Ramblings of a retiree in France
These are the two final side dishes in my recently prepared Indian dinner. I don’t eat meat so instead of making another purely vegetable side-dish, I added protein in the form of chickpeas (garbanzo beans). I always like to serve a salad, often one… Continue Reading “The Musette: Chickpeas with Spinach, and Kachumba Salad”
I made this dal as one of the sides for my Chicken Vesuvius. You can use other lentils but I like to use red ones because they cook so quickly. I made it less spicy than usual as I wanted it to complement the… Continue Reading “The Musette: Coconut Red Lentil Dal and Pineapple Raita”
One of our Asian friends loves spicy food so I made him a number of dishes including my Chicken Vesuvius dish which adds heat through a bunch of different aromatics: cayenne, black pepper, Serrano chillis, spicy mustard and other the warming spices. I like… Continue Reading “The Musette: Chicken Vesuvius with lemon rice”
Gougères, a baked savoury pastry made with a French choux dough, are my secret weapon at this time of year because I always have a bag in the freezer at the ready. I make the dough ahead of time then bake them straight from… Continue Reading “The Musette: Gougères”
This recipe is born out of the amazing sabayon base but don’t be afraid – it’s not as hard as it sounds! A classic sabayon is simply egg yolks and sugar whisked over a bain marie until mousse-like in texture. It is then cooled… Continue Reading “The Musette: coffee parfait”
Looking for an easy and flavourful seafood dish? Look no further than these pan -seared scallops with cherry tomatoes, black olives and capers. – sauce Provençal. Delicious on their own but insanely good over angel-hair pasta or rice. This dish takes less than 30… Continue Reading “The Musette: Pan-seared Provençal style scallops”
A confectioner named Bekir Effendi, who opened a sweet shop in Istanbul in 1776, is credited with creating this delicacy. His sweet shop still stands today. After Effendi made his first batch of this special creation, it wasn’t long before it gained entry into the… Continue Reading “The Musette: Rose Turkish delight”
This simple chickpea soup has a delightful creamy texture, and is flavoured with rosemary, smoked paprika and garlic plus miso for a punch of umami. Cooked slowly on the stovetop, this easy vegan soup is hearty and comforting – just what we all need… Continue Reading “The Musette: Chickpea Soup”
Apple cake with salted caramel icing has the autumn comfort food flavours of apples, caramel and cinnamon. I love to use a crisp yet sweet apple for my cake such as Juliet. Granny Smith apples, perfect for pies, are too tart for this, and… Continue Reading “The Musette: Salted Caramel Iced Apple Cake”