from the french bistro (a.k.a. my kitchen)

Tuesday was French class. Monday night, I got my mind in gear by making some French foods for dinner...

Niçoise Salad, maguro (tuna), roasted red peppers, red leaf lettuce, steamed green beans, kalamata olives, a hard boiled egg and leftover roasted new potatoes.

I found the recipe for the dressing on the Food Network by Julia Child.

1/2 lemon, zested and juiced
1/4 teaspoon salt
black pepper
1/2 tablespoon dijon
1/2 tablespoon shallot, minced
1/2 cup olive oil

NOTES: I used spring onion instead of shallot and I cut the oil to 2.5 tablespoons, I didn't have anchovy filets so I added some anchovy paste (1/2 teaspoon) to the dressing. The dressing was light and delicious. I used a tablespoon of the dressing per salad. For the tuna, I coated it with a spice mix I had for making blackened fish and cooked each side for about 10 seconds.

Carottes râpées au miel (grated carrots with honey).

I found this recipe in Joanne Harris' "The French Market". It is different from the carrot salad that I have made in the past. This one uses sesame oil, honey and paprika.

Serves 6

1.5 pounds carrots
3 tablespoons clover honey
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon asian dark sesame oil
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
sea salt to taste
freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds, a mixture of white and black seeds

Peel the carrots and grate them into a bowl.
Mix together the honey, vinegar, sesame oil, paprika, salt and pepper.
Add to the carrots and mix well.
Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour to infuse the flavors.
Sprinkle the toasted sesame seeds and serve.

NOTES: this was delicious. I used sweet paprika instead of smoked and I used only black sesame seed because that was all I had. I also used the honey that I had which was from Okinawa. I zapped 2 large carrots in the food processor, poured everything into a ziploc container and shook it. Before serving, I tossed it with metal tongs.

C'est bon! (Delicious!)