LEAVING WINTER, WELCOMING THE SUNSHINE...

Because I’ll be away on holidays soon- which implies that I’ll be taking a break from blogging too- I thought I’d leave a few savoury images which you will hopefully enjoy…

I’m leaving this post short, with a dish mid way between the cold and sunny days… some comforting purée de pomme de terre to say good bye to chilly weather, and colourful roasted vegetables perfumed with fresh basil, olive oil and garlic to remind us that sunshine is on it’s way!
Before I end this post however, let me share with you a few secrets I used:

To add volume & crisp to a dish: simply grate a potato to produce thin shreds (like when grating carrots). Rinse under cold water several times. Optionally (but recommended), leave the grated potatoes in a bowl with cold water and icecubes. Drain, dry, and fry. The result? Crispy golden threads that can be used to decorate your dish!

For ‘herbal visual reminders’- if basil is one key ingredient of your dish, fry large beautiful basil leaves. They will become translucid and crisp, placed on your dish they will hint to the presence of basil. It’s a change from simply placing a fresh basil leaf, as when fried, it has a more ‘jewel’ like aspect.

When roasting tomatoes: depending on the ‘mood’ of your dish, I love leaving the stems of the tomatoes on. It adds a graphic yet rustic edge to any dish!

Lastly, (and some of you may already know this), when cooking meats or fishes, leave them out under room temperature about an hour before cooking them up. In French, you would say that ‘ca les detend’- which means, it helps the meat/fish ‘relax’ before it contacts heat and does not ‘shock’ as intensely in regards to the temperature change. This helps obtain a more tender result at the end.