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, The Duke of Cumberland Arms, in West Sussex, southwest of London. It was a rainy day, so my friend and I lunched indoors — and our eyes lit up when the supremely green risotto was brought to our table.
Risotto aux petits pois et à la menthe / Risotto with peas and mint
It was dotted with peas but also surprisingly creamy. How had the chef achieved this delightful effect, I wondered. When we were out in the garden for coffee after lunch — at a table with a big umbrella — I saw him wander by and had to ask. Chef Simon Goodman was happy to oblige. The trick, he said, was to purée some of the peas. Sort of like the famous (infamous?) ‘mushy peas’ that Britons enjoy with their fish and chips…
So you make a typical risotto — sauté onion in olive oil, add rice and stir-fry briefly, add white wine, then broth. Separately, cook the peas and purée about two-thirds of them with fresh mint while leaving the other third whole. When the rice is al dente, stir in the puréed peas, simmer briefly, then add the whole peas, butter and freshly grated parmesan. Let it sit a couple of minutes, covered, and bring to the table. Prepare for applause…
As readers of this site will know, I’m very fond of risotto and over the years have posted recipes with spinach, pumpkin, lobster, wild mushrooms, morel mushrooms, saffron, radicchio (one of my favorites) and asparagus … with peas! I serve the risotto either as a main course — it makes a great lunch dish, followed by a salad — or as the starter for a more elaborate meal, usually Italian themed. I might pair it, for example, with veal saltimbocca, parmesan chicken or oven-roasted eggplant, Mediterranean style.
Locally grown fresh peas have not appeared at Paris farmers markets yet, but that was not a problem — as this dish may be made with frozen peas any time of the year. That’s lucky, given the endless Paris winter. We have has been treated to months of cold, wet, gray, blustery weather and it just won’t seem to let up — the Seine actually burst its banks this week. But, according to the calendar, it will officially be spring in just two more weeks…
Happy cooking!
Making parmesan chicken, a family favorite, is simplicity itself. There are only two ingredients — the parmesan and the chicken (plus a little olive oil for pan-frying). Unlike other similar dishes where chicken is coated before frying, this lighter version involves no flour, no breadcrumbs, no egg. The grated parmesan is simply patted onto the chicken breasts, which are then lightly fried until golden, et voilà — dinner is served.
This salad of curly endive with bacon is a French bistro classic and it’s one of my favorites. I often serve it to friends at dinner parties, usually followed by another bistro dish, for example 
Let’s start with the lettuce. Salade frisée is displayed proudly in French farmers markets, its yellow heart framed by a dark green crown. This type of salad is huge. It can measure up to two feet (60 cm) in diameter when spread open. When I took the photo at right, it virtually covered the picnic table on my veranda. So unless you are cooking for an army, you won’t need all of it for your salad. What to do with the rest? Either a repeat performance or you can use it to make Italian lettuce soup, a recipe I hope to post one day soon.
Now the bacon. In France lardons, or bacon sticks, are sold precut in supermarkets. But for best results with this salad, it’s preferable to start with a thick strip of bacon — about 1/3 inch (1 cm) — and cut the lardons yourself. The flavor and texture are better, and your guests will appreciate it. If that’s not possible where you live, buy thick-cut bacon strips and chop them. My advice: be generous with the bacon. It’s the star of the show.
Roasted salmon on a bed of spicy lentils is a dish that delivers the comfort we crave in winter without too much heft. Here, the dish is paired with spinach for a combination that’s as pleasing to the eye as to the palette. I made this dish last week during a cold snap in Paris — below-freezing temperatures and snow that didn’t melt for days, a rare event over here. After fireside suppers featuring heavier winter dishes, the salmon made a welcome change.
As the cold is bound to return, both here and elsewhere, I thought I’d share some of the dishes I’ve been making to cheer this frigid season, in hopes of inspiring you. Over the last month or so I’ve served: 
After all that entertaining, I slowed down this month, mainly cooking for my daugher and myself, as well as a couple of guests. So far I’ve served 
A classic French bistro dish that’s particularly pleasant in winter is leeks in vinaigrette sauce. It’s incredibly quick and easy to make at home, and there are many variations: with mustard vinaigrette, balsamic vinaigrette, lemon vinaigrette, topped with shallots or not, topped with herbs or not, topped with chopped egg or not etc. etc. In today’s recipe, the leeks are steamed, then topped with mustard vinaigrette, chopped shallot and chopped parsley.
The recipe for these fluffy little pancakes came to me via my Grandma Anne, whose family hailed from a small Jewish village in Ukraine. She called them ‘cottage cheese pancakes’, which always baffled me since cottage cheese has curds and the cheese in these pancakes was perfectly smooth. Eventually, after spending time in the Soviet Union, I worked out that the original cheese involved must have been tvorog, a smooth white cheese.
Who invented butter-almond crescents, the sugar-dusted confections served at Christmas time in many parts of the world? Some say the cookies were invented by a Viennese baker who adopted the shape of the Ottoman flag’s crescent moon to celebrate victory over the Turks in the 17th century. But I’m not so sure, as crescent almond cookies exist far beyond Vienna. In North Africa, for example, they’re called gazelle horns…
A nice warm bowl of silky-smooth soup of sweet potato and leek with coconut milk, lime juice and spices might be just what the doctor ordered as we head into December. I came up with this one when a glitch in this year’s Thanksgiving plans left me with an abundance of uncooked sweet potatoes. It was a cinch to make — took less than half an hour — and the result was a very soothing soup with Asian flavors that was both healthy and economical.
Returning to the sweet potato-leek soup, it may be served at lunchtime, accompanied by sandwiches or a salad, or as a first course for a more elaborate meal. My daughter and I enjoyed it for lunch with 
Plov is a rich and spicy rice dish from Central Asia that is traditionally made with lamb, although other meats are sometimes used. The lamb is browned with carrots and onions before being simmered with cumin seeds, paprika and turmeric or saffron. Quince or chickpeas may also be included. A layer of rice studded with whole cloves of garlic is added at the end and steamed to tender perfection to create a festive one-dish meal.
P.S. With Thanksgiving around the corner, here are some recipes that could lend a French touch to the festivities: 
If you’d like to try your hand at rendering duck fat, you could start out with one of these recipes: 
