HOW TO MEND YOUR BROKEN HEART ON A BEAUTIFUL RAINY DAY
So, spring is almost here!
It’s that magical time when you get to quit your winter pass-times like sewing sweaters or cleaning closets, and start cooking some exciting spring meals!
The article below has an amazing spring dish idea that will mend your heart yearning for the Spring sunshine, on a rainy day.
Check it out and watch the video for some French sewing!
(This week: the verb COUDRE – to sew)
Simple et parfait: Enjoy patates sautées!
My poor non-French people,
I hope you have la frite. Yes, the fry. Or the French fry. Or the freedom fry.
In either case, when you’re French and perfect, it’s always better to have it.
La frite.
Or la pêche.
The peach.
It doesn’t mean that French and perfect women like me never leave without a frie or a peach in their purse (although it might sometimes be useful), but both sentences mean that you have plenty of energy and joie de vivre for the day.
But anyhow, all this has nothing to do with the choucroute (nothing to do with the sauerkraut!, no connection. And don’t ask me why we say choucroute for that. Don’t you forget at some point my fellow French and perfect people invented surrealism. So voila. C’est comme ça).
Today I want to teach you a little bit about patates.
Potatoes.
And the best way to enjoy them on a rainy day.
Patates sautées
1 pound of potatoes
Water
1 garlic clove
1 tbsp duck fat.
Parsley
The real name for this recipe is pommes de terre à la sarladaise.
They’re a speciality of Périgord, a beautiful and secluded region of the South West of France, known for its high concentration in British pensionners and high consumption of all things duck and fat (fat duck, duck fat, and all that foie gras…).
And that’s when I have to make a confession.
I’m obsessed with these pommes de terre.
I’ve spent the best nights of my youth chasing the best specimens in Paris.
Oui, when most of young people enjoyed les nuits parisiennes (parisian nights) going to Le Baron or pursuing French and perfect gentlemen, I spent my time looking for patates.
C’est la vie!
Coming from Périgord, my friend Anne-Laure was in the same quest.
She was even more picky: her mémé’s potatoes (and her paté too!) are legendary! We worked hard, night after night and bottle of Brouilly after bottle of Brouilly, and finally found the perfect spot.
Non, it’s not on my best restaurant in Paris list : you don’t give GPS coordinates for the Graal!
But I can tell you it’s in Les Halles, in a small restaurant where the owner is very strange : depending on his mood, he can decide to give you flowers and half the menu free for you to taste, or call you names and slam the door on you just because it’s one of those days.
So how do you make these beauties?
With love, water, and duck fat. C’est tout!
This is a secret I learned while staying in the North of France, where they almost eat more French fries than an average american citizen. It helps to get rid of the starch, and the potato is easier to fry afterwards
Throw the potatoes in the pan, let them brown for 5 to 10 minutes
Then reduce the heat to medium low, and let them sunburn in heaven for around 20 minutes
Salt, pepper, parsley and garlic at the end
Et voilà !
Ladies, if you’re trying to seduce a gentleman, this is an ideal recipe.
As my brother’s girlfriend always say : “all they need is a cow and a potatoe. That’s what they always want to eat”. So you have half of the magic meal there.
AND the duck fat is good for your heart! Scientifically proven!
Bon appétit les amis!
Cécile
This is Céline Delarue‘s guest post shared from her French and Parfait! blog, better known for her easy French cookbooks.
NOW IT IS YOUR TURN!
Tell us in the comments below, how well did this recipe manage to mend your heart? 🙂
Let me guess.
Do you constantly have the feeling that you can’t hear what the French say and you don’t know how to read all the French words because they are written so much differently than they sound?
Learn 3 secrets that will help you be self sufficient in the way you pronounce French words – even if you don’t know what they mean – so that you can read that sophisticated menu in your favorite French restaurant.
Immerse yourself as you FINALLY reach your dream of becoming bilingual, learn to speak Parisian French on Skype and BREAK your language barrier!
…and now, please SHARE this article with your friends. They’ll love you for it! : )
Always in your corner,
Llyane
Photo credit: Amazon.com, Marc Nouss
Headed to a party and showed everyone you’re amazing recipes. They look so delicious!
Merci beaucoup, Stephanie !
Bon appétit : )