Tian Provençal with Plum and tarragon-stuffed chicken

TIAN PROVENÇAL (6 portions)

Ingredients:

2 small eggplant 

2-3 Heirloom or beefsteak tomatoes (low on water) 

2 small zucchini 

1 small white onion 1 clove garlic 

Olive oil 

Fresh thyme or rosemary

Procedure:

• Oil individual round baking ramekins, or a large earthenware baking dish, and rub with raw garlic. 
• Slice vegetables to suit the shape and size of your baking dishes, toss all but tomatoes with 4 T. olive oil, salt and 2 T. fresh herbs such as thyme or rosemary, or basil. 
• Arrange in an alternating pattern in baking dish, make top layer only tomato to prevent drying, and bake about 45 min. at 375 F, covered with aluminum foil, then 15 minutes uncovered to evaporate excess water. 
• Using metal tongs, turn out on plate, place meat or fish against side of tian, spoon some sauce around plate, and serve.

Plum and tarragon-stuffed chicken (6portions)

Ingredients:

6 free-range chicken breasts
2 minced shallots 

2 T. olive oil 

1 t. apple cider vinegar 

1 bay leaf 

4 sprigs fresh tarragon 

Salt, pepper 

2 C. pitted, halved plums

Procedure:

• Start by making a simple chicken stock to deepen the flavor of the sauce: sauté 1 carcass or 5 wings and optional 1/2 onion, carrot and celery in a non-stick pan till browned on all sides. 
• Drain excess fat and deglaze with 1/4 C dry white wine. Cook 2 minutes, then cover with cold water. Add 2 bay leaves, 2 sprigs of thyme and reduce over high heat till 1-2 cups liquid remain. Strain and reserve stock.
• For the plum filling, gently cook shallots covered in 2 tablespoons olive oil, about 10 minutes with no browning. 
• Add all other ingredients except for tarragon and simmer 5 minutes covered, 5-10 minutes uncovered to evaporate some of the liquid. 
• Add chopped tarragon at the end of cooking. Be sure to test for a good balance of sweet and sour before using.
• Place 6 skinless chicken breasts skin side down, flatten fatter half if necessary for rolling with meat tenderizer, and tuck cooked plums and shallot into cavity between filet and underside.
• Reserve more plums for sauce. Season, roll up and place in smallish oiled baking dish that will only snugly hold all the rolled breasts. 
• Cover with sauce. Meanwhile, make a sauce with 1 C. cream, 1 C. chicken stock and extra chicken stuffing. 
• Bring to simmer, season, and pour over chicken, and place in oven to bake, about 15-20 minutes at 350 F. Sauce should be simmering in dish, but not boiling or chicken will start to unravel. 
• Remove chicken from sauce and cool 3 minutes before slicing and placing back in hot sauce (check a piece from the center to ensure doneness).

Wine Suggestions:

Muscat sec, dry Riesling, young Chardonnay.

Loire valley Chenin Blanc or light fruity reds : Moulin à vent, Bourgueil, Anjou-villages, Burgundy Pinot noir.

Beefsteak tomatoes with garlic and basil & Sole stuffed with leeks and mushrooms

Beefsteak Tomatoes stuffed with garlic and basil

Ingredients:

6 Medium beefsteak tomatoes 
3⁄4 C dry bread crumbs and optional parmesan 
30 leaves basil, chopped 
1 clove garlic, minced 
4 sundried tomatoes, chopped 
1 t. piment d’Espelette or 1⁄4 t. Cayenne pepper 
1 t. salt 
 
Procedure:

• Preheat oven to 375 F (180 C). Trim top 1/3 off tomatoes, and save for another dish. 
• Scoop out seeds and water with teaspoon handle, but leave tomato ribs intact for structural support during baking.
• Mix all other ingredients, sprinkle a bit of salt into bottom of tomatoes, and stuff till piled up on top of tomato. 
• Optionally replace 1/3 of the breadcrumbs with ground parmesan.
• Bake in oiled pan on bottom rack about 30 minutes, using top heat at the end if bread crumbs have not yet browned.

Sole stuffed with leeks and creamy mushrooms:

Ingredients: 

12 small filets of flatfish such as sole, flounder or plaice Or 6 medium filets 

2 leeks 

6 large crimini or button mushrooms
6 small sprigs fresh dill 

1 C heavy cream 

1 C fish stock 

Procedure: 

• Count 3 fillets of sole or flounder for a main course, 2 small or one large for starter. 
• Rinse saved fish bones, cover with cold water and 1/2 C. dry white wine, and bring to boil with one onion, 1 bay leaf, 2 thyme branches, 1 stalk celery and 1 carrot chopped. Reduce to 1-2 cups liquid, strain, and reserve.
• Trim leeks and slice thin rings, then rinse out grit under cold water. Drain well. Melt 1 T butter in a wide saucepan and add leeks. Cover and soften over low heat about 10 minutes with a bay leaf and 4 sprigs fresh thyme. 
• Finely slice the mushrooms after cleaning, and add to leeks with 1 T olive oil. Cover and cook over medium heat 5 minutes. Stir and continue cooking till mushrooms are tender and the pan is quite dry. 
• Add 2 T. chopped fresh dill, chives or tarragon, the cream and stock and bring to simmer. Season with sea salt. Either scoop out leek mix with a slotted spoon, enough to stuff the fish, or pour all through a sieve, saving the sauce. 
• Season filet and place 1 T of leek/mushroom mix at small end of filet, rolling around it, and securing with toothpicks. (Cut large filets in half to have 2 rolls from each.)
  Add extra leeks to cream sauce, season with salt and your choice of chives, tarragon, parsley or dill, and pour all into baking dish just big enough to hold sole rolls. (After rolling fish in following step and placing in dish.) 
• Count 15-20 minutes oven time at 375 F, depending how crowded the baking dish is. Before serving, remove one from center and cut open to be sure they've cooked through. Serve with their cooking liquid as sauce.

Enjoy!

Red Mullet Broiled With Roast Garlic, Fennel And Sweet Onion Confit

                                                 yield: 6 portions

Ingredients:

1 bulb garlic

6 red mullet, fillets only, skin on

2 bulbs fennel, trimmed and quartered

4-5 large sweet onions

1⁄4 C. dry white wine

Olive oil 

Chives,reserved fennel fronds 

Procedure:

• Brush garlic with oil and place on a pan in a pre-heated oven (350F) for about 30 min., till soft, browning, and oozing. While warm, squeeze out flesh of garlic and reserve. ­
• If using mortar and pestle, grind garlic cloves with pestle. Add olive oil a little at a time until you have consistency of moist paste. The oil should all be absorbed. If using a hand mixer, purée the garlic in the mixing tumbler, then add olive oil with as little mixing as possible to avoid developing bitterness.
• For the red mullet, rub flesh-­side with garlic paste, and place skin-­side up on oiled cookie sheet or baking pan. Sprinkle with salt and place under broiler in preheated oven at 400 F for about 5 minutes, till skin is crispy and fish just cooked through.
• For the fennel confit, place quarters in bottom of wide saucepan in a single layer, cover half way with cold water, and bring to simmer. Add 1 t. salt. Flip after 15 minutes simmering, and continue another 10, lid off. All liquid should be evaporated, so watch closely to avoid burning, adding a bit of water if necessary. Fennel will be tender at this point.
• To finish, sprinkle liberally with olive oil and optional drizzle of honey, then sauté over medium high heat to brown all sides (ideally in non-­stick pan.) If you want enhanced licorice flavor, add 2 T. aniseed liqueur or the chopped fennel fronds in the last minute of cooking. Or simmer a piece of star anise alongside for the entire length of cooking.
• Peel and thinly slice 3 sweet white onions (red will make a nasty grey colour when cooked. If you only have red onions, try to finish the cooking with red Porto instead of white wine) Heat medium pot, coat generously with olive oil, and cook over medium heat, stirring, covered, about 30 minutes, with 1 bay leaf and 2 sprigs thyme.
• After onions are completely soft and reduced in volume, simmer with lid off a few minutes to evaporate extra water. If intended with red meats or oily fish, feel free to brown the onions, and add honey or sugar for increased caramelisation.  
• For poultry or delicate fish, keep onions from browning. Add 1/4 dry white wine and simmer 5 minutes till evaporated, or simply add 2 T. lemon. Salt lightly and plate in a cylinder to give a little mound for your fish to lean against. Sprinkle with fresh chive and olive oil.

 

Cook'n With Class Boutique

We are pleased to announce a new addition to our Boutique – The Cook’n With Class professional Knife set.

Used in all our cooking classes, the set is composed of a 20cm Demi-Chef knife and 10cm Paring knife, you can take them home to continue cooking like a grand Chef or offer them as a gift!

We chose K SABATIER as they are one of the most reputable French knife manufacturers for quality, endurance and hygiene.

Some information about the knives:

“K SABATIER" knives are 100% forged stainless steel knives and are all hand-made by artisans in FRANCE. 100% forged means that the knife is made entirely from one piece of metal/ No joints, welds or sintering means that no food can get trapped and every knife is very hygienic. Each K SABATIER knife is truly 100% French- from the metal through the manufacturing process.

Many world renowned chefs' very first knife was a K SABATIER knife; including Chef Eric Fraudeau head of Cook’n With Class.

We are proud to work with a family owned business with a truly genuine product and we hope that you will enjoy many cooking hours with them too!

If you would like to purchase a set please don’t hesitate to contact us:

info@cooknwithclass.com

or drop by our boutique at the school where they are on sale.

Pork Tenderloin with Fig Sauce

Preparation for pork tenderloin:

Ingredients:

1 pork tenderloin, trimmed 
1 head of Swiss chard (or spinach, bok choi, etc) 
4 slices of jambon (prosciutto), or ham or cured lard 
optional: raisins, pine nuts, chunks of aged cheese 
--- 
salt/pepper 
canola oil/butter 
cooking twine

Procedure:

• Wash, blanch and shake the chard leaves. Pat dry. 
• Cut the meat lengthwise to obtain a thin rectangular shape, pound the meat to make it as thin as possible. 
• Season lightly with salt and pepper, then cover the meat with the leaves, add at this point raisins/pine nuts/cheese if you like, then add the prosciutto slices. 
• Roll the meat to form a long, compact log-shaped roast and secure with cooking twine at regular intervals.
• Preheat a skillet with oil and butter, season with salt and pepper and then sear well. Remove from the pan, slice to portion it (cut in between the twine loops so that the individual portions don't fall apart) and then return to the pan to sear the flat sides of the portions.
• If the slices are thick you can finish them in the oven while you complete the side- dishes and srat plating them.
  Cook until inside is only slightly pink, do not overcook or it will dry out.

Preparation for Fig Sauce:

Ingredients:

4 or 6 ripe figs, washed, chopped 

1c red wine (chianti, bordeaux, cote du rhone...) 

1 cinnamon stick 

1 tsp black peppercorn 

1 tsp balsamic vinegar 

1 tsp honey 

2 bay leaves 

1 cup Heavy cream (35%)

Procedure:

• In a small saucepan add figs, wine, cinnamon and pepper. Bring to a boil.
• Let alcool evaporate, then reduce by half.
• Off heat, remove cinnamon stick.
• Puree in a blender (add a bit of water if too thick), then strain through a fine mesh.
• Add balsamic vinegar and honey. Adjust thickness with water if necessary. 

Serve Pork Tenderloin and Fig Sauce with potato puree or other seasonal vegetables.

Peach Clafoutis

 

This is a traditional French (southwestern France) dessert and at the origin, "CLAFOUTIS" was made with cherries, but now it is also appreciated when other fruits are added to the recipe. We like to bake it with seasonal fruits such as peaches for a nice summer recipe but you can also choose other fruits as you like. 

Nowadays, modern "CLAFOUTIS" can contain different exotic spices and can even be served as a savoury dish with vegetables and meat.

Ingredients:

        

- 5 Big yellow peaches

- 4 cups of water

- 2 cups sugar

- ½ cup whole milk

- 2 eggs

- 2 TBs  corn starch (corn flour)

- 2 TBs  flour

- 3 TBs sugar

- 30g/1oz flaked almond (optional) 

- Icing sugar, for dusting

Method: 

• In a large saucepan, add water and sugar and the peaches, let cook on a simmer for 10 minutes, let the peaches cool down in the water.
• Pre-Heat your oven at 350 F.
• Peel the peaches, and cut them in 8 pieces or quarters.
• In a pie or clafoutis mold, butter and flour the bottom, place the peaches.
• Mix the eggs with the corn flour, the flour, the sugar, then add slowly the milk, like you do for the pancakes.
• Pour on top of the peaches and cook in the oven for 45 minutes.
• When it is cooked you can leave it outside to chill.
• Serve it warm or cold, your choice...sprinkle with flaked almonds and dust with icing sugar.

Morning Market Class with Chef Constance

1st Class menu created and prepared from scratch by Chef Constance and her students.

All of the fresh ingredients bought at the market in the morning and brought back to the school in our faithful green shopping cart;) Back to the school everyone got to work on this delicious 4 course meal and had great fun while learning the secrets to fine french cooking.

Menu of the Day

*

Seared Shrimp with Piment d'Espelette and Orange & Fennel Salad

*

Veal filet mignon, Grandma’s sauce garnished with green beans and

Baby potatoes

*

Cheese board (5 varieties)

*

Raspberry Financier with coulis

*

Coffee, Tea

 *

White Wine: Sancerre, Les Demoiselles

Red Wine: Cote du Rhône, Guigal

Dessert Wine: Banyuls

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Here is the main course recipe:

Veal filet mignon, Grandma’s sauce

Ingredients

150g/ 5Oz Veal filet mignon (1 per person)

150g/ 5Oz lardons (pieces of pork)

6 very thin slices of smoked bacon

Baby potatoes 5 each

Chanterelle mushrooms 6 each

2 onions, 1 carrot

Garlic, thyme, bay leaves, salt and pepper

Bone of veal ( ask your butcher shop)

White wine, flour

Method

1. First roast the bones in a deep frying pan. Make a nice coloration. Then chop the onion and add with the carrots. Add 1 clove of garlic, thyme and bay leaves. Add a tablespoon of flour. Deglaze with the white wine. Cover with water and let it cook slowly. 

2. In a frying pan roast the potatoes to have a nice brown coloration then cook them in a small saucepan cover with butter in very low heat. Add garlic thyme and bay leaves let it cook for 15 min.

3. Wash your mushrooms and sauté them with olive oil in order to take out the water. Keep the water and add it to your sauce.

4. Cut the pork in little pieces and sauté them

5. Cook the thin slices of bacon in the oven to make them crispy (150C°/ 65F°)

6. Prepare the veal with a string to make a nice round shape. Season it and sear them in a frying pan, finish cooking them in the oven.

7. When you are ready strain your sauce and reduce it, sauté the mushrooms a second time with butter and add parsley at the end.

8. Plate your meal; spread the sauce with mushrooms all over the plate, the potatoes and the lardons. Cut the veal mignon in 2 pieces and cover it with the crispy bacon.

ENJOY!