La soupe du jour

Our secret to getting through the winter months is a broth shot with breakfast every morning. It is something we discovered in Asia although most folk in the west have a grandparent or two who would swear by a good chicken broth to cure ills and chills.

Ingredients 

Bones (from chicken)

Garlic

Leeks

Onions 

Any vegetable leftovers

Thyme & parsley

Chilli

Pepper black

Water 

Fresh coriander leaves to serve. 

Method

Place all the items in a pot and bring to the boil. Skim as required. Simmer gently (slow cooker cook overnight if you have it) for at least three hours. 

When ready let cool and strain the broth. Season to taste and serve with fresh coriander leaves. This broth gives your immune system a terrific boost so would be good all year round and not just for winter. 

Chestnut Cake

Chestnut cake was traditionally served during autumn and winter periods but with the availability of chestnut purée in a can we can enjoy chestnut cake all year around.

Here it is served with a delicious home made salted caramel ice cream and a strawberry coulis:

Chestnut Cake serves 8-10

Ingredients 

500 gram. sweet chestnut puree 

100 gram unsalted butter

4 egg.

50 gram. Ground almond flour, which you can make yourself by blending the almond with or without its skin

2 table spoons of dark rum

Method

Butter a cake baking form with butter and sprinkle it with almond flour. Heat up chestnut puree and butter, and mix it well together, let it chill.

Separate the eggs and add the egg yolks into the chestnut puree, the add the almond flour and at last the dark rum.

Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt till they are stiff. Stir the egg whites into the chestnut dough.

Pour it into the baking tin and bake for 40 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius. 

Serve with a dessert wine such as a Muscat de Rivesaltes. 

Artichoke in citrus sauce

Artichoke is the symbol of Brittany and one of the most popular vegetables grown in the country. This dish brings together the artichoke of Brittany, the citrus orange of Provence and the pancetta of Italy to create a delicious dish which is one of the most celebrated recipes on our cooking course. It is also very simple and easy to follow:

Ingredients (serves 6)

6 artichokes

1.5dl olive oil

Juice and peel from 1 lemon

1 Tsp  sugar

2 bay leaves

Sprinkle of peppercorns 

Sprig of parsley

Sprigs of rosemary & thyme 

1 large onion finely chopped

Juice & peel from 4 Oranges 

4 small carrots thinly sliced into stars

Salt & pepper

10 slices of pancetta 

Method

Rinse the artichokes and remove the outer leaves. Cover the core with lemon juice to reduce discoloring.

Cut out the core heart of each artichoke using a spoon and cut into 5mm slices.place in a bowl of cold water with lemon juice.

In a large pan, mix the orange juice, lemon juice, orange peel and lemon peel with olive oil, sugar and the herbs. Bring to the boil. When boiled, introduce the  artichoke and simmer for 5 minutes until cooked.

When reduced by half, add the artichoke with salt and pepper to taste.

Fry the thin slices of pancetta. Dry off on paper. Serve the artichoke hot on a serving dish with the vegetables. Decorate with pancetta and finely chopped parsley.

Serve with a nice Muscadet such as a Clos des Orfeuilles.

 

Poul’s Thai Soup

Every one loves a good Thai soup and it’s hard to beat Poul’s version of Tom Kha Kai. This is as good as any I have had anywhere and it makes a great change to French cuisine. 

Funnily enough it is probably too spicy for French tastes which explains the shortage of Thai restaurants around us in Brittany! 

Poul’s Thai Soup, Tom Kha Kai 

Serve 4 persons

Ingredients 

2 Chicken breast or king prawns Thai red curry paste ( spicy)

1 can of coconut cream

2 spring onions

8 mushrooms

1 small courgette / zucchini

1 strong chilli pepper

Fresh coriander/ cilantro

1 lime

1

800 ml 3,5 cups of light chicken stock 

1 tbsp Thai fish sauce

Method

Chop up the vegetables for a wok.

Chop the chicken breast, (remove the skin) in slices and sauté it quickly in hot vegetable oil, add the vegetables and sauté them quickly, add 1- 2 tablespoon of the curry paste

( or as strong as you wish) and then the coconut cream and fish sauce and finally the stock ; taste the soup and season as desired.

Serve with rice or noodles and drizzle some coriander/ cilantro over it with a1/4 of a lime.

Serve with cold beer.

The secret of survival mid winter

Most people living through winter in Europe in times past knew the value of a good broth. In Ireland, which knows a thing or two about famine, the saying went

“ gan aon ocras mór nuair a bhíonn brat ann” or “no great hunger when there is a broth”! Well you simply cannot beat a good broth and in fact the Asians I met in sunny Singapore consume it for breakfast! 

I think the beauty of broth is that it’s so simple and delicious. You just need one pot! Simple ingredients. It’s also so flexible. You can tweak it so that it meets your specific and current desires. A little more garlic? A little less ginger? More chili?!

I make mine overnight in a slow cooker. It’s ideal for such broths and you wake up in the morning with a delightful aroma in the kitchen! 

Ingredients to make a pot for a week 

4 chicken legs

1 leek

1 onion

1 carrot

1 bulb garlic

1 fennel

1 celery 

6 liters of water

Bunch of parsley & thyme 

Chop all ingredients and place in the slow cooker. Switch on for overnight cooking (around 5 hours).

Strain and season to taste. I usually serve in a cup with diced raw charlottes, garlic and basil oil! 

It may well be winter outside but there is a warming glow from within!