I love Tunis. It has a certain kind of magic. Time appears to stand still despite rapidly changing political and urban landscapes.  However it is a city that lives according to seasons; in summer the bougainvilleas break out into vibrant displays of colour; in winter the mood is diffused like the cool light and you can grab bowls of warming lablabi - a chickpea of cumin and chilli soup;  spring is the time to sit out and enjoy green tea with pine nuts and feel the whiffs of orange blossom in the air.

The Marché Central in Tunis, yesterday, was busy with people selling and buying orange flowers, rose petals and other scented flowers from the geranium family called a'atr in Arabic.   The market was awash with blossoms and their dizzying aroma floated in the air. Perhaps because of this, the atmosphere was light and jolly and everyone ready to chat.

A man sold the necessary equipment; a small distiller cost 25DT which is roughly 10 pounds sterling.

For centuries aromas have been essential to Middle eastern food;  the Caliphs' cooks in the  kitchens of 9th century Baghdad, often finished off savoury dishes  with a dash of rose water, an appealing mark of sophistication to titillate the senses.

Today, it is difficult to imagine some food without orange blossom essence; it adds a velvety aroma to cakes and confectioneries, carries away the stark bitterness of coffee and raises the banal milk pudding to ethereal heights.  In savoury dishes, it highlights the taste of spices and neutralises the pungency of meats.  But it should be used sparingly to add fragrance and subtle flavour. 

Nammoura

Semolina and syrup cake

This syrupy sweet cake is part and parcel of Baklawa assortments. Delicious with Turkish coffee its sweetness is off set with the bitter taste of coffee.

400 g medium semolina

150 g caster sugar

125 g ground almonds

75 g shredded coconut

1 large tablespoon plain yogurt

125g butter, melted

200 ml milk

1 tablespoon orange blossom water

1 tablespoon rosewater

For the syrup:

335 g caster sugar

200 ml water

Juice of one lemon

A dash each of rosewater and orange blossom water

Makes approximately 24 squares

1. Melt the butter on low heat.
2. Pre-heat the oven to 160°C. 
3. Mix the liquefied butter with the cold milk. Put all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add milk, butter, orange flower water and rosewater. Mix well. Leave to rest for at least one hour, stirring the mixture from time to time. During this time the ingredients will combine well and the paste will thicken.
4. While the paste is resting, make the syrup. 
5. Mix sugar and water and stir well to melt the sugar. Bring to a boil. Once it begins to bubble, add the juice of one lemon. 
6. Keep boiling for approximately 10 minutes or until the sugar thickens. 
7. Finally add a dash each of rosewater and orange blossom water. Leave to cool.
8. Butter a rectangular baking dish and brush it with tahini.  
9. Add one tablespoon of plain yogurt to the semolina paste. Mix to combine. 
10. Pour the mixture into the buttered dish, and smooth the surface with the back of spoon. 
11. With a sharp knife draw lines on the paste to form small lozenges or squares. 
12. Place one whole almond in the centre of each of these squares.
13. Bake the semolina cake for 1 hour and 10 minutes in the pre-heated oven.  The cake is ready when both the surface and the bottom of the cake are brown.  
14. Take the cake out of the oven and leave it to rest for 5 minutes. Pour over the cooled syrup. 
15. Leave to cool completely before cutting. Do not attempt at cutting it while it is still warm as it will crumble. Even better to wait overnight before cutting.  

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Busy with the Salon du livre in Paris I hardly enjoyed French food and ate rapidly in unmemorable cafés near the Porte de Versailles. 

On the last day however, I was free to stroll and enjoy the city. It was gloriously sunny and bitterly cold. Enthusiastically, I made my way to the Quai des Grands Augustins to lunch at Les Bouquinistes, run by chef Stéphane Perraud.

It was almost two in the afternoon and the kitchen was soon closing. A young waitress politely ushered me to a table-for-one in the corner only to be told by her manager to move me to a larger table with a view of the booksellers on the banks of the Seine. The stylish high ceiling rooms were filled with light and exuded an atmosphere of hushed elegance. Green orchid arrangements decorated the tables. I noted that they matched my lime-coloured jacket and was pleased that I had made the effort to dress, as everyone looked smartly turned out.

Located along the same row of renowned Fogon and Le Relais St Louis, Les Bouquinistes offers simple and refined French cuisine. Michelin star chef Guy Savoy owns the restaurant and composes the menu. In the evening you can enjoy à la carte as well as a menu de dégustation with 5 courses for €82 but at lunchtime, the menu du marché, offers 3 courses with a glass of wine for €32.

I tasted black olives and had a bite of the crusty mini baguettes  (this is where I stopped worrying about carbohydrates). A sip of white wine and there it was: king prawns on diced beetroot with a bright pink emulsion dotted with great precision around the plate.  I liked the unusual combination of beetroot and prawn but what kicked the whole thing in place was the touch of mustard in the emulsion. 

Patricia Wells in a New YorkTimes article, once mentioned that Savoy was known for ‘a style of cooking that was light and aesthetically appealing’ and for dishes ‘with an avalanche of vegetables’. This was certainly true for the main course: pan-fried tuna with mange-tout and porcini mushrooms. From a small pan, I could spoon more of the light sauce au citron - the perfect complement.  I contemplated the slate coloured plate where the green vegetables and the off-white porcini merged into a perfect tableau and sighed: I was home!

In each mouthful of the dessert aptly named Saveurs à la mangue, I dipped into layers of fruit macedoine, creamy mango mousse topped with soft meringue, a fresh combination of textures, aromas and flavours.

As I sipped my coffee and looked out I thought contently that French gastronomy was alive and well. 

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The Lebanese love their falafel the small fritter made with ground beans, chickpeas, coriander, garlic and spices; it is both convenience food and a treat.  Eateries are everywhere, some provide their clients with tables and chairs but most are tiny establishments and guests spill out onto the pavement. Falafel infatuation is widespread and triggers a gourmet cult. Fans are on a constant look out for the best fritter, each shop offering a unique recipe.

Like hummos, falafel is also at the heart of a cultural identity dispute, but it appears to have originated in Egypt where Christian Copts claim it as their own. Ta’miyah as it is known there, is made with broad beans (fava beans) only; it is at the same time delicate, fluffy and spicy. With its mix of broad beans, chickpeas and burghol, the Lebanese falafel on the other hand is thicker and more compact but nevertheless very tasty.

Nutritionally, a falafel sandwich is packed with goodness; the legumes are left to sprout before cooking which releases minerals; the sesame paste (tahini) and lemon juice dressing is brimming with fatty acids and vitamin C; the fresh parsley and tomatoes provide a proportion of your five-a-day. 

The downside: falafels are deep-fried. For this reason some shops now offer an oven baked version, not as succulent but better for the arteries.

I went on my own private quest for the best falafel and found one just around the corner from where we live. It is an uninspiring place with two tables and a counter with stools where people perch themselves to eat and look out of the window onto a parking lot. There is a tilted picture on the wall of a faded and distant mountain landscape. Next to it a small TV plays re-runs of football matches that keeps the assistant chef occupied while frying his latest batch of falafel.

When I asked them about their recipe and the possibility of taking a few photographs, they were only too happy to oblige.  The chef pointed out that falafels start with good ingredients. He always picks new season legumes. If the chickpeas are 'too old' he said, they would not sprout as easily and were therefore not time efficient. The 'water in which they soak is important' he added, and he made sure that the chickpeas were rinsed several times. He even implied that he used bottled mineral water but I think that filtered water will do.  Finally he admitted that his secret ingredient was a touch of ground ginger.

I took photographs and looked at the clients; most were men who sat quietly eating and watched me watching them. I did not linger for I could not wait to get home to try out my own version of falafel. 

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When the the Mayans presented Prince Philip of Spain with jars of beaten cocoa, they offered what they valued. This was the drink of kings. 

In La Celeste Praline the chocolate shop of Chocolat, the novel, Vianne (who was blown by the North winds to the village of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes) gradually begins to change the lives of people around her, with her chocolate magic.  Because eating chocolate is like falling in love. 

Cocoa contains magnesium as well as phenyl ethylamine - also known as the ‘love molecule’ and the ‘love drug’. The latter stimulates happiness and contentment in the brain. It is also the body’s natural bid to top up on magnesium.

With Easter round the corner I though I would bake one or two classic recipes. This flour less chocolate cake, is soft and moist and easy to make.

Chocolate Cake

5 eggs

200 g unsalted butter

200 g 70% dark chocolate

200 g sugar

50 g ground almonds

A dash of Cognac

A few drops of vanilla essence

Serves 6 to 8

1. Butter a 18 cm or 7 inch spring form cake tin and dust with cocoa powder.
2. Pre-heat the oven to 170°C.
3. Using the paddle attachment, mix the eggs until they begin to froth.
4. Add the sugar and keep mixing until the blend is creamy turns to a whitish colour.
5. In a bain-marie melt the butter and chocolate for about 20 minutes or in the microwave for to 2 minutes.  Stir when melted.
6. Add vanilla and cognac to the egg mixture.
7. Fold in the melted chocolate and butter.
8. Finally add the ground almonds.
9. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. * 
10. Let it cool before lift out of the tin to decorate.

*Cooking time will vary from oven to oven.  The centre of the cake should remain fairly soft to the touch.

Chocolate Ganache

50 ml double cream

100 g butter

200 g dark chocolate

1. Gently warm the cream and butter in a saucepan over very low heat.
2. Add the chocolate pieces and leave to slowly melt.
3. Remove from the heat.
4. Mix with a spoon.
5. Allow 10 to 15 minutes cooling time before spreading over the cake.

   

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