"Steak frite in Soller", Palma, Baleares.

A very good address: http://www.randemar.com/es/index.php
discovered "Fries with truffle oil" How can I have it differently now?! ...if you like truffle oil of course. Worth trying.

Tatin of tomatoes mozzarella.

Listened to the French radio today and heard this rather fantastic idea of revisiting this old recipe and making a "Tatin" with the famous tomatoes mozarella dish!
Here it is:
1 pack of puff pastry
6/7 big tomatoes
1 Ball of buffalo mozzarella.
A hand full of basil ( the small leaf one if you find it better)
1 pinch of sugar
Olive oil
Salt and pepper.
Pre-heat the oven at 180 degree C.
Cut the tomatoes in half with the stalk at the top and empty the seeds and juice.
In a Tatin dish (or ceramic dish) pour some olive oil in the bottom and put the tomatoes head down side by side, quite tightly. Add a bit more olive oil on the top with salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar.
Put the dish in the oven for 30 minutes or until cooked.
Pierce the puff pastry a lot! And lay it on the tomatoes folding the sides as much as you can..
Put back in the oven for 30mins and meanwhile, cut the mozzarella in slices.
Take the dish out of the oven and lay the mozzarella on top when the tomatoes are still hot (you can put the dish back in the oven a little bit to help the mozzarrella to melt, but not too much to keep a nice appearance).
Finish with the basil and eat warm or cold.
Bon appetit!

"Grilled egg plant and courgette salad with rocket, tomatoes in balsamic vinegar, Corsican herbs and a sprinkle of raspberries."

I bought some raspberries today, which actually smelled of raspberries! I thought the colour was so beautiful with the greeness of the rocket. Je me lance! ( try it now!)
I grilled the egg plant and courgette with a drop of olive oil.
Cut my tomatoes in cubes with a dressing of 1 table spoon of balsamic vinegar and 3 of olive oil and added the herbs, which I found in Corsica Nepita, (rosemary and thyme mint).
Will serve with sea bream pan fried. Smelly for the kitchen but delicious!
Bon appetit!

Cooking lesson in the middle of a Parisian market.

Free cooking lesson in Paris! Yes, possible! We cooked with chef Anil Sharma from the cooking school "l'atelier des sens". Anil is a wonderful Indian chef, friendly and passionate who communicated to us his passion for his cuisine and his love for spices.
Organised by the Mairie de Paris (Paris council) every week with different chefs allowing anyone to have a fantastic experience of cooking in the middle of Parisian market "marché gros la fontaine" Paris 16ème, is one of them.
Visit www.ffcuisine.fr to book with the Federation Francaise De Cuisine.
Here is what we did:


Indian Avocado salad - serves 4

3 Avocados
3 ripeTomatoes
1 Apple
1 small mango
4 cloves of asian garlic mash to paste
Ginger 1 finger
2 tbsp of ghee or 30 cl vegetable oil
3 tbsp of Olive oil
2 limes juiced
1 small bunch of chopped Coriander (1/2 very thinly chopped and 1/2 to serve)
1 tea spoon of paprika
Pinch of salt and black pepper

Cut 2 avocados in half and rub 1/2 lime juice inside. Reserve.
Cut the avocados, tomatoes, apple and mango in tiny cubes and put them in the salad bowl.
Add a pinch of salt and pepper, paprika, lime juice, chopped coriander, olive oil and mix gently.
Dressed the inside of the avocados with the salad bowl mixture.
Julienne the ginger and fry it in the ghee. See pics.
(Tip: keep the ginger flavour ghee for cooking the dahl or other indian dish)
Serve the avocado with the fry ginger on top and the rest of the coriander.

Dahl -Dal-Daal All the same but different writings.
(Indian red lentils dish) - serves 4

1 onion finely chopped
5 cloves of Asian garlic mash to paste
Ginger (1 finger finely chopped) 10g
3 tbsp of ghee or butter with a 1 tsp of vegetable (stop the butter burning)
1 tsp of black seed mustard
1 tsp of cumin
1 tsp of ajwain (Indian thym)
1 tsp of turmeric powder
1 tsp of madras masala
3 large tomatoes cut in cubes
Salt ( himalaya if possible)
4 small fresh red chilli sliced
1 tsp of tamarind
1 cup of red lentils
4 cups of water
1 lime juiced
1 bunch of coriander, chopped to serve.

Rinse the lentils until the water runs clear.
In a pan over medium heat, pour 3 tablespoons of ghee and fry the onion, the garlic and the ginger until brown.
Add the mustard seed, cumin, ajwain, turmeric, madras, 2 chillies , 3tbsp water and stir for 1 minute.
Add the tomatoes, lentils ,salt and cook for 45 minutes and taste.
Finish by adding the tamarin, the lime juice and sprinkle the top with the coriander and the rest of the chilli if you dare!

Minipalais - Paris

It is my second visit at the Minipalais, I love the place, it's chic and relaxed. I like the modern cuisine of Eric Frechon (3stars @"le Bristol"). Having lunch inside the Grand Palais is a unique experience! Perfect day in Paris if followed by an exhibition. I had the menu @28 euros and no regrets, it was delicious. Loved the coriander seed and the spices on the canette (female duck.)
http://minipalais.com/fr/

The best ice cream in Paris

One of my summer childhood memories in Paris, is l'île Saint Louis at night. In the summer, we would often go out at night after dinner with my parents and eat an ice cream! A few years later, it is nice to see that it's still a Parisian habit.
Have it the Parisian way and have a walk by la Seine just nearby.
Amorino
47 rue Saint Louis en l'île
75004 Paris

Tian Provencal

I lived in Nice for 3 years when I was younger. I will never forget the market Saleya and the amazing smells of vegetables. This is a nostalgic dish..
To compensate, I bought organic vegetables, they truly have more flavour..
Bon Appetit!