brick

Roasting again today. Apparently it was 42 degrees at one point in Nyons this afternoon.

Market with Paddy this morning. Slow to start, but then got going. Cleared up in record time. Home for pizza and wine on the terrace.

Shopped in the afternoon. Poor Leo was panting away like mad...imagine having a full fur coat on a day like today :(

Got the stuff to make Ottolenghi's 'brick' for tea. It's out of his and Sami Tamimi's 'Jerusalem' book. Had it with roasted courgettes and patissons straight out of dad's garden and a lettuce from there too. The parsley and spring onions in the recipe were from dad's veg patch as well.

Really nice tea. Still 30 degrees at 9pm.

Quick skype with Luce...we'll hopefully get a longer one tomorrow evening :)

Can't get this song out of my head. Elizabeth danced to it a few weeks ago at her dance spectacle in the theatre antique in Vaison. Rossignol means nightingale in French. Beautiful.

Recipe for Brick (serves 2 - one brick each)

250ml sunflower oil
2 circles feuilles de brick pastry (25-30cm in diameter)
3 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
1.5 tbsp chopped spring onions
2 medium free-range eggs
salt and black pepper

Pour the sunflower oil into a medium saucepan; it should come about 2cm up the sides of the pan. Place on a medium heat and leave until the oil is hot. You don't want it too hot or the pastry will burn before the egg is cooked; tiny bubbles will start to surface when it reaches the right temperature.

Place one of the brick circles inside a shallow bowl. Work quickly so the pastry does not dry out and stiffen up. Put half the parsley in the centre and sprinkle with half the spring onion. Crack an egg in. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and fold in the sides of the pastry to create a parcel. The four folds will overlap so that the egg is sealed in; you can't seal the pastry but a neat fold should keep the egg in.

Carefully turn the parcel over and gently place in the oil, seal side down. Cook for 60-90 seconds on each side. Place on kitchen paper.