The French Market Cookbook by Clotilde Dusoulier

The French Market Cookbook by Clotilde Dusoulier

My review today is for The French Market Cookbook by Clotilde Dusoulier, who is also author of the great blog Chocolate and Zucchini.

This cookbook concentrates on vegetarian recipes; with a French twist and that highlight seasonal produce. My perfect cookbook, and from the beginning there was a lot to like about it, so here are just a few of my highlights:

• Clotilde includes recipes from all over France and she thoughtfully gives a personal introduction to each dish, sharing why she likes it and where it comes from. She also adds in snippets of her Parisian life, which I enjoyed reading about. 
• Split into seasons, Clotilde begins each section with a list of the produce we should be concentrating on at different times of year, before selecting seasonal dishes to make the best of them.
• I could almost taste many of her dishes, just from reading her description of the flavours, and the photos made my mouth water. 
• There was so much choice and flavour; I didn’t miss the meat at all.
• Clotilde includes her measurements in cups and grams, for which I thank her. Coming from the UK, I grew up using Mums scales in lbs and oz and now happily use grams, but cups I’m afraid remain a mystery to me.

 

Savoury Pumpkin and Cornmeal Quick Bread

After a good few hours browsing I had a list of fourteen Must Try recipes and all of them looked simple and very tasty. The only problem I found was which one to try first. In the end it was the Savoury Pumpkin and Cornmeal Quick Bread. It was an easy to follow recipe that worked first time, even though I was new to baking cornbread, and it was delicious. I can also recommend the Cauliflower Gratin with Turmeric and Hazelnuts. Made with the fresh cauliflower I purchased at our village market, it was delicious and comforting.

I know I will get a lot of use from this book as so many of the ingredients are ones we grow, or are lucky enough to be able to buy from small local producers. Every time I pick it up it whets my appetite. The combination of easy to follow recipes and great flavours makes me a happy cook.

This book would be perfect if you are looking for fresh, tasty ideas as you make the move away from eating too much meat and trying to cook with the seasons.

 

Edible French by Clotilde Dusoulier

In addition to my review of The French Market Cookbook, I just had to tell you about Edible French, also by Clotilde Dusolier, that I recently treated myself to on kindle. This beautifully illustrated little book explains some of the edible idioms of the French language.

 

Illustrations by
Mélina Josserand

In France there are lots of expressions that include the use of food and in this short book (published following a series of blog posts Clotilde wrote on Chocolate and Zucchini) she introduces us to fifty of them. In addition, each one is beautifully illustrated, (even in the kindle version) by watercolour artist Mélina Josserand.

Clotilde translates them, explains their meanings and teaches us their origins. Some translate to a similar saying in English; some are very French and for some Clotilde includes recipes too.

I really enjoyed learning some new sayings and having fun with the French language through this book.

You can read Clotilde’s blog Chocolate and Zucchini here and follow her on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram.