La Queue

Cours Saleya · Nice · 39.57€

What to buy

• White asparagus · 1 bunchThe largest you can find. The kind that need real time in the water and reward you for giving it to them.
• Green asparagus · 1 bunchBuy both. It is the first week of both and choosing seems beside the point.
• Salmon · 1 large pieceSkin on. Ask for a clean cut. You’ll know the right piece when you see it.
• Eggs · 6From the vegetable vendor. Included without thinking.
• Strawberries · 1 barquetteFirst of the proper season. Buy them even if they’re slightly early.

Before you start

• —Peel the white asparagus from just below the tip to the base. Snap the woody ends. Leave the green whole, snap the ends.
• —Soft boil two eggs, eight minutes, ice bath, peel, set aside on a small plate.
• —Cut the salmon into two portions if sharing. Pat dry. Salt the skin and leave it alone for a few minutes.
• —Open the wine now.

The side — asparagus, mustard vinaigrette, soft egg

• 01Bring a wide pan of salted water to a boil. White asparagus in first, ten minutes. Green in after five, so both finish together.
• 02While they cook, whisk a teaspoon of Dijon with a splash of white wine vinegar, then whisk in three tablespoons of good olive oil. Season well. Keep it warm.
• 03Drain the asparagus, arrange on a plate, spoon the vinaigrette over while everything is still hot. Halve the eggs and place alongside without fuss.

The main — pan-roasted salmon, beurre noisette, capers, parsley

• 01Heat a heavy pan until it is properly hot. A little oil, no butter yet. Salmon skin side down. Do not touch it, do not move it, do not check it. Four minutes.
• 02Flip once, one minute, done. Remove to a warm plate.
• 03Turn the heat to medium. Add a generous knob of butter and let it foam and then brown until the kitchen smells of hazelnuts and April and something worth staying home for.
• 04Add a tablespoon of capers, a handful of roughly chopped parsley, a squeeze of lemon. Spoon over the salmon immediately and don’t wait.

After

• —Strawberries from the bowl, standing up, no sugar, no ceremony. The only honest way to eat the first good ones of spring.

Le Boeuf du Soir

Super U · Nice · Solo

What to buy

• Ground beef · 300gNo more for one. Though the leftovers will thank you tomorrow.
• Yellow onion · 1Standard sweet onion. Nothing fancy.
• Garlic · 3 cloves
• Red pepper · 1Goes into the beef, not stuffed. Diced, cooked down, becomes part of it.
• Tinned tomatoes · 400gUse the whole tin. The extra tomato only makes it better.
• Saffron · a pinchYou deserve the rice. Solo night. Nick hates ground beef.
• Salad leaves, cucumber, cherry tomatoesMake double. Tomorrow’s lunch is already sorted.

From the fridge

• ParsleyFrom Tuesday’s market shop. Finishing the beef and the salad.
• Lemon · 1
• Olive oil

The spices — double them and go for it

• Cumin · 2 heaped tsp
• Coriander · 2 heaped tsp
• Cinnamon · a pinchTrust it.
• Chilli flakesTo your preference. Be generous.

The beef

• 01Dice the onion fairly small. Into the heavy pan over medium heat with a good glug of olive oil. Eight minutes. Don’t rush it. That’s the foundation of everything tonight.
• 02Dice the pepper roughly, nothing too precious. Mince the garlic. When the onion is soft and has a little color, pepper and garlic in together. Three or four minutes until the pepper softens and the garlic is fragrant.
• 03Beef in. Break it up as it goes, get it moving, let it sit for a moment before stirring. That’s where the flavor comes from. No pink remaining.
• 04Spices in all at once. Stir through and let them toast in the pan for a full minute. Don’t skip this. You’ll smell the difference immediately.
• 05Whole tin of tomatoes in. A good pinch of salt. Stir everything together, turn the heat down, lid off. Fifteen minutes to reduce and thicken.
• 06Fresh parsley over the top, squeeze of lemon. Taste for salt and heat. Done.

The saffron rice

• 01A small pinch of saffron into a little warm water while the beef simmers. Let it bloom for a few minutes until the water turns deep gold.
• 02Cook rice by absorption method, adding the saffron water with the stock or plain water. The color and the perfume do the rest.

Fenouil et Feu

Supermarché · Nice · Solo · Market closed

What to buy

• Daurade · 1 filetSkin on. Ask for a clean cut. Score the skin two or three times at home, not deep, just through.
• Fennel · 1 bulbFronds intact. Save every frond. They finish the plate.
• Grenailles · small bagThe buckshot potatoes. Thin-skinned, waxy, harvested early. Never peel them. The skin is the point.
• Radishes · 1 bunchThe freshest in the case. Sliced thin into the salad.
• Avocado · 1Ripe. Press gently at the stem end to check.

From home

• Salad greensWhatever you have.
• Hard boiled eggsHalved, placed without ceremony.
• CucumberSliced thin.
• Garlic · a few clovesUnpeeled. Roasted alongside the potatoes.
• Honey · 1 spoonfulThe good kind. Warmed with piment d’Espelette. Delicate. The perfect addition.
• Piment d’Espelette · a pinchBought in Saint-Jean de Luz. Not heat exactly — a suggestion of it.
• Dijon, white wine vinegar, olive oil, lemon

Before you start

• —Oven to 200°C.
• —Score the fish skin two or three times, not deep, just through. Salt both sides generously, skin especially. Leave it out to breathe.
• —Slice the fennel into wedges, root intact so the layers hold together. Save every frond.
• —Make the salad dressing now. Teaspoon of Dijon, splash of white wine vinegar, three tablespoons of olive oil, salt. Set aside. Don’t dress until the last moment.

The grenailles

• 01Grenailles and unpeeled garlic into a roasting pan with olive oil and a good pinch of salt. Into the oven for 15 minutes.
• 02Out of the oven. Press each potato flat with the back of a spoon until it splits and opens. More olive oil over the cut surfaces. Back into the oven for the last eight minutes alongside the fish. The split surfaces catch and go golden. That’s the whole point of the grenaille.

The fish

• 01Heavy pan on high heat until properly hot. Thin film of olive oil, let it shimmer.
• 02Daurade in skin side down. Press gently for the first thirty seconds so the skin makes full contact with the pan. Do not move it after that. Ninety seconds.
• 03Flip once, flesh side down, thirty seconds to seal.
• 04Lay the fennel wedges into the center of the roasting pan. Daurade skin side up on top of the fennel. Into the 200°C oven for eight minutes. The fish finishes gently over the fennel, which perfumes it from underneath.

The honey finish

• —Small spoonful of honey, good pinch of piment d’Espelette, stirred together and warmed briefly until it loosens and the spice blooms. Drizzle over the fish the moment it comes out of the oven. Just the fish. Let it run into the fennel beneath. Fennel fronds over everything. Lemon on the side.

The salad

• —Greens, radish sliced thin, cucumber, avocado scooped and placed, hard boiled egg halved on top. Dress at the last moment with the Dijon vinaigrette, light hand.

Le Retour

Cours Saleya · Nice · Welcome home · For two

What to buy

• Salmon · 2 pavésSkin on. Ask for a clean cut. Score the skin at home, salt both sides, leave it to breathe.

From home

• Young potatoesBoiled first, then smashed and roasted. This is the move.
• Fennel · 1 bulbSliced into wedges, root intact.
• SpinachA generous amount. It collapses to almost nothing.
• Shallot · 1Finely sliced.
• Garlic · 3 clovesMinced.
• LemonZested and juiced.
• ButterA good piece, room temperature.
• Piment d’Espelette · double pinchIt earned it.
• Parsley or fennel frondsTo finish.

The grenailles — crispier this time

• 01Boil the potatoes in well salted cold water until just tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and let them steam dry in the colander for a full minute. Wet potatoes won’t crisp.
• 02Onto a sheet pan, not a roasting pan. More surface area, more air, more crisp. Press each one flat and hard with the back of a heavy glass. You want them nearly falling apart at the edges. Those ragged edges are where the crisp comes from.
• 03Generous olive oil over every cut surface. 220°C, 25 minutes. Do not open the oven. Do not touch them.

The fennel

• —Onto the same sheet pan alongside the potatoes. Olive oil, salt. In at the same time, out at the same time.

The butter sauce

• —Small saucepan on the lowest heat. Butter, lemon zest, lemon juice, double pinch of piment d’Espelette. Let it melt together gently until combined and fragrant. Off the heat. It just needs to stay warm, not cook further.

The salmon

• 01Heavy pan on high heat until properly hot. Thin film of oil. Salmon skin side down. Press gently for thirty seconds so the skin makes full contact. Do not move it. Four minutes.
• 02Flip once, ninety seconds on the flesh side. Out onto a warm plate. Spoon the butter sauce over immediately while it rests.

The spinach

• —Same pan, heat to medium. Shallot and garlic in, two minutes until soft. The salmon fond left in the pan goes into the spinach. That’s the bonus. Spinach in, toss until just wilted, two to three minutes. Squeeze of lemon, salt, done.

The plate

• —Spinach down first. Salmon on top, skin up so it stays crisp. Fennel wedge alongside. Potatoes at the back, crackling and dark at the edges. Butter sauce over the fish. Fennel fronds or parsley over everything.