizzle few drops of oil / ghee on each side and fry for some more time, till it turns slightly golden brown. 7. Serve hot. Goes well with sweet yogurt or peanut -cilantro chutney.
This goes to Niloufer's 'Cooking with Seeds - Sago' event, originally started by Priya.
I'm also sending these to Sandhya's 'Global Kadai - Indian Flavored Flatbreads event, originally started by Cilantro.
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I’m excited to announce that we have a new guest blogger here at RecipeLion! His name is John Kilgallon, and his blog is Restaurant Recipe Secrets. Soon, you’ll all have the chance to enjoy John’s musings here on the RecipeLion blog, and we’re happy to have him.
Who is John Kilgallon? Well, he is an Air Force veteran who grew up in Charleston, SC and settled near St Louis, MO. He is also the father of three teens and son of a WWII submariner on “Eternal Patrol.”
John’s basic cooking skills came from his mom and his grilling skills came from his dad. His interests run the gamut from naval history and science fiction to web design, writing and cooking.
Having lived over half a century (so far!), John is currently combining those interests to recreate his past through “food memories.”
Welcome, John!
Be sure to visit John’s blog at Restaurant Recipe Secrets.
This is a post from: Recipe Lion
Welcome, John!
Related posts: - Introducing a New Guest Blogger: Cara Riggles, The Friendly Frugalista I’m excited to announce that we will have a new,...
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