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Tag: french cuisine

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recipe

Strawberry and cream, rhubarb tartelettes, my Jubilee pudding

Strawberry and cream, rhubarb tartelettes, my Jubilee pudding

I may be from a country where we got rid of our royals during the revolution, but one thing I do enjoy about Britain are the royal celebrations. Especially when it means an extra day off and involves pudding and plenty of bubbly! 70 years on the thrown has to be celebrated handsomely and pompously. I'll be hosting my own royal "pique-nique" with family and friends of course. And yes there will be pudding, plenty of it as you can imagine in my house! So here you have it, "my strawberry and cream rhubarb tartelettes, my Jubilee pudding". And dare I say it, it's fit for a Queen!

image with a wooden board covered with strawberry tartelettes, topped with whipped cream, you can learn how to make them at cookery school Gourmandises Academie in Cambridge

Ingredients:

One roll of sweet shortcrust

500 g of strawberries 

300 ml double cream

3 TBSP of icing sugar

4 rhubarb sticks 

2 Tbsp of plain flour

120 g ground almonds

2 eggs

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

120 g melted butter

A muffin tray (it will give you some very dip filled tartelettes, that you would not get with a standard cupcake tray)

Cookie cutter 

Pre-heat your oven at 180º C

Method:

For the frangipane:

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 circular pieces of pastry and place them in each case of your muffin tray (you’ll want those circular pieces to be a little bit bigger than your muffin  cases so there is enough space to fill them).  Prick the bottom of your pastry with a fork. Then, place some rhubarb at the bottom and add a teaspoon of frangipane on top.

Place your tray in the oven and cook for 15 to 20 minutes until your little tartelettes are golden brown on top. Take them out of the tray and let them cool down on a rack.

In the meantime, prepare your chantilly cream, by whisking your double cream, icing sugar and vanilla paste to soft peaks. Place your chantilly into a piping bag fit with a star shaped nozzle. 

When your tartelettes are cool, pipe some chantilly cream in the centre of your tartelettes, as per picture, then slice your strawberries in half and place them around the centre of the chantilly cream. Then add a bit more chantilly cream to finish them off nicely. 

Et voilà!

Enjoy them with a glass bubbly!

Bon appétit!⠀

Corinne x

If you fancy another regal recipe how about my avocado and prawn croustade 

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
Christmas baking recipe

Christmassy madeleines with orange and lemon zest

Christmassy madeleines with orange and lemon zest

These little morsels will always take me back to my childhood. Funny enough, we never used to make them, my mum would always buy them. I just remember enjoying them as my after school snack. They are actually super easy to make, and the mix will keep for a good week in the fridge, so you can enjoy them fresh every day. They are the perfect little treat at this time of year too. You can make them with the kids. Wrap them beautifully and give them away to friends and family, perfect Christmas gift. So here you have it my "Christmassy madeleines with orange and lemon zest".

picture of a bowl containing loads of madeleines dipped in dark chocolate, you can learn how to make this recipe on the blog of cooking school gourmandises academie in Cambridge

Ingredients:

125 g melted unsalted butter

125 g plain flour

3 medium eggs

4 g baking powder

125 g sugar

A pinch of salt

Zest of an orange and a lemon

A madeleines tray

Method:

Sift the flour, salt and baking powder. Whisk the eggs and sugar to a white consistency and add your zest. Slowly fold in your flour. Then add your melted butter in one go and mix again. Cover your bowl with cling film and put it in the fridge for at least an hour. This will allow the flavours to develop and the mixture to rise properly. This mixture can actually be kept for a week in the fridge, so you can actually bake fresh madeleines every day. Butter and flour your madeleines tray and fill it with a tsp of your mixture. Bake them for 10 minutes or until golden brown in a pre-heated 180° C oven. Get them out of the tray as soon as they come out of the oven. You can eat them warm. Otherwise let them cool down and dip them in dark chocolate for an extra bit of indulgence. Et voilà!

Joyeux Noël!⠀

Corrine x

Categories
recipe

Chicken parcels cooked in vermouth with carrots, leek and fennel

Chicken parcels cooked in vermouth with carrots, leek and fennel

Chicken parcels are beautiful pieces of chicken breast wrapped in bacon and filled with sausage meat, in France they are called "paupiettes" and are traditionally filled with veal. You should be able to get them from your local butcher. They are really delicious, and at this time of year I think they would make the perfect party dish to share with friends. The stuffing makes the chicken really juicy, so here you have it my 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

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

Categories
recipe

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

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

This should be my last recipe containing courgettes, although the weather forecast in the UK for next week is a very summery one (at long last!) courgettes season is coming to an end. So here is a very yummy recipe for you to try, perfect for brunch and a lazy Sunday

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

Bon appétit!⠀

Corrine x

Categories
recipe

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

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

Although we've had a rather chilli month of April, there are signs of better, warmer days ahead of us. As we get excited about those long summer evenings, that we can finally spend with family and friends, I may just have the perfect recipe for you to savour with a glass of wine or two. So here you have it, my "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.

Bon appétit!⠀

Corrine x

Categories
recipe

Roast chicken with orzo, chorizo and haricot verts

Roast chicken with orzo, chorizo and haricot verts

If you're looking for something simple and delicious to cook for either an evening meal "en famille" or even a little cosy dinner party with friends, when lockdown is over of course, then this Roast chicken with orzo, chorizo and haricots verts is most certainly a winner.

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

Bon appétit!⠀

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

March, my birthday month and also the one for Mother's day. So a big month of celebrations in my household. And that can only mean one thing "food glorious food!" The down side is that unfortunately, we will still be in lockdown and unable to get a trip to the pub or the restaurant. But, to be honest, a celebration, be it at home or elsewhere is still a celebration. So I have the perfect, little recipe for you to try. It's posh but so easy to do and definitely moreish. So here you have it "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.

Bon appétit!⠀

Corrine x

Categories
recipe

Financiers filled with chocolate and hazelnut

Financiers filled with chocolate and hazelnut

January is never a month I look forward to in general, lockdown has not helped and I'm sure many of you are dying to see the back of it. Plenty of tea or a good cup of cocoa always help, with a little treat or two preferably for me. So I have the perfect recipe to help you with the January blues, and it is super easy to make. So here you have it my "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

Bon appétit!⠀

Corrine x