Vanessa Zhâ & Olivier Poels 7:11 a.m., March 17, 2024
Gastronomy, leisure... Every weekend at 6:50 a.m., Olivier Poels and Vanessa Zha present a product, a producer and all the good tips for re(discovering) a region.
Launch of Spring at Château de Cheverny
It already smells like spring in the studio... Vanessa, we're off to celebrate her arrival in Sologne at the Château de Cheverny!
Which is launching its very first Spring Festival next weekend.
And for a castle that has belonged to the same family for 600 years, we imagine a fairly classic celebration... well, not at all!
It’s going to be pop and colorful!
Sunday the tone will be set: you will vibrate on the steps to the sound of a remixed version of Vivaldi's Four Seasons.
In the middle of this impressive area in which the National School of Florists will be creating floral works of art all this week Ex!
And it's not over yet: do you like Lenaig tulips?
I adore !
Well, between now and Easter, there will be more than half a million of them blooming, tracing an immense multicolored band, which will criss-cross the estate, as if a designer had sketched a large pencil stroke.
And that’s a wink.
Olivier, if I tell you Cheverny, what do you think of??
….
Moulinsart? Captain Hadock's castle?
And yes Hergé was inspired by the castle.
Even if he clipped his wings.
All the more reason to bring your children: there is the immersive exhibition on Tintin in the castle.
And then another nod to the comic strip, a postcard from 1951, where we see Dupont and Dupond, bouquets of tulips in their hands….
After the castle, you can stroll in the gardens…
And even all afternoon, there are 6 of them!!
You can also explore the area by boat or electric car.
Go see this avenue of cedars, which we see in the Tintin albums.
They are impressive: it was Paul de Vibraye, a great naturalist and prehistorian, ancestor of the family, who brought them from Lebanon and planted them in an arc to give this impression of infinity!
The area is incredible, and you can even stay there and sleep!
There are high-end cottages.
https://www.chateau-cheverny.fr/
Cooking with ras el-hanout
From the Middle Ages, this mention appears among spice sellers in the souks of the Maghreb.
Ras el hanout literally means head of the grocery store, or the best mix of spices in the house.
And each grocer has his own blend that he claims is superior to the others.
Ras el hanout is a subtle blend of spices (it's a bit like a Maghreb curry), but there is no official recipe.
In general, it contains around 20 spices, but certain preparations go up to 40. You have to find the right dosage, the right balance.
What are the essential spices?
Cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, nutmeg, cumin, pepper, but also dried and ground vegetables: chili pepper, turmeric, garlic, tomatoes and herbs or flowers such as rosebuds.
And then some recipes mention some ingredients that are a little more... sulfurous like cantharid powder, an insect from the beetle family whose consumption in low doses is an aphrodisiac, but which can also cause death if abused (its sale is prohibited In France)
No need to do it at home, there are very good mixes already ready-made.
In cooking, it is found in tagines, couscous, but also certain pastries
A recipe ?
Carrot hummus with ras el hanout
- 100 gr of cooked chickpeas
- 200 gr of cooked carrots
- 1 clove of garlic
- Olive oil
- 1 lemon juice
- 2 tbsp sesame paste
- 2 tbsp ras el hanout
- Salt pepper
Mix all the ingredients in a blender