Posts filed under 'Recipes'

Recipe for French Salmon and Caper Mousse

A great dinner party starter, this salmon mousse is very simple but tasty and best prepared ahead anyway, so you can have it ready in the fridge. It can be served as a balled scoop on individual plates with a few salad leaves and some crusty French bread for more formal meals, or else just the whole bowlful put in the middle of the table with bread or pitta for everyone to help themselves at casual meals.

While it’s tastiest made with freshly cooked salmon fillets, it can also be made with tinned salmon for a very quick and easy starter.

Ingredients

450g / 1lb salmon fillet

5 tablespoons sour cream

1 lemon

1 medium potato

1 tablespoon capers + 1 teaspoon to garnish

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Salt and pepper

Boil the potato in its skin in salted water until cooked.

Pan fry the salmon fillets in a little butter until just cooked.

Remove bones and skin from the salmon fillets and break them up into small pieces

Peel the potato and crumble it in to pieces.

In a food processor put the salmon, potato, cream, juice of the lemon, 1 tablespoon of capers and the mustard with a seasoning of salt and pepper. Blend well until smooth and of a pate consistency. Taste for seasoning.

Put the mixture into a bowl, cover and chill for at least 3 hours in the fridge. It’s even better made the night before.

Serve chilled with some salad leaves and a garnish of the rest of the capers accompanied by crusty French baguette or other French bread.

Looking for genuine French atmosphere and flavour? Check out our listings of French restaurants in Leeds and eat out in your local corner of France tonight.

Recipe for Poire Belle-Helene – Pears in Chocolate Sauce

A classic French dessert, Poire Belle-Helene is a real dinner party winner. Who can resist luscious pears, ice cream and dark chocolate sauce, after all? When pears are in season it is definitely best made with the fresh fruit, but a quick version can be put together with tinned pears year round.

Whatever you do, don’t skimp on the chocolate – this dish is only as good as the chocolate you use for the sauce. While you can just about get away with tinned pears, cheap cooking chocolate will ruin the whole dish, so go for a really good dark chocolate of at least 65% cocoa solids.

Ingredients:

4 large ripe pears

1 lemon

70g 2 ½ oz sugar

250ml / 1 cup water

Vanilla ice cream – enough for 8 scoops

200g / 7oz good dark chocolate

2 tablespoons sour cream

Peel the pears, rubbing the surfaces immediately with a lemon half to stop them turning brown. Halve them and take out the core with a pointed knife, again rubbing the cut surface with lemon.

Put the water, sugar and juice from the other lemon half in to a heavy based saucepan. Bring it to a simmer and let it cook to a syrup for about 3 minutes. Put the pears in cut side down, cover with the lid and poach them at a gentle simmer for 5 minutes, turning them once. When they are tender, remove the pears from the juice onto a plate and allow to cool. Reserve the juice for later.

Break the chocolate into small pieces and put into a small pan with 4 tablespoons of the reserved pear juice. Melt it over a low heat stirring constantly until the sauce is smooth.

Put two of the cooled pear halves in each dessert bowl. As soon as the chocolate sauce is ready, put a scoop of ice cream on top of each pear half. Stir the sour cream into the chocolate sauce and pour the sauce over the ice cream. Serve immediately.

Feeling like a taste of France without cooking yourself. Choose from our listings of French restaurants in Leicestershire and book yourself a meal out in style tonight.

Recipe for Normandy Apple Crumble Tart

Halfway between a French apple tart and an English apple crumble this is a really simple and delicious dessert recipe with that authentic French bistro flavour. All it needs is some thick cream or crème fraiche to serve it with.

Use a good bought puff pastry made with butter. If you can’t get one made with real butter spread a smidgen of butter over the pastry base before you put the apples in.

Ingredients

375g / 12oz puff pastry

6 eating apples, preferably well flavoured Coxes

100g / 3oz unsalted butter

100g / 3oz flour

100g / 3oz chopped almonds

200g / 6oz granulated sugar

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Pinch salt

Preheat the oven to 190C /375F. Line a 23cm tart tin with the puff pastry.

Peel and core the apples and slice them. They should be enough to come at least two thirds of the way up the sides of the lined tart tin.

Rub the butter into the flour and mix with the almonds, spice and salt to a crumble.

Sprinkle the crumble evenly over the top of the apples.

Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 35 minutes or until the crumble is a golden brown and the apples are cooked.

Feel like some genuine French cooking before dessert? Browse our listings of French restaurants in Northamptonshire for bistros and restaurants with great French tastes.

Recipe for Coq Au Vin

A classic French bistro dish, coq au vin is a fabulous recipe to cook at home, if you want a taste of France on a chilly winter weekend. Rich and slow cooking, the house will be filled with the tantalising aromas of savoury wine soaked casserole, banishing any residual winter blues.

One thing to remember when cooking coq au vin – the wine is an important ingredient, so don’t buy a cheap and nasty red, use wine that you would be happy to drink. It doesn’t have to be a reserve wine or even very expensive, just a good quaffable red.

Ingredients

1 large free range chicken, cut into eight pieces with all the bone left in.

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1 onion chopped roughly

1 clove garlic sliced thinly

1 carrot, chopped roughly

2 sprigs thyme

2 sprigs parsley plus more for garnish

125g / 4oz unsmoked bacon, thick slices chopped into lardons are ideal

20 button mushrooms

2 teaspoons butter

1 bottle good red wine

3 tablespoons cognac

100ml / ½ cup chicken stock

In a heavy oven proof casserole, heat the oil and butter over a medium heat. Cook the carrot and onion for three minutes or so until they are colouring nicely. Add the bacon and continue cooking. Once the bacon starts to brown, add the garlic and cook for a few more minutes. Don’t let the garlic get dark, it should just soften. Now use a slotted spoon to remove all the vegetables to a plate and leave the oil in the pot.

Pat the chicken pieces dry with kitchen paper. Turn up the heat until the fat is sizzling. Put in four pieces of chicken skin side down. Let them cook without moving them for three to four minutes. You want them to brown so don’t keep turning them. When the chicken is golden on one side, turn and cook the other side for about three minutes. Remove them to a plate and cook the other four pieces of chicken.

Turn the heat down. Return the chicken and vegetables to the pan. Tip the cognac into the pan and flame it. Hold a lighted match an inch or two over the liquid until it bursts into flame. It will burn off the alcohol and leave you with the flavour. Season with salt and pepper and then in pour in the wine gradually, keeping back about two glasses. Try and keep the liquid at a simmer. Add the herbs and stock and bring back to a simmer. Cover the pot and put it all in the oven to cook at about 140C. Cook for 1 ½ to 2 hours until the meat comes easily away from the bone.

While that is cooking, prepare the mushrooms. Wipe them clean. Melt 2 teaspoons butter in a small pan, add half a glass of the reserved wine, add mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and simmer gently covered for 20 minutes. Remove from heat.

When the chicken is very tender, remove the pieces to a warm plate with a slotted spoon and keep them warm. Strain the remaining liquid (together with any from the mushrooms) and boil it to reduce it by at least half. Thicken the sauce by whisking in a mixture of 2 teaspoons butter mixed with the same amount of flour. (You don’t have to do this step, but it makes the sauce thick and glossy, which is the authentic French way)

Return the chicken and mushrooms to the sauce, warm it through and serve hot.

If this recipe sounds too much like hard work, why not head out to one of our listed French restaurants in Derbyshire and savour some authentic French flavour at dinner tonight.

Recipe for Boeuf Bourguignon Recipe

French cuisine comes in two varieties: haute cuisine which you can happily enjoy in a French restaurant but would rarely think of attempting at home, and French country cooking with its intense flavours, simple and rewarding enough to cook at home. This boeuf bourguignon recipe is a French country classic, a hearty rich beef stew, where the meat marinates to tenderness in a whole bottle of wine overnight before cooking very slowly, so that it melts in the mouth when you eventually get to eat it.

Boeuf bourguignon is never going to be a quick meal to produce, but is perfect for winter weekends. Put it to marinate on Friday night, cook it slowly on Saturday night or Sunday morning and enjoy the rewards as your house fills with delicious aromas.

Ingredients:

1 kg / 2.2 lbs chuck steak cut into large chunks

1 large carrot, chopped into chunks

1 large onion roughly chopped

2 bay leaves

2 cloves garlic, crushed in their skins

2 cloves (spice)

1 bottle full-bodied red wine

10 peppercorns (black)

1 tablespoon Madeira

Beurre manie (1 teaspoon butter mixed with 1 tsp flour)

1 tablespoon butter

Chopped parsley

Olive oil

24 hours before you want to start cooking put together the marinade: put the chunks of beef into a large bowl and add the carrot, onion, bay leaves, garlic, cloves, wine and peppercorns. Cover the bowl and leave it all to marinate in a cool place for 24 hours.

Choose a large casserole, which will fit all of the meat. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil and 1 tablespoon of butter until the butter foam dies down. Remove the meat from the marinade and pat it dry with kitchen paper. Brown the meat in the casserole over a high heat, a few pieces at a time. You want them to form a crust like steak, so don’t over-crowd them. Brown the meat in batches until it is all done. Now brown the vegetables from the marinade. Once they are brown, tip the marinade into the pot and stir to loosen the caramelised bits from the bottom of the pan. Once the liquid is simmering, return the meat to the pan. It should be covered by the liquid. If not add some beef stock or more wine.

Bring the casserole back to a simmer and put it into a low oven 140C for three hours. Check it occasionally and turn the meat. The liquid should reduce gradually over the cooking time but should not burn dry. The meat is done when it breaks apart easily when poked with a fork.

Remove the meat from the liquid and set it aside in a warm dish. Pour the sauce through a sieve into a clean pan and let it simmer over a low heat. Add the Madeira and reduce the sauce until it is strong and almost like a syrup. At this point whisk in the beurre manie, until it has blended in. Put the meat back in the sauce and warm through. Serve with the sauce and a scattering of chopped parsley.

Can’t wait the hours for this recipe to cook? Why not head out to one of our French restaurants in Nottingham and soak up some French bistro atmosphere and great flavours.

Recipe for a Simple Chicken Masala

Masala just means a spice mix in India, rather than a particular way of cooking. Here chicken pieces are cooked with whole spices to make a light sauce. It is a great dish to make ahead as it tastes even better reheated the next day when the flavours have all permeated the meat.

Ingredients:

8 chicken pieces, thighs, drumsticks or halved breasts

1 tablespoon tomato puree

3 tablespoons yoghurt

4 cloves garlic peeled and roughly chopped

2 cm ginger root peeled and chopped

6 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 cinnamon stick

2 bay leaves

5 whole cardamom pods

5 whole cloves

1 red chilli

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon salt

A good grinding of black pepper

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Mix together the tomato puree and the yoghurt with 1 cup / 250 ml water in a small bowl

In a food processor or blender whizz together the garlic and ginger into a paste with 2 tablespoons water.

If the chicken is in large pieces i.e. the whole leg, divide it into small portions – drumstick and thigh and halve the chicken breasts. Remove the skin and pat the meat dry.

Choose a heavy bottomed casserole about 30cm/12inches wide. Heat the oil and brown the chicken pieces in batches on all sides. Remove the pieces to a warm plate once they are a golden brown. Once all the pieces have been browned, add the whole spices (cinnamon, bay leaves, cardamom, cloves and red chilli pepper) to the remaining oil in the pan. Stir once, then add the ginger and garlic paste from the food processor (it will spit madly so keep your distance!), add the turmeric last and stir fry for a minute.

Return the chicken to the pot with the spices, and pour over the yoghurt and tomato mixture, season with salt and pepper and add the lemon juice. Bring it all to a gentle simmer and cover the casserole. Cook gently for 15 minutes or so, turning the chicken pieces occasionally. Uncover the pot and raise the heat to medium, cooking for another 7-8 minutes until the sauce has reduced by half. Turn the chicken pieces once or twice in this time. Serve with rice or Indian bread and a vegetable accompaniment.

Don’t have all the spices at home but still craving Indian food? Check out our listings of Indian restaurants in Nottingham and eat out tonight instead of cooking yourself.

Recipe for Indian Potatoes and Aubergines

Creamy aubergines and satisfying potato cubes cooked with spices, make a great side dish to go with meat or can be a main vegetarian dish alongside a nutritious lentil dal. It’s quick and easy to cook, perfect when you are craving some spicy flavour and haven’t got many ingredients to hand.

Ingredients

140g / 5 oz potatoes peeled and diced

115g / 4oz aubergine, diced

½ teaspoon black mustard seeds

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 ½ teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon turmeric

Pinch cayenne pepper

½ teaspoon salt

Fresh green coriander to garnish

Dice the potatoes and aubergines into ½ inch / 1.5 cm cubes.

Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium high heat. Once it is hot add the mustard seeds. They should start to pop almost immediately. Add the aubergine and potatoes and stir briefly. Now add the coriander, cumin, turmeric, cayenne and salt and cook stirring for one minute or so. Add 3 tablespoons of water and cover the pot with a tight fitting lid immediately. Reduce the heat to low and allow to simmer gently for 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are tender when pricked with a fork.

Stir once or twice during this time. If the vegetables are sticking, add another tablespoon water. Serve hot garnished with fresh coriander leaves.

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Recipe for Lamb Dopiaza

Lamb dopiaza is a wonderful traditional Indian dish with the lamb cooked to tenderness with onions and quite mild spices. It is quite a simple curry recipe to make at home and very rewarding, with all the succulence and flavour you’d expect from eating out in a good Indian restaurant.

Ingredients:

1 kg / 2lbs boned lamb shoulder in 2 cm cubes

5 medium onions

Vegetable oil

10 cardamom pods, crushed

2 cinnamon sticks

10 cloves

2 teaspoons cumin

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

½ cup plain yoghurt

1 teaspoon salt

Black pepper

Dry the meat cubes with kitchen paper.

Slice the onions in half and then into half rings that are about 2mm thick. Heat enough oil to cover the base of the frying pan and fry the onions over a high heat for 8-10 minutes, until they have coloured and softened. Keep stirring so that they don’t burn and stick. When they are done remove them to a plate with a slotted spoon leaving any oil behind.

Put the whole spices into the frying pan and stir in the hot oil for a few seconds then add the ground spices and immediately add the meat and brown it on all sides.

Put the yoghurt in a bowl while the meat is cooking and beat in ¼ cup of water until it is smooth. When the meat has browned, pour in the yoghurt mixture season with salt and pepper, add cayenne if you are using it and stir. Bring the liquid back to a simmer, cover the pot and cook gently over a medium low heat for about 30 minutes. Stir again then continue cooking until the meat is tender, about another 30 minutes. Return the fried onions to the pan and turn the heat up, to boil away the excess liquid until there is just the oil left in the bottom of the pan. This should take about 5 minutes. Serve with Indian bread or rice.

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Recipe for Aloo Gobi

Aloo Gobi is a traditional Indian dish of potato and cauliflower with a delicious blend of spices. It is a main dish with no meat or dairy products used, and so is perfect for both vegetarians and vegans. There are many variations on the spices used but this is one authentic Indian recipe for it.

Ingredients:

2 cups cut cauliflower florets

2 medium potatoes

2 cm fresh ginger root shredded

3 teaspoons ground coriander

¼ teaspoon turmeric

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

3 tablespoons oil

3 tablespoons water

Pinch asafoetida (optional)

1/32 teaspoon cumin seeds

2 green chillies

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon mango powder (amchoor)

2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves

Mix the shredded ginger, coriander powder, cayenne, turmeric together in a small bowl adding the 3 tablespoons water to make a paste.

Heat the oil in a pan. When it is hot enough a cumin seed added will crack immediately. Add the cumin seeds and asafoetida to the oil. As soon as the seeds crack add the green chillies and bay leaves and stir. Now add the spice paste and stir for one minute until the spices separate out from the oil.

Add the cauliflower and potatoes with salt and 2 tablespoons water. Stir them into the spice mix until they are well covered. Cover the pan and cook on a medium heat for about 15-20 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Stir carefully every 4 minutes or so to make sure it is not sticking to the pan.

Once the vegetables are tender, remove from the heat and add the mango powder and chopped coriander. Stir it in and leave covered for a minute or two for the flavours to develop. Serve hot.

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Recipe for Parathas with Green Peas

The huge variety of Indian breads are a great feature of a meal out at an Indian restaurant. We hardly ever think of trying to make them at home, but many of them are quite simple to cook, needing just a griddle or heavy based frying pan to cook over a flame. This recipe is for parathas made with a green pea filling, spiced with green chillis and cumin. They make a great accompaniment to any other Indian dish. Serve them with a curry and a dal for a simple and authentic home-cooked Indian meal to rival restaurant cooking.

Note on ghee: ghee is clarified butter. If you can’t get hold of it, you can either make your own clarified butter or just use regular butter and be careful of it burning.

Ingredients:

For the stuffing

2 cups cooked green peas

5 green chillies chopped finely

1 teaspoon cumin

1 tablespoons ghee

Pinch salt

For the dough

3 cups wholemeal flour

2 tablespoons ghee

½ teaspoon salt

More ghee for frying

Mash the cooked peas.

In a medium pan that will fit the peas, melt the ghee and fry the cumin for half a minute, add the chopped chillies, cook for another minute. Add the mashed peas and a pinch of salt and stir well, cooking together for one more minute. Allow the mixture to cool.

Now make the dough. In a bowl rub mix the flour and salt and rub the ghee into the flour. Add water a little at a time until it mixes into a soft dough. Knead the dough well and divide into about twelve small balls.

Take a ball of dough, flatten it slightly into a disc and put a tablespoon of the pea mixture in to the centre. Fold the edges over the filling.

On a floured surface roll out the filled dough to a circle the size of a saucer or side plate.

Heat a griddle until it is very hot but not smoking. Put the rolled paratha onto the griddle and cook for about two minutes on one side and then one minute on the other. Brush some melted ghee around the side of the paratha and turn it again until both sides have small brown patches. Remove the cooked paratha to a warm plate, cover with a warm damp cloth and continue cooking the rest of the dough. Serve hot.

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