Cooking in Paris: Warm Pepper Salad

You eat well in Paris on 200 euros day. Very well. Breakfast will be your cheapest meal, followed by a good lunch and dinner. You can probably work in a snack, too.

But I didn't have that kind of money to spend. We were trying to keep our trip under $5000. By planning ahead and buying food items that complemented one another, my husband and I ate well on less than 20 euros a day. It helped that we rented an apartment with a small - aren't they all?  - kitchen.

I improvised as well, as I do at home, pairing ingredients in new ways. One day after a morning of traipsing around the 13th arrondissement and taking buses across the south side of the city, I had peppers, onions and sausage on hand plus half a baguette.

I cut the sausage into bite size pieces. I sautéed it and the peppers and onions in minced garlic and olive oil, and topped them with a sauce of aoili and mayonnaise blended flavored with Provencal sauce from a jar. I buttered the bread and browned it in the skillet. The meal was served with a very reasonable rosé table wine from Provence.

The meal and a short power nap fortified us for another round of discoveries in the afternoon.

Improvised meals remain my favorites.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Looks delicious. And the photo is nice.
Katie Zeller said…
Peppers, onions and sausages... I don't know what it is about that combination but I think I could live on it... with some sliced tomatoes on the side ;-)
Improvised meals are the best part of learning a new (or a new part of a) city, with a new kitchen and new markets!
At home, it helps keep us sane...
Unknown said…
Maryann, I took 465 photos in Paris and a good 75 or so are food-related.

It's a year-round combination, isn't it, Katie? I always buy tomatoes in France - they taste so good!
Kalyn Denny said…
This sounds very tasty, but what is Provence sauce? If you've talked about that before I must have missed it.
Unknown said…
Kalyn, it came in a jar - I think it was made from tomatoes, red peppers, herbes and garlic. It was new to me! We found it at Ed L'Epicerie. I should have been more specific on my post.
Judy said…
I love sausage and peppers and could eat them every day but I'd probably get bored with them if I did. The Provence sauce sounds yummy too!! I usually throw in a fresh tomato at the end of frying up everything else. Tomatoes are now in season so I'm eating them everyday!! Love em.
Improvised meals, the mother of invention! They are the best. It's a lot harder to stay on a reasonable budge with the euro so strong today. A small kitchen in Paris is about all you want or need I think.
Unknown said…
Judy, my theory is that a tomato makes any meal healthier.

Tanna, I have looked at fancy-schmancy Paris digs but I think ours was just right for our needs. The kitchen was adorable.
We've traveled often to Venice, and whenever we go we rent apartments with small kitchens, so we can go to the Rialto market and the cheese shops and bakeries, buy wonderful little bits of this and that, and improvise something for dinner. It's one of the great joys of travel!
Unknown said…
I have thoughy of Venice, too, Lydia, but there is so much of France to explore of so many of my roots there. And such limited time! I wish my husband was more excited about his roots in Cornwall and Wales - that would be fune!
Unknown said…
Ah, that should be "fun" not "fune.
Jennifer said…
just reading this Wednesday morning, but that is what we had for dinner last night! How funny!
Umm, yummy. Thanks for the idea!

And I see I have lots of posts to catch up on. It's great to see you back in full swing! I hope this means the new job is going well.
Unknown said…
It is going well, Laura, thanks for asking. Our summer events have ended, and that gives me more time for blog-related stuff.

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