Category Archives: 1. Starters

Purée de fèves épicée

Posted on April 29, 2016 by Meg

Consider this a Mediterranean version of guacamole. Fava beans (aka broad beans) are cooked to tenderness and puréed with olive oil, lemon and garlic, with a little cayenne pepper for bite. A perfect spread as warm spring days edge toward … Continue reading →

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Céléri rémoulade

Posted on February 5, 2016 by Meg

It is always a comfort, on a cold, damp Paris day, to walk into a bistro at lunchtime and encounter a plate of céléri rémoulade, the classic French starter of grated celeriac bathed in a tangy mustard mayonnaise. This earthy … Continue reading →

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Cake au roquefort et aux noix

Posted on December 11, 2015 by Meg

Walnuts and roquefort marry well, as they say. The combination turns up often in salads and as an after-dinner treat, perhaps with some pear slices alongside. In this savory cake, traditionally served in France at cocktail hour, the sharpness of … Continue reading →

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Croustillants au chèvre-romarin-miel

Posted on August 6, 2015 by Meg

This unusual French take on Mediterranean cheese pastries combines rosemary and honey with goat cheese to produce an intoxicating Provençal flavor. Similar pastries, also called cheese fingers or cheese cigarettes, are ubiquitous around the eastern Mediterranean rim. You may find … Continue reading →

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Cake apéritif aux olives, lardons et pistaches

Posted on February 27, 2015 by Meg

Guests are coming and you’d like to do something really special for a festive cocktail hour? This rich and savory apéritif cake, studded with olives, bacon and pistachios, will knock their socks off. I discovered it a couple of weeks … Continue reading →

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Crevettes mayonnaise

Posted on January 9, 2015 by Meg

I first enjoyed a significant French seafood platter in a small seaside town in Normandy during a romantic weekend. The three-tiered tray came to our table brimming with oysters, clams, sea snails, shrimp and a crab set on ice, accompanied … Continue reading →

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Blini

Posted on December 19, 2014 by Meg

When I first moved to Russia in June 1986, black caviar was not only plentiful and cheap, but also — less than two months after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster — seemed (to me) to be one of the safest foods … Continue reading →

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Foie gras

Posted on August 29, 2014 by Meg

Let’s face it — foie gras is controversial. Beloved in France, where it is served as a special treat on festive occasions, it is shunned elsewhere by people who object to the force-feeding of geese or ducks to fatten their … Continue reading →

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Tapenade

Posted on May 16, 2014 by Meg

The very thought of this flavor-packed spread evokes gnarled olive groves and thyme growing wild by the side of the road in southern France, where tapenade originated. Ubiquitous in Provence, it is usually made with black olives, but green olives … Continue reading →

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Asperges au parmesan

Posted on April 4, 2014 by Meg

There are so many beautiful things to be done with asparagus in the springtime that sometimes it’s hard to choose. In a quiche? In an omelet? Wrapped in a crêpe with melted cheese? Served in solitary splendor as a first … Continue reading →

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