Discover "Ras el Hanout" - Parisian Spice Store Owner's Cooking Spice Blend

My Paris guide to the best ingredients is Pascal Mierve, Owner of L' Epicerie Fine in Paris. He's a multi-generational grocer and spice dealer. It's been in his family for generations, and so is fresh cooking.

Cooking spices and gourmet products is Pascal's passion. He describes his perfect recipe for cooking fish. It's a fresh cooking approach that includes just a few simple ingredients. Onion, salt, pepper, and wine is all Pascal recommends for cooking fish.

I'm finally getting answers to my fresh cooking questions, and it seems that the answer is very simple. While I might have found my answers in a Paris guide book, my journey has been much more fun on my own.

Pascal is explaining to me that cooking spices does not need to be complicated, nor does it need to be in a combination of 100 different flavors. Fresh cooking is more about using excellent ingredients to compliment the natural flavor of the food.

My Paris guide told me that cooking spices can be used in unique and unbelievable ways. Pascal introduces me to a new peppercorn that he's just acquired from Madagascar. I was thinking about how wonderful is would be on a steak or in my scrambled eggs, but Pascal has a different idea.

His next statement had me wondering whether Pascal was pulling my leg. He said that he would use the crushed peppercorns to toss them with fresh strawberries. Peppercorns and strawberries? I won't believe my Paris guide until I taste it. But once I do, I'm sure that Pascal will be right because the correct use of a select few cooking spices is the key to unlocking flavors in fresh cooking techniques.