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.

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.

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.

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.

Le Croissant

Recipe:

Ingredients:
625g strong bread flour, 12g salt, 75g sugar, 20g dried yeast, water for mixing, 500g butter chilled, 1 egg beaten

Instructions:
- Mix the flour, salt, sugar and yeast in a large mixing bowl using a wooden spoon, slowly adding a little water until the mixture forms into a pliable dough.
- Place the dough on a floured surface and knead well
- Put the dough back into the mixing bowl, cover and put in the fridge for 1 hour
- Take the dough after one hour onto a floured surface and roll it into a rectangular shape, around 60cm by 30cm
- Roll out the chilled butter into a rectangle about 1cm thick, around 20cm by 30cm. Place the butter rectangle in the centre of the dough rectangle, so it covers roughly two thirds of the dough
- Fold the remaining dough third over the butter layer, so that the dough is now in 3 layers
- Return the dough to the refrigerator to chill for a further hour
- Scatter some more flour over your table and roll out the dough to a rectangular shape, around 60cm by 30 cm
- Repeat the folding process, then return the dough to the fridge for another hour. Repeat this process of folding and chilling twice more and then wrap the dough in cling film and leave it to rest overnight
- Using a rolling pin, roll out the rested dough to 3mm thickness.
- Cut the rolled out dough into squares of 20cm by 20cm.
- Cut each square diagonally, making 2 triangles from each dough square.
- Place the dough triangles on a lightly floured surface with the narrow point facing away from you. Roll each dough triangle up over itself and curl the dough roll around into a crescent shape.
- Place the shaped croissants on baking trays lined with baking parchment and leave to rise for 1 hour, 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas 6.
- Lightly egg-wash the croissants and bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.

Region details:
Crescent-shape bread has been made since the Middle Ages but modern croissant dates to 19th Century Paris. There are many different stories about the origins of the croissant but the most common and well-known one is the Battle of Vienna. Bakers in Vienna, Austria created the "kipfel" which is the German word for crescent. The kipfel was then adapted into France and was called the croissant. Café culture in England and worldwide expanded in the 20th Century and croissants became available not only in specialist cafés but stocked in supermarkets.

Duck à l'Orange

Recipe:

Ingredients:
1 duckling, salt and pepper, sprig of thyme, 8 oranges, 1 cup hot water, 1/3 cup unsalted butter, 1 tsp sugar, 1 glass port/sherry

Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees
- Rub inside and outside of duckling with salt and pepper
- Place diced pulp and peel of 1 orange and a sprig of thyme into breast and carefully close.
- Place prepared duckling breast down on a rack in a roasting pan. Fill pan with 1 cup of hot water and juice of 2 oranges plus peel.
- After 1/2 of baking, turn duckling over and pour juice of 2 oranges over it.
- Lower heat to 160 degrees and baste duck with drippings every 5 minutes. Bake for 75-90 minutes.
Orange sauce: - Take sauce from dripping pan. Remove grease. Add one glass of port/sherry and bring to a boil.
Garnish: - Melt butter in a pan. Add sugar and stir until caramelised. Dip thinly sliced oranges (2 remaining ones) in this mixture.

- Place duckling on hot platter, pour orange sauce over it and garnish with caramelised orange slices.

Region details:
The earliest French recipes we find with duck and oranges were published in 19th Century. However according to food historians, the combination of citrus fruits and fatty meat is thousands of years old and originates in the Middle East. The acid in the fruit works well with the fat in the meat, giving a strong flavour. Duck à l'Orange is now a well-known dish world-wide.

Quiche Lorraine

Recipe:

Ingredients for the pastry:
175g/6oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting, Ground salt and 75g/2¾oz butter, plus extra for greasing

Ingredients for the filling:
250g/9oz Gruyere or Cheddar, grated, 200g/7oz bacon/ham, chopped, 5 free range eggs, beaten, 100ml/3½fl oz milk, 200ml/7fl oz double cream, pinch of salt, few grinds of black pepper and 2 sprigs of fresh thyme.

Instructions:
To make the the pastry, sift the flour and a pinch of salt into a large bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingers until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Slowly keep adding cold water and mix until it comes together to form a firm dough, then leave it to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
-lightly flour a surface and roll out the pastry to the size of a 22cm/8½inch well-buttered flan dish, and cut off the edges. Chill again.
-Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.
-Bring the pastry case out of the fridge, line it with baking parchment and then fill it with baking beans. Place on a baking tray and bake blind for 20 minutes. Remove the beans and parchment and return to the oven for another five minutes.
-Reduce the temperature of the oven to 160C/325F/Gas 3.
-Sprinkle the cheese into the pastry base. Fry the bacon pieces and sprinkle over them over the cheese.
-Combine the eggs with the milk and cream in a bowl, add salt and pepper to taste. Pour this mixture over the bacon and cheese. Sprinkle the thyme over the top and trim the edges of the pastry.
-Bake for 30-40 minutes or until set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool and set further.

Regional details:
This recipe from Alsace belongs to both France and Germany, as the region has in the past switched between belonging to France and Germany.For that reason both French and German are spoken in Alsace and so the word for the dish ‘quiche’ derives the German word 'Kuchen' meaning cake. Interestingly the dish is considered typically french although custards and gelatinous substances are typically English.

Anecdote: Ratatouille

Extract found in the Contra Costa Times, by Nicholas Boer:
‘From Ragouts to Riches’

Hubert Keller, no relation to Thomas, appreciates the evocative power of simple foods such as ratatouille. A French chef whose vegetarian creations at Fleur de Lys in Vegas and San Francisco are legendary, Keller first discovered ratatouille growing up in Alsace." The look was not incredible," Keller says. "But the flavour was great." He loved ratatouille with fried eggs, letting the rich yolk mingle with juices from the savoury stew.
Later, while working as a chef in the South of France, Keller refined Grandma's ratatouille. In the summer, he prepped each ingredient with precision, sautéing minced onions, garlic and thyme together in one pan and cooking each remaining vegetable in just the right amount of olive oil (aubergine is a sponge) in its own pan. Once each element's colour and texture was locked in, Keller married them, finishing the mixture with a chiffonade of basil.
"It's an accident of nature," says Keller of the summer confluence of aubergine, zucchini, sweet peppers and tomatoes in the garden. While the seasonality of the ingredients is likely to have inspired ratatouille, Keller says produce that is picked together doesn't always work together. He compares humble ratatouille to Tournedos Rossini, beef filet with foie gras, truffles and red wine. You can assemble the ingredients in infinite ways, but the basic components remain the same over centuries for good reason.
In the East Bay, Jean-Paul Peluffo declares "too much of a good thing" doesn't apply to ratatouille. He serves it as a side dish with almost every entree at Le Bistro, the Walnut Creek restaurant he runs with his wife, Kathleen.

Ratatouille

Recipe:

Ingredients:
2 large aubergines, 4 small courgettes, 2 red or yellow peppers, 4 large ripe tomatoes, 5 tbsp olive oil, small bunch of basil, 1 finely sliced medium onion, 3 crushed garlic cloves, 1 tbsp red wine vinegar, 1 tsp sugar

Instructions:
- Dice aubergines and courgettes.
- Peel the peppers from stalk to bottom and chop into small chunks.
2.Score a small cross on the base of each tomato, then put them into a heatproof bowl. Pour boiling water over the tomatoes, leave for 20 secs, then remove. Pour the water away, replace the tomatoes and cover with cold water. Leave to cool, then peel the skin away. Quarter the tomatoes, scrape away the seeds with a spoon, then roughly chop the flesh.
3.Set a sauté pan over medium heat and when hot, pour in 2 tbsp olive oil. Brown the aubergines for 5 mins on each side until the pieces are soft. Set them aside and fry the courgettes in another tbsp oil for 5 mins, until golden on both sides. Repeat with the peppers. Don't overcook the vegetables at this stage, as they have some more cooking left in the next step.
4.Tear up the basil leaves and set aside. Cook the onion in the pan for 5 mins. Add the garlic and fry for a further min. Stir in the vinegar and sugar, then tip in the tomatoes and half the basil. Return the vegetables to the pan with some salt and pepper and cook for 5 mins. Serve with basil.

Region details:
Ratatouille is a traditional French Provence stewed vegetable dish originating in Nice. The verb "touiller" means "to toss food". It was originally a meal made by poor farmers and prepared in the summer but is now served in top restaurants. Ratatouille was originally made using cheap and over-ripe vegetables as a way of using up foods. It has now entered the English language and has spread worldwide during the 20th Century.

Boeuf Bourguignon

Recipe:

Ingredients:
1 3/4 lbs cubed beef, 3.5 oz diced bacon/lardons, 1/4 cup butter/3 tbsp olive oil, 2 1/2 cups dry red wine, 2 chopped onions, 1 garlic clove, 2 tbsp flour, 2 tbsp mixed herbs, 1/2 lb sliced mushrooms, salt and pepper

Instructions:
- In a pressure cooker, brown the meat and the bacon in oil or butter
- Add the chopped onions and mushrooms and sprinkle with the flour
- Cook for 5 minutes, stirring all the time
- Pour in the red wine, which should completely cover the meat. If not, top up with water
- Add salt and pepper to taste, the garlic and mixed herbs
- Secure the lid and leave to cook on a low heat for at least 60 minutes.
- Remove the steam cockle and once it stops hissing, remove lid. Continue to simmer until serving.

Region details:
Boeuf Bourguignon originates from Burgundy (the Bourgogne region). It is one of the many examples of peasant dishes being slowly refined into Haute Cuisine. It was initially made to slow-cook meat that would have been tough to cook any other way. The recipe most people use to make an authentic Boeuf Bourguignon was first published by French Culinary expert Auguste Escoffier at the beginning of the 20th Century.
Boeuf Bourguignon has been brought to England, namely 'Beef stew'.

Anecdote: La Baguette

The Federation of bakers and confectioners of the Indre region in France hold a trophy competition for the best traditional French baguette every year, like many other regions. "It has been done at national level for ten years," said jury chairman and former president of the Federation of Bakers of the Indre, Jean-Marc Berruet. "This contest is held to enhance the image of bakery and create competition among our artisans," said Gilles Renaut, the deputy president of the federation. The baguette is judged on its appearance, taste, smell, texture and cooking. This type of competition is typical of French bakers young and old. Their passion for the hot, golden and crispy baguette is most inspiring.

La Baguette

Recipe for a 'Baguette de tradition':

Ingredients:
500g wheat flour, 350g water, 12g salt, 7g natural yeast

Instructions:
-Mix the yeast with water. Mix the flour and salt in large bowl, and then gradually add this to the water and yeast mixture. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and leave it to rise for an hour.
-Dust the surface with flour then divide the dough into three pieces and shape them into baguette. Place these onto a tray lined with baking parchment. Slice each baguette diagonally without cutting in too deep, then cover once more and leave to rise for another hour.
Step three: Pre-heat the oven to 230C. Bake for 15-20mins until rich golden brown.

Region Details:
The baguette was actually introduced from Vienna, Italy when they used Viennese steam injected ovens to bake the bread, which is what gives it its thick crust and typically holey interior. The baguette was introduced to Paris in the midst of the 19th Century when the upper classes strived for new and exciting food. There is nothing more typically French than a warm baguette. Unsurprisingly therefore, within the plaza of Notre dame, Paris holds its own annual ‘fete du pain’, where people can revel amongst some of the best bakers of Paris. The festival is always a success, which is not surprising when the French consume 8 billion baguettes a year, according to Bloomberg news.

How it became integrated into English cuisine: This bread became integrated in England from as early as the 1950’s. Ironically now it is the base for the typically ‘British’ ploughman’s sandwich. The baguette was also once saved from becoming mass-produced in the 1950s, by the famous baker and bread expert Raymond Calvel. However of course, in England you can find these mass produced baguettes in your everyday superstore, although most will tell you, it won't come close to a Parisian 'Baguette de Tradition'.

Preface

Brief history of the great French cuisine

In the early 19th Century food began to mean more to society than just simple nourishment. As Colin Spencer writes 'The cultural meaning that derived from the Grande cuisine suggest that members of the bourgeois and aristocratic classes are elevated beyond the mere physical need of nourishment, whereas characterizations of the styles of cooking of the lower, middle, and rural classes emphasize the physical aspect of eating' The bourgeois and aristocratic classes had the money to spend on exotic foods, there was high demand for extravagant meals and chefs became incredibly skilled in their field, however, as they were earning less than the average craftsman they could not read or write. Over time the bourgeois culture of eating had lead to the development of restaurants and society was becoming more and more interested in food, however, the interest was still mainly within the upper classes. Men known as 'Gourmands' (who could read, write, had an established knowledge of food, developed palettes, and an idea of how chefs cooked) would judge the food restaurants produced and write about it. Food became an art (and the french as we know were very talented at it) and slowly the pleasure of eating and sharing food was not restricted to the upper classes.

Influences on British cuisine

We can thank the Crusaders for European influences on British cookery. Wines were imported from Provence and other parts of Europe, and were highly valued. Apple and pear Cider was brought in from Normandy, and pear cider was dubbed 'perry'. The Norman conquest of 1066 also influenced British cookery as the french crossed the channel more, they brought with them their styles of cooking. Over time it is also notable that we Brits have adopted a lot of the french language associated with cookery. The word 'Beef' derives from the french 'Beouf' as opposed to what the English would originally called 'Oxen'. Due to the french writing the first recipe books on the art of cooking, the cooking terminology remains in its original language: 'Gratin','Jus','Coulis','Croutons','Farce','Flambé'...the list goes on. In the 1970's and 80's French cuisine became somthing of a fashion, 'Crêperies' appeared on British high streets and typical french foods such as exhibited on this blog were frequently eaten.