Strawberry Clafouti

                                                     6 portion

Ingredients:

Unsalted butter (to grease the dish or molds)
8 ounces or 250g strawberries, take off the green top and halve lengthwise
3 eggs
1 cup heavy cream, half and half or milk
2/3 cup or 95g flour
1/4 cup or 50g granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons or 8ml vanilla or sweet liquor such as Cointreau or Grand Marnier
A pinch of salt
Powdered sugar

Procedure:

• Preheat oven to 350°. 
• Grease a 2-qt/2liters baking or gratin dish with the butter. 
• Arrange strawberries, cut side down, put in the bottom of the mold and set aside.
• In a blender, whisk eggs, milk, flour, granulated sugar, vanilla, and salt for 15 seconds.
• Pour batter over strawberries.
• Bake until puffed, golden brown, and set in the center, about 50 minutes. 
• Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm.
   

Chef Patrick says: 

As easy to make as a pancake, this classic French dessert from the Limousin region involves pouring a simple batter over fresh fruit (typically cherries) and baking until puffed and golden brown. The fruit rises to the top, leaving a soft layer whose texture falls somewhere between custard and cake. I like to cook the clafouti in individual daugh crust. It gives a crunchy texture and a nicer presentation.

Made in the Market class with chef Patrick Hebert and his students.

Flounder with Asparagus, Spinach & Hollandaise Sauce

                                                       Portion 6

Ingredients:

2 Flounder Filleted, bones chopped

2 Sweet Yellow Onions

4 Cloves Garlic

1 Fennel

2 Carrots

1 Branch Celery

4 Sprigs Thyme

1 bottle White Wine

1 Bay Leaf

1 bunch chives

5 Egg Yolks

1.5 Cups Clarified Butter

2 Lemons juiced

2 bunches Asparagus

2 bunches Spinach

Butter

Olive Oil

Salt / Pepper

1 Small Pinch Fleur de Sel (sea salt)

Procedure:

• Peel and chop the onions in 4. Peel and smash the garlic. Slice the fennel. Peel and rough chop the carrots. 
• Chop the celery with leaves and all. Wash the Spinach and let dry. Chop the chives very small and reserve on the side.
• Peel the asparagus and bend them. They will naturally break in the spot that will leave a good tip, and throw away the fibrous bottom.
• In a large pot, sweat the onions, half of the garlic, fennel, carrots and celery in olive oil for 10 mins on high heat.
• Add the fish bones and the bottle of wine minus 1/3 cup of wine for the hollandaise. When the liquid comes to the boil, reduce heat to a simmer and add the herbs (minus the chives), a pinch of salt and some black pepper.
• Cook for 30 mins. Strain and reduce the liquid until there is only about 1 to 3⁄4 of a cup left.
• Then chop 5 tablespoons of cold butter and whisk this into the reduced liquid until smooth. Reserve on the side, but keep warm.
• In a large pot, bring to boil 3 quarts of water and 1 cup of salt and blanch the asparagus until they are still slightly crunchy in the center. They should be a bit under done, cause they will be re- heated later on.
• When slightly cooked, remove and plunge into an ice bath to “Shock” them. Then strain and dry them.
• In a wide flat sauté pan, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil. Season and dust the fish with salt, pepper and a bit of flour. Cook until golden brown on one side for about 4-5 mins. Then flip and cook for 1 min and remove. 
• At the same time, in a double broiler, whisk the egg yolks and the wine until thick. When thick, off the heat, add slowly the clarified butter (Note: The butter should be warm, not hot, not cold) If the mixture gets too thick, you can add a bit of the lemon juice at this stage to stabilize.
• When all butter is in, season with 2 big pinches of salt, fresh black pepper, lemon juice to taste.
• In another pot, heat 3 tablespoons fresh butter and heat until golden brown and “noisette.” Add the rest of the Garlic, then the spinach, 2 pinches of salt and wilt for 1 min. 
• Roast the dry asparagus in olive oil until warm. 
• On the plate, spoon some warm fish stock butter sauce (Fish Fumet Beurre Blanc) on the plate, Then a few of the asparagus. Then a small pinch of the spinach. Then the fish filet. Then top with the Hollandaise.
  
   

 Made in the Market class with chef Alex Dreyer and his students.

 

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

Ingredients:

4-6 Shrimps

4 fennel bulbs

4 oranges

extra virgin olive oil, preferably strong
Mesclun salad mix

Salt

Pepper
Piment d'espelette

Procedure:

• Sear the shrimp in a pan for 1 min, tossing with salt and piment d'espelette. 
• Cut the oranges into segments, save some juice. Cut the fennel into thin slices, use a mandolin slicer if you have it. 
• Prepare the vinaigrette by using 1 cup of the orange juice, three tablespoons of olive oil, a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper. Whisk well and pour over the sliced fennel and mesclun salad mix. 
• Toss well then mix with the orange segments. 
• Finish with shrimp over the salad.
• Serve immediately.

Note: If fennel slices are a bit hard, they can be blanched in lightly salted boiling water. Run them under cold water to stop the cooking.

Made in the Market Class with Chef Constance and her students. 

 

Dark chocolate tarte

Photo taken by Brian Defehr

                                                   Portion: 8

Ingredients:

Sweet pastry:
90 g (3 oz.) icing sugar 

30 g (1 oz.) ground almond 

125 g (4.5 oz.) soft butter 

1 egg 

250 g (9 oz.) all-purpose flour

Chocolate ganache:
20 cl (4/5 C.) heavy cream) 

170 g (6 oz.) dark chocolate 60% 

I egg 

60 g (2 oz.) butter

Procedure:

          For the sweet pastry: 

• Mix well with fork: the sugar, ground almond, and soft butter in large bowl. Incorporate 1 whole egg, mixing well.
• Then add 5 oz. all purpose flour, 3/4 of it with a wooden spoon or plastic spatula, then the last 1/4 of the flour mixed in with your fingertips, without kneading. 
• Continue to sprinkle in more flour if necessary till dough no longer sticks to bowl and fingers.
• Don't work the dough like bread kneading, just squash it if necessary to incorporate all the flour. Once you have a smooth, homogenous ball, not sticking, wrap in plastic and refrigerate 1-2 hours. 
• Remove dough from fridge, allow to warm 5 minutes if cold and stiff. Butter and dust 8 tartlet pans with sugar. Either roll out dough flat and cut out circles large enough to fit perfectly in your pans, or roll dough into cylinder, and cut into 8 or 9 portions, about 45g / 1.6 oz each. 
• Dust each slice of dough with flour only if sticky and press into tart pans evenly, with thumbs. Prick all around base of pan with fork to prevent dough from ballooning while cooking. 
• Bake at 400 F/200 C about 10-12 minutes, until just lightly browning, remove and cool 5 minutes before adding the chocolate filling.
  
  
  For the chocolate filling:
• Melt the chocolate and butter together over steam in a double boiler, stirring to blend.
• Bring cream to a simmer, beat egg in a separate bowl and slowly pour cream into beaten egg while whisking. 
• Strain if you see any solid egg bits, and mix well with chocolate, then pour into prebaked tart shells, and bake at 150 C/300 F about 15 minutes, just to set. 
• Cool 2 hours before eating, and if storing in fridge, warm to room temperature before eating. 
• For an alternative with less risk of salmonella from undercooked eggs, replace the egg with 2 yolks and cook with 1⁄4 C. heavy cream as for sabayon till thick, before adding to the chocolate and baking. 
• Optionally top with fresh raspberries and dust with icing sugar, or with caramelized walnuts.