French Country Cooking 2 Day Course

In this two day course we will have the time to get to the core and cook a selection of dishes that typify French country cooking, like for instance an authentic Cassoulet from Toulouse, Boeuf Bourguignon, Navarin d'Agneau. We will also be looking at how to achieve the correct Poulet au Vinaigre, and Read more

 

Saturday 23 May 10:30-16:30

 

Just back from Paris, where I went to see the Mum and attend a dear friend's 60th birthday party - not a direct contemporary- I hastily add.
When in Paris, I like to plunge back in the typical lifestyle and there is no better way than to go to the Sunday food market near us, most neighbourhoods have one, in search for our lunch.

The"going to market technique" is to stroll from one end to the other, without being tempted by the dazzling displays, you might find even better later and rely on local knowledge by marking out the stalls with the longest queues. Although I realise, dear readers, that you are not going to buy a chicken and cook it in your hotel bedroom, these markets are the pulse of the city and you will find things to take home, so well worth a visit.

For a treat I thought I'd invest in a poulet de Bresse (€25 a kg), these are a famous breed of free- range birds, and boy, do I mean free-range! More like marathon man judging from the size of their thighs; a word on the taste later...  I then picked up some stunning looking tomatoes called" Cœur de bœuf" or ox's heart, really tender spring onions, parsley and fresh goat cheese. Got chatting with the stall holder selling these, a charming man who said that he had a regular clientele of Londoners who would jump on the Eurostar to buy his cheeses.  That's globalisation for you!
Back home, I pot roasted the chicken with the bulb of the spring onions, made a simple salad with the tomatoes and the parsley and finished off with the goat cheese sprinkled with freshly ground  black pepper. The Mum who is a light eater scoffed it all. Given the frenetic activity of the bird when alive , its bone structure is very heavy, there is little fat and the meat is very dense, bordering on tough;  my expectations were not met by the flavour which was not as intense as I hoped for.

And now for a bit of culture... I spent a delightful afternoon in the Jacquemart-André museum, a magnificent private residence which houses a remarkable collection of furniture and paintings from Renaissance, Flemish and French masters.  I loved the grand but still intimate atmosphere, the icing on the cake is -quite literally- the dining room with the ceiling painted by Tiepolo; it has been turned into what must be the most beautiful tearoom in Paris.