June in Provence

I love June  : summer's coming , cherry trees charged with  rich and juicy fruits  , the first shiny lavender flowers and the last poppies dance together in wind.....
That's what you will see if you're coming on holidays in this period of the  year .Sweet life in Provence .

A simple lunch under the pergola

Weekend in Camargue part two

The day after the party here we took a day of relax . As we love so much fish and the seaside we decided to have lunch in "Le Grau du Roi" , a village on the coast and then to make a "siesta" at the beach . 

The restaurant were we had lunch is called "Le Palangre" see their site here

We had a tour of the port were the most of restaurants are and then decided to have lunch here
and I must say that everything was delicious with very fresh fish and lots of tasty vegetables .Before leaving I asked to enter into the kitchen to make  my compliments to the chef and then I realised why everything was so good : he was skinny annd with an healthy look   ! I commanded a traditional recipe of Camargue  "Brasucade de moules " here the recipe in french : it's very easy to do and nice to share with friends on summertime .

Brasucade of mussels

For 4 servings
2,5 kg of mussels
25 cl of extra-virgin olive oil (possibly of Provence )
Thyme , rosemary and laurel 
1 clove of garlic crashed
freshly grounded black pepper
1 teaspoon of Pastis
Arrange all the ingredients for thee marinade in a jar , close and let stand  for one day at least ( better few days )
Wash the mussels , put them in a big Paella plate and on the fire ( you'll need a big fire , better on wood like in the video here ) throw the water that mussel will eject , then add thhe marinade and let cook about 5 minutes . To eat immediately with friends  while tasting a chilly Rosé !

My neighbor's plate!

Dory's stuffed  rolls & vegetables

Tartare of shrimps and fruits , a nestful of flavors

Restaurant Le Palangre

56,Quai Général de Gaulle

30240 Le Grau du Roi

Phone 0033 (0)4 66 51 76 30

Weekend in Camargue and a fiesta

Last Sunday we were invited to a birthday party in Aigues Mortes (here) and as parties in Camargue are " very serious" we programmed to stay 2 days , that became eventually 3. We arrived at noon and met some friends in the centre of the town .They were drinking some chilly  rosé as everybody does here. Taking the time .....

We like so much Aigues Mortes because it's open-spirit and full of funny and original people . And women are charming , very feminine .



Claudia and her hands & feet , love them !!

Then we went to a home in the countryside nearby , were the party was.

An enormous pan full of extraordinary mussels , two rams on the barbeque , roasted potatoes , accras , and goat's cheese.

I brought some Prosecco and Aperol and made a venitian "Spritz" .

It was really a big party that lasted till morning ( but we went to bed before midnight , like Cinderella )



To continue.......

Cold tomato soup : the taste of summer

Today I want to share with you a really easy recipe for summer days . I have to admit : I don't like so much gazpacho , it's very difficult to obtain the right balance between all the ingredients and the vinegar . Then I saw many recipes of tomato soups but I really wanted tofind  the pure taste of it so I tried once to make it very very simple and people told me it was amazing . Naturally you'll have to choose best quality ingredients . That's the difficult side of simple cooking ( not so simple....)

As you can see in the photos the color will change with the differents quality of tomatoes you use

You can serve it in small portions  for a cocktail  or bigger as a starter . Here in Provence we have tomatoes in so many different colors that I like to play with . My preferred for this recipe is the one called 'Ananas' : a bouncing , luxurious orange one with shades of red . The pulp is thick and sweet and the soup you'll obtain seems like mellon : what a surprise then for your guests when they discover a pure tomato savor ! You can see it in tthe photo below ( beet was for another recipe)

Velvety tomato soup

For 8 people (small portions for cocktail , as a starter makes for 4)

1 kg of ripe tomatoes like ‘Beef-heart’

3 tablespoons of very good extra-virgin olive oil

A bunch of basil

A pinch of chilli ( if you can find Piment d’espelette in some

French grocery it would be fine )

1 tablespoon of salt

Put a large pan full of water to boil , make a cross with a knife on the top of tomatoes , throw them into boiling water and leave some minutes till you see the skin begins to raise ,then take them out with a slotted spoon and peel them ( wait a while ,they are burning !) . Put them in a bowl while peeling , to keep the juice. Then assemble all the ingredients in a mixer , or use an immersion mixer otherwise , and mix very well till the soup becomes velvety . It’s the reaction between the water contained on tomatoes and the oil that gives that ‘smooth’ sensation. About the salt : don’t put  all , taste after you’ve mixed as the quantity depends so much of the quality of tomatoes you use.

Sweet life in Provence III & a Rhubarb & Cherries crumble

What I do really like here in Provence is that people take the time for living . So , you don't need to wait for the Weekend to be invited somewhere or to invite someone .It was just a thursday like any other and our neighbours invited us for lunch : a magnificent steak was cooking on the barbeque when we arrived ,about 4lb of meat for three .

It was a wonderful day and the view from their terrace looking towards the Luberon  and onto the village is great.

So we had tomatoes  and peppers with the steak , then came cheese. Time flewed sweetly ,eating & chatting .

I brought the dessert , a simple crumble with rhubarb and cherries . I made it very light , less butter and a small amount of sugar . Using rice and spelt flour instead of wheat ( I don't know why but wheat flour makes crumble rather heavy to digest for me ) and I used a special pepper to give a spicy touch .

Rhubarb & Cherries Crumble

For 6 servings

100 gr of rhubarb

350 gr of cherries

100 gr of spelt flour

50 gr of rice flour

a pinch of salt

75 gr of cane sugar

70 gr of butter diced

a pinch of black pepper freshly grounded ( I used a wild pepper from Madagascar called Voatsiperifery )

20 gr of flaked almonds

Preheat the oven at 180° or 375 F , butter a 20/22 cm baking dish ,or six single ones as I did and set aside. Wash the rhubarb and the cherries ,trim the top and the ends of the rhubarb and cut diagonally into 2 cm lenghts. Remove the stems and kernels from cherries . Sprinkle 1and 1/2  teaspoon of sugar on the dish ( or 1/4 on each if making individual portions) , spread the fruits evenly .

To make the crumble topping put the flours ,the salt and the butter in a bowl , rub the butter till the mixture seems like breadcrunch , stir in sugar , pepper and almonds . Sprinkle the crumble over the rhubarb and cherries , bake for about 25/30 minutes until the topping is golden brown .

You can eat it warm but I like it even cold . 

Declinazione di barbabietola ovvero : il budino per MTC

Eccomi qua , all'ultimo minuto con una ricetta che avevo nel cassetto da tre anni e che non ho mai scritto quindi ....benvenuto MTC per avermi "obbligato" a farlo ! Me lo ricordo come fosse oggi : mi trovavo una domenica mattina al mercato di Coustellet e stavo facendo la spesa per la cena , dei clienti belgi adorabili . A corto d'idee ebbi all'improvviso una folgorazione ! Delle barbabietole bellissime , fresche appena raccolte  e con le loro foglie ! Una visione ....vidi la ricetta come in una foto e senza pensarci due volte comprai tre barbabietole e questo é quello che feci quella sera . La padrona di casa alla fine della cena mi confesso di non amare le barbabietole ma che la ricetta che avevo preparato , quella l'aveva adorata ! E pure l'olandese che non ama i budini ha apprezzato !
L'ho chiamato " declinazione di barbabietola perché viene usata tutta la pianta in tre modi diversi .
Ho seguito la ricetta proposta da Francesca Aquolina con una sola  variante nella dose di panna , ho invece aggiunto dell'olio evo per il sapore .

Per il Budino per 2 persone

Preparate la pastella per la frittura :

60 gr di farina O
60 gr di farina di riso
Acqua frizzante ghiacciata q.b.
Setacciate in una ciotola le due farine , aggiungete l'acqua a poco a poco , fino a ottenere una pastella abbastanza fluida ( vi serviranno circa 150 ml ) .Lasciate riposare in frigorifero almeno un'ora per una pastella estremamente croccante e leggera.

Budino 

250 gr di foglie di barbabietola ( o di bieta se non le trovate , fanno parte della stessa famiglia )
1 uovo
25 gr di panna fresca
1 cucchiaio d'olio extavergine d'oliva delicato
1 pizzico di sale
Menta , prezzemolo e basilico

Lavare le foglie di barbatietola e tenere da parte i gambi ( io non son riuscita a trovare barbabietole con le foglie percio ho comprato della bieta da coste , per fortuna ne ho trovata con le coste abbastanza piccole )  e farle sbollentare in acqua salata per 3 minuti , scolarle con un ramaiolo e gettarle in acqua fredda per mantenere il colore e fermare la cottura , strizzarle ma non troppo . Mettere in un bicchiere alto o nel mixer la verdura , la panna ,l'uovo ,il sale e le erbe .Frullare molto bene per avere un composto bello liscio e vellutato , gustare per il sale .
Oliare con un pennello gli stampi , riempirli con il composto e mettere  in forno  a 180° non ventilato a bagnomaria  ( l'acqua deve essere già calda ) per circa 30 minuti . Sono pronti qaundo toccandoli con un dito risultano fermi ma ancora morbidi .

Il finto ketchup di barbabietola

una barbabietola piccola
un pomodoro o due ( deve essere il doppio della barbabietola ,come vedete neella foto) scegliete un pomodoro succoso e maturo perché la barbabietola é "secca"
 1/2 cucchiaio di aceto di lamponi o succo di limone
3/4 foglie di erba luigia o limoncina
Basilico a piacere
1 pizzico di peperoncino
1 pizzico di pepe di sechuan
Sale q.b.
1 cucchiaio di zenzero fresco grattugiato
1 cucchiaio di olio evo

Qui ho usato un pomodoro chiamato "ananas" perché gli altri disponili non erano abbastanza succosi .
Pelate la barbabietola e tagliatela il più finemente possibile , fate un taglio a croce sulla sommità del pomodoro e gettatelo in acqua bollente per 2 minuti quindi scolatelo e  pelatelo.
Mettete tutti gli ingredienti in un mixer e frullate ben bene . Per il sale : mettetene poco all'inizio e gustate poi , dipende molto dalla qualità delle verdure! L'idea era di fare una salsa che assomigliasse al ketchup nella quale intingere le verdure fritte .

Frittura

Ho fatto friggere le coste della bieta ( se trovate le barbabietole con le foglie usate quelle , saranno anche più carine con il loro colore rosso ) e una barbabietola tagliata a fettine sottili .
Mettete a scaldare l'olio , possibilmente d'oliva oppure d'arachide , in una padella larga per fritti .
Immergete le coste di barbatietola e le fette nella pastella ben fredda  e gettatele nell'olio ben caldo un po alla volta . Il segreto di una buona frittura sta nella qualità dell'olio , nella sua temperatura in rapporto al tipo di alimento da friggere , nel mantenere la costanza di calore . In questo caso essendo un tempura l'olio deve esere molto caldo , fate la prova : immergete  un pezzo di verdura , dovrebbe fare delle grose bolle e tornare  a galla quasi subito . Immergete pochi pezzi alla volta , per non far abbassare troppo la temperatura e scolateli quando li sentirete ben croccanti : é una frittura che tiene bene anche da fredda ( non si ammoscia) salate dopo averli scolati .

Il budino dovrebbe essere pronto ! Sformatelo e servotelo con la salsa e le verdure fritte .

Con questa ricetta partecipo all' MTC di maggio

 

Farewell Provence : a cocktail in Goult

I live in Goult ,a small village in the South  of France where I work as a personal chef and I do cooking classes on demande . Last  year Erica & Irwin took a sabbatical period and came to Goult , to try how's life in the countryside and abroad at the same time ( they live in Sidney ) They stayed 9 month here and they're leaving next wednesday so they wanted to organize a cocktail to say goodbye to the friends they made here and asked me if I was available to do it : I was very pleased to accept ! Yesterday morning I went to the market in Apt for shopping : I wanted to prepare a very typical Provençal buffet for this special occasion . I found the first melons and they were simply delicious ,  abricots , lots of vegetables to serve with anchoiade and another sauce with mustard , I prepared a pissaladière , a focaccia with seeds and oregano, a cold tomatoes soup and a choice of  local goat's cheeses and some  amazing Brie . This morning I met them at the ' Café de la Poste' they were so happy for their Party yet a little bit sad for leaving...

Goult