French Onion Soup

Ingredients

50g butter
1kg brown onions , thinly sliced
2 tbsp thyme , picked leaves
3 tbsp dry sherry
beef stock fresh, cube or concentrate made up to 1.2 litres

CROUTONS
1 baguette , sliced
1 garlic clove , halved
extra-virgin olive oil
100g Gruyère , grated

Method:
1.Heat the butter in a large pan and gently cook the onion and thyme until the onion is softened but not browned - about 20 minutes. Increase the heat slightly and cook for 15 minutes, until the onion becomes dark golden, sticky and caramelised, stirring now and again to stop it catching. Add the sherry and simmer for 2-3 minutes, then add the stock and bring to the boil. Season. Simmer for 10 minutes.

2.Meanwhile, toast the bread, rub each slice with garlic, then drizzle with a little oil. Sprinkle with the cheese and grill until golden and bubbling. Serve the soup with the cheese croutons on top.

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L x

Pain Perdu aux Pommes

Yesterday we had lunch at the Divine Mme M's maison. For dessert she made the most delicious Pain Perdu which literally translates to lost bread which is similar to eggy bread.

Here is a recipe for Pain Perdu aux Pommes


A delicious, homely dessert that requires 4 different preparations, but you can make custard and caramel sauce in advance, and even fry the apples, leaving only the bread to do at the last minute.

If you can’t be bothered to make custard, I’m sure it would be lovely with a scoop of good-quality ice cream (vanilla or maybe even cinnamon).

Serves 4. Calories: about a million per serving.


Custard:
250 ml milk
split vanilla pod
4 egg yolks
50 g caster sugar

Caramel sauce:
50 g butter
60 g caster sugar
3 tbs whipping cream

Apples:
30g butter
3-4 eating apples, peeled, cored, and cut into thick wedges

Bread:
30 g butter
2 egg yolks
60 g caster sugar
3 tbs whipping cream
4 thick slices of day-old baguette, cut on the diagonal (to maximise the bread-to-crust ratio)

To make the custard, heat the milk with the vanilla pod, cover, and leave to infuse for 10 minutes. Whisk the egg yolks lightly with the sugar. Remove the vanilla pod from the milk and whisk it into the egg yolk mixture, then pour into the pan, and stir over low heat until thickened, without boiling. Pour into a jug, cover, and leave to cool.

Make the caramel sauce: melt the butter and sugar over a low heat without stirring, till the sugar is dissolved, then raise the heat and bubble until it caramelises (it might look a bit lumpy, but it will smooth out as it heats). Once it’s a nice toffee colour, remove from the heat and pour in the cream, keeping your had well clear of spatters. Stir to blend, set aside.

For the bread, mix the egg yolks, cream, and sugar in a wide, shallow bowl. About 10 minutes before you want to eat, put the bread slices in to soak. Turn them over aftar 5 minutes; they shouid absorb all of the egg mixture. Meanwhile, put the caramel sauce over a low heat, and heat 30 g butter in a frying pan. Fry the apples quickly until lightly browned, then add them to the caramel sauce to finish cooking. Add the remaining 30 g butter to the frying pan and fry the bread on each side over a fairly high heat until golden and crispy. Drain briefly on kitchen paper.

To serve, put a slice of bread on each plate and spoon over some apples and sauce. Pour a lake of custard around (or add a scoop of ice cream) and serve immediately.

Not strictly french....

As you probably know, the French love Morocco and all things Morrocan so as a result you will find a lot of interior decoration magazines on moroccan inspired decor and a lot of moroccan recipes.

I lived in Dubai for a while so indulged myself in all things Moroccan and even decorated our house with lots of fabulous pieces from Morocco.

Last night I cooked this recipe for dinner:

Moroccan chicken with minted couscous

Ingredients:
8 chicken fillets or 4 chicken breasts – without skin, cut into cubes
1 tablespoon olive oil – for sautéing
1 spanish onion – finely chopped
2 red capsicums – finely chopped
1/2 dried apricots
1 tin diced tomatoes
2 cups chicken stock
4 cloves garlic – crushed
2 teaspoons minced ginger
1 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon tumeric
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon lemon rind – grated
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons honey
ground black pepper to taste

small handful of toasted, flaked almonds - optional

small bunch of chopped coriander - optional

Method:
1.Combine garlic, ginger, lemon rind and juice, honey and all of the spices in a bowl, and add chicken cubes – stir around to coat the chicken.

2. Cover and leave to marinate for 2 hours (or overnight if preferred). 3. Heat oil in large saucepan and sauté chicken cubes until golden brown. Remove and set aside.

4. Add a little more oil to pan if necessary, and brown the onions and capsicum.

5. Return chicken to the pan and add tinned tomatoes,dried apricots, and stock.
6. Simmer for 20 - 30 minutes until chicken is completely cooked and liquid has reduced slightly.

7. Sprinkle with sliced almonds and chopped coriander (optional)

About 10 minutes before the chicken is ready, I make the minted cous cous.

Minted couscous

Ingredients:
2 cups couscous
2 cups boiling water
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 cups fresh mint – roughly chopped
1 cup spring onions – chopped
sea salt and ground pepper to taste

1. Put the couscous into a large serving bowl and pour over the boiling water. Allow to sit for 5 – 7 minutes for water to be absorbed then stir with a fork.

2. Add oil and lemon juice.

3. Stir in mint and spring onions. Season with salt and pepper.

I like to serve these in shallow flat bowls with the cous cous on the bottom and then put the chicken on top - delicious.

Coq au vin

Coq au Vin

Serves 4



8 chicken thighs – skin on, bone in
1 bottle of red wine
2 bay leaves
Sprigs of fresh thyme
20 small button onions
250g button mushrooms
250g diced bacon
1 litre chicken stock
50g tomato puree
100g flour
Salt and pepper

1. Sauté the chicken thighs until brown in oil and butter.
2. Place in a casserole dish. In the same pan sauté the onions, mushrooms and bacon till brown. Add to the chicken.
3. Sprinkle flour over the chicken, add seasoning, bay leaves, thyme and rub together until well mixed.
4. Add tomato puree, chicken stock, red wine and cover with greaseproof paper and a lid or tinfoil.
5. Cook at 180ºC for 20 mins and then 160ºC for 30 mins.
6. Serve with toasted croutons spread with chicken liver pate or parfait.
Sprinkle with finely chopped parsley and serve.


In the summer serve with a crisp green salad and in the colder months a nice mound of mashed potato.

Bienvenue....

Welcome to fabulously french recipes.

This is where you will find a lot of our favourite recipes. Note if you have any favourites that you would like to share, please email me with details.

A bientot,

L x