Lobster in Brittany

Everyone knows that Brittany lobsters are the best in the world, right? Well, apparently not-they're Canadian!! However, they are sensational and while in Brittany we decided a lobster lunch was de rigueur! We asked our charming host at Villa Kerlubec - the B & B where we stayed - where we could eat lobster in town but he wasn't sure. His suggestion was better.
The local, massive hypermarche has a seafood stall which sells live lobsters and crabs etc. He suggested to go there, choose a live lobster (Buddhists please stop reading here) and get them to steam it for us while we waited. So we did. There were only two sorts of lobsters - small single serve ones or enormous family sized ones. Guess which we chose? There were four of us and as anyone knows, the flesh to shell ratio increases with the size of the lobster - you get more bang for your buck in other words.
The lobster was 2 kg and at 40 euro a kilo, was rather indulgent but they are the (second) best in the world. We picked up some lemons, some homemade mayonnaise, a bottle of Loire valley white (from memory was Pouilly fume'), a fresh baguette and butter. Our delightful host provided the lawn, the ocean view and the implements - including a table and chairs. PLEASE do this if you are ever in Brittany - we had an amazing lunch! Note the size of the claws in the photos above! The third photo is of the beach ( a bit like Bondi really ) we could see from our B & B and that's Richard (right) and James (left). The last photo is the B & B.

Le Scorlion in Charentes

We arranged to meet our friends in what appeared to be a quaint B&B in Charentes but which turned out to be rather insignificant. While waiting we thought we'd have lunch at Le Scorlion. Who on earth knows what that means?
It turns out that I was so enthralled with the dining experience that I really didn't care what it meant and certainly forgot to ask! The Michelin guide online is worth checking out (www.viamichelin.fr) for any local eateries. It's nowhere near as detailed as the book but it's free and online - what more can I say? This was how we found Le Scorlion in St Jean d'Angely in Brittany.
Now we could've gone the 17 euro lunch menu but we did have a few hours to kill and the fuller menu was only 34 euro so we partook of the latter.
Naturally, coupe de champagne as aperitif - you may as well in France, it is very cheap!! Luckily, it came with a little nibble of a freshly grilled slice of saucisse and a little croute with fresh cheese and herbs. Next, since we didn't do the cheapskate menu, we were offered an amuse-gueule of beetroot mousse - so very deceptively light. It was essentially beetroot puree folded through whipped cream with a few seasonings but mainly snipped chives.
Richard and I then diverged: I ordered lasagne de langoustine et saumon sitting in a light shellfish bisque. Very, very light (interesting isn't it how everything is oh so light?) and delicate. It was an extremely small cirlular portion that appeared to have been steamed rather than baked. Richard had the salade de rouget (red mullet) avec sa bouillabaisse et pomme vapeur. This was delicious but rather too substantial for a starter. It turned out to be a poor choice as R's main course seemed to be similarly constructed. He had the medaillons de lotte (devil fish), crevettes rose (shrimp) et pommes purees and a seafood bisque/bouillabaisse type of sauce! My choice on the other hand was fabulous: quite simply, assiette de lapin. This included a ravioli with rabbit meat flavoured with fennel; roasted loin of rabbit (the tiniest you've ever seen); a braised leg and braised breast. The flavours were sensational and the meet perfectly cooked. I stopped there but Richard had the dessert. His choice, which he had to make at the beginning, was pistacchio souffle. It was served with a small 'quenelle' of pistacchio ice cream. The sweet young waiter served the souffle by spooning out a portion from the centre, filling it with the ice cream and replacing the spooned out portion. The heat of the souffle melting the icecream ever so slowly. It was pretty 'wow'. We accompanied all with a local bottle of Vins des charentes chardonnay. All in all, a very pleasing lunch. In fact, we were so impressed we returned for dinner. This is the typical mistake made by yours truly. Have to go overboard! I was too full from lunch to appreciate it. We therefore had the 17 euro menu which was expertly executed but much simpler and lacking the impact of the other dishes.
On the down side: pommes puree a bit too prevalent; we could've done with a finger bowl for the unshelled crevettes.

I'm back and overdosing on artichokes.

Back in Paris that is. After several months renovating and putting on weight at our home in Adelaide - we are now back in Paris where I can finally lose some weight!!! Impossible you say? Well, not really. I go up and down the stairs to our 3rd floor apartment several times a day (well at least once!) and walk everywhere. So it is possible.

What have I been eating since returning a month ago? Apart from great bread (the subject of a future entry), eating ARTICHOKES!! I don't think they're actually in season here at the moment but they are somewhere in the world! The ones I'm overindulging in are the little purple ones (known as artichaut or poivrade in French) that don't have a hairy choke which, by the way, I nearly died on in a restaurant in Helsinki last year. My artichoke inexperience (and the restaurant's it appears for leaving it in!) had me stuffing the choke in my eager gob along with the rest. If you've never eaten the hairy ole choke - don't try it! Anyway, back to my artichokes. I eat them 3 times a week as a starter - two per serve. Here's the best and simplest way of eating them - it surely is heaven. Don't forget the salt!
1. cut a lemon in half
2. squeeze half of it into a saucepan of cold water and drop in the squeezed half
3. cut off stalk of artichoke at base and snap off a few old tough leaves. cut about 2 cm off top.
4. rub cuts with other half cut lemon and drop artichokes in the acidulated the water -you will cook in this.
5. squeeze rest of lemon into pan and drop it in the pot. Add 1 tbspn salt.
6. bring to boil and simmer about 30 minutes
7. drain well and squeeze out some water.
8. serve with a squeez of lemon, salt, pepper and some butter melted with slices of fresh garlic (I also season the garlicky butter with salt and pepper) dip each leaf in the butter and scrape between your teeth. Once you get to where the leaves are soft enough to eat, dip the whole heart into the butter and eat. It is soooooooo good!!!! I hope you try it.