1

Ficelle Picarde

|

A ficelle picarde is a savoury crepe, from, yep you’ve guessed it, the Picardie region. This a great way to use your crepe batter when everyone has had their fill of sweet crepes ! There are a lot of similar recipes in France that use a béchamel sauce but the real Ficelle Picarde doesn’t. I discovered this recipe when living in Picardie 🙂

Ingredients :

  • 6 crepes (pancakes), you’ll find the recipe here
  • 6 slices of ham
  • 500g button mushrooms
  • 400g shallots
  • 25g crème fraîche
  • 3 tablespoons wine (if you do not wish to use wine you can use some chicken stock instead)
  • 50g grated emmenthal (or any hard cheese)
  • Salt & pepper

 

Methods : 

  1. Make a duxelles* – clean and chop the mushrooms and the shallots very finely
  2. Melt the butter in the pan, add the shallots and sauté for 5 minutes until soft
  3. Add the mushrooms and cook over allow to cook for at least 20 minutes until all the liquid has evaporated
  4. Pour in the white wine and continue to reduce until the liquid evaporates again
  5. Remove from heat and add 2 tablespoons of the crème fraîche
  6. Season with salt & pepper
  7. Put a slice of ham on each crepe and then place 2 tablespoons of the duxelles mixture down the middle of the crepe
  8. Roll the crepe and place in an oven proof dish
  9. Repeat with the over crepes and place them all side by side in the dish
  10. Spoon the remaining crème fraîche over the crepes and top with the grated cheese
  11. Bake for 10-15 minutes at 200°C 
  12. Serve hot with a green salad

 

 

 

*Duxelles is a very finely chopped mixture of mushrooms and shallots that are sautéed in butter and reduced to a paste. Famous chef François Pierre La Varenne, chef for the Marquis d’Uxelles created this preparation in his honour in the seventeenth century.



Clafoutis

|

Clafoutis is a baked dessert made with fruit, usually black cherries,  arranged in a buttered dish and covered with a thick batter.

It comes from the Limousin region of France, and while black cherries are traditional, there are numerous variations using other fruits, including plums, which is what I used as they are plentiful at the moment.

Ingredients :

  • 600g plums (or whatever fruit you are using)
  • 20g butter
  • 4 eggs
  • 100g brown sugar
  • 50g flour
  • 10g baking powder
  • 250ml pouring cream

 

Method :

  1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C
  2. Wash and remove the stone from the plums, then chop in quarters
  3. Use the 20g of butter to grease your dish
  4. Beat the 4 eggs together and add sugar
  5. Sieve in the flour and baking powder and mix well
  6. Add in the pouring cream
  7. Place the plums on the bottom of the oven dish and cover with the batter
  8. PLace in oven and bake for 40 minutes at 180°C