Friends, it is supposed to reach 98° F here today (that is 36.6 for you Celsius folks) and I am just this shy of filling up a sippy cup with rosé, stringing it around my neck and calling it a day. I strolled the aisles of the supermarché this morning for an extra long while just to suck in as much air-conditioning as possible and I could tell that I wasn’t exactly the only lolly-gagger either.
So, like many of you, I have been avoiding the oven as if Todd Akin was hiding in it (actually if he were I might be tempted to turn it on–oops, did I write that?). Happily this time of year, the simplest ingredients make for fine meals. This Greek salad’s presentation was inspired by the amazing “Jiro Dreams of Sushi”. Sigh. I want to be an 85-year-old sushi master, don’t you?
But there is nothing innovative in slicing and dicing. I did come up with a new spread as an alternative to hummus however, using some of the same ingredients in a moment of utter desperation as Remi pushed back lunch “for just a bit later” yet again. In to the food processor, or robot as they are called here, went some sun-dried tomatoes in their oil (about five), along with half a container of feta, a handful of sardines and some freshly squeezed lemon juice. I know, it sounds odd but it certainly was interesting, especially if you have a few leaves of peppery black basil to throw in as well as crunchy bread to smooth it on. Non?
But last night, after I had sheepishly suggested “Gazpacho?” for dinner for the fifth time this week and was met with a raised eyebrow, I high tailed it into the hot zone once and for all and did a fishy Asian take on steak frites. I know that quite a few of you like to cook and are no strangers to spice-crusted salmon. My version involved cumin, paprika, curcuma, chipolte and an especially American mix called “smokehouse maple” that was brought back from the States. I baked the filets on low heat and then made a little crumble (it is in fashion to call everything a crumble in France these days) for the top with diced almonds, more chipolte powder and soy sauce that I also drizzled lightly on the salmon. For the “fries”, I steamed haricots jaunes then sautéed them in sesame oil and fish sauce along with a shallot and a bit of spring onion with sprinkled flaxseed on the lot. The “ketchup” was a bit of tomato purée with more soy sauce, lime juice and a splash of tabasco. Voila!
and just because it is so catchy:
So tell me, what do you have cookin’?
Oh…Moroccan.
Did I ever tell you that Herve(who looks EXACTLY like most American's notion of a Frenchman…or at least they say this on a regular basis) is scarcely "French" (at least by La Pen "France for the French!" standards) at all? All of his grandparents and both his parents were born and raised in France, but his great grandparents were all Russian and Irish political-exiles who landed in 1920's Paris. Wait…he has one purely Gallic great-grandmother….so he's 1/8th "French". As for shady connections?….I've just discovered that my godmother's sister (both women were raised in ill-gotten, extreme luxury in Haiti prior to the Duvalier's coup) was married (she's been a widow for ten years) to Bashir al Assad's close friend and first cousin…..no wonder she shortened her married name to merely "Assad". Nice lady,though…..
David, I haven't been able to respond to your fantastic comments from this morning yet and am running out the door but this too made me smile. No, Remi is not at all linked with the former Tunisian dictator (as he likes to joke "I am the Benali without the gold") but is half French (with Dutch ancestors too), half Moroccan. He has some amazing stories in his family.
Hey Heather…just wondering, but I've always assumed that Remi was of Tunisian or Libyan extraction (so to speak..and I should emphasize that my expereience isn't based utterly-completely on having seen "The English Patient" 14 years ago…)? Is this true?
—david
Here's another vote for the rosé sippy cup! I just got home from a week-long trip and am gazing at your beautiful sundried-tomato/sardine/feta spread with longing. That salty tang is exactly what my jetlagged body craves right now. Yum!