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Bayonne ham and Olive Madeleines

SavouryMadeleines

Madeleines are one of France’s  favourite small cakes. In this recipe I’ve used a madeleine tin to make savoury bites for an aperitif – perfect size to eat with drinks and a little surprising for guests to see madeleines cakes that are actually savoury!

This recipe uses jambon cru, which means cured ham. You can use one of several types of cured ham – parma ham from Italy, Serrano ham form Spain etc. Obviously being in France I alway use Bayonne ham!

Ingredients :

  • 3 eggs
  • 150g self-raising flour
  • 10cl sunflower oil
  • 12.5cl hot milk
  • 100g grated gruyere (or cheddar or any hard cheese you fancy!)
  • 175g cured ham
  • 75g green olives
  • Salt and Pepper

Method :

  1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C
  2. Slice ham and olives
  3. In a large bowl beat the eggs with the flour, salt and pepper
  4. Slowly add the oil and the hot milk, mixing all the time with a whisk
  5. Add the grated cheese, ham and olives
  6. Spoon the mixture into a madeleine tin and cook for 15 minutes

HamMadeleines

 

 




Ham, Cheddar and Mustard Loaf

Ham&Cheese

This is another savoury loaf (or cake as they say in french!) which is perfect as an aperitif or finger food for a buffet. Personally I prefer the ham and olive loaf, the recipe for which you can find here, but this is a good alternative if you are cooking for someone who doesn’t like olives 😉

Ingredients :

  • 150g flour
  • Even teaspoon of baking powder
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon of wholegrain mustard
  • 100ml milk
  • 125ml sunflower
  • 150g ham
  • 75g cheddar
  • 75g grated gruyere (or other hard cheese)
  • 5cl beer (blonde or pale – not sure what the correct term is in english!)
  • Salt and Pepper

Method :

  1. Pre-heat oven t 180°C
  2. Chop the cheddar and the ham in small cubes
  3. Place in a bowl and mix in the wholegrain mustard and the beer, mix well and leave to marinate for at least 30 minutes
  4. In a large bowl beat the eggs with the flour and baking powder
  5. Slowly pour in the warm milk and oil mixing all the time
  6. Add the grated cheese
  7. Add the ham and cheese mixture and mix well
  8. Season with salt and pepper
  9. Pour into a non-greased loaf tin and bake for 45 minutes at 180°C

 

 

 




Endives Au Gratin

Endives

I was trying to think of a suitable name in english for this dish but couldn’t so I just stuck to the french one. Endives are mostly called chicory in english but are also called endives too.  A gratin means when a dish is topped with a golden crust, often using cheese or breadcrumbs by baking or cooking in the oven with an overhead grill.

And guess what? Endives are in season so are really plentiful at the moment – and are great in a winter salad too!

Ingredients :

  • 6 endives
  • 6 slices good quality ham
  • 100g grated gruyère cheese (or any other hard cheese you have)

For the béchamel :

  • 90g butter
  • 45g flour
  • 500ml milk
  • Salt, Pepper and Nutmeg

Method :

  1. Chop the ends off the endives and remove any discoloured leaves
  2. Steam them or boil them until well cooked
  3. Leave the endives to drain in a colander (to try and remove some of the excess water contained in the endives)
  4. Melt the butter in a saucepan
  5. Add the flour and mix well with a whisk
  6. Season with salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg
  7. Slowly pour in the milk whisking vigorously all the time to avoid lumps and to get a nice smooth texture for your sauce
  8. Once all the milk is added continue to cook over a medium heat mixing all the time for another 5 minutes
  9. Butter an oven dish and place each endive wrapped in a slice of ham on the bottom and pour over the béchamel sauce
  10. Top with grated cheese
  11. Bake in a pre-heated oven for 25 minutes at 180°C and the pop under the grill for another 5 minutes to get it nice and crispy on top

 

*  If you find the endives too hard even after all that cooking, you can also cut them in half lengthways, lay them on the bottom of the dish and simply cover them with the ham slices.

 




A Breton Galette

GaletteBretonne

A breton galette is a large, thin pancake from the Brittany region made with buckwheat flour, usually with a savoury filling – also known in France as a “galette complète” (or complete galette). Here in France you can buy ready-made galettes to which you can add your filling but you can also make your own easily enough.

One word of warning with the buckwheat flour – it has a very short shelf-life so you need to use it fairly quickly after buying – I have been caught out before!

Ingredients :

For the galette 

  • 330 g buckwheat flour
  • 75 cl water
  • 10 g coarse salt
  • 1 egg
  • Butter

For the filling (per person)

  • 1 egg
  • Slice of ham
  • Grated cheese

Method :

For the galette

  1. Add the salt to the flour in a large bowl
  2. Make a well in the flour and very slowly add the water mixing energetically all the time with a wooden spoon to obtain a thick liquid batter
  3. Add the egg and mix well
  4. Leave the batter in the fridge to rest for at least 2 hours

 

For the breton galette

  1. Heat a large pan and add some butter
  2. Add a ladle of the batter and move it around to completely cover the bottom of the pan
  3. Cook both sides of the galette for 1-2 minutes each side
  4. Add your grated cheese and then the sliced ham leaving a space in the middle for the egg
  5. Add your egg in the middle of the galette (if you want a well cooked egg you might want to fry it in a separate pan and add once cooked)
  6. Once the egg turns white you can fold in each side of the crepe leaving just enough space for the egg yolk.

 

*You can always chop and change the ingredients with mushrooms, bacon, tomatoes etc.

 




Bacon and Olive Loaf or “Cake aux Olives”

cake-jambon-olives-010m

Yes I know that the name cake will usually conjure up images of something sweet with a cup of tea but in France the word ‘cake’ really refers to the loaf form, be that savoury or sweet. This is one of my staple recipes – great as an aperitif or as a light meal with some salad. There are lots of variants to the basic ingredients which I will share in the upcoming months.

 

Ingredients :

  • 3 eggs
  • 150g flour
  • 1 heaped teaspoon of baking powder
  • 10cl sunflower oil
  • 12.5cl hot milk
  • 100g grated gruyere (or cheddar or any hard cheese you fancy!)
  • 200g of cooked bacon or ham or lardons etc
  • 75g green olives
  • Salt and Pepper

Method :

  1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C
  2. Chop bacon/ham and olives
  3. In a large bowl beat the eggs with the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper
  4. Slowly add the oil and the hot milk, mixing all the time with a whisk
  5. Add the grated cheese and then the bacon/ham and olives
  6. Pour the mixture into a loaf tin and cook for 45 minutes

 

 

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