This dish of fish in a tomato-coconut-lime sauce hails from Brazil, where it is known as moqueca. I discovered it at the home of a friend in the English countryside, and found it so wonderful that I had to share it with you. Jane, the friend in question, learned to make it while her husband was serving as a senior British diplomat in Brasília. They entertained a lot and, as she put it, this is a great party dish because it can be largely prepared in advance.
Poisson brésilien au lait de coco / Brazilian fish stew ‘moqueca’
Regular readers of this site may remember that the recipe in my last post was also from an English friend, another superlative cook. What’s the connection? We all lived in Moscow when it was still the capital of the USSR — and thus we learned to be creative cooks. There were a few state-run restaurants but there was nothing resembling normal nightlife. If we wanted to have a nice dinner, we had to prepare it ourselves.
This involved creative shopping as well. The building to which all three of us were assigned was within easy walking distance of a decent farmers market, but the quality and quantity of the food on offer there was unpredictable. Even less predictable were the state-run shops, hence the habit of every Muscovite of never going out without an avoska (string bag) in case something interesting should turn up. Which happened rarely.
One food item that was generally available somewhere was ice cream, and it was excellent. People lined up for it in the streets in winter, never mind the -30 temperatures. But there was only one flavor — vanilla. Well, dear friends, creative cooking means figuring out how to go beyond vanilla. Soon I was delighting my dinner guests with exotic flavors like chocolate or strawberry. (Hint: let the ice cream soften, add cocoa powder or mashed strawberries, stir and refreeze). Another thing I learned to make in Moscow was French-fried onion rings — as no such thing was available there (coming soon).
Getting back to moqueca (pronounced moo-KAY-ka), fillets of any firm, white-fleshed fish are marinated for a while in lime juice, garlic and ginger, then cooked in a sauce of sweet red pepper, onion, garlic, tomato and cayenne, with coconut milk, more lime juice and chopped cilantro added at the end. The dish is traditionally served over rice.
And, you may well ask, why is a Brazilian dish that came to me via Moscow appearing on a French food blog? Well, for one thing, I made it in Paris. For another, we’ve got the Olympics happening here in a matter of days, and what better way to celebrate the Olympic spirit of friendly competition among nations than a multi-culti dish?
Happy cooking.
This summery salad of roasted eggplant with tomatoes and sweet red pepper is a versatile dish that may be served as a starter, as a side dish, as part of a mezze spread or as the star of a vegetarian meal. It is similar to its French cousin, 
This deeply flavorful Moroccan dish of garlicky chicken infused with cumin and coriander on a bed of meltingly soft peas makes a fine family supper or a festive dish for special occasions. And as we are reaching the tail end of the season for fresh peas, this is a good time to try it out. The recipe is easy but takes time as the chicken needs to marinate before going into the oven. The peas are cooked separately, and everything is combined at the end.
Forget maple syrup, bring on the powdered sugar. French toast, French style, is mainly served as a dessert or an afternoon snack. Known as pain perdu (‘lost bread’), it was a poor man’s dish until, according to lore, it was discovered by the nobility in the 16th century, becoming a favorite of King Henri IV. From the king’s table, French toast made its way abroad, and the rest is history.
These days French toast is rarely seen on bistro menus. It is most commonly served in French homes for the afternoon goûter (snack), a national institution for French schoolchildren to tide them over until French dinnertime, around 8 p.m. But this can also be a sophisticated dish. Serve it at your next brunch, with fruit and/or bacon, and prepare for applause.
French garlic soup from Provence is called aïgo boulido, which translates amusingly as ‘boiled water’. Well, you can believe me — it’s a lot tastier than hot water. The garlic is boiled until soft, allowed to steep with fresh sage, thyme and a bay leaf, puréed with an egg yolk and olive oil, and served over toast topped with freshly grated cheese. Pale yellow, creamy and deeply flavorful, it’s a delight to the palate and the eye.
Springtime in Paris means rhubarb and strawberries, and they combine delightfully in this light, bright dessert. The mousse can be whipped up — literally — in just a few minutes. The rhubarb is softened with sugar, the strawberries are puréed, the mix is lightened with a beaten egg white and whipped cream is folded in at the end. Topped with strawberry pieces and perhaps a sprig of basil or mint, the mousse makes a lovely end to a meal.
Snow peas, fresh peas, asparagus and chives star in this bright green medley of spring vegetables bathed in a French-Asian fusion sauce. With the sun making timid appearances and the chestnuts finally in blossom, it’s beginning to feel like spring in Paris. I’d been planning to make this dish for a long time, and at last it was the right season. So I headed to the market, where spring veggies were out in abundance — except for snow peas…
Succulent spicy meatballs served in broth with cream and topped with fresh dill — now that’s what I call comfort food with a capital C, except that this dish is light, not heavy. I first made it on a winter’s evening and have since repeated it many times as it proved very popular here at home. What inspired this creation? I may have had Swedish meatballs on my mind, but I added cumin, ground coriander, cayenne and cilantro to spice things up a bit…
This open-face pita sandwich with shrimp in curried mayo set on a bed of bacon and arugula and topped with fresh dill is an example of why I have often thought this site should be renamed ‘Meg Has Lunch’. Like many dishes proposed by The Everyday French Chef, it was invented one day when I went into the kitchen at lunchtime wondering what to make, checked the fridge to see what we had on hand and came up with a felicitous combination.
With Easter just around the corner, here are some seasonal recipes you may wish to try for a holiday meal: 
Longing for a hint of spring as the Paris winter drags on and on, I made a cheery pot of risotto with peas and fresh mint the other day. The inspiration for this dish was not my own. I first had it last summer at a beautiful English country pub, 
