Fried chickpeas have been on my mind for nearly a month now. Something I never considered doing until I ate some at a restaurant in Belleville called Le Grand Bain. I remember crunching on this little pea that was mixed in with a salad that my gal pals and I ordered and thinking Yum, what is this crispy thing? Chickpeas are a favorite in our family but we usually make regular hummus, beetroot hummus or just have it whole as a snack or mixed in with salads.

I was just waiting for the right time to experiment...

All set up in my kitchen lab, I patted dry the chickpeas and placed them carefully into the frying pan. After 5 minutes of sizzling, they started to brown. I fished them out with a slotted spoon and let them cool down. Et voilà! Here we have some rather crispy tasting snacks with a creamy interior. You can shake these fried chickpeas up in a paper bag with some herbs and spices or for those with a sweet tooth just add some brown sugar to the mix.

I'm always looking for toppings that I can sprinkle and toss over a soup or a salad. This is at the top of my list for the moment so you'll be seeing it in my future posts.

Green Apple Leek Salad With Crispy Chickpeas

INGREDIENTS//Serves 4

• 3 leeks, julienned
• 2 Granny Smith apple, match sticks
• 1 cup chickpeas, fried
• 170 grams crab meat, shredded (6 ounce tin or 1/2 cup ), or smoked salmon (optional)

Vinaigrette:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• black pepper, adjust accordingly

PREPARATION

Cut the top green part of the leeks off. You can get rid of the outer stiff layer. Wash the rest of the greens and store for use another time (vegetable brouillon).

Cut the end of the leek off and then slit the leek down the middle to rinse out any dirt. Pat it dry.

To cut the leeks into fine julienne slices, fold the leek over in half (not lengthwise), press down and slice thinly lengthwise.

Prepare your steamer basket. Place the leeks, cover , and steam.

You want the leeks to be slightly soft but not completely.

Then take it out of the steamer and run under cold water.

Pat it dry with some paper towels or a clean tea towel.

Fried Chickpeas:

Add some olive oil up to an inch and a half in a medium size pan or pot. Turn on heat up to high. Drop in a chickpea to see if the oil is hot enough to fry in. The chickpea should sizzle. Add the rest of the chickpeas making sure not to crowd and fry them up for about 5 minutes or until they start turning brown. They should taste crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

Use a slotted spoon to take them out and lay them over a fine wire rack (I used a mesh skimmer) or paper towels.

INSTRUCTIONS

In a large serving bowl add the vinaigrette to the leeks and mix thoroughly. Let it marinate for about 15 minutes.

Combine the apples and the chickpeas and toss. Add some black pepper accordingly.

Oh boy, it's hot in Paris. I call it cani-kill but most properly in French it's canicule which is a scorching heatwave. With temperatures reaching the high 30's (celsius) and even near the 50's for the poor bakers in the bakery, one has to remember to keep hydrated.

No air con here— this is living in France. Air conditioners are not commonplace in France, especially in Paris where the city codes don't allow us to blemish their beautiful historic building facades. So I sit in my bathing suit while writing this with beads of sweat dripping down the sides of my face, forming along the back of my nape, and rolling down my back and chest. We are on a heatwave alert, level orange.

Fortunately, Paris has plenty of municipal pools and fountains. Remember the scene from La Dolce Vita with Anita Ekberg wading into the Trevi Fountain—well, then you can imagine how lucky we are to be able to jump into the waters of our equally beautiful fountains in Paris and recreate that scene. They are open to the public and it's a fantastic way to keep cool.

These days it's tough to muster up any energy to do anything, much less cook. I've got a super simple recipe for us today. Just chop, chop away these three crispy, hydrating and refreshing ingredients and voilà, the hard part is done. Otherwise just throw it all in a robot (food processor in French) and let it do the work!

So raw & crunchy...and so simply delicious. Stay cool.

Kohlrabi Salad with Beetroot and Granny Smith Apple

INGREDIENTS//Serves 2-4
• 1 medium size kohlrabi, matchstick
• 1 small size beetroot, matchstick
• 1 granny smith apple, matchstick
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• Salt and pepper, adjust accordingly

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine the matchstick size kohlrabi, beetroot, and Granny Smith apple in a bowl.

Squeeze some lemon, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.