Veal roulade (Paupiettes)

• 4 veal olives
• 3 carrots
• 3 small potatoes
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 onion
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 white wine
• Fresh thyme, bay leaves

1. Heat butter or oil in pressure cooker. Add garlic and onion and let cook for a while until fragrant

2. Add meat and cook 5 minutes until brown on each side.

3. Chop the carrots in slices and potatoes in small cubes, add to the pan and let cook for a little longer. 

4. Add water and wine, salt and pepper, thyme and bay leaves and close the lid. 

5. Bring the pressure cooker to high pressure then lower the heat source and cook for 20 minutes. 

Serve with rice or tagliatelles. 

Lemon madeleines

• 3 eggs
• 100gr sugar
• 110gr flour
• zest of 1/2 lemon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 90gr butter

Preheat oven at 220°C.

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan or in the microwave. Leave to cool.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar until they foam a little bit.
3. Add the flour and baking powder, mix well.
4. Pour in the melted butter, then add the lemon zest.
5. If you can, leave the batter to rest for 30 minutes.
6. Pour the batter in the madeleine molds, filling them to 2/3. Cook at 220°C for 4 minutes then at 200°C for 7 minutes (the right temperature is important for the little bump to appear on the madeleines).

Makes about 20.

Canistrelli (Corsican Biscuits)

 

• 500g flour
• 180g sugar
• 15 cl olive oil
• 10 cl white wine
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons pastis (or anise liquor, Uzo)
• 3-4 tablespoons anise seeds

Preheat oven at 180°C

1. Mix flour, sugar and baking powder together
2. Add wine and oil and mix with a spoon until a dough is formed, then knead with hands. Add the anise seeds
3. Spread some flour on a clean surface, and roll the dough to about 2cm thick. Cut some rectangular or losange shapes with a pizza cutter.
4. Spread some sugar on top of the biscuits
5. Bake 10 minutes at 180°C then 10 minutes at 150°C, or until nice and golden.

Canistrelli can also be enjoyed with lemon zest instead of anise, or grilled almonds.

Roasted pumpkin soup

• 1 butternut squash
• 1 onion
• 2 carrots
• 2 small leeks
• 1 big potatoe
• 20g butter
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 3-4 cups vegetable stock

Preheat the oven at 180° C. 

1. Slice the squash in two, lengthwise. Place it on a roasting tray, flesh down.

2. Peel the carrots and potatoe, cut in two and add on the tray. Add the onion with the skin.

3. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and a spoon of olive oil. Bake for 30 minutes.

4. In the meantime, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Cut the leeks in small slices and add in the pan. Let them sizzle for a while then reduce the heat and cook for 10 minutes on low heat, until soft. 

5. Once the veggies are out of the oven, remove the remaining skins, cut into small pieces and add in the saucepan with the leeks. Top with the stock, enough to cover everything plus a little bit extra. Cook on medium heat for 15 minutes. 

6. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with a dash of cream. 

Soupe de Chalet

This is a traditional Swiss Soup, with nice milk and Gruyere cheese in it, very nice and comforting in winter.

• 1 Suede
• 2 Carrots
• 2 Oignons
• 1 large potatoe
• 200g spinach, washed and sliced
• 1/2 can white beans (or large white beans)
• 50g macaroni pasta
• 1L milk
• About 1L water
• 40g butter
• Some gruyere cheese, to serve

1. Wash, peel and chop all the veges in little cubes. 

2. In a large sauce pan, heat the butter, then cook the suede, carrots, onions and leek for a few minutes. 

3. Add salt, then milk and water, and cook covered on medium heat for 30 minutes.

4. Add the potatoe and cook for another 15 minutes. 

5. Add the pasta and cook for 5 minutes. 

6. Add the spinach and leave them on the fire just a few moments for them to wilt. Add beans and season to taste.

7. Serve with generous amounts of cheese in the plates, enjoy!

Battered Fish and Chips

• 3/4 cups plain flour
• 1/3 cup cornflour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp sea salt flakes
• 1 cups pale ale beer
• 2 snapper fillets
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• Lemon wedges, to serve

1 Place the plain flour, cornflour, baking powder, salt and beer in a bowl and whisk until smooth.

2 Dip the fish into the batter to coat, shaking off any excess.

3 Heat the oil in a large, deep frying pan over medium heat 

4 Deep-fry the fish, in batches, for 3-4 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Drain on absorbent paper.

5 Cook fries in the oven or in oil

6 Serve fish and chips with lemon wedges and fries

Spinach and Chicken pie

• 1 frozen spinach bag
• 2 chicken breasts
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 10 cl fresh/sour cream
• 1 scallion
• 1 egg
• 1 rolled puff pastry sheet

Preheat the oven at 200°C. 

1. Cook the spinach in a sauce pan following instructions, until thawed completely. 

2. Meanwhile, cut the chicken in large cubes. Place in a bowl, add spices and olive oil, mix well. 

3. Heat a skillet or grill. Cook chicken for 5-10 minutes, until brown and almost cooked through. Add scallions and continue cooking for another 2 minutes.

4. Combine spinach with chicken, add cream. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

5. Pour the mixture into a circular dish and cover with the pastry sheet, folding/tugging the edges inside the dish. 

6. Beat the egg and brush the pastry with it. Place in oven and cook for 20 minutes.

Almond tuiles

This weekend we were looking after our neigbours' girls, so they helped me bake a few biscuits. That kept them busy for a while and it was delicious as an afternoon snack. Really simple and quick to make, delicious when coming out of the oven!

• 2 egg whites
• 100gr caster sugar
• 40g butter
• 30gr flour
• 50-100gr sliced almonds

1. Preheat oven at 180°C

2. Melt the butter, set aside

3. Beat the egg whites (not to form peaks though) and add sugar. Mix well.

4. Add flour and butter, mix until nice and smooth. 

5. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and drop the mixture on the tray with a teaspoon to make little biscuits, flattening them with the back of the spoon if necessary. 

6. Cover generously with the almonds. 

7. Cook for 10 minutes, until the edges are brown. Watch after a few minutes of cooking, you don't want to burn them. 

Once taking the tray out of the oven, it's best to remove the biscuits and let them cool down on a rack or plate, or even better on your rolling pin, to give them a curved shape. 

Drop in coffee if you want to look French, and enjoy :)

Courgette gratin

• 3 courgettes
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 small onion
• 2 eggs
• 10cl cream (fresh or sour)
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Breadcrumbs

1. Preheat oven at 200°C.

2. Grate the courgettes coarsely.

3. Heat oil in a skillet. Add the courgettes, crushed garlic, chopped onion and spices. Stir, season to taste and let cook uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring from time to time. 

4. In a bowl, mix the eggs and the cream. 

5. Add the courgettes to the eggs mixture, mix well and season if necessary. 

6. Transfer the mixture to an oven proof dish. Cover with breadcrumbs. 

7. Cook in the oven for 20 minutes or until golden. 

Enjoy with grilled meat or fried eggs. 

For variations you can also add chopped ham in the mixture, or add pine nuts for extra taste. 

Baked salmon with curried cream and cherry tomatoes

I just love salmon, but for some reason I'm not a big fan of fish cooked with lemon. This dish is extra simple to prepare and quite tasty. Also good looking for a quickly put together meal when friends are coming along for dinner.

• 2 filets of salmon
• 3T cream (fresh or sour cream)
• 1/2 tea spoon of curry powder
• 2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes
• 1 scallion (green onion)

1. Preheat oven at 180°C

2. Place the salmon in an oven resistant dish, cover with cream. 

3. Sprinkle curry powder on top. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

4. Add the tomatoes in the dish, topped with the chopped scallion. 

5. Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes. 

6. Remove the foil and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes or until the fish is cooked to your liking. 

Mint & Brocciu Quiche

My grandmother is from Corsica, and she has some very nice recipes up her sleeve. A lot of them are made from this fabulous cheese called Brocciu, but unfortunately it's quite hard to find it. If I can't get some at the shop I tend to replace it with cottage cheese.

This quiche is very nice and fresh thanks to the mint. I added some courgettes in it but it's just as nice without them.

• 1 jar of Brocciu or cottage cheese
• 1 courgette (optional), cut in very small cubes
• 1 bunch of fresh mint
• 3 eggs
• 15 cl fresh cream or sour cream (yes I cook with Fresh cream)
• 1 rolled puff pastry sheet
• A handful of grated cheese (parmesan or gruyere)

Preheat oven at 180°C. 

1. Sautee courgette in skillet or grill until tender. 

2. Chop the mint finely, mix it with the brocciu and the courgettes.

3. Roll the pastry sheet in a circular quiche dish, lay the cheese mixture evenly.

4. Mix the eggs and the cream. Add salt and pepper to taste.

5. Pour the egg mixture in the quiche. Sprinkle the grated cheese on top. 

6. Cook in oven for 30 minutes or until the quiche is golden and firm.  

Simple green chicken curry

• 2 chicken breasts, cut in cubes
• 2 carrots
• 1 courgette
• 1 red and 1 orange capsicums
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 onion
• 2T green curry paste
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1T fish sauce
• A handful cashew nuts

1. Cut the meat in cubes and slice the veggies in stripes (or little cubes if you want to reduce cooking time).

2. Heat the oil in a wok on high temperature, then brown chicken all over. Add onion and garlic, cook another 2 minutes, then add green curry paste and let cook another minute or two until fragrant. 

3. Pour the coconut oil, bring to the boil then reduce the heat to simmer. 

4. Add all the veggies and the fish sauce, cover and let cook for 15-20 minutes. 

5. Add cashew nuts, fresh parsley or basil leaves. Serve with rice or noodles. You can also add a little bit of lime juice to add extra flavor. 

Marinated grilled peppers with chickpeas.

As a kid I loved when my mum made marinated capsicums. It was never often enough though. For some reason I still don't cook them very often, probably because my husband and son are not too keen on them. They're amazingly simple to make though, and they're a great side dish for a barbecue dinner, or to keep in the fridge and enjoy as a starter. 

This time I made them and mixed them with chickpeas because I had a can open, and it worked really well. I had them with merguez (spicy sausages) and it gave the meal a nice moroccan feel. Or so I thought, I wouldn't know, I've never been to Morocco!

• 3 red peppers
• 1T olive oil
• 1 clove garlic
• 1T lemon juice
• 1 can chickpeas

1. Grill the peppers in the oven on 220° for 20-30 minutes, rotating them regularly, until the skin is brown all over.

2. Wrap them in foil or place them in a ziplog bag, leave them to cool down. Remove the skins and seeds, cut in striped. 

3. Mix olive oil, lemon juice and garlic in a bowl. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, and combine with peppers and chickpeas. Place in the fridge for an hour. 

4. Serve as an entree or as a side dish with grilled meat.

Tomatoes "Provençales"

I'm French and from the south, so this a classic dish with a mediterranean influence. It can be done with many variations, using mixed herbs instead of parsley for example. Adding anchovies might work as well I think.

• 4 tomatoes
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 3T chopped parsley
• 2T breadcrumbs
• 2T olive oil

1. Prepare topping: mix all the seasoning in a bowl: olive oil, garlic, parsley, breadcrumbs

2. Cut the tomatoes in half. Salt them and let them render their juice for a while

3. Heat a skillet on high heat and add olive oil. Cook tomatoes on their flat face for 5-10 minutes, until soften. 

4. Transfer tomatoes in an oven-proof dish, flat side up. Cover each tomatoe with a generous amount of topping.

5. Bake in the oven at 180° for 20 min.

Last time I made them I serves them with rice, steamed broccoli and grilled veal chops.

Curried chicken salad

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts, cut in stripes
• 1 avocado
• a bunch of cherry tomatoes
• 1/4 cup cashew nuts
• 1/2 iceberg lettuce
• 1 pineapple yogurt
• 4 TB mayonnaise
• 1T curry powder
• 1T olive oil

1. Mix the curry powder with the olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Marinate the chicken in it for 30 minutes. 

2. Grill / fry the chicken in a skillet until brown and cooked through.

3. Place all the ingredients together in a bowl

4. For the dressing: Mix the mayonnaise and the yogurt. Adjust quantities to taste. Serve and enjoy.