Hello there friends. Remi and I are back from a whirlwind trip to Grenoble for a photo shoot. Me, tagging along as the winsome assistant, which I do from time to time, most often when there is a large amount of studio lighting (hence equipment) involved. I really enjoyed the entire experience–being in laboratories where several thousand year old objects are being restored, looking up at the light skiing down the snow-covered mountaintops, taking in the jazz-riff reposts of the researchers plus zeroing in on the act of looking and learning from Remi while he worked. But we arrived late last night after picking up our tail-thumper and admittedly both of us (yes, the furry being is excluded) are headachy with fatigue. Time for a little something restorative. And for once, I don’t mean yoga.
While I do believe that my theme par excellence dans la cuisine is making up something–poof!–out the jumble of ingredients lolling around, I do love to cook. And I have to say that no one person has inspired me more recently than Deb Perelman of the Smitten Kitchen blog and now, the cookbook. Not only is she extremely funny and down to earth, this is exactly how I like to cook and eat–with an interesting spin on fresh ingredients that are affordable and a process that is enjoyable. She has a mere closet of a kitchen, as do I and will rework a recipe to use as few pans as possible. The flavors and textures are layered without being fussy. So, without further ado, here is the dish that I will make over and over again for this rest of the winter and beyond: Carrot soup with tahini and roasted chickpeas!
The general gist is the following–sauté your carrots in a bit of olive oil along with a diced onion, at least five smashed heads of garlic (I upped the ante to microwave any flu germs), s&p plus your spices (I used cumin, chipolte powder, cayenne pepper, my new chouchou–Baharat Spice and Trader Joe’s “Smoke” blend which I am addicted to) over medium heat until the carrots are soft, about 20 minutes. Add four cups of veggie broth and cook for another 30, let cool a bit. While that is going on, mix your chickpeas with some olive oil, sea salt and cumin (as I live for heat, I added a little ancho chile powder too) and roast them on high heat for about 20 minutes. My favorite element is the tahini dressing with 3 tablespoons of tahini and…well, I doubled the amount of fresh lemon juice to at least four tablespoons, add water and whisk to a smooth consistency. Blend the soup, transfer to pre-warmed bowls, drizzle the tahini dressing and top with the crunchy chickpeas and chopped parsley or fresh coriander. Oh! This being Yee Olde France, I haven’t made the pita wedges yet as they are tough to find–yes, pita is exotic here!–but they sound like the perfect sopping up material. The end result of all of this is so easy (you can make most of it with a wine glass in hand, bonus!), so cheap and so utterly good that you will thank me then hopefully hop over to sign up for updates at Smitten Kitchen if you haven’t already. I have never made anything of hers that I didn’t love. The cookbook has suggestions from breakfast through dinner (including a nice vegetarian chapter) to drinks with the last third geared to those of you talented people that bake–sadly, I do not although I just might need to give the red wine velvet cake with marscapone goo a go…
If you are being good, you can follow the soup up with more vitaminized liquid orangina…
…And if you are being naughty, well…is that my fault? I don’t believe that it is. Just a little power of suggestion…
I think a lot of us are trying to rethink what vegetarian means to us, do you agree? While I am still working my way through Yotam Ottolenghi’s “Plenty”, I was just given “Simon Bryant’s Vegies” by my dear friend Virginia and it looks amaaazing (although I am going to have to do some serious translating for the ingredients I can’t get here–I love their exotic names, Shaosing, Bulacan, Silverbeet, the Rapini in the photo). Although I haven’t yet had the chance to test run any of it, I still wanted to give a head’s up to those of you Down Under. The photography inspired Remi for his photo shoot in Grenoble, which brings me back to the beginning of this post. In a circle. Like an orange. Or an orange crush.
Please stay happy and healthy wherever you are!
Quelle dreamy fromage plat.
Inspired.
Off to trader joes later when hopefully fatigued by unpacking as Truck is Due to Arrive at 8.30am!
Secretly popped in here to see if there was news on furry creature visit, hmmm?
Waving from los Angeles!
Tg x
We just had the leftovers for lunch and it was even better!
I've been wanting to make this one too since it showed up in my in-box awhile back. It looks so comforting.
PS. You will love the cookbook and your kids will too! 🙂
Oooh, that is more of a challenge than you might think! Hmm…well, first off I would suggest contacting my friend Julie Mautner at the Provence Post. http://theprovencepost.blogspot.fr/ She is an amazing trip planner and her rates are super reasonable. She works her butt off for her clients!
Now I have to say that my experiences on the Cote d'Azur are pretty limited but there are areas that I like more than others: there are some beautiful rentals in the Domaine de Cap Bénat (I love the beaches between there and Le Lavandou), Beaulieu sur Mer might be an option for you too as there is a fair amount to see and do, there is always St Trop if you want bling and Menton (near the Italian border) could also be an option.
Hope that is a start and don't hesitate to ask more! Sorry I am not a better help,
Bon Weekend,
H
bonjour heather!! i am ordering Smitten Kitchen today!! thank you for the push 🙂
and can i trouble you for a recommendation? we are traveling to the south of france this summer (along with the rest of paris i'm sure)…looking for a town to rent in. somewhere that is not too far from the beach and that i can walk to a village market. there are 6 of us! appreciate any input you may have xo
Heeheehee. I did use the word "rapini" but in the context of "things I will have to substitute since I can't get them here"–buuut, now you have me curious so I will scour the market tomorrow. If I find some I will let you know! And there HAS to be some market somewhere with it in Paris, non? Le Marché des Enfants Rouges in the Marais? The produce section of Le Grande Epicerie at Le Bon Marché?
And the shots are mine! Thank you!!!!
bon w-e à toi aussi,
h
Hold the wire….wait a minute…did I just read the word rapini? As in brocoli di rabe? Cimo di rape?!?!?! The one thing that I CANNOT find in Paris that makes up 50% of my heritage. In NY, I live on this green. Is it available to you where you are?
Amazing photos! The colors, the bowl, everything. Are these yours or shots from the professional shoot? Either way, excellent work!
Have a lovely weekend!!
Oh my–27° in the morning! The only soup I could be eating would be gazpacho! 😉 And are you sure about that offer? Heehee…
Bisous,
H
Oh how wonderful to have friends in town. But I don't ski! At least not downhill–too scary!!! I am sure you are fussing over them mightily and imagine you as a wonderful hostess. 🙂
But Amelia, take a look at her website before ordering the book just to make sure you like what she does–not to mention that there are hundreds of recipes there too!