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Cooking in confinement: Chicken, preserved lemon and olive tagine

The next best thing to being in Morocco is recreating its fragrantly spiced dishes in your own kitchen.
Gratin de Ravioles
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Fast food à la française:
gratin de ravioles

At the supermarket, I spend most of my time avoiding "convenience" foods. But, if I snub the frozen pizzas and star chefs' fancy prepared meals, there is one pre-made food I have come to love: the little ravioli variously known as ravioles de Royans or ravioles du Dauphiné. 

Etsuko Tofu
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Tofu with Etsuko

I have to admit to having had no strong feelings about tofu, one way or the other, until I learned to make it myself.

Cockerel with chestnut, honey & peaches
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Cockerel with chestnut honey and peaches

It has always come naturally to me to throw fruit into a salad - raspberries with asparagus, figs with feta cheese, blood oranges with beets - yet in France this makes me something of an eccentric.

Petits Farcis, Nice
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Les petits farcis

What I love about these little stuffed vegetables, known affectionately as "les farcis" ("the stuffed") in Nice, is how they reflect the personality of each cook.

Raviolis sauce vierge
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Ravioli with avocado sauce vierge

When I first came across this dish at the Château de la Chèvre d'Or, I thought it was sheer madness. Then I tasted it and decided otherwise.

Feves
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Fava bean gnocchi

I've had some disasters in the past with non-potato gnocchi. Still, the knowledge that gnocchi and fèves are Sam's two favorite foods in the world - after chocolate, of course - gave me the incentive to try my luck.