London - Borough Market

What kind of Food Ninja (a term coined by some Americans living in stinky-cheese land) would I be if I did not make an obligatory stop to this London food mecca? Saturday morning, after being thwarted by not only engineering works on the tube, but also the City of London Lord Mayor inauguration (or something like that), we made it to Borough Market at the respectable hour of noon (yours truly was thinking about getting there around 11am so we actually did quite well!).

Samples galore! Cheeses, jams, spreads, chocolates...mmmm. Here are a few snapshots of that afternoon:

We weren't just freeloaders - we did manage to buy some things, like the German Cheesecake (above) which was not very good - dense and with a cake-like base - and as such, half of it ended up in the trash can. We also got some brambleberry jam and some kind of cheddar from Neal's Yard Dairy, which I intend to use in my Thanksgiving cornbread.

More importantly, we got a chelsea bun (below, upper right) from Flour Station.

It's essentially a dense, yeasty cinnamon-raisin roll but less so on the cinnamon. I'm glad we didn't eat it on the spot - warmed up in a microwave the next day and spread with some salted Bordier butter it was something else entirely.

We were actually super full from all the sampling and eating that we didn't even try everything that was recommended by various sources. I guess that'll give me good reason to return next time...

La Vaissellerie

I decided to start outfitting my future kitchen early. There's a dishware store around the corner from me called La Vaissellerie (I think it literally means "the dishware store") that has a ton of white dinnerware and serving bowls and platters in a variety of shapes and sizes. Behold, my bounty:

4 bowls for soup / pasta, a serving bowl for pasta / couscous / whatever, 4 long platters (asparagus? skewers? caprese salad? MINI TACOS?!), 2 regular bowls (fruit? I dunno...), 2 square-ish bowls (salad?), a rectangular small serving dish, one of those 3-mini-dish sauce things and 2 oven-safe cocotte-looking dishes. I decided to actually utilize some with all the market produce I bought today:

And look at the girolles I got today for €5!

What better way could they have met their delicious fate than sauteed in lots of butter with shallots and sage, and finished with dill and chives? I also added a bit of 0% fromage frais mixed with dill and chives on the sides. French dairy is one of the handful of things I'll miss about France - its not that easy to find fromage blanc or fromage frais in the U.S. and if you do, its usually expensive. Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery sells it (along with other yummy dairy products) but that's the only one I know of and the price (and size) is nothing like the giant 1kg Danone Taillefine tubs I get (49 calories per 100g!).

Anyhow, below is how the girolles (super similar to chanterelles) came to be in my tummy.

Sauteed girolles with herbs

1 pound of chopped girolles/chanterelles (mixed wild mushrooms would probably work well too but note that mushrooms will loose about one-third to half their volume once cooked)
1 finely diced shallot
2 tbsp julienned sage leaves (approx. 5 - 6)
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp chopped dill
1 tbsp chopped chives
Olive oil
Salt

For the fromage blanc:
1/4 cup fromage blanc
3 tbsp chopped dill
1 tbsp chopped chives

Salt

Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a pan and saute shallots over medium-low heat. Once they start getting a little color, add the mushrooms and turn the heat up to medium. When they release a lot of water, add the sage (I'm warning you, LOTS of liquid...)

Stir occasionally until the water evaporates. Add some salt at some point.

Meanwhile, mix all the ingredients for the fromage blanc. There you have your sauce.

Once the water had evaporated, taste and add more salt if needed, along with the butter. Continue sauteing until the mushrooms start browning and shriveling up a little (I like my mushrooms dry so I guess its a personal preference).

Once plated, top with the dill and chives and serve with the fromage blanc on the side.

In a cooking frenzy - Part 2

I learned a new french word last Sunday. I can't believe I didn't know the word for watermelon! It's pastèque, which, to me, does not make me think of watermelon but whatever. I won't judge. I decided I'd be strong enough to lug 1/4 of one back to my apartment when I went to the market on Sunday (they sell them by the quarter at markets, and they're still huge). Result? Watermelon, feta and basil (with a touch of olive oil) salad for lunch. Delicious. Why did I not do this before?!

In a cooking frenzy - Part 1

I went on a cooking frenzy after going to the market. Cherries and apricots are both in season so I got a bunch, among other things.

I can't resist when sweet, juicy apricots are €2 per kilo! Of course, most bruised and I was forced to make them into jam!

It was my first foray into jam making. Pretty tasty so far but a little too sweet. I was also afraid I wouldn't boil it long enough and it would come out soupy but no. Its quite the opposite...but the taste is there. I swear!

Recently I had a panna cotta-like fromage frais 0% fat dessert somewhere so in my attempt to recreate it, I got some fromage blanc (I couldn't find fromage frais) and mixed it with some gelatin and now its sitting in the fridge. We'll see how it turns out. And I think I'm just going to stick with this as my yogurt from now on. So sad hasn't been in my life for the past 5 months!

I also got some broccoli. I used to really dislike it (its a texture thing) but its recently grown on me and it makes a very satisfying and filling dish (especially when making it with garlic and red pepper flakes and pairing it with some parm, bacon (!), toasted almonds). I burnt the garlic, as always. I ate it as a main but you can make it as a side or toss it with some pasta.

Spicy broccoli with other stuff

Broccoli cut into florets
1/2 cup of lardons, or diced bacon
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon of red pepper flakes (I like mine spicy!)
Small handful of toasted almonds
Parmesan or other hard cheese

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the broccoli and remove to an ice bath after 3-4 minutes. While the broccoli is blanching, you can mince the garlic.

Fry up the diced bacon (the key is doing it on low-medium heat otherwise it smokes because bacon fat has a fairly low smoking point). Remove and let drain on a paper towel.

Add some olive oil to the same pan used for the bacon, and on low heat, saute the red pepper flakes with the garlic until fragrant, about 30 second to 1 minute. Add the broccoli (which, I hope, you remembered to drain...I didn't so I kinda added it wet and things splattered because hot oil and water aren't friends). Saute for a few more minutes but don't burn the garlic like I did.

Put it on a plate, add the bacon, add the toasted almonds, and top with some freshly grated Parmesan. Alternately you can chop the broccoli and mix it with some pasta along with the bacon, almonds and cheese (add some reserved pasta water to bring it all together).

Feed me more Moroccan food

Moroccan. This is one cuisine the U.S. doesn't have nearly enough of. Couscous, merguez, stewed veggies (usually turnips, zucchinis and chickpeas). So good. Even the version they serve at the cafeteria at work is ridiculously good in my opinion, although aside from the merguez they also pile on chicken (dark meat!) and lamb (way too gamy), both of which I pass on so as not to be a fattie. 

But merguez - well that I can't resist. Its a thin, spicy sausage originating in North Africa (Morocco I would assume) and is usually made from lamb but it can also be beef or a mixture of both. The spices in it make the fat run off a brick color when frying them up in a skillet. Delicious. Although, I must concede, I have been seeing merguez more and more in the U.S. it seems (I saw it at whole foods!) but in France it is so readily available at the grocery store (along with duck and rabbit) and at any of the butcher shops, which make their own.  

I met up with my friend for lunch at Marche des Enfants Rouges (I think I've written about it before). Aside from a few stalls that sell produce and flowers, the market is essentially a food court (lets call it a food hall because food court reminds me of malls). You can get lebanese, japanese, moroccan, italian, whatever either to go or to stay and eat it at the little wooden tables lining the west side of the market. It wasn't hard deciding on moroccan. It was hard deciding on what to get.  

I have to mention that the Moroccan food stall is completely tiled which I love, and which reminds me of the Talavera ceramic pottery and tiles I love so much from Mexico. Might have to convince JPs mama to install some somewhere in her new house like around a bathroom sink or in the kitchen or on the rise of the steps. I don't think my Mama's house would benefit from Talavera except for the salt and pepper shakers I got her this time...well maybe a nice platter next time! I myself am eyeing what I like to call the "chips and dip" set, where you have a plate with a bunch of mini bowls set on it. But as always, I digress. 

Look at this food. How could you pick just one? They have a ton of stuff (although some, like the eggplant, seemed too oily). I kinda wanted this pastilla, or pastry with ground meat. 

And the fish (sardines?) looked fantastic. 

But I wasn't feeling too adventurous and went with the usual, foolproof dish - merguez with veggies. 

Even served in a cute little clay dish. I couldn't stop smiling. I also couldn't stop eating this ridiculously sweet dessert we shared - it was essentially a square of couscous drenched in tons of honey (far left). 

Way too sweet but we couldn't stop eating little bites of it. Perhaps next time I'll try a different stall. But then gain, maybe not.

And it must be something but I don't know why I posted 5 entries or so in under a week. I guess I have a lot on my mind and write stuff.

To market to market

I've been living in and out of Bucharest (Romania) for the past three weeks but more on that later. Its warm in Paris. Warm means picnics and markets. And I love going to markets. There are always people, noise, and, of course, food! I used to go to the Union Square farmer's market in NYC a lot. The markets here...well...you can't really call them farmer's markets. It's not actual farmers for the most part but guys who buy everything wholesale and then sell it. Sure there's a few local purveyors here and there but, for the most part, its people just selling things bought at wholesale prices. There are two ladies who sell lettuce at Marche d'Aligre and I don't know if they are from some farm or buy their lettuce wholesale but for some reason I really like buying from them. 

They just wrap the lettuce up in paper and give it to you. They're super efficient. And I think I prefer the Marche d'Aligre to the one at Richard Lenoir (Bastille). It's open both days of the weekend, it's mainly produce and it's generally cheaper. I like the top half of the area on the east side of the covered Beauveau market. These vendors always seem to have the most and the best. I also like how you can try almost anything before buying, although this week I somehow got sucked into buying €1.20 worth of overripe, starchy peas and now I don't know what to do with them. But I guess it's remedied by the strawberries and tomatoes I got. Finally good strawberries! I've been looking for them for a h-wile. My market bounty:

And of course, is a weekend really a weekend without something sweet? I finally got to stop by blé sucré (literal translation: sweet wheat). 

Apparently (according to David Lebovitz), they have the best Madeleines in Paris. And a damn good Kouing Aman. Didn't try the Kouing Aman but the Madeleines were pretty good, just not my favorite. That still goes to Eric Kayser.

Mercado Municipal

In a city with 15 million people, you’d think there’d be some life on the weekends. But no, not really. Yesterday while walking around I didn’t see too many people. And today, for most of my taxi ride to the Mercado Municipal, I barely saw a person (lots of cars, sure, but no one out and about), until we got to the market.

A little overwhelmed at first, I walked around and decided to get some fruit after I saw that they give out samples! I love samples.

So after trying a bunch, I settled on jaboticaba (look how crazy it grows, on the tree trunk!), sweetsop, a cashew fruit (I just wanted to try it, no samples of that) and a mystery fruit an orange passion fruit that just looked cool.

I think they charged me more than it was, but whatever. The interesting thing is that if you don't have exact change (lets say R$12), they'd rather take less (so R$10).

Then I made my way to the second floor of the market where there are food stalls and seating; super crowded and super loud. I got a mortadella sandwich at Hocca bar which is apparently “the thing” to do there, and I like doing “the thing” to do in places I don’t know.

And again, I don’t speak the language but they insist and ask questions and I don’t know what they’re asking! And then the girl behind me was like “he’s asking where you’re from”. But if I already told you I don’t speak Portuguese, shouldn’t you realize I don’t know what you’re saying? Sigh, I’m helpless over here and all I can do is say “ingles” and smile and shake my head apologetically and use hand gestures. It works for the most part.

For the most part, I’m fine taking pictures but sometimes I feel bad and feel the need to buy something from the vendors whose goods I take pictures of. Spice stalls:

The spices here are so cheap, so I got 8 different spices for R$12 ($7!). I couldn't help myself - I'm like a kid in a candy store when it comes to spices. You can probably read the labels and understand what they are.

Guarana to add to drinks for a caffeine boost, garam masala because it was so cheap, cinnamon sticks for the same reason, as well as fennel, bacon soup mix because adding that to sautéed veggies will make them taste delicious (in my opinion), pink peppercorns just because, and powdered spinach and beets as coloring agents for ice creams and baked goods.

Some other market scenes:

On a side note, it’s in such a sketch area, that when I walked out trying to find a taxi, I had no idea where to go and hoped that I would be OK. And then I saw a taxi stand with one taxi. And again, they start speaking me to in Portuguese, I say “INGLESSSS, fala ingles?” they say “nao” and then continue speaking to me in Portuguese. Sigh. But at least this taxi driver said things I kind of recognized, as in he pointed out sites to me like Praca de Se and the cathedral there, and the MASP.

And I just thought this was funny and accurately described what I was after I finished eating and shopping: