ALMOND CREAM PUDDING

Bubbly from being whipped, and topped with a freshly picked strawberry

Simple and sweet is the best way to start spring.  Something about the first fruits and vegetables of the season is just so perfect, I hardly want to touch them. Serving them with a simple dessert is the next best thing to chomping them down en solo.

These almond milk ramekins are delicate, delicious, and light. I discovered this recipe in a little book called “30 recettes de verrines” by Sylvie Aït-Ali, who adds morello cherries to each ramekin, making for a lovely presentation. Painless and easy to make, and can be paired with so many things, especially fresh fruit and a sandie cookie, it quickly became one of my favorite desserts. These creamy almond bombs can even pass as a luxurious breakfast.

If you don’t find almond milk at the grocery store, you can probably find it at a health food or organic food shop. In France my favorite brand is Perl’Amande. The ingredients are spring water, 6.5% almonds, rice syrup, corn syrup, agave syrup and salt. It is quite thick and creamy. You could always use regular milk and a tsp of almond extract as well.

6 ramekins of pudding cool before going into the fridge

adapted recipe for almond cream pudding from the book “30 recettes de verrines by Sylvie Aït-Ali

• 500 ml almond milk
• 70 g sugar
• 3 tbsp corn starch
• fruit for adding to the ramekins or serving on the side

In a saucepan using a whisk, mix together the sugar and corn starch. Add the almond milk and heat at medium, stirring often, until the mixture becomes thick. This will only take a few minutes. If you want it to have big bubbles like in my photos, whip with a whisk just after the pudding has thickened.

Pour into 6 ramekins and allow to cool slightly before covering and placing in the fridge.

Enjoy!

PIZZA FROM PARIS SUBURBS

My 3rd slice of prosciutto pizza

As an American living in France, I have had many occasions to complain about the pizza here. Thin, poorly garnished, and expensive, minus one exception in Pézenas and two exceptions in the village of Aulnoye-Aymeries, one of which was stolen from my hands as I exited the restaurant. “Bon Appétît!!!” was all I could think of to yell at the hooded hooligan as he disappeared into an alley with my dinner. Needless to say, good pizza is hard to come by.

Though usually Bastien tries to stand up for his nation when I complain about it, he agrees with me on the pizza point, except for a fond memory of lunch in the suburbs of Paris during an internship in 2003… 

He would have lunch a few times a week at a small pizza shop. His order never changed: a cheeseless pizza composed of tomato sauce, prosciutto and cream. The pizza chef would reheat a slice of already cooked pizza with sauce, then top it with a slice of prosciutto and douse the slice in fresh cream. Bastien has evoked this pizza a number of times when thoughts of its fresh aromas would come haunting his memory, and so I tried to recreate it.

To my delight, this is a good pizza idea. I was skeptical about the missing cheese, but the cream makes up for it.

Here is my quick recipe. Homemade tomato sauce is by far better than canned. You can buy canned tomatoes, sprinkle them with sugar, salt, spices, herbs, garlic, cooked onion, cook at a low heat for at least 30 minutes, add a splash of olive oil…mmm!

A quick hint: This pizza is even better the second day. Re-heat the slices minus the prosciutto and cream. When they are warm and crunchy, top with prosciutto and cream.

Recipe for easy peasy pizza from the suburbs of Paris

• pizza dough: I used the recipe for the tarte au maroilles, replacing the butter with olive oil and milk with water
• tomato sauce with spices and herbs
• olive oil
• prosciutto
• heavy cream, crème fraîche, or even sour cream might do it

Tomato sauce: We make our own in the summer by boiling tomatoes and canning or freezing them. To make your own tasty sauce, add some salt, a spoonful of sugar, and any spices that you have… oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, marjoram, tarragon, and even some coriander, turmeric, or other interesting spices. I even add a sprinkle of mint sometimes.

Heat oven to about 400°F.

Roll out dough into a circle, cover with sauce and sprinkle with olive oil. Bake in the bottom third of the oven for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until the dough looks done.

Slice into triangles, cover each with a thin slice of prosciutto, and add a dash of heavy cream or crème fraîche.

Bon appétît!