In November of 2017, I wrote about Maison Aleph, a newly opened pastry shop which combines mid-east and French pastries in a new form. Maison Aleph has been quite successful since then and had a pop-up shop last summer in the esteemed Le Grande Epicerie at Le Bon Marché.
I passed by Maison Aleph a few weeks ago and noticed they introduced a number of new products since I was last there. One thing that stood out was a bento box with home-cooked, middle eastern cuisine, a welcome addition to the otherwise all sweets menu. I bought one to go, curious to see how the savory treats measured up to their pastries.
The main course was chicken with a highly spiced Aleppo red pepper paste, cumin and dried mint. Alongside was a richly textured and flavorful mix of pumpkin, sweet potatoes, lentils, in a sesame and hazelnut sauce. A portion of pickled cauliflower, beets, and carrots were a blast from the past with their tangy, sour vinegar taste, a reminder of jars of them lining our family refrigerator when I was growing up. Another fond and funny memory came up while eating the pickled vegetables; I drove with my sister one day when I was about ten-years old to pick-up some pickled, green-peppers from a woman who pickled her own vegetables. When I got back in the car, we were so anxious to try them, we opened the jar on the front seat and dug in. While my sister was driving, after each traffic light, we would dig in again and quickly close it in time for the green light. About 10 traffic lights later and a sour feeling in our stomachs, we realized we ate the entire jar.
Moutabal is much like baba ghanoush except it uses tahini, whereas baba ghanoush doesn’t. It has a smoother, creamier texture, and the Maison Aleph version topped with pomegranate seeds was sensational. I couldn’t get enough of the zaatar-flavored pita chips to scoop up the moutabal and wished I had a second portion of therm.
Last but not least was one of Maison Aleph’s pastries, a square of baklava with layers of chocolate, crispy and gooey all at once.
Another new item I had to try from Maison Aleph was their ice cream. The pistachio with caramelized Iranian pistachios spoke to me loud and clear. I loved the creamy, almost yogurt like texture, and the pure essence of the pistachios without out a lot of sugar to disrupt it.
The bento box comes in three combinations: meat, vegetarian, and seafood.
The cost is 12€.
Maison Aleph
20 Rue de la Verrerie, 75004
https://www.maisonaleph.com/nos-saveurs/
LINKS EYE LIKE
Check out this eye opening article about disappearing bakeries in France from the NY Times
French Baguettes From a Vending Machine? ‘What a Tragedy.’
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/1
In my latest A Bite of Paris video, I've taken a break from food tasting to visit my friend Jessica at La Vaissellerie, my favorite tabletop, dish ware, and kitchen shop, located in the Marais.
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