Paris Cooking Class: Christian Constant

Today we spent a most enjoyable morning in Christian Constant's kitchen in Le Violon D'Ingres. Things start with welcoming croissants and beverages at 9:30, then everyone is aproned up and led into the kitchen for a demonstration/participation. Today we peeled asparagus and shelled petits pois and feves. He made a soup of the petits pois shells which are sautéed in olive oil, then boiled down in salted water, sieved, and enriched with a little cream and served with freshly fried tiny croutons made from pain de mie from Poujauran. Then we were given an up close and personal introduction to an agneau du lait, he demonstrated removing the loin from the saddle, dosing it with rosemary, thyme, parsley, etc., before wrapping it in crepinette, then foil and placing it in the oven. While the lamb roasted, he prepared the garniture from baby veggies...peas, carrots, onions, asparagus. The feves were served as a simple salad dressed with shallots, chopped Serrano ham and a vinaigrette. We moved into the patisserie and prepared strawberries with marscopone cheese, enhanced with vanilla, and a reduction of honey, ginger and lime. After we dispatched with great enjoyment the morning's efforts, we then de-aproned and walked just down the street for lunch at his tiny seafood restaurant, Les Fables de la Fontaine...oysters, smoked haddock, shellfish soup, Merlan Colbert or roasted cod, then a fine light chocolate terrine. M. Constant is a delight, gracious and full of humor and his charming Scottish wife did the necessary translating.