Plant Share Cook Recipes from Parisian gardens
Plant Share Cook Recipes from Parisian community gardens
This book is an initiative of the Paris community garden Le Potager des Oiseaux. Recipes were collected and tested by Sylvie Laurent-BĂŠgin. It was produced by students in the department of Publishing at Paris Descartes University.
Plant Share Cook Recipes from Parisian community gardens Illustrations: Bruno Charenton
Contents sharing the edible landscapes of paris Les 1001 Feuilles, 3E Chive oil Saffron rice pudding
8 10 12 12 13
Potager des Oiseaux, 3E 14 Swiss chard and lentil soup, lebanese style Chocolate cake with Montmorency cherries
Le Poireau agile, 10E
Gilles’s nettle soup “à la parisienne”
jardin Marcotte, 11
E
Herbal tea from the garden
Jardin Nomade, 11E Sage fritters Lilac flower jelly
Le Centre de la Terre, 11E
Coleslaw Apple, pear or quince crumble
Jardin de Falbala, 14E Top of the pops! Apple or pear cake
14 15 16 16 18 18 20 20 21 22 22 23 24 24 25
Jardin de l’Aqueduc, 14E
Sweet dumpling squash pancakes Gingerbread with honey from the garden beehives
Le retour de la terre, 16E
Mugwort syrup Estelle’s Quiche with Beetroot Greens
Écobox, 18E
26 26 27 28 28 29 30
Fennel with shallots Poppy petal wine
30 32
Jardin de l’Univert, 18E
33
Yolande’s tabbouleh
Jardin Éphémère Baudélire, 18E Courgette tart Green tomato jam
Le Jardin de la Table ouverte, 18E
Lamb with french beans and potatoes from the garden Caramelized apple pie
Les Jardins du ruisseau, 18E Comfrey fritters Strawberry and mint jam
Le Trèfle d’Éole, 18E
Ava’s stuffed vine leaves Rhubarb muffins
33 34 34 35 36 36 37 38 38 39 40 40 41
Contents Les Vergers urbains, 18E
42
Figs with creamy goat cheese
42
CPCU ou Charmante petite campagne urbaine, 19
E
43
Spaghetti al burro di salvia Rose crumble
43 44
Jardin de la Butte Bergeyre, 19E
45
Spanish-style broad beans Caramelized figs with honey
Jardin Saint-Serge, 19E
47
Garden herb salad Barbara’s strawberry kissel
L’Îlot lilas, 19E
47 48 49
Pasta with Isabelle’s sauce Financier pound cake with chopped lemon balm
Les Petits Passages, 19E
49 50 51
Raw broad beans with sorrel sauce
jardin de la cité Aubry, 20
E
Sorrel soup Coconut panna cotta with raspberry sauce
Jardin Luquet, 20E
45 46
51 52 52 53 54
Savoury herb loaf
54
La Terrasse du T3, 20E
55
Courgette crumble Carrot cake
55 56
Le 56 Saint-Blaise, 20E
Ginger juice Yassa chicken (chicken with lemon) Speculoos cheesecake
Le Jardin des Soupirs, 20E African maafe Pumpkin soup
Leroy Sème, 20E
Asparagus and walnut tart Old boys’ boozy fruit liqueur
Guinguette de la Dhuys, 93 Jerusalem artichoke purée Elderflower syrup
Potager des Lilas, 93
Coral lentil terrine Véronique’s pumpkin cake
Les Vergers de l’îlot, 94
Three-vegetable pancake Millassou, a pumpkin pancake from the correze region
recipes by season List of gardens by arrondissement Acknowledgements
57 57 58 59 60 60 61 62 62 63 64 64 65 66 66 67 68 68 69 70 72 74
sharing
t
his cookbook has its roots in our community garden, Le Potager des Oiseaux, in the Parisian neighbourhood of Le Marais (“the Marsh�, in French). Le Marais
used to provide Parisians with vegetables, a tradition we have revived. Today, though, our small production is not taken to market but transformed into tasty dishes by the gardeners and shared during our weekly gatherings. Every September, we organize a large community event that features garden vegetable soups, salads and pastries made with our rhubarb, pears and raspberries. We knew that such meals took place in other community gardens in Paris so we decided to collect their recipes. With this participatory cookbook, we offer an edible portrait of Paris’ community gardens. An alternative Paris gourmand.
8
Each garden contributed two recipes, one savoury and one sweet, made with their produce. I have tested all the recipes: some are straightforward, others a little more elaborate, but I can vouch for the originality and tastiness of them all. The recipes are organized by community garden, in ascending order of arrondissements. At the end of the book, you will find an index by season as well as all the addresses of the gardens to help you in your discovery of this alternative Paris. Bon appĂŠtit and enjoy the promenade!
Sylvie Laurent-Begin The cook at Le Potager des Oiseaux
9
I
The Edible Landscapes of Paris
n the spring of 2003, when the first jardin partagé (shared garden) was inaugurated in Paris, nobody thought that what for almost ten years had been a vacant lot on a garbage-strewn street corner would soon become a unique green hub for the neighbourhood. More than ten years on, the garden, called The Nomadic Garden (Jardin Nomade), because its raised beds were originally designed to be moved to another space to make way for a building planned on the site, has no plans for relocating. Rather, quite like the other community gardens in the Paris area – 150 gardens and the list is growing – it plays an important role in what is now a vibrant region-wide movement of urban gardening and food growing. Anthropologist and urban gardener Françoise Dubost tells us how a small, modest gardening movement that wanted to provide children with the opportunity to get their hands dirty and watch things grow now allows thousands of Parisians to partake in the exciting experience of belonging to a community and growing some of their own food. “Growing fruit and vegetables in Parisian community gardens? When the adventure began in 2003, the idea hadn’t occurred to the pioneers. For them, these small urban gardens existed for the pleasure of rediscovering the soil and water, being outside and meeting other people. But once they had settled into their plots, the idea of 10
growing tomatoes, lettuces, sage and raspberries among the nasturtiums, French marigolds, roses and lilacs came to each and everyone of them. At first, they did it simply to make salads in the springtime and soups in the autumn for neighbourhood parties. And to teach the children – who were only familiar with vegetables from the supermarket – how a radish grows and an artichoke blossoms. As the seasons passed, tasting this, munching that, they started paying attention to the different flavours, imagining new combinations – in short, inventing recipes. Some savoury, some sweet. These recipes are poetical and charming, but more than that, they tell us something that we need to take seriously. A garden is not only good to look at. And even if it is tiny (community gardens are not very big), it is important for you to grow at least some of what you eat to fully appreciate fresh produce and share it with your neighbours. We must defend these oases of plants and shared food against those who want to destroy them to make space for ever more buildings – Paris is already one of the densest cities in the world and we cannot content ourselves with the fancy rooftop farms that experts are planning for us. City dwellers need a little free space so that they can concoct recipes of their own and make tasty sage fritters, lilac jam, chive oil and rhubarb muffins.” 11
Les 1001 Feuilles
3
Chive oil
Ingredients 200 ml (1 scant cup) extra virgin olive oil 1 bunch chives
Blend the olive oil and chives in a bowl. If you wish, press the mixture through a fine mesh strainer. Store in a cool place.
Chive oil brings a taste and freshness like no other to all mushroom and vegetable dishes, in particular soups and salads. It also adds a touch of deep green to your plate. This oil keeps for a few days in the refrigerator.
12
3 Les 1001 Feuilles
Saffron rice pudding Pick the saffron (Crocus sativus) in the garden and carefully pick off the saffron threads. Heat the milk with the saffron, remove from the heat and leave to infuse for 1 hour. Parboil the rice in 1 litre (4 cups) of boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain the rice and put it in the boiling milk. Cover and cook over low heat for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring from time to time so that it doesn’t stick to the base of the pan.
Ingredients SERVES 8
Add the sugar and cook for 10 minutes.
3 pinches saffron threads
Leave to cool.
1 l (4 cups) milk 200 g (1 cup) rice
Delicious with stewed fruit from the garden.
13
80 g (â…“ cup) sugar
Le Potager des Oiseaux
3
Ingredients Serves 8
2 onions
Swiss chard and lentil soup, lebanese style In a large pot, brown the chopped onions and garlic in olive oil. Sprinkle with cumin and add the chilli pepper.
2 garlic cloves Olive oil for the pot 1 tbs. cumin 1 small dried chilli pepper 2 bunches Swiss chard, shredded 200 g (1 cup) lentils 1 bunch coriander (cilantro), chopped Salt and pepper Lemon wedges
Add the Swiss chard and lentils and cook for 5 minutes. Cover with water and add the chopped coriander. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook for at least 1 hour. Just before serving, blend half of the soup. Combine it with the unblended mixture. Serve accompanied by lemon wedges: the juice will enhance the taste of the soup.
14
3 Le Potager des Oiseaux
Chocolate cake with Montmorency cherries Ingredients
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F, gas 6).
Serves 6
In a bowl, cream the butter and the sugar. Separate 3 of the eggs. Add 2 whole eggs and 3 yolks, the grated chocolate and breadcrumbs. Stir to combine. Beat the 3 eggs whites until stiff and fold into the mixture. Transfer to a buttered springform cake tin and cover the mix with the pitted cherries. Bake until a knife tip inserted into the centre comes out clean, about 45 minutes.
15
140 g (10 tbs.) butter 140 g (¾ cup) granulated sugar 5 eggs 80 g (3 oz.) dark chocolate, grated 50 g (½ cup) breadcrumbs 500 g (1 lb.) sour cherries, pitted
Le Poireau agile
10
Gilles’s nettle soup “à la parisienne” Ingredients SErves 4
6 to 10 nettle sprouts 2 potatoes (preferably waxy potatoes) Oil or butter, as needed 2 garlic cloves (optional) 1 tbs. organic crème fraîche (or double cream)
In spring, when the young nettle sprouts are about 20 to 30 cm high (8 to 12 inches), pick a handful of green, tender tops. Using your fingers to ensure that the stem is tender, cut 6 to 10 young leaves. If the sprouts are too high and a bit hard, cut them 2 cm (1 inch) from the base to help them grow back. Three to four weeks later, they will be ready to pick. At your favourite organic greengrocer’s, select 1 or 2 nice soup potatoes (boiling potatoes are easier to mash into a soup). Boil or steam them and then peel. Wash the young nettle sprouts. Separate the leaves. Throw them into a pot or a wok with oil or hot butter. Let the nettles colour quickly. (At this point, you may want to add 2 crushed
16
10 Le Poireau agile
garlic cloves). Add the potatoes, mash with a fork, cover with water or vegetable broth (as you prefer) and cook for no more than 5 minutes. Blend if you wish. Add a spoonful of crème fraîche and enjoy.
It is important that you only pick real nettles – those that sting. White and yellow nettles, which are soft and don’t sting, are used for washing hair, not for eating – nor to make nettle manure. Gloves are optional. Always allow a few nettle sprouts to grow tall to host caterpillars that will morph into butterflies. Never cook soup made from hard, flowering stems or stems that have gone to seed. If you find the soup too sour or harsh, at the next harvest, add radish tops or a bunch of watercress to the nettles. You can also stir in a bunch of wild herbs (young plantain leaves or wild spinach).
17
Jardin Marcotte
11
Herbal tea from the garden Ingredients 1 pinch liquorice 1 pinch lemongrass or 1 handful thyme
For an exotic herbal tea: heat some water and when it is about to boil throw in a good pinch of liquorice and lemongrass. Brew for a good 5 minutes. For another herbal tea: bring water to the boil and add a bunch of thyme. Brew for 5 minutes – no more, otherwise it becomes bitter. To warm up, drink it very hot in the garden shed!
Aromatic herbs grow and flourish in all sorts of gardens. A small plant of thyme, rosemary or mint lasts forever and demands little of the gardener except perhaps to be cut back from time to time. Crumpled, torn, crumbled, chopped finely, eaten raw, plunged in a teapot full of boiling water, they add perfume and flavour, enhance, comfort, cure. How would we manage without them?
18
11 Jardin Marcotte
Sage Basil Rosemary
Lemon thyme
Coriander
Lemon verbena
Lemon balm
19
Jardin Nomade
11
Ingredients
Sage fritters
Serves 4
3 handfuls young sage leaves 100 g (1 scant cup) flour 2 eggs, beaten 20 g (2 tbs.) cornstarch 125 ml (½ cup) milk Oil for frying Salt
Wash and dry the freshly harvested sage leaves. Beat the eggs. Put the flour in a bowl, add the beaten eggs and stir well. Mix the cornstarch with 3 tablespoons of chilled water and incorporate into the mixture. Stir well, adding the milk little by little. Then let the batter rest for an hour. Heat the oil. Dip the leaves in the batter and then into the hot oil for a few moments. Dry them on paper towel, season with salt, and serve immediately.
20
11 Jardin Nomade
Lilac flower jelly
Ingredients 120 g (1 cup) flowers, stems removed
Briefly rinse the clusters of lilac under cold water. Pick off the flowers and eliminate all the green. Put the flowers in a saucepan with the water, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Leave for 24 hours at room temperature. The next day, strain the infusion through cheesecloth or muslin, and press well in order to collect all the liquid. Return the juice to the saucepan and add the sugar and lemon juice. Cook until the mixture thickens. To test if the jelly is ready, put a spoonful into a bowl and leave it to cool; it should take on a jellylike texture. When it is done, remove from the heat and place quickly in jars while it’s still very hot. Turn the jars upside down and allow to cool completely.
21
1.5 litres (6 cups) water 1.3 kg (6 ½ cups) jam sugar Juice of 1 lemon
Le Centre de la Terre
11
Coleslaw As you work, place each chopped ingredient in a large salad bowl. Finely shred the cabbage.
Ingredients
Grate the carrots.
serves 8
1 white cabbage 5 large carrots (or 6 medium) 2 large onions (or 3 medium) 2 large handfuls pine nuts 2 tbs. dill
Chop the onions by hand. Roast the pine nuts without any oil in a frying pan, stirring carefully so they do not burn. Add the dill, raisins, salt, pepper and mayonnaise. Mix well. You can add haddock, apples or roasted sesame seeds – whatever takes your fancy.
2 large handfuls raisins Salt and pepper 250 g (1 cup) low fat mayonnaise
22
11 Le Centre de la Terre
Apple, pear or quince crumble Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F, gas 7).
Ingredients
Peel and cut the fruit into cubes. Spread evenly in a baking dish. Pour over the orange juice.
6 organic apples (or a mix of apples and pears, or apples and quinces)
serves 6
Combine the flour and sugar. Rub the butter and into the flour-sugar mixture until it resembles bread crumbs. Sprinkle the crumble mixture over the fruit. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes.
Juice of 1 orange 150 g (1 ¼ cups) flour 150 g (¾ cup) brown sugar 125 g (8 ½ tbs.) butter
The crumble can be eaten warm (e.g. with ice cream) or cold. The crumble is a very simple and popular dessert in which the ingredients are almost all local: only brown sugar and oranges are what locavores call “Marco Polo exceptions”. The Marco Polo exception refers to consuming only a minimum of imported food (such as tea, coffee and chocolate, for those who live in the northern hemisphere). If the general rule is to choose products within a 100 mile-radius to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the Marco Polo exception does bring some spice to everyday life.
23
Jardin de Falbala
14
Top of the pops! Ingredients serves 6
1 bowl filled with different varieties of leafy tops and peelings: tops of radishes, turnips, Swiss chard, courgettes (zucchini) peel, etc. 4 tbs. olive oil Salt and pepper 2 garlic cloves, sliced 1 handful of cashew nuts, roughly chopped, or 2 tbs. puréed cashew nuts 1 cup rice flakes or cooked quinoa 2 eggs
Use your vegetable leaves to make a delicious savoury loaf.
Wash the tops and peel thoroughly. Chop them and brown in a pan with olive oil, salt and pepper. Stir in the sliced garlic and cashew nuts and cook for 5 minutes. Then add the rice flakes and mix well. Beat together the eggs and soya milk in a bowl. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F, gas 6). Pour the contents of the pan into the bowl, mix well and stir in the brewer’s yeast. If the dough is too runny, add a little more rice flakes or quinoa. If it is too thick, add a little soya milk. Mix thoroughly. Butter a cake tin, pour in the preparation and bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Allow to cool completely in the tin before turning out.
50 ml (¼ cup) soya milk 4 tbs. brewer’s yeast
This recipe is a great hit with our gardeners.
24
14 Jardin de Falbala
stove-top Apple or pear cake
Ingredients serves 6
250 ml (1 cup) semolina 30 ml (2 tbs.) melted butter or oil
Combine all the ingredients. Pour the mixture into a nonstick pan.
4 eggs, beaten
Cook gently for about 10 minutes on each side.
125 ml (½ cup) whole milk 1 tbs. vanilla sugar or 1 tsp. vanilla extract 100 g (½ cup) caster sugar 3 apples or pears, peeled and coarsely grated
25
Jardin de l’Aqueduc
14
serves 4
Sweet dumpling squash pancakes
1 sweet dumpling squash, unpeeled
Grate the squash in a food processer.
Ingredients
2 eggs 100 g (1 cup) whole-wheat flour 100 g (1 cup) grated cheese 2 tbs. mustard 2 tbs. olive oil Salt and pepper
Mix it with the eggs, flour, cheese, mustard and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. In a frying pan over medium heat, without adding any fat, cook small ladlefuls of batter flattened into fairly thin patties. Cook for 5 minutes on each side. These pancakes are easy to make and delicious, perfect for eating on the go in the garden.
Growing sweet dumpling squash: sow organic squash seeds next to the compost bin. The roots will grow towards it to draw in nutrients. Slide a terra cotta tile under each squash to make the most of the sun’s heat.
26
14 Jardin de l’Aqueduc
Gingerbread with honey from the garden beehives In a bowl place the flour, sugar, green aniseed, cinnamon and baking soda, then stir to combine.
Ingredients
Put the honey in a second bowl, add the boiling water, pour the melted honey into the first bowl and knead the dough.
250 g (2 cups) flour
Pour the mixture into a buttered cake tin and bake at 150°C (300°F, Gas 5 to 6) for 30 to 45 minutes. To test for doneness, insert a knife tip into the cake: it should come out clean.
27
serves 6
100 g (½ cup) sugar 1 tsp. green aniseed 1 tsp. cinnamon 1 tsp. baking soda 150 g (7 tbs.) honey 1 teacup boiling water
Le Retour de la Terre
16
Artemisia abrotanum grows all round the world. It goes by many names, including mugwort, Moxa, Traveler’s Herb, Artemis Herb, Felon Herb, Muggons, Old Man and Sailor’s Tobacco.
Ingredients 1 litre (8 cups) water 100 g (3 ½ oz.) fresh leaves mugwort 1.2 kg (2 ½ lbs.) sugar
Mugwort Syrup
Cut the mugwort into slices roughly 3 cm (1 inch). Put them in a large jar or earthenware pot and pour boiling water over. Stir and let the mixture soak overnight. Filter and pour into a saucepan. Add the sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved and then boil for 5 minutes. Bottle the syrup when it is still hot (leave the syrup on the hob at a low temperature while you bottle). Close tightly with a rubber stopper. The syrup will keep in a cool, dark place for two years, and one month in the refrigerator once open.
You can use the same recipe for other plants such as borage flowers, violets (50 g or 2 oz.), elder flowers (150 g or 5 oz.) and mint leaves (150 g or 5 oz.). If you wish to preserve the syrup for a longer period, increase the quantity of sugar to 1.8 kg per litre – sugar is a preservative. Once it is ready, add fizzy water. It will taste surprisingly familiar. 28
16 Le Retour de la terre
Estelle’s Quiche with Beetroot Greens For Estelle Lévy, a food executive turned baker on the avenue directly across the street from the Paris Descartes campus community garden, new experiments are always welcome. When she heard that beet greens were being harvested, she created this recipe.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F, gas 6). Place the puff pastry in a quiche pan. Prick with a fork and place baking beans on the pastry so it doesn’t swell. Bake for about 10 minutes.
Ingredients serves 4 to 5
Organic pâte feuilletée (puff pastry, rolled out to fit your tart pan) 4 cups chopped beetroot greens (or other greens, such as spinach) 6 whole eggs
Meanwhile boil the beetroot greens in salted water for 5 minutes. In a bowl whisk together the eggs, cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg and pour it onto the crust. Add the goat cheese and the beetroot greens to the mixture and stir gently with a fork. Bake for 35 minutes, until golden. 29
20 cl (1 scant cup) crème fraîche Salt, pepper and nutmeg for seasoning 225 g (8 oz.) goat cheese
Écobox 18
Fennel with shallots Ingredients serves 4
16 shallots Olive oil Salt Balsamic vinegar Shôyu (Japanese soya sauce) 1 glass of dry white wine 4 tbs. thick crème fraîche
Shallot sauce: Thinly slice the shallots and sauté them in a little olive oil in a frying pan with a pinch of salt. When they start to stick, deglaze over high heat with a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar. Add a little shôyu and a glass of dry white wine. Cover with the lid and cook for 5 minutes over low heat. Remove from the heat, add 1 tbs. crème fraîche per person (or more, according to taste). Stir and leave to stand while you prepare the fennel.
4 fennel bulbs
30
18 Écobox
To cook the fennel: Peel and cut one fennel bulb per person lengthways. Steam the pieces gently with a little salt. They can remain crisp if you like them that way. Place them in an oiled ovenproof dish and top them with the sauce. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes at 180°C (350°F, gas 6). Alternatively you can simply stir the sauce into the fennel in the same saucepan and serve. With this recipe, we convinced a number of people that fennel is actually delicious.
31
18 Écobox
Ingredients
Poppy petal wine
2 large handfuls poppy petals 1 litre (4 cups) white wine 2 pinches ground ginger 2 tbs. honey 1 small glass of brandy
Collect 2 large handfuls of poppy petals. Do not wash them; instead, wipe them gently. In a large jar, leave the petals to macerate in the white wine with the ginger powder. Leave for 2 to 3 weeks. Filter, and add the honey and brandy. Mix well and bottle. Store in a cool place for at least 3 months before serving.
32
Jardin de l’Univert
18
Yolande’s tabbouleh
Ingredients serves 6
200 g (1 cup) bulgur
Cover the bulgur wheat with boiling salted water and leave for 15 minutes, until the water is absorbed.
150 g (5 oz.) white onions, finely chopped
Finely chop the onions, parsley and mint finely (by hand, not with a food processor).
A bunch of mint
2 bunches flat parsley
Salt and pepper
Stir the onions and herbs into the bulgur. Add the salt, pepper, oil and lemon juice. Add the diced tomatoes, cucumber and sweet pepper, then stir again.
Olive oil
A refreshing salad to enjoy on a sunny day.
1 cucumber, diced
Juice of 2 lemons 500 g (1 lb.) tomatoes, diced
1 sweet pepper, diced
33
Jardin Éphémère Baudélire
18
Courgette tart Ingredients serves 6
1 ready-made unsweetened pie crust 6 small courgettes (zucchini) Sun-dried tomatoes, finely diced 2 eggs 200 ml (1 cup) cream 50 g (½ cup) grated Parmesan cheese Pepper
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F, gas 6). Pre-bake the pie crust. Wash the courgettes and slice them lengthways with the peeler to make thin slices. Make sure the slices have skin on at least one side. Roll the slices into 5 cm (2 inch) diameter “flowers” and arrange them closely together on the cooled pastry base. Fill the spaces with the diced sun-dried tomato. In a salad bowl, stir the eggs, cream, Parmesan cheese and pepper together. Pour the mixture into the pastry base and bake for about 40 minutes.
34
18 Jardin Éphémère Baudélire
Green tomato jam Wash and slice the tomatoes. Remove as many seeds as possible. Add the sugar and lemon juice. Slit the vanilla pod in half lengthways and scrape the seeds into the mixture. Add the vanilla pod. Cover the mixture and let it stand in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Pour it into a heavy bottomed saucepan and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring frequently. When the preparation turns an amber colour, check if the jam is the right consistency by pouring a few drops on a plate: if they don’t spread over more than 1 cm (½ inch), then the jam is ready. If you have a kitchen thermometer, the jam is cooked when it reaches 103 to 105°C (217 to 224°F). Boil the jars and pour in the mixture, filling them to the rim. Screw the tops on firmly and turn them upside down. Leave them to cool for 24 hours.
35
Ingredients 1 kg (2 lbs.) green tomatoes 750 g (3 ¾ cups) caster sugar 1 lemon 1 vanilla pod For a smoother texture: You can blend the jam after it has cooked for 30 minutes, and then return it to the saucepan for a further 15 minutes. This jam often remains rather liquid.
Le Jardin de la Table ouverte Ingredients serves 6
1 kg (2 lbs.) lamb shoulder, cubed Oil 3 onions, sliced 2 garlic cloves, chopped
18
Lamb with french beans and potatoes fromthe garden
2 stalks celery, sliced 1 tbs. Ras El Hanout (a North African spice mix)
3 carrots, cut into chunks
Brown the pieces of lamb in a large pot with oil. Add the onions, garlic, celery stalks and Ras El Hanout. Season with salt and pepper and continue to cook for a few minutes.
2 tbs. tomato paste, diluted in a little water
Add the carrots, tomato paste and paprika. Cover with water and cook for 1 hour.
Salt and pepper
1 tbs. paprika 1 kg (2 lbs.) French beans 3 potatoes 1 bunch coriander (cilantro)
Meanwhile, peel the French beans and potatoes, add them to the pot and cook for 20 minutes. Just before serving, sprinkle with fresh chopped coriander. If you wish, accompany with small fried hot peppers.
36
18 Le Jardin de la Table ouverte
Caramelized apple pie Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F, gas 6) . Set the pastry in a buttered pie tin and prick it lightly with a fork. In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs, cream and sugar. Stir in the lemon juice. Peel the apples, cut them into quarters and then into slices. Fry gently in the pan with butter and a little extra sugar until slightly caramelized. Arrange the apples on the pastry, and pour the egg-cream mixture over them. Bake for 40 minutes.
Ingredients serves 4
1 ready-made pie crust 4 eggs 200 ml (1 cup) cream ½ cup sugar, plus a little extra to caramelize the apples Juice of ½ lemon 4 apples 40 g (3 tbs.) butter
When the tart is baked, you might want to sprinkle some icing sugar on the top.
37
Les Jardins du ruisseau
18
Ingredients serves 6
Comfrey fritters
250 g (2 cups) flour 500 ml (2 cups) milk 2 eggs Salt and pepper 12 freshly picked comfrey leaves
These look like fried fish when done. To make the batter, combine the flour, milk and eggs. Add salt and pepper. Rinse the comfrey leaves and dry them.
Salted butter for the pan
Take 2 leaves, place them with their soft “hairy� sides facing each other so they stick together and dip them into the batter. Fry in a frying pan in salted butter. Repeat with remaining leaves. For a variation, you can try with fresh goat cheese and chive stuffing: Combine the cheese and herbs. Spread the mixture evenly between the 2 leaves. Fry as above.
38
18 Les Jardins du ruisseau
Strawberry and mint jam Ingredients
Chop the fresh mint leaves. Wash the strawberries under running water and remove the stalks. Place them in a jam pan with the sugar, mint and lemon juice. Bring to the boil, remove from the heat and leave to rest overnight. The next day, return the jam pan to the heat. When the preparation comes to the boil, skim the top, then reduce the heat. Simmer for one hour, stirring from time to time so that the mixture doesn’t stick to the pan. The jam thickens gradually: test the consistency by dropping a spoonful of jam on a plate; it is done when it barely spreads. When the jam is ready, quickly fill the jars while it is hot. Turn the jars upside down and allow them to cool completely. 39
10 fresh mint leaves 1 kg (2 lbs.) strawberries 800 g (4 cups) sugar Juice of 2 lemons
Ingredients
Le Trèfle d’Éole
18
serves 6
Ava’s stuffed vine leaves
30 vine leaves from a jar 2 small onions, chopped 50 ml (3 tbs.) olive oil 100 g (¾ cup) rice 1 large tomato, chopped 2 tbs. mint 150 g (5 oz.) minced beef Salt and ground pepper Juice of ½ lemon Chilli pepper (optional)
A day ahead, place the vine leaves in a bowl of cold water. Drain the leaves the next day. Gently sauté the chopped onions in olive oil. Add the rice and a glass of water and cook. Once the rice is cooked and cooled, add the chopped tomato, finely chopped mint, minced meat, salt and pepper. Brush the vine leaves with lemon juice and a little olive oil to make them shiny and soft. Place a vine leaf on your work surface, cut away the stalk, put some stuffing on it and roll the leaf towards the pointed end to make a small roll. Put the rolls in a circle in a saucepan with two glasses of water. Cover and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. Serve with yoghurt.
40
18 Le Trèfle d’Éole
Rhubarb muffins Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F, gas 6). Line a muffin tray with paper liners. In a saucepan, cook the rhubarb with the sugar for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. In a bowl, combine the lemon juice with the milk and let it stand until the milk curdles. You can replace the milk and lemon mixture with 250 ml (1 cup) buttermilk.
Ingredients for 12 muffins
250 g (½ lb) rhubarb, peeled and chopped 1 tbs. caster sugar 1 tbs. lemon juice 250 ml (1 cup) milk
Melt the butter over low heat.
150 g (10 tbs.) butter
Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and brown sugar in a mixing bowl. Pour in the milk, melted butter, whole egg and orange zest. Whisk briskly until combined, but do not overmix. Stir in the cooled rhubarb.
350 g (3 cups) flour
Pour the mixture into the prepared tray and bake for 25 minutes, until golden.
1 tbs. baking powder 1 pinch salt 220 g (1 cup) brown sugar 1 egg Zest of 1 organic or unwaxed orange
Serve warm with cream. 41
Les Vergers urbains
18
Ingredients serves 4
4 figs 4 knobs salted butter 4 tsp. cane sugar 2 small creamy goat cheeses
Figs with creamy goat cheese Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F, gas 6). Cut the figs into 4. Place 1 knob of butter and 1 teaspoon of cane sugar in each ramekin. Place the pieces of figs on top. Bake the figs until caramelized and remove from the oven. Place ½ of a creamy goat cheese on top of each fig. Return to the oven and bake until golden. Serve with a green salad and toasted farmhouse bread. This garden, called Vergers Urbains or “Urban Orchards”, is reclaiming the city with its fruit trees.
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CPCU
19
ou Charmante petite campagne urbaine
Spaghetti al burro di salvia Cook the pasta as you usually do. In the meantime, melt the butter in a frying pan, add the sage and sautĂŠ gently. Pour the sage butter on your hot pasta and serve with Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper. For a gourmet touch, add one raw egg yolk in its shell. In Italy, sage butter is often served with ravioli filled with pumpkin or other squash.
Ingredients serves 4
400 g (14 oz.) spaghetti 100 g (8 tbs.) butter 2 handfuls of fresh sage, finely chopped Grated Parmesan Salt and pepper
43
19 CPCU ou Charmante petite campagne urbaine
Rose crumble Ingredients
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F, gas 6).
serves 6
75 g (⅔ cup) flour 120 g (generous ½ cup) brown sugar 1 tsp. cinnamon A pinch of sea salt, crushed with a mortar and pestle or with your fingers 50 g (3 tbs.) unsalted butter, room temperature 3 or 4 apples Petals from a dozen roses
Combine the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt). With your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles breadcrumbs. Butter a baking tin. Peel the apples, chop them finely, and spread a layer of apple over the base. Then spread a layer of rose petals followed by another layer of apples. Sprinkle the crumble mixture on top. Bake for about 30 minutes until the top is golden and caramelized.
Use petals that have begun to fade. Of course, they should not be sprayed at all. It is not necessary to wash them, but make sure there are no insects. Keep some to decorate your crumble. If you’re serving people with hearty appetites you can double the ingredients for the crumble mixture. The CPCU garden has closed. It was a big, beautiful garden with many flowers and vegetables that grew in summer. There were raspberries that children devoured. The gardeners often made meals from their harvests – those were happy days.
44
Jardin de la Butte Bergeyre
19
Spanish-style broad beans
Ingredients serves 4
Shell the broad beans. Peel and slice the onion and garlic cloves. SautĂŠ for 8 to 10 minutes in olive oil over low heat in a frying pan (or even better, in an ovenproof Spanish ceramic dish) until the onions are slightly caramelized. Cut the ham into pieces and place them in the frying pan. Add the broad beans, white wine, and cherry tomatoes. Cook for a few minutes. Chop the fresh herbs and add them. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the broad beans are tender. Add a little water if necessary. Serve with a hot baguette, good goat cheese and a crisp lettuce from the garden.
45
250 to 300 g (about ½ lb.) fresh broad (fava) beans 1 red onion 2 or 3 garlic cloves 4 tbs. olive oil 3 slices Serrano ham 150 ml (1 cup) white wine or sherry 10 to 15 cherry tomatoes, halved Fresh herbs from the garden, such as basil, marjoram and flatleaf parsley Salt and pepper
19 Jardin de la Butte Bergeyre
Caramelized figs with honey Ingredients serves 4
25 g (2 tbs.) butter Juice of 1 lemon 5 tbs. honey 120 ml (½ cup) sweet wine 8 to 10 figs Crème fraîche or ice cream
Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F, gas 7). In a saucepan, melt the butter. Add the lemon juice, honey and wine. Bring to the boil and remove from the heat. Make a cross-shaped incision on the top of the figs and open them up slightly so that they look like flowers. Place them in a dish and pour the syrup over them. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the edges begin to caramelize. If necessary, briefly use the grill (broiler) setting of your oven. Serve with crème fraîche or ice cream.
This dessert will be even tastier if you use the honey from the beehives of the Butte Bergeyre garden!
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Jardin Saint-Serge
19
Garden herb salad Pick the best herbs and seasonal leaves in your garden. For this salad, we chose oak leaf lettuce, young plantain, borage and lemon balm leaves, a little sage, yarrow and marjoram, some parsley, coriander (cilantro) and green onions.
Ingredients Herbs from the garden Salt
Wash all the leaves carefully to make sure you don’t end up eating any bugs.
Lemon juice
Then stir well and combine with the other ingredients.
Gomashio
Gomashio is a Japanese and Korean condiment. You can make it yourself by grinding toasted sesame seeds with coarse salt. This savoury salad was concocted one summer evening for the first time using the herbs and plants harvested in the garden during the afternoon.
47
Olive oil
1 cup cooked kasha Chopped almonds
19 Jardin Saint-Serge
Barbara’s strawberry kissel Ingredients serves 4
250 g (½ lb.) strawberries 100 g (½ cup) sugar 2 tbs. cornstarch or potato starch 350 ml (1 ½ cups) cold water
Wash the strawberries, cut them into pieces and mix them with the sugar. Put the ingredients into the blender and puree until smooth. Dissolve the cornstarch (or potato starch) in 100 ml (½ cup) cold water. Mix into the remaining water and bring to the boil, stirring constantly. Add the strawberry puree, and bring it to the boil again, stirring until the mixture thickens slightly. Pour the mixture into ramekins and let them cool in the fridge. You can serve the kissel with custard or sour cream. Decorate with a strawberry, a mint leaf or a lemon balm leaf.
This community garden aims to restore the plant beds of the Orthodox Church of Saint-Serge. Members work with the religious community to safeguard the historic landscape, which is home to wild plants.
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L’Îlot lilas
19
Pasta with Isabelle’s sauce Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water.
Ingredients
Pick the herbs in the garden, wash them well and chop them finely. Stir them into the cream and season with salt and pepper. Drain the pasta, keeping a small ladle of the cooking water. Stir the pasta into the sauce. If there is not enough sauce, add some of the cooking water. Serve in a large dish, accompanied, if you wish, with a salad of tomatoes from the garden and grated Parmesan cheese. 49
serves 4
400 g (14 oz.) pasta (farfalle or penne) A bunch of herbs from the garden (basil, white parts of leeks, chives, marjoram, oregano, parsley, sage, a little of rosemary) 20 cl (1 scant cup) crème fraîche (you can lighten it with a little cream cheese or farmer’s cheese) Salt and pepper
19 L’Îlot lilas
Financier pound cake with chopped lemon balm Ingredients serves 4
180 g (12 tbs.) butter 180 g (1 cup) sugar 3 eggs 180 g (1 ½ cup) flour 1 tsp. baking powder A large bunch of lemon balm leaves
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F, gas 6). Soften the butter. In a bowl, beat it until it becomes creamy. Incorporate the sugar and beat again. Add the eggs one by one, stirring well after each addition. Then incorporate the flour and baking powder. Chop the lemon balm leaves (go ahead and use a large bunch, because the taste is not very pronounced) and stir them into the batter. Pour the mixture into a buttered baking tin (or in a baking tin lined with greaseproof paper). Bake for about 30 minutes. The cake should barely colour (lightly golden), so cover it with greaseproof paper if necessary during baking. Allow to cool in the tin and turn out.
50
Les Petits Passages Raw broad beans with Ingredients sorrel sauce Eat the garden broad beans raw with bread and butter and pre-dinner drinks.
19 :
Broad (fava) beans Bread Butter
Sorrel sauce:
Sorrel leaves
Wash the sorrel leaves, remove the central stem and chop them. Cook in a pan with butter or olive oil.
Olive oil or butter
Stir in some crème fraîche, or combine a little flour and milk as you would for a white sauce. Season with salt and pepper.
Salt and pepper
Sorrel goes well with fish and boiled potatoes.
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Crème fraîche or flour and milk
Jardin de la cité Aubry
20
Sorrel soup Ingredients
Wash the sorrel, remove the stalks and cut the leaves into strips.
A large bunch of sorrel
In a saucepan, melt the butter and sauté the sorrel leaves.
50 g (3 tbs.) butter
Add the water or vegetable broth and potatoes. Simmer over low heat for 30 minutes.
serves 4
1.5 litres (6 cups) water or vegetable broth 4 potatoes, peeled and cubed 1 tbs. crème fraîche
Blend, leaving a few little pieces of potato. Stir in the crème fraîche and serve this delicately tangy soup.
Salt and pepper
You can replace the sorrel with radish tops.
52
20 Jardin de la cité Aubry
Coconut panna cotta with raspberry sauce Pour a little of the coconut milk into a saucepan and heat. Soften the gelatine in a bowl of cold water. Squeeze out the water and stir them into the hot coconut milk until dissolved. Pour the mixture into a bowl and add the remaining coconut milk, 250 g (1 ¼ cups) of the sugar and the vanilla sugar or vanilla extract. Divide the mixture between shot glasses and chill for at least 3 hours. To make the sauce, blend the raspberries with the remaining 100 g (½ cup) of sugar. Drizzle the panna cotta with raspberry sauce and serve. 53
Ingredients serves 8
1 litre (4 cups) coconut milk 5 sheets gelatine 350 g (1 ¾ cup) sugar 1 tbs. vanilla sugar, or 1 tsp. vanilla extract 500 g (1 lb.) raspberries
Jardin Luquet
20
Ingredients
Savoury herb loaf
serves 4
400 g (3 ⅓ cups) flour Salt and pepper 11 g (1 tbs.) baking soda 4 eggs 1 cup water 3 tbs. olive oil
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F, gas 6). In a bowl, combine the flour, salt, pepper and baking soda. Incorporate the eggs one by one. Gradually pour in the water and then the olive oil. Add the yoghurt and mix energetically, until combined. Stir the chopped herbs into the mixture.
125 g (8 tbs.) yoghurt Aromatic herbs, finely chopped: 3 tsp. coriander (cilantro), 2 tsp. parsley, 2 tsp. chives and 1 tsp. tarragon
Butter a cake tin and dust it with flour. Pour in the batter. Bake for 45 minutes.
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La Terrasse du T3
20
Courgette crumble Preheat the oven to 210°C (410°F, gas 8). Slice the courgettes and steam them for 8 minutes in a pressure cooker. Sauté the finely chopped onion in a frying pan with a little olive oil until golden. Add the drained courgettes and the crushed garlic. Sauté for a few minutes.
Ingredients serves 6
500 g (1 lb.) courgettes (zucchini), sliced
Place in an ovenproof dish and cover with a layer of Parmesan shavings. Mix the melted butter with breadcrumbs and flour (start with 3 tablespoons of each, and then add the same amount of breadcrumbs and flour until you obtain a crumbly consistency). Bake for 15 minutes, until golden.
1 onion, finely chopped Olive oil 1 garlic clove, crushed 50 g (½ cup) Parmesan shavings 50 g (4 tbs.) butter (or margarine) 50 g (½ cup) mixed flour and breadcrumbs Oregano (optional)
55
20 La Terrasse du T3
Carrot cake
Ingredients serves 6
200 g (7 oz.) carrots 11 g (1 tbs.) baking powder 175 g (1 ½ cups) flour 1 pinch salt 1 tsp. cinnamon 1 pinch nutmeg
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F, gas 6). Peel and coarsely grate the carrots. Combine the baking powder, flour, salt and spices.
150 g (1 ¼ cups) walnuts
Roughly chop the nuts. Combine the carrots and nuts with the other dry ingredients.
3 eggs 340 g (1 ¾ cups) caster sugar 2 tbs. warm water
Beat the eggs and caster sugar in a bowl until frothy.
100 ml (scant ½ cup) sunflower oil
Add the water and then the oil.
100 g (½ cup) cream cheese
Gradually fold in the dry ingredients with the carrots and nuts.
1 tbs. icing sugar
Butter a cake tin and pour in the batter.
Orange and green marzipan for decoration
Bake for 55 minutes until a knife tip inserted into the centre comes out dry. 56
For the frosting: Whisk together the cream cheese and icing sugar and spread over the cake. For a spectacular effect, decorate with marzipan cut into shapes of your choice. For a layered carrot cake divide the batter between one or two smaller pans, spread frosting over the top of each cake and stack them.
Le 56 Saint-Blaise
20
Ginger juice
Ingredients serves 6
Process the ginger in a blender until smooth. Add 1 litre (4 cups) water and push through a sieve. Mix in the lime peel and juice as well as the sugar. Serve well chilled.
57
200 g (7 oz.) peeled fresh ginger 2 limes, zest and juice 1 tbs. sugar
20 Le 56 Saint-Blaise
Yassa Chicken (chicken with lemon)
Marinade: Place the sliced onions in a bowl and add the garlic, thyme and bay leaf. Squeeze the lemons and add the juice. Stir in half of the oil. Season with salt and pepper.
Ingredients serves 6
1 kg (2 lbs.) onions, thinly sliced 4 garlic cloves, coarsely crushed 4 lemons Thyme, bay leaf 250 ml (1 cup) oil Salt and pepper 1 large chicken weighing about 1.8 kg (4 lbs.), cut into pieces 1 African chilli pepper
Chicken: Wipe the chicken pieces with a paper towel and soak them in the marinade. Leave in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight. Remove the chicken from the marinade. Strain the liquid through a colander over a bowl. Set aside the onions and lemon juice. Grill the chicken on the barbecue or in the oven. Sauce: In a large pot, soften the reserved onions in the remaining oil. Stir with a slotted spoon and stir in the marinade. Cook for 30 minutes. Add the pieces of grilled chicken. Add the chilli, keeping a careful eye on it: it shouldn’t burst. Cover and simmer for 40 minutes. Serve with steamed rice. Ginger juice pairs well with this dish. 58
20 Le 56 Saint-Blaise
Speculoos cheesecake Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F, gas 5). In a mixing bowl, crush the speculoos into fine crumbs. Melt the butter in a bowl in the microwave oven. Pour the melted butter into the speculoos powder and mix with your hands until fully incorporated. Spread the preparation over the base of a springform tin and chill until firm. In another bowl, combine the cream cheese with the crème fraîche, sugar and vanilla sugar. Add the eggs. Stir until the mixture is smooth. Pour the cream cheese mix over the biscuit base. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes. When it is baked, it should still wobble a little (it will harden in the fridge). Remove the cheesecake from the springform tin and chill.
Ingredients serves 8 to 10
200 g (7 oz.) speculoos cookies 100 g (7 tbs.) butter 400 g (1 ⅔ cups) cream cheese 125 g (1 cup) crème fraîche or double cream 150 g (¾ cup) sugar 1 tbs. vanilla sugar or 1 tsp. vanilla extract
59
4 eggs
Le Jardin des Soupirs Ingredients serves 8
6 tbs. peanut paste 1 small piece dried fish 1 tbs. soumbala 1 stock cube 1 tbs. gombo powder Oil 1.5 kg (3 lbs.) braising beef or mutton shoulder, cubed 2 onions, roughly chopped 2 garlic cloves, crushed 3 tbs. tomato paste 2 tomatoes, in chunks 1 small cabbage, coarsely chopped
20
African maafe In a large saucepan, heat 1 litre (4 cups) of water. When it comes to the boil, whisk in the peanut paste until thoroughly dissolved. Add the dried fish, soumbala, stock cube and gombo powder. Bring to the boil and simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large pot with a little oil, sautĂŠ the meat, onions and garlic. The ingredients should be browned. Add the vegetables, and lastly, stir in the peanut sauce. Cook for at least 1 hour, until the meat and vegetables are tender and the sauce is slightly reduced. Serve with white rice.
6 carrots, in chunks 4 turnips, in chunks 2 sweet potatoes, in chunks 4 African aubergines (eggplants / diakhatou), in chunks
You will find dried fish, soumbala, gombo powder and diakhatou eggplants in African grocery stores. Soumbala (Mali) or netetou (Senegal) is a spice extracted from the soaked kernel of the African locust bean tree. It is rather spicy and should be used in small quantities. It is an essential ingredient in a good maafe.
60
20 Le Jardin des Soupirs
Pumpkin soup
Ingredients serves 6
2 kg (4 lbs.) pumpkin
Peel and cut the pumpkin and onion into large chunks.
1 large onion
Melt the butter in a pot, add the vegetables, a pinch of salt and cook gently for 5 minutes. Pour in the water or vegetable broth, cover and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes. Blend the soup. Stir in the grated nutmeg, pepper and cream. Serve with small croutons and chopped parsley. For a variation, replace the cream with coconut milk and add a little curry powder. Serve with a sprinkle of chopped coriander.
61
Butter Salt and pepper 1 litre (4 cups) water or vegetable broth A little grated nutmeg 50 cl (2 cups) cream
Leroy Sème
20
Ingredients serves 4
1 ready-made puff pastry crust
Asparagus and walnut tart Pre-bake the puff pastry and allow to cool.
1 bunch green asparagus from the garden 50 g (2 oz.) walnuts, chopped Crème fraîche or double cream Salt and pepper
Steam the asparagus. Arrange them on the pastry base, sprinkle with the walnuts, and cover with cream. (If you find that the cream is too thick, add a little milk). Season with salt and pepper.
Chervil, chopped
Bake at 180°C (350°F, gas 6) for 5-10 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped chervil.
62
20 Leroy Sème
Old boys’ boozy fruit liqueur As the seasons change and you harvest the various fruits, place them in a large jar and add some alcohol and cane sugar. Each time you add more fruit, remember to cover with alcohol and 3 to 4 tbs. cane sugar. Store for several months in a cool and dark place, ideally a cellar.
Note from the Parisian gardeners: We pick the fruits for the recipe throughout the year. We start making the liqueur in January with kiwis and we all tuck in at our annual general meeting the following January.
Ingredients Seasonal fruit: apricots, blackcurrants, cherries, strawberries wild strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, kiwis, hazelnuts, peaches, white peaches, grapes, etc. Alcohol for the fruit, such as cognac or vodka Cane sugar
63
Guinguette de laBagnolet Dhuys (93)
Jerusalem artichoke purĂŠe
Ingredients serves 6
600 g (1 ½ lbs.) Jerusalem artichokes Milk
Peel the Jerusalem artichokes (not an easy task given their shape) and cook them in milk for at least 20 minutes. (Instead of peeling them, you can wash them well in cold water.) They should be very mushy.
250 ml (1 cup) cream Chives A little grated nutmeg Salt and pepper
Drain and peel if necessary. Place the Jerusalem artichokes in a blender with the cream (adjust the quantity to the desired thickness), chives and nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper, then blend for a few minutes. Adjust the seasoning if necessary. Planting Jerusalem artichokes in our community garden helped us understand why they were so popular during World War II: growing them is extremely easy, they grow in all types of soil and if you forget any fragments in the soil, they grow back stronger the following year. Their subtle taste, reminiscent of artichoke, is exquisite.
64
93 Guinguette de la Dhuys
Elderflower syrup Pick off the flowers, removing as much of the stems as possible. Place the flowers and the sliced lemons in a pot. In another pot, bring the water with the sugar and citric acid, if using, to the boil. Pour this piping hot syrup over the flower-lemon mix. Let it soak for 4 days, stirring a little every day. Strain through a sieve and bottle.
We usually make this syrup in May, when the elderflowers are in blossom. This preparation can be stored for one year in the refrigerator if the bottles are well sealed. We use beer bottles with rubber stoppers. The addition of citric acid is not essential but helps preserve the syrup for a longer period.
65
Ingredients
for 3 litres (12 cups) syrup 60 elderflowers 3 organic lemons, sliced 2 litres (8 cups) water 2 kg (4 lbs.) cane sugar 50 g (2 oz.) citric acid (optional)
Potager desLes LilasLilas (93) Coral lentil terrine Ingredients serves 4
150 g (ž cup) coral lentils 2 tsp. olive oil ½ onion, chopped 1 garlic clove, chopped 2 tsp. curry powder 200 ml (1 scant cup) coconut milk 1 tsp. agar-agar
Cook the lentils for 20 minutes in two and a half times their volume of cold water. In a frying pan, sautĂŠ the onion, garlic and curry powder in olive oil for 5 minutes. Bring the coconut milk and agar-agar to the boil and simmer for 2 minutes. Drain the lentils. Combine all the ingredients and blend. Pour the mixture into a terrine or a bowl and chill for 2 hours. Serve with a salad of green leaves picked in the garden.
66
93 Potager des Lilas
Veronique’s pumpkin cake Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F, gas 6). Wash the pumpkin, peel it and cut it into large pieces. With a tablespoon, remove the seeds and cut out the flesh. Cut into small pieces. Cook the flesh in a saucepan until soft and mash it with a fork. Let the pumpkin pulp cool. In a bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugar and stir in the pumpkin pulp. Stir in the oil little by little. In a separate dish, combine the flour with the baking powder, spices, shredded coconut and salt. Beat the dry ingredients into the liquid mixture until the batter is perfectly smooth. Pour into a buttered and floured baking tin. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes (the tip of a knife should come out clean).
Ingredients serves 6
1 pumpkin (you will need 400 g, about 2 ¼ cups pumpkin flesh) 3 eggs 130 g (⅔ cup) sugar 100 ml (scant ½ cup) groundnut oil or sunflower seed oil 180 g (1 ½ cups) flour 1 tbs. baking powder or 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. gingerbread spices: cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, coriander and ginger 125 g (2 cups) finely shredded unsweetened coconut A pinch of salt
You can add chopped walnuts or almonds, and even a little rum.
67
Les Vergers de l’Îlot Fontenay-sous-Bois (94) Three-vegetable pancake Ingredients serves 4
1 medium carrot 1 medium potato 1 large parsnip Salt and pepper
Peel the vegetables and grate them. Combine them in a mixing bowl. Stir in salt and pepper to taste. Oil the frying pan and spread the mixture in the pan. Cook until brown on both sides. This pancake is best served hot.
68
94 Les Vergers de l’îlot
Millassou, a pumpkin pancake from the correze region
Ingredients serves 6
4 cups salted water 1 kg (2 lbs.) pumpkin, in chunks 3 eggs, beaten 150 g (¾ cup) sugar
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F, gas 6).
50 g (3 tbs.) butter
Bring the salted water to the boil. Cook the pumpkin in the pot over fairly hot heat for 10 minutes. Transfer the pumpkin to a bowl and mash with a fork.
Salt
Add the beaten eggs, sugar, butter, salt, hot milk and cornstarch (or flour). Stir well and add the eau de vie. Transfer to a buttered tin and bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Serve hot. You can, if you wish, cut the pancake into slices, roll them in sugar and fry in butter over medium heat for a few minutes. 69
300 ml (1 ¼ cup) hot milk 125 g (1 cup) cornstarch or flour 1 tbs. eau de vie
Index per season Spring Asparagus and walnut tart 62 Ava’s stuffed vine leaves 40 Barbara’s strawberry kissel 48 Chive oil 12 Comfrey fritters 38 Elderflower syrup 65 Top of the pops! (Leafy top loaf ) 24 Financier pound cake with chopped lemon balm 50 Gilles’s nettlesoup “à la Parisienne” 16 Lilac flower jelly 21 Mugwort syrup 28 Poppy petal wine 32 Raw broad beans with sorrel sauce 51 Sage fritters 20 Savoury herb loaf 54 Spanish-style broad beans 45
Summer Carrot cake 56 Chocolate cake with Montmorency cherries 15 Coconut panna cotta with raspberry sauce 53 Estelle’s Quiche with Beetroot Greens 29 Garden herb salad 47 Green tomato jam 35 Lamb with French beans and potatoes from the garden 36 Old boys’ boozy fruit liqueur 63 Rhubarb muffins 41 Rose crumble 4 4 Strawberry and mint jam 39 70
Swiss chard and lentil soup, Lebanese style 14 Yassa chicken (chicken with lemon) 58 Yolande’s tabbouleh 33
Autumn Apple or pear cake 25 Caramelized apple pie 37 Caramelized figs with honey 46 Coral lentil terrine 66 Courgette crumble 55 Courgette tart 34 Fennel with shallots 30 Figs with creamy goat cheese 42 Herbal tea from the garden 18 Pasta with Isabelle’s sauce 49 Sorrel soup 52 Sweet dumpling squash pancakes 26 Véronique’s pumpkin cake 67
Winter African maafe 60 Apple, pear or quince crumble 23 Coleslaw 22 Ginger juice 57 Gingerbread with honey from the garden beehives 27 Jerusalem artichoke purée 64 Millassou, a pumpkin pancake from the Correze region 69 Pumpkin soup 61 Saffron rice pudding 13 Spaghetti al burro di salvia 43 Speculoos cheesecake 59 Three-vegetable pancake 68 71
List of gardens by arrondissement 3e arrondissement Les 1001 feuilles
Jardin de l’Aqueduc Garden of the Aqueduct
Between rue de l’Empereur Valentinien and rue Thomas Francine
One Thousand and One Leaves Impasse Berthaud
Le Potager des Oiseaux
16e arrondissement Le retour de la terre
The Birds’ Kitchen Garden
2-4 rue des Oiseaux
The Earth is back
10e arrondissement Le Poireau agile
IUT Paris Descartes 143 avenue de Versailles
18e arrondissement Écobox
The Nimble Leek
4 rue des Récollets
Ecobox
11e arrondissement Jardin Marcotte
Impasse de la Chapelle
Jardin de l’Univert
Garden of Cuttings
159 rue de Charonne Square Colbert
Garden of the Green Universe
Jardin Nomade
Jardin Éphémère Baudélire
48 rue Trousseau
27 rue Baudelique
Le Centre de la Terre
Le Jardin de la Table ouverte
35 rue Polonceau
Ephemeral Garden of Beautiful Delirium
Nomadic Garden
The Centre of the Earth
Garden of the Open Table
19 rue de l’Orillon Square Jules Verne
Les Jardins du ruisseau
32 rue Myrha
Gardens by the Stream
14e arrondissement Jardin de Falbala
104 rue du Ruisseau
Le Trèfle d’Éole
Panacea’s Garden
Eole’s Clover
Corner rue de l’Ouest and rue du Moulin de la Vierge
Rue d’Aubervilliers Jardin d’Éole
72
Les Vergers urbains Urban Orchards
14 rue Pajol
19e arrondissement CPCU ou Charmante petite campagne urbaine
Charming Little Urban Countryside
(Looking for a new home)
Jardin de la Butte Bergeyre Garden of Bergeyre Hill
Corner rue Gourmont and rue Georges Lardennois
Jardin Saint-Serge
La Terrasse du T3
Terrace over the Tramway 52 rue de la Justice, at the dead end
Le 56 Saint-Blaise Number 56 Saint Blaise 16 rue du Clos
Le Jardin des Soupirs Garden of Sighs
18 passage des Soupirs
Leroy sème
The King Sows
317 rue des Pyrénées
93 rue de Crimée
Bagnolet 93170 Guinguette de la Dhuys
L’îlot lilas
Dancing Café by the River Dhuys
59 avenue de la Dhuys
295 rue de Belleville
Les Lilas 93260 Potager des Lilas
Saint Serge Garden
Lilac Island
Les Petits Passages Narrow Passageways 33 rue Petit
20e arrondissement Jardin de la cité Aubry Garden of the Aubry Estate 2bis cité Aubry
Jardin Luquet Luquet Garden Rue Piat
Kitchen Garden with Lilacs
50 rue Romain Rolland Parc Lucie Aubrac
Fontenay-Sous-Bois 94120 Les Vergers de l’îlot Orchards on the block
16 rue du Révérend Père Lucien Aubry Maison du Citoyen et de la Vie associative
73
Acknowledgements We wish to thank: The final year students (2014) of the B.A. in Publishing at Paris Descartes University, for their work on the French version. The second-year students (2015) of the Book Industry Diploma at Paris Descartes University, for their work on the English version. Teachers Stephan Cellier, Fabienne Chesnais, Sylvie Decaux and Alice Le Roy. Carmella Abramowitz for her extensive editorial work and generous advice to the students and Joaquin Ballabriga for proof reading. The gardeners who contributed their recipes. Le Potager des Oiseaux for coordinating the project. Last but not least the Mairie de Paris (Paris City Hall) for its unfailing support.
Contact : potagerdesoiseaux@gmail.com ISBN: 978-2-9553356-0-4 Dépôt légal: juillet 2015 Printed by Ateliers Reprographiques - 92500 Rueil Malmaison: July 2015
© Le Potager des Oiseaux, 2015 All rights reserved.
The French don’t just like to eat fabulous food, they also love to talk about it and share their favourite recipes with friends. This cookbook, which brings you directly into the kitchens of the community gardeners and food growers of Paris, is a celebration of fresh, tasty, seasonal cuisine. It also celebrates the power of food to create more sustainable communities. With more than 50 recipes spanning the four seasons and gorgeous watercolours by Parisian artist and gardener Bruno Charenton, this is a book for the serious foodie, the vegetable gardener - and the Paris lover in all of us.
10Â e TTC
ISBN : 978-2-9553356-0-4