Hampton’s Cafe creamy coleslaw
I just came back from a lovely holiday in Dubai, where I spent most of my days lunching and dining with old friends. After having spent over 9 years there, I have to admit, there are many things I have missed despite the fact we now live in a beautiful part of the world. So […]
Provençal Tian (summer vegetable bake)
A Provençal Tian is probably in the top 5 ways I would suggest anyone use their late summer vegetables. Simple enough to make and prepare it is a wonderful side but also works well as a vegetarian main. Ingredients 1/2 cup/125 ml tomato coulis/tomato passata 3 medium-sized tomatoes, cut into 1 cm slices 1 onion, […]
The Real Niçoise Salad (hint: no potatoes or green beans)
Although I happily ate “salade Niçoise” with green beans and potatoes for years before living in France, I quickly found out this was blasphemy. A sacrilege. The wrong way of making it. Traditionally, this salad originating from the beautiful town of Nice does not have either of these ingredients. Even the tuna we often see […]
Traditional French Provencal Ratatouille
Ratatouille is a Southern French recipe that can be loosely described as a late summer vegetable stew. And in some cases it is: many people tend to just saute onions, add eggplant, courgettes, bell peppers, tomatoes and then let the whole thing simmer until it is cooked and becomes “stewy”. But ratatouille is a little […]
French tabbouleh
You may already be familiar with tabbouleh, the Middle Eastern lemony herb, and bulgur salad. This is what I was familiar with when going to Lebanese/Syrian restaurants in Montreal and the one I found when living in Dubai. It contains very little grain, lots of parsley, some onion, and from time to time, you’d also […]
Mast o Khiar
“Mast o Khiar” (literal translation is Yogurt and Cucumber) is an Iranian side dish that is somewhere between a dip and a proper salad. As a kid, my mom used to serve it in a big dish alongside perfectly cooked Basmati rice, salad and grilled meat. I remember taking ladles of it and smothering this […]
Warm spring vegetable bowl
I love this sort of recipe because it is really versatile. It works perfectly as a main on days where I need something light and nourishing without having to take the salad route (because the veggies are mostly blanched or sauteed, they are super easy to digest and extra tasty!). It is also a glorious […]
Beetroot mille-feuille
Beetroot is antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and does a great job supporting detoxification – so it is always a welcome veggie on our dinner table. But those aren’t the main reasons why we eat them: they are also incredibly tasty, especially when paired with flavors that contrast their sweet earthiness. For example, here in France, it is […]
Warming spinach watercress soup
When seasons change, our systems change and our bodies crave different types of food. While summer has me craving salads, peaches, watermelon, ice cream and rose wine, fall and winter call for soups, casseroles and warming stews. This week, we had a soup extravaganza. Especially after having visited the farmers market in Grasse, a town […]
Sweet potato gratin
This sweet potato gratin is my new favorite cold-weather lunch recipe. I actually use a mix of sweet and regular potato for two reasons: first, I don’t like sweetness overkill in my savory dishes. Second, regular spuds are starchier and when making a gratin, this matters. Because when starch releases itself in the cream or […]