Vegetarianism. Parisian-Style

Vegetarianism isn’t easy in Paris. Luckily James is a pesco – one that eats fish. Even so. We’ve had difficulty finding some accommodating menu items.

Most restaurants have at least one vegetarian option. It’s usually unappealing. Or not that good. Vegetarianism and other eating restrictions however, are becoming more common throughout France. Slowly, but surely.

We found a little gem in the third arrondissement, Le Potager du Marais. One hundred percent vegetarian, there was no issue navigating the menu. Offering two dining rooms – it looked like the second was a recent acquisition of the space next door – this place was more than accommodating. We didn’t need reservations for a Monday night, but I would suggest it for nights later in the week. The décor was dated and slightly run down, but the staff was attentive, patient, and spoke English.

Started with seaweed tartare. More commonly known in Asian cuisines, Atlantic seaweed has been making its way into French food for centuries. In spite of the vitamin-B12 pack, the dish was a bit too sea-y. Luckily we split it – just the right amount of algue.

My main course was much better. Tofu and quinoa burger. With a slice of heavenly goat cheese. Served with pine nut-crunchy pesto. Passed with cabbage purée. I would have dumped a bit more salt in the purée, but everything else was well worth the trip. Refreshing in fact, from the typical fries, ham, and baguette dominate French meals.

Le Potager du Marais
22, rue Rambuteau
75003 Paris

Breakfast. Lunch. Or just a spot of coffee. Any will do at Rose Bakery. Introduced to us by Gill and E’Lane, this spot is a must visit for any Parisian visitor.

English owned and operated. Tucked on a small side street of the Marias. This is a perfect Sunday brunch with friends-type of place.

While the burger looked good, I opted for poached tofu with chilled dashi and mushrooms. Amazingly good. The tofu was firm, yet saturated with dashi – kelp based Japanese stock. Served with slightly crunchy wheat berry and buttery mushrooms. A perfect end to our three mile walk.

Carrot, sunflower seed salad, cucumber curry, homemade muesli, and a mushroom, cheese tarte studded our table. Everyone smiled happily as we consumed our feast.

Rose Bakery
30, rue Debeylleme
75003 Paris

There have been some dishes. Here and there. That James has found to love. Thai is a great example. Always vegetarian friendly.

Palace Thai
23 Avenue Duquesne
75007 Paris

Let’s not forget the tomato, mozzarella, pesto sandwich at Bar du Central that he’s been raving about. Loved it so much he’s had it four times. So far!

Bar du Central
99 Rue Saint Dominique
75007 Paris

For all those diet-restricted people, fear not. Paris offers something for everyone. You just may have to travel a bit farther than your corner café.

Le Cordon Bleu Instruction #4; Practical #4

I don’t know what is with these baked, stuffed creations. But they are making it difficult to plate. In a way that is modern, attractive, and appetizing.

This time. Phyllo pastry was stuffed with quail, shiitake mushrooms, offal, and sweetbreads.

Offal and sweetbreads? Organs and glands. More specific. Offal refers to the heart and liver. Whereas, sweetbreads means the thymus and pancreas glands.

It is important to blanch sweetbreads to help remove the outer membrane. Luckily if you forget to do this, like I did in Practical, it’s hardly noticeable.

Sweetbreads, quail breast, and offal were given a quick pan-sear – leaving the center raw. Once each ingredient was codified – preventing flavor to escape – they made their way to the pastry. And baked until properly cooked in a 170 degree Celsius oven for about 30 minutes.

Cream, salt, pepper, shallots, and parsley flavored the stuffing. While breadcrumbs and eggs bonded the entire mass together.

I have been a stuffed bread fan up until this point. Surprisingly enjoy them. This one didn’t make the top of my list. Too bland and dry – not enough fat. Nonetheless Chef Lesourd – instruction and practical chef – gave me two thumbs up on my pastry and accompanying pepper flavored jus.

Practical was at 6:30 p.m. on Friday night. Immediately following the 3:30 p.m. instruction. Normally this wouldn’t be an issue. But James is here. I was bummed that I had to spend part of Friday night in class.

As always. It worked out for the best. He came to instruction with me. Talk about a treat. Here I am in Paris. At Le Cordon Bleu. And my husband is on my left! He was more than amazed about the process. Cooking. Chefs. And, of course, me in my uniform.

After instruction James went wandering Paris with some of my friends. And once I banged out my sweetbread pastry. I jumped on a bike. And met up with them for dinner and drinks. We had the best time ever. I was even able to catch a picture with him and all my friends.

In addition to the odd pastry, James also witnessed the entrée and dessert in demo.

Smoked surf and turf misguided me. I was expecting lobster and steak. LCB’s version is diced smoked eel, trout, and salmon – surf. And parsnips, beets, celery root – turf. Smoked fish trimming based sauce, shallot, onion, and cream mixed with the diced confetti. And topped with a wine vinegar, hazelnut oil vinaigrette.

The end result was heavy on the smoke and light on other flavorings.

A frozen concoction of chocolate, cream, candied fruit, sour cherries, Kirsch, nougatine – caramel, almond mixture – and meringue constituted dessert. Simply prepare all ingredients. Mix together. Freeze. And serve.

James said he liked the dish. Some where in between of ice cream and chilled milk.

Instruction #4

• Smoked surf and turf duo
• Quail and veal sweetbread pastries with shiitake mushrooms, pepper flavored jus
• Frozen chocolate nougat with sour cherry coulis

Le Cordon Bleu Instruction #3; Practical #3

Now that you’re in Superior…

A common phrase meant to motivate us from the chefs. This term is still proving to be a chance to develop our creativity and focus on presentation.

Lesson number three’s sea bass in a crust made it partially difficult to plate. A pie, or loaf or sorts, stuffed with sea bass, rice, salmon, onions, mushrooms, hard-boiled eggs, and fresh tarragon was hardly attractive.

Beurre-blanc – shallots, white vinegar, white wine reduction finished with cream and butter – ran along our baked creation. Garnished with broccio – ewe’s milk cheese from Corsica - stuffed cocktail tomatoes.

My stuffing could have used a bit more salt. Chef Cotte also would have liked to see a little more cooking on the stuffed tomatoes. A misunderstanding on my part. I thought we were to just heat them through. Not actually cook the tomatoes. Overall, a good practical. Happy for my third Superior experience.

Most students enjoyed the entrée. The citrus pungency was too overwhelming for my taste. Orange, grapefruit, and lemon juice seared throughout the dish. Slightly tamed by the sweetest of lobster and attempted to be rounded out by fresh herbs. But, unsuccessful in my opinion.

Interestingly Chef Poupard grated some Tonka bean over the final dish. The fruit found in teak trees. Unknown to Americans due to its USDA restriction. Banned in the US because of its carcinogenic characteristics.

A Moroccan nod. Dessert was wonderfully presented. Bonbons – almond paste stuffed dates wrapped in phyllo pastry – were rolled to look like old-fashioned candies. Passed along saffron ice cream. Flavored with saffron and ground gingerbread. A true treat.

Instruction #3

• Lobster salad with citrus fruits
• Sea bass in a crust coulibiac style, tomatoes stuffed with broccio cheese
• Dates stuffed with almond cream wrapped in phyllo pastry, saffron ice cream

James has been hanging out with me this week in Paris. Talk about a true treat. It is wild to finish class and get home to see him sitting here in my apartment. To tell you the truth. Once class is finished I can not walk home fast enough. Excited to see him and play. I’m a happy husband these days…

Le Cordon Bleu - Instruction #2; Practical #2

Graced by Basic Cuisine Chef Lesourd. Instruction number two was equally progressive as the first.

Instruction #2

• Frog legs with garlic puree and green jus
• Pan-fried double lamb loin chops, French green beans with bacon and purple potato crisps
• Fresh fruit minestrone, tomato cappuccino and basil

My first introduction to frog legs. All snickering aside. They do. Taste like chicken.

Small drumstick-like morsels of meat sat atop garlic cream. Dressed with green jus – parsley, basil, and chervil. Excited about this discovery – borrowing from chicken recipes – possibilities are endless. If you haven’t had the chance. I highly suggest frog legs, or grenouilles to the French.

I tend to say this about LCB’s lamb recipes. But the main course may have been the best recipe yet. Luscious lamb loin chops topped with béchamel, duxelles, ham, and truffles. Lightly broiled. And served with lamb jus. Amazingly good.

The potato crisps seemed like a lot of work for the result. Boil purple potatoes. Skin. Mash with butter and salt. Spread onto a sil-pat. Cut into desired shapes. And baked at 110 degree Celsius for twenty minutes. Voilà! Purple potato chips. Why not just thinly slice and fry?

Dessert terminology confused me. Minestrone. And cappuccino. Former refers to the fruit size. Whereas cappuccino hints to the tomato foam top – supposedly. A fellow student said that it was surprisingly delicious. Who knew? Tomatoes glazed with vinegar, basil, and fresh fruit marinated in vanilla, star anise, sugar, lemon syrup.

Le Cordon Bleu - Instruction #1; Practical #1

Bananas. Mangos. Tandoori, satay, and turmeric spices. All greeted us.

I could tell right of way that Superior was going to be different.

Chef Clergue welcomed us to the final term. Encouraged us to work harder than ever. And opened the door for flexibility. He mentioned now that we’re in Superior we have the right to interpret the recipes our own way.

Practical Chef Frederick expanded. Superior is all about your creativity – how you see things. What you make of it.

We are still required to make specific recipes. It’s the how – and to some degree, the what – that we have free-reigns.

Instruction #1

• Cauliflower and shrimp tabouleh, cilantro and peppermint
• John Dory fillets with red spices, wild rice with tropical fruit
• Banana baked in its skin, sorbet, hibiscus and rum sauce

The entrée was straightforward, but delicious. Couscous mixed with cauliflower, broccoli, shrimp and cucumber. Tossed with cilantro, parsley, peppermint vinaigrette that found its acid from lime juice. Finished with sun-dried tomatoes, mint leaves, and whole shrimp.

I’ve never had wild rice with tropical fruit before. I was pleasantly surprised. Brunoise mango popped throughout the red riz sauvage.

Tandoori and satay spices perfumed the kitchen as the sauce got underway. Started with a typical fumet. Brought exotic with spices, mango trimmings, and lime zest. Foreign as the sauce may have seemed. It was returned to France with a butter heap in the end.

I enjoyed the hot-spicy, spice-ful flavor of the fish. The sauce was still a bit too buttery for my taste. Here, for example, is where my creativity can step in. I can create – or discover – an alternative to finishing the sauce with butter. A method that would still give velvety volume.

Final example. The first example is Chef’s traditional plate. The second, my plate. Alternatively finished with fresh spinach salad and lime vinaigrette.

Bananas seasoned with brown sugar – cooked in their skin. Accompained banana sorbet. Finished with dried bananas – thin slices baked for one hour per side at 90 degree Celsius.

I was motivated by today’s work. And the direction Superior has promised us. Part delivered by LCB. Relying more on our creativity. It is going to be all about what I make it. Where I allow my imagination to go. How involved I keep myself. And most of all, the amount of fun that I create in the kitchen.

This is going to be a lot of fun!

Restarting Le Cordon Bleu

The distractions. 8x10 verses 9x12 area rugs. Reconnecting with James. And job-hunting. Obviously. Pulled my focus the past two weeks.

Two weeks of living in America. How strange? I worked my way through this new life – at least, soon-to-be – new life. Surrounded with bliss, time was still stressful. Happiness accompanied panic. And love was balanced with regularity. Nonetheless, I relished every minute of it.

The apartment foundation has been laid. It’s the details that need filling now. Those come with time.

Sitting in the Paris apartment last night with James on the computer was a trip. Surreal. For all this time. He only filled my apartment on the other end of the phone. Now – here in the flesh – I’m not quite sure what to make of it. One week of being husbands. Paris-style.

Superior Cuisine starts this afternoon. The third – and final – term of Le Cordon Bleu. Just under three months from today I will be writing a farewell LCB post. There are clichés about how time has flown by. But I’ll save them. For now.

Yes. For now. Today’s focus is on the beginning of a new term. A term that promises worldly ingredients. Modern techniques. And personal creativity. A term that has been long coming.

My hope is that the traditional, French methods of Basic and Intermediate will be left behind. Embedded in our hands, but no longer needing classroom attention. Now it’s time for real-world work. I’ll report the validity of my expectation after today’s initial class.