The world opens...Foodie in Paris

I celebrated a big birthday during the first December of the pandemic. One of those big ones that end with a zero and mean, unless you're a better man than me, you feel like spending the day in bed drinking wine and weeping at the passing of time and general futility of existence. It was not a good time to celebrate a birthday although I have to say that my lovely husband and Mum and Dad pulled out a number of stops to make sure that the day was well marked. Still, we had originally planned to celebrate with a trip to Paris. And D was determined to make sure that we made it, even if a bit late. So it was, he colluded with the parentals, and arranged a surprise trip to take place in late January 22. When it came to it, it was a close run thing as to whether or not we'd be able to go given that the French borders didn't open until a couple of weeks before, but go we did and, just like that, the world (or, rather, my world) seemed to be a little more open again.

The Eiffel Tower...as seen from the Pont des Arts

I adore Paris and think it lays claim to being the most beautiful city in the world (although I am easily swayed). And, it goes without saying, that if you enjoy good food and wine it is an absolute embarrassment of riches - although always worth doing your research since, as with every major city, it is easy to fall into over priced and underwhelming tourist traps. D takes his holiday research very seriously, and we had a detailed itinerary which mainly consisted of restaurants and places to buy food.

Of the four main meals, we had one disappointment. Benoit, a one Michelin starred outpost of the Alain Ducasse empire, serves up proper, high end, classical bistro fare, of that there is no doubt. But it is expensive. The wine list is eye watering. And the service was lacking throughout to the extent that after a 90 minute wait, we cancelled desserts and demanded the bill (and had to do so three times before the message got through). Perhaps we caught them on a bad night (although we clocked that the tables around us did not seem to be having any issues) but we won't be returning. There are plenty other of places to visit.

Like Frenchie, which I think was probably my favourite new find of the trip and one I would urge you to seek out if you find yourself there. It's tiny - maybe twenty or so covers crammed into a limited space - and, historically, quite difficult to book. It's one of those places where you get what you're given but, as soon as the first dishes arrive, you don't care because you know you're in the safest of safe hands. 

We weren't even given a copy of the menu at the end, so I have to rely on my phone notes which mainly consist of exclamation marks and yummy words. I do know that our top dish was one of butternut squash gnocchi, sitting on a butternut squash puree and topped with a crisp crumb and a lardo emulsion. There were plenty of familiar flavours - squash, bacon, sage, garlic but it was the contrast of textures that really made the dish. The gnocchi had, I think, been pan fried after steaming so that, while soft and yielding in the middle, were almost toffee like on the outside. There was crunch and velvet, all in one mouthful. A really fine example of modern cooking, with a seasonal vegetable taking centre stage.

Squash!

The dessert also made for a very happy pair of gluttons - peanut sable, chocolate ganache, cocoa crisps, peanut ice cream and a touch of salted caramel. Yes, it was a high end Snickers. But again, it was the playfully contrasting textures that really elevated this classic combinations of flavours. We ate it mostly in silence and then D, surveying his empty plate, declared that a chocolate and peanut dessert is probably his favourite sort of dessert. Bold words. We seldom commit to favourites in our household.

Chocolate and peanut!

We also revisited a favourite venue from our last trip - the gorgeous Cinq Mars, which is located very close to the Musee D'Orsay, tucked away down a quiet, unassuming street. Another classic bistro but without an offensive price tag. Unfortunately, I can't find the website to link at the moment but a quick Google search will find it. The terrine starter is worth the trip alone (they bring along the serving bowl and allow you to help yourself. Suffice to say that D got through an entire basket of bread taking full advantage of this). 

Terrine!

The service was charming and the wine list comprehensive. It's really the kind of thing you (or rather I) imagine when I close my eyes and think about dining in the fictional Paris where the moon is always full and a plaintive accordion is always playing a few streets away.

Recipe corner: Gymkhana's tandoori lamb chops

Halfway through February already - the days are slipping by at a frankly alarming rate and I can't believe how long it has been since I last blogged. 

Excitingly, it is entirely possible that we have already had our top dish of the year thanks to a fabulously foodie short break in Paris (abroad!) However, up until this last weekend, I felt my cooking mojo had been somewhat lacking. Looking back over our archived meal plan for January, I'm a little surprised at how much we cooked actually because I definitely felt that it was all a bit meh. It could just be the January blues (pernicious blighters) and the fact that after the Christmas festivities, things are always a little bit flat. 

Anyway, early on in the month we had a sneaky short break down in London, primarily to see my family for the first time since before the pandemic. And it was wonderful. My brother and sister in law are fantastic hosts and I don't think I have ever eaten a better Spanish omelette than the one that V cooked us as part of a tapas spread. The children, my gorgeous nieces and nephew, had, unsurprisingly, changed enormously in the last two years, but were as fun as ever, and super tolerant of their aged auntie. We spent a brilliant day with them. And the icing on the cake was the fact that the night before we had a superlative dinner at Mayfair's Gymkhana, a restaurant I have been keen to visit for a long time.

We were not disappointed. If you like Indian food (we do) then this is a must-visit. We had the tasting menu which, I must admit, defeated us in terms of sheer quantity but the flavours and skilful balancing of spices had us in full on plate-licking mode initially (until we got so full we could barely move!) We'd love to go again and maybe order a la carte to manage capacity issues. 

The star of the evening were the tandoori lamb chops which, D declared, ruined tandoori lamb chops for him forever - and I quite agree. While the starting point was undoubtedly meat of the highest quality, luscious and tender and tumbling off the bone, the flavours of the marinade were fantastic - recognisable to the Western palate as "tandoori" but with a complexity that is lacking in your bog standard order-from-up-the-road. 

Unfortunately, Gymkhana's kitchen has yet to produce a recipe book BUT the recipe for the lamb chops is online - when I discovered this fact they went straight on the meal plan and we cooked them this weekend. They did not disappoint; the only real point of difference we could discern was the fact that we cooked them under our grill, so they lacked the note of char produced by a tandoor over; the next time we make them, we will be firing up the barbecue. I made a few little tweaks as I went along - exceedingly minor - but the original recipe, along with some other stunning looking dishes can be found here.

Some notes - this requires two marinades, the first overnight, so you do need to prepare in advance. Some ingredients are a little obscure - I bought the kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves) and mustard oil online. The original recipe called for red chilli powder; now I know that our chilli powder is EXCEEDINGLY hot and didn't want that here (it wasn't in keeping with the original). I also know that a smoked paprika / chilli powder combination is sometimes suggested as a sub for certain types of Indian chilli powder, so that is what I did. The resulting lamb had a tingle but was not overwhelming; if you like chilli heat then you may wish to adjust my quantities upwards. Oh, and, goes without saying - use the best possible meat you can for this because that really is the bedrock of the dish.

Ingredients

8 lamb cutlets (or 1 8 bone rack of lamb)

First marinade:

Tbsp salt

3 fat cloves of garlic

2 inch (approx) piece of root ginger

2 tsp chilli powder

2 tsp smoked paprika

Tbsp kasoori methi

Small red onion, crushed with a mallet or rolling pin

Second marinade:

Tbsp salt

3 tsp chilli powder

3 tsp smoked paprika

7 tbsp Greek yoghurt

2 fat cloves of garlic

Inch (approx) pieces of root ginger

2 tbsp garam masala

2 tbsp mustard oil

Serves 2 greedy people (with sides)

Assemble your first marinade. Make a garlic and ginger paste: crush or finely grate the garlic, weigh, and then grate on an equivalent weight of root ginger and squish together with the flat of a knife. Bruise whatever remains of the ginger with whatever implement you used to crush the onion.  Combine the paste and the whole ginger with the other ingredients and add the lamb, mixing well and ensuring the lamb is well coated in spice. You may wish to do this in a large plastic bag rather than a bowl. Refrigerate, covered, (or in the bag) overnight.

Assemble your second marinade, making the garlic and ginger paste as before and this time discarding any of the ginger that you don't use. Combine the paste with all the other ingredients and then, in goes the lamb. Marinate for a further six hours or so.

To cook - grill (or barbecue), turning every few minutes until the centre of the cutlets has reached around 58 degrees (this should give you a medium result which is perfect for this dish but, of course, cook for longer if preferred).