This deeply flavorful, earthy dish of rice, lentils, caramelized onions and spices can be found at Lebanese market stalls and restaurants in Paris and is easy to make at home. The ingredients are cooked separately, spices are added and everything is combined at the end, with more fried onions on top. I’ve served it twice recently — with shawarma chicken and with roast quail — and am happy to report that my guests thoroughly enjoyed it.
Moudardara / Rice with lentils and fried onion
Although the version I’ve seen in Paris is Lebanese, moudardara is popular across the eastern Mediterranean. It comes in many variations — different types of lentils, differents types of grain (sometimes bulgur is used instead of rice) — and has a cousin, moujadara, that consists primarily of lentils. It is often served topped with yogurt. An Egyptian version called kushari includes vermicelli and is topped with tomato sauce.
One of the mysteries of making Lebanese-style moudardara is the essential addition of the ‘Lebanese seven spice mix’. But which seven spices? Opinions vary wildly. For the recipe posted here, I chose cumin, crushed coriander seeds, turmeric, paprika, cinnamon, allspice and black pepper. Other recipes may include nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, ginger, cayenne or fenugreek. The only constant seems to be cumin, Mix and match as you prefer.
Another question concerns the best type of lentils to use. I asked the friendly fellow at a Lebanese market stall about this, and before telling me to get lost — ‘I’m to busy to be giving out recipes’ — he said that the proper Lebanese lentils were not available in Paris. So I opted for blond lentils, which seemed like the closest match, although some recipes call for green lentils. Again, up to you. As for the rice, I would recommend basmati.
Moudardara has the advantage of appealing to omnivores, vegetarians and vegans alike. It goes well with a wide range of dishes, from grilled meat to veggies like eggplant, spinach or Middle Eastern salads like fattoush (cucumber, tomato and fried bread). You could pair it, for example, with lamb kebabs or roast chicken, or make it part of a veggie spread with hummus, roasted eggplant salad, chickpea salad, tomato salad and/or eggplant gratin.
Bottom line: While moudardara is known as a poor man’s dish, I can guarantee that you’ll be richly rewarded if you give it a try.
Happy cooking.
Let’s see off the winter with a bowl of creamy mushroom soup, a classic French recipe lightened in this version by using a mixture of cream and milk instead of pure cream. A dash of lemon juice adds tang, and herbs also brighten the flavor. The soup is hearty enough to make a fine main dish at lunchtime, perhaps followed by a salad, and can be served as a first course at dinner or in small glasses as a palate teaser at cocktail hour.
So, yes, velouté de champignons is comfort food. Never mind the calories, we still need comfort food here in Paris, having just gone through 
Le crumble is hardly a French invention, yet it has become wildly popular in this country, with apple crumble topping the list of favorites. So in honor of Valentine’s Day I’m offering you this delightful dessert — sweets to the sweet, dear readers. The recipe is simple: peel the apples, chop them, pile into a baking pan, add a butter-flour-and-sugar topping, and bake. When the crumble comes out of the oven, you’ll find that 
Mussels filled with garlicky parsley butter and baked until bubbly and golden make a great start to a meal. They may be served with cocktails as a palate teaser (amuse-bouche) or as a first course at the table. By taking care not to overcook the mussels, you will ensure that each mouthful not only bursts with flavor, but is tender as well. And this dish is fun to make. Pop the mussels into the oven as your guests are arriving and prepare for applause.
Coq au Riesling is chicken in a creamy mushroom sauce made with Riesling, a dry but slightly fruity wine from Alsace. While the dish was traditionally made with rooster (coq), chicken is now commonly used. For one thing, roosters are far tougher than chickens and take a long time to cook. For another, it’s not always easy to find a rooster — even in France, where it’s the national symbol! Meantime, today marks the start of an innovative herbal collaboration between EFC and a climate-aware online garden shop. Details below.
For our first collaborative foray, 
When walking in Paris in winter, one is likely to encounter a café chalkboard proposing grog au rhum, the French version of a rum toddy. This ubiquitous drink is popular not only because of its alleged healing qualities – it is said to be a remedy for the common cold and associated ailments – but also because it is warming and tasty, a great pick-me-up in nippy weather. And the beauty is that it may be made at home in a matter of minutes.
And so we end the year with an ultra French, ultra elegant starter of sea scallops in Champagne sauce to grace your table during the festive season. The scallops are sautéed in butter, deglazed with Champagne, bathed in a creamy, buttery Champagne sauce and decorated with fresh herbs. The amount of Champagne needed is equivalent to about one flute, so you can serve the rest of the bottle to your guests to get the festivities off to a merry start.
Cassoulet, one of France’s most popular dishes, is a specialty of the southwest Languedoc region. Dried white beans are simmered to tenderness, infused with garlic and baked in a slow oven with various meats — sausages, bacon, duck or goose confit, and sometimes pork or lamb. This is French comfort food at its finest. It’s a festive dish for a crowd that could be fun to make over the holidays. Preparation takes time, but it’s worth it.
With Thanksgiving arriving and Christmas not far behind, this may be a good time to try your hand at Brussels sprouts, French style. This savory dish — in which the sprouts are halved and sautéd with bacon, with carrots, with both or with neither — bears no relation to the version you may have been served as a child. Garlic and herbs brighten the flavor, and the sprouts retain flashes of lovely green by being cooked just enough, uncovered.
Brussels sprouts cooked properly are mild, slightly sweet and tender. In this recipe, they are first cut in half, exposing their beautiful yellow centers. The halves are boiled to the al dente stage, the key being not to cover the pot so that they remain bright green. The sprouts are then sautéd in olive oil with the addition of garlic, herbes de Provence and, if you like, lardons (bacon sticks) and/or carrot rounds. In the final stage, a little water is added to braise the sprouts and blend the flavors.
In the States, if you’d like to add a French touch to your Thanksgiving in addition to the sprouts, you could check out the following recipes: 
An earthy soup of red lentils with coconut milk will brighten your table in these dreary days of November. In Paris, where’s its been gray and cold for weeks, we actually had November in October and now we’re having December in November. My neighbors across the way have already strung out their Christmas lights, and I’m seriously considering lighting a fire in the fireplace tonight. Just to create some cheer in this dismal season…
