LEMON VARIATIONS

Happy friday my straw hats... 

We still are with Ludovic today, and with Scott ! Remember, I was talking about him and his magic bar in my last good people portrait. For the record, when Ludovic and I first met, after we got to know each other a little bit, we exchanged our wonderful addresses and other good deals as if we were playing the cards and he asks me if «in the secret addresses’ family» I know a cool place to drink cocktails... I understood the amateur of good and beautiful things he was and I has in my game the ultimate joker «the dirty dick»... So I give him the address on trust... What a good idea ! I realize that between our two meetings, Ludovic goes there often and quickly becomes Scott’s buddy, it makes me smile and you know, life makes things right sometimes... 

One night I meet Ludovic at the Dirty Dick, we plan our special week together, beneath Scott’s interested eyes and very naturally Scott offers to make the cocktail that goes with Ludovic’s dish. It’s risky, a cocktail as a side dish but why not, I trust them. I only require one thing: that lemon be in the two recipes.  

Two weeks later the three of us meet at Ludovic’s, I come with all my photographer’s equipment and you can’t imagine the «gustatory slap» we had, it was very surprising. It was awesome, both of their brain in action and mine that was playing the collection’s organizer and was putting in two cents here and a grain of sesame there... Plates are laid down, cocktails shaken with the soft and jazzy Mélody GarDot’s rhythms. We sit down at the table, we taste, we drink, we say nothing, we smile, we’re happy. And a «Oooh damn it’s fuckiiiiing good» is finally said by Scott. This day, a kind of culinary alchemy is with us. I’m giving you the secrets of these recipes that will rock your tastebuds. It’s fine, delicate and subtle... Well, enjoy ! 

Cod with lemon and sake jelly or Make my lemon jelly and add some beautiful cod on it !!!

For 4 people you will need:

• 100 g of cod loin, 
• 2 tablespoons of Sake,
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice,
• 1 sheet of gelatin,
• 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, 
• 1 organic lime, 
• 1 tablespoon of black sesame seed, 
• Salt, ground pepper. 

In a pan, heat up the sake and the lemon juice with 5 tablespoons of water, but be careful not to boil it, add the gelatin after you soaked it into cold water. Mix everything together and pour it into a small soup plate, sprinkle with a few black sesame seeds and chill for two hours. 

Once your jelly is set, cut fine slices of cod and gently put them on the jelly. With a brush put some olive oil on the fish, then add salt and pepper. And for the final touch put lime zests on the fish. Enjoy !

And for the «Spicy Coriander» cocktail you will need:

• 2 cl of green lemon,
• 2 cl of honey sirup (½ hot water and ½ honey),
• 2 cl of Pierre Ferrand Dry curaçao (you can also use cointreau or grand marnier)
• 5 cl of good tequila (100% agave) brewed with red pepper (to brew, put a red pepper into a glass for 5 to 10 minutes, the more it brews the stronger...)
• 6 to 7 chilled coriander leaves (to intensify their taste).

It’s very simple, put everything into a shaker with ice cubes and shake for 10 seconds. Filter the ice and the coriander and pour into a nice glass.

Small tips to decorate your glass: mix a pinch of flower of salt, a pinch of black sesame and a pinch of dried coriander, take a quarter of lime and press it around your glass. Put the mix on a flipped cup and put your glass into the mix and turn it. The lemon will work as glue. Pour and enjoy ! The bamboo straw are available at Merci, 111 boulevard Beaumarchais, 75003 Paris.