A pleasant surprise

I made the recipe for la lotte au vin rouge de St-Émilion / monkfish cooked in red wine from St Emilion for the first time for a dinner party with friends Ann and Andrew. I fried small pickling onions slowly in olive oil with a sprinkling of sugar, then added pork lardons, garlic, shallots, cayenne pepper, mixed spice, salt and pepper and a bouquet garni. In another pan, I made a roux with flour and butter and added a bottle of red wine, stirring until smooth and slightly thickened. I added this to the onion mixture and continued cooking. At this stage the sauce tasted quite raw and our guests had arrived. Then, I added sliced mushrooms and monkfish cut into large cubes and continued cooking gently for a further 25 minutes. I served the dish feeling a bit apologetic but it was pronounced delicious. The robust sauce had a hint of heat and spice, the onions were soft and slightly sweet, and the nuggets of fish fell apart.

Michelin starred starter

This starter – la granita de gazpacho à la crême de cabécou / tomato and goats’ cheese ice – seemed rather different and so I was keen to try it. I made fresh tomato juice by simmering ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges, and then filtered the liquid through a sieve. I added harissa paste, vinegar, sugar and a little tomato concentrate dissolved in water. I froze this mixture, stirring from time to time to distribute the ice crystals. To serve, I put the tomato sorbet into goblets topped with fresh goats’ cheese softened with a little yoghurt and lightly seasoned with pepper. I served to a discerning supper guest (Martin) and we all agreed it was great. The tomato was refreshing and spicy, and perfectly balanced by the creamy, mild cheese. A few days later, we treated ourselves to a Michelin starred restaurant lunch, and were surprised and delighted to be served a very similar amuse buche!

Long-slow-cooked stew

Apparently French beef can be tough and so long-slow-cooked stews are the answer. This is what I did for les joues de bœuf aux cèpes / beef cheeks with mushrooms. I started the dish by cooking fresh white haricots beans until tender. Then I fried the beef cheek (just one, in one piece) in butter and oil to seal the meat. I added some Armagnac and set it alight. When the flames had died down, I added orange slices, garlic cloves, salt and pepper and poured over red wine till it came about half way up the beef. I covered and simmered as gently as possible for two and half hours. Then I added the beans and some chopped cèpes and cooked for a further hour. At this point, I cut up the meat and served it with its sauce.

Not so slim pickings

I noticed the recipe for les araignées de porc / pork scratchings and wondered what it was. Then, in the queue at the butchers, I was curious about the choice of a customer in front of me. I took a look at the label and saw “araignées marinées” – literal translation “marinated spider crabs”. However, these are actually the small pieces of pork which are left on the carcass after all the other cuts are taken. So I changed my mind and bought some too! To cook them, I fried the araignées in duck fat with chopped shallots, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper, and a little white wine and verjus. Tender and succulent, they made a great supper.

Easy and effective

There are beautiful, ripe tomatoes in the market, of all sorts of varieties. I chose cœur de bœuf for les tomates farçies / stuffed tomatoes. I made rustic breadcrumbs using the crust as well as the soft insides, and mixed with chopped parsley, salt and pepper and virgin olive oil. I scooped out the insides of my tomatoes (keeping these bits for a pasta dish) and added the filling. I placed in an oven-proof dish, drizzled a little more olive oil, and baked in a hot oven for half an hour. This is an easy dish, looks good and makes a lovely accompaniment.

A real treat

Les manchons de canard / duck wings might not sound very exciting but they turned out to be a real treat. I bought a jar of preserved duck wings (en confit) at market and decided to use them for an easy supper. I heated them in a frying pan and, at the same time, softened some shallots in the melted fat. I added diced candied orange, some capers and a little red wine to make a sauce. Simple and delicious.

What a surprise

I would never think of eating a green tomato.So, I was intrigued to try the recipe for la salade de tomates vertes / salad of unripe tomatoes. I had used up most of my unripe tomatoes, to make green tomato chutney, but I had two left. These, I sliced into wedges and put in a plastic bag with some salt and vinegar. I shook them gently and left for about an hour. I poured off the liquid and dressed the tomatoes with olive oil and chopped parsley. What a surprise! They were crunchy, salty and sharp, but also refreshing, and went very well with a mixture of cold bits and pieces for lunch.

White beans

It’s the time of year when you can buy fresh haricot beans. In this area, the local variety is from Tarbais and this is an ingredient listed in the recipe for le collier de veau aux haricots Tarbais / neck of veal with white beans. However, our local supermarket was selling another special variety called coco de Paimpol which is grown in Brittany, and so this is what I used. I podded the lovely pearly white beans and simmered them gently for about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, I fried chopped onion and mushrooms in a casserole, along with some lardons, in duck fat until soft. I added cubed neck of veal and browned the meat on all sides. I sprinkled over flour, piment d’Espelette, and salt and pepper, and mixed well. I covered with wine and water and added some chicken stock powder. I put on a lid and simmered for an hour. I finished the dish by tipping in the drained cooked beans and continued simmering for a further 15 minutes. This is a lovely rustic dish, slightly spicy from the Espelette pepper.

Worth a try

I have been saving this recipe, les fleurs de courgettes farcies / stuffed courgette flowers for a visit to my friend Caroline, who has a super big garden including vegetables. However, my visit got postponed and, when I arrived, the courgettes were almost over. Caroline put out an SOS to the local allotment society and Jill kindly met us there for a flower hunt. We found four potential candidates, enough to try out the recipe. I prepared the filling by gently frying chopped onions and courgettes, then mixing in garlic, chopped parsley and marjoram, a slice of brown bread (also chopped, in lieu of bread crumbs), and salt and pepper, and bound this mixture with a couple of egg yolks. I carefully opened each precious flower and filled the cavity with as much stuffing as possible, then placed them in a dish with bay leaves. I added a little chicken stock and trickled some olive oil over the flowers. I covered with foil and baked in the oven for 15 minutes. Life might be too short to stuff a mushroom, but not a courgette flower. This simple recipe looked good and tasted even better. I will definitely try it again earlier in the season.

Summer supper

I am not keen on eating tuna because of concerns for over-fishing and by-catch on long lines, especially of albatrosses. But, for this recipe, I made an exception by buying fish certified as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Society. Le thon à la Chartreuse / tuna with Chartreuse is recipe that involves slow cooking. I coated the bottom of my casserole with extra virgin olive oil, added sliced onions, then the tuna steaks, followed by more sliced onions, tomatoes, onions, red chilli, bay leaves and salt and pepper. I added enough white wine and a little water to just cover the fish, and brought up to simmering point on the stove top, before putting the covered casserole in the oven to finish cooking for an hour. The fish was firm and meaty complimented by the light, tangy sauce. It made a perfect supper for a summer’s day, and we had the left overs as a cold soup the next day.