Ian's French Kitchen

Oaty Cherry Crumble

2012-02-18T10:26:00.001-08:00

Friends coming for lunch has forced me out of my cold hibernation in front of the fire, and back into the kitchen.

Luckily a thaw has arrived here, so the extreme temperatures (for us) have abated a little and we are no longer seeing –18C (about 0F), or anywhere near that cold.

All that being said, I still thought I ought to make a hot dessert to accompany my fairly traditional British main course of Cottage Pie

In the depths of my freezer I still have several bags of cherries from the summer, so I quickly decided on one of my favourite dishes Cherry Crumble. But, as ever, I decided to look for a new twist. My usual crumble Cherry Crumble was posted on here back in 2010.

At times like these, I tend to turn to the Internet for inspiration. I don’t usually cook anything I find but pick off pieces and ideas from several sources before combining them in my own version. It usually works, although I’m sure you all realise that this is by no means a guaranteed route to success!!

On this occasion. after rejecting all the usual cherry tart recipes, one of which advocated taking a ready made pastry tart base and adding a can of Cherry tart mix!!!! which, whilst I agree is simple, in my mind hardly represents the best of home baking and, to be honest, if you are going to do that why not just buy a delicious ready made cherry tart?

Anyway, I digress. I eventually came across a recipe for adding oats to the crumble. I didn’t much like the recipe itself, but the idea of adding oats appealed, and so, my Oaty Cherry Crumble was born.

I took this photo before cooking it, but when it came out of the oven, it went straight to table and, well, to be honest, there wasn’t enough left to photograph. I suppose that is a compliment though.

A friend recently emailed me saying that she loved the way I often incorporate a bit of history in my pieces. However, I don’t know very much about the origins of crumble. But here goes. It appears that what we call crumble is the same as crisp in the US. I’m sad to admit, that from all my research I have to admit that it seems to have originated in the USA. Many early settlers to the US came from England and other parts of Europe. These settlers carried with them their favourite recipes, such as fruit pies. Pies , in Europe, date back to Roman times when a mixture of flour and olive oil was used to seal meats etc. and were very popular by the time the early settler to the US set sail.

These early settlers were, by necessity very resourceful and when they found that they didn’t really have the basic ingredients to make their pies, they compromised and came up with a simple mixture of flour, sugar and fat that they could easily combine into a coarse crumbly topping for fruits. The topping goes crisp on baking, which is why in the USA it is know as Crisp. Interestingly enough, many people suggest the crumble, now a traditional British dessert originates in the second World War. I tend to disagree with this interpretation, merely suggesting that, in my opinion, the shortages caused by food rationing in Britain during the Second World War caused the same inventiveness in the Britsh that those early settlers had found. And believe me, if I could have found a way to attribute it to Britain, I would have! However, it is very likely that those early settlers were, in fact, British, trying to do what the British abroad continue doing to this day!

Here is what you do…

Pick a bowl full of cherries, or, at this time of year, defrost them out of the freezer.

Remove stalks, wash and destone them

Enough cherries to half fill an ovenproof dish.

A few drops sweet white wine

A tablespoon of brown sugar.

Oaty Crumble Topping

150g flour
150g brown sugar
150g butter
75g rolled oats

Oven

180degrees C

15 + 20 minutes (pre-warmed oven)

This oaty crumble is a simple 1:1:1, flour, sugar, butter mix with 1/2 portion of oats added

and I find I like golden granulated sugar for this crumble....

I put the cherries in an oven proof dish.....oven to table dish...... and then sprinkle some sugar over them. The cherries will be wet from washing and destoning so I add only a few drops of sweet white wine. Add a knob of butter and bake until the cherries are just cooked. (about 15 minutes).

To make the crumble topping I put everything in a blender and pulse for a few seconds until it appears, well, “crumbly!”

Add the crumble mixture on top of the fruit...not underneath or it gets messy...on top of the cherries and return to the oven for a bit longer.... About 20 minutes

Cook for about a further 20-25 minutes until the crumble topping is golden brown.

Eat with lashings of a runny cream, or, even better, custard

Spag Bog… Well, not really.

2012-02-11T06:18:00.001-08:00

Spaghetti Bolognese is a popular dish across Europe, the USA, Australia and as far as I know, much of the rest of the world, and just as it is popular in many countries and households so, there are just as many recipes for it.

Spaghetti Bolognese, however, is not truly an Italian dish. Any self respecting Italian will politely explain that if you are making a rich meaty sauce, such as Bolognese, then you need to marry it with a broad pasta tube which is capable of swallowing the sauce whole! I’m not very well up on Italian pasta names as I have never lived in Italy, and indeed, despite it is only a few hours drive away, have rarely visited it. All that having been said, I love the textures and flavours generated by the thin spaghetti and the rich sauce.

The next thing is that, apparently, a Bolognese sauce should have little if any tomato content. Well again … I’ve never been served Spaghetti Bolognese in Italy (surprise surprise), but I have eaten it in France, Germany, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the USA and every time it has been a delicious tomatoey meaty sauce!

Finally, I know that a true Bolognese sauce takes many hours to make. I never have enough time, although I do prepare this sauce in advance and leave to develop overnight. I finish the sauce, store in the fridge, and then gently reheat it when I’m ready to serve. But I also know that, following the recipe and cooking the sauce immediately before serving is great too.

Many years ago I had a young lady staying here with me and one day I duly served my version of Spaghetti Bolognese. She watched me cook it with interest and not a small smile on her face, before announcing that what I had made looked delicious but was not Spaghetti Bolognese, which got us into a big discussion about what it truly was. However I duly continued with my recipe and after lunch there were several clean plates. It’s also true to say that the same afternoon, (It was the middle of summer) we were all sunbathing by the pool when the said young lady got in the pool, immediately complaining that my lunch was making her sink. I simply pointed out that as she was swimming sans maillot, she didn’t have the added buoyancy afforded by such apparel.

So here is my recipe for a dish I better call

Spaghetti with a rich meaty sauce

Serves 4 people

Preparation about 15 minutes

Cooking time about 30 minutes

For the Sauce

400g minced beef (lean)

2 medium onions, chopped

3 cloves of Garlic (finely sliced)

4ozs mushrooms (chopped)

4 rashers streaky bacon

Herbes de provence

Tinned tomatoes

Tin Tomato puree (4oz)

Cup of sweet white wine

Grated parmesan cheese

For the Pasta

You need a pasta that is large enough to hold the meaty sauce, or, do like I do and ignore everybody and use Spaghetti

Method

Chop the bacon into small pieces then In a large casserole, fry till crisp,

Add the minced beef and onions and fry everything till the onions are translucent

Add the apple, peeled, cored and chopped into small pieces

Add the wine, garlic, herbes de provence and tinned tomatoes

Bring to the boil and stir in the tomato puree

Bring to the boil again and add the mushrooms

Simmer about 15/20 minutes(while you cook the pasta)

(At this point the sauce can be kept overnight to allow the flavours to develop)

Bring a pan of water to the boil

Add the pasta and boil for 7 to 10 minutes depending on preference

Drain pasta and rinse with more boiling water, then add a small amount of olive oil to the pan and heat. Add the pasta back into the pan with the oil and shake pan to coat pasta

Serve pasta, and sauce, and sprinkle parmesan cheese over the top

I often add chorizo, but on this occasion I knew one of my guests didn’t like Chorizo so I omitted it.

I served it with garlic bread and a glass of wine!

Hope you enjoy it as much as we did

Clam Chowder

2012-02-10T02:35:00.001-08:00

It’s been very cold here recently with temperatures getting down to –18C (about 0F) overnight. We even had snow. About a week ago just over 6” of it fell and unusually, it is still lying on the ground almost unchanged.

I was trying to think of a nice warming fish dish for this evening’s supper to combat this particularly cold snap. I started off thinking about a basic fish stew. The French do a great fish stew called Bouillabaisse and are famous for it in it’s home town of Marseille. Bouillabaisse comes from the old Occitan language which was spoken across this part of France. and really simply means to boil then to simmer. I guess that is how you make Bouillabaisse after all. Interestingly enough, a local farmer neighbour of mine, in his late 80’s still speaks Occitan and myself, along with many of my neighbours, both French as well as British, have a certain amount of difficulty understanding him.

But Bouillabaisse is really a warm climate dish and the one thing I don’t feel we have here at the moment is a warm climate, so I started to think about other fish stews from colder parts of the world: Ukha from Russia, Lohikeitto from Finland, or even the Bergensk Fiskesuppe from Bergen in Norway. Moving away from Europe I thought of Canada, but couldn’t really find a traditional local fish stew so moved on to the USA where I found, of course the wonderful chowders and in particular my own favourite New England Clam Chowder.

In fact, I have made this stew for many years and have slowly developed my own recipe along the way. It uses tinned clams rather than fresh, but I usually chuck a few fresh ones into the pot for decoration and with it’s rich creamy thick stew is just the thing for a cold winter’s evening.

It’s really easy to make and tastes superb

Clam Chowder

Preparation time 20 minutes
Cooking time 20 minutes
Makes enough for 6 people

INGREDIENTS

4 Rashers finely chopped streaky bacon
1 cup diced onion ,
4 cups potato cubed
1 grated carrot
2 cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
2 teaspoons coarse sea salt
good pinch ground black pepper
fresh chopped thyme
2 cups water
4 cans clams (8oz)
2 cups single cream
A few Fresh clams
¼ cup butter

METHOD

Sauté the bacon and onion in a little olive oil then transfer to a large saucepan;
add potatoes, water, carrots, salt and pepper
bring to the boil then simmer until the potatoes are cooked
Slowly stir in the soup, clams and clam juice, cream, butter and thyme
Simmer for 20 minutes
Sprinkle with a little chopped fresh Thyme and serve whilst still piping hot.

And there it is, a delicious Chowder.

I usually make this dish a day in advance as I think it improves as all the flavours round together.

Reheat slowly until the dish is almost, (BUT NOT!) boiling. If you allow it to boil the cream will curdle. Then add the chopped thyme and serve

I can’t always get clams here, (either fresh or canned) so I have made this dish very successfully with other seafood, such as prawns

Serve with a lovely crusty bread. I especially like this with my home made olive bread.

I hope you enjoy it, I know I shall.

Mediterranean Fish Casserole

2012-01-06T13:09:00.001-08:00

Many, many years ago I decided that I wasn't eating fish on a regular enough basis and I resolved to eat a fish meal at least once every week. It didn't take me very long to discover that, even though I had my resolution, weeks would sneak by and I would discover that, once again, I'd not eaten fish for another week.

Reflecting on this, after one particularly long fish free period, I decided on a new resolution. Every Friday, I would consider whether I had eaten enough fish in the past week, and if not, I would make a fish supper.

Of course, for a fish lover like me, the answer is very rarely, yes I've had enough fish this week.

Today was just such a day. I considered what fish I had eaten in the past week.... I had a Jacket Potato with a tuna topping, I had a salad with shrimp and surimi in a hot marie rose sauce, and a tuna sandwich for lunch. Oh only two meals, so No, that's not nearly enough!

I looked around to see what I had.

There were left over shrimp from the salad.

There was also a bag of frozen hake.

I decided to throw together a fish casserole

Now, many of you will know that when I say throw together a dish, that is exactly what I mean, so no accurate measurements for today.

I took 3 fillets of hake out and left them to thaw.

At the same time I also emptied a good handful of tiny cocktail shrimp to drain.

I found a casserole with a good fitting lid. I didn't want to let too much moisture out whilst the dish was cooking.

The fridge also revealed a good handful of green olives, which I pitted.

In the stock cupboard I had some lemon juice and a bag of Herbes de Provence.

I found a couple of cloves of garlic, which I crushed and peeled.

In the casserole, I first put the hake, cut into about 2" squares.

Then I added the shrimp and the olives

I sprinkled the herbs over and added a splash of olive oil and the zest and juice of a couple of lemons.

It looked ok but a bit dry, so I added just a small splash of cider, (left over from the pork in cider)

Then I put the lid on and put it to cook in a hot (240C) oven for about 30 minutes

Finally, after 30 minutes cooking, I took the lid off, stirred everything and put it back in the oven for a further 10 minutes

I enjoyed it with some sweetcorn.

Pork chops in a Creamy Mushroom Cider Sauce

2012-01-03T12:46:00.001-08:00

I often like to cook pork chops in cider and have various recipes I use. I like the way cooking pork in cider really enhances the flavour and renders the meat so deliciously tender.

I was thinking about all this today and, as always, turned to the Internet for inspiration, which is exactly what I got.

A blog I had never visited before jumped off the page at me, Called "Girl Interrupted Eating", the quirky title was exactly my cup of tea, and when I read that Becky was a 30 something year old from Nottingham in the UK I knew I had found my source.

I like Nottingham. It's famous for being where my brother lives, but it's probably more famous for the infamous.... the infamous Robin Hood, who allegedly stole from the rich to give to the poor. Well, on this occasion, Becky, I guess I'm sort of keeping up the tradition as I unashamedly studied your recipe for "Pork Chops with Cider and Rosemary" in order to steal the ideas..... erm, I'm not exactly sure where the giving to the poor comes in but give me time!!!

Becky's recipe sounded delicious to me,and, apparently, lucky Beccy discovered this wonderful dish when her boyfriend cooked it for her.Having got my inspiration, I rebuilt the recipe with my own variations. In fact, I changed very little but I completely changed the taste with the addition of mushrooms and cream.

Here is my recipe:

INGREDIENTS

Two Pork Chops
2 tbps of olive oil
1 knob of butter
2 tbsp of rosemary finely chopped
1 medium onion finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 handful of roughly chopped mushrooms
1/2 a bottle of cider
200ml single cream

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180C

Sprinkle the pork chops on both sides with salt and pepper

Fry the pork chops in butter and olive oil. Use an oven proof lidded saucepan.

Once browned, remove the pork chops and set aside

Add the onions , garlic and rosemary into the pan and fry till onion is soft and translucent.

Add the mushrooms and cook a further minute or two.

Pour the cider in to the pan and bring to a simmer before returning the pork chops to the pan

Remove from heat, cover and place in the preheated oven for 120minutes. Then, remove lid and leave in oven a further 15 minutes

Remove the pork chops and whisk in the cream, thickening a little if needed.

To serve, place the pork chops on plates and pour the sauce over .

Serve with mustard mashed potato and cabbage dressed with nutmeg, and the remains of the bottle of cider.

Now for those readers thinking that I might have made a heck of a lot of potato and cabbage to accompany this simple dish, I have one word to say... Well, I could probably come up with one word but the real reason probably needs three....

Bubble and Squeak.... which will be supper tomorrow.

Ranch vegetables

2011-10-30T13:27:00.000-07:00

I’m taking a break and visiting family in the USA.

One of the first meals I was given here consisted of a great lasagna, served with broccoli and baby carrots. It was very nice.

I was about to add some butter to my vegetables when I was asked if I would prefer a dressing?

To be honest I wasn’t too sure what they meant but just said “sure” (trying out my best American!!)

I admit I was surprised when a beautiful ranch salad dressing was produced and even more surprised when I tried it on the vegetables. It was fabulous.

Try it! I’ll see if I can prise out the recipe for the Ranch Dressing.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

2011-06-26T13:56:00.001-07:00

I always make my own vinaigrette salad dressing, and I particularly like one made with Balsamic Vinegar. I always use olive oil as it's by far the most healthy.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

mix 1 part water with 3 parts Balsamic Vinegar.

Add a clove of garlic, crushed and a teaspoon of herbs de Provence (Or mixed herbs)

Then add 5 parts of olive oil and shake vigorously until all the ingredients are blended.

This balsamic Vinaigrette will keep for a couple of weeks with no refrigeration.

The basic portions, 1 to 3 to 5 makes any vinaigrette.

Baked Beans

2011-06-24T05:05:00.001-07:00

It's funny what you miss when you move to a new country.

7 years ago, when I decamped from the UK to come and live here in France I was asked the question many times. My answer was always the same and, at the time I believed it to be honest, Family, Friends, those kind of close personal things. However, now that I have lived here for 7 years I realise that was wrong. Yes, I do miss my family, yes I do miss my friends, but with the internet and a telephone those people are just a short call away. I keep in touch with my Family almost weekly and with my friends often. On top of that, both my family and friends have discovered that I now live in a gorgeous part of Europe and that they have an ideal excuse to come and make a holiday here. I'm delighted to say that both family and friends often come to visit and possibly, I now see a little more of them than before I moved.

So what do I really miss? BAKED BEANS!

When I lived in the UK, I didn't even consider Baked Beans as part of my stock cupboard. True, there was always a tin in there, but hey, it got used from time to time to supplement a quick easy meal or simply as a toast topping for a light supper. Once I moved here I quickly discovered that Baked Beans, rather than the throw away item in the UK had graduated to a Gourmet food shelf and were being sold at about eight times the price.

End of desire to have an occasional tin in the cupboard

Except, it wasn't. I still made those easy meals from time to time, and there was no doubt about it, Baked Beans certainly improved the meal. I compensated by bringing a few tins back from my occasional visits to the UK, Stubbornly refusing to accept the attitude that they were now a gourmet item.

Then, ages ago now, Kate, from down under, gave me a recipe and told me to make my own. I had never even thought of this simple solution.

I gave it try and made my first batch which were delicious. I subsequently made them regularly and kept them in the freezer. ready for those snacks. I've even had a guy from England tell me they were the best baked beans he had ever tasted!!

Here's the recipe she gave me, all those years ago, modified over time to reflect what I now do.

Ian's Baked Beans

Preparation     30 mins
Waiting           24 hours
Cooking           2 ½ hours

Ingredients

	A	2 cups haricot coco white beans
	B	3 large cloves of garlic 3 medium onions 1 small pork chop
	C	1 400g tin tomatoes 1 140g tin tomato paste 2 tbs brown sugar 1 tbs soy sauce 1 tsp Herb de Provence (or mixed herbs) (dried)

Method

A. Cover the beans with cold water and soak for 24 hours in a large casserole
Drain and recover with lightly salted water, bring to the boil and simmer for 1 ½ hours

B.     Peel and finely chop the garlic and onion.
       Chop the pork into small cubes and then sauté them all in a little oil.
        Include the pork chop bone

C. Combine all ingredients at C and mix well.
Let stand until beans are cooked

When beans are cooked, drain them and reserve the water.
Add the cooked onion mixture (B) and the combined tomato mixture (C).
Add 2 cupfuls of the reserved water. Make up with hot water if needed.
Add a good dash of Worcestershire sauce.
Bring to the boil and simmer, uncovered, for one hour

Once cooled, the beans freeze well and keep for several months.

Although, to be honest, mine don't keep at all, they just get eaten!

Muesli

2011-06-23T04:26:00.001-07:00

I love to have muesli for breakfast but prefer to make my own rather than use any factory produced blend.

I usually keep the muesli in a 2 litre Le Parfait storage jar (air tight). I guess that is the equivalent of a half gallon mason jar. I make it whenever I run out so that there is always a jar of it in the store cupboard. I find it doesn't seem to suffer any storage problems although I've always eaten it long before it has time to go stale, usually in four to five weeks. I do, however, keep it in my cool dark store cupboard.

I made some today: Here's my recipe

I start with the empty storage jar and about half fill it with rolled oats.

Then I add a good layer of desiccated coconut.

Next goes in the dried fruit. I just throw in about a handful of each fruit, always raisins and golden sultanas, and anything to hand.

Next it's time for nuts. I love whole almonds but only add about a half handful. I do know, however, that lots of people prefer sliced almonds. Personally, I love the crunchy texture form using whole ones. I also add a handful of salted peanuts. Lots of people turn their noses up at salted peanuts, but I love them in the dish so I use them! In fact, I use salted peanuts in all sorts of recipes and they are a basic in my kitchen.

The last thing to go in is about a half handful of sunflower seeds. I use the hulled ones as I can't eat the dry husks.

And that's it, close the jar, give it a good shake, and put it away for a delicious and very healthy breakfast cereal

Today, I didn't have dried apricots, or indeed any other fruits so I just added a few whole prunes to the bowl. I sometimes add dried banana or dried cranberries or any other dried fruit that catches my eye at the market.

I usually just serve it by pouring the mix into a bowl and adding milk. Some days, if I'm feeling particularly wicked, I'll add half and half or make my own by mixing cream and milk. At the same time, If I'm feeling I ought to be good, I replace half the milk with plain yogurt. Actually, I'm increasingly serving it with a mixture of milk and yogurt and I find that I have really got to like that taste.

Sometimes, I will soak the muesli overnight in apple juice, then just add yogurt in the morning.

I do like muesli, so I don't restrict myself to having it just at breakfast either! I often have a bowlful as my evening snack, when I have eaten our main meal of the day at lunch time.

Laying the table

2011-06-20T02:59:00.001-07:00

Someone asked me recently how you lay a table for dinner, so here is my version!

What to do with half a chicken

2011-06-15T13:08:00.001-07:00

Wednesday for me is a funny day for dinner. It's the day I look in the fridge!!

What I mean is that once a week, usually about Wednesday, I check the fridge to see what has been put in there over the weekend and maybe needs to be dealt with. Mostly it doesn't need to be eaten right away but it allows me to plan a meal in the next couple of days that will reduce my wastage by using up the left overs.

Some days I'm truly surprised at what I find. Oh, sure, I can usually remember cooking it and know when it is from, but often I have completely forgotten about it's existence.

Today was just such a day. This morning I dutifully checked the fridges. For reasons I won't go into I have two fridges, one in the kitchen and another one in the utility room. Today I found half a roast chicken.

I remember cooking roast chicken when a friend popped in at the weekend but I had completely forgotten that a whole half a chicken was residing in the cool spaces of my fridge.

and so the title emerged. and to be honest I didn't really have a clue. Oh, I know plenty of ways of using up chicken but nothing tempted my taste buds.

I didn't want to make a huge production but just do something different and, of course, tasty.

I considered the plethora of sauces that you can use to brighten up cooked chicken, but, to be honest, no, I just didn't want anything like that.

I turned to my even colder spaces and looked for inspiration in the freezer. The freezer has a regime much like Fridge Wednesday... I really should start to do this on a Friday. I like the idea of Fridge Friday! Anyway, the freezer regime is much less disciplined and I also realised that it too was due for a bit of a sort out.

There were, however, a few king prawns that needed using up in the next week or two. I was supposd to be looking for inspiration and now I had just added king prawns to my.....

King Prawns and Chicken.... Paella

and so, just about an hour later I was on my way to the market to buy some more seafood. I was feeling a bit lazy so I decided to buy a frozen mix of seafood and a few mussels. I already had prawn and the king prawns and on checking in the fridge I had enough chorizo and some ham. Most paella recipes call for some sort of bacon but I often substitute ham.

So with a few things from the freezer, and some stuff from the vegetable box I was on my way.

Here's the recipe for my paella. It looks complicated but it's just a case of adding everything into the pan.

Paella

Ingredients

500 ml (1 pint) chicken stock
1/2 a cooked chicken,
110g/4oz chorizo, cut into thin slices
55g/2oz ham cut into small pieces
1 teaspoon of minced garlic
1 large onion, chopped fairly small
1 red pepper, chopped
1 tsp herbs de Provence
¼ tsp dried red chilli flakes
1 cup (250ml) short-grain rice
1 tsp paprika
1 small glass rose wine
150 g mussels
6 king prawns
450g/1lb bag of seafood cocktail
100g frozen prawns
handful of frozen peas
2 large tomatoes, cut into small pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation method

Put the chicken stock in a pan and heat gently

Strip the chicken from the carcase, roughly cutting it into chunks. remove the joints and cut them into drumstick, thigh, wing etc.

Heat some olive oil in a large heavy-based frying pan. Add the chorizo, ham and dried garlic and fry until meat is crispy.

Next add the onion and pepper and further cook for a couple of minutes.

Add the herbs de provence, chilli flakes and short grain rice, and stir well, coating everything in the juices.

Add the paprika and wine and leave a minute or so and then pour in the hot chicken stock, add the cooked chicken and cook for 5-10 minutes.

Add the mussels into the dish and then add the frozen seafood. Sprinkle in the peas and chopped tomatoes and continue to cook gently for another 10 minutes stirring from time to time.

Add salt and pepper to taste

I served the dish with a hot baguette.

The Ultimate Indulgence

2011-06-06T01:21:00.001-07:00

This is a recipe for a very rich and delicious chocolate fudge cake that is so easy to make it's hard to believe.

What's more, you can make this cake as often as you like and still stay healthy. You just must NEVER eat it!

The recipe was given to me by a friend ages ago and I make it from time to time. It freezes well.

Chocolate Fudge Cake

Bake at 180 - 200°C
Makes 1 large square cake. Very soft and delicious.

1 2/3 cups plain flour
1 cups sugar
1 cup 32% Drinking Chocolate powder
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 tsp. carb. soda
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 carton Yogurt 125ml
1 tsp. vanilla

Put all the ingredients in a blender and whiz on low speed for 1 min. then turn the speed up to high and whiz for a further 3 mins.

Put into a lined cake tin and
bake at 190°C (375°F) 50 - 55 mins.

May be iced and split with cream , cocoa and icing sugar.

Note 32% chocolate powder is a drinking chocolate not cocoa

A US cup is 250 ml

Scones

2011-06-04T09:53:00.001-07:00

I love scones for afternoon tea. Scones served warm with butter and jam.... Delicious

Here's a very simple recipe which makes the best, yes, the best scones.

You can substitute the flour and baking powder for 3 1/2 cups self-raising flour if you want

Makes 12 scones

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups Plain Flour
7 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup lemonade
200ml single cream

1 cup sultanas (optional)

Method

If using dried fruit, soak in the cup of lemonade

Sift together the flour and baking powder.

Add liquid, (and sultanas)

Mix as little as possible just until it comes into a rough ball. Press out
on a floured bench to about an inch thick and cut with scone cutter.

Dab tops with milk
Bake at 180C for about 15 mins

Red Lentil Burgers

2011-06-01T12:32:00.001-07:00

A lovely recipe for a tasty vegetarian burger. I love these and often serve them at barbecues for my vegetarian friends

Simmer 1/2 cup of red lentils and 1 bay leaf in water for 15 - 30 min

Saute gently, 2 finely chopped onions and 2 cloves of garlic, sliced.

add parsley, basil, marjoram, and thyme to the pan

Add in the lentils, drained.

Tip into a bowl and add 1/2 cup fresj wholemeal bread crumbs, 2 eggs, beaten, 1/2 cup of flour, 4 table[spoons of tomato paste and stir it all together. If it's too wet add extra bread crumbs

Form into small balls and then flatten and fry in olive or sunflower oil.

Traditional Burgers (Ian’s Recipe)

2011-06-01T09:07:00.001-07:00

Serves 4

500gms minced (ground) beef
2 medium Onions
2 good tablespoons of rolled oats
1 Tbls worcestershire sauce
2 Tbls of Tomato Ketchup
I Tbls Olive oil
a dash of sea salt
a medium egg

Method In a food processor, mince the onion then add the Worcestershire sauce, tomato ketchup, sea salt and olive oil and mix a little more
Add the beef, oats and egg and whiz a little more to mix thoroughly.
Adjust the consistency by adding more oats if it's too wet

Take a small ball of the mixture and squeeze tight to compress the mixture together. Flatten with a spatula and fry gently in a little olive oil
Serve immediately
Or allow to cool and freeze until needed

White Fish in a Creamy Sauce

2011-05-30T13:05:00.001-07:00

(Cabillaud sauce crémeuse au Vin Rosé)

This is a delicious sauce to use with any white fish or maybe even gammon using 1/3 bottle of Rosé wine. Great with a vegetable such as haricot vert or haricot beurré
The original French recipe, as the name implies, calls for cod…. But any white fish would be excellent.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

4 good sized pieces of white fish
2 Onions
3 garlic cloves
250ml Vin Rosé
250ml single cream
Butter
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

METHOD

Cut the fish into large pieces (2”)
Coarsely chop the onions and thinly slice the garlic and then fry in a large frying pan with a knob of butter until the onion is translucent
Lay the fish (upside down) in the frying pan (in amongst the onion and garlic) and cook for a minute or two on a low heat.
Carefully turn the fish over and add the wine.
Reduce the mixture.
Add the cream, salt and pepper and mix gently.
Thicken over a low heat (takes about 4 - 5 minutes)
Serve with broccoli, haricot vert or haricot beurre
.
Enjoy

Oh Dear!

2011-05-14T07:24:00.001-07:00

I should have thrown it away and had cheese.

The weather here suddenly changed overnight.

After weeks of temperatures around 30°C (upper 80's F), last night the rain came in and temperatures dropped by about 10°C. I have to say, going out to the market in the rain this morning it felt more like they had dropped by about 110°C.... but maybe that was just me. I'm not a great fan of rainy, cold weather!

Walking around a very quiet Villereal, passing large expanses of naked street where normally there would have been all the supporting traders that summer brings, I began to think about lunch. The cold weather, well, it was about 18°C, led me to thinking about a bowl of soup.

About a week or so ago I defrosted my big freezer.... I have a big old chest freezer and a much smaller combination fridge freezer. Defrosting is something I should do every year....but I don't and when I finally get down to it I am always amazed at the assembled detritus collecting in the frozen depths.

This session had been no different, turning up a couple of bags of forgotten fruit, some completely lost minced steak and a couple of odd tubs of my home made soup, a true French potage made with whatever vegetables were available at the time I made it. I had no idea what these soups were as the tubs had lost their labels which, interestingly, were not even still in the freezer!!! I studied the frozen contents.... both tubs were a small portion of soup, one a simple potage and the other, what appeared to be a potage that had been blended to make it smooth.

I decide that on return home, I would mix the two soups and eat it with some crusty French bread. Anticipating my delicious lunch I plodded round the half empty, very wet market in somewhat better spirits.

I didn't linger long, collecting the various bits of shopping I needed and popping into my favourite bar for a quick coffee, before heading off to the car park and back home.

It didn't take me long to find the two tubs of soup and, in order to speed things up, I gently warmed them before emptying the still frozen contents into a pan with a little water and started to heat them gently.

By the time I had put the greengrocery away my soup had defrosted and was beginning to warm up. It smelt delicious as I cleared the kitchen table and got out a bowl and bread basket and, yes, why not, the butter dish!

I turned to stir the soup regularly as the big lumps of frozen goo gradually broke up and eventually, I became able to stir a warm liquid. Habits are hard things to break and one of mine is to taste everything...taste, taste and taste again. So I stuck my spoon into the now lukewarm soup to taste.... and was very surprised.

Delicious is not exactly the word.... no.... It was sweet, very sweet. I could see the vegetables from the potage clearly now but, my guess was the blended "soup" was actually stewed apple.

Now, I should have binned the lot, cut myself some tasty French cheese and eaten it with the bread... I really should have done that. But I don't like to be defeated. I'm nothing if not persistent.... some call me stubborn! So, I decided to rescue the soup.

There were some nice vegetables in the vegetable rack.... There were one or two rather tired vegetables in the same rack... so I started adding bits... I had the heart of a celery that had gone a bit limp, I had a couple of potatoes that had started sprouting, I had an onion that had split... and quickly I had a collection of vegetables prepared and boiling into the mixture. Taste, taste and taste again... It really was very sweet. A couple more small potatoes, a tiny bit of salt, some fresh herbs, the end of a Belgian endive all were added to the pan, and finally it started to taste acceptable....

Oh, by now I had also realised that the stewed apple which had caused the problem in the first place, was actually the much sweeter stewed plums!!!

And so, my quick lunch was ready. It had taken about an hour and a half against my anticipated 10 minutes. It tasted very nice but not great, it was still quite sweet. But, it had cleared out two old unidentified tubs of frozen food, a collection of tired vegetables, the remainder of last weeks vegetables and I had not used anything from today's shop.... well, except for the bread!

Like I said, I should have thrown it away and had cheese!

Beef Bourgignon with a few carrots

2011-04-28T10:41:00.001-07:00

The French have a gorgeous traditional beef dish from Burgundy, Boeuf Bourgignon. I've put my own slant on it here to make it "Traditional English cooking in France". The wine really should be a bottle of Burgundy red..... but I tend to use any good full bodied red wine.

This recipe is so incredibly easy, and relies on a slow cooker to gently simmer everything for about 12 hours.

I hope you love it as much as I do

Beef Bourgignon

1 tbsp duck fat (use olive oil if you don't have duck fat)
600g beef shin, cut into large chunks
100g smoked streaky bacon, chopped (Lardon)
2 onions, peeled and chopped
3 carrots peeled and sliced
4 garlic cloves crushed, peeled and sliced
2 heaped tablespoons Herbes de Provence
1 small can tomato purée
1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
750ml bottle red wine, Burgundy is good
A glass of water

200gms mushrooms, sliced into largish chinks

In the Slow Cooker
Heat the duck fat in a frying pan and brown the beef for about 3 minutes a side. (cook the beef in batches) Toss the browned beef in flour then add to slow cooker. After frying the beef, fry the bacon, onions and garlic in the same pan, adding a little more goose fat if needed. Add to slow cooker

Rinse out the pan with a little red wine, making sure to get all the lovely juices and add this to the pot.

Reserve out the Mushrooms and put the rest of the ingredients into the slow cooker. Give everything a good stir

Cook for 4 hours on the high setting and then a further 8 hours on low.

Add the mushrooms 2 or 3 hours before finishing. (after about 9 hours cooking)

From time to time check the mixture for liquid and give a stir. If the liquid gets a bit low, just add a bit of water

Oh, one last little thing, I have a friend who lives just down the road from here and owns and runs a "Restaurant Gastronomique". He hails from Burgundy and makes, what I believe is the best Boeuf Bourgignon in South West France.... Please, please, please, I want you all to promise not to mention this cheating recipe of mine, I'm sure he would seriously disapprove! Hervé, I apologise.

Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday..

2011-03-08T11:32:00.001-08:00

I love Pancake Day, the local name for today.

Almost without fail, my evening meal is constructed to make provision for the main event... Beautiful pancakes doused in Maple syrup, or hiding sultanas.... or both!!

Here is my own Pancake Recipe, yried, tested and developed ove many years of celebrating this special day in this traditional way...

Basic Pancake Batter

(makes eight) except it only really made 5 or 6

75g/3oz plain flour

Pinch of salt

2 large fresh eggs

150ml/1/4pt milk

a dash of water

A little oil for frying

Mix the water and milk and beat in the eggs. Place the flour and salt in a large bowl, then add half the milk. Whisk until the mixture is lump-free. Add the remaining milk and whisk again until smooth. If you prefer place all the ingredients together in a food processor and blend until smooth, Pour the batter into a jug. The batter can be made in advance and chilled for up to eight hours before use. I think it improves if left to stand and usually leave it about 30 minutes or so

Heat a 20cm/8in diameter non-stick frying pan until hot, drizzle a little oil over the centre and wipe it around with a piece of kitchen paper. Now pour a little of the batter into the pan and immediately tilt the pan to spread the batter thinly and evenly over the base. Cook for two minutes or until the top is set and the base golden. Turn the pancake over with a spatula or if you are feeling brave, flip the pancake!

Cook for a further one to two minutes or until the base is golden. Transfer to a plate and interleave with greaseproof paper, keep warm. Use the batter and a little more oil to make a further seven pancakes in the same way. Serve simply with lemon and sugar or try them in the following recipe ideas.

French Mushroom, Ham & Goats Cheese Crepe

Fill the pancakes with sliced mushrooms sauteed in oil, a slice of ham, then top with thinly sliced goats cheese. Fold up to enclose the filling then pop under a hot grill until the cheese begins to melt. Serve scattered with flat parsley.

Redcurrant and apple

cook the basic pancake and just before serving add a mixture of stewed redcurrants and apple, then roll and serve immediately.

Or, simply add a handful of golden sultanas to the pan immediately before adding the batter. These are great served with Maple syrup.

Ian's Shortbread Biscuits

2011-01-30T02:10:00.001-08:00

I regularly make these delicious Shortbread Biscuits. They are really easy to make and are very much appreciated by my French neighbours.

They are really my version of Scottish Shortbread and are best eaten as soon as they have cooled although they do keep well in an airtight tin.

I understand that they are also delicious coated with chocolate, but I rarely do that!!!!! Well, maybe sometimes!

On this recipe you should use either imperial OR metric measurements. They make slightly different amounts

Preparation time
Cooking time
Eating time

10 minutes
30 minutes
Not Long

Makes enough for a small cookie tray - I usually double the recipe.

INGREDIENTS	METHOD
200gms (6ozs) Butter 100gms (3ozs) Castor Sugar 225gms (7ozs) Plain Flour 60gms (2ozs) Cornflour	Preheat the oven to 160C (320F) Mix the flour, cornflour and sugar together. Cut the butter into cubes and then rub into the mixture. Press firmly onto a cookie sheet about 5mm (1/4 inch) thick and prick all over with a fork. Bake in the centre of the oven for 30 minutes Dust with caster sugar and cut into bicuits Leave to cool before removing from tray

Toffee Fig Pie

2010-09-19T13:53:00.001-07:00

I'm harvesting figs at the moment. Lots of figs, every day. Last year, when I collected the figs I ate most of them just using a few to make some delicious jam and bottled a few in the local "Monbazillac" white wine which I gave away as presents at Christmas.

So, as this year's crop is substantially heavier, I have been scouring the internet for different recipes. Meals here are becoming a "Fig Feast". Sunday lunch today was no exception. I made a delicious starter of figs with little bits of goat cheese and ham, all marinated in my favourite balsamic vinaigrette.

The roast chicken remained "unfigged" although, I did toy with putting figs into the stuffing(seasoning)

I made these Toffee Fig Pies for dessert. I more or less copied the recipe although my pastry skills are such that my own version was totally unphotographable, so, I've stolen the photo as well from the excellent recipe resource of BBC Food....

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2829/toffee-fig-pies

Baked Beans

2010-07-03T13:51:00.001-07:00

There are a few British things that I love that are quite hard to get here in France. Actually, to be honest, they are not particularly hard to get, as there are a plethora of specialist British shops around. It's just that, being a bit stingy, I refuse to pay the price those shops are charging.

One such thing is baked beans. In the UK, baked beans are available in every grocery shop and range in price from a few pence per can up to about £1.00 per can. Sometimes, I can't even tell the difference between the cheap one and the expensive one. However, here in France I can only buy a fairly middle of the road variety and that will cost me the equivalent of way in excess of £1.

Kate over in Tasmania, offered me a solution whilst she was here a few months ago and gave me an easy to make recipe. Since then I have made it quite a few times and made subtle changes. I always liked the recipe but now, I think it's just a bit better....

This recipe would probably serve 6 people, served with salad and home made bread. The recipe freezes well and I usually make this amount and then freeze in small portions

	Preparation time: a couple of days (see method) Cooking time 1 hour plus 1 hour
Ingredients 1 1/2 cups coco haricot beans a dash of salt	Method Soak the beans in water overnight. Drain and recover with water , add a dash of salt and simmer for one hour
2 large onions 4 or 5 cloves garlic 100gms smoked belly of pork	Coarsely chop the onions and thinly slice the garlic then fry in a little oil. Meanwhile, slice the belly of pork into small cubes and add to the pan and fry until the meat and onion are lightly cooked
1 tin tomatoes 2 tbl tomato paste 2 tbl brown sugar 1 tbl dark soy sauce 1 tbl fresh basil 1 tsp herbes de Provence 1 tsp fresh thyme	Combine the tomatoes, paste, sugar, soy sauce and herbs. Drain the beans and reserve the water
reserved cooking water + hot water to make up 2 cups Worcestershire sauce	Make the reserved cooking water up to 2 cups, then add all the ingredients into a casserole and add the water and a large dash of Worcestershire sauce. Bring to the boil and simmer uncovered for about an hour. Add more water if needed to keep the consistency of a thick soup

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. It makes a great side dish with grilled ham, or serve on thickly cut toast as a nutritious breakfast.

Coconut Macaroons

2010-07-01T04:01:00.001-07:00

I made these for tonights barbecue... They are very easy and very tasty.

Preparation time:            5 minutes
Cooking time:                15minutes
Temperature:                 180°C

Pre heat oven to 180°C
Separate eggs, reserve the whites and give the yolks to a friend to make Mayonnaise

150gms sugar

200 gms dessicated coconut

3 egg whites

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1/2 teaspoon of salt

sift sugar and coconut into a mixing bowl
stir in salt, vanilla essence and egg whites and make sure thoroughly mixed
drop large teaspoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet, ensuring that the macaroons are not touching. They will spread, but only a little
Bake in the middle of the oven (180°C) for about 15 minutes until just turning golden on top
Remove from oven and let stand 2 or 3 minutes then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool.
If you have any, I didn't, dip the bases in melted chocolate

Tartar Sauce

2010-06-25T14:03:00.001-07:00

Friday here is fish day and today was no exception.

I love fish and seafood in virtually any way that it arrives but I am particularly fond of traditional British Fried Fish and Chips.

However, those of you who know me, or who have seen my photo on the blogs, will know that fried fish and chips is not something I should be sampling every week. My compromise comes in three forms: one - the fish I choose these days is coated in breadcrumbs and grilled, rather than coated in delicious succulent beer batter and deep fried to perfection... two - the chips I go for these days are lightly fried in oil, then frozen... then oven baked to serve. Although they are still fried, they contain about 50% less fat than the traditional chip of potato, cut into slices, deep fried in animal fat, then, after the fat has been reheated, deep fried a second time until they are golden brown and crunchy.... three - well, the third compromise is to replace the tartar sauce with a slice or two of lemon.... but hey, lets stick to two compromises shall we?

I always make my own tartar sauce as part of preparing the meal and have developed an incredibly easy recipe which is fabulously tasty

Here it is:

Tartar Sauce

Ingredients:

3 or 4 small pickled gherkins
2 tablespoons of mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon fresh dill
1/2 teaspoon of the pickling vinegar
a few capers (if liked)

Method

Finely chop the gherkins and put them in a ramekin.

Add the mayonnaise, mustard, fresh dill, vinegar and capers and blend together. Chill for an hour or so.

This recipe makes a small serving suitable for a dinner for 4 (or me!!!) It's incredible easiness, belies it's great taste.

Cherry Crumble

2010-06-20T07:28:00.001-07:00

Oven	180° C
Preparation	15 minutes
Cooking time	15 + 20 minutes

I can't believe that another Sunday has arrived.

Recently, I've mentioned a few times that my orchard is laden with fruit this year and, at the moment, it's cherry time.

I have several cherry trees which produce fruit in a rather orderly succession. I can't take any credit for this delightful fact though, as the trees were planted many years before I took over guardianship of this piece of land.

Today, for Sunday lunch I prepared a simple dinner of roast chicken with roast vegetables. Potatoes, from the garden via the freezer, Fennel, picked this morning and an onion and carrots from the market. I also made a traditional sage and onion stuffing.

For desert I decided that I had to use the delights of the orchard and eventually decided on Cherry Crumble. As you can see, once it was made, it looked far too good to worry about taking photographs....

Here's what I did:

Cherry Crumble

A bowl full of freshly picked cherries
A few drops water
A knob of butter
A tablespoon of sugar

For The Crumble Topping

4oz butter
4oz demerara sugar
7oz Flour

It's simple 1:1:2 butter, sugar, flour crumble mix......
but I usually cut the flour back a bit and use demerara sugar....

Pre heat the oven to 180° C

Pick a bowl full of cherries.
Remove stalks and wash them
Destone the cherries and half fill an ovenproof dish

Once I have put the cherries in an oven proof dish.....oven to table dish...... I then sprinkle some sugar over them. The cherries will be wet from washing and destoning so I don’t add any further water. Add a knob of butter and bake until the cherries are just cooked. (about 15 minutes)

Add the 1:1:2 crumble mixture on the top...not underneath or it gets messy...on top of the cherries and return to the oven for a bit longer.... About 20 minutes

When it's black, it's burnt..

Eat with lashings of a runny cream

Yorkshire Pudding

2010-06-13T05:02:00.001-07:00

Back in the 15th century there were a series of wars in which England was involved. Here in France, the 100 years war between France and England was coming to a disastrous end after stewardship for that war was wrest from the successful Duke of York and handed to the non military Duke of Somerset, leading to numerous defeats until in 1451 Bordeaux and Gascony were lost to the French.... Of course, there are those locals who say that in the 21st Century, the British are winning back the territory by stealth!

About the same time, The Duke of York set himself against the Duke of Somerset, and with the various alliances, the wars between the houses of York and Lancaster were born. The house of Lancaster wore a red rose , whilst the house of York wore a white one and so it was that this became known as the Wars of the Roses.

By now, I'm sure many of you are wondering why on earth this is all relevant to Ian's French Kitchen??

Well, to understand a bit more you need another piece of information..... and that is that Ian was actually born in Lancashire.... and now, here I am living not that far from Bordeaux....

We British tend to take our heritage quite seriously and so, all my life my family have jokingly set themselves against the Yorkists. As it happens, my family hails from the borders between Yorkshire and Lancashire so, in fact, there are just as many Yorkshire men as Lancastrians in it.

However, one thing I have learned over the years is that there are some things that the Yorkists certainly got right. One of those things is Yorkshire Pudding. I'm not sure how familiar people outside the UK are with Yorkshire Pudding so I'll explain that, despite it's name, it is not a dessert. It's a savoury batter dish which was served to help fill you up during times of hardship and is usually served with Beef, although, today, it has found many fans who eat it with all sorts of savoury fillings. Yorkshire pudding itself, apparently, dates back to the mid 18th century and is a truly delicious accompaniment to beef gravy

So, enough waffle, here is an easy recipe made in a food processor. There are as many Yorkshire Pudding recipes as there are Yorkshire housewives, but this is a Lancastrian's version!

Try Yorkshire pudding cold with honey too, if you have any left over!

YORKSHIRE PUDDING

Preheat oven to 220°C

Preparation 10 minutes plus 30 waiting
Cooking time – 1 hour

Serves 4

125gms Plain Flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon Baking Powder
1 large egg
300ml milk
1 tbs oil

In a food processor
Sift together the salt, baking powder and flour
Mix in the egg with half of the milk and beat for a couple of minutes until the batter is bubbly
Stir in remaining milk
Cover and set aside for 30 minutes
Heat the oil, in an ovenproof dish until very hot, then pour in the batter
Place in the centre of the oven and bake for one hour .

The pudding should be golden brown and have risen nicely. When cut it should not be wet inside.

The hot oven is essential.as is the hard beating to get lots of air into the mixture

Clafoutis

2010-06-12T10:25:00.001-07:00

My orchard is bursting with cherries at the moment. The other day, I picked about 8 kgs and now, the next tree is ready to harvest with similar numbers. At this time of year, I'm looking for things to do with cherries but I often freeze a lot for later use

However, this year I have decided to try my hand at a fairly local dish, a cherry dessert, Clafoutis

Clafoutis is a delicious cherry batter pudding from Limousin, a region just to the north of Ian's French Kitchen… Imagine a pancake batter, laden with cherries, and you're getting close

So here is my recipe....

Preparation time 15 minutes
Cooking time – 40 minutes
Serves – about 6

Ingredients

4 cups ripe cherries (washed)
3 eggs
4 heaped tablespoons plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons sugar
300ml milk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Cherry brandy
2 tablespoons melted butter

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, then blend in the sugar.
Sift in the four and baking powder and add the salt. Continue beating
Warm the milk and vanilla extract and slowly add it, whilst continuing to beat.
Add a small slug of cherry brandy and then whisk in the melted butter.
Cover the bottom of a well greased oven proof dish with a single layer of whole cherries
Gently pour the batter over them until the cherries are barely covered
Bake in the middle of the oven for 30 to 40 minutes.
The clafoutis should look like a delicious golden pancake with cherries Rest for about 10 minutes. The clafoutis will sink a little, whilst resting

Tip:

Lots of recipes call for the cherries to be pitted. If you do this it IS much easier to eat…. But ALL my French friends insist it should be made with unpitted cherries as otherwise the colour from the cherries stains the batter distracting from the look of the dessert.

The batter can easily be made in a food processor. I start with the eggs, then, with the machine running slowly I add the sugar until it's smooth. Next add the salt, vanilla extract and milk and allow to beat a little more. Finally, sift in the flour and baking powder and beat for one minute.

Paella with seafood and chicken

2010-06-11T15:06:00.001-07:00

Preparation - 20 minutes
Cooking - about an hour
Serves 4 to 6

	This is not meant to be a true Spanish Paella but just my version of a delicious one. It’s not as complicated as it looks!!!
Instructions	Ingredients
Mix together in a large bowl	2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tsp Basil 1 tsp paprika salt black pepper
Then stir in, cover and refridgerate	Cut chicken pieces
Heat in a large frying pan /casserole	2 tblsp olive oil
Then add and cook for about 3 minutes	3 cloves garlic 1 choppped sweet pepper (red) 1 large chopped onion 2 cups short grain rice
Stir the rice mixture to ensure rice is coated with oil, then stir in	1 tsp Turmeric 1 fresh Bay leaf handful of peas fish stock zest of one lemon
Chop and add to mixture	small handful flat leaf parsley
Bring to boil, cover and simmer on a gentle heat for 20 minutes
Meanwhile, In another frying pan, heat	Another 2 tblspns Olive oil
Then stir in the contents of marinade (chicken etc), and cook for about 15 mins before stirring in	chorizo sausage cut into about 15 thin slices
Cook for 5 mins then add	1lb cooked shrimp smoked salmon cut into bite sized pieces ½ lb mussels a few shell on large shrimp
Cook for a further five minutes until mussels are open
Finally add the contents of both pans together and cook for the last few minutes
Arrange on a serving dish and serve garnished with	Lemon Quarters

Leftovers pie

2010-06-01T12:30:00.001-07:00

I had a friend from Luxembourg drop in on Sunday and I decided to cook a roast chicken dinner. It was a pretty traditional thing with a lovely free range chicken and a mixture of roast vegetables. I decided not to stuff the bird with my seasoning so I just put an onion in the cavity and let the juices blend with those of the onion, cooking the stuffing in a separate dish

In the same dish I put a couple of chipolata sausages and potatoes, pumpkin, courgette(zucchini), onion and carrots to roast, then popped the whole lot into a medium hot oven (180C) for about an hour

I also served a selection of nibbles as aperitifs and then a delicious pork pate de campagne with homemade multicereal bread made with a few nuts added. We followed the main course with a lovely selection of French cheeses, except, purely selfishly, I added a good English farmhouse cheddar. My guest brought dessert! A glorious apple pie with an extravagant flaky pastry top and delicious shortcrust base. The pie stands about 150mm (6") tall!! and we ate it without adding anything.

Of course, there was quite a bit left over, particularly from the chicken and vegetables, so tonight I made a recipe I learned about from a relation just the other day. Leftovers Pie. I really wasn't sure about it but thought it was worth a try. It turned out to be delicious

In a pie dish I spread out all the left over meat and vegetables, cutting everything into bite sized pieces. I included all the leftovers, potatoes, roast vegetables, a few peas I had added to the dinner, the chicken and even one of the chipolatas and the left over stuffing until the dish was almost full.

Then I poured over the left over gravy and covered the dish with a puff pastry top. As I always do, I used a ready made puff pastry. I love making shortcrust pastry but have never managed to successfully make puff pastry and with such great ready mades available, I gave up trying many years ago. The other thing about recipes for leftovers is, I believe, they should be extremely simple. You've already cooked the meal so the ready made pastry makes it very simple and quick.

I popped the pie into a preheated oven at 190C and left it to cook for about an hour.

The picture has been cropped so that you can't see just how much of the pie got eaten!!!

Spicy Sausage Rolls

2010-05-23T13:02:00.001-07:00

	Some friends are coming for aperitifs this evening, so I decided to make a few sausage rolls. Here in France meat in pastry products are not common. It is hard to find any of those traditional staples of British fare, such as Steak Pie or indeed the humble Sausage Roll. I also know from past experience that my French friends love the culinary differences between our two cultures and thoroughly enjoy some of the things I cook that they otherwise would have little knowledge of. Of course, I'm never sure whether that's because of the difference in our cultures or simply because they can't recognise the food I have tried to prepare. So, this morning I made Spicy Sausage Rolls
	Here's the recipe, and it really is simple I use shortcrust pastry, but lots of people prefer puff pastry. Either way, you should end up with a delicious, slightly different, sausage roll
For the Sausage Meat	400gms minced pork 100gms minced beef 2 good tablespoons of rolled oats a good dash of worcestershire sauce a couple of drops of tabasco (I put in 4) a dash of sea salt a beaten egg
For the Pastry	For the pastry I prefer to use a shortcrust pastry, Here's a recipe I often follow: Jean's Shortcrust Pastry
Method	Pre heat the oven to 190°C Mix together the meat and then stir in the oats and salt. Beat the egg and add the worcestershire sauce and tabasco then stir this into the meat mixture, adjusting consistency by adding more oats if it's too wet Make the pastry and roll out into a thin sheet. Roll the meat mixture into a thin sausage and place on the sheet of pastry towards one end. Carefully roll the pastry around the meat and cut once it has enclosed it. Place this seam side down on a baking sheet and repeat for the next roll. Continue until you run out of pastry....or of meat!!!! Brush with a little milk and make several pricks in the pastry to allow steam to escape Bake in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes, or until brown. Turn over and bake the bottoms for a further 5 minutes Allow to cool and then cut into bite sized pieces

If you're feeling lazy, you can simply use a pre-made pastry, like I often do. and you can substitute sausage meat for the minced pork and beef, but if you do this, do pay attention to what you are actually getting in your sausage meat!!!!!

Cheese on Toast

2010-05-07T15:05:00.000-07:00

The other evening I couldn't decide what to prepare for a simple supper in front of the TV.
After a lot of debate with myself, I finally opted for cheese on toast and it was delicious

I started with my home made multigrain bread which I sliced and then toasted on one side.

Then I spread butter on the untoasted side and added a dash of French mustard

After this I added the four cheeses.... First some thin slices of Dutch Maasdammer, next a couple of slices of my favourite Cantal entre deux, a thin slice of Brie was added before finishing with a covering of grated Emmental... Pop under a high grill until the cheese has melted and is starting to bubble.

I was going to describe this as a light supper..... but maybe not!!!

Marinated Mushrooms

2010-05-05T13:41:00.001-07:00

The other day I had some friends drop by and as the temperature was about 30C (high 80's F) I decided to barbecue some pork and burgers.

I'm afraid I was so busy barbecuing that I didn't get any photos, but I'm sure, as always, the words will whet your appetite.

I far prefer barbecuing on an open fire and preferably wood rather than charcoal. I can't really explain it but, to me, there is little comparison between the taste of food cooked on wood and the taste of food cooked on charcoal. The former, I guess, is just so much smokier.

Anyway, on this occasion I accompanied the barbecue with some simple salads. I was pretty busy and was trying to save work!!!!!

One simple salad I served is marinated mushrooms.

The recipe is simply slice mushrooms and marinate them for a couple of hours in a vinaigrette dressing. Over the years, I have found that a balsamic vinaigrette really complements the woody mushroom taste so that is what I now always use and I use what ever mushrooms I have but really like the big bold "Champignons de Paris" that we get here, (a kind of huge button mushroom).

To make the vinaigrette I use one part water and one part balsamic vinegar. To this I add some crushed garlic and a selection of herbs (I use herbes de Provence).

Give it a good shake then add 5 parts of olive oil, (I prefer extra virgin).

Give this mixture a really good shake and then let stand for an hour or two before using to allow all the herbs to infuse the liquid.

Slice the mushrooms into a bowl and cover with the vinaigrette and leave to marinate for a couple of hours

there you have it, a simple, delicious accompaniment.

A Surprise Sunday Lunch

2010-04-18T10:19:00.001-07:00

I'm sure most of you will by now have heard about the problems in the skies above Northern Europe and the resulting no fly zone which has been in place, more or less continuously since it's imposition on Thursday. The zone covers much of Northern Europe and is the result of a volcano erupting in Iceland.

Hundreds of thousands of passengers are finding themselves stranded in the wrong place as air travel plans fall apart. There is, as yet, no real sign of the situation abating and many experts are now suggesting that nothing will fly in the affected areas until the middle or end of the coming week or even later.

One unexpected aside that has arisen out of this situation was a very pleasant Sunday lunch which I have just enjoyed with five friends. All of the friends should have been in the UK, having left France yesterday afternoon for the short flight to Bristol. But they are all still here. Two of them live here and have cancelled their short break and the other three have been offered replacement flights next Saturday afternoon, a week after they should have returned from their holiday.

As a result of this, I offered all five of them Sunday lunch "Chez Moi" and prepared a simple meal.

For starter I mixed several leaves from the garden and prepared a small salad with cucumber. I then turned it into a Perigordine Salad by making a bacon and crouton mix, stirring it into the salad leaves and then dressing with a garlic and herb vinaigrette. I served it with a sliced tomato salad dressed in a tomato vinaigrette.

For the main course I prepared Pork in Cider to my own recipe. It takes it's inspiration from a Porc de Normandie recipe but has been developed over the years.

Coarsely chop a whole onion

Peal and thinly slice several garlic cloves

add a good quantity of herbes de Provence

Fry the onion, garlic and herbs in a little olive oil until tender then line a large ovenproof dish with them

Lightly fry pork chops in a little olive oil in the same pan until they are just slightly browned on both sides. (They don't need to be cooked through) I use one large chop per person.

Arrange the chops in the dish on top of the onions and garlic

In the same pan,mix about 50ml of cider vinegar and a 75cl bottle of light cider, (I use a sparkling cider)

Cut an apple into large pieces, (cored but not peeled) and add to the cider

Bring the cider, vinegar and apple gently to the boil.

Arrange the apple pieces around the chops and pour the liquid over to completely cover

Add lots of freshly ground pepper and some salt

Bake in the middle of an oven at 180 C for about 1 hour

Check midway through cooking and add more cider if the chops are showing above the liquid

Remove from oven after 1 hour and add a good tablespoon or two of fromage blanc to the top of each chop

return to oven for about 15 to 20 minutes

Serve the chops and apple and thicken the juice to make a delicious gravy

I served this dish with cous cous.

I simply measured the amount of cous cous I need, (2 cups for 6 people) into a serving basin. In a sauce pan I put the same amount of water, a handful of dried sultanas and some macedoine of vegetables and added just a dribble of olive oil. I brought the saucepan to the boil and as soon as the vegetables were cooked I poured the whole lot on to the couscous and left to stand for exactly 3 minutes

Fluff up the mixture and serve immediately.

Three or four french cheese and the remains of the fromage blanc made up the cheese board and for dessert, one of the guests brought a wonderful peach and apple tart which we devoured! As always there was a big basket of french bread and several bottles of red wine on the table from the start.

It was a surprise meal for my surprise guests. I'm sorry I don't have any photographs but maybe this is one of those occasions when the words will leave enough to your imagination to let you savour the flavours and dream of the occasion. My guests don't seem to be too upset about being stranded in France!

Easter Biscuits

2010-04-03T07:38:00.001-07:00

Easter is a time for enjoying food and I particularly like these spicy biscuits

INGREDIENTS

120gms Caster Sugar
120gms butter
1 egg yolk (reserve the white)
240gms plain flour
1tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
Pinch ground cloves
75gms mixed dried fruit
Milk

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 160°C
Line a cookie sheet with greaseproof paper
With a knife, cream the butter and sugar together until well blended and light
Carry on creaming, adding the egg yolk until completely absorbed
Combine the flour and spices and slowly fold into the mixture. Then add in the dried fruit.
Make into a stiff dough by adding a little milk (2 or 3 tbsp)
Make into a ball and place on a floured board then roll the dough out to about 5mm thich, turning constantly.
Cut into Easter shapes with a cookie cutter. (I use a round crinkle cut)
Place on greaseproof paper on baking sheet in the middle of the oven and bake for 10 minutes
Remove from oven, brush the tops with egg white and sprinkle with sugar and return to oven.
Bake for a further 10 minutes or until pale golden colour.
Cool biscuits on a wire rack.
Try not to eat until cooled.

Hot Cross Bun Day

2010-04-02T07:27:00.001-07:00

It's Good Friday, a Christian festival which in many parts of the world is celebrated by a national holiday, although, as it happens, not here in France.

Traditionally, Hot Cross Buns are made and eaten on Good Friday. I'm not completely sure of the reasons, but think that, like Pancake Day, it's another food feast related to abstinence at Lent. In this case, those foods which were forbidden during Lent, eggs, butter, milk etc, are once again used to make a delicious dish, in this case a tasty bun.

I determined to make my Hot Cross Buns this morning but things were working against me and it wasn't long before I realised I was running out of time. Hot Cross Buns are delicious to eat, but take up a lot of time in preparation with bursts of activity interspersed with 20 or 30 minutes wait whilst the dough proves.

Admitting defeat, I turned to the internet for a simple recipe where I could throw everything in a pan and walk away... and yes, the pan turned out to be my bread maker. I use my bread maker a lot, but have only ever used it to make...well, bread! But the recipe seemed easy and gave me the time I needed for other things. I'll repeat the recipe here, but a big thanks to Bella Online for the original recipe. I have changed just a couple of small things in that I glazed the buns with warmed honey and omitted the cross!

Well, omitted, is a polite way to say "forgot". I made the buns, prepared the oven and popped them in before putting together a piping bag to add the cross.... it was only then that I remembered the cross has to go on the buns BEFORE they go in the oven.

The finished buns are not the most gorgeous buns I have ever made and they didn't rise very well. However, I want to say that I have no doubt that the problems reflect the state of my attention in the kitchen today and are no reflection on the recipe from Bella Online. They do, however, taste truly amazing.

My own buns

From Bella Online

dough

1/4 cup water - at room temperature or slightly above

1/2 cup lukewarm milk

1/4 cup melted butter

1 egg, lightly beaten

3-1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1-1/2 tsp. active dry yeast

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

pinch of ground cloves

pinch of allspice

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup golden raisins

1/4 cup finely chopped, mixed candied fruit

glaze

2 Tablespoons of honey, gently warmed

Although it's not what is recommended in the original recipe, I always use a mixture of flour and water to make the cross, and pipe it on just before putting the buns in the oven.

Preparation -
Place all the dough ingredients, except the raisins and fruit, in the bread machine pan. Set on the dough only cycle. Add the raisins and candied fruit at the bread machine's signal for adding extra ingredients. Remove the dough from the bread machine at end of dough cycle. Place it in a bowl, cover with a cloth and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Divide the dough into 12 pieces. Shape the pieces into balls and place them 3 inches apart on a lightly greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise in warm place until almost doubled, about 45 minutes to an hour. Bake in a preheated oven at 375º for 15 to 18 minutes, or until light brown on top. Remove from the oven. Place the baking sheet full of buns on a wire rack to cool. Prepare the glaze, then spread it over the warm buns. Let the buns continue to cool on the baking sheet.

Oh, The top picture above is of my own attempt but the second picture is the "official" photo from Bella Online, which I thought looked better.

Creamy Rice Pudding

2010-02-23T09:28:00.001-08:00

9 This is the real thing – a mass of creamy rice and a thick brown speckled nutmeg skin. Don't forget to take a sharp knife and scrape off all the bits of caramelised skin that stick to the edges...

Serves 4-6
Preparation time. - about 5 minutes
Cooking time 2 hrs

Ingredients
150g pudding rice
410g can evaporated milk
150ml single cream (crème liquide)
950ml semi skimmed milk(approx)
75g Golden granulated sugar
ground nutmeg(1 whole clove ground)
a knob of butter

You will also need a round ovenproof dish and lid, with a diameter of about 8 inches (20 cm) and 4 inches (10 cm) deep, lightly buttered.

Method

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 2, 300°F (150°C).
Mix milk, evaporated milk and cream (1 can evap, 250ml crème liquide, make upto 1 1/2 litres with semi skimmed milk.)
For American measures use a can of Evaporated milk, refill the can with 2% milk and add that then add 3fl ozs single cream and if necessary, make up to 1 1/2 quarts with more milk
Put the milk, rice and sugar in the dish to soak…. Preferably overnight, but you can skip the overnight soak.
Give all the ingredients a good stir.
Cover the surface with ground nutmeg…then cover with nutmeg again…then cover with nutmeg again… Lots of nutmeg.. (equivalent to one whole clove of nutmeg if you’re grinding) You'll have guessed that I like LOTS of nutmeg, but the amount can be adjusted to your taste.
Dot bits of butter on the surface
cover with lid and put the dish in the centre of a preheated (150C)oven.
Stir again after 30 minutes cooking
Stir a further time after a further 30 minutes cooking. Add an extra covering of nutmeg to flavour the skin
Cook for further 60 minutes (2 hours total cooking time)

Enjoy the dish……

Saturday night sauce with Pasta

2010-02-23T09:19:00.001-08:00

I tend to cook a roast dinner on Sunday and see that as the "first" meal of the week. Of course, it's not necessarily meat and it not necessarily roasted... but you get the idea.

One of the results of this is that I like to use up whatever is in the fridge on a Saturday night, that is if I haven't been dragged out to eat in a restaurant somewhere.... Well, I can live in hope can't ???

The way this meal often works is I think of a dish I would quite like to make, but then simply adapt it as I cook so that I can include whatever I want to use up.

This week, I decided to make a spaghetti bolognese, although I'm sure the purists will realise that it is far removed from the true bolognese sauce served in Bologna. This one turned out quite nice so I have tried to remember what I did....

INGREDIENTS

about 400gms ground beef
1 can plum tomatoes
1 medium Onion
1 rasher of bacon
1 nice eating apple
a few peas
Mushrooms
a handful of herbes de Provence
a lot of concentrated tomato purée
Some apple juice
enough spaghetti for 4

METHOD

In a frying pan I fried the beef and the herbes de provence in a little olive oil then set aside in a saucepan
Next I fried the onion, roughly chopped, again in a drop of olive oil and added to the sauce pan
The rasher of bacon was next, torn into little pieces and fried before adding to the sauce pan
Into the saucepan I then added the can of tomatoes, the tomato purée, the apple, peeled and cored and cut into small pieces and the apple juice to keep it moist
At this point I also added a slug of sherry as I didn't have any red wine open
The fridge revealed a small dish of left over cooked peas and these were added to the pot as well as all the mushrooms I found
I brought everything to a rolling boil for a minute or two and then reduced the heat to a simmer for about 30 mins
Whilst that was cooking, I dropped the spaghetti into a large sauce pan of boiling salted water to cook
When cooked, I drained the spaghetti, rinsed with boiling water, returned to the pan, added a little olive oil, neated it and then shook the pan vigorously to coat before turning out onto the serving dish and piling the sauce in the middle
Garnish with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese and some fresh parsley

Pancake Day

2010-02-18T08:39:00.001-08:00

I'm still in the UK, getting ready for my return to the Kitchen Garden in France and today is Pancake Day.

I love pancake day and it brings back many fond memories...

As a child, my mother always made pancakes on Pancake Day and it was a real treat. Not just for me, either, as my father loved them possibly a little more than I did. He certainly always got more!

Today also bring back memories of fun evenings with friends. I remember back probably 30 years ago. I was living in south Wales and one day I was telling one of my fiends that I'd be making pancakes that evening as it was pancake day. She looked at me incredulously and simply asked, "Do you know how to make pancakes?"

"Come and see!" I replied

The result was a tradition that we built up over the next 20 odd years where, every pancake day, she and her husband, came for dinner and to help make pancakes. Thinking back, I don't know how we ever managed to make a single pancake as there was so much giggling going on in the kitchen.

Pancake Day, or Shrove Tuesday, Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras as it is otherwise called, is an old Christian festival dating back 1000 years where there is a feast on the last day before lent, in order to use up the foods that should not be eaten during that time.

In England, since the 15th century, the food has been used up by making pancakes, hence the name "Pancake Day". The biggest pancake ever made was made in Rochdale in 1994 and measured 15 metres, about 50 feet, in diameter and weighing in at 3 tonnes (6600 lbs). There is also a tradition in the Buckinghamshire town of Olney to hold a pancake race on Pancake day, where contestants, who must be housewives who have lived in the town for more than six months and wear an apron and scarf or hat, run a race whilst tossing a pancake.

It's quite hard taking a photo of yourself, tossing a pancake, using time delay to allow yourself to get back into the photo, pick up the pan and actually toss the pancake, only to find that it went higher than you hoped and was almost out of the frame!!!

My own recipe is very simple

Basic Pancake Batter

(makes eight)
100g plain flour
Pinch of salt
3 large eggs
200ml milk
A little oil for frying

Place the flour, salt and eggs in a large bowl with half the milk. Whisk until the mixture is lump-free. Add the remaining milk and whisk again until smooth. If you prefer place all the ingredients together in a food processor and blend until smooth, Pour the batter into a jug. The batter can be made in advance and chilled for up to eight hours before use.
Heat a 20cm/8in diameter non-stick frying pan until hot, drizzle a little oil over the centre and wipe it around with a piece of kitchen paper. Now pour a little of the batter into the pan and immediately tilt the pan to spread the batter thinly and evenly over the base. Cook for two minutes or until the top is set and the base golden. Turn the pancake over with a spatula or if you are feeling brave, flip the pancake!
Cook for a further one to two minutes or until the base is golden. Transfer to a plate and interleave with greaseproof paper, keep warm. Use the batter and a little more oil to make a further seven pancakes in the same way.

Serve simply by dusting with sugar, adding a squeeze of lemon and rolling.
OR, as soon as you have titled the pan to spread the batter sprinkle in a few sultanas then cook as before.
I have a friend who insists on taking the pancake but adding golden syrup instead of sugar and lemon

or try them in the following recipe idea.

French Mushroom, Ham & Goats Cheese Crepe
Fill the pancakes with sliced mushrooms sauteed in oil, a slice of ham, then top with thinly sliced goats cheese. Fold up to enclose the filling then pop under a hot grill until the cheese begins to melt. Serve scattered with flat parsley.

OH, I used to make the batter in the traditional way adding the milk, beating, adding more milk, beating again etc. Now... I just throw everything into a food processor and let it do the work. I can't tell the difference.

Fish Cakes

2010-02-18T08:33:00.001-08:00

Friday in our house is fish night. Actually, it rarely works like that but that is the idea. I try and make sure that I eat at least one fish meal every week and, in order to keep tabs on it, I set aside Friday.... If I've not eaten fish in the week then I will have it on Friday....

This week was no exception and, as I hadn't eaten a fish meal I got some white fish out of the freezer...not quite deciding what to do with it...

After some debate... i.e. talking to myself!!! I decided to make fish cakes and soon found a suitable recipe that I could adapt.

Here's what I did....

INGREDIENTS

300 gms white Fish
400 gms Potato
A little butter
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 1/2 tablespoons capers, drained
2 small gherkins (chopped)
2 hard boiled egg, peeled and chopped small
paprika pepper

For the crumb coating

Wholemeal Breadcrumbs
a teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 egg, beaten

For the sauce

Mayonaise
2 gherkins finely chopped
a little English mustard

first I poached the fish in a little salted milk

Then I boiled the potatoes in the same milk until they were ready to mash and drained them, reserving the milk

Next I mashed them to a creamy consistency using the knob of butter and some of the reserved milk.

After I had prepared the above things, I mixed all the above ingredients in a large mixing bowl and added a little more of the milk as needed to help bind it all together. I mixed well and adjusted the seasoning by adding ground black pepper and salt to taste

Once it was all thoroughly mixed together I formed some balls, I made 8, tightly squeezing the mixture together.

Next I coated the balls by rolling them in the beaten egg and then in the breadcrumbs, placing each finished ball on a board lightly covered in more breadcrumbs.

Finally, I flattened the balls into cakes turning over so that they remained well coated.

To make the tartar sauce I simply mixed together the chopped gherkins and the mayonaise, adding the mustard to taste before leaving to stand until I was ready to serve.

I fried the fish cakes in a dash of olive oil, over a high heat turning every couple of minutes until they were golden brown.

I served with a garnish of fresh salad leaves and tartar sauce

Baked Cheesy Fish

2009-12-31T05:59:00.001-08:00

I made a small fish dish which I served on Christmas Day. For me, Christmas dinner is a traditional affair with Roast Turkey and lots of vegetables and accompaniments, followed by Christmas Pudding with either cream or white brandy sauce.

This is, of course, quite a heavy couple of courses, so I'm always looking for something a bit lighter to serve as a starter. This year, I plumped for tiny ramekins of my Baked Cheesy Fish

This is such a simple recipe using basic ingredients and only a few minutes to prepare. I filled the ramekins in advance and kept them refrigerated before baking and serving.

INGREDIENTS

A piece of smoked Cod
A piece of Brie Cheese
A small portion of mashed potato
A little dry white wine (I used a Chablis)

METHOD

I fill a ramekin for each person

cover the bottom 1/3rd of the dish with mashed potato.

Next, add a piece pf fish to fill the dish, leaving a small gap to the top

Add a small slug of wine to each ramekin. I use about a glassful for 5 or 6 ramekins.

Finally put pieces of the brie on top of the fish

The dish can now be kept refridgerated for upto 24 hours.

Bake in the middle of the oven at 180C for 30 minutes.

Finish off by grilling under a high grill just to brown the cheese, (a couple of minutes)

Serve immediately

Baked Chicken

2009-05-26T06:37:00.001-07:00

I have a friend who eats chicken.....lots of chicken. When I say she eats lots of chicken I mean she eats chicken, at lots of times, breakfast, lunch, dinner, late night supper...... you get the idea. I remember, recently, she was staying with me and, as with all our guests, off we went to Villereal for the Saturday morning market. She hadn't had any breakfast before we left, settling just for a cup of coffee so when we arrived, the first task was to organise breakfast. Now, I often have breakfast at the market... I go to my favourite boulanger/pattissier and buy croissant or apple turnovers or whatever takes my fancy. Sometimes they have something seasonal, like last week, when they had a "Poisson d'Avril" which was like a huge apple turnover but filled, not with apple but with a delicious almond paste......

But I digress, on the particular visit in question, I went off to my bakery to buy "Chausson au Pomme", an apple turnover and my friend went off in search of her breakfast.... Imagine my surprise when she returned to the bar, where I had ordered us a couple of noisettes, holding a large piece of spit roasted chicken. The owner of the bar was completely unphased though, and when he brought our coffees simply wished us both "Bon Appetit" and announced he would bring a warm cloth so she could clean her fingers when she finished.

All this sprang into my mind the other day when I was searching through the freezer looking for something simple to cook for dinner and came across a couple of portions of chicken.

I decided to bake them with my herb and cheese crust. It's very easy to make, smells gorgeous when you are preparing it and doesn't let you down when you come to eat it.

Baked Chicken in a Cheese and Herb crust

Serves 4

4 portions of chicken,
100gms (4oz) bread, (I use a stale crusty baguette),
100gms Strong hard cheese (I used Mature English Cheddar)
1 medium egg
Handful of Parsley
Sprig of fresh Mint
Sprig of fresh Basil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Wash the chicken and dry gently

In a food processor blend the bread, cheese and herbs.

Beat the egg and dip chicken in egg then coat generously with breadcrumb mix

Cook in the middle of preheated oven (180C) for 45 minutes

Note. I subsequently made this with a selection of cheeses.....I used all the bits in the cheese box at the end of the week and, I'm not sure, but I thought it tasted even better. the breadcrumb/herb/cheese mixture also freezes really well.

It's a pity the boffins in Silicone Valley haven't come up with a way to send smells, as this really did smell so gorgeous, even before you cooked it.

Fish in a kind of Provencal sauce

2009-05-13T14:01:00.001-07:00

It was Friday and I was running out of food.... Well it would be an exaggeration to say running out of food.... My garden is loaded with salad stuff, I had the few last leaves of cabbage growing and the new crop of Broad Beans was ready for it's first picking..... but....

So, it was Friday and I was running out of food and I had to prepare lunch. The solution in my mind was take a look at what I actually had and then create something...which would hopefully be tasty.

There were the last couple of pieces of coley, which I quite like. I had Courgettes (zucchini), lots, I found a fennel in the vegetable rack and as I dug into the freezer, I found the last few tomatoes from last year, 3 large Marmande, a tomato I find very tasty and which freezes and keeps well.

I could create a fish in a kind of Provencal sauce.

I got down my big old heavy frying pan from the rack and set it on a medium heat

Provence is olive country so a good tablespoon of olive oil was the first thing in the pan, quickly followed by a generous dose of "Herbes de Provence"....(what else??)

Next I peeled and sliced 4 cloves of garlic and chopped a medium onion, throwing them in the pan as I went.

The pan had now warmed sufficiently to turn down to a low heat.

I chopped the onion and tomatoes and added those. I really needed more tomatoes but I didn't have any so I opened a tin of Italian plum tomatoes and chopped them before adding them, along with all the liquid

I chopped half the fennel and added that.

When I found the tomatoes, I also found a small aubergine (egg plant) from last year...although, I didn't actually grow aubergine last year!!! so that got chopped and added

A few dates, pitted and chopped and the sauce was beginning to come together although it lacked something... I added a teaspoon of sea salt and a generous cupful of a sweet white wine I have.

The wine is a home made wine made by a local farmer.... It is made in the same way that Monbazillac is made. Sadly, he lives a few kilometres outside the Monbazillac Vignoble limits and as he isn't a registered wine producer it remains as a home made wine which he can't sell. This particular bottle was 25 years old and beautifully mellow and smooth.

The fennel was added next and then the sauce left to simmer gently until the liquid had reduced quite a bit.

In the meantime, I lay the fish fillets in the bottom of an ovenproof dish and scattered a good handful of peeled prawns (shrimp) over them.

Once the sauce was ready I covered the fish with it and then baked in a medium oven for about 20 minutes (180C).

I started off calling this a "kind of Provencal sauce" but I'm not sure anyone from Provence would give it a seal of approval....

Vegetable Soup

2009-04-27T07:19:00.001-07:00

I usually buy all my fruit and vegetables at the market on a Saturday morning. Mostly I buy from a local producer or I buy from Laurent, a greengrocer who buys off small local farmers to save them having to invest the time in attending market with maybe one product. He also brings in things from Spain, like oranges and strawberries and very occasionally from further afield.... By buying like this, I get to pick the freshest produce available each week. Don't forget, of course, that the Spanish border is nearer to me than Paris.

Some weeks, I find that my plans have changed and I have a wide selection of vegetables left over when Saturday morning comes round again.

Since I moved to France nearly 5 years ago I have developed my own "Potage" which solves this problem perfectly. "Potage" is the name given to a soup made from vegetables grown in the "Potager" or vegetable garden.

I make the soup in a slow cooker which allows all the tastes to develop and blend.

The problem of left over vegetables occured last week and by yesterday I had a lot left.... So, I made the soup today, using....cauliflower, celery, celeriac, pumpkin, onion, carrot, Swiss chard, courgette, lemon, fennel seeds, sunflower seeds......

I think that was all... I added a big dose of herbes de provence , a good teaspoonful of Marmite (yeast extract) and about 500ml (US Pint) of salted water and the same of a light lager type beer. It then cooked for about 7 hours on the high setting, with just an occasional stir....

Today, I also went through the fridge and emptied all the odd sauce bottle ends into the pot.... but I didn't put any garlic in as I was running low... That is the beauty of this soup....anything that you have goes in and if you don't have it, it doesn't matter.

At the end of cooking I assess what the soup looks like and what I feel like..... sometimes I will blend the whole lot down to produce a rich thick soup....others I will serve it as it is, with juicy bits of vegetables in a glorious liquid stock. Then, I will serve what I need and pot the rest, ready to cool and freeze.

However, a word of warning to those of you who are used to following recipes..... This way of cooking, simply using what is available and, perhaps, even including things because they "need using up", can produce some truly superb results. Your family may well ravenously finish the pot and demand you make it again very soon.... And there, my friends, is the problem....because of the very nature of the way the ingredients are chosen, you will never make another one which is exactly the same!

Frittata

2009-04-26T12:29:00.001-07:00

This is a frittata made with Courgette(Zucchini), Pumpkin, Celeriac and Feta cheese

I made it the other day, guided by a recipe I had not tried before, but adapting the ingredients to use up some leftover vegetables.

I used a metal frying pan that I could put under the grill at the end.

Ingredients:

300gms (12ozs) of pumpkin cut into 1 cm cubes
100gms (4ozs)of pumpkin grated
200gms (8 ozs)celeriac grated
200ml (1 cup) Apple Juice
3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely sliced
1 green courgette cut into 1cm cubes
2 salad onions sliced
4 eggs
200ml (1 cup) liquid cream
200gms (8ozs) feta cheese, crumbled
1/4cup chopped fresh basil leaves
3 tbs olive oil to fry

Method:

Turn the grill on high. Heat the oil in a large 25cms(10"~) frying pan, over a high heat.
Add the garlic and onion and cook until you can smell the garlic/onion mix.
Add the pumpkin cubes and cook for 3 or 4 minutes, then add the grated pumpkin and celeriac.
Add the Apple Juice and bring to the boil and cook for a further 3 or 4 minutes.
Add the courgette(zucchini) and then carry on cooking on high heat until the liquid has gone again.

Whilst this is happening beat the cream and four eggs together and then add the crumbled feta and chopped basil leaves and stir it all together. Once the liquid has gone, turn the heat down and evenly distribute this mixture in the pan. Cook for a few minutes(6 or 7) until the edges are just set but the middle is still quite runny.

Remove pan from heat and place under grill for about 5 minutes. The frittata should be set and lightly grilled on the top.

Serve immediately accompanied by fresh salad leaves.

I opened a young Bergerac Red to drink with this meal and it went very well, the lightness of the young wine nicely complementing the lightness of the omelette.

Multigrain Bread

2009-04-25T09:30:00.001-07:00

This is my favourite home-made bread.

Multigrain Bread

300gms multigrain bread flour
200gms plain bread flour
300ml water
a handful of mixed nuts
1 tbs walnut oil
3tsp coarse sea salt
7gms (1 sachet) of dried baker's yeast

I make the bread in a bread machine, setting the machine to run overnight so that I awake to the delicious aroma of freshly baked bread.

Put the water,oil and nuts in the pan
Add the flour.
Create a dip in the middle of the flour, and spread the salt outside of this dip.
Put the yeast into the dip, ensuring it stays dry.

Set the machine to cook on a whole grain programme to finish when you want to get up....

If you are not going to delay the start, there is no need to worry about keeping the yeast dry.

I'm sorry, bread is funny stuff and I have never successfully made any, using any measurements other than metric.

I have added a new blog caled "Ian's French Kitchen. There is a link under "Our Links" in the sidebar. I will post all future recipes to there as well.

Hot Sauce

2009-04-25T09:09:00.001-07:00

This is a nice little hot sauce to serve with shell fish, smoked salmon etc..

It takes about 5 minutes to make and keeps well in the refrigerator for a few days.

Ingredients

Tomato Ketchup
1 tsp Horseradish Sauce
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
Worcestershire Sauce
a couple of drops Tabasco Sauce

I usually make this in a small ramekin.

Half fill the ramekin with Tomato Ketchup. Add all other ingredients and mix together. Let stand for about 30 minutes.

Red Cabbage

2009-04-18T13:09:00.000-07:00

I picked the last of my red cabbage a couple of days ago. You may remember, I was only growing it because I bought it in error, not noticing the hand written amendment to the printed label which simply said rouge (red)!!

I decided to cut the last couple of heads and pickle them, hoping they'll last a few months longer....

To pickle red cabbage I use a mixture of 50% water and 50% vinegar and boil it with some pickling spice. I now make my own spice blend for pickling.....

Pickling Spice Mixture

Ingredients:

1 tsp Coriander Seeds
1 tsp Chilli Flakes
1 tsp Mixed Peppercorns
1 tsp Yellow Mustard Seeds
1 tsp Ground Ginger
2 Bay Leaves

I use this quantity for 5 litres (5 US Quarts) of vinegar/water, just crushing the bay leaves and then mixing all the ingredients together. For smaller quantities, I use a tsp per litre (US quart).

I then bring the vinegar, water and spices to the boil and let it simmer for a moment or two.

I put the shredded cabbage into jars and add a teaspoon (probably slightly less) of sugar to each jar before pouring on the hot spiced vinegar and sealing.

Ian's French Kitchen

Oaty Cherry Crumble

Oven

Spag Bog… Well, not really.

Clam Chowder

Mediterranean Fish Casserole

Pork chops in a Creamy Mushroom Cider Sauce

Ranch vegetables

Balsamic Vinaigrette

Balsamic Vinaigrette

Baked Beans

Ian's Baked Beans

Ingredients

Method

Muesli

Laying the table

What to do with half a chicken

Paella

Ingredients

Preparation method

The Ultimate Indulgence

Chocolate Fudge Cake

Scones

Ingredients

Method

Red Lentil Burgers

Traditional Burgers (Ian’s Recipe)

White Fish in a Creamy Sauce

Oh Dear!

Beef Bourgignon with a few carrots

Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday..

Ian's Shortbread Biscuits

Toffee Fig Pie

Baked Beans

Ingredients

Method

Coconut Macaroons

Tartar Sauce

Tartar Sauce

Ingredients:

Method

Cherry Crumble

Cherry Crumble

For The Crumble Topping

Yorkshire Pudding

YORKSHIRE PUDDING

Clafoutis

Ingredients

Method

Tip:

Paella with seafood and chicken

Instructions

Ingredients

Leftovers pie

Spicy Sausage Rolls

Cheese on Toast

Marinated Mushrooms

A Surprise Sunday Lunch

Easter Biscuits

Hot Cross Bun Day

Creamy Rice Pudding

Ingredients 150g pudding rice 410g can evaporated milk 150ml single cream (crème liquide) 950ml semi skimmed milk(approx) 75g Golden granulated sugar ground nutmeg(1 whole clove ground) a knob of butter

Saturday night sauce with Pasta

INGREDIENTS

Pancake Day

Fish Cakes

Baked Cheesy Fish

Baked Chicken

Fish in a kind of Provencal sauce

Vegetable Soup

Frittata

Multigrain Bread

Multigrain Bread

Hot Sauce

Red Cabbage

Ingredients
150g pudding rice
410g can evaporated milk
150ml single cream (crème liquide)
950ml semi skimmed milk(approx)
75g Golden granulated sugar
ground nutmeg(1 whole clove ground)
a knob of butter