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~ Living & Cooking in France

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Category Archives: Sauces

Bear’s Garlic Pesto / Ail des ours

28 Sunday May 2017

Posted by Nadia in General, Pasta, Sauces

≈ 16 Comments

Tags

ail des ours, bears garlic, Pasta, pasta sauces, pesto, ramps, wild garlic

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Ail des ours – known as ramps, ramsons, buckrams, wild garlic, broad-leaved garlic, wood garlic, bear leek, or bear’s garlic – is a wild relative of chives native to Europe and Asia. The Latin name, Allium ursinum, and the french name, is due to the brown bear’s taste for the bulbs and its habit of digging up the ground to get at them; they are also a favourite of wild boar.

Wild garlic can be found growing prolifically throughout the countryside between the months of March and May. The plant is usually found in damp areas of woodland or riverbanks. You’ll be able to identify the flowers by their strong, distinctive garlicky smell. Used in cooking for hundreds of years for its fragrant flavour and antibacterial properties (soldiers in the First World War used the plant as an antiseptic), wild garlic is the perfect representation of spring. The second warmer weather begins to make an appearance, the shoots burst through the topsoil and begin to spread like wildfire. Wild garlic is part of the allium family, along with onions, leeks and (unsurprisingly) garlic. It’s a not too distant relative of the chive and can be eaten in the same way, as the stem, leaf and star-shaped white flowers are all edible. The abundance of wild garlic in the countryside is taken full advantage of by chefs, who use it to flavour all manner of dishes throughout the short season; some even preserve and ferment the leaves for use later on in the year. Obviously, wild garlic tastes like garlic. But it differs from the more common cloves as it is more mellow and has a distinct grassy flavour. The raw leaves have a strong pungent smell, but taste delicate and sweet. Early on in the season, some leaves can be quite fiery, so make sure you sample them before adding to a recipe to avoid disasters.

They are not easy to find and so I was thrilled to find some at my local market on Tuesday.  I grabbed handfuls, filling up a big bag with the leaves and took them home to make some pesto. The good thing about pesto is that it’s easy to make adjustments as you go. Just pound, stir, or blend, until it’s to your liking. It’s especially good mixed with pasta, on its own, or with steamed spring vegetables tossed in, like fresh peas or fava beans, asparagus, or well-wilted greens. I love it smeared on little crostini as an appetizer, atop slices of slightly aged goat cheese.

Makes 1 1/2 cups (375ml)

Ingredients:

200g / 7oz bear’s garlic, trimmed of tough stems (about 4 cups roughly chopped)
1/3 – 1/2 cup /  (35-60g) shelled pistachios
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup (125ml) olive oil
1/2 cup (50g) grated Parmesan

 

Preparation:
Cook the pasta according to the package directions
In a food processor, add all the ingredients, except the olive oil and puree on pulse for a minute
(Using the larger quantity of pistachios will make it thicker)
Dribble some of the olive oil in along the way, to create an emulsion
Taste, and add additional salt, if necessary
If the pesto is very thick, it can be thinned with additional olive oil
I often leave it thick, and if tossing it with warm, just-cooked pasta, will add additional olive oil to the pesto-slicked pasta at the last minute, to get it to the desired consistency
Add the pesto to the cooked pasta and toss
Serve immediately
Enjoy!

Storage: The pesto will keep for 3-4 days in the refrigerator
The pesto can be frozen for up to two months

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Lotte à l’américaine / monkfish with américaine sauce

17 Friday Feb 2017

Posted by Nadia in General, Sauces, Seafood

≈ 17 Comments

Tags

americaine, fish, lotte, monkfish, Seafood

img_8992img_8993Sauce américaine is a recipe from classic French cookery containing chopped onions, tomatoes, white wine, brandy, salt, cayenne pepper, butter and fish stock and is often served with fish or lobster. It is sometimes known as sauce armoricaine, which is the original name, derived from Armorica, the ancient name for a region of France including Brittany, which is known for its fishing.

Monkfish is known for its huge head and mouth, and its tight, meaty white flesh that is often compared to lobster meat. It’s commonly used in French cuisine, but it has only recently become popular in the US. Only the monkfish tail is edible, and it’s sold whole or filleted. Any gray or tan membranes should be removed before cooking. The flesh is bright white, lean and mild-tasting. This versatile fish can be prepared using almost any cooking method, and it can be served in soups and stews. Its lean flesh tends to dry out if overcooked. Monkfish has a unique flavor and texture, but you can substitute snapper, sea bass, halibut, mahi-mahi or sea scallops.

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

800g / 2 lbs monkfish
2 tablespoons tomato concentrate
1 onion, finely diced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
250 ml / 1 cup dry white wine
60g / 4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon cognac
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Cut the monkfish into cubes
Heat 30g / 2 tablespoons butter in a sauté pan over medium high heat and brown the fish for about 5 minutes, set aside
Rince out the pan and heat the oil
Cook the onion and garlic until soft
Add the monkfish and the cognac
Flambé
Pour in the white wine
Add the tomato paste, salt and black pepper
Stir, cover and allow to cook on a low simmer for about 30 minutes
Remove the fish and set aside
Add the rest of the butter to the sauce and sprinkle on the flour to thicken the sauce
Whisk and allow to reduce on medium heat
Place the fish on your warm plates and cover with the sauce
Enjoy!

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Tournedos de magret with sauce madère

23 Friday Dec 2016

Posted by Nadia in Beef, Duck, General, Sauces

≈ 16 Comments

Tags

Duck, madère, madeira, magret, Sauces, tournedos, truffle

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Magret de canard, (duck breast fillet), in a madeira sauce with fresh mushrooms and  truffles and creamy mash – comfort food doesn’t get much more luxurious than this!

Typically this dish is made with beef tournedos. Tournedos is the name given to the small round pieces of beef cut from the center portion of beef tenderloin, often wrapped and cooked with bacon or lard. However as I live in the south-west of France, in the Dordogne, duck is king. We are the center of foie gras and therefore all things duck. The magret is the beautiful breast piece that is exquisitely tender and flavourful. Serve it medium rare for it to be at its optimal. So, instead of using the traditional beef, I bought some magret and shaped it into a circle, tied it with bacon and string and sautéed it before serving it with a classic sauce madère. A sauce madère is a delicious robust, dark sauce made with madeira or sherry usually including shallots and mushrooms. And to take it over the edge, and because it is truffle season at the moment here, why not add a few slivers of freshly shaved Perigordian black truffle. A dish fit for a king, or queen, or just because you deserve something special.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
4 duck breasts steaks, about 6 ounces / 170 g
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
450g / 1 lb button mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
A few shavings of fresh truffle (optional)

For the sauce au madère
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 tablespoon oil
2 shallots, finely diced
125 ml / 1/2 cup veal stock
60 ml / 1/4 cup madeira or sherry
1 tablespoon cold butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

Preparation:

Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet over high heat
Season the tournedos with salt and black pepper
Place the tournedos into the skillet and sear until golden brown, turn the fillets over, lower to medium high heat, and continue cooking for 3 to 4 minutes for medium-rare doneness
Remove the tournedos to a plate
Remove all but 3 tablespoons of the fat in the pan and return to medium high heat
Add the mushrooms and cook until golden brown and their liquid has evaporated
Set aside
Wipe the pan clean and melt the butter and oil over medium high heat
Add the shallots and cook until soft
Add the madeira and cook until reduced by half
Add the veal stock and cook until thickened a bit
Whisk in the butter and cook for 30 seconds
Season with salt and pepper, to taste
Add the mushrooms to the sauce
Place a tournedos on each plate (do not forget to remove the string) and spoon some of the sauce over
Add one or two slivers of freshly shaved truffle (optional)
Enjoy!

 

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