White Fish in a Creamy Sauce

(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!

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

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..

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

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

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

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.