Category: Posts

In France, it’s all about the food …

Published on by FJB
Salade Bizarre

So, we’ve eaten our way through Nice, Antibes and Aix-en-Provence… and now we’re in Paris. And it seems that if we are not talking about food, buying food, photographing food, looking for somewhere to eat or planning our next meal … then we are actually eating …

Culinary High – “Duck Gizzard Salad” (their translation not mine!) was actually very tasty – a warm salad of lightly fried un-identifiable bits of gizzard and potatoes, accompanied by the ever present egg.

Culinary Low – “Salade Bizarre” (my translation not theirs!) was a weird combination of salted cod, fried octopus, boiled eggs and a strange mollusc which looked and tasted like a large piece of used chewing gum!

Les Petits Farcis …

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With Kate in Rosa’s kitchen

Eating out is a way of life in Nice, France’s fifth largest city located on the Cote D’Azur. For years it was an Italian dominion, and only became part of France in 1860.  Eager to learn about its unique style of food, we booked a market tour and cooking class with Rosa Jackson of Les Petits Farcis.
We met Rosa in La Civette du Cours – a busy local café and bar located in the Cours Saleya.  Over coffee, Rosa filled us in on the history of Nice and its food, and then guided us around the market pointing out the local specialities and buying fresh produce for our cooking class.

A short walk took us to Rosa’s charming renovated 17th century apartment located up four flights of stairs in the Rue du Jesus, a narrow street in the Vielle Ville (old town). There we donned aprons, nibbled on tiny black Nyon olives and fougasse, and with Rosa’s guidance prepared a delicious four course Nicoise lunch.  The menu varies according to participants food preferences and seasonal produce, today it was:

Baked zucchini flowers stuffed with ricotta and parmesan
Duck breasts with chestnut honey
Panisse (chick pea fritters)
Local cheeses
Tart aux fraises (strawberry tart)
Plus a few glasses of Provencal rose and red wines

We stumbled out of Rosa’s apartment late in the afternoon and headed straight back to Rue Dalpozzo for a long nap …

Our first day in Nice …

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Our first breakfast

Finally … after years of planning I have arrived in Nice with my friend Kate.  The trip was pretty exhausting – thirty six hours of flying, waiting in airports and then walking around the city to try and get our body-clocks back on track.  This morning we awoke in our chic little apartment in Rue Dalpozzo after twelve hours sleep feeling almost normal.

Naturally, the first thing on the agenda is breakfast, and a quick trip to the local boulangerie on the corner to buy un escargot and une demi-baguette. I can’t tell you how good a fresh baguette tastes when spread with thick provencal butter and vegemite !!!

By the time we had finished breakfast, the food and flower market in the Cours Saleya was well underway, and we returned loaded down with provisions – quiche, pissaladiere, olives, sardines, cheeses and the most fragrant and delicious strawberries I have ever tasted. Already we are like the French and planning several meals ahead.

We finished the day with champagne and cocktails in Le Relais bar at the iconic belle époque Hotel Negresco. Tomorrow we have a market tour and cooking lesson in a four hundred year old apartment in the old part of Nice… more on that in my next post. Bonne Nuit.

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Poached Tamarillos …

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Poached tamarillo with vanilla ice-cream

The Tamarillo (tree tomato) is a fast growing attractive shrubby tree originally from South America.  About two years ago, I planted one in my garden and then forgot about it. The next time I looked it was three metres high, and this summer it produced its first crop.  Unfortunately, because I neglected to prune it I now have to stand on my compost bin or drag out a ladder to collect the fruit.  As Tamarillos only last 3-5 years I’ve already planted its replacement – but this time I will be pruning it at one metre!
There appear to be many methods for poaching Tamarillos, but a bit of experimentation resulted in the following simple recipe which works for me.  Next year I am going to try and come up with a recipe for Sweet Chilli & Tamarillo sauce.

Recipe

375 ml water
200 gm sugar
1 tsp vanilla paste or ½ a vanilla bean split open
1-2 tamarillos per person depending upon size

  • Make a small cross cut in the tip of each tamarillo, put them in a heatproof bowl and pour boiling water over them.  Leave for 2 minutes and then pour off the boiling water.  Once they are cool enough to handle, peel off the skin carefully leaving the stems intact.
  • In a large saucepan, bring the sugar and water slowly to the boil, stirring      regularly.
  • Add the vanilla and the tamarillos and simmer gently for 5 minutes.  If the tamarillos are large, you may have to cook them in batches.
  • Remove the tamarillos and when they are cool enough to handle, make a slit the whole way up the tamarillo to the stem.
  • Put the split tamarillos and the syrup into a bowl and cool for at least 2-3 hours in the fridge. The longer you leave them the pinker the syrup will go.
  • Serve with a good quality vanilla ice-cream or perhaps a pannacotta.
    A tree full of tamarillos
    Fresh Tamarillos
    Tamarillos cooling in the syrup
    Poached tamarillo with vanilla ice-cream

♥ ♥ ♥