Arriving in Paris

We arrive in Paris just before Easter and the first thing we notice (after the beautiful spring flowers everywhere) is the Easter chocolate displayed in the shops and department stores.

We're on a journey with a brief stop in Paris, on to Nice and Monaco, then to Sanremo and Cinque Terre in Italy, ultimately returning to Paris to catch our flight home (and have one last day in this fabulous city).  But, first, we wander through Paris.

We start with chocolate admiring.

Chocolate everywhere

The department stores are full of spring fashions and decorations.

Galleries Lafayette

Outside, the weather is delightful and we stroll, taking in our favorite locations.

Jardin des Tuileries

Place de la Concorde

Looking down the Champs Élysées

Glimpses of La Tour Eiffel

Houseboats moored on the Seine

Musée d'Orsay

Le Musée du Louvre

We stop near Place Saint-Michel for lunch at a gyro shop, followed by gelato admiration across the street.

Gyro

Gelato

We stroll back along the Seine toward the Champs Élysées, passing more great sights.

Along the Seine

Revitalized La Samaritaine

Rear of the Louvre

Palais Bourbon (French National Assembly)

Place de la Concorde (from Palais Bourbon across the river)

Grand Palais

Petit Palais across the street

More views of the Eiffel Tower

Back on the Champs Élysées

We've started our visit to Paris with a large circular tour from the Champs Élysées up to the department stores on Boulevard Haussmann (and the Opera), then over to the the Seine (near Notre Dame), and along the Seine back to the Champs Élysées.  We've filled an afternoon with great views, memories, and new experiences and now return to our hotel to plan the rest of our visit (and find dinner).

Pasta Primavera With Asparagus and Peas

This pasta primavera recipe from Melissa Clark at the New York Times combines early spring vegetables with fettuccine (or tagliatelle), cooked al dente for the chewy bite of the pasta to complement the gently cooked vegetables.

Ingredients

We slice snap peas and asparagus into ¼-inch (6 mm) thick pieces, leaving the asparagus tips whole.  We then add English peas and thin sliced shallot (or spring onion) and cook in butter until tender, 3 to 4 minutes.  Stir in garlic and cook one more minute, season with salt and pepper, then set aside.

Asparagus and peas

With garlic

Cook the fettuccine to al dente, drain, and add to and toss with the vegetables.  Add Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, crème fraîche, chopped parsley, and chopped tarragon.

Add cheese, creme fraiche, and herbs

Dinner is served

Dinner is served!

Red Lentil Soup

One of the most popular dishes in the New York Times cooking database, with over 40,000 5-star ratings (the highest), is red lentil soup.  We've seen it mentioned and featured periodically in the paper and finally decide to make it.  The dish is based on a Turkish lentil soup, mercimek corbasi, and is light and spicy, with  bold red color.

Gathering the ingredients

We first sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until golden, then stir in tomato paste, cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper, sautéing for an additional two minutes.

Sautéing

We next add chicken broth, water, red lentils, and diced carrot, bringing the mixture to a simmer and cooking until the lentils are soft, about 30 minutes.

Simmering

We remove half the soup, purée it in a food processor, return it to the pot, reheat the soup, and stir in lemon juice and cilantro.  We served drizzled with olive oil and dusted with chili powder.

Finishing up

Serving

We accompany the soup with a salad of arugula (topped with olive oil, salt, and pepper), mozzarella, tomato jam, and prosciutto, with a little drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

Salad

Dinner is served

What a simple, tasty dish.  Now that we've made in once, we're thinking about tweaking the recipe for the next time (less cumin and cilantro, perhaps some crunch such as bacon, pancetta, or croutons).