Friday, 20 January 2012
Friday, 16 December 2011
Profiteroles
Recipe:
Ingredients for the choux pastry:
200ml/7fl oz cold water, 4 tsp caster sugar, 85g/3oz unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing, 115g/4oz plain flour, pinch salt, 3 medium free-range eggs, beaten
Ingredients for the cream filling:
600ml/1 pint double cream
For the chocolate sauce
100ml/3½fl oz water, 80g/3oz caster sugar, 200g/7oz good-quality dark chocolate, broken into pieces
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Place a small roasting tin in the bottom of the oven to heat.
- For the choux pastry, place the water, sugar and butter into a large saucepan. Heat gently until the butter has melted.
- Turn up the heat, then quickly pour in the flour and salt all in one go.
- Remove from the heat and beat the mixture vigorously until you have a smooth paste. Once the mixture comes away from the side of the pan, transfer to a large bowl and leave to cool for 10-15 minutes
- Beat in the eggs, a little at a time, until the mixture is smooth and glossy and has a soft dropping consistency - you may not need all the egg.
- Lightly grease a large baking sheet. Using a piping bag, pipe the mixture into small balls in lines across the baking sheet. Gently rub the top of each ball with a wet finger - this helps to make a crisper top.
- Place the baking sheet into the oven. Before closing the oven door, pour half a cup of water into the roasting tin at the bottom of the oven, then quickly shut the door. This helps to create more steam in the oven and make the pastry rise better. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden-brown.
- Remove from the oven. Prick the base of each profiterole with a skewer. Place back onto the baking sheet with the hole in the base facing upwards and return to the oven for five minutes. The warm air from the oven helps to dry out the middle of the profiteroles.
- For the filling, lightly whip the cream until soft peaks form. When the profiteroles are cold, use a piping bag to pipe the cream into the profiteroles.
- For the chocolate sauce, place the water and sugar into a small saucepan and bring to the boil to make a syrup. Reduce the heat to a simmer and place the chocolate into a heatproof bowl set over the pan. Heat the mixture, stirring occasionally until melted. Take the pan off the heat, pour the syrup mixture into the chocolate and stir until smooth and well combined.
- To serve, place the stuffed profiteroles into a large serving dish and pour over the chocolate sauce. Serve hot or cold.
Region Details:
Profiteroles are thought to have come from Italy it is said that they were created by Poelli, the chef of Catherine de Medici, and that they then arrived in France in the 16th century. However, the term ‘Choux’ is half of the word ‘Chou-fleur’ meaning cauliflower, and connotes the idea of an encased white filling.
It is quite common for the French to have a large pyramid of Profiteroles held together with caramel, as an alternative to a wedding cake. This is called a ‘Croquembouche’ which literally translates as ‘Crisp in the mouth’. In Greece, the profiterole or Prophiteról are varied to the traditional recipe and are served in a bowl, covered with chocolate sauce and topped with whipped cream.
Ingredients for the choux pastry:
200ml/7fl oz cold water, 4 tsp caster sugar, 85g/3oz unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing, 115g/4oz plain flour, pinch salt, 3 medium free-range eggs, beaten
Ingredients for the cream filling:
600ml/1 pint double cream
For the chocolate sauce
100ml/3½fl oz water, 80g/3oz caster sugar, 200g/7oz good-quality dark chocolate, broken into pieces
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Place a small roasting tin in the bottom of the oven to heat.
- For the choux pastry, place the water, sugar and butter into a large saucepan. Heat gently until the butter has melted.
- Turn up the heat, then quickly pour in the flour and salt all in one go.
- Remove from the heat and beat the mixture vigorously until you have a smooth paste. Once the mixture comes away from the side of the pan, transfer to a large bowl and leave to cool for 10-15 minutes
- Beat in the eggs, a little at a time, until the mixture is smooth and glossy and has a soft dropping consistency - you may not need all the egg.
- Lightly grease a large baking sheet. Using a piping bag, pipe the mixture into small balls in lines across the baking sheet. Gently rub the top of each ball with a wet finger - this helps to make a crisper top.
- Place the baking sheet into the oven. Before closing the oven door, pour half a cup of water into the roasting tin at the bottom of the oven, then quickly shut the door. This helps to create more steam in the oven and make the pastry rise better. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden-brown.
- Remove from the oven. Prick the base of each profiterole with a skewer. Place back onto the baking sheet with the hole in the base facing upwards and return to the oven for five minutes. The warm air from the oven helps to dry out the middle of the profiteroles.
- For the filling, lightly whip the cream until soft peaks form. When the profiteroles are cold, use a piping bag to pipe the cream into the profiteroles.
- For the chocolate sauce, place the water and sugar into a small saucepan and bring to the boil to make a syrup. Reduce the heat to a simmer and place the chocolate into a heatproof bowl set over the pan. Heat the mixture, stirring occasionally until melted. Take the pan off the heat, pour the syrup mixture into the chocolate and stir until smooth and well combined.
- To serve, place the stuffed profiteroles into a large serving dish and pour over the chocolate sauce. Serve hot or cold.
Region Details:
Profiteroles are thought to have come from Italy it is said that they were created by Poelli, the chef of Catherine de Medici, and that they then arrived in France in the 16th century. However, the term ‘Choux’ is half of the word ‘Chou-fleur’ meaning cauliflower, and connotes the idea of an encased white filling.
It is quite common for the French to have a large pyramid of Profiteroles held together with caramel, as an alternative to a wedding cake. This is called a ‘Croquembouche’ which literally translates as ‘Crisp in the mouth’. In Greece, the profiterole or Prophiteról are varied to the traditional recipe and are served in a bowl, covered with chocolate sauce and topped with whipped cream.
Gratin Dauphinois
Recipe:
Ingredients:
1kg potatoes (Desirée would be best), 300ml full fat milk, 284ml of double cream, 1 clove of garlic , peeled and halved, 2 sprigs of fresh thyme, plus extra for sprinkling, 1 shallot, roughly chopped, A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg , 25g freshly grated Parmesan
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 160C/Gas 4/fan oven 140C. Rub the butter all over the inside of a small casserole dish. Peel and slice the potatoes to a width of around 3mm/1⁄8in. Lay the slices on a clean tea towel and pat dry. Keep them covered with the tea towel while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- Pour the milk and cream into a saucepan. Add the garlic, thyme and shallot. Slowly heat the milk and, just as it is about to reach boiling point, remove it from the heat. Strain the liquid into a large jug, sprinkle in the nutmeg and keep it warm while you prepare the rest.
- Layer half the potato slices in the dish, slightly overlapping the slices and sprinkling with a little salt and freshly ground pepper between each layer.
- Pour half the hot milk and cream over the potatoes then finish off layering the rest of the potatoes. Pour over the rest of the hot milk and cream. Scatter the cheese over the top and bake for about one hour, until golden and tender. Leave the dish to stand for about 5 minutes, then serve sprinkled with a few fresh thyme leaves.
Region details:
Gratin Dauphinois comes from the Dauphine region, where they typically grow a lot of potatoes and raise a lot of cattle. The cattle from the region have a distinctly sour tasting milk, hence the frequent use of soured cream in recipes for the dish. As you can see, this creamy potato based side dish exhibits the character of the region. Gratin itself comes from the Rhone Alpes although the word is often mistaken for meaning cheese, actually ‘Gratin’ comes from the French word ‘grater’ ‘to scrape’ as gratin is often made with scrapings of cheese or breadcrumbs; overall, the word translates as crust.
Ingredients:
1kg potatoes (Desirée would be best), 300ml full fat milk, 284ml of double cream, 1 clove of garlic , peeled and halved, 2 sprigs of fresh thyme, plus extra for sprinkling, 1 shallot, roughly chopped, A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg , 25g freshly grated Parmesan
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 160C/Gas 4/fan oven 140C. Rub the butter all over the inside of a small casserole dish. Peel and slice the potatoes to a width of around 3mm/1⁄8in. Lay the slices on a clean tea towel and pat dry. Keep them covered with the tea towel while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- Pour the milk and cream into a saucepan. Add the garlic, thyme and shallot. Slowly heat the milk and, just as it is about to reach boiling point, remove it from the heat. Strain the liquid into a large jug, sprinkle in the nutmeg and keep it warm while you prepare the rest.
- Layer half the potato slices in the dish, slightly overlapping the slices and sprinkling with a little salt and freshly ground pepper between each layer.
- Pour half the hot milk and cream over the potatoes then finish off layering the rest of the potatoes. Pour over the rest of the hot milk and cream. Scatter the cheese over the top and bake for about one hour, until golden and tender. Leave the dish to stand for about 5 minutes, then serve sprinkled with a few fresh thyme leaves.
Region details:
Gratin Dauphinois comes from the Dauphine region, where they typically grow a lot of potatoes and raise a lot of cattle. The cattle from the region have a distinctly sour tasting milk, hence the frequent use of soured cream in recipes for the dish. As you can see, this creamy potato based side dish exhibits the character of the region. Gratin itself comes from the Rhone Alpes although the word is often mistaken for meaning cheese, actually ‘Gratin’ comes from the French word ‘grater’ ‘to scrape’ as gratin is often made with scrapings of cheese or breadcrumbs; overall, the word translates as crust.
Anecdote: Crêpes Suzette
Found in the Autobiography ‘Life a la Henri’ By chef Henri Charpentier, the story of how he created this tasty dish by accident aged fourteen while he was cooking for the Price of Wales in 1895
"It was quite by accident as I worked in front of a chafing dish that the cordials caught fire. I thought it was ruined. The Prince and his friends were waiting. How could I begin all over? I tasted it. It was, I thought, the most delicious medley of sweet flavors I had ever tasted. I still think so. That accident of the flame was precisely what was needed to bring all those various instruments into one harmony of taste . . . He ate the pancakes with a fork; but he used a spoon to capture the remaining syrup. He asked me the name of that which he had eaten with so much relish. I told him it was to be called Crêpes Princesse. He recognized that the pancake controlled the gender and that this was a compliment designed for him; but he protested with mock ferocity that there was a lady present. She was alert and rose to her feet and holding her little skirt wide with her hands she made him a courtesy. 'Will you,' said His Majesty, 'change Crêpes Princesse to Crêpes Suzette?' Thus was born and baptized this confection, one taste of which, I really believe, would reform a cannibal into a civilized gentleman. The next day I received a present from the Prince, a jeweled ring, a panama hat and a cane."
Its argued that this chef was too young to be serving for the Prince of Wales it is instead thought that the name originated from the association of the French actress Susan Reichenberg nicknamed ‘Suzette’ who in ‘La Comedie Francaise’ had to carry crepes across the stage in her role as a maid. These crepes were provided to the playhouse by Monsieur Joseph, owner of the restaurant Marivaux, who flambéed the pancakes to keep them warm in time for the performance.
"It was quite by accident as I worked in front of a chafing dish that the cordials caught fire. I thought it was ruined. The Prince and his friends were waiting. How could I begin all over? I tasted it. It was, I thought, the most delicious medley of sweet flavors I had ever tasted. I still think so. That accident of the flame was precisely what was needed to bring all those various instruments into one harmony of taste . . . He ate the pancakes with a fork; but he used a spoon to capture the remaining syrup. He asked me the name of that which he had eaten with so much relish. I told him it was to be called Crêpes Princesse. He recognized that the pancake controlled the gender and that this was a compliment designed for him; but he protested with mock ferocity that there was a lady present. She was alert and rose to her feet and holding her little skirt wide with her hands she made him a courtesy. 'Will you,' said His Majesty, 'change Crêpes Princesse to Crêpes Suzette?' Thus was born and baptized this confection, one taste of which, I really believe, would reform a cannibal into a civilized gentleman. The next day I received a present from the Prince, a jeweled ring, a panama hat and a cane."
Its argued that this chef was too young to be serving for the Prince of Wales it is instead thought that the name originated from the association of the French actress Susan Reichenberg nicknamed ‘Suzette’ who in ‘La Comedie Francaise’ had to carry crepes across the stage in her role as a maid. These crepes were provided to the playhouse by Monsieur Joseph, owner of the restaurant Marivaux, who flambéed the pancakes to keep them warm in time for the performance.
Thursday, 15 December 2011
Crêpes Suzettes
Recipe:
Ingredients for the crêpes:
110g/4oz plain flour, sifted, a pinch of salt, 2 eggs, 200ml/7fl oz milk mixed with 75ml/3fl oz water, 50g/2oz butter, 1 medium orange, grated zest only, 1 tbsp caster sugar
Ingredients for the sauce:
150ml/5fl oz orange juice (from 3-4 medium oranges), 1 medium orange, grated zest only, 1 small lemon, grated rind and juice, 1 tbsp caster sugar, 3 tbsp Grand Marnier/ Cointreau/ brandy, 50g/2oz unsalted butter, a little extra Grand Marnier, for flaming
Instructions:
- Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl so they’re well aired, then make a well in the centre of the flour and break the eggs into it. Whisk in the eggs incorporating insuring everything is well mixed.
- Next, very gradually add the milk and water mixture, still whisking as you do so. Then whisk a few more times insuring all the flour, egg and milk mix makes a smooth batter, with the consistency of thin cream. Now melt the 50g/2oz of butter in a pan. Spoon 2 tbsp of it into the batter and whisk it in, then pour the rest into a bowl for use in the frying pan, using a wodge of kitchen paper to smear it round before you make each pancake. Finally, Stir the orange zest and caster sugar into the batter.
- Now get the pan really hot, then turn the heat down to medium. Practise on the first pancake to see if you're using the correct amount of batter. These crêpes should be very thin. It's also helpful if you spoon the batter into a ladle so it can be poured into the hot pan in one go. As soon as the batter hits the hot pan, tip it around from side to side to get the base evenly coated with batter. It should take only half a minute or so to cook; you can lift the edge with a palette knife to see if it's tinged gold as it should be. Flip the pancake over. The other side will only need a few seconds. Then simply slide it out of the pan onto a plate.
- Stack the pancakes as you make them between sheets of greaseproof paper on a plate fitted over simmering water, to keep them warm while you make the rest.
- For the sauce, mix everything but the butter in a bowl. At the same time warm the plates on which the crêpes are going to be served. Now melt the butter in the frying pan, pour in the sauce and allow it to heat very gently. Then place the first crêpe in the pan and give it time to warm through before folding it in half and then in half again to make a triangular shape. Slide this onto the very edge of the pan, tilt the pan slightly so some of the sauce runs back into the centre, then add the next crêpe. Continue like this until they're all re-heated, folded and well soaked with the sauce.
- If you’re feeling adventurous, you can flame them at this point. Heat a ladle by holding it over a gas flame or by resting it on the edge of a hotplate, then, away from the heat, pour a little liqueur or brandy into it, return it to the heat to warm the spirit, then set light to it. Carry the flaming ladle to the table over the pan and pour the flames over the crêpes before serving on the warmed plates.
Region details:
‘Crêpes’ originated in Brittany the word itself comes from the Latin, meaning curled, which is what happens to the edge of the crepes when frying in the pan. Due to hugely popular creation of ‘crêpe suzette', the word ‘crêpe’ seeped into the English language in the 1970’s and 80’s when a vast interest in French food broke out and ‘crêperies’ appeared up and down England. Brittany is also famous for their ‘galettes’, a type of pancake made with buckwheat flour, the crop of which is farmed a lot in the region, as the mix is so heavy, the pancake appears more lace-like, as opposed to less holey crêpe. An English equivalent of this food is the well-loved crumpet also holey and made with batter.
Ingredients for the crêpes:
110g/4oz plain flour, sifted, a pinch of salt, 2 eggs, 200ml/7fl oz milk mixed with 75ml/3fl oz water, 50g/2oz butter, 1 medium orange, grated zest only, 1 tbsp caster sugar
Ingredients for the sauce:
150ml/5fl oz orange juice (from 3-4 medium oranges), 1 medium orange, grated zest only, 1 small lemon, grated rind and juice, 1 tbsp caster sugar, 3 tbsp Grand Marnier/ Cointreau/ brandy, 50g/2oz unsalted butter, a little extra Grand Marnier, for flaming
Instructions:
- Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl so they’re well aired, then make a well in the centre of the flour and break the eggs into it. Whisk in the eggs incorporating insuring everything is well mixed.
- Next, very gradually add the milk and water mixture, still whisking as you do so. Then whisk a few more times insuring all the flour, egg and milk mix makes a smooth batter, with the consistency of thin cream. Now melt the 50g/2oz of butter in a pan. Spoon 2 tbsp of it into the batter and whisk it in, then pour the rest into a bowl for use in the frying pan, using a wodge of kitchen paper to smear it round before you make each pancake. Finally, Stir the orange zest and caster sugar into the batter.
- Now get the pan really hot, then turn the heat down to medium. Practise on the first pancake to see if you're using the correct amount of batter. These crêpes should be very thin. It's also helpful if you spoon the batter into a ladle so it can be poured into the hot pan in one go. As soon as the batter hits the hot pan, tip it around from side to side to get the base evenly coated with batter. It should take only half a minute or so to cook; you can lift the edge with a palette knife to see if it's tinged gold as it should be. Flip the pancake over. The other side will only need a few seconds. Then simply slide it out of the pan onto a plate.
- Stack the pancakes as you make them between sheets of greaseproof paper on a plate fitted over simmering water, to keep them warm while you make the rest.
- For the sauce, mix everything but the butter in a bowl. At the same time warm the plates on which the crêpes are going to be served. Now melt the butter in the frying pan, pour in the sauce and allow it to heat very gently. Then place the first crêpe in the pan and give it time to warm through before folding it in half and then in half again to make a triangular shape. Slide this onto the very edge of the pan, tilt the pan slightly so some of the sauce runs back into the centre, then add the next crêpe. Continue like this until they're all re-heated, folded and well soaked with the sauce.
- If you’re feeling adventurous, you can flame them at this point. Heat a ladle by holding it over a gas flame or by resting it on the edge of a hotplate, then, away from the heat, pour a little liqueur or brandy into it, return it to the heat to warm the spirit, then set light to it. Carry the flaming ladle to the table over the pan and pour the flames over the crêpes before serving on the warmed plates.
Region details:
‘Crêpes’ originated in Brittany the word itself comes from the Latin, meaning curled, which is what happens to the edge of the crepes when frying in the pan. Due to hugely popular creation of ‘crêpe suzette', the word ‘crêpe’ seeped into the English language in the 1970’s and 80’s when a vast interest in French food broke out and ‘crêperies’ appeared up and down England. Brittany is also famous for their ‘galettes’, a type of pancake made with buckwheat flour, the crop of which is farmed a lot in the region, as the mix is so heavy, the pancake appears more lace-like, as opposed to less holey crêpe. An English equivalent of this food is the well-loved crumpet also holey and made with batter.
Friday, 9 December 2011
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