Note: I received this book right around Valentine’s Day & just finished it & wanted to review it during February, since that is the month of Valentine’s Day. So I am squeezing it before the end of this month.

This is a delicious book! Not only is author Elizabeth Bard crazy about her French boyfriend-turned-husband, she is also crazy about food.  Her memoir tells us how she moved from New York to France and how food plays a pivotal pointing her life and that of her husband Dwendal. Actually, Lunch in Paris is where Julie & Julia meets Eat, Pray, Love and the blending is delightful.

The chapter headings are also delightful: Coffee, Tea, or Me; April in Paris, Pixie Dust, After the Fairy Tale, the Parsnip; Ladies Who Lunch, etc. The story of Elizabeth’s love story couples a love of her family and husband with a love of food. The subtitle could easily be The Food of Love; The Love of Food. While the recipes are not geared to a vegetarian palate, there are enough recipes for me to sample a few, as I did today. I made pasta with arugula, fresh peas and goat cheese. I just happened to spot fresh English peas in Trader Joe’s as I was reading the book and immediately decided to make this dish and it was very good…good enough for company.

Part of the memoir is the author’s transition from a New York mentality to a French mentality, and there are differences that she writes about, for example:

“I thought about Gwendal and his non-recipes—throwing this and that into the pan. This no longer seemed foreign to me. I’d become so experimental in the kitchen, embracing unknown ingredients and making things up as I went along. Could I learn to do that for other parts of my life?” (p. 287)

At the end of the book, Elizabeth recreates Passover in Paris for her parents and Gwendal’s family. (Recipes are most familiar to me, since I am also Jewish. es) Here the author talks about family tradition and that…”Every recipe, every piece of silver, brought up a story from years past.” (p. 307) She also writes about New Year’s at someone else’s house where dinner took all night and that this what she liked about the French: gathered around the table with family, friends, good food….that’s what mattered, not how much money you earned or your status in society.

The title, Lunch in Paris, is a symbol for all the love she pours into this book, both her love of family and her love of food. But Elizabeth emphasizes that while the French love their food, they don’t overeat. She writes: “A French portion is half of an American portion, and a French meal takes twice as long to eat. You do the math.” (p. 169)

Below is the pasta recipe noted above. (I also hope to make one or two more recipes and post them at a later time, if I can obtain permission to reprint the recipes separate from the review.) To get you own copy, click on the icon below the recipe to go directly to Amazon.com.  Enjoy! (Note: I used gluten-free rice spirals and cut the recipe in half. I also had my own pesto that I made in the fall from my basil on the patio and froze. es)

Pasta with Fresh Peas, Arugula, and Goat Cheese
Pátes aux Petit Pois, Roquette, et Froage de Chèvre

This dish is full of bright contrasts—hot and cold, raw and cooked. Five years ago, if someone told me I would take this much satisfaction in shelling my own peas, I would have laughed out loud.  How times have changed. (Elizabeth Bard)

1 pound bow tie pasta (I use whole wheat)
2 cups fresh peas
3/4 cup good quality Italian pesto sauce, or more to taste
2 large handfuls of arugula
8 ounces soft goat cheese, crumbles
Freshly ground black pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add trh pasta.

When the oasta has 1 minuteseft on the clock, add the peas. Make sure the heat is extra high, so the peas don;t drastically lower the temperature of the water.

Drain thepast and the peas, then return them to the pot. Add thepesto and stir to combine. Add the arugula and toss lightly.

Divide the pasta among 4 shallow bowls. Crumble the goat cheese on top and add a grind of pepper. Serve immediately.

(P.S. In the picture above, I placed all the pasta and peas in a large serving bowl for the sake of a better photo. es)

To order your own copy of Elizabeth Bard’s Lunch in Paris, published by Little, Brown and Company, click on this icon.

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