Keyword: olive oil

Avocado, Cherry and Chive Salad

This simple salad surprises everyone! Make this while cherries are still in season!

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: wine or cocktail glasses,
PREPARATION TIME: 15 minutes
DIFFICULTY LEVEL: simple

Couscous Soup

ASTUCE: The best meat for couscous soup is lamb neck, which is wonderfully gelatinous, rather like oxtail or beef eye of round. You can use a mix of meats too, however, without adding any pork. Baking soda added to beans as they cook tenderizes them. Finally, you will notice that the carrots and the zucchini cook until they are soft, which is how they are meant to be. If you want your vegetables a bit more “al dente,” simply add them later on in the cooking time.

Couscous

ASTUCE: Pay careful attention to these pearls of wisdom, as they will ensure perfect couscous:
*The directions urge you to proceed gently, so please do. As you use your fingers and palms, urge rather than rub the liquids and fats into the couscous, very lightly, very gently.
*It is very important that the couscous steams uncovered. If it steams covered, condensation falls from the cover onto the grain causing lumps and making it soggy.
*Wrap a towel around the seam of the steamer to make sure steam doesn’t escape into the atmosphere.
*If you do not have a couscous steamer, you may use a traditional, two-part steamer.

Chicken with Shallots and Apples

This is a gorgeous and very simple recipe that you can make for a cozy family dinner, or even when the boss comes over. It’s impressive and deeply flavorful, dramatic to present, delicious to enjoy!

ASTUCE: I suggest stuffing the chicken with either an orange or two clementines, but you don’t have to. I love the slight additional flavor they add, and their juice squeezed over the chicken right before serving, but I promise this dish is fabulous without them too. The vinegar poured over the chicken adds a touch of welcome acidity to the sauce and crisps up the skin too.

Endives Caramelisés

Light, lovely and very delicious, this dish goes well with everything – meat, fish, fowl. It is delicate and lovely and will surprise everyone who tastes it. This dish can be served wither hot or at room temperature.

Sweet and Salty Grilled Almonds

This is a recipe that you make in a thrice, preferably on the gas grill, then have just slightly warm and ready to serve to guests the minute they walk in the door. I make them when the grill is heated, but before I cook dinner…it’s a perfect solution for an appetizer, to serve alongside rose in the summer, champagne any time of year! Or, as I did recently, glasses of chilled Pastis, to ward off the intense heat of a mid-summer evening.

ASTUCE: you’ll need to supervise the almonds towards the end, as they can burn quickly. And when you strew the sugar don’t worry – what doesn’t stick to the almonds will burn off the grill.

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: mesh gas grill, wooden spatula

Grilled Bread with Smashed Tomatoes from FRENCH GRILL

Grilled bread. The first time I made this for French friends, they couldn’t believe it. How could something so simple and basic be SO GOOD? French is such a bread culture yet bread has its place, and that place is sliced, in a basket, as a support for cheese, a pusher for salad, a sopper for sauce. Grilled? It really takes the Italians for that, and here, I’ve crossed the border and introduced it to France! And just in case you wondered, everyone I know is making it now! Because this is quick, you can make it while the grill is heating, and have it ready for guests when they arrive so they don’t notice that dinner isn’t quite ready!

ASTUCE: I brush the bread with oil – not too much – before grilling, then brush it again once it’s off the grill. This avoids flare-ups which might add a not-so-good flavor to the toasted bread. It also keeps the fat level down. I get a wonderful organic bread from the food coop in Louviers that looks as though it was made for a giant – it’s a long, fat loaf studded with grains and made with the greatest blend of spelt and wheat flours. Try and find something similar for this recipe.

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: long tongs, pastry brush
PREPARATION TIME: about 4 minutes
DIFFICULTY LEVEL: simple