Cooking in Paris with Charlotte

On Thursday I joined Charlotte Puckette at the market again.

Marche Saxe-Breteuil in the 7th arrondissement is right under the Eiffel Tower. An upper crust residential area and as Marjorie Williams says in her essential guide, Markets of Paris, 'it draws an elegant crowd, even the dogs are well coiffed'.

Charlotte had planned a chicken tagine for the menu so Moroccan condiments was first stop.

Purple olives are required. Who knew?

And preserved lemon - a first time taste for me.

Tomate a branche for the tomato water, whatever that is.

We get a poulet lecon from Charlotte. We must henceforth only buy fermier chickens (on the left, bigger and always a specific breed and free-runners). The smaller chicken on the right is a 'hybrid', tres commercial, and not nearly as flavorful. Tres ordinaire and best avoided like the plague.
 

Not just excellent chicken and veg here but very high-end double cashmere sweaters are on sale at marche Saxe-Breteuil going for a mere 499 euros! Ouch

With a little arm-twisting, OK almost none at all, Charlotte convinced me to join the class back in her kitchen. Note the Eiffel Tower off to the left. *Note also her fabulous polka-dotted yellow bag from Kiehl's.

The mise en place for our first course, 'Seared Sardines with tomato water, lime and mint.

This tomato water had me cleaning my plate. This would make a salad dressing I bet and so easy to throw together.
Charlotte's recipe is HERE!!

I was a little nervous about fresh grilled sardines (Ew...) but they were so darn delicious.

On to our chicken tagine ingredients. Wonderful colors non?

We get to taste the preserved lemon before Charlotte tells us to get chopping and 'Shake it off".

At the stove Charlotte looks like Don Quixote with her pot lid and wooden spoon ready to do battle.
 

Purple olives work their charm.

A table!

Did I mention our chicken is a very special breed, a Tauzin chick with a red neck. She lounged around a pool for a good 6-12 weeks in Saint Tropez eating only the best French cuisine and generally leading the life of Riley until... Very flavorful indeed.

Naturalement we had a cheese course after our main. A perfect quartet of hard chevre, a gentle Roquefort, Epoissees in the wooden box that was too die for.

I didn't show you the dessert making.

A chocolate chestnut (cream) cake without a drop of flour (!) because one of us was gluten-free. Only 4 ingredients too.
Cake recipe is HERE!!
The final to-die-for course of a wonderful meal. I floated home on a cloud... Big Merci Charlotte!!