Lesson #1 Alain Passard ? Elevate vegetables to the main course. Respect them. Love them.
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Red Cabbage Greek Salad ? Just recently, I was fortunate enough to meet and eat at a Parisian restaurant owned and run by one of the best chefs on the planet ? and one of my great food heroes. The place was L?Aparge + 3-Star Michelin Restaurant and the chef was none other than Alain Passard!
Having lunch at one of the top restaurants in the world turned out to be a very emotional day for me as we made our way through 13 courses of what can only be described as an expedition to some sort of culinary Nirvana. This was not a sampling menu, it was 13 courses of considerable portion of food.
In order to give fair justice to the skill and care that was taken in serving each course, I intend discussing (or is it dissecting?) various elements of this extraordinary experience over the next few weeks. The sum of which continues to jolt my brain and senses in the most wonderful of ways. More of that later but back to Alain?My hubby and I sat down just on midday and only left the restaurant four and half hours later. It turned out to be not just a meal but more a journey enticing discoveries. It was an explosion of the senses on all fronts from tantalizing the palate, to engaging the brain, to touching my heart. It was all of these things.
Then out of nowhere and so very casually, Alain Passard himself appeared in front of us? and so charmingly and non-chalantly introduced himself. He stood humbly before us wanting to know where we were from and then thanked us for making the effort to eat at his restaurant. Could you believe he thanked me!! I was speechless. He said that if I wanted to know anything, I must just ask him. He was most amused by my little black notebook. It is that little notebook that I take everywhere with me jotting down my thoughts and different food experiences. Alain then just said the following ?eat slowly and enjoy every bite, try to stay till dessert because I have a surprise for you? and before you could offer a shy stammer of awe and appreciation he whisked himself back into his kitchen. *more about the surprise and what he meant in a later blog*.
In between the courses that followed he came out to serve us ? how amazing was that!! I was in dreamland and I think for the first time in my life, I was beyond speechless. What I took away from this restaurant and this genius of a chef was that you need to live and practice the credo of this talented food maestro?.remember to elevate vegetables to the main course ? it is not a side dish ? respect them and cook them with love.
Ok, I got a little carried away by my recollections of this exceptional outing, back to dish at hand?..
Today I have taken the often disregarded, humble purple cabbage and added it to make a greek salad the way my dear and wonderful Mediterranean friend Thea Maroela taught me. Thea is +- 79 years old now and lives in Cyprus. Thea always made this particular Greek salad with white cabbage and I used to often eat this salad at Thea?s house with fresh bread and a tumbler of white wine ? which Thea always kept in a bottle under the sink for me as she herself did not drink. This dish is a ?must make?. It?s fresh, inspiring and delicious.
Note to self: Add to bucketlist ? Visit Thea in Cyprus again. Book table and eat again at any restaurant owned by Alain Passard.
Recipe
This recipe has no measurements in terms of ingredients?it is only dependent on the quantity of ingredients you have in your fridge.
Ingredients
Red cabbage ? finely sliced
Tomatoes ? sliced
Cucumber
Olives
Onion
Feta Cheese
Good Olive oil
White vinegar
Salt + black pepper
Method
1. Mix all the ingredients together.
2. Pour generously with olive oil and then some vinegar, add the salt and pepper and mix well in a bowl before you dish it up.
3. Serve with fresh bread.
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