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Tag: French cooking

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Christmas cooking recipe

Raspberry, choc mousse and ginger nut verrine

Raspberry, choc mousse and ginger nut verrine

I think sometimes we tend to overthink desserts at Christmas, meaning it all needs to be grand which often equals to a lot of hours in the kitchen. Who wants that kind of stress? You may think I do but actually I'm all for simple yet delicious entertaining at Christmas, what's the point of a party if you're glued to your kitchen! Well here's a showstopper of a dessert that won't take long to rustle up, my "Raspberry, choc mousse and ginger nut verrine"

Picture of a trifle with a chocolate mousse and fresh raspberries on top, you can find the recipe on the blog of cookery school Gourmandises Academie, Cambridge

Ingredients:

  • 250 g of fresh raspberries
  • 2 tablespoons of icing sugar
  • 20 g of dark chocolate
  • 100 ml of double cream
  • 6 ginger nut biscuits
  • This quantity will make roughly two to three verrines
  • You will need cocktail glasses or wine glasses work too

Method:

In a bowl crush six raspberries. Place six ginger nut biscuits in a freezer bag and bash them to a crumble with a rolling pin. Add two tablespoons of that crumble to the raspberry mix. Melt your chocolate in the microwave or over a bain marie. Add the icing sugar to the double cream and mix, then fold in the melted chocolate and whisk to a soft mousse consistency. Time to assemble your verrines. Start by adding two tablespoons of ginger nut crumble to the bottom of your glasses, then add your raspberry mix, and then the mousse. Decorate with fresh raspberries. 

Bon appétit!

Corinne

Check out my other recipes here 

Can you make a savoury verrine?

Yes you can. They are very popular as a starter in France especially during the festive season. Layers of cheesy biscuits with a salmon mousse topped with lime zest is a really tasty savoury version for example.

You can find out more about my cookery journey here 

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Bon appétit!

Categories
recipe

Lobster tail in a rich tomato and turmeric sauce

Lobster tail in a rich tomato and turmeric sauce

Being in Reunion Island, I had to publish a recipe full of sunshine but also ever so easy to make and with Valentine's day only a month away, you might like to have a go at my "Lobster tail in a rich tomato and turmeric sauce". It's a rather impressive, delicious and straight forward recipe to follow. The lobster tails can easily be replaced by Kings prawns. This is a very festive dish that my mum used to make a lot for special events and the festive season. A recipe to impress your Valentine for sure.

picture with lobster tails in a tomato sauce, you can learn how to make this at cookery school Gourmandises Academie in Cottenham, Cambridge

Ingredients:

2 lobster tails ( one tail per person)

2 tomatoes roughly chopped

1 finely chopped onion

2 cloves of garlic crushed

Fresh thyme

Fresh parsley

Two chillies (mild or hot depending on your taste buds)roughly chopped

1/4 tsp of turmeric

Fresh grated ginger (about the size of half a tsp)

Method:

In a pan, add a tbsp of vegetable oil (not olive oil as you want the full flavour of the lobster). Start by adding your onions and thyme, stir until the onion becomes translucent. Then add your garlic, your ginger and your chilli and stir again for a minute then add your turmeric and your tomatoes. Stir and let this lovely sauce simmer for 30 minutes (if the sauce dries out a little bit, add a little bit of hot water), then add your lobster tails and simmer for another 10 minutes, stirring after 5. That’s it, add some chopped fresh parsley before serving. In Reunion, we tend to serve it with plain Basmati rice. Delicious! Et voilà!

You can find lobster tails at Waitrose, but also The Fin Boys, or Crystal Waters Ltd on Cambridge market.

Bon appétit!⠀

Corrine x

Categories
recipe

Mum’s chicken chasseur

Mum's chicken chasseur

Although I come from a very tropical part of the world, I have come to enjoy autumn and its slow motion, the beautiful colours and of course, comforting and hearty food. One dish that smells autumn to me is my Mum's chicken chasseur. She always used to make it at this time of year, I can even remember the smell of the white wine as soon as I stepped through the door after school. But coming from Reunion Island and living in the South of France, her chicken chasseur is not quite the one you would normally see in a traditional French household. So yes, she actually added a little bit of turmeric to her chasseur's sauce, not even a 1/4 of a tsp, she also added some green olives. Although it sounds weird and almost like "this is not gonna work kind of sentiment", trust me it just does. The turmeric adds earthiness to the dish and the sharpness of the olives just works well against the smoky lardons. Just give it a go, it's delicious.

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

Bon appétit!⠀

Corrine x