Brandade de Morue

                                                  Serves 6

A southern French classic recipe. It's usually served with slices of crusty bread and raw vegetables, and goes well with a crisp, dry white wine.

Ingredients:

400 g Salt cod, diced, soaked in cold water overnight

500 g cooked potatoes

3 shallots peeled and sliced

250 ml Milk

250 ml Cream

2 eggs

8 Tablespoons olive oil

Black pepper

Procedure:

• Cook the peeled and chopped potatoes and keep on the side.   
• Sweat the chopped shallots in 2 Tbs of olive oil for 5 mins. Add the soaked Cod, potatoes, cream and Milk. 
• Cook until the fish is tender. 
• Strain off most of the liquid and put in a food processor. Add the Eggs and black pepper and mix on medium speed. Slowly incorporate the rest of the olive oil. Taste for salt, but it should be good.  
• Put in oven proof individual dishes and bake 375 degrees for 5-10 mins, when it soufflées and browns. Serve with fresh bread.  

Home-made Gnocchi

Ingredients:

for 4 people

1.25 Kilos Raw Old Russet Potatoes

Rock Salt

125 grams all-purpose Flour

75 grams Semolina Flour

200 Grams Parmesan, finely grated

5 Egg Yolks

Procedure:

Bake the potatoes on a bed of salt in a very hot oven (500F / 260C) with aluminum over the top for 1 hour.

Cut them in half and pass them through a fine mesh sieve. Take 1 kilo of the potato pulp in a bowl, add in the egg yolks and the parmesan cheese. Mix the flour together, then put half flat on the table. Put the potato mass on the flour and add the rest of the flour on top.

Cut the flour into the dough with a flat wide plastic bowl scraper.

Then start to fold and form a ball. Roll the dough into small tubes, using the smallest amount of flour.

Cut the tubes into small bits about 3/4’s of an inch. Then roll them off the back of a fork to create the ridges. Poach them in simmering water until they float and serve with any kind of sauce.

This recipe can also be deep fried at 175C / 350F for about 4 mins.

Happy Valentines Day

Litchi and Rose Spongecake

Ingredients:

150g/ 5.3O oz sugar

180g/ 6.3O oz  soft butter

3 eggs

150g/ 5.3O oz  flour

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

250G /8.8O oz  whipping cream

50g/ 1.7O oz icing sugar

250G/ 8.8O oz mascarpone

1/2 teaspoon of rose essence, and crushed rose tea petals

Procedure:

In a bowl mix the butter and the sugar until it gets white. Add the eggs one by one and mix. Add the sifted flour and a spoon of baking powder and vanilla.

Pour mixture into a cake mould. Add the fruit you like, such as litchi, mango, apricot, berries….Bake at 175C (350F) for 20 mins

To check if it’s cooked you need to stick a knife blade in and check if it comes out clean.

In a mixer whip the cream then add the icing sugar. Finish with the mascarpone and the rose essence & coloring if you wish,  you can also add cinnamon, ginger, spices,…

Then add the cream on top of the cake, make sure cake is cooled down so it doesn’t melt.

Rosemary and 7-garlic clove leg of lamb

                                                  8 Portions

Ingredients

1 small leg of lamb, about 3 lbs/1.5 kg 

7 branches fresh rosemary 

7 cloves fresh garlic 

Olive oil
2 T coarse salt

Procedure

• Trim most of the fat off the leg of lamb, if necessary. 
• In a large sauté pan, brown the leg on all sides. Cut each clove in half or thirds, pierce the meat with a paring knife and insert the garlic. 
• Finely chop the rosemary and rub all over the meat surface, with olive oil if necessary to form a paste which clings. 
• Place in 400 F/200 C oven the 1st 15 minutes, then at 365 F/180 C for about 30 more minutes for medium rare, 45 for medium well. 
• Sprinkle surface with salt, let rest 5-‐10 minutes before slicing against the grain. Season sliced meat with fleur de sel, and fresh cracked pepper. 

Tips:  

• If you don't have a large enough sauté pan for initial searing, rub meat surface with olive oil and place under broiler on upper oven rack, 400 F/200 C, to brown at least two sides well, before rubbing on the rosemary, and piercing with the garlic, lowering the temperature to continue cooking. 

 Wine Suggestions

Full bodied reds : Rhone valley, Corbières, Minervois, Bordeaux

Seared Duck with glazed orange Turnips

Ingredients:

3 duck breasts

1 big turnip or 3 small round turnips

Sherry Vinegar (vinagre de Jerez)

Orange juice  
Honey
Meat stock (chicken or beef)

Olive oil  
Salt, pepper

Procedure:

1. First peel and with the mandolin, slice the turnips then cut them with a round cutter to make a circle shape.

2. Blanch them in hot water to take out the sourness and when they are soft take them out.

3. Prepare the sauce by making a reduction of orange juice and honey. When reduced add the vinegar, let it reduce again then add the chicken stock and let it reduce again.

4. Prepare the duck with salt & pepper, take out the tendons and score the skin side. Sear the duck in a frying pan with no fat skin side down for about 4 minutes. Flip breasts and cook for another 2 minutes. Let it rest and then finish cooking it in the oven.

5. Finish cooking the turnips in a frying pan with some orange juice, let the juice reduce until the turnips are glazed shiny.

Boeuf Rossini

First of all, a little history :

Boeuf Rossini or Tournedos Rossini is named after the Italian composer Gioachino ROSSINI.

Rossini was born in Pesaro, Italy and he died in Paris in 1868. He was a “bon vivant”, lover of fine food and rare wines had his regular table at the Tour d'Argent, Bofinger, and the Maison Dorée, where Chef Casimir Moisson dedicated this creation: Tournedos Rossini.

They say he composed his music mainly in bed, but also in restaurant kitchens, where he spent much of his time, he also wrote a cookbook…

Ingredients:

1.5 Kilos (3.5 lbs) whole Sirloin

600 grams (1.25 lbs) Foie Gras Terrine

50 grams Dried Morel mushrooms

10 grams Truffles chopped

1 bunch Chives

2 Shallots

1/4 cup cognac

4 ounces butter

Vegetable Oil

Salt and Pepper

Procedure:

- First, Clean all extra fat off the sirloin. Tie the sirloin with butchers twine 4- 5 times lengthwise and 1 time top to bottom. Make sure that it’s tight.

- In a small pot, add the morels and 2 cups of water and boil the mushrooms to re-hydrate them. Add water if needed to keep the mushrooms just covered and simmer for 30 mins.

- Mince the shallots as small as possible with a sharp knife. Chop the chives as small as possible as well.

- Cut the foie gras in 7 pieces with a hot knife and reserve the pieces in the fridge.

- Heat a large pan, preferably cast Iron, on high heat. Season the beef with salt and pepper on all sides. Then add a few splashes of oil to the pan, and place the meat inside.

- You should hear it sear. Caramelize the beef on all sides. Then remove and place it into a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees. Cook it until the center temperature is barely warm. 30-40 mins. Internal temperature 125 F.

- In the pot, remove the burnt oil then place one of the slices of foie gras in the pot on medium heat. Sautee this until it has decreased by half its size.

- Add the shallots and cook in the foie gras fat. Cook until soft and tender, 5 mins. Then take the pot off the heat and add the cognac.

- Being very careful, put the pot back near the Flame and “Flambé” When all alcohol is gone, add the mushrooms and it’s jus and cook this all together.

- Reduce the liquid on medium heat until there is only about 1/2 a cup left. Add the cold butter and whisk it in until smooth. Add the chives. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

        

- Let the meat rest for at least 20 mins. Slice the meat into 6 slices on an angle. Put this back on a tray and place the foie gras on top and heat in the oven for 2 mins, or until the foie is just warm. Serve immediately with its jus.

Mille Feuille with Best wishes for New Year!

                                             5 Portions

Ingredients:

600g Puff pastry, cold - store bought is ok if butter based

250g crème legère

Icing sugar

Procedure

• Preheat oven at 160C/320F. Roll puff pastry to a thickness of 3mm, place on a tray lined with parchment paper and bake for about an hour until crunchy and golden in color.
• Take out of the oven, raise the oven temperature to 200C/390F and while you wait for the oven to reach the new temp dust the cooked puff pastry with plenty of icing sugar.
• Bake again for about 5 minutes checking that the sugar caramelizes without burning. Remove, let cool. Cut into rectangles, chose 6 ones without any cracks, dust them with sugar on the flat side.
• Heat up a knife that you will be using as a branding tool to mark the sugared pieces. Put creme legere in a pastry bag fitted with a round tip (a star tip is a nice alternative). 
• Pipe a few dollops of cream on a rectangle of puff pastry, place a second rectangle, more cream and finally the last rectangle of puff pastry that has been branded on top.

Pastry Cream for Mille Feuille: 

Ingredients:

450g whole milk (2 cups, 1lb)

50g heavy/whipping cream (about 2oz)

2 vanilla beans

---

4 egg yolks (should weigh 90g/3oz)

90g sugar (3oz)

25g corn starch/corn flour (about 1oz)

25g flour (about 1oz)

---

4 gelatin leaves or 8g of powdered gelatin dissolved in 40g of water. ( Forget ounces, here you are better off thinking in grams)

50g unsalted butter (about 2oz)

30g cocoa butter, optional (about 1oz)

---

30g mascarpone cheese,optional (about 1oz)
 
Procedure:

• Sift together flour and starch, set aside. Place milk and cream in a sauce pot. Scrape vanilla beans, place seeds and scraped pods in the milk+cream pot.        
• Bring to a boil, turn off, cover and let infuse for 20 minutes. Few minutes  before the infusion is ready place egg yolk and sugar in a bowl, start whisking  until the mixture is light in color, then gradually add flour and starch.  
• Place gelatin leaves in cold water for a couple of minutes, when soft squeeze  well to remove excess water and keep aside (this step is called blooming).  
• Remove scraped vanilla pods from infused milk (don’t discard them, you can use  them to make vanilla sugar by first washing them, then drying them well in a  low temp oven and finally grinding them with sugar in a food processor).  
• Pour hot milk over the eggs, sugar and flours mixture while whisking. Return  mixture to the sauce pan and cook over low heat constantly whisking. When the  mixture starts to boil it will also start thickening.  
• Keep whisking for about two minutes, the cream will be very thick. Take the pan  off the heat, add the bloomed gelatin and whisk well until completely dissolved.  
• Add butter in three additions and then cocoa butter, if you have it. With an  immersion blender puree the mixture until very smooth, about 2 minutes.   
• Place the cream in a shallow dish, cover with plastic film and place in the  freezer for about 15 minutes. In the refrigerator it will take almost an hour to  be completely cold.   
• When the cream is cold, place it in the bowl of a stand mixer (if you don’t have one a  hand- held mixer will also work) and whisk at medium high speed for 5 minutes. 
• Gently mix in the mascarpone cheese, if you have it. Place cream in a piping bag and keep refrigerated until ready to use. Shelf life is 2 days.