Meatballs in a spicy sauce with Alsatian Pasta

Serves 4

Pasta is not what comes to mind when you think of French food, but Alsace (the French region bordering Germany) is renowned for its egg pasta. Most pasta is made of hard wheat flour and water, whereas Alsatian pasta is made from hard wheat flour and fresh eggs.

400g pasta, preferably Alsatian egg pasta
250g sausagemeat (or sausage with casings removed)
250g minced beef
1 tablespoon olive oil
chopped parsley, to garnish
For the spicy sauce:
500m1 veal or beef stock, warm
30g butter
30g Plain flour
30g lardons or cubes of smoked bacon
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 stick of celery, finely chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
175ml red wine
1 bouquet garni (thyme, bay leaf, parsley stalks, peppercorns)
2 tablespoons cornichons, finely chopped
2 tablespoons capers, finely chopped

To make the sauce, fry the vegetables and lardons on a medium heat until golden. Remove them from the pan with a slotted spoon, then add the butter. Melt over a medium heat, sprinkle in the flour and stir constantly until it turns an almost Coca-Cola colour Turn the heat down to low and slowly pour in the warm stock, whisking energetically Add the tomato paste and wine and whisk until the paste has dissolved. Pop the fried vegetables and lardons back into the pan, add the bouquet garni and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Pour the sauce through a sieve and add the chopped cornichons and capers. Taste for seasoning and set aside until needed.

Meanwhile, make the meatballs. Mix together the minced beef and sausagemeat. Form balls slightly smaller than a golf ball. Fry in a large non-stick frying pan with the olive oil for about 5 minutes or until cooked through. Pour the sauce over the meatballs, stir together and heat through.

Cook the pasta according to packet instructions. Drain and serve with the meatballs in the sauce, sprinkled with a little chopped parsley.

(The Little Paris Kitchen - Rachel Khoo)

Nids de tartiflette

Serves 6 as a side dish or starter
Preparation time: 30 mins
Baking time 15 - 20 mins

1 tbsp soft butter
500g waxy potatoes (e.g. Maris Peer or Charlotte)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
200g lardons or cubes of smoked bacon
100ml dry white wine
250g Reblochon cheese, cubed

1. Pregeat the oven to 180c and brush a 6 hole muffin tin with the soft butter. Peel the potatoes and use the julienne blade on a mandoline to make thin matchsticks.

2. Put the onion, garlic, bay leaf and lardons into a large non stick frying pan and cook until the lardons are golden. Add the wine and reduce until only a couple of tablespoons of liquid remain. Stir in the potato and take off the heat, then remove the bay leaf and stir in the cheese.

3. Divide the potato mix between the 6 hole of the muffin tin and bake for 15-20 mins or until golden and bubbling.

(Rachel Khoo - The Little Paris Kitchen)

Quick cheese straws

Serves 8
Preparation and cooking times
Prep 5 mins

Cook 12 mins
 
350g pack ready-rolled puff pastry
four handfuls grated Parmesan (or vegetarian alternative)
handful flour , to roll pastry on

1.heat oven to 220c/fan 200c/gas 7. Unroll a puff pastry, scatter over a couple of handfuls of grated Parmesan, then fold in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll out to the thickness of a £1 coin. Cut into 1cm strips, then twist the strips 3-4 times. Lay on a baking sheet, scatter over more cheese and bake for 12 mins, or until golden. Leave to cool, then keep in an airtight container for up to 2 days. As these cheese straws are very delicate, roll them in kitchen paper before packing into a plastic container.

Nutritional per serving:
75 kcalories, protein 2g, carbohydrate 7g, fat 5 g, saturated fat 2g, fibre 0g, salt 0.18 g

GoodFood Magazine August 2006

Sausage roll’s big night out

1 x 375g/13oz packet ready-made puff pastry
flour, for dusting
6 thin salami sticks, cut in half
1 egg, lightly beaten

1.Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7.

2.Cut the pastry in half. Roll half of it out on a lightly floured work surface into a 42cm x 9cm/16in x 3½in rectangle. Neaten the edges with a sharp knife.

3.Lay the pastryo out widthways and arrange the salami pieces on the left-hand side of the pastry, about 4cm/1½in apart. Brush the beaten egg around each piece of salami. Fold the pastry in half and press firmly around each piece of salami. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes, or until the pastry is cold and firm.

4.Repeat with the remaining pastry and salami.

5.Remove the pastry from fridge and, with the salami pieces horizontal, cut in to 1cm/½in thick slices and arrange on a baking tray.

6.Brush the pastry with the remaining beaten egg. Reduce the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6 and bake the sausage rolls for 20 minutes, or until the pastry is well risen and golden-brown.

(Loraine Pascale 'Home Cooking Made Easy' BBC TV)

Parsnip, chorizo & chestnut soup

Serves 4 - 6

125g cooking chorizo, cubed
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 celery stick, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
3 parsnips, chopped
1/4 tsp dried chilli flakes
1 tsp ground cumin
200g peeled, cooked chestnuts
1 ltr chicken stock
Salt & freshly ground black pepper

1) Put teh chorizo in a large saucepan and heat gently for 2-3 mins until the oil seeps out and the chorizo becomes slightly crispy. Lift out the chorizo with a slotted spoon, trying to leave as much oil behind as you can and set to one side.

2) Add the onion, garlic, celery, carrot and parsnips to the pan, stir well, cover and cook gently for  10 mins, or until softening. Add the chilli flakes and cumin, season and stir to release the aroma. Add the chestnuts and stock, then cover and simmer over a low heat for 25-30 mins until everything is very tender.

3) Transfer the contents of the pan to a belnder and liquidize until smooth. Reheat the chorizo in a small frying pan.

4) Divide the soup between 4 - 6 bowls and scatter with the crispy chorizo.

(Easy Soups - Ryland Peters & Small)

Croque Madame Muffins

Makes 6

Preparation time: 20 mins

Baking time: 15 - 20 mins

6 large slices of white bread, no crusts

3 tbsp butter, melted

75g ham cut into cubes or thin strips

6 small eggs

For the Mornay sauce:

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp plain flour

200ml milk, lukewarm

1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

30g Gruyere or mature Comte cheese, grated

Salt & pepper

1. Make the sauce: melt the butter in a pan ver a medium heat. Add the flour and beat hard until you have a smooth paste. Take off the heat and allow to cool for 2 mins, then gradually add the milk, whisking constantly.

2. Place the pan back over a medium heat, add the mustard and nutmeg and simmer gently for 10mins, whisking ferquently to stop the sauce burning on the bottom of the pan. Once the sauce thickens to the consistency of a thick tomato sauce, take off the heat. Add the cheese (keep a little for the garnish) and taste for seasoning. If the sauce is too thick, add a little more milk. If too lumpy, pass it through a sieve.

3. Preaheat the oven to 180C. flatten the slices of bread with a rolling pin, then brush each slice on both sides with the melted butter. Line a 6 hole muffin tin with the slices of bread, pressing them in with the bootom of a small glass.

4. Divide the ham between the muffins followed by the eggs (if the eggs seem too big, pour a little of the white away before using). Put 2 tbsp of the cheese sauce on top of each egg, then sprinkle with a little cheese and pepper. Bake for 15-20 mins, depending on how runny you like your eggs. Serve immediately.

(Rachel Khoo - The Little Paris Kitchen)

Sole with lemon and brown butter sauce

Less than 30 mins preparation time
10 to 30 mins cooking time
Serves 2

2 fillets of lemon sole (about 150g/5oz each), skin removed
3 tbsp plain flour
½ tsp salt
2 pinches freshly ground black pepper
1½ tbsp sunflower oil
45g/1½oz butter, cut into cubes
½ lemon, juice only
1 tbsp chopped flatleaf parsley
1 tbsp small capers (optional)

1.Check the fish for small bones and use tweezers to pull out any that you find.

2.Mix the flour with the salt and pepper and spread out over a large plate. Pat the fish fillets in the flour so they are evenly coated, and shake off any excess.

3.Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. When the oil is smoking hot, place the fish fillets in the pan and lower the heat to medium. Cook for 1-2 minutes on one side until golden-brown, then turn the fillets over and cook for a further 1-2 minutes until the second side is golden-brown. (Flatfish fillets need only 1-2 minutes cooking on each side. If you’re cooking thicker slices or fillets from a fish like trout (2-3cm/1in thick), then 3-4 minutes on each side should be fine.)

4.When cooked remove the fish from the pan and wrap the fish in aluminium foil to keep warm.

5.Wipe the pan with paper towels and return to a medium heat. Add the cubes of butter and heat until they melt and become light brown, then turn off the heat and add the lemon juice (stand back a little as it will splutter).

6.Add the parsley and capers (if using), and swirl the contents of the pan around. Return the fish to the pan, spoon over the juices and serve immediately.

Rachel Khoo - Little Paris Kitchen BBC TV - April 2012