Marmite please / Marmite, si vous plaît

I love my home country's cooking. British food is hearty, honest, and most of all tasty. There is something reassuring about it: you know you can't go wrong with a full English, even from the greasiest builder's cafe. 

Imagine my delight, therefore, when I came across 'La Perfide Albion', a little boutique in the quaint rue de l'Arc de Triomphe in Saintes run by Nathaniel Waugh. As well as running an ongoing English book swap (English books are ridiculously overpriced in France, actually all books are..) Nathaniel stocks a variety of imported English produce at prices that are much better than in the supermarkets. 

Here is today's shopping list: 

Marmite, Bisto original gravy granules, OXO vegetable cubes and some Tyrell's sweet chilli crisps. The essentials!

Autumn salads / Salades d'automne

Don't get me wrong, I love winter food; it sticks to your bones, fills you up and keeps you warm! I'm not ready to give out on summer just yet though. One of the advantages of living in the South of France is that the thermometer is stuck at 24 degrees even though it's October! This doesn't, however, mean that we can cheat the seasons. One look at the market stalls where the tomatoes and aubergines have been replaced by turnips, apples and grapes testifies to an undeniable fact: autumn is here. 

Autumn is my favourite season. I love the colours of the trees, the cooler temperatures mean no more sunburn and I have an excuse to make tasty autumnal dishes like this brie, hazelnut and grape salad.

This idea came to me from a similar salad in the 'October' volume of my Sud Ouest Gourmand collection. I really love this set of cookery books. Not only do they feature seasonal recipies (being based on the months of the year) but they also use ingredients that are normally easy to come by in the area.

Chop up half a block of brie, wash a big bunch of black grapes and cut them in half. Wash your salad leaves (I chose rocket as I like the peppery taste but you can use any seasonal leaves) and mix together in a big serving bowl. Sprinkle over some roasted hazelnuts for a bit of extra protein and a nice crunchy texture. 

The little secret to this recipe is the dressing. As this is quite a sweet salad due to the grapes and the brie can be a bit rich, you need something acidic to cut through the flavours. 

  Squeeze the juice of half a lemon into a little bowl. Add salt and pepper, two teaspoons of balsamic vinegar and 4 teaspoons of olive oil. Whisk together with a fork. Finely dice a shallot and add to the mixture. Drizzle over the salad. 

This dish is enough on its own for two people as a lunchtime meal but if you want to make it a bit more filling serve with a slice or two of country ham. 
  

This dish is easy to make, really tasty and perfectly in harmony with the seasons. What more could you ask for? Maybe seconds!

Homemade chilli oil / Huile pimentée maison

Along with the garden tomatoes our green-thumbed friends were kind enough to give us these gorgeous sweet red peppers. After grilling several and chopping them into my homemade pasta sauce, there were still several chillies left over so I decided to give my own chilli oil a go. I love spicy food and this oil can be used afterwards to cook a steak, spice up a pizza or even give a bit of peps to a salad. 

Much cheaper than the overpriced chilli oils available in the supermarket, it was really easy to make too! Cut the stalks off the chillies and crush them gently with a rolling pin to break the skins and release their flavour. Pop them in an empty glass bottle and cover with olive oil. At this stage you can add dried herbs, peppercorns or other types of chilli if you want to experiment. However, as this was my first time I decided to play it simple! The hardest bit to this recipe is waiting while the oil impregnates with the flavour of the chilli...a whole two months before I can taste it!

Poppies galore / Des coquelicots en folie

Recette: Poppy Cocktail


A delicious, sweet, summery cocktail that Chéri introduced me to this summer while he was working as a barman for Martell, one of the oldest and most prestigious cognac houses. Living so close to the town of Cognac itself, it was only a matter of time before I became seduced by this elegant and refined alcohol that continues to shape the economy and history of the area. However, while I am now learning to appreciate older cognacs in their natural state, the younger and more agressive cognacs are too strong to drink by themselves. Hence the beauty of this original little cocktail recipe! 

Mix together 2cl cognac VS, 2 cl ginger liqueur and a small amount of poppy cordial. Dilute with Perrier. 

This delicious poppy sirop is not easy to come by. I had to go to our local Jardiland that also boasts an epicerie fine to find it! While it was quite expensive (5 euros a bottle!) you only need to put a tiny amount into the cocktail and they have other interesting flavours (candyfloss, lavender, toffee apple, basil etc). 

See Greedy Guide to Cordial for other cordial experiences!

Stuffed garden tomatoes / Tomates farcies du jardin

While Chéri and I don't have the luck of having a garden at the minute (admittedly quite rare for a second story appartement), our generous country-living friends have kept us in fresh produce from their vegetable patch all throughout summer.

The most recent basketful contained some enormous corgettes that I've chopped up and frozen, as well as some tasty little peppers that Chéri and I roasted and chopped into fresh pasta with a bit of chorizo, and last but not least some small but sweet and juicy melons. 

The best surprises, however, were definitely the huge garden tomatoes. One of the French dishes I love the most are stuffed tomatoes, not stuffed with rice as is often the English tradition, but with sausagemeat. Slow cooking in the oven means that the meat and tomatoes become tender and deliciously salty and this is a dish that can be enjoyed all year round. Try these stuffed tomatoes with a salad in summer and with rice in winter. 

To make room for the sausagemeat, I needed to scoop out the majority of the tomato flesh and seeds. This often ends up in the bin but I don't like wasting what can be used up, especially as these were some amazing tomatoes. 

After hesitating over what to do with my leftovers, I decided to make my own tasty pasta sauce, much fresher and cheaper than supermarket bought ones. 

Pop all of the tomato flesh and seeds into a large pan and add salt and pepper as well as a bit of water. Mix well to get rid of any large lumps and leave to simmer for at least 1 hour on a low heat. Stir from time to time so the mixture doesn't stick to the pan.

Once the liquid has reduced (as you can see by looking at the level of the mixture on the side of the pan), adjust the seasoning and leave to cool. 

The result is a sweet and tasty pasta sauce that you can then spice up with whatever takes your fancy: fresh basil, parmesan, garlic, chillies. 

However, as there are no additives in the sauce you will need to eat it up within the week. A great excuse to make yourself a big bowl of pasta!

Little fishes / Petits poissons

I have always loved living close to the sea. There is something so calming about going and looking out at the waves and I love the smell of sea air. When I'm feeling homesick (those of you who read this blog will have guessed, that happens a lot!), I drive out to La Tremblade to look out at the Atlantic Ocean and its infinite blueness.

The other good thing about living close to the coast is the fish. I love meat in all its forms but I am also a huge fan of seafood. Oysters, prawns, cockles, clams, mussels: I'd eat them every day!

Cheri is a little more reticent, however, when it comes to our fishy friends. I think being brought up on the bland steamed white haddock that Belle-Maman loves may have put him off a bit! So it's up to this persistant gourmande to get him loving the taste of the sea...

Recette: Smoked salmon served with steamed garden potatoes, crème fraîche and salmon roe. Serves 2 as a main course.

You will need: a small packet of smoked salmon, 3 large potatoes, a tub of crème fraîche, a jar of salmon roe and some sprigs of dill to decorate. 

Scrub the potatoes and steam them until soft. Cut in half and pose 3 halves on each plate. Top with a spoonful of crème fraîche and the salmon roe. Divide the smoked salmon between the plates and add a few sprigs of dill as decoration. Easy!

A light, quick and easy lunch that will conquer even the most ardent fish-haters! 

Leftovers / Les restes

End of the month sadly means less money in the piggy bank for food shopping. For Chéri and I it often means eating up what's left in the fridge. 

On the menu this month: sliced coppa, creamy scrambled eggs and a pear, walnut and rocket salad.

With a bit of imagination and by mixing different flavours and ingredients that you might not always put together, leftovers can become a delicious meal in their own right. I quite like the picnic feel to these kinds of meals too, where you can pick at bits of everything. 

Bon appétit!