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Gougères “Cheese Puffs”

 

gougeres

A gougère is a baked savory choux pastry made of choux dough mixed with cheese, usually gruyère or comté but you can use emmenthal or any hard cheese really – even cheddar!

Gougères are said to come from the Burgundy region in France where they are usually served cold when wine-tasting in cellars, but are also served warm as an appetizer. They can be eaten just as they are or cut in half, crosswise, and then stuffed with a soft cheese filling or foie gras or even with tuna rillette, the recipe for which I posted a few days ago. They really are perfect with pre-dinner drinks but be warned, they are quite addictive!
 
 
 

Ingredients :

  • 4 eggs
  • 100g grated gruyère (or you can use any hard cheese you have – cheddar, parmesan etc)
  • 60g unsalted butter
  • 150g flour
  • 1 pinch of nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt

Method :

  1. Preheat oven to 210°C
  2. Pour 25cl of water into a saucepan and add the butter, chopped in cubes and the salt
  3. Bring to the boil
  4. Add the flour and stir well with a wooden spatula
  5. Continue stirring constantly for a few minutes until the dough pulls away from the side of the pot and forms a ball
  6. Remove from heat and add each egg , one by one, mixing well between each one (Don’t worry if the batter separates and looks curdled at first, keep beating, and it will come together eventually!)
  7. Add the grated cheese and nutmeg
  8. Using two teaspoons make small balls of dough and place them on an oven tray covered in parchment paper (dip your spoons in a bowl of hot water between each scoop to avoid dough sticking to them)
  9. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until well golden

 

 

 

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Tuna Rillettes

RillettesTuna

Rillettes are a meat (usually pork or duck) “paté” type preparation where the meat is cooked slowly in fat and then shredded and mixed with some of the fat to form a spread. Rillettes are delicious served with bread.

This is extremely simplified version of  “rillettes” but is really lovely served as an aperitif or even as part of a starter.

Ingredients :

  • 1 tin of tuna in brine or water (150g approximately)
  • 1 cream cheese (St.Moret or Philadelphia etc) of the same weight as the tuna
  • Salt & Pepper
  • Chives

Method :

  1. Drain the tin of tuna and empty into bowl
  2. Miw well with cream cheese
  3. Season with salt and pepper
  4. Add a good dose of chives – not just for the taste but also for the colour
  5. Serve with some fresh bread

TunaRillettes




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

 

 

 




Flammeküche

Flammekuche

Flammeküche is the Alsatian word for what is called a tarte flambée in french. It has a thin bread dough base with crème fraîche, fromage blanc, onions and smoked lardons. This Alsatian street food is very easy to make at home and is perfect as a light evening meal with some salad, or as a finger food or starter.

For the base you’ll need a bread dough, if you don’t feel up to making your own or don’t have the time you can buy a ready-made pizza base which works pretty well too or if you are in France you can buy a raw bread dough in your local boulangerie or supermarket.

 Ingredients :

  • 500g bread dough
  • 20cl crème fraîche
  • 200g fromage blanc
  • 2 onions
  • 300g of lardons
  • Rapeseed oil
  • Salt, pepper and nutmeg

Method :

  1. Pre-heat oven to its hottest setting 250° – 270°
  2. Finely slice the onions and fry them gently over a low heat until they become translucent
  3. Do the same with the bacon
  4. Mix the crème fraîche, the fromage blanc with the pepper, nutmeg and salt (if using, the lardons may be salty enough!)
  5. Roll the dough as thinly as possible on a baking sheet
  6. Using a spatula, cover the dough evenly with the cream mixture
  7. Spread onions and lardons on top
  8. Cook in the oven for about 10 minutes, until the dough looks crispy

*  You can add cheese or mushrooms etc. to your flammeküche if you wish 🙂

 

 




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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