Cuisine: Alice Moireau
#HWTraveler & style muse Alice Moireau is here to inspire you to have a beautiful Italian summer dish from the comfort of your home. Dancing in the kitchen is optional but very recommended, preferably to our Under the Mediterranean Sun playlist. Read below to discover her world, follow her homemade gnocchi recipe & pretend you’re basking under the Italian sun.
Tell us about your relationship with food. How did this love affair started?
I didn’t have TV while growing up, so my main occupation during weekends was to bake deserts ! I’ve been dreaming of opening my own restaurant since I’m a kid. I think it even started when I was about 2 years old. I quickly realized that what I preferred in the food world was the « art de vivre » part. I became crazy with collecting forks, knifes, wooden spoons, big jars, ceramic, table cloths with cool patterns, etc. My parents are artists painters and I knew I never wanted to be an artist myself but I still had this thing going on with food and everything else related to it. I found my artistic side in cooking and inviting friends over. Making everything look effortless with nice and messy tables which we gather around. Every little detail is so important for me. I’ve been in love with cooking, buying fresh products at the market and talking to producers forever. It’s my favorite love affair. No ending.
Did you grow up cooking with your family?
My father was the one always cooking as my mom was very lazy. He introduced me to the craziness of the street market atmosphere, we were going there together every Friday afternoon. He’s also the one that showed me how to cook easy and yummy recipes. That’s still our main topic of discussion when we talk on the phone : how to cook this, that or how to peel this vegetable, bake this cake, etc.
How is Italy an inspiration for you in the kitchen?
My dad was so fond of Italy as a kid that he grew a huge passion for this country. His art work is also related to that country a lot, he even lives there now, in Firenze. As I learned how to cook with him I got influenced by his recipes and took a lot from Italy through him. What I like with Italian dishes is the easiness and the freshness that it requires.
What is your ideal setting for this dish?
The best way to eat gnocchis is very hot and during a pic nic in the garden. That’s how I love to eat it ! We gather with friends and we settle a nice piece of fabric in the grass where we lay down and eat directly the gnocchis from the serving dish.
What’s your all time favorite dish?
My favorite dish is definitely a Sicilian recipe. It’s peppers filled with a bread mixture with garlic, capers, anchovies and black olives.
How about dessert?
It’s so difficult to choose. But I love everything that is white so I’ll say sticky rice with coconut milk.
Any Italian memories you’d like to share with us?
When I was about 9 years old I went to Venice for the first time in my life. I was playing near the Grand Canal with my brother and I fell in the water. I was soaking wet, I had to put my t-shirt to dry on the bridge. It was so funny and shameful at the same time! I Will always remember this.
Which music do you like to listen while you cook?
I love to dance while I’m cooking. I usually listen to a funk CD I have since I’m a kid with the best classics from the 70s.
Have you ever traveled somewhere just for the food? If so, where?
I always travel to a country to discover new food and new flavors. I travel a lot with one of my best friend Jamal and we do kind of food trips in which our biggest concern is to find the best spot to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. We went to Lebanon, Turkey and Tunisia, it was crazy discoveries !
A restaurant/chef on your wishlist?
I never tried the restaurant Rigmarole in Paris by Robert Compagnon and Jess Yang. And I think I’m going to ask to go La Grenouillère by Alexandre Gauthier for my birthday !
If you had only three things you could eat for the rest of your life what would they be?
Eggs, Anchovies and gorgonzola ! But never together ahah
Gorgonzola Gnocchi Recipe
Serves 2
You will need: 1 egg, potatoes (500gr), flour, gorgonzola (200g), salt
Peel the potatoes
Cut them into large pieces
Cook them in boiling water
Crush them
Keep cool for 1 hour
Add 1 egg and flour until the mixture is no longer sticky
Form rolls on a floured surface
Cut the rolls into small gnocchi of about 2-3cm
Boil water and dip the gnocchi in
When they rise to the surface it means they are cooked
In a large bowl add a layer of gnocchi and then a layer of gorgonzola cut into large pieces
Repeat until exhausted
Add pepper and mix everything
. Serve hot!