I am back home from 2 months in SC, USA and I’m still slowing back into routine. It has been very quiet here on Myfrenckitchen front, but I hope that will change from now on…

It is rugby world cup time here in France. We watched the France/Ireland match last weekend with friends after sharing a simple dinner. Nothing gets you more in the mood than sharing a meal before moving on to some sports where, hopefully everybody won’t be cheering the same team!

I have to begin a meal with a starter, it enhances my appetite for the rest of the meal, it heightens the expectation around the table and it elates my tastebuds. Not forgetting that it stretches out a meal, gets everybody relaxed…it simply just sets the mood! It can be extravagant with truffels or simple with bread, I love it all ways and I enjoy making it. For this meal I made a simple polenta with wonderful wild mushrooms that fill our markets right now. I will do that in a next post.

And dessert I have to have too. It gives an exciting ending to any meal, much like an exclamation mark does to a sentence. I chose to end our meal with a simple, easy dessert as well. I don’t really know what to call it…maybe something like ” Caramelized apples with vanilla cream and pomegranate”….which will be presented in a next post too. Until then, here goes with the..

Salmon with brown rice and oven baked tomatoes.

• 4 salmon steaks
• salt and pepper to taste
• lemon juice
• coconut oil
• knob of butter
• 6 tomatoes, handful of cherry tomatoes, handful of grape tomatoes..or any kind of your choice, mix and match.
• balsamic vinegar, sjerry vinegar, spoonful of Dijon mustard, olive oil, salt and pepper
• 2 cup brown rice cooked in 4 cups of water
• handful of rocket leaves(arugula)

1. Sautée the salmon steaks in the coconut oil: Place the salmon skin side down in the hot oil and sautee for 3 to5 minutes, or until the skin is crisp and the flesh has turned light pink from the bottom upwards, halfway through. Don’t cook on the other side. (Saumon à l’unilatéral) Turn off the heat and season with salt and pepper and some lemon juice. Top with the knob of butter. If you want your salmon more cooked, you can place it in the oven for a few minutes after sauteeing.
2. Cook the brown rice until just tender.
3. Cut the tomatoes in half and arrange in an oven dish, cut sides up. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Make a vinaigrette of the balsamic and sjerry vinegar, mustard, and olive oil. Pour over the tomatoes and bake for about 20 minutes at 180 degrees C.
5. Add all the smaller tomatoes whole and bake for 15 minutes longer at 200 degrees C, or until all the tomatoes are nice and caramelized and the small tomatoes have broken open.
6. To serve: Place a helping of brown rice in 4 bowls. Place a salmon steak on the rice. Top with a generous helping of tomatoes and drizzle the juice from the tomatoes over. Finish off with some rocket(arugula) and a twirl of fresh pepper.