How to Cook (and Eat) Like a French Woman

Meet Ketty Elisabeth – the Gallic gourmet behind the award-winning gastronomic blog French Foodie in Dublin – and steal?one of her favourite’recipes…

My dad is from R?union (a French island in the Indian Ocean), my mum is Portuguese, and I grew up in France, so my culinary influences have been pretty diverse. My parents are great cooks, and I spent lots of time in the kitchen with them.

My favourite spots in Dublin are Brother Hubbard on Capel Street (brilliant staff and a Middle Eastern influence), 147 Deli on Parnell Street (best sandwiches in Dublin), and The PepperPot in Powerscourt Townhouse (try their bacon and pear sandwich). In the evening, I’ll head to Pichet on Trinity Street – their early bird is great value.

?If you’re heading to Paris, try Septime (septime-charonne.fr) or Frenchie (frenchie-restaurant.com) for a great meal, Du Pain et des Id?es (dupainetdesidees.com) for croissants, Aligre food market (marchedaligre.free.fr) and La Grande Epicerie (lagrandeepicerie.com) for food shopping, L??clair de G?nie for ?clairs (leclairdegenie.com) and Pierre Herm? (pierreherme.com) for macarons.

My favourite cookbook of all time? Hands down, Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi (Ebury, €40.25).

My most memorable meal was a simple steak, cooked on a hot stone in the middle of a forest in Patagonia, Argentina. The beef was amazing.

I can’t get enough of salty Irish butter. It’s delicious, and essential in my French cooking.

In the kitchen, I would be lost without my 1970s Mouli Julienne, a gift from my mum. It’s kind of a mandoline, grater, slicer and shredder at the same time. It’s very handy and looks so retro, I love it!

My guilty pleasure is cheese. Always cheese. In France, we have great cheese, but I have been delighted to discover Ireland’s great selection of farmhouse cheeses.

If I could change anything on the Irish food scene, I would like to see caf’s stay open later. When you finish work, you have two options: the pub or the restaurant. It would be great to be able to go to a casual, inexpensive independent caf? after 6pm. Dublin city centre also needs a permanent food market (I hear it’s in the planning phase in Smithfield). Let’s make it happen.

Now try Ketty’s irresistible recipe for traditional?R?union sausage curry…

Rougail Saucisses
Serves 4

YOU WILL NEED
? 4 Toulouse sausages (available from artisan food shops and craft butchers)
? olive oil
? 1 large onion, chopped
? 2 large garlic cloves, crushed
? 1 tsp turmeric
? – tsp fresh ginger, grated
? a few leaves fresh thyme
? 2 green chillies, finely chopped
? 4 medium-sized tomatoes, roughly chopped
? salt and pepper

METHOD
1 Prick the sausages and boil them in water in a big pot for about 10 minutes.
2 Remove the sausages and pour out the water. Replace the pot on the heat.
3 Add a splash of olive oil, then the onions, and fry until soft.
4 Cut the sausages into slices (about 1.5cm thick) and add to the onions; leave to cook for 3-5 minutes.
5 Add the garlic, turmeric, ginger, thyme, chillies and tomatoes to the pan, and mix well. Season to taste.
6 Cover and cook for another 25 minutes over a medium heat, stirring from time to time. Serve with fluffy rice.

frenchfoodieindublin.blogspot.ie