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 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.
