Red Tapenade

We all need something easy and quick to prepare and this is such a dish. It is also delicious at any time of the year!


RED TAPENADE


10 sun-dried tomatoes, soaked in olive oil, chopped
20 black olives, pitted
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 tbs. thyme chopped
appr. 5 tbs. olive oil
1 medium strong pimento chopped or you can use a dash of tabasco
salt and pepper to taste

Method
Process all the ingredients in the food processor until tapenade has emulsified, but still has whole pieces in it. It should not be completely smooth.

This tapenade is delicious with pasta, easy to spread on toasted breads and may be use as a simple dip element.

St Goueno Course de Cote - Grand Prix Dinner

The French Grand Prix will take place in St Goueno Course de Cote over the weekend of 23/24 May 2009. With good weather forecast and one of the most exciting courses in France it should be a weekend to remember. Kerrouet House are offering a very special one day cooking class on the saturday for those who want to do something different and there are a range of very exciting dishes on the menu for those lucky enough to get on the course. Places are limited to a maximum of 8 so you need to act fast to get on this very exceptional offer. The course which lasts until 5pm kicks off at 10am sharp when students discuss the menu and aspects of the course over coffee. The menu for the course is as follows:

First Course

Grilled Langoustines with herb and garlic butter
***
Scallops in mille-feuilles (puffed pastry) with a curry sauternes sauce
***

Red wine granitée (sorbet)
***
Main Course

Chicken Breast stuffed with mushrooms and served with crème fraiche potatoes and Madagascar pepper sauce
***
Tiramisu
***

Selection of local cheeses

All courses are served with appropriate wines

Cost £75 (all inclusive) Places are limited. To confirm your booking please email us at info@frenchdiningschool.com or contact us via our website www.frenchdiningschool.com

Cooking School Photos

Kitchen Theatre

When Mandy Dunn asked us whether we could do a special weekend cooking course for her and her hen friends I initially hesitated. While I have never been out on a hen night , I have enough experiences of stag parties to know they can be very dangerous affairs, particularly so for the groom. Images of wild drinking parties come to mind, with comatosed and eyebrowless naked men left padlocked to trees in the environs of Cambridge in the middle of the night and other past incidents best left unpublished for fear of litigation!! However Poul our chef was keen to try out the kitchen with a safe group of students who would allow him the opportunity to experiment with a few new menus and give some constructive feedback. We therefore said yes! Little did we realise we would be opening a theatre in the kitchen and having one of the best weekends so far in Kerrouet House! So a big thank you Mandy Dunn (or perhaps I should call you Mavis?) for choosing Kerrouet House for your hen weekend and to all the other delightful hens in your clutch (Jenny, Hannah, Clare, Heidi, Lana and Georgina) who were such attentive and proactive students on the course. Thanks also to our wonderful neighbours - Wez who assisted with sound for the saturday night performance; Jeanette who ensured the rosé flowed all night long, Dorte who kept the kitchen operational and undertook ceremonial duties during the graduation ceremony; Pascal who played wonderful notes of traditional Breton music on his bombard on Sunday evening (and brought unusual samples of local wildlife including a green frog (sorry about that Lana!), a white salamander and a meat eating plant or was it a man eating fly Hannah?! However the star of the weekend was the erudite John Keogh from Melbourne who performed his show "Victoria Ponders Mavis" here on our kitchen stage! The unexpected performance was one of the most enjoyable drag shows ever seen (and we have seen a few in our time!). In one fowl swoop (well remember it was a hen gathering!) poor Mavis was cooped!! Never before did so much laughters fill our rafters! We wait for your next performance Mr Keogh!

Roast Pork with Pesto and vegetables

Roast Pork with Pesto & Vegetables.

Most people are surprised when they are served roast pork with pesto at Kerrouet House. Believe me it is simply wonderful and we have lots of converts!

serves 10

ingredients

2 kg of pork filet

10 medium potatoes unpeeled cut into boats

5 onions cut into small boats

18 prunes

18 dried apricots

1-2  oranges diced small

100g walnuts

bunch of thyme

4 cooking apples cut into small boats

1 dl olive oil

salt & pepper

mug of white wine

method

Switch oven to 250 degrees. 

Mix all ingredients well in an oven proof dish.  Season the dish with salt and pepper to taste. Roast in the oven for up to 15 minutes. Turn oven down to 180 degrees and leave for 50 minutes.

Remove the roast from oven dish and place the mixed ingredients on hot plates. Garnish with the roast filet on top. 

Can be served with a red or green pesto sauce or simply as it is above.

Salmon Fishcakes with apple, curry and caper dressing

For summer evenings when you have lots of garden parties this is a great dish for your guests. Home made salmon fishcakes are absolutely wonderful and nothing like those available in most restaurants!

Salmon fishcakes with an apple,curry and caper dressing

serves 10

1.5 kg. fresh salmon

2-3 whole eggs

1 clove of garlic

1/2 L of cream

1 Charlotte onion

chives

lemon juice

salt and pepper

Method

Clean the salmon filet and cut it into dices, and put it in a food processor blend the fish, add a bit of salt and the eggs one at the time, add the chopped onion, garlic and chives.  Slowly add the cream, salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste.

Fry the diced salmon in a pan in butter, serve them on a salad and a dressing to taste.

Dressing:

1/2- 0.8 L. Creme fraice,  or cream

 lemon juice

1 apple

capers

cornichons

Charlotte onion

salt, pepper

Method

Chop up capers, apples, cornichons and onion into small dices. Mix with the 

cream, flavour with salt,pepper and lemon juice. Serve it around the salad with the fish cakes

Mussels in Saffron with Linguini

Brittany is world famous for the quality of the seafood and so we are cooking mussels for lunch today!

Mussels in saffron with linguini

serves 10

ingredients

4 kg of fresh mussels

3 tbsp of oilive oil

bottle of dry white wine

4 sharlot onions

1 leek

5 cloves garlic

2 sprigs of thyme

2 bay leaves

20 black pepper corns

sprinkle of saffron

1.5 l of fresh cream

bunch of chives

juice of 1 lemon

Rinse the mussels in cold water removing all beards and algie. Discard any lifeless mussels which refuse to close. Place in a cold place

Method

.

Chop up fine the onions, leeks and garlic.

In a large pot, heat olive oil and add all ingredients except wine and chives. Mix well and don't overheat. Add white wine and boil for 5 minutes or when the mussels have opened. Discard any which have not opened.

Remove the mussel shells from the stock and then remove mussels from their shells. Discard shells. Set aside. Reduce the stock, add the saffron and cream, bit of lemon juice (if necessary) and salt & pepper to taste.

Reintroduce the shellless mussels to the stock and keep warm.

Cook the linguini following the instructions on the packet.

Serve in a deep bowl the linguini and top up with the mussel soup and chives.