France – Page 70 – Myfrenchkitchen

After buying some local saffron…from here in Touraine, I had to make something fishy with a saffron sauce. I love saffron and with fish it is really special…in taste as well as in appearance. Sometimes a white fish can look fairly …bland, but a sauce can lift it to a different level. I used skate wing in this recipe, a fish that I love for its delicate taste and ease with which you can enjoy it without fishing out bones in your mouth.

J’ai acheté un peu de safran de Touraine au marché bio à Tours.j’adore le safran au départ j’ai eu envie de préparer un poisson au safran. Parfois un poisson blanc semble très triste sur notre assiette et le gout n’est rien que fade. Une sauce au safran relève ce poisson banal à une expérience gastronomique, facile à manger, sans péniblement pêcher les arrêts dans sa bouche!

NB: It is a fish that is being overfished and quickly disappearing from certain waters. Measurements have now been put in place to control the fishing and protect the skate. Please make sure that you buy your skate from a reputable fishmonger. Definitely don’t buy it at the supermarket!

NB: Faites attention a ce poisson qui est en train de disparaître très vite, a cause de la pêche négligente. Ne l’achetez surtout pas au supermarché, mais plutôt dans une poissonnerie réputable.

I served the skate wing with a spaghetti of courgette on the side, quickly plunged in boiling water and rinsed under cold water, dried and lightly seasoned.

Suggestions:

This recipe can work well with any white fish. I used skate wing.
Serve on a big platter and serve individual portions from the wings by lifting small filets off the bone onto each plate.
The courgettes can be peeled into long ribbons, using a potato peeler if you don’t have the special spaghetti tool. Cut the ribbons into thin paghetti or leave as ribbons(tagliatelle).
Don’t boil the courgette spaghettie or else they will lose their color, break up and become mushy, without any crunch.
Dry the courgettes well after rinsing to prevent them from being soggy in the plate.

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The organic market day in Tours took off early in the morning, with everybody setting up their stalls and readying themselves for a day of sunshine and hungry, eager visitors. Indeed a successful day for Touraine on the banks of the Loire.

Le bio marché à Tours était une grande réussite. Chacun installé ses stands et se préparé pour une journée estivale, remplie de visiteurs affamés. Encore un succès pour la Touraine aux bords de la Loire.

…je veille sur le parc…

…journée de la patrimoine et pont wilson…

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…safran de touraine…

..au marché bio…

…les rôtisseries…

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…on achète, on goute, on mange, on s’amuse…

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…les poissons de la loire…

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…on mange pas sans du vin de la région…

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…à l’année prochaine…

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…à demain!…

Ronelle

We will always have to eat. Even if it is just something quick and simple. A bruschetta is just that. Quick and simple.

I cut a baguette into slices, spooned some tomato paste on top with a slice of cemembert cheese, and lastly added a slice of semi dried tomato in olive oil and freshy shredded basil. Place onto a grill for a few seconds and serve with freshly milled pepper and a sprinkling of fleur de sel.

Last year, when we arrived back home, I wrote about my little village Montlouis sur Loire in this post: Scorpion fish with citrus salad. We are now back again from our time in correze and this morning I took my camera and sketching stuff and headed for our bigger town Tours, a place I really love for its architecture and green parks, tree lanes, fresh markets and yes, its shops and people. I wanted to show what I see. But it started raining. I ran for cover and enjoyed a coffee and croissant while waiting for the skies to clear. When that didn’t happen, I bought a cake and on impulse decided to drive to Montsoreau where there is a “puce”(fleamarket) on today. It is a quaint little village on the Loire and it just feels like holiday being there. The spirit today was one of holiday indeed. The clouds made room for the sun, which had me take out my purse way more than initially planned.

…a large platter…