On the port
Today, I’m grateful to my dogs for a house history lesson and I share a recipe for leeks vinaigrette.
One of the best things about living in France – to me, and perhaps to you too – is how dog friendly it is. You can take your dogs with you almost everywhere. In cafés and restaurants, bowls of water for the dogs often appear before their human’s apéritifs.
Jean Voisin built the largest house on the port, the only one in the village in the grand Haussmann style. You might say he had notions.
Dogs are great ice breakers too. I’ve met so many people walking my dogs. It was during one dog walk that I met a man whose family had worked in the wine trade in the village for generations. He told me that our house was built by the son of Jean Voisin who, in the Nineteenth Century, was one of the village’s most prosperous wine merchants. In the 1870s, Jean Voisin built the largest house on the port, the only one in the village in the grand Haussmann style. You might say he had notions.
Jean Voisin’s fancy house is now the restaurant, Le Château du Port, but in those days he had his offices on the ground floor and his family lived in the upper three floors. Our house is at the other end of the port. In the Nineteenth Century, many of the buildings that are now restaurants, cafés and shops would have been the Voisins’ warehouses, from which they would load their wines onto barges and transport them up the Canal du Midi to Toulouse and on to Bordeaux. When I open the shutters in the morning, I sometimes think of Joseph Voisin standing on the balcony and looking down the port to his father’s house, past all their warehouses, feeling a little pleased with himself. And honestly, I can relate.
Leeks vinaigrette
I love leeks served in this classic French way, and when I saw a bundle of sprightly leeks in the market, I couldn’t resist them. You can make leeks vinaigrette with larger leeks, but I think this dish is so much more beautiful and delicious if you use very young leeks, the size of fat pencils. They are sometimes called the ‘aspèrge du pauvre’, poor people’s asparagus, and you can certainly serve asparagus in exactly this way when the time comes.
You can make leeks vinaigrette a couple of hours ahead, as part of a selection of starters. Don’t chill it, just keep it at cool room temperature if you can until you’re ready to serve. The capers are neither essential nor traditional, I just like them, but do leave them out if you prefer.
Serves 4 as a starter
2 eggs
600g baby leeks, about the thickness of asparagus
1 tbsp capers, drained, or rinsed of salt if packed in salt
Some chopped chervil, parsley or tarragon
For the dressing
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard or wholegrain mustard
4 tbsp olive oil, or a mixture of olive oil and sunflower oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Prepare a bowl of iced water. Put the eggs into a small pan of lukewarm water, bring it to the boil and simmer for 6 minutes. Drain the eggs in a colander or sieve and run them under cold water, then put them into the bowl of iced water. When cold, peel the eggs.
To prepare the leeks, trim off the dark green part at the top and trim away the roots, being careful not to cut too far into the leeks – you don’t want them to fall apart. Slit the leeks lengthways through the green part and into a little of the white; this will let you clean them properly. Rinse the leeks well, fanning out the leaves and making sure you remove any dirt and grit. Gritty leeks are decidedly undelicious. Put the leeks in a bundle and tie together with kitchen string.
Bring a pan of water to the boil and add some salt. Place the leeks into the pan and simmer for about 6-8 minutes until tender when pierced with a small, sharp knife. You need them to be properly cooked through – if they’re at all tough, they are not easy to eat.
Drain the leeks, run them under the cold tap to stop them cooking further, then drain well. Cut the string from them and put them onto a plate lined with a clean tea towel or several layers of kitchen paper. Leave them to cool slightly, then blot the tops of the leeks dry too.
Next, make the dressing. There are two ways to do this. You can either incorporate the egg yolk into the vinaigrette and finely chop the white to scatter over the top, or simply finely chop both egg yolk and white and use it to garnish the dish.
If you want to incorporate the yolk into the dressing, halve the eggs and scoop out the yolks. Mash the yolks in a small bowl with a pinch of salt until smooth, then whisk in the vinegar and mustard with a fork. Slowly whisk in the oil a little at a time until you have a creamy vinaigrette. Alternatively, simply whisk together the vinegar and mustard with a pinch of salt then slowly whisk in the oil. Next, either finely chop the remaining whites, or finely chop the yolks and whites separately if you haven’t used the yolks in the dressing.
Arrange the leeks on a large plate or divide them between individual plates. Pour the vinaigrette over the top and scatter on the chopped egg. Garnish with the herbs and capers, grind on some black pepper and serve.
Market haul, 30 January 2024
This week’s market haul comprises: a butternut squash, a bundle of knives we had sharpened at a van in the market (€10 for 3), 13 eggs, as is traditional, a bundle of baby leeks, a wholegrain baguette, onions, a cauliflower, Pardailhan black turnips, Chinese cabbage, ham, Cantal cheese, bundles of chervil and thyme, pak choi, celeriac, avocados. Â
I live in Paris and found a whole new world opened up to me when I got my dog, Babbet. I also find it impressive that dogs are allowed into most bars and restaurants (and even the Galeries Lafayette!) and yet they're not allowed into most parks. It's a bit like the French attitude to children -- they're expected to fit in with (human) adults. Thank you for your lovely letters.
Just love, love your market hauls…and interested by your chinese lettuce which occasionally turns up in my veg box….any suggestions??