La Sirène restaurant in Asnières- Vincent Van Gogh ( 1853-1890 )
Paris-Orsay Museum
La Mère Fournaise, Renoir and the others, between small dishes and boaters...
This little corner of Île de Chatou was only a place for canoeing. But the jousting with the spear opening the appetite, Louise Fournaise was not long in getting started in the kitchen. This is how his restaurant became the stronghold of Renoir and the lovers.
We feasted on matelote of eels, fried gudgeons, goose roasted on a spit or even artichokes from the market gardeners of Louveciennes. All washed down with Argenteuil wine.
Closed for almost 40 years, the villa was recently saved from ruin by the town hall of Chatou and the Catovians. Happiness. Of the original walls, there remains the one covered with period frescoes, probably the work of Renoir and his friends, including Monet.
Entirely renovated, the place faithfully reproduces the painting of the "Lunch of the boaters", where the beautiful Aline poses. Missing from the disorderly table is a compote of pears and grapes, bottles of wine, a keg of liqueur and mazagran glasses in which cold coffee was mixed with seltzer water.
More cultural, the "historic route of the impressionist" leads us to Pontoise, Auvers, L'Isle-Adam, Argenteuil... At Van Gogh's house in Auvers-sur-Oise, we will choose between the Auberge Ravoux, which has remained faithful to its tradition of artists' café, which offers pumpkin soup, blanquette, brandade, pears in wine... and, in the cobbled courtyard, the guinguette built after the painting The restaurant of the siren in Asnières.
In Giverny, at Les Nymphes restaurant, Vincent Amemine offers typical Norman cuisine, sometimes inspired by "Monet's Cookbooks".
Preparation:
Don't gut fish. Dry them well. Pass them in the milk, drain them. roll them in salted and pepper flour. Hull the herbs. Wash them and dry them.
Cooking:
Heat the frypot. Immerse the herbs in it for a few seconds, starting with the spinach leaves. finish with parsley. Drain on paper towel. Plunge a small handful of fish into the oil bath. As soon as they are golden, remove them with a slotted spoon. Place them on a plate covered with absorbent paper. Keep warm.
Repeat the operation as many times as necessary. Sprinkle with fine salt as you go. Serve hot with lemon wedges and fried vegetables on the side.
Accompany with green sauce.
Green Sauce:
Mash 2 hard-boiled egg yolks with 1 teaspoon of mustard. drizzle 15 cl of olive oil like a mayonnaise. Add the juice of 2 lemons, salt and pepper, 3 tbsp chervil, tarragon, chopped chives and parsley, 1 tbsp capers, 1 tsp cream of anchovy and half a white chopped hard-boiled egg.
For small fish prefer:roach, minnow, gudgeon or bleak.
