#french food

This week, I’m going to be recreating a simple carrot and coriander soup that was popular in medieval French cuisine - the simple Potage de Crécy. Although I’m using orange carrots, which were rare in antiquity, carrots, parsnips, or any combination of these would work well here!

In any case, let’s now take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video, above! Check out my Patreon for some more recipes!

Ingredients (for 2-3 portions)

1 onion (or an equal volume to the amount of carrots) chopped
3 carrots (or an equal volume to the amount of onions) diced
2 cloves garlic
olive oil
ground coriander
500ml stock (e.g. chicken, vegetable, etc.)

Method
1 - Prepare and Cook Onion
To begin with, we need to peel and chop one whole onion. Onions of all kinds were a staple of most cuisines from the neolothic period to modernity, as they’re hardy, filling vegetables that have a multitude of uses. In any case, chop this into fine chunks, so they cook evenly. When this is done, toss some olive oil into a pot, and heat it up over a medium high heat.

When the oil is shimmering, toss a couple of crushed cloves of garlic into the oil, along with your onions. On top of this, sprinkle some salt, some freshly ground black pepper, and some freshly ground coriander. Put all of this back onto a medium high heat for a few minutes while you deal with your carrots.

2 - Prepare and Cook Carrots
Go peel a few carrots - aim for about an equal amount of carrots to onions. When they’re peeled, slice them into discs - making sure they’re all the same size, so they cook evenly. Although orange carrots were fairly rare in antiquity, they’re the dominant strain today. But remember that throwing in some parsnips or heriloom carrots wouldn’t hurt either!

When your carrots are prepared, add them to your onions when the pot smells lovely and fragrant, and the onions have turned translucent. On top of your carrots and onions, pour about 500ml of a soup stock of your choice. I went with chicken stock here, to add a more meaty background taste, but any stock would work well enough here!

3 - Cook
Place your pot over a high heat, and let it come to a boil. When it hits a rolling boil, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer away for about 30 minutes, or until a knife, when stabbed into a piece of carrot, comes out easily.

Serve up in a bowl of your choice, garnish with a little sprig of parsley or cilantro, and dig in!

The finished soup is rather sweet, thanks to the carrots and onions, and has a lovely zesty taste thanks to the coriander. The broth thickened up nicely, and the carrot chunks softened into a toothsome mouthful.

Sourdough baguettes are so tricky to make but so fun! I can’t wait to make more.

Once upon a time in a kingdom far a way, lived two princesses. The eldest, who had a curiosity in culinary alchemy, is often mischievous and channels her boredom in exploiting her sister’s lack of knowledge of the bounties of the land. “Eat this,” she said one day to her sister, “It is a hazelnut and it tastes just like unsweetened Nutella!” Hearing the word “Nutella”, the younger sister saw no harm and held out her hand, for who could refuse something akin to the velvety flavor of the content of the Sacred Jar? 

What the younger sister didn’t know was that there exist in the land something that looks exactly like a hazelnut. But the similarity ends there, for the candlenut is rather tough and very, very bitter. In she popped the nut into her mouth and gave it a few good chews. The next moment her face scrunched up and she spat it out, eyes watering. Before she could be very cross, her sister had ran away, cackling while quoting the wizened wizard Alastor “Mad Eye” Moody (“Constant vigilance!”).

Fast forward a few years and the Queen gave the eldest sister a bag of raw hazelnuts from a neighboring land. She contemplated on what to do with it - shall she whip up a batch of “rawtella” to combat the malady of the expanding waist? Nay, she decided at last. She will instead attempt to make a French gateau made of 7 layers; 3 of which are hazelnut meringue, layered with rum pastry cream, praline cream and chocolate ganache. A dessert fit for a Queen.

-In all seriousness though you guys, this is a great dessert for a Mother’s day dinner, particularly for those with a bit of a sweet tooth. It might look like a lot of loitering around in the kitchen, but I promise you it’s not. Each step takes no more than 15-30 minutes of active time and the ingredients are not hard to come by, so I hope you guys will give this a try.

GATEAU MARJOLAINE(Recipe from NYTimes, serves 16-20):

PRALINE POWDER:

[1 cup almonds, traditionally, but use whatever nuts you like. I’m using some walnuts here + 1 cup sugar]

Oil a baking sheet and set it aside. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Bake nuts in another baking sheet for 10 minutes and let cool.

Combine nuts and sugar in a heavy bottomed pot. Heat over medium-high until the sugar turns brown and syrupy. Quickly pour the caramel-nut mixture onto the oiled baking sheet and let cool until it hardens. Break into pieces and grind to a find powder with a food processor (I finally got myself one! Bliss.) Set aside. This can be made up to 3 days ahead and stored in the fridge.

CHOCOLATE GANACHE:

[ 2 cup creme fraiche (don’t got no creme fraiche? combine 1 cup of sour cream with 1 cup heavy cream) + 15 ounces bittersweet chocolate]

Bring creme fraiche into a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat and whisk in the chocolate, one to two piece at a time. Set aside to cool and thicken so it is spreadable.

PASTRY CREAM:

[ 8 large egg yolks + 1 cup sugar + ½ cup flour + 2 ½ cup milk + 1 1/4  cup unsalted butter ]

With an electric mixer or a whisk, beat egg yolks and sugar until thick and pale yellow. Gently whisk in flour. Heat milk to a boil and whisk 1/3 of the hot milk into the egg mixture. Pour the egg-milk mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk. Boil over medium heat for 2 minutes while constantly whisking until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and let cool. 

When the cream has cooled completely, beat the butter until soft and creamy. Whisk the softened butter into the pastry cream. Set aside in the fridge.

MERINGUE CAKE:

[1 cup hazelnuts + ¾ cup sugar + 10 large egg whites + ¼ cup unbleached flour]

Pre-heat the oven to 300 degrees F. Generously butter two 14x10x1 inches jelly-roll pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the paper too.

Spread hazelnuts on a baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and rub the warm nuts in a cotton dish towel to remove as much skin as possible. Cool the grind them with a quarter cup of the sugar in a food processor.

Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites until they form soft peaks. Slowly add the remaining sugar and mix until stiff but not dry. Fold in the flour and hazelnut mixture. Divide and spread the batter evenly between the two prepared pans. Bake until the cakes are thoroughly browned, about 25-30 minutes.

Remove the cakes from the oven and invert them onto racks to cool, paper side up. Cover the cakes with a damp towel for several minutes then remove the parchment paper while the cakes are still warm. Let cool completely. Cut each cake lengthwise in half.

ASSEMBLY:

[Praline powder + chocolate ganache + pastry cream + meringue cake]

Divide the pastry cream in half. Add the praline powder to one portion of pastry cream. Mix well to combine. Add rum (I omitted this) and vanilla extract to the other portion.

Place one cake piece on a rectangular serving plate. Spread half the chocolate ganache on the cake. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.

Cover the chocolate ganache with a second cake piece. Spread the vanilla-rum pastry cream on top, being mindful of the edges. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Top with the third cake piece and spread the praline cream on top. Refrigerate for 15 minute. Top with the final cake piece and frost the top and sides with the remaining chocolate ganache. Refrigerate for 15 minutes uncovered then cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate 1-3 days before serving.

Remove from the refrigerator 15 minutes before cutting, then cut into thin slices.

Enjoy!

I, Anndi, am a serious foodie. About 99% of the reason I ever leave my house is to try new food. Since the city is jam packed with restaurants on every corner, it’s hard to know which ones are truly worth your hard-earned coins. Well I am here to help you! Below is a list of my Top 5 Favorite Places to Eat in Paris. 

1. Gumbo Yaya

Fried Chicken? Collard Greens? HUSH PUPPIES?! By far my favorite place to eat in Paris and it has nothing to do with french food. With a cool hip-hop ambiance and cookout style decor, Gumbo Yaya is a great relaxed place to dine with friends. In all honesty, it’s not incredibly authentic soul food (having a southern family I’m a harsh critic), but the fried chicken is BANGIN’ and it beats going to a french KFC any day. It’s fairly priced, with a good sized portion meal being between 11-15 euros. 

Pro Tip: Get the Big Homie or the Chicken&Waffle Burger. Thank me later. 

3 rue Charles Robin, Metro stop Colonel Fabien (line 2)

2. Ménélik

If you have never had Ethiopian cuisine before, just know it is entirely TOO LIT. Food full of overwhelmingly savory flavors that is meant to be shared among a large group and eaten with your hands (Take lots of napkins). From the authentic ethiopian artwork, multi-colorful tapestries, and mesmerizing east african music, this spot bathes in authenticity. The best part is easily the free mystery wine you get before your meal. It will have you feeling good in no time. But if you feel like paying for alcohol, I would try Tej which is a wine brewed with honey. 

Pro Tip:Ask for more sourdough bread. You’re going to need it. 

4 rue Sauffroy, Metro Stop Brochant (line 2)

3. HolyBelly

Oh, HolyBelly. Are we in old town Paris or gentrified Williamsburg, Brooklyn? It took two times of waiting in line for over an HOUR until I actually tried your savory goodness. But boy was it worth the wait! This French-American spot, located at the heart of the 10th, is a hipster haven and has perhaps the best brunch in town. With its impeccable attention to plate presentation, it has the most “Instagram-able” meals in the city. If you order the Savory Stack you will have dreams about it several weeks after. 

Pro Tip: Try to get in line before 11am. After that its all over champ. 

19 Rue Lucien Sampaix , Metro stop Jacques Bonsergent (line 8)

4. Churrasquiera Galo

This portuguese restaurant has a pretty underwhelming decor and even less impressive service. It’s small and has the community-style seating I loathe quite dearly. BUT the food is awesome!! The portion size is super generous by European standards and you can get a full, hearty meal for less than 13 euros! What’s best is that its located only a 8 min walk away from the Sacré-Coeur in Montmartre, the highest point in the city. It may not be phenomenal in all respects but the food makes it worth a lunch stop after sight-seeing.

Pro Trip:Only go if super hungry. Or wear stretchy pants. 

69 rue du Dunkerque, Anvers (line 2), Barbes-Rochechouart (line 4)

5. La Crêperie Bretonne

My absolute favorite french meal is crêpes and galettes. Sweet or savory. I will take them however I can get them. PLEASE resist the temptation to try your first crêpe from a cheap fast food hole-in-the-wall in Saint-Michel and instead opt for one of the many tasty sit-downs on Rue du Montparnasse. This long, narrow street is lined with nothing but restaurants that specialize in this french delicacy. The most popular of these is La Crêperie Bretonne. I personally like to top my crepes with ham, egg, cheese, mushroom, and spinach but you don’t have to start or stop there! You will be overwhelmed by the options. So go here! Your taste buds will thank you for it. 

Pro Trip: Cider is the best pairing with galettes (savory crepes). Highly recommend!

56 rue de Montparnasse, Metro Stop Edgar Quinet (line 6), Vanvin (line 4), or Gare Montparnasse (line 4, 6, 12, & 13)

Celebrating America’s Favorite Cooking Teacher on her Birthday Weekend by Cooking 

In honor of what would have been Julia Child’s 102 birthday, please join Global Local Gourmet and Chef Nadine Nelson for a special celebration weekend with interactive cooking experiences giving homage to the life and recipes of this influential culinarian. Wear your pearls and favorite apron as we taste and cook our way through some of Julia’s classic dishes.  All events are complimentary although, if you believe in the life’s work of Julia Child and food education, you are asked to make a donation payable to CitySeed in care of the Master Cooks Corps program which provides free culinary education to New Haven’s communities. The slate of events are as follows: 

FRIDAY, AUGUST 15 WINE THEIF 5-8 

Wine Tasting and French Hors ‘ d'oeuvres   

181 Crown Street www.thewinethief.com

SATURDAY, AUGUST 16 WOOSTER SQUARE FARMERS MARKET 10-12 

Farmer’s Market Tour and Demo  

Russo Park, corner of Chapel Street and DePalma Court cityseed.org 

SATURDAY, AUGUST 16 ENGLISH BUILDING MARKETS 2-4

Wine, Dine, & Host like Julia Child  

839 Chapel St. englishbuildingmarkets.com

SUNDAY, AUGUST 17 KATALINA’S BAKERY 10 -1 

Cooking from Julia Child’s Cookbook Masterpieces 

74 Whitney Ave  www.katalinasbakery.com

SUNDAY, AUGUST 17 L’OCCTAINE 2-5 

Beauty Secrets of the French, Julia lived to 92! 

1042 Chapel Street, Suite #2 usa.loccitane.com

TICKET INFO: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/new-haven-pop-up-weekend-celebration-of-culinary-education-honoring-the-legacy-of-julia-child-tickets-12635476049orbit.ly/XkNhLv 

FLYER:https://www.icloud.com/iw/#pages/BALNXqaXhC5RBVSHJB2BEr3RFIQIa-QRpNKF/Julia_Child_Flyer_  or bit.ly/1AhA4B2 

FACEBOOK EVENT PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/events/353102118171051/or on.fb.me/1pPQoUZ

“You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces - just good food from fresh ingredients.” - Julia Child

Global Local Gourmet is an interactive culinary event company specializing in experiential epicurean occasions that cook up delicious adventures for from expected yet close to home in the form of cooking classes, culinary tours, culinary teambuilding events, and wellness workshops. globallocalgourmet.com

CitySeed’smission is to engage the New Haven community in growing an equitable, local food system that promotes economic development, community development and sustainable agriculture. Their vision is create a sustainable model of local economy, urban community, regional agriculture, environmental stewardship, and well-being through food. cityseed.org

Master Cooks Corps provides a passionate community of cooks from all over New Haven with materials and resources necessary to expand the world of healthy, cultural, affordable food instruction. Participants learn hands-on teaching techniques and receive training in healthy food preparation, improving their own skills with the intention of spreading their knowledge through New Haven’s various communities. cityseed.org/master-cooks-corps/master-cooks-homepage

FUNDRAISER FOR NEW HAVEN’S MASTER COOKS PROGRAM - A CULINARY EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR THE NEW HAVEN COMMUNITY