Cannellette

One of my favourite foods is quiche. It is filling, easy to make, easy to take somewhere (for a picknick or a party) and - very important - easy to keep (and it gets even better when it’s kept in the fridge for a day or so). This is a lighter version, not because I am such a health freak, but because this version just tastes better, in my opinion. I never had a lot of quiche in my life. It was not something my mother made often. My first memory after a long time without quiche was during the first sailing trip I took with my boyfriend and his family. My sister in law, an excellent cook, made a quiche and some other things for a nice picknick on the water. It was a lovely thing to eat on the water with the wind blowing through my hair.

Quiche Lorrainne

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Ready-made pastry or use this recipe from Rachel allen:

1. Put the flour, butter and a pinch of salt in a food processor and process briefly.
2. Add half the beaten egg and continue to process. (You might add a little more egg, but not too much as the mixture should be just moist enough to come together.) If making the pastry by hand, rub the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs then, using your hands, add just enough egg to bring it together.
3. With your hands, flatten out the ball of dough until it is about 2cm thick, then wrap it in cling film or place it in a plastic bag and leave in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or, if you are pushed for time, in the freezer for 10–15 minutes, before using.
4. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
5. Line a 19cm high-sided tart tin with the shortcrust pastry and cover the base with baking parchment. Fill the tin with baking beans and bake blind for 10-15 minutes. Remove the beans and parchment for the last five minutes of baking for a golden crust.

Filling

175 g bacon
50 g Cheddar (crumbled)
50 g Gruyere (grated)
2 tbsp chopped parsley
2 tbsp chopped chives
2 onions, peeled and chopped
3 eggs
250 g sour cream
some oil to cook the bacon and sweat the onion
nutmeg, freshly ground black pepper and salt for seasoning

Method

1. First cook the bacon in a little oil until crisp. Drain it and set it aside.
2. Gently sweat the onions in the same oil until softened and also set aside.
3. Meanwhile, whisk the three eggs in a bowl, add the cream, herbs, cheeses, bacon and onions. Mix well and season with salt, nutmeg and black pepper.
4. Pour the filling into the pastry base and return to the oven to bake for 30–40 minutes, or until the centre has set.

Since I first made this recipe last year I adapted it a bit, here are some nice variations and tips:

• use 1 leek and 1 onion for more varied veggies. This next bit of information made my life a lot easier: to clean the leek, chop it in half and then carve those pieces lengthwise so you can fold them open, this way you can wash them more easily and you’ll also clean inside.
• add some diced cherry tomatoes
• use little cubes of ham (boiled) for a lighter and less salty version (lovely combined with the leek)
• add a pinch of curry powder (or more to taste)
• add some (smoked mild) paprika powder or some grated chilli flakes for a kick
• make it the day before you want to eat it, it firms up a bit and the flavours enhance - it tastes even better the day after!

We were never very much into France, I mean, it is a lovely country and everything but we always went to rough and wild Norway on holiday. Last year our parents in law invited us to their holiday home (with a swimming pool) near Bordeaux and since the prospect of a lovely sunny holiday with swimming sounded very appealing we went. We did not regret it. Immediately we loved the country, the climate and the food.

The abundance of fresh bread, lovely meat, olives, vegetables and markets all over the place felt like heaven. My boyfriend fell in love with the supermarket-bought Madeleines and wanted me to make some from scratch. French cooking always sounded so elaborate and difficult to me that I was hesitant to try baking Madeleines myself, especially since the expectations were so high. Luckily I found this foolproof recipe on Anna’s blog Anna in the Kitchen, it makes wonderful madeleines, so she deserves all the credit for this foolproof recipe!

Foolproof Madeleines

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Makes 25-30

250g granulated sugar
4 eggs
250g plain flour
250g butter melted and cooled (plus a tiny bit extra for brushing the mould)
1 tsp vanilla essence (and / or the zest of a lemon or orange/orange flour water etc.)

Method

1. In a large bowl whisk together the sugar and eggs using a handheld electric whisk until pale in colour and more than doubled in volume. The mixture will go thick and the whisk will leave a trail.
2. Sift in the flour and then fold in gently until just combined. You’re trying to keep as much volume as possible.
3. Pour in the butter and the flavouring and mix until just combined.
4. Rest the mixture for 10 minutes up to 24 hours and heat the oven to gas mark 7 (220°C) while you wait.
5. Brush the madeleine mould with a little leftover melted butter.
6. Put a spoonful of mixture in each mould.
7. Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown around the edges.
8. Turn out to cool on a wire rack.
9. Brush the mould with butter and repeat the steps above until you have no more mixture.

Macarons are funny things. They look lovely and vibrant and very homemade. So homemade, in fact, you are tricked into thinking they must be easy - or at least doable - to make in the comfort of your own home. Alas, baking macarons is a very scientific process and you need to measure the temperatures very carefully to get that lovely, slightly chewy yet airy texture.

Unfortunately I do not own a thermometer (besides the one you use to determine if you have a fever) so I have not yet tried to make these myself. If you feel more adventurous and courageous: here you find a recipe to try making them yourself: (Note: I have not tried this recipe, as far as I know, making macarons is a hit and miss type of thing. They will work out brilliantly one time and the exact same recipe will fail completely another time. So try at your own risk ;-))

Macarons

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Ingredients

225 grams icing sugar 125 grams ground almonds 110 grams egg whites (about 4), aged overnight at room temperature 30 grams granulated sugar

Procedure

1. On three pieces of parchment, use a pencil to draw 1-inch (2.5 cm) circles about 2 inches apart. Flip each sheet over and place each sheet on a baking sheet. [Note: You only have to draw circles on the parchment paper if you want absolutely even-sized macarons. If you’re skilled with piping and don’t mind eyeballing the amount of batter per cookie, skip this step.]
2. Push almond flour through a tamis or sieve, and sift icing sugar. Mix the almonds and icing sugar in a bowl and set aside. If the mixture is not dry, spread on a baking sheet, and heat in oven at the lowest setting until dry.
3. In a large clean, dry bowl whip egg whites with salt on medium speed until foamy. Increase the speed to high and gradually add granulated sugar. Continue to whip to stiff peaks—the whites should be firm and shiny.
4. With a flexible spatula, gently fold in icing sugar mixture into egg whites until completely incorporated. The mixture should be shiny and ‘flow like magma.’ When small peaks dissolve to a flat surface, stop mixing.
5. Fit a piping bag with a 3/8-inch (1 cm) round tip. Pipe the batter onto the baking sheets, in the previously drawn circles. Tap the underside of the baking sheet to remove air bubbles. Let dry at room temperature for 1 or 2 hours to allow skins to form.
6. Bake, in a 160C/325F oven for 10 to 11 minutes. Use a wooden spoon to keep the oven door slightly ajar, and rotate the baking sheet after 5 minutes for even baking.
7. Remove macarons from oven and transfer parchment to a cooling rack. When cool, slide a metal offset spatula or pairing knife underneath the macaron to remove from parchment.
8. Pair macarons of similar size, and pipe about 1/2 tsp of the filling onto one of the macarons. Sandwich macarons, and refrigerate to allow flavors to blend together. Bring back to room temperature before serving.

Bitter Sweet Chocolate Cream Ganache

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- makes about 2 cups (550 grams) -

Ingredients

8 ounces (230 grams) bittersweet chocolate, preferably Valrhona Guanaja, finely chopped
1 cup (250 grams) heavy cream
4 tablespoons (2 ounces; 60 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

Procedure

1. Place the chocolate in a bowl that’s large enough to hold the ingredients and keep it close at hand. Bring the cream to a full boil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. While the cream is coming to the boil, work the butter with a rubber spatula until it is very soft and creamy. Keep the butter aside for the moment.
2. While the cream is at the boil, remove the pan from the heat and, working with the rubber spatula, gently stir the cream into the chocolate. Start stirring in the center of the mixture and work your way out in widening concentric circles. Continue to stir—without creating bubbles—until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Leave the bowl on the counter for a minute or two to cool the mixture down a little before adding the butter.
3. Add the butter to the mixture in two additions, mixing with the spatula from the center of the mixture out in widening concentric circles. When the butter is fully incorporated, the ganache should be smooth and glossy. depending on what you’re making with the ganache, you can use it now, leave it on the counter to set to a spreadable or pipeable consistency (a process that could take over an hour, depending on your room’s temperature) or chill it in the refrigerator, stirring now and then. (If the ganache chills too much and becomes too firm, you can give it a very quick zap in the microwave to bring it back to the desired consistency, or just let it stand at room temperature.)

In Paris they are immensely popular. In the Netherlands they are steadily starting to pop up in different pâtisseries and even in some regular shops.I first got interested in them after reading Lucy Knisley’s French Milk and Paris Journal - look for a wonderful collection of macarons drawn here and some more in detail here. According to Wikipedia:

A macaron is a confectionery whose name is derived from an Italian word “maccarone” or “maccherone”. This word is itself derived from ammaccare, meaning crush or beat, used here in reference to the almond paste which is the principal ingredient. It is meringue-based: made from a mixture of egg whites, almond flour, and both granulated and confectionery sugar. The macaron as it is known today was called the “Gerbet” or the “Paris macaron” and is the creation of Pierre Desfontaines of the French pâtisserie Ladurée, it is composed of two almond meringue disks filled with a layer of buttercream, jam, or ganache filling.