Home Made Ravioli with Jerusalem Artichokes

Fresh home made ravioli is always a dining sensation with our guests. It offers the opportunity to serve up something completely new and different and therefore never fails to be up there on the WOW scale!
serves 4-6 persons

Ingredients
1 portion pasta

100 gram diced and roasted Jerusalem Artichokes
100 gram chopped Pistachio
100 gram Cashews
100 gram diced roasted potato
100 gram spinach or nettles
250 gram ricotta cheese
sage
salt and pepper


Method

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and flavour it with sage, salt & pepper.

Roll out the pasta as thin as possible, and with a teaspoon make little balls of the nutty paste
and put it on top, egg wash the pasta and then take another roll of pasta and press it around the
balls, cut the ravioli out and with a fork press the 2 layer together.

Boil them in light salty water for 3 minutes and serve them with whatever sauce you want -
maybe a butter and sage sauce!

A visit to the food market

Rennes has the second largest food market in France outside Paris. The Marche des Lices takes place every Saturday morning and my advice is get there as early as you can so that you can park up (underneath the complex) and get to see the vast array of food products on offer. The market which is over four hundred years old opens at 7.30am and closes for lunch at 1 o'clock. Students attending our cooking school will also visit the food market at Dinan on Thursday morning (on route to Le Mont St Michel) but we do recommend that you make time on your trip to visit this extraordinary market on one Saturday morning during your visit. More information here: Marche des Lices.

Here is a video link Rennes Market Video Walkabout with Chef Poul

We were there last Saturday and here are a few photos to whet your appetite!

Bring your bicycle!

Brittany is one of the top places on earth to cycle! We say this for many reasons but the most important one is safety. Drivers here give great respect to cyclists on the road. They will wait until it is safe to overtake and then only do so with a wide birth. However if you prefer to cycle off road there are over 2000 km of well maintained dedicated cycle routes which run throughout Brittany.

  

Cycling is safe because many drivers also cycle. The roads and cycle paths are well marked and well maintained. The topography of the regions works well for cyclists with many undulating hills and rustic valleys but nothing to compound the average cyclist. The Tour de France is the most televised sport in the world. Every small town and village has its cycling club and everyone is involved from eight to eighty! The Kerrouet Cycle Club started in 1933 and the traditional Sunday cycle is still popular! The local topography of rolling hills and good quality surfaced small roads is another reason to cycle. What I particularly enjoy on the morning cycle is the numerous opportunities in tiny medieval towns and villages to treat yourself to a coffee and croissant. 

This morning we cycled from Kerrouet to the 12th century Cistercian abbey of Notre-Dame de Boquen less than an hour away. It's a lovely route taking you along ancient archaeological ruins (Allée Couvverte de lLa Hautiére/ Dolmen Tomb), ancient villages and beautiful countryside. 

 The famous French theologian and philosopher Bernard Besret was Prior of the Abbey from 1964 and was also involved in restoring the abbey to it's former glory. It is now in the hands of the French Catholic community of Chemin Neuf who will be delighted for you to visit and do some voluntary work for them. Here is a link: abbaye-de-boquen They also have Sunday lunches and a bookshop and craft shop.