Tuesday, 7 July 2015

French Inspired Lunch Menu




A few weeks ago I had two of my very dear friends over for lunch. As I hadn’t seen both of them for a while, due to us all being super busy, I decided I wanted to make something a little extra special so I created a French themed menu. I chose dished that would be very tasty and not too complex to make as I wanted to spend the majority of the day chin-wagging  and not slaving over a hot stove! Here is what I came up with:

Hors d’Oeurve: Salade d’Asperges (Asparagus Salad)
 
Mains:Coq Au Vin served with Potato Dauphinoise 

 


Salade d’Asperges
I’ll own up to the fact that I created this dish entirely myself. I know that the French do like to serve steamed asparagus as a starter or side dish, and my friend Sian is obsessed with Beetroot so I decided to try and created a French styled starter that would incorporate both of these elements hence this dish was born.
  
Serves: 4


 

You will need:

1 bunch of asparagus
1 packet of fresh rocket
Fresh Parmesan cheese grated
Balsamic vinegar
Black pepper to season.


Beetroot Puree:

Jar of beetroot (You will end up using about 4 heads of beetroot or if sliced about two heaped serving spoons of Beetroot.)
1.5 tsps of green pesto
1 tsp of French whole grain mustard
3 Brazil nuts
Dash of fresh cream

Method:

Into a Blender/ Food Processor place the beetroot, pesto, mustard and brazil nuts. Blend together until it forms a smooth creamy puree texture. After this has happened, add a dash of fresh cream and blend further. When this is complete place the puree into the fridge to chill for about 20 minutes.

While this is happening into a pan add some boiling water, about half full and on top place a colander or steaming pan. Cut the ends off the asparagus, about half an inch and place them directly into the colander. Place this over a medium to high heat and begin the steaming process, remembering to cover the top with a lid.

While the asparagus is steaming arrange a bed of rocket on each place and start to grate the fresh parmesan (about 100-150g). The Asparagus will take about 15-20 mins to steam,  checking it regularly to make sure it doesn’t to too mushy, I like mine to have as little crunch to it.

Once the asparagus has been steamed, removed from pan and arrange a few stalks on top of the bed of rocket on each plate, sprinkle with a little balsamic vinegar and Parmesan cheese, on the side add a scoop/helping of the beetroot puree and season with some black pepper if you wish.

You dish is now ready to serve !


Coq Au Vin

Coq Au Vin is a French stew consisting of chicken braised in wine, lardons, mushrooms and onions. I remember having this dish as a child and liking it a lot as it was different from ‘Irish Stew , much more tasty in fact. It’s one of those one pot wonders that’s perfect when you are having friends over for dinner. It’s a dish I like to describe as a ‘ good hearty meal’ very cost effective and delicious.
Serves: 4


You will need:

4-8 Chicken thighs (depending on size)
10-16 button onions or 10 small onions
10 small chestnut mushrooms
1 pack of chopped smoked bacon bits (lardons)
1 bottle of cheap red wine
2 cloves of garlic crushed
2-3 stalks of fresh parsley or 1 tsp of dried
2-3 stalks of fresh rosemary or 1 tsp of dried
Pinch of salt
Black pepper
1 tbl spoon of plain flower
1 generous knob of butter

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180-190 *c

Firstly add some olive oil to a frying pan and begin to fry the chicken, skin side down until they become golden brown. Once this has happened remove the chicken from the frying pan and transfer to the cooking pot/ casserole dish. Arrange the pieces of meat in the pot nicely and  evenly.

Next  dice the bacon or if you managed to get a pack of pre-diced bacon, brown them also in the pan and add them to the dish with the chicken. Finally brown off the onions and add them to the pot.
The next step is to add ¾ of the bottle of the wine to the cooking pot and add the parsley and rosemary and mix well so its evenly distributed around the pot.

Peel the two cloves of garlic, place them on the chopping board and with the flat of the knife blade, push down on them to squash them. Now add the garlic to the pot. Season with a pinch of salt and with the ground black pepper.


Place the pot in the oven with the lid on and gently simmer for 45-60 mins. During the last ½ hr of cooking, Brown off the mushrooms in the frying pan and add to the cooking pot with the rest of the ingredients.

Once the chicken is done, remove from the oven. Remove all chicken, mushrooms and onions from the dish and keep warm. Blend the semi melted knob of butter together with the flour to form a paste. Add this paste to the remaining juice, placing the casserole dish over a low heat, stir until it thickens.
Add the thickened sauce to the chicken, onions and mushrooms and serve.

Bon Appetite 



Potato Dauphinoise

Serves: about 4




You will need:
500g potatoes thinly sliced
200ml of double cream
100ml of milk
2 large or 3 small cloves of garlic
A generous pinch of cumin
50g of light cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to season

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180*c

Slice the 500g of potatoes into circles thinly. Place them in a bowl of cold water to stop them going black. Rinse then pat dry with kitchen towel.

Next place the cream. Milk and garlic into a large pot and gently bring to a simmer, add the sliced potatoes and place the lid on the pot, simmering for 10 mins remove the lid thereafter and season with a pinch of salt and black pepper.

Transfer to a buttered oven dish and now sprinkle evenly with the cumin and the grated cheese. Bake for about 25 mins or until golden brown.


There you go it’s really that simple.


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