the best of Tu Mitonnes this week – Liberation

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At the source: the Urfa “Aleppo” pepper

As an inveterate junkie of the vast world of spices, we have a serious crush on the Urfa “Aleppo” pepper that we discovered at the Sabah grocery store (1) in Paris. Originally from the Aleppo region in Syria, it is now mainly cultivated on the other side of the border, in Turkey, for the geopolitical reasons that we know, linked to the war and the dictatorship of the Al clan. -Assad. We love the fruitiness of its red flakes which work wonders just as well on a simple salad of white beans or chickpeas as in long simmers with vegetables and/or meat. A little confidence: we also appreciate it as it is with a simple piece of bread. For mood, it’s better than Prozac.

(1) 77 rue Crozatier, 75012 Paris. www.epicerie-sabah.fr 3.80 euros per 50g jar.

Napkin ring: Chéri Coco

When we saw a vegan restaurant tumbling down in Pantin, opposite the Hermès offices, we first sighed: the gentrification of the area had found a new outpost. But we ended up pushing Chéri Coco’s door and we would have been wrong not to. We found ourselves a safe, modern and smiling table, with an Afro-Caribbean influence, never disappointing in proposals resolutely placed under the sign of gluttony. The biggest kifs? Breaded carrot/onion/mango maki and their pimped soy sauce (8 euros for six beautiful pieces). Or the burger of the day (every Friday, 16 euros), which often gives pride of place to oyster mushrooms. It reconciles us with the faux-mage and eggless mayo. With that you can drink a fresh juice and listen to Congolese rumba in a raw setting. The sign adjoining Chéri Coco is a traditional butcher’s shop with a refined bidoche. According to the latest news, their neighborhood is happy.

Chéri Coco, 12 allée des Ateliers in Pantin. Monday to Saturday 12 p.m. – 2:30 p.m., Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings 7:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m., Sunday brunch 12 p.m. – 3 p.m. Dish of the day 16 euros.

Tip: make your mustard

A single ingredient is missing in the kitchen and everything is depopulated. So, we won’t be caught again to find ourselves without mustard due to shortage. Make your own mustard with the delicious booklet Mustard, my treasure by Caroline Guezille (1). In particular, it offers THE original mustard recipe as the Egyptians and Sumerians already concocted it. You need 120 g of mustard seeds of your choice, white or black (the black seeds commonly used for Dijon mustard are less strong); 10 cl of vinegar; 10 cl of water; 10 g of fine salt.

Mix all these ingredients together in a mason jar style glass jar. Place it in the fridge for twenty-four hours. The goal: to rehydrate the seeds. Drain the mixture in a very fine sieve (a Chinese) and pour the seeds into a sufficiently solid container so that you can crush them coarsely with a pestle, revealing the beautiful mustard color. The more you pound, the finer the mustard will be.

(1) Mustard, my treasure by Caroline Guezille, ed. The Argol workshops, 2023, 16.50 euros.