Author: Corinne

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recipe

Chicken parcels cooked in vermouth with carrots, leek and fennel

Chicken parcels cooked in vermouth with carrots, leek and fennel

image of a terracotta pot on a wooden table containing four meat parcels in a tomato sauce. You can find the recipe on the blog of cookery school Gourmandises Academie in Cottenham, Cambridge

Ingredients:

4 chicken parcels ( I get mine from my local butcher)

One leek chopped

One carrot chopped

One fennel chopped

3 cloves of garlic

Fresh thyme

Fresh parsley

80 ml of vermouth

600 ml of boiling water

2 TBSP of tomato puree

Method:

In a pan, add 2 TBSP of olive oil and start by gently browning your parcels on both sides, once they are brown take them out of the pan and add your leek and the thyme, once the leek has softened add the garlic, the carrot and the fennel, stir for 2 minutes. Then add your vermouth, let the alcohol evaporate and then add 2 TBSP of tomato puree and 600 ml of boiling water, stir. Put your parcels back in the pan, reduce the heat and let it simmer for 2 hours on your stove. Add freshly chopped parsley before serving. I have mine with polenta, but mashed potatoes works just as well. Et voilà,

If you live in Cambridge, you can get your chicken parcels from Longhorn farmshop or Leech and Sons

Corrine x

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recipe

Mum’s chicken chasseur

Mum's chicken chasseur

image with a dish containing pieces of chicken, mushrooms and a bit of parsley on top, you can find the recipe on the blog of Gourmandises Academie

Ingredients:

4 chicken legs

One onion (chopped)

2 cloves of garlic (crushed and chopped)

Thyme

Bay leaves (2 leaves is enough)

Parsley (chopped)

80 g of green pitted olives

150 g Lardons

A bottle of dry white wine

300 g closed cup mushrooms (sliced)

Turmeric

You will need a heavy based pan with a lid for this dish

Method:

Start by browning your chicken legs in two TBSP of vegetable oil. Once brown, take the chicken out of the pan and add your lardons and your mushrooms and stir them around constantly in your pan until all the water has gone. Then add your chopped onion and stir again until they’re soft, add the garlic, thyme and bay leaves and stir for a minute. Then put your chicken back in the pan, season with salt and pepper, but not too much salt as you already have some from your lardons. At that point add your olives and a bit of turmeric (less than a 1/4 of tsp) and stir, pour your wine. Bring it to the boil, then turn the heat right down, lid on and let your chicken cook for an hour. The sauce should have reduced and be velvety by then, if it’s still runny, live it to cook a little longer. Before serving add the fresh parsley on top. Et voilà!

Chef’s tip: this meal is actually best enjoyed the next day.

 Good quality farm shops to get your chicken from: Longhorn or Leech and Sons

Corrine x

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recipe

Courgettes pancakes, topped with , roasted tomatoes, creme fraiche, and salmon

Courgettes pancakes, topped with roasted tomatoes, crème fraiche and salmon

image of a pancake topped with roasted tomatoes, crème fraiche and salmon you can learn how to make this at cookery school Gourmandises Academie in Cambridge UK

Ingredients (this quantity will serve 2 to 3 people)

For 100 g of courgettes (grated) you will need to add

One egg

One heaped tbsp of self raising flour

Salt and pepper to season

2 to 3 slices of salmon

Cherry tomatoes slowly roasted

A dollop of creme fraiche

A bit of grated cheddar

Olive oil or vegetable oil

You will need a small non stick pan for this

Method:

Mix your courgettes, flour and egg, and season with a bit of salt and pepper. In a pan, drizzle a little bit of olive oil and add a ladle of pancake mix, cook one side for a minute, turn it over and cook the over side, and that’s it really for the cooking. I tend to serve mine with with a bit of grated cheddar, then roasted tomatoes, then the creme fraiche and salmon on top of it all. Regarding my tomatoes, I roast them for a good 45 minutes in a 160° c oven with fresh thyme and oregano from my garden (dry herbs work too), rock salt and olive oil. You can also use freshly sliced cherry tomatoes for this recipe. Et voilà

I hope you enjoy it, if you do have a go, don’t forget to tag me on social media, either on IG or FB

Another great brunch recipe is courgettes muffins, find the recipe here

Corrine x

Categories
recipe

Gateau de courgettes au chocolat

Gateau de courgettes au chocolat

image of a cake loaf covered in a dark chocolate glaze and topped with fresh strawberries and cherries dipped in white chocolate, you can find the recipe on the blog og Gourmandises Academie

Ingredients

300 g of grated courgettes (this is when you have squeezed all the water out of them).

240 g self raising flour

180 g sugar (can be caster or granulated)

100 g melted butter (unsalted)

2 TBSP of ground almonds

3 eggs

100 g dark chocolate (melted)

I like to bake my cake in a bread tin but an 8″ round tin will do too.

Pre-heat your oven to 180° C fan.

For the garnish (this is me being extravagant, the cake is actually really nice without it)

100 ml double cream

100 g dark chocolate

I chose to add cherries dipped in white chocolate and strawberries but you can easily skip that bit (this is just for show, you know, when you have dinner party guests you want to impress!)

Method:

When I said it was easy, I meant it really. The hardest bit is to line your cake tin with baking paper. In a bowl, mix all your ingredients together in one go, the courgettes, sugar, eggs, melted butter, flour, ground almonds and chocolate. (remember to squeeze the water out of your courgettes). You will end-up with a very loose batter, don’t panic that is fine. Pour it into your tin and into your oven for a good hour, reduce the temperature to 170° c once in the oven. Make sure your cake is cooked by inserting a skewer or a knife in the middle, if it comes out clean it’s cooked, if not put it back in the oven a bit more.

Leave your cake to cool. Once cooled you can add a chocolate ganache on top, but you can also eat it as it is. If you decide to add the ganache, warm-up your double cream (don’t boil it otherwise your chocolate will split), add your chocolate and stir, and spread it over your cake. I decided to add some fruits to mine to make it more appealing. Et voilà, mon gateau de courgettes au chocolat!

P.S: don’t forget to tag me on my social media channels if you make the cake IG or FB

You might fancy trying a savoury recipe click here

Beautiful tableware courtesy of Roneford Catering

Corrine x

Categories
recipe

Malaysian inspired pickled courgettes

Malaysian inspired pickled courgettes

image of a jar of pickle, you can find the recipe on the blog of cookery school Gourmandises Academie, Cambridge

Ingredients:

1 kg of courgettes

50 g of salt

1 tsp of turmeric

1 tsp of chilli flakes

2 tsp of mustard seeds (you could also use coriander seeds)

3 cloves of garlic finely chopped

20 g of fresh ginger finely sliced

2 tbsp of sugar

500 ml of vinegar

Method:

Start by cutting your courgettes into little cubes, pop them into a bowl with your salt and mix well, cover and leave it overnight (this is the brining process, your courgettes will render a lot of water that way).

The next day, rinse your courgettes in cold water ( I do this seven times to get rid of the excess salt, you want your courgettes to reach that sweet but not too salty taste). Once that’s done, you also want to drain the excess water. I do this by transferring the courgettes to a colander with a plate over them and something heavy on top. Leave for 5 minutes at least or until no water comes out. Then heat a tbsp of vegetable oil in a pan, add your mustard seeds, when they start popping, add the ginger, the garlic, chilli flakes and the turmeric and stir for a minute constantly as you don’t want your garlic to burn, then pour the vinegar and add the sugar, bring to the boil and turn the heat off, let this cool completely.

Once cooled start adding your courgettes into sterilised jars one layer at a time, then add some of the spices on top, then a bit of the vinegar and repeat this process until the jar is full. This process allows you to have an even distribution of spices, vinegar and courgettes in the jar. If you don’t do that you end-up with all the spices at the top of your jar. That is it!

You can either leave these jars for 6 months or consume after a week with cold meat, sausage roll, ham or even a good old scotch egg. It’s truly delicious!

Last year I went for courgettes fritters you can find the recipe here

Corrine x

Categories
recipe

Tarte provençale with tapenade, goat cheese, roasted tomatoes and peppers

Tarte provençale with tapenade, goat cheese, roasted tomatoes and peppers

image of a piece of pie with roasted tomatoes, pepper and cheese on top, you can learn how to make this at the baking school Gourmandises Academie

Ingredients:

400 g roasted cherry tomatoes

1 red pepper

280 g of tapenade

One roll of puff pastry (try to purchase puff pastry entirely made with butter and not palm oil).

100 g goat cheese

Method:

You will need to have roasted your pepper and tomatoes first, and let them cool down before you start. I roast my tomatoes separately from the pepper with a drizzle of olive oil (it usually takes 30 minutes), in a hot oven at 180 ° C fan.

Once that’s done, put a baking tray in a pre-heated 180 ° C oven. This process will prevent the “soggy bottom” scenario.

Then start assembling your tart.

Roll out your pastry. Tip: I leave my pastry on the baking parchment it comes with. Then, I spread the tapenade evenly on top (Tapenade is very easy to make yourself you can find the recipe here), add your tomatoes and pepper (I sliced it into strips) and finish by adding bits of goat cheese on top. It is as simple as that. Then I take out my tray that has nicely been warming up in the oven and lift my tart onto the tray. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until the edges are golden brown. Et voilà

P.S. If you are making your own tapenade, use good black olives, like kalamata. You can find these in the supermarket but also very good delis such as Burwash for example.

Corrine x

Categories
recipe

Roast chicken with orzo, chorizo and haricot verts

Roast chicken with orzo, chorizo and haricot verts

Ingredients:

For a family of four:

4 chicken legs

one onion roughly chopped

one punnet of cherry tomatoes

Fresh thyme

225 g of Spanish chorizo sliced

One glass of white wine

300 g of haricots verts (can be fresh or frozen)

400 g of Orzo

Pre-heat your oven at 180° C

Method:

Cook your orzo, using the same method for cooking pasta. Bring a pan of water to the boil and then add your orzo, let it cook for 12 to 15 minutes. Once cooked drain the water.

In an oven tray start by adding the thyme, onion, tomatoes, haricots verts and  chorizo, season your chicken with salt and pepper and place it on top. Then add one glass of white wine and one glass of water and place in the oven. Let it cook until the chicken starts getting brown but not completely brown. That should take 40 to 45 minutes depending on your oven. At that point, take your tray out of the oven, there should still be quite a bit of sauce , but that is fine. Take the chicken out of the tray, then add your orzo and mix in the sauce, put the chicken back on top and back in the oven for another 10 to 15 minutes, until your chicken is totally brown. Serve hot…

P.S if you don’t have orzo, you can use paella rice for this

Try to go for a very good quality chicken I get mine from either Burwash or Longhorn Farmshop

Corrine x

Categories
recipe

A mother’s day treat, vols au vent filled with a salmon mousse

A mother's day treat, vols au vent filled with a salmon mousse

A mother's day treat, vols au vent filled with a salmon mousse

Ingredients:

A roll of puff pastry

200 g of smoked salmon

Juice and zest of one lime

50 ml of double cream

One egg

Preparation:

Line a tray with baking paper. Pre-heat your oven at 180° C

Start by preparing your egg wash. Add 2 pinch of salt to your egg and mix. Leave to the side while you prepare your mousse.  This method will prevent your egg wash from being lumpy.

To make the vols au vent, you will need two round cookie cutters, one bigger than the other. Start by cutting with the big one, then using the small cutter cut into the middle of the one you’ve cut before as per picture below. Make sure not to go too dip the second time. Make as many as you can with your pastry. Brush them with your egg wash and pop them in the oven for 10 minutes, until golden brown on top. Once cooked, pop them onto a cooling rack.

 Now pop all your salmon into a food processor and mix until totally smooth in texture, then add your cream. Now, this is where you have to be super careful, mix again, but only for 2 seconds, it’s more a quick whisk than anything else. If you mix too much you won’t have a smooth mousse but a split like butter texture and you don’t want that. Poor into a bowl, add your lime juice and zest and mix.

Cut the top of your vols au vent and spoon your lovely salmon mousse into them, I tend to use a pipping bag at that stage, but if you don’t have one, spooning your mousse is fine. Et voilà.

I like to enjoy these with a glass of bubbly

If you’re looking for a Mother’s day treat, head over to Gourmandises

Or you might also be interested in my pâtisserie box or a cookery voucher, these are valid for a year.

Corrine x

Categories
recipe

Financiers filled with chocolate and hazelnut

Financiers filled with chocolate and hazelnut

Financiers filled with chocolate and hazelnut

Ingredients:

I used a financier mould for mine, but no need to buy one, just use a muffin or cupcake tray, it will work just as well.

260 g of icing sugar

300 g butter

180 g egg whites (the equivalent of 6 eggs)

160 g ground almonds

100 g plain flour

2 TBSP of chopped hazelnuts

100 g of dark chocolate, no need for an expensive chocolate for this.

Pre-heat your oven to 180° C

Method:

Melt your butter in a pan until it becomes brown butter, it is important to get it brown as it will enhance the nutty flavour of the financiers. Let it cool.

In a bowl, mix all the dry ingredients, sugar, almond, flour and hazelnut, then add the egg whites. Once the butter is cool add it to your dry mix. Pour your mix in your tray, not all the way to the top only half way, then add a square of chocolate on top and pop in your oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until brown on top. Et voilà, as simple as this!

Other suggestions: you could replace the chocolate with raspberry or even bits of bananas or even pineapple

If you enjoy baking do check out my latest online baking classes

Corrine x

Categories
recipe

Petites frangipane tarts with a chocolate surprise

Petites frangipane tarts with a chocolate surprise

Ingredients:

A cupcake tray

A set of pastry cutters including a little star shape  cutter

One block of sweet shortcrust

2 Tbsp of plain flour

240 g ground almonds

4 eggs

240 g of sugar (any type of sugar will work)

240 g butter

One tablet of chocolate (milk, white or dark)

This amount should allow you to make two cupcake trays

Pre-heat your oven to 170° C

Method:

The frangipane mix:

Mix the butter, flour, grounds almonds, sugar and eggs into a paste and set aside.

Take your pastry out of the fridge at least 15 minutes before use. Then, using your pastry cutters, cut out some circles and place them in your tray (you’ll want your circles to be bigger than the cases so there is enough space to fill them).  Prick the bottom of your cases with a fork. Use the leftover bits of pastry to cut some stars. Then, place a square of dark chocolate at the bottom of the cases, and add a teaspoon of frangipane mix on top and place the star on top of your frangipane.

Place your tray in the oven and cook for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown on top. Eat warm or cold, once cool pop them in an airtight container, they will last for a good week. You can also freeze them.

P.S. for more Chritmassy recipes head over here. If you enjoy pastry, how about booking yourself onto one of my pastry workshops.

Corrine x