Ahh....divine Crème Brûlèe
One of my favorite French deserts. This recipe includes a little juice from passion fruits which gives it an exotic touch. The sweetness of the passion fruit varies from fruit to fruit and can therefore influence the amount of sugar in this recipe. For 4 persons you need:
3 dl cream + 0.5 dl milk
juice from 2 passion fruits (scope out the flesh from the fruits and strain it through a sieve, discard the seeds)
4 egg yolks
0.5 dl sugar
1 vanilla pod
4 ramekins á 1.5dl
- Pour sugar into the egg yolks and beat until smooth.
- Scrape seeds from the vanilla pod and add both seeds and the skin of the vanilla pod into the cream. Heat the cream slowly. When ready discard the skin of the vanilla pod.
- Add the cream to the egg yolks, one table spoon at a time, while stirring vigorously. When about 1/4 of the cream has been integrated into the yolks, pour the yolks into the cream and mix until smooth.
- Add the juice from the passion fruits and mix.
- Strain the mixture using a fine mesh sieve and fill 4 ramekins.
- Put the ramekins into a tray and pour hot water around, half the height of the ramekins.
- Set the owen to 150°C and cook the custard for about 0.5 hour. Allow to cool for min. 2 hours in the fridge.
- Before serving sprinkle brown sugar over the top of the custard and caramelize it with a cooking torch.
Salmon and tuna fish tartare
It was an early morning today because of the market in Apt. We do not only go there for shopping but also for meeting friends and having coffee and croissant. By shopping at the market, and thanks God the French still love this tradition and thus keep it alive, you automatically get into the seasonal shopping and cooking. Most of the summer fruit selection has gone but vegetables and mushrooms are still in seasons. I bought several sorts of mushrooms and will serve it together with a slice of meat as a main course to our friends for dinner. I also found a very fresh salmon and tuna fish and will make a tartare as a starter. This is one of my very loved classic dishes and you can also make it only with salmon or with tuna fish only.
Very fresh salmon
Very fresh tuna fish
Soya sauce
Chilli
Coriander
Spring onion
Ginger
Roasted sesame seeds
Salt, Peppar
Oil
- Chop the salmon and tuna very fine.
- Chop the chili and spring onion and coriander. Grate the ginger.
- Mix everything together and allow to chill for some hours in the fridge.
When serving I form it with help of a ring in order to achieve a regular shape and serve it together with creme fraiche flavoured with wasabi and finally I drizzle little lemon oil (olive oi
l infused with lemon) around.
Salmon Burger
I am blessed to be a good friend with a man who is a former chef and who possesses great creativity which has inspired me a lot. During the years I have collected from him a lot of recipes, hints and ideas which I am using daily in my cooking. This salmon burger is a newcomer in my collection but is already so much appreciated. For 2 persons you need:
200 g fresh salmon
100 g smoked salmon
1 egg
pink pepper (a lot)
dill (optional)
1 spring onion
salt (be careful with the salt as the smoked salmon is already salty)
- Chop the salmon, dill, spring onion and ground the pink pepper
- Mix everything together and add 1 egg and eventually salt. This you can prepare a day ahead and stored in fridge.
- Before serving form into 2 or 4 burgers (I prefer the mini alternative). Heat the butter in a pan and cook the burgers over medium heat from both side.
- Serve it with salad in the Summer or with mashed potatoes in the Winter.
Today I served it with green peas and mango sauce as a welcome dinner to my husband.
Today Asian Style cooking
Asian style noodle soup is the best food I can imagine. Light to digest and with a flavour of ginger and coriander...really a comfort food. Nowdays I have to improvise because not all the ingredients are available in this rural part of France but I do my best. My husband is not exagerated over this dish so I usualy make it when I stay alone...and today it becomes a gentle treat for the sleepless last night when I was listening to all those strange sounds in the house instead of sleeping... Only one night to go.
Pumpkin soup
For tomorrow I have invited my girlfriends for a lunch and in order to prepare as much as possible ahead I already made the first course today. The pumpkin is in season, is cheap and healthy so there are many reasons to enjoy it now. I have tried several recipes but now I simply cook together the diced peeled pumpkin, chicken stock and chalot onion for 30 min. Then I mix it together with a little creme fraiche in a stand mixer which is,in my view, important as the handmixer doesn't provide the same creamy consistency...and that's it. I like to serve it with a slice of parma ham, which I bake (dry) in an own on low temperature (100C) for 15min or just as is and decorated with a few basil leaves.
Chocolate cashew mousse
I have bought by mistake 99% chocolate instead of 90% which we love to taste together with the herbal tea in the evening. To make something of the 99% chocolate which is, in my view impossible to eat as is, I found a fantastic recipe for chocolate mousse from the Australian chef Jill Dupleix and which turns to be also healthy.
100 g dark chocolate
1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
25 g roasted salted cashews
3 medium eggs, separated
4 tbs honey
- Melt the chocolate and add the dried chilli and cinnamon. Allow to cool for 10min.
- Whiz the cashews in a blender or food processor until finally ground.
- Beat the eggs and honey in a bowl until smooth. Stir in the chocolate and the ground cashews until smooth.
- Beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks, and gently fold into the chocolate mixture
- Spoon into 4 small pots and chill for 2 hours. To serve, top with fruit, whipped creme or just as it is.
