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I'm not sure this even qualifies as a recipe as it was essentially thrown together using leftovers and store cupboard goods, but it was such a lovely breakfast that I'm writing it down anyway.
Breakfast in a Pan
Ingredients
handful of diced onions
1/3 cup of cooked beans (I used haricot, I think)
1/2 can of tinned chopped tomatoes
1 cooked sausage
1 egg
chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste
crusty bread
Method
Fry the onion in a bit of oil or fat until translucent, or just beginning to brown. Add beans and tomatoes and cook down until tomatoes are thick and chunky. Salt and pepper to taste.
Add sausage to pan to heat through. Make a little well in your pan and crack and egg into it. Cover with a lid so that the egg white cooks through but the yolk is still runny. Remove from heat and sprinkle parsley on top.
Serve with crusty, toasted bread for scooping up the whole mixture.
22-24 Seymour Pl
London
W1H 7NL
P and I had both been wanting to try The Lockhart for a while, so plans were made, and we found ourselves there on a warm weekday evening. The menu makes me want to try all of it, but with just a tiny bit of restraint we find ourselves getting catfish goujons and chicken oysters to start, from the list of tiny snack plates, and then for a main I plump for the stuffed quail while P has the braised lamb shoulder. Of course we have to get cornbread (we both love cornbread) and I add some collard greens for the dark green component that will make us both feel better about our health. If you look closely at the cornbread above, you'll see that it's swimming in butter. Swimming. (Swimming in a good way, you ask? Yes.) Oh, and the cocktails! Mine is frankly weird, though it grows on me after a few sips - the smoke & mirrors with prosecco, mezcal and agave. P has a lady lockhart, which is much easier to drink - gin, maraschino, lemon and cucumber. Everything is refined, everything is fabulous, everything is bright and sparkly and funny.
13 Rue de Charonne
75011
Paris, France
So in a bizarre feat of scheduling, I was back in Paris a couple of weeks after my day with K and J. This time it was to see new family, namely nephew G who had just arrived in the world about a month earlier. This trip also coincided with C's birthday, so on a Sunday evening, C, A and I headed out for a traditional French bistro experience. Again I placed our trust in David Lebovitz, who so far has not done anything to make me think he is anything up a genius, and Chez Paul was agreed upon, since it was within walking distance of where we were staying. Due to a day full of eating, we skipped starters and went straight for mains - C chose cod, which she was delighted with, and A and I shared a lamb shank for two, which was so incredibly tender and full of flavor that the two of us finished off the whole thing, even though it was enormous. Some side dishes accompanied the lamb - mushrooms, and giant beans in a tomato sauce - all of it just right for a relaxed dinner. We couldn't decide on dessert or cheese, so decided to get some cheese and then see how we felt. The cheese selection was again very well judged - served at the right temperature with some lovely crackers and breads, I think. And while we would have ordered dessert if a server came by, for some reason after cheese we were completely ignored. There are worse things than being ignored in an alcove in a lovely French bistro - but it did mean that by the time we got someone's attention we were ready to depart so we headed off without a little sweet to finish off the meal.
I thought this would be a nice summery pasta dish and wasn't wrong. It's quite lemony, in case you are sensitive to acidic dishes - but the creaminess of the avocado is a very nice way of creating a sauce that is both healthy and deceptively lush. I'm sure you could substitute a lot of different types of seafood in (I subbed salmon for shrimp, to start) or you could even leave it out entirely for a vegetarian version (perhaps with some chunks of zucchini or squash to replace the protein).
Lemon-Avocado Spaghetti With Salmon
Serves 4
Adapted from Serious Eats
Ingredients
1 large onion, finely sliced
1/4 cup (60 ml) dry white wine
250 g fresh salmon filets, no skin
Olive oil
Salt
500 g spaghetti
1 avocado
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Freshly ground black pepper
chopped parsley to garnish
Method
1. In a skillet large enough to hold the pasta, combine the onions and wine over medium heat and simmer until the onions are soft, about 10 minutes.
2. Add the salmon and raise the heat to high to evaporate any remaining wine; as the salmon cooks break it into large chunks and cook until the onions are caramelized and the salmon is cooked, about 5 minutes. Off the heat, add 1 tablespoon oil and salt to taste.
3. Boil the pasta in salted water until it is al dente. Drain and toss with the onions.
4. Meanwhile, peel and pit the avocado and puree it with the lemon juice, in a blender or small food processor until very smooth. Stir the mixture into the pasta and add half the lemon zest until well combined; re-season the dish with salt, if needed. Top the pasta with the remaining zest, parsley and pepper.
