Tag Archives: market

French Christmas meal: stuffed goose from Les Provinces

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Traditional Finnish Christmas meal includes an oven-cooked ham but my parents happily followed French traditions while in Paris. Good for me, as I do not eat pork! Les Provinces

One week before Christmas we visited the boucherie-restaurant Les Provinces near Marché d’Aligre to see what our options for the Christmas meal are. The most typical French Christmas meat (poultry) is capon, a castrated rooster, but the butcher suggested we buy goose. After discussing the choice between the capon and the goose with everyone, we agreed that we prefer goose. Price-wise there was no difference and we had a feeling that the goose will be more original –the goose meat is more reddish brown (similar to duck or duckling) whereas the capon remains white as chicken (but is more fatty). So, “Prepare us a nice big goose with stuffing” we told the butcher and left a 10€ prepayment!Les Provinces

In the afternoon of the Christmas Eve we returned to fetch our stuffed goose and in the late morning of the Christmas Day we opened the package to find a beautiful, fat goose from Anjou with some organs aside for those who appreciate them.stuffed goose from Anjou

We followed the roasting instructions: higher temperature in the beginning that gives the goose golden color and crispy texture, and lower temperature during the rest of the time with the aluminium foil. We added a glass of water in the casserole and kept moistening the goose with this water (some fat drained from the goose and mixed with the water). 2 1/2 hours later our goose left the oven and was ready to be cut. Such a beautiful piece of goose it was! roasted goose

Everyone loved the goose and it will surely find its way to our Christmas table again in future! We enjoyed it with sweetened potato casserole, a Finnish dish, but you could also serve roasted carrots and potatoes or other vegetable with it. The red wine we had was Mas des Montagnes, “Terroirs d’Altitude” AOC Côtes du Roussillon Villages, and it was really excellent!!

The stuffing our goose had included veal, poultry liver, onion, alcohol, herbs and spices, and no pork, but remember that nothing prevents you from creating your own stuffing…

Boucherie-restaurant Les Provinces: Easy Saturday dinner from the Aligre Market

Wine: Maison Lorgeril from Languedoc-Roussillon and http://www.lorgeril.com/2-35542-Terroir-d-Altitude.php

PS As a bonus, here you go with a photo of the organs we prepared some days after Christmas. We recognized liver and gizzard but were not sure about the rest. Do you have an idea? goose organs

Christmas food shopping at the Bastille Market

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Today’s mission was to buy tons of fruits and vegetables for Christmas. The Bastille market was even more attractive than usually and some stalls had installed Christmas decorations. There were more specialty foods like stuffed lobster tails as well as different types of poultry. They looked so delicious and mouth watering that I had to get some photos to share with you –enjoy!

Scallops: scallops

Blue Breton lobster and sea urchins: Blue Breton lobster and sea urchin

Famous “Bresse chicken”: Bresse chicken

Snails with parsley and garlic: snails

Frog legs, of course!frog legs

Chapon (capon/rooster) and goose, traditional French Christmas poultry:capon

We skipped all of these appetizing foods and focused just on fruits and vegetables. Upon arrival at home, I placed everything on the dining table and this is what it looked like: fruits and vegetables from the Bastille Market

Tomorrow we continue the groceries and the list includes: foie gras, oysters, blinis, fish eggs, ingredients for chocolate cake and Mont d’or cheese. Not forgetting wine from Le Baron Rouge! Tuesday will be another big day as our stuffed goose is ready and we can pick it up. So, three more nights until the Christmas Day and the menu already looking fine!

How is your menu coming along? What are your favorite Christmas dishes and do you prepare them yourself?  Follow Pearlspotting on Facebook to read more about our Franco-Finnish Christmas in Paris!

What to expect to eat in Roussillon?

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Earlier this month I was in the region called Languedoc-Roussillon and specifically in the southern part of it, Roussillon. This area of France is truly interesting food-wise: it is very Mediterranean but the mountains lurk in the horizon, it borders Spain and it is considered part of Catalonia. It has a strong culture of jambon, sausages, different types of seafood, snails, rabbit, cod, anchovies and tapas plates etc., and one should not forget the local wine and cheese making!

Roussillon wine

This blog post is about sharing my culinary experiences during the recent five-day trip in Roussillon, and to show you what to expect to see and taste both at restaurants and at markets. Enjoy!

Beautiful garlic! After all, it is the Mediterranean!
garlic in Collioure

Cheese! (mixture of cow and sheep):
cow-sheep cheese

Roquefort-flavored sausage:
soubressade and local sausages

Sea urchins! Salvador Dali liked them… do you?
sea urchin

Catalan snails in tomato-jambon sauce:catalan snails

Warm goat cheese salad: warm goat cheese salad

Mussels with aïoli and grilled cuttlefish:
mussels with aïoli

Mushroom with Balearic spicy sausage called soubressade on a toast:Sobrassada

Duck legs: duck legs

Beefsteak: a beefsteak

Razor shells (my all-time favorite!!): razor shells

“Small tapas assortment”: tapas assortment

My only regret is that we did not have a chance to taste the local oysters, but one always needs to keep a reason to return!

PS Why not to follow Pearlspotting also on Facebook?

The Bastille market in October

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Observing seasonal variations of food markets is definitely one of my main Sunday hobbies. We are now officially in autumn, which means endless amounts of cabbage, figs, pumpkins, pomegranates, persimmons, mushrooms, etc. No more strawberries, melons and peaches.Bastille marketToday was a particularly interesting day at the Bastille market, and this is what we got for less than 10€! There was a whole rabbit (with fur and all that!) for 9€ and the vendor would have prepared it for us, but we skipped it this time… This week we will be eating healthy: cauliflower soup, onion soup, ratatouille, grilled eggplants and stuffed tomatoes. Unless you would like to suggest something different?

PS To compare today’s market to the market in May, have a look here: https://pearlspotting.wordpress.com/2013/05/09/the-catch-of-the-day-at-the-bastille-market/

Sicilian Caponata: a perfect autumn dish

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When I was jogging along the Seine tonight it felt a little bit like autumn for the first time. I returned home, walked into the kitchen, watched the eggplants I had purchased at the Bastille Market yesterday, and wondered what to cook. I then took a look at Facebook and a friend’s post: Sicilian aubergine stew recipe called caponata. I had almost all ingredients at home (I replaced the parsley by basil leaves, and green olives by black olives) and the result was delicious! We ate the caponata with some slices of mozzarella, and the dinner was perfect! Only wine was missing…CaponataSo, instead of continuing to make my usual cut-in-two, grilled in oven eggplants, I think I will be inventing variations of caponata in this long autumn that is about to begin. Not only that, but I think our dilemma where to take next holidays was just answered…. A place in this world that mixes eggplants, capers, almonds and vinegar must be visited!

PS If you are wondering about the bowl, it is Finnish design by Marimekko and can be found here: http://www.finnishdesignshop.fi/kattaus-astiat-marimekko-hyvassa-seurassa-hyvassa-seurassa-siirtolapuutarha-kulho-p-3983.html

Recipe: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/incredible-sicilian-aubergine-stew-caponata

Easy Saturday dinner from the Aligre Market

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I used to go a lot to the Aligre Market when I first moved to Paris, and I remember discovering anis flowers and other exotic spices unfamiliar to me at that time. However, working abroad and eventually living in different arrondissements in Paris kept me away from this charming market for years –until now. Since this summer I have been rediscovering the market and even if it is less African and Arab than it used to be, it is still more ethnic than most of the markets in the center of Paris.

Yesterday we were tired after another wedding, and decided it was going to be a quiet dinner at home. My husband, a loyal follower of Le Fooding restaurant reviews, had recently read about a butcher’s shop/restaurant called Les Provinces at 20 Rue d’Aligre, so we decided to eat some beef for dinner. Les ProvincesOne of our favorite dishes, Côte de Bœuf (ultimate French meat dish), usually sells for a bit less than 30€/kg. The butcher at Les Provinces presented us with two options: Irish beef with a very small bone for 26€/kg and French côte de bœuf with a much bigger bone (as we usually buy our beef) for 36€/kg. Following the butcher’s recommendation, we opted for the Irish piece of 700gr for two. Butchery Les ProvincesAfter taking notes of the butcher’s cooking tips, we purchased some tomatoes from the covered market (I did not know they are open so late!) and headed to the next address: the wine shop. One of the important things I have learned in France is that a good, well-prepared meal always deserves to be served with wine, and this rule can only be broken under specific, rare conditions….

If you read one of my previous posts Food shopping around the Aligre market, you may remember that one of the few remaining places in Paris where you can purchase your wine directly from an oak barrel is situated near the Aligre Market. Le Baron Rouge is an institution in Paris, and highly recommended. In addition, there is a bonus for oyster lovers, as they serve oysters during the winter months (this year they will start in the early October). Le Baron RougeInside the wine bar, we returned the old bottle to the bar tender and he filled a new bottle with organic Côtes du Rhône (5.20€ for one liter). I find this tradition so cute, and I hope they keep their oak barrels for many more years to come! Le Baron RougeTomatoes, beef and wine in our bag, we returned home to prepare the dinner. Doing groceries in France can be so much fun, and if you know the right places, you can buy fabulous products for a very decent price. Even in Paris. Vive la France!

The Aligre Market (Le Marche d’Aligre): Place Aligre, 75012 Paris (http://marchedaligre.free.fr/) Metro Ledru-Rollin

Restaurant Boucherie Les Provinces: 20, rue d’Aligre, Paris 75012 (http://www.lefooding.com/restaurant/restaurant-boucherie-les-provinces-paris.html)

Le Baron Rouge: 1 Rue Théophile Roussel, 75012 Paris (http://www.lefooding.com/restaurant/restaurant-le-baron-rouge-paris.html)

Sunbathing by the Seine

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Today was again a lovely sunny day, and the weather forecast predicts around 30C for the next three days. Hurrah! This summer has been one of the best ones since many years and it is not even over yet. sunbathing by the SeineSpending summer in Paris is wonderful but there is one downside to it. Unless you want to go to a swimming pool or one of the parks, or you have a private balcony, it is difficult to sunbathe in Paris. To be precise, I mean to sunbathe AND to be left alone. I recently tried one spot by the Seine and quite liked it. People were discreet, they seemed to know each other, and they had this Parisian thing going on… (what do I mean by this? no one waved at the tourist boats that went by!). Seine ParisIf you are interested by this spot, turn on the google map and zoom to the eastern tip of Île Saint-Louis. Once you arrive sur place and on Boulevard Henri IV (the part of the boulevard which is on the island!), you see a tiny park called le square Barye. Enter the park and find the steps that take you down to the Seine. Find your spot according to the sun and which bank you want to watch. Toward the Left Bank you have a lot of architecture to admire: the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Institut du monde arabe etc.Le square Barye in the eastern tip of Ile St LouisIf you want to be a true Parisian, bring a local newspaper or a book and some picnic food like fruits and charcuterie from the nearby market (Bastille in this case) with you. If you want to wave at the tourists you may be the only sunbather doing so, but hey, who cares. The tourists will give you a cheerful response!

Lastly, do not forget to find a pigeon-free zone (do not stay under the trees like I did….)!

Food shopping around the Aligre market

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This morning I visited some of my favorite food and wine spots in Paris.

The Aligre market in the 12th arrondissement is one of the most exciting and exotic markets of Paris. Street stalls sell very affordable fruits, vegetables, fish, cheese and flowers, and vendors’ shouting gives me a feeling of being in the Middle East or North Africa rather than in Paris. In addition to strolling along the street, I always stop by at Epicerie Sabah for salty, grilled almonds, spices, herbs, lentils and olives. This time I also stopped by Le Baron Rouge, which is a fantastic, charming wine bar, and one of the rare places in Paris where one can bring an empty bottle to be filled with one of the five wine choices stored in oak barrels (if you forgot your own bottle, they can rent you one for 50 cents). Following the recommendation, we bought red wine from Touraine.Le Marche d'Aligre products and Le Baron Rouge wineThe dinner is going to consist of different tapas: grilled paprika, olives, baba ghanoush (eggplant dip), chic pea, kale & cherry tomato salad, olives, charcuterie, melons, tomato & mozzarella, and the rest I have not decided yet! Bon appetit everyone!

Le Marche d’Aligre: Place Aligre, 75012 Paris (http://marchedaligre.free.fr/). Metro Ledru-Rollin

Epicerie Sabah: 30 Rue Aligre, 75012 Paris

Le Baron Rouge: 1 Rue Théophile Roussel, 75012 Paris

 

Abundance of Sicilian cherry tomatoes

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All these Sicilian cherry tomatoes for 2€ at the Bastille market this afternoon. Any suggestions what to do with them? Please share your most delicious and original recipe with me! Sicilian cherry tomatoes

The Catch of the Day at the Bastille Market

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You go to the market thinking you will buy melons, salmon and avocados, but you return home with beef, strawberries and cheese. What happened? The market decided on your behalf. Or to be precise, the nature and today’s transportation logistics. For example, if you are in France and want to buy muskmelons, you see that the price is about the double of what it should be. At the Bastille Market (Le marché de la Bastille) this morning we were explained that some lorries were recently checked at the French customs and drugs were found. Poor Moroccan melons are stuck at the customs and the melon scarcity has brought the prices up. We will try again next weekend, and meanwhile, what we found this morning looks equally delicious! Bon Appétit! food from the Bastille Market