Author: Corinne

Categories
recipe

Mushroom beignets with a soy, black pepper and parsley batter

Mushroom beignets with a soy, black pepper and parsley batter

Mushroom beignets with a soy, black pepper and parsley batter

Ingredients:

A punnet of mushrooms

200 g of self raising flour

1 large egg

3 tbsp of light soy sauce

1/2 tsp black pepper

As much or as little parsley as you like (finely chopped)

A bit of water

Vegetable oil

A non stick pan

Kitchen towels

Method:

In a bowl, mix your flour, egg, soy, black pepper and parsley and slowly add a little bit of water, until you reach a thick batter. If you’ve ever made Yorkshire pudding that’s the consistency you want to get.

Finely chop your mushrooms, add them to your batter and stir.

Place some kitchen towels in a plate or even better a tray.

In your pan, add about a 1 cm deep of oil, and heat it up. Add spoonfuls of your mushroom mix to the hot oil. Once cooked place them on the kitchen towels to soak-up the excess oil. And repeat this process until you have no batter left.

Serve warm with a sweet chilli sauce.

If you want to make this recipe vegan, you can easily do so by removing the egg.

If you would like to attend one of our cooking classes, have a browse here

Corrine x

Categories
recipe

A summer time favourite: courgettes souffle

A summer time favourite: courgettes souffle

Ingredients:

120 g of cheddar grated

350 ml of milk

4 small courgettes grated (they will cook quicker if you do so)

one table spoon of olive oil

1 small onion finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic finely grated

4 large eggs

60 g of butter,

60 g of plain flour

6 ramekins buttered and floured

Step one: cook the courgettes

In a pan add the olive oil and the onion finely chopped, cook the onions until soft, then add the garlic and stir for a minute or so. Then add your grated courgettes, a bit of salt and pepper and stir, lid on, let them cook on a low heat for 10 to 15 minutes until they are soft.

Step two: make a bechamel sauce

In a pan melt your butter, once melted add the flour and stir constantly for a good minute or so. Off the heat, using a whisk, slowly add your milk and stir until all the milk is incorporated. Then put it back on the heat and stir constantly until your bechamel thickens. Off  the heat add your cheese and your cooked courgettes and stir. Separate the egg yolks, keep the whites. Add the yolks to the mixture and stir.

Step three: the final stage

Pre-heat your oven at 180° C

Whisk your egg whites into stiff peaks. Gently fold your whites into your bechamel, courgettes sauce, one spoonful at a time. It is very important to take time to do this correctly. Once all your whites are incorporated fill your ramekins to the top. Pop them in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

Corrine x

Categories
recipe

Summer cooking, stuffed tomatoes

Summer cooking, stuffed tomatoes

Ingredients: (this recipe will feed 4 to 6 people depending on appetite)

4 beef tomatoes and 4 small vine tomatoes

500 g mince pork

6 of your favourite sausages

thyme (as much as you like), finely chopped

4 spring onions finely chopped

parsley (as much as you like), finely chopped

one table spoon of tomato puree

one table spoon of mascarpone (strangely enough something like cottage cheese works just as well too)

one table spoon of soy sauce

Method:

Pre-heat your oven to 170°C (fan oven)

Start by mixing your mince with your sausage meat (take out the skin of the sausages). Add your spring onions, herbs, tomato puree, mascarpone and your soy. This mix can be made well in advance even the day before. It actually tastes better if you can.

Cut the top of your tomatoes, these will be used as your lid. Then, remove the flesh inside your tomato, don’t throw it away, as you can make a gorgeous tomato sauce with it. You may also freeze it if you are not going to be using it soon. Start filling your tomatoes with your mince, prick the side of your tomatoes with a knife. This will allow them to cook quicker and more evenly. Place them in an oven tray. Drizzle them with a bit of olive oil and pop in the oven for a good 45 minutes to an hour.

If you are vegetarian, you can replace the mince with cooked rice mixed with finely chopped courgettes for example.

Local suppliers worth checking out for this recipe: Burwash Larder, Radmore Farm shop , Long Horn Farm shop. For a flavour of our cooking and baking classes click here

Corrine x

Categories
Hen parties

Hen parties with Gourmandises Academie

Hen parties with Gourmandises Académie

First of all congratulations on your engagement! I’m sure you’re all already planning your memorable day. But have you planned your hen do yet?

If you haven’t, here are a few of the activities we organise at the Académie.

Hen parties with Gourmandises Académie

Whether your bride is a a novice baker or a cook extraordinaire, we have activities to please everyone during your hen party.

Mini bake off:

This is a fun and hands on activity. No soggy bottom is allowed here. You will learn how to make the perfect pastry, rustle-up your own mini tarts and go back with a box of your own goodies, so what’s not to like.

Luxury chocolate experience:

This is the ultimate Willy Wonka experience! Loads of chocolate making and tasting involved in this activity. Your party will be whipping-up truffles with gorgeous ganache in no time. The best bit is going back with a box of your own chocolates.

Hen parties with Gourmandises Académie

Eclairs decorating:

That is really a fun one. For those of you looking for something different from the usual cupcake decorating, this one is for you. You will be piping scrumptious chocolate and vanilla creme patissiere. Then comes the fun bit, decorating those beautifully piped eclairs with icing and everything you fancy really. This is where you can let your imagination go wild. Again your guests go back with a box of their own creation.

Afternoon tea à la Marie Antoinette:

I know what you’re thinking, not another afternoon tea with a load of finger sandwiches again. ( by the way, this is not a criticism of finger sandwiches, I love them, but it is rather everyday…). In fact there aren’t any sandwiches nor scones. Picture Afternoon tea like Marie-Antoinette used to have, with a myriad of little patisseries, mini gateaux, entremets, hand made chocolates, a table of delights for your bride to feast on with a glass of Kir Royal. This can be coupled with the activities listed above.

 

 

If you’d like to book your hen party with the Académie, send us an email contact@gourmandisesacademy.co.uk

All the activities can take place either here in Cottenham for a group of 12 hens or we can arrange the activity to take place in Cambridge for bigger groups.

This list is not exhaustive, if you have an idea that’d you like to put together let us know.

A lot of the classes we offer can also be arranged as a group activity for your hen do. Have a look here.

Corinne x

Categories
recipe

Radishes with spring onions and chillies

Radishes with spring onions and chillies

Radishes with spring onions and chillies

Ingredients:

One bunch of radishes

Rock  salt (you can use normal salt, but rock salt is best)

2 spring onions finely chopped

Depending on your chilli tolerance, as many as you want

One TBSP of vegetable oil (don’t use olive oil for this, as it will over power the radishes taste)

Half a lime

Method:

Slice the radishes. In a bowl, mix them with the chopped onions and chillies. Add the oil and the juice of the lime, season with rock salt and mix. And that’s it! It is as simple as that.

This dish is also super tasty in pitta bread with a bit of fish or any strong cheese. I personally serve it as a side dish with a traditional “cari” from Reunion Island. You can do the same with any curry.

P.S: I regularly run a supper club about Reunion Island food, check it out here

Corrine x

Categories
event

Cookery demonstrations at Burwash Manor

Cookery demonstrations at Burwash Manor

As part of Eat Cambridge food and drink festival,  Burwash Manor and the Larder are organising their annual “Spring Feast”. This fringe event is taking place this Sunday 19th May, from 10 am until 4 pm.

 

As part of the event, I will be running a number of cooking demonstrations, celebrating the wonderful spring produce of Burwash.

I love this time of year when vegetables and fruits start to make their appearance. I have been busy in my own garden, and I’m already harvesting the goodness of spring. So, this Sunday, I intend to showcase a few ingredients, that for me mean spring. So, there will be asparagus, radishes, new potatoes, spring onions, strawberries…I am going to show you some very simple recipes that you can do at home. And you know me, I will surprise you with some recipes you may not have thought of or even tried.

Entry to the event is free, so come along, there will also be plenty to sample.

Burwash has also invited a certain number of traders, amongst them:

  • Chihuahuas mexican street food
  • Cambridge cider and Cambridge Craft beer pop-up bars
  • Coffee in the coolest land Rover ever The Rural Coffee project
  • Dove Cote Bakery Sunday Bun day stall

I hope to see some of you this Sunday

Corrine x

Categories
recipe

Lovely seasonal quiche with ham and baby spinach

Lovely seasonal quiche with ham and baby spinach

Lovely seasonal quiche with ham and baby spinach

Ingredients:

A 9″ loose tin, parchment paper and a really cheap bag of rice

One roll of shortcrust pastry

300 ml of double cream

4 eggs (medium)

A bag of fresh spinach (best for this recipe as frozen will give too much water)

Ham (enough to cover the base of your cake tin, ham can easily be replaced by bits of chorizo or haloumi if you’re vegetarian)

Camembert

One small onion

A TBS of olive oil

Method:

Pre-heat your oven at 170°c (static oven) 160°c (fan oven)

Start by laying your pastry in your tin. Prick the bottom with a fork, then place your tin in the freezer for a good 5 minutes.

In the meantime, in a pan, fry your onion with the olive oil. Once the onion is soft, add your spinach and cover your pan with a lid, no need to add water or anything, after 2 to 3 minutes lift the lid, the spinach will have wilted by then, stir and leave to the side to cool.

Take your tart out of the freezer, cover the top with parchment paper and add your rice, put your tart in the oven for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes get rid of the parchment and rice on top, put the tart back in the oven and cook for another 5 minutes. Then take out of the oven and cool for 5 minutes.

In a jar, mix your eggs with your double cream, add a bit of pepper and a bit of salt (not too much as the ham is salty).

Start assembling the quiche, (don’t panic if your pastry is still warm at this stage, it doesn’t really matter). Distribute the cooked spinach and onion at the bottom of your quiche, add the ham on top and then pour your egg/cream mix. Add some bits of camembert on top. Pop your quiche back in the oven and let it cook until golden brown on top. (this can take up to 30 minutes depending on your oven).

Let the quiche cool and serve with a lovely rocket salad.

If you are vegetarian, you can easily replace the ham with a good goat cheese for example.

Chef’s tip: in the summer time, if you grow your own herbs, add the flowers of your chives on top of your quiche, thyme flowers work well too.

Corrine x

Categories
Supper club

Le Bistrot Clandestin: The food of Reunion Island, saveurs indiennes

Le Bistrot Clandestin: The food of Reunion Island, saveurs indiennes

Last Saturday, I hosted my third Bistrot. The focus this time, was on the amazing heritage the first Hindus of the Pondichery region left on Reunion Island food and its culture. 16 guests, locals of the Cambridge area and some as far as Surrey and Yorkshire, gathered around my table for this very special culinary experience.

 

The Bistrot so far, has been focusing on my culinary background with the cuisine of Reunion Island, where I was born. The island is not very well known here in the UK, nor is its food. Nestled in the middle of the Indian Ocean, near Mauritius, Reunion island food is a melting pot of Chinese, African, Indian, French and creole.

A little bit of history:

On Saturday, my guests were treated to yet another beautiful meal with a focus on the Indian influence “saveurs indiennes”. The Hindus of Reunion arrived on the island in the 17th century. They came as slaves. The Governor at the time, was particularly interested in their carpentry and building skills. After the abolition of slavery, they stayed on the island and built very prolific businesses. Today they are just an integral part of who we are as Reunionnais. We don’t think of them as people from India nor do they. But, the influence they left on our food is immense. Saturday was a celebration of this.

Apéritif créole:

Every meal in Reunion, like in France starts with a little nibble, “apéritif”. Typically, it is a glass of “rhum arrangé” (Rhum flavoured with local fruits) and savoury nibbles. Guests were welcomed with a glass of rhum flavoured with coconut water and grape fruit. They also enjoyed a “samoussa cari poulet” . The samossa was filled with the traditional reunionnais chicken cari, pieces of chicken slowly cooked in turmeric.

Let’s start:

For Starter, I served a street food favourite “achards de légumes”. If you go to Reunion these would be served in baguettes in street food vans or as a side dish. This one is definitely packed with Indian flavours. A mix of fresh vegetables, green beans, white cabbage and carrots, cooked with turmeric and ginger. It was served on a shortcrust pastry base called croustade.

Le plat de résistance:

As main, I wanted my guests to experience a traditional Reunionnais curry, and surprise them with how different it would taste, “looks like a curry but doesn’t taste like what I know at all” kind of thing. I did exactly that with my “agneau massalé” , a slow cooked lamb in massala spices (but not the massala served here, a very special creole blend), served with rice, beans and a tomatoe rougail. In Reunion, this dish is actually made with goat, but I didn’t know how adventurous my guests would be, so kept it safe. When I told them, they all asked to have it served at my next Bistrot.

The star of the show:

Dessert was not quite what you’d see in Reunion, but the flavours were: an entremet with a mango and chocolate mousse on a coconut biscuits, served with a fresh mango coulis.

Miniardises:

Go on, say it, that was a meal and a half! But oh! no, of course it didn’t finish there. Each time, I like to finish the meal with either coffee or tea and a little treat. This time to keep-up with the Indian theme, there were cardamon and mint truffles.

 

 

I thoroughly enjoyed the evening and I can say my guests did too.

If you’d like to attend the next supper club, just email me contact@gourmandises.co.uk and I will add you to my mailing list.

You can find more information about Reunion Island food here.

Categories
recipe

Delicious Easter petits fours

Delicious Easter Petits Fours

Ingredients:

  • You will need a cupcake tray buttered. With the quantities in this recipe you will be able to make 24 petits fours.
  • Chocolate mini eggs
  • A star nozzle
  • A piping bag
  • 200 g dark chocolate
  • 200 ml double cream
  • Set your oven at 170º C (static oven) 160º C (fan oven)

Method:

For the frangipane:

  • You can get the frangipane recipe here. The only difference from the original recipe is that I added a table spoon of cocoa powder to the mix.
  • Add one tsp of the frangipane mix in each of your cupcakes base and cook for 15 minutes. Once out of the oven, take your frangipane cups out of the tray and let them cool on a rack.

For the ganache:

Bring your double cream to the boil, leave it to cool for 2 to 3 minutes then add your chocolate and stir until completely melted. Put your ganache in the fridge for a good hour and a half. Take it out of the fridge and bring it back to room temperature by stirring it vigorously. Transfer your ganache in a piping bag with a star nozzle.

Decorate your frangiane cups with the ganache, try to make a twirl shape. Add the mini eggs for the finishing touch.

P.S : These will keep for a good week in an airtight container, as the ganache has been pasteurised by boiling the double cream.

If you enjoy baking, I have a range of courses for you to try, check them out here. 

Corrine x

Categories
recipe

Padrón peppers, chorizo and poached eggs

Padrón peppers, chorizo and poached eggs

Ingredients:

Padrón peppers (about 4 to 6 per person)

Chorizo ( you don’t need a lot, about 50 g or so cut into cubes)

1 or 2 poached eggs per person

Your favourite slice of bread

A non stick pan

One tbsp of olive oil

Method:

Start by poaching your eggs. While they are poaching, in a pan, fry the padrón peppers until they become soft and a bit char on top. Then, add your chorizo and lightly fry for a minute or so.

For this recipe I like to use either a piece of sourdough or a chunky piece of multi-seed loaf that I toast.

I don’t butter my toast, that’s just me but please feel free to do so. Place your padrón peppers on top first then the poached eggs and the pieces of chorizo.

P.S: you can replace the chorizo with cottage cheese or even a beautiful goat cheese, if you are vegetarian. Also, if you don’t have padrón, you can use normal peppers sliced in quarters.

Bakeries: Cambridge is lucky to have a good variety of bakeries, here are some that I use, Balzano’s, Stir and Burwash Larder.

Corrine x