Cooking over an open fire

Starting fires is what food editor at large Marjan Ippel likes doing most. Correction: cooking over a fire she started herself. Outdoors on a so-called ‘braise’, or indoors in the fireplace. From cauliflower to steak, stoke the fire. 

My fascination with fire has been around just as long as my obsession with food. But the link between the two was only made when I once didn’t have a barbecue handy while backpacking, but still wanted to grill.

Driftwood

With a construction of stones gathered in the wild, outside which the fire (theoretically) couldn’t spread, stacked branches and other driftwood in between, and on top – that part was intentional – a barbecue grill borrowed from one of the camping neighbors, my grill was ready.

Braise

Through trial and error, I naturally learned that it was useful to let the flames almost burn themselves out until a still-glowing-hot layer remained – the braise. I could then vary the height of the stones to create the perfect fire-to-ingredient ratio.

In the fireplace there is a construction of stones with an old barbecue grill on top.

That original stone setup has actually barely been innovated over the years. Not even now that I have a holiday home with an outdoor area for roasting a whole suckling pig, and a fireplace indoors.

Fireplace

That fireplace, too, has a construction of stones with an old barbecue grill on top, ready for roasting chestnuts, cauliflower and slices of tofu, grilling meat, fish and/or sausages, charring peppers, and baking potatoes with butter or crème fraîche in aluminum foil among the glowing embers. Just to name a few.

There are (Parisian) restaurants that grill their meat in the fireplace.

Grilling in the fireplace. There are (Parisian) restaurants that have made it their USP. A friend of mine has even recently acquired a fireplace with accompanying fish and meat grills!

Logs

For those who happen not to have one: a reasonably sturdy outdoor barbecue also works perfectly well with logs. You do always need to keep an eye on it. And in the case of the fireplace, have your chimney swept from time to time.

Looking for inspiration? At restaurant Le Flamboire in Paris, they have elevated cooking in the fireplace to great heights. 54 Rue Blanche, Paris.

Want to roast cauliflower steaks yourself? Here’s how.