The story of the recipe
“A Journey of a Hundred Steps” tells the story of a young Indian boy born above his grandfather’s humble restaurant in Mumbai, who experiences the world through the smells and tastes of traditional Indian cuisine. But when tragedy strikes his family, they are forced to leave India and embark on a journey around the world until they arrive in Lumiere, a small town in the French Alps. There, they open an Indian restaurant and take the town by storm. This angers the conservative neighbor, a restaurant owner French Known and a complex culinary battle began between the two restaurants. The hero of the book, Hassan Haji, crossed the border between the two courtyards and in a journey of a hundred steps (which gave his name to the book) became addicted to French cuisine. He began working as an apprentice in the restaurant owner's kitchen and after a six-year internship in which she taught him everything she knew about French cooking, Hassan embarked on a long culinary journey: he began as an intern in Michelin-starred restaurants until he opened one himself. If you had the chance to read the book, and even if you didn't, you are invited to watch the film that was made after it and was released last year:
The book mentions many French dishes and there is a detailed description of how to prepare some of them. I have chosen to bring you an easy and simple recipe, seemingly, of fish soup from the south. France , because Hassan returns to this soup in a moment of soul-searching when he realizes where the pursuit of flashy innovations and molecular food has led him and decides to return to the origins of “original” French cooking that represents all the best raw materials in the various regions of France. The recipe that appears here is based on the recipe of the late food enthusiast Eli Landau.
Ingredients:
1.5 kilos of small, fresh, inexpensive fish (a barbonia or two, dNice Tiny, Chipora, Sargus and the like. It is worth getting at least one head of Locust)
0.5 kilo short pasta
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 leeks (white part only), finely chopped
2 large, ripe tomatoes (or three medium ones), peeled and roughly chopped
3 chopped garlic cloves
1 tablespoon thyme
2 tablespoons parsley
1 bay leaf
Orange peel from a quarter of an orange
A pinch of saffron – a few threads or half a teaspoon of powder
Olive oil
Salt
pepper
Preparation:
In a large pot, put half a cup of olive oil. Heat and add the onion and leek. Fry until the onion is translucent and add the tomatoes. Cook for three minutes and add the garlic, parsley and thyme. Cook for two minutes and add the bay leaf and orange peel. Season with salt and pepper and add two liters of water. Increase the heat and add all the fish to the pot. Bring to a boil and continue cooking for fifteen minutes over high heat.
Strain the soup through a large, tight-fitting sieve. Mash all the fish into the sieve. Try to extract all the juices and leave the bones and vegetable scraps in the sieve.
Return the soup to the pot and bring to a boil again. When the soup is boiling, adjust the salt and pepper and add the saffron and pasta. Cook until the pasta is done and serve.
A little about the author:
Shosh Itamar is a former literature teacher andChocolatier and caterer In the present. The connection between her love of food and literature led her to create a lecture accompanied by relevant reading excerpts, from books dealing with professional or amateur chefs. During the lecture, the content of each book is briefly presented, and after reading the section dealing with a particular dish, that dish is served to the table. If you are interested in registering for the next lecture/meal, you are invited to enterHer Facebook pageAnd by the way, a little bird whispered to me that if you say you are “anonymous Francophiles” you can get a discount 🙂