The Paris Neighborhood Cookbook

A LIVELY INTRODUCTION TO THE CULINARY DIVERSITY OF THE CITY OF LIGHTS. NEW IN PAPERBACK. Chef Danyel Couet's life-long love affair with simple French food began in his paternal grandmother's Parisian kitchen. But of course the gastro polis of Paris offers much more than just the dishes cooked in Grandma's kitchen. After innumerable outings in Paris's many ethnic quarters, he has developed a love for couscous, strudel, and Peking duck that is just as strong as that for boeuf bourguignon and mousse au chocolat. Through eight neighborhoods and just as many kitchens, via markets, shops and restaurants--and approximately 90 recipes--Couet takes you with him to his Paris. Lusciously photographed by David Loftus, The Paris Neighborhood Cookbook reveals the gastronomic secrets of the City of Light, a place where food and cultural diversity is at the center of Parisian life.

Winner of IndieFab awards (Cooking) 2008 Commended for Independent Publisher Book Awards (Cookbook) 2009

“"Veteran restaurateur Couet and food photographer David Loftus team for a tour-in-recipes of the City of Light, its neighborhoods, and all the culinary nooks and crannies they hide. Couet acknowledges the quaint bistros and brasseries indelibly linked to the city, providing classics like Pommes Frites, Quiche Lorraine and an easy but luscious appetizer of baked goat cheese and honey. Couet argues that genuine Paris comes through in the city's many ethnic neighborhoods. The spicy lamb sausage called Merguez takes home cooks to the city's Arab Quarter; a simple but exotic salad of pineapple, coconut and pomegranate spiked with lime juice and a habanero chile transports readers to Paris' African neighborhood; and the Asian Quarter can be sampled in a crisp Green Tea and Cilantro Martini. Loftus expertly supplements Couet's rustic dishes with color and black and white photos. For many, the culinary cornerstone of the book will be Couet's take on Parisian markets and street food, in which he offers tips on creating a menu for an impromptu picnic: a trio of marinated olives, pickled sardines, wine-cooked artichokes and stuffed camembert among them. Readers who have never set foot in the French capitol will feel like they've just returned home after taking in this multifaceted cookbook."”

Most of us will never have the opportunity to explore the City of Lights as widely or know it as intimately as does award-winning restaurateur Danyel Couet, but losing yourself in this enchanting book is the next best thing. Here, Couet reveals the gastronomic secrets of Paris's ethnic neighborhoods through a tantalizing collection of recipes and photographs. The recipes are invitingly brief, and many of them- for example, the fragrant Punjabi Lentil Curry and the paprika and cumin-tinged Quick Couscous- are wonderfully simple. But the truth is, this is one of those books you needn't even cook from to thoroughly enjoy.
Paris, like all great metropolises, is a city of neighborhoods where newly arrived immigrants congregate together to preserve native traditions and establish systems of support with alien cultures. Within many of Paris' fabled arrondissements, enclaves of distinctly non-French cooking hold sway. Couet has collected typical ethnic recipes from these local markets, cafes, and resaurants. From the Marais, centuries-old host to a sizable Jewish community, come carrot kugel and potato blini. The Fifth Arrondissement's Greeks prepare fried squid. The Avenue d'Ivry is noted for its Vietnamese spring rolls. The Arab community near the Barbes Metro stop offers duck tagine. East Africans roast chicken rubbed with exotic spices, but the cooking methodology is still verifiably French. Couet also includes examples of provincial French cooking from some of the city's bistros and brasseries. The book brims with photographs of food and of Paris' streets and parks.

Danyel Couet is currently head chef at Michelin-starred restaurant Fredsgatan 12 in Stockholm, Sweden. He has worked in Paris and has won numerous international prizes, as well as a silver medal in the "food Olympics," the Bocuse d'Or. David Loftus is one of the world's most well regarded food and travel photographers. He regularly works with Jamie Oliver and has worked with Martha Stewart, Conde Nast Traveler, Food Illustrated, Australian Vogue and numerous others.

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