Tag Archive for: french cooking

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Smoked Chicken, Courgette, Garlic & Rosemary Casserole from FRENCH COUNTRYSIDE COOKING

We’re gearing up for the publication of French Countryside Cooking by Daniel Galmiche, coming your way on May 14th (pre-order your copy right here)! To celebrate, we’re sharing an *EXCLUSIVE* recipe with you, get ready to dig into Daniel’s Smoked Chicken, Courgette, Garlic & Rosemary Casserole.

Taken from French Countryside Cooking

 

SERVES 4
PREPARATION TIME 10 minutes, plus making the stock
COOKING TIME 50 minutes

Ingredients
100g/3½oz/½ cup basmati rice
2 tbsp green tea
2 tsp caster (superfine) sugar
4 chicken legs, with thighs and drumsticks separated
20g/¾oz unsalted butter
2 tbsp sunflower oil
2 tbsp olive oil
400g/14oz courgettes (zucchini), cut in half lengthways, then cut into 2.5cm/1in pieces
12 garlic cloves, unpeeled
4 tbsp sherry vinegar
500ml/17fl oz/2 cups Chicken Stock
1 rosemary sprig
1 tsp chopped rosemary leaves
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method
1 Put a large piece of kitchen foil, shiny-side down, in the bottom of a steamer, then put the rice, tea and sugar on the foil, cover with a steamer insert and lid and put over a medium heat for about 5 minutes until the mixture starts smoking. Quickly lift the lid and put all the chicken inside. Put the lid back on, turn the heat down to low and smoke for 5 minutes. Lift out the chicken and put on a plate to rest, wrapping the smoking ingredients in the foil and discarding them as quickly as you can.
2 Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Put a flameproof casserole dish over a medium-high heat. Add the butter and sunflower oil and when the butter is foaming, add the chicken, skin-side down, and cook for 6–8 minutes until golden brown all over, turning occasionally. Remove from the pan and put in a bowl, cover with cling film (plastic wrap) and leave to rest.
3 Discard the oil from the casserole dish and wipe the excess away with paper towel, taking care not to disturb the sediment. Return the dish to a medium-low heat, add the olive oil, courgettes (zucchini) and garlic and cook for 4–5 minutes until coloured and just tender.
4 Move the courgettes (zucchini) to the sides of the pan and put the chicken pieces in the centre to reheat. Turn the heat up to medium and when you can actually hear the food starting to cook, add the sherry vinegar straight away; it should evaporate immediately. Quickly pour the stock over the top and throw in the rosemary sprig. When the stock comes to a simmer, gently wriggle the pan around a little so that nothing is stuck to the bottom, then put the lid on top without closing it completely – you just want a little gap so that condensation doesn’t create too much liquid, but not too large so that the liquid evaporates. Cook for 15 minutes.
5 Remove the lid and discard the rosemary. Turn the heat to high and cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring to remove any caramelized bits stuck to the bottom, until the sauce is shiny and just thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. Add the chopped rosemary leaves and season with salt and pepper to taste, then serve hot.

Happy cooking! Don’t forget to tag us in any of your creations, @NourishBooks.

 

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Giveaway Time!

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French Brasserie Cookbook  just landed on our shelves and we are giving away 5 copies!

The competition runs until Thursday July 2 and the winners will be randomly selected.

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Bring Innovation and Style Into Your Kitchen

daniel-galmiche-author-of-revolutionary-french-cooking

 

Daniel Galmiche eminently do-able versions of traditional recipes have won him thousands of fans throughout the world. Revolutionary French Cooking turns his experienced eye to something different: his own irresistible take on the new wave of modern French cooking.

 

Smoked Duck and Lentils with Lavender

You can hot-smoke your duck at home or use a cold-smoked, air-dried duck, sliced and served as a salad with the hot lentils. Either way, corn-fed, free-range birds will give the best results. I enjoy both and usually decide depending on the weather, but these flavour combinations always works well.

Serves 4
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 35 minutes
For the crystallized orange
1 large orange, washed and scrubbed
2 tbsp caster sugar
For the smoked duck
100g/31⁄2oz/1⁄2 cup basmati rice 3 tbsp green tea 1 tsp caster sugar 2 small lavender sprigs
1 tbsp rapeseed oil 2 duck breasts, about 200g/7oz
each 1 tbsp clear honey a few chervil leaves
For the lentils
200g/7oz/1 cup Puy lentils, picked over and rinsed
1 onion, finely chopped 2 cloves 1 bouquet garni, made with 1 thyme
sprig and 1 parsley sprig, tied
together with kitchen string 50g/13⁄4oz unsalted butter sea salt and freshly ground black
pepper
1 To crystallize the orange zest, pare the zest from the orange into fine strips using a vegetable peeler or small, sharp knife, cutting away the pith. Put the zest in a small saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Remove from the heat, drain, refresh under cold water, then drain again. Repeat this blanching process.2 Return the zest to the pan over a low heat and add the sugar and
3 tablespoons of water, stirring until dissolved. Raise the heat to medium and bring to the boil, then turn the heat down to low and simmer for
4–5 minutes, or until the zest becomes transparent. Remove from
the heat and leave the strips to cool in the syrup.

3 Put a large piece of kitchen foil, shiny-side down, in the bottom of a wok or steamer. Add the rice, tea, sugar and 1 lavender sprig, and drizzle with the rapeseed oil. Cover with a wire rack or steamer insert and lid, and put over a medium heat for 5 minutes, or until the mixture starts to smoke. Quickly put the duck breasts inside, cover with kitchen foil to help seal the duck, then put the lid on, turn the heat to low and smoke for 5 minutes.

4 Meanwhile, put the lentils in a small saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil, then skim off any foam that rises to the surface. Add the onion, cloves and bouquet garni, turn the heat down to low and simmer for 5–7 minutes until only just tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then strain, discarding the flavourings.

5 When the duck is almost ready, heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Turn off the heat under the smoker, lift out the duck and put the lid back on the smoker. Put the duck, skin-side down, in the hot frying pan and cook for 4–5 minutes. Flip the duck over, brush the skin with the honey and sprinkle over a little of the remaining lavender, then cook for a further 5 minutes. Lift out, cover with kitchen foil and leave to rest, quickly discarding the foil with the smoking ingredients.

6 Heat a non-stick frying pan until hot, add the butter and lentils and stir-fry for a few minutes until hot. Cut the duck into chunks and serve on top of the lentils, sprinkled with the orange zest strips with a little of the syrup, the chervil leaves and a pinch more lavender.

 

Revolutionary-French-Cooking1-300x418

     Daniel Galmiche
     Revolutionary French Cooking
     ISBN: 9781848990678

 

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Enjoy mussels – a true hero food – in Mussel, Ginger and Lemongrass Gratin

From Daniel Galmiche’s Revolutionary French Cooking.

Mussels are one of those foods that we really should be eating more of. Completely sustainable, and therefore much better for the environment, they are also a much cheaper protein source than most meat or fish. Not to mention the fact that they taste great and are season right now. Moules marinière is the classic way to cook them – and a very good way at that – but mussels in a gratin with a creamy, aromatic sauce flavoured with lemongrass, ginger and fresh coriander is rather delicious, too. Mussels are easy to cook, just make sure that they are very fresh and throw away any with broken shells before cooking and those that don’t open once cooked. Don’t forget a fresh baguette or homemade chips to dip into the sauce – it wouldn’t be the same without them!

 

Mussel, Ginger and Lemongrass Gratin

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes
 
3kg/6lb 8oz mussels, rinsed
40g/1½oz unsalted butter, softened
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large shallot, roughly chopped
2 lemongrass stalks, bruised
50g/1¾oz piece of root ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
250ml/9fl oz/1 cup not too acidic or dry white wine, perhaps an Alsace or Riesling
2 handfuls of coriander leaves, chopped
200ml/7fl oz/scant 1 cup fish stock
400ml/14fl oz/scant 1⅔ cups whipping cream
50g/1¾oz pecorino cheese, grated
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

1. Thoroughly scrub the mussels under cold running water and rinse well. Remove the beards by pulling them towards the large part of the shell. If any of the mussels are open, tap them hard against a work surface and if they don’t close, discard them.

2. Generously butter four flameproof 18cm/7in gratin dishes. Heat a large, deep saucepan over a medium heat. Add the oil, shallot, lemongrass and ginger and fry for 2–3 minutes until just softened but not coloured. Turn the heat up to high, add the wine and cook until reduced by one-third, allowing the alcohol to evaporate. Add the mussels and half the coriander leaves, cover with a lid and cook for about 5 minutes at the very most, shaking the pan occasionally, until the mussels have opened. Discard any that remain closed. Remove from the heat and scoop all the mussels into a colander using a slotted spoon. Leave to cool slightly before shelling them. Discard the shells.

3. Spoon the shelled mussels into the prepared gratin dishes and put on a grill tray. Strain the juices from the pan and bowl through a fine sieve into a measuring jug. Reserve 200ml/7fl oz/scant 1 cup of the liquid.

4. Preheat the grill to high. Pour the mussel liquid into a sauté pan and add the stock and cream. Put over a low heat and bring almost to the boil, then simmer for about 5 minutes until reduced by half and thickened enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Season with pepper to taste and a little salt, if necessary.

5. Ladle the cream sauce over the mussels in the gratin dishes. Sprinkle the remaining coriander on top, then finish with a sprinkling of cheese, making sure the cheese covers the coriander so that it doesn’t discolour. Put under the hot grill for a minute or so until bubbling and golden brown. Serve hot.

 

 

Take a look inside Daniel’s new book

heston-blumenthal-foreword-to-Revolutionary-French-Cooking

 Daniel’s latest book, Revolutionary French Cooking, brings contemporary French into your home – take a look inside the new book here

 

 

 

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