A French lunch sourced in Crystal Palace

I really love eating like the French. Good cheese, bread, cold meats, salad and wine combine to make a perfect lunch.Making the most of the sunny morning, Noah, Maya and I went to visit the new weekly Crystal Palace food market today. It was great to see lots of stalls and lots of locals and I filled my bag with baguettes, eggs and a super hot chilli sauce from Mad Ass called Dare Ya.We eventually made it to Good Taste Food and Drink, where I bought some meltingly soft triple crème cheese – including one of my all-time favourites, Chaource – wafer-thin slices of cured ham, thin sticks of saucisson and some Fentiman’s Shandy.It was a lovely way to start the weekend and, once home, I put it all together with a tomato salad, which we ate dreaming of French summers and two-hour lunches. Our two-year-old even decided he liked the Chaource.I'm looking forward to next week’s market. I hope it goes from strength to strength and attracts even more stalls with interesting products.

Strawberries in red wine: a French classic

Madame Suzy Ghirlando, my Great Aunt, is 95. She lives in a 1960s Paris apartment that she bought new, in which the furniture and wallpaper has probably never changed. I love sitting with her in the narrow galley kitchen drinking red wine, eating cheese, and talking.Contrary to the idea that all French people eat amazingly all of the time, Auntie Suzy’s ‘signature dish’ is spaghetti with butter and cheese. However, she did introduce me to this really easy yet delicious dessert. I’ve added thyme and black pepper to this recipe, but apart from that, it remains unchanged.  Serves:                 4 peoplePrep time:          10 mins, plus marinatingIngredients1 punnet strawberries150ml fresh orange juice150ml red wineA few thyme sprigsA pinch of mustard cress4 tbsp caster sugarA twist of black pepperMethod

1. Hull and slice the strawberries in half and put in a bowl.
2. Sprinkle them with sugar and leave to marinate for 20-25 minutes.
3. Add the orange juice and red wine, stir gently and taste. Add a little sugar if necessary.
4. Leave for a further five minutes and serve with the pepper, cress and thyme.