I was impressed with her sense of humour and delivery, although disappointed that the folks at funny or die only came up with an overly simplistic energy policy when they could have taken this opportunity to make a truly intelligent point.
See more Paris Hilton videos at Funny or Die
But I'll get off my soapbox and get to more important matters: food.
Featuring a recipe from my garden.
Well, kind of… this zucchini (or courgette for my UK friends) is from my garden
(my first ‑ I’m so proud!) but the recipe was inspired by a few I found on the internet, to which I added my own personal touch. I actually came up with this recipe prior to having my very own courgette/ zucchini plant so I had some time to perfect it before my garden began giving birth to such beautiful babies.What you’ll need:
Round zucchini or hefty long ones (for a main course to feed two people, I usually make 4 of the round or 2 of the long)
Feta (when in stock, I buy the reduced fat version as there is no detectable difference in taste, especially for this recipe)
Already cooked lentils
Pine nuts (optional)
Olive oil
Various curry spices (besides a pre-mixed curry powder, I also throw in some garlic, cumin and ginger, as well as salt and pepper)
Now, I despise following recipes to a T and for a dish like this, don’t think that exact measurements are important. It’s the taste that’s important! So these are just my general guidelines and then you can play with it and make your adjustments as suits your mood or personal preferences. For example, the first time I made this, I wasn’t chez moi so I didn’t have access to much in the way of spice. Instead of going the pseudo-Indian route, I had to go the pseudo-Provençal/ Mediterranean route, using “herbes de Provence” and mixing in some parmesan with the feta to give it a bigger bang. It was also very good, but right now I’m on a curry groove.
Preheat the oven to around 180°C. Cut the tops off the round zucchini or halve the long ones lengthwise. Scoop out the flesh to around a quarter of an inch from the skin (finally a use for that melon baller I bought years ago and never touched!!). Drizzle a little olive oil on the zucchini shells. Salt, pepper. Stick them in the oven for around 20 to 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat some olive oil in a pan and cook the flesh until its tender. I add some curry to this while it’s cooking. I then mix a package of feta (there’s a standard size here in France but I couldn’t tell you how many grams or ounces it is…) with a package of pre-cooked lentils (the vacuum packed ones sold in the veggie section of most French grocery stores) in a separate bowl. I spice this up to taste. If I have the time, I do things properly and let the zucchini flesh cool before incorporating it into the lentil/feta mix. Have I mentioned that you should be toasting the pine nuts about now too? When they’re done, mix them in with the feta/lentils/zucchini flesh. Scoop this unfortunately rather unattractive-looking mixture into the zucchini shells and put it back in the oven for another 15 to 20 minutes with a sprinkle of pine nuts on top. Serve straight to the table. I find that the end result – a very easy, tasty, low-fat and extremely healthy (as well as filling!) meal ‑ goes equally well with white or red or rosé.
Bon appétit !
