Monday, January 26, 2015

Delicious jerusalem artichoke and boletus soup

Do you know Jerusalem artichokes (topinambours in French)? They're roots, not very easy to peel with a very subtle taste of artichokes. They used to be eaten by French people during the second world war, as there was not much left to eat. That's why nobody ate them for decades. Bad souvenirs.
Yet, it's unfair, as there so good...

Serving 6, you need :
1kg of Jerusalem artichokes (1kg de topinambours)
1 box of dried boletus (1 petit bocal de cèpes séchées)
1 onion (1 oignon)
Chicken broth (1 bouillon de volaille)
10 cl of sour cream (10 cl de crème liquide)
Baking soda (bicarbonate de soude)

- Peel the jerusalem artichokes
- Put the dried boletus in warm water for 15 min then in boiling water for 10, then drain them
- Peel and slice the onion
- Fry the onion and the boletus for 5 min in one tablespoon of olive oil
- Add the Jerusalem artichokes, cover with water, add salt and pepper, some chicken broth (bouillon de volaille) and 1 tablespoon of baking soda (this helps make the Jerusalem artichokes easier to digest).
The best broth in France is Aryake. You can find it in many Monoprix now.
- Cook for 30 min and blend the soup with 10 cl of sour cream
Enjoy!!

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

A light recipe if you invite 10 to 15 friends...

I just tried this fish couscous recipe. Simple, easy even for 15 people, light and delicious after end of year heavy, yet delicious meals.
For this recipe, serving 6 people, you need:
- 6 fish filets like tilapia
- 3 carrots
- 3 fennel bulbs
- 1/2 a celery root
- 2 zucchinis (you can do without, as it's not really the vegetable of the season)
- 1 teaspoon of nutmeg, coriander seeds, turmeric, ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
- 1 dose of safron
- fresh cilantro
- salt, pepper, chicken broil
- couscous

It's very simple :
- Peel and cut in big pieces all the vegetables
- Put them in hot water with all the spices, salt, pepper and the broth
- Cook them for 40-45 min until they're done (thanks to a knife you feel the tenderness of the cooked vegetable)
- Cut each filet in 3 pieces
- 5 min before serving, put the fish pieces in the lightly boiling broth and let it cook for 5 min
- Prepare the couscous
- Serve everything together and enjoy!!


Thursday, November 27, 2014

A quick and light pesto for your pasta

After almost 2 years of laziness, I'm back.
Just wanted to share with you an idea of one of my friends : using zucchinis as the base of a nice pesto.
You need, serving 4 :
- one zucchini
- 3 table spoon of parmiggiano
- 2 table spoon of olive oil
- 50g of pine nuts
- leaves of basil if you have some
Then, it's simple : cook the zucchinis in boiling water ; dry fry the nuts until they become nicely brown, then put all the ingredients in the blender and blend it for 5 min.
Done. Enjoy with pasta or with a fish filet just baked in the oven for 10 min.

More to come. We bake tonight.


Sunday, January 13, 2013

Recette pour une année savoureuse : partager des aventures culinaires en famille

As time goes by, the frequency of my posting on my blog goes down and down. Of course, the idea is always there ; I should post this new recipe, this new experience. This morning, for example,we (my 3 sous-chefs and I) tried my Christmas gift : a rolling machine to make fresh pasta. Awesome : delicious fresh pasta and a nice time together in the kitchen.
OK, my promise for 2013 : at least 2 posts a month.
Happy new year!

Le temps passe et mon assiduité à mon blog décroit. Ce n'est pas faute d'y penser souvent : à chaque nouvelle aventure culinaire, je me dis qu'il faut que je partage. Ce matin, par exemple, nous nous sommes lancés, mes marmitons et moi-même, dans la confection de pâtes fraiches à l'aide du laminoir glissé dans la cheminée par le Père Noël. Formidable : pâtes délicieuses et joyeux bazar dans la cuisine.
Bref, bonne résolution 2013, retrouvez de l'assiduité dans l'animation de mon blog.
Très belle année.


Saturday, May 5, 2012

Spring strawberry tart

I just found the first local strawberries at the market this morning. This can be a special treat for the whole family. We prepared a dough  sablé  breton like, then a lime crème pâtissière and we put these very tasty strawberries on top. Yum yum!!!
Recipes are quite simple :
For the dough, thank you, Mercotte (a very talented cook in France), just mix together 2 egg yalks and  a little more than 1/3 cup (75g) of sugar until it gets white. Add 1/3 cup (75g) of soft salted butter. Then add 3/4 cup (100g) of flour and 2 tsp (5g) of yeast. Put small round shape pieces of dough on a flat dish that goes to the oven. Don't put the sablés to close as they will grow bigger while baking. Put them in the fridge for 2 hours and then bake them in a pre-heated 300F oven for 20 min. When they're ready and before they cool down, use a round coffee plate to cut them at the right size.
For the crème pâtissière, bring to a boil 1 1/2 cup (35cl) of milk, one lime zest and 1/3 cup (40g) of sugar. Let it brew for 5 min so that the milk takes the taste of the lime. In a bowl mix together 1/3 cup (40g) of sugar and 4 egg yalks. Then mix with 1/4 cup (30g) of corn flour. Add a little bit of the milk in the bowl and put everything back in the sauce pan on the stove and slowly cook it, mixing, until it gets thick. When it's done add 3 tbsp (40g) of butter and mix. Let it cool down.
You're ready  to make your tarts with a  sablé, one or two tablespoon of crème pâtissière and half cut strawberries on it.


Vous auriez vu les yeux gourmands de mes fils, ce matin, sur le marché, devant ces gariguettes charnues. Impossible de résister. Nous avons donc improvisé des tartes aux fraises maison, avec sablé breton, crème pâtissière au citron vert. Pas mal, je dois dire.


Les recettes sont assez simples :
Pour les sablés bretons, merci a Mercotte, mélangez ensemble 2 jaunes d'oeufs et 75g de sucre, jusqu'a ce que le mélange blanchisse. Ajoutez 75g de beurre salé mou, puis 100g de farine et 5 g de levure. Formez des ronds de pâte sur la plaque allant au four. Éloignez-les sur la plaque car ils gonflent a la cuisson. Laissez-les reposer au réfrigérateur pendant 2h puis mettez-les au four pour 20 min a 170. Quand ils sont cuits et encore chauds redécoupez les a la taille voulue avec un emporte piece.
Pour la crème pâtissière, faites bouillir 35cl de lait avec un zeste de citron vert et 40g de sucre. Laissez infuser quelques minutes. Dans un cul de poule, mélangez 4 jaunes d'oeufs et 40g de sucre jusqu'a ce qu'ils blanchissent puis ajoutez 30g de maizena. Versez un peu de lait chaud sur le mélange puis reversez le tout dans la casserole et faite épaissir la crème a feu doux sans cesser de tourner. Quand elle a la texture voulue, faite la refroidir et ajouter  40g beurre en morceaux.
Il ne vous reste plus qu'a assembler, au dernier moment, pour ne pas détremper le sablé (vous pouvez aussi faire fondre un peu de chocolat blanc et en mettre une très fine couche avec un pinceau sur chaque sablé avant de mettre la crème : cela empêchera l’humidité d’imprégner  le sablé) chaque sablé avec 1 ou 2 cuillères de crème pâtissière et les fraises coupées en 2. Et voila.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Poulet au vinaigre express / Fast chicken with vinegar


Coming home at 7:30. Dinner needs to be ready within the next 20 min. I love these challenges. I gather chicken breasts I cut in 5 or 6 pieces. Fry them in a wok with a sliced garlic clove. When the chicken is getting nicely brown, add 2 teaspoons of honey, 1/8 cup of balsamic vinegar and 1/4 cup of heavy cream. You can add a fresh rosemary branch. Let it simmer for 10 min until the sauce gets thicker. Enjoy! Yummy, said my kids!

Le challenge du soir : rentrer chez soi à 19h30 et pouvoir se mettre à table dans les 20 minutes. Bon, pas de panique. Je prends les blancs de poulet jaune qui sont dans mon réfrigérateur. Coupez les en 5 ou 6 morceaux et faites les revenir dans un wok à feu vif avec une gousse d'ail émincée. Quand le poulet est doré, ajoutez 2 cuillères à café de miel, 1/4 de verre de vinaigre balsamique et 10 cl de crème liquide. Vous pouvez ajouter une tige de romarin frais. Laissez mijoter pendant 10 min. C'est prêt! Chez moi, succès total qui a largement compensé le stress du retour.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Fast and yummy chicken for the whole family



Yesterday's challenge was we had to leave Paris to go to the Loire Valley and we had 45 min to make dinner and have dinner with a fridge, hum, not empty but close. There was some carrots and 3 chicken breasts and some Coppa from Corsica in that fridge.


So, I cut the chicken in small pieces, and 2 carrots in small cubes (like 1.4 inch) and 3 slices of Coppa in small pieces too (you can replace Coppa by any kind of prosciutto or even bacon). In one table spoon of olive oil, fry 1 sliced garlic clove with the chicken and the carrots. After 5 min add the Coppa or the prosciutto. Let it cook for 10 min. When it's ready add 3 tbsp of balsamic vinegar in the pan and 4 tbsp of heavy cream. Stir. It's ready. You can enjoy it with green salad or a side dish with rice. Great success in my family...