A visit to Paris

Smoked Duck, Confit and Foie Gras

Just returned from a visit to Paris, and well, whilst in France its great to sample some classic dishes and then be able to bring some home too. Some years ago we were fortunate enough to stay in the South West of France in a small town called Aiguillon, where many of the local farms produced Foie Gras. So a great pleasure to find these familiar offerings in Paris too, of course theres more to food in Paris than i had time to enjoy, but what i sampled was superb. From crepes in Versailles through the range of local breads, croissant and pastries to the homemade noisette ice cream in Montmartre it was a pleasure throughout. Then theres the markets laden with delicacies, honey, macaroons, cheeses and spices reflecting the cosmopolitan nature of the area, or maybe a chance to try the smoked pigs ears or chicken gizzards that are so good on salads. The flavour of Fleur de del adds delicate compexity to any food that you season, being hand harvested, sun dried and unique in qualities, its all here to sample. Most visits to Paris will understandably take in the museums, galleries and shops on offer, enjoy these but remember to refuel regularly on at least some of the above.  If you are lucky enough to visit then go try, you'll be pleased that you did, and don't forget to bring something home to remind of the visit.

Bon appetit

A bit of a Mess

Forever popular, Eton Mess is a firm favourite of ours. Simple and quick to make, and today this will be the ideal end to a Chinese style meal. The dish can be as simple as just whipped cream with mashed Strawberries but here we add a few twists to give the dish a little more complexity in taste, yet still it retains the fresh smooth delicate balance that has made it a classic.

200g Strawberries
200g Raspberries
300g Lychees
200g Blueberries
Zest of 1 Orange
500ml Double Cream
4 Meringue nests



Method
1. Remove zest from Orange, place  to one side.
2. Remove green leaves from Strawberries, chop into small bite sized pieces, place in a bowl.
3. Remove the shell like skin from the Lychees, cut each in half and gently remove stone from middle, place in bowl with strawberries.
4. Add raspberries and Blueberries to the bowl.
5. Pour cream into another clean bowl and whisk until well risen and stiff.
6. Pour fruit and orange zest over the cream, place in fridge until required.
7. Break meringues into small pieces.
8. At the last minute, add meringue to fruit and cream, fold everything together gently, serve.


The combination of fruits can easily be varied to suit the occasion or even the season, try adding halved grapes, some nuts for texture or even broken biscuits, consider adding fresh chopped mint leaves or the explosive taste of fresh basil with black pepper and some soft crumbly goats cheese. Top it all with a generous serving of honey or Maple syrup, its really there to be tried. Explore, imagine and enjoy.