New Idea & Feature

I've been thinking. This sentence sends shivers of dread through Mon Mari. He never knows what it is I've come up with this time....and if it means he has something to do.
This time, I've been thinking. And it's me that will have to get busy.

You know how I said that I like to read French cookbooks and magazines to work on my French in a fun way? Well. What if I do a post a few times a week with a dinner recipe in French and English? Brilliant, non?

For you, really I am only thinking of all of you, this will mean a fun, French lesson PLUS a recipe to try. And for me, it's a chance to work on my French and a way to be more organized with weekly dinners.

Without further ado.....

Mardi Recette--Cake au Chorizo et aux Pomme de Terres


150g chorizo doux
150g de farine
2 cuilliere de soupe levure
3 oeufs
10 cl de lait ou creme legere
12 cl d'huile de tournesol
4 pomme de terres du salade
sel et poivre

Préchauffez le four à  180C/350F.

Éplucher et blanchir les pommes de terre jusqu'à tendreté et coupez-les. Coupez le chorizo en tout petits morceaux.

Chauffez 2 cl d’huile dans une poêle et ajoutez les pommes de terre et les morceaux de chorizo et laissez cuire 1 minute. Égouttez-les.

Cassez les œufs dans un saladier et fouettez-les. Incorporez dans l’ordre la farine, la levure, l’huile et le lait en mélangeant.

Ajoutez le chorizo et les pommes de terre dans la pâte. Salez, poivrez et mélangez. Pas trop sel car le chorizo est déjà salé.

Tapissez un moule à cake de papier sulfurisé. Versez-y la préparation.

Enfournez et faites cuire pour 45 à 55 minutes. Vérifiez la cuisson avec la lame d’un couteau. Sortez le cake du four et démoulez-le. 

Servez tiède ou froid.

Tuesday Recipe--Chorizo & Potato Cake

5 oz mild chorizo
5 oz flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
3 eggs
1/4 cup or 3.5 fl oz milk or light cream
1/4 cup or 3/5 fl oz  plus 1 tablespoon of sunflower oil
4 salad potatoes
salt and pepper



Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
Peel and parboil the potatoes until just fork tender and cut them into small pieces. Cut the chorizo into small pieces.


Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a pan and add the parboiled potatoes and chorizo pieces. Let cook 1 minute.
Drain excess oil.


Break the eggs into a bowl and beat them. Add in the flour, baking powder, remaining sunflower oil and milk in that order. Mix well. 
Add the chorizo and potatoes. Salt and pepper and mix. Easy on the salt because the chorizo is already salty.


Line a loaf pan with parchment paper. Pour in the batter. 
Cook for 45 to 55 minutes. Test the doneness of the cake by sticking the point of a knife into the center. Take the cake out of the oven and remove it from the loaf pan. 
Serve warm or cold.




Any errors in conversion or French are mine. We're having this with green beans and a salad. And a glass of Côte du Rhône.

Seasonal Sunday--Asparagus & Chevre Mille-Feuille

As you all know, I love to cook. And I love to read cookbooks too. I'm one of those people who has a cookbook on my bedside table along with a novel and magazines.It makes sense then that one of the ways I like to work on my French is to read a cooking magazine that I buy at the grocery store every two weeks. It is full of great, doable recipes as well as a two week menu plan if you ever need extra inspiration. It's called Vie Pratique Gourmand if you're interested in finding it for yourself.

I found today's recipe in issue 213. It originally calls for courgettes (zucchini to we Americans) and I made it that way first. It was so delicious that even the kids ate it and they usually won't touch courgettes.
I had some fresh asparagus hanging around the other day so decided to try the recipe with it. It worked too. You could adapt this recipe in so many ways as long as you keep it light--it doesn't need oil or extra sauce and is beautiful in its simplicity. And no salt either because the goat cheese is salty enough on its own.

Mille-feuille literally means a thousand leaves; pretty, huh? It's called this because of the delicate filo pastry you use to make this looks like stacked crunchy leaves separated by vegetables and softly oozing goat cheese. In France this pastry is called Brick and you can find it in the refrigerated pastry section of any grocery store. But at home you should look for filo dough. It's what's used to make Greek dishes like spanakopita.

I hope you like it. It is a simple and impressive vegetarian dish to add to your repetoire.

Mille-Feuille of Asparagus & Chevre
210C/410F

8 leaves of Brick or Filo pastry
bunch of fresh green asparagus
1 tablespoon of butter, melted
1 log of goat cheese with rind--it melts better than the softer, rindless salad cheeses
fresh black pepper

Cut the pastry leaves into 4ths with kitchen scissors or a pizza cutter. Each stack of fourths will be one mille-feuille.
Wash, trim and cut the asparagus into bite-sized pieces and then boil for 8 minutes. Immediately plunge into a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking and keep it bright green.
Cut the goat cheese into rounds.
Melt the butter and get ready to assemble.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and make each mille-feuille directly onto it.
Put two leaves of pastry down for the base.

Then layer the asparagus and goat cheese on top of them. Add two more pastry leaves and brush the edges with the butter.

{i used soft goat cheese without a rind here}

Add one more layer of veg and cheese and then finish with the last four leaves, brushing each with a bit of the butter as you go.
And that's it. Super simple. Do that for all four and then cook them for 10 minutes in an oven preheated to 210C/410F.

Serve with a green salad for a perfect lunch or with a roast chicken for a bigger meal.





 

Argens-Minvervois in Photos

I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend. I'm just waiting for the Baby to break out in chicken pox and the big kids are recovering from a week back in school. It's lazy days here Chez Nous. 

Look for my asparagus and goat cheese mille-feuille recipe tomorrow--très French, light and delicious.

A demain.