SWEET PEA FLAN

Spring peas at the table!

Spring has finally pointed its nose, and in turn, all of the dainty little veggies that go with it. Last night when I got home Bastien was making these little pea pyramids and laughing about it because he is usually a meat and potatoes chef. He was quick to explain himself:  ”J’ai vu la recette et on avait tous les ingrédients pour une fois!” (I saw the recipe and we had all of the ingredients, for once!)

In France, peas are often paired with bacon and little onions. In the UK, mint is a common addition. This recipe combines both worlds and leaves no one wanting.

Serve as a light lunch or dinner, or as an appetizer.

Wine pairing: A dry white wine with good acidity, perhaps something based on Sauvignon blanc, or a côtes-de-gascogne (as suggested in the recipe). We enjoyed it with a simple dry white wine from Languedoc, a blend of Roussanne, Vermentino, Viognier,  and Muscat Petit grain.

recipe for sweet pea flan (from magazine Cuisine et Vin de France N°145)

For 4 people

1 kg fresh peas (in their pods)

2 large eggs

20 cl sour cream or heavy cream

4 tbs mascarpone

4 slices of smoked bacon

7 sprigs of fresh mint

8 tbsp olive oil

4 tbsp lemon juice

salt and pepper

….

Preheat the oven to 180°C or 350°F.

Remove the peas from their pods and cook in salted boiling water for 12-15 minutes.

Drain. Reserve 100 g of peas and mix the rest with a soup mixer or in a blender to make a creamy purée. Add the eggs, sour cream, salt and pepper and whip until well mixed.

Pour the batter into silicone muffin tins (or paper lined muffin tins) and bake for 25 minutes. (Bastien’s flan is a pyramid because we have pyramid-shaped silicone muffin tins).

Wrap the bacon slices in waxed paper and bake on a baking sheet with the flan.

Prepare the mint dressing by whipping together the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and sliced mint leaves.

Remove the flan from the oven, serve on a plate garnished with a spoonful of mascarpone, the bacon, and the mint dressing.

Delicious warm or cold so if you need a good recipe to prepare in advance, this one is great.

OH! THE PLACES YOU’LL GO

Amuse-bouche : Crunchy toast spoons with tomato and basil

Summer is going by like a speedboat!  I’ve been too busy to do much cooking, but of course, not too busy to eat!

L’Auberge de Presbytère is one of my favorite restaurants.  Imagine driving through the valley of a small mountain. The road curves and climbs around the mountain. You spot at the top of the hill an ancient stone presbytery.  There is a terrace that looks over the valley studded with trees.  Six tables dot the terrace.  You arrive to a delightfully warm welcome.  It’s a beautiful day, warm with a cool breeze.  I love coming here.

A seafood spring roll served with roquette salade and white chocolate sauce

Seared tuna with octopus ink polenta and vanilla bean olive oil

Goat cheese with chocolate and pistachio

Strawberry mousse club sandwich

I didn’t get a photo of the coffee served with pistachio financiers (little almond cakes) and watermelon fruit jelly.

The menu changes constantly, so there are always new things to taste.

Bon appétit and happy tastings!

TRUFFLE SANDWICH

Feast your eyes on a fresh truffle sandwich

Our arrival in Autun, a town in Burgundy, was marked by a gift.  Bastien’s uncle took a box from the fridge, opened it a crack, and raised it to my nose. Une truffe…  The palm-sized black rock’s penetrating odeur instantly seized my nose. A fragrance so stong, yet so delicate, it makes you want to melt into a chair.

The truffle traveled with us to visit friends in La Souterraine, where we infused eggs with its parfume and stuffed slices of it under the skin of a chicken.

It continued on a long and slow drive south through the snow-covered country, to the town of Cap d’Agde, our short-term destination.  A few evenings later, I grated our last bits of truffle onto a well-buttered crusty baguette sliced lengthwise. I closed the sandwiches and  set them under the broiler of the oven for a few minutes, just until the butter began to melt.  I served them warm with a salad on the side.  The sandwich was a feast.

And that was the end of the fresh truffle.

CARAMELIZED TARTE À L’OIGNON

La tarte à l’oignon, up close and rustic

The house smelled absolutely edible the evening I made this tart. Onions and heat are a divine pair for a few hungry people at the end of the day, especially when those onions are ever so patiently caramelized until translucent and melted.  One bite of a caramelized onion tart might draw in all your senses leaving you with the sound of “mmm.”

Caramelizing does take patience, but it’s simple to do if you have a little olive oil, low, low heat, and onions. Stir them from time to time, partially cover the pan if need-be. Do something else while they are cooking, or you will get impatient, turn up the heat, and end up with burned and crunchy onions, as I always did in the past. As long as the heat is really low, there is not much risk of burning.  A pâte brisée (crust) is also simple to make by hand and can be made ahead of time, or even frozen. I simply garnished with fresh thyme, which zipped sprucely on the tongue and made a lovely color contrast.

A slice of onion tart waiting to be devoured

The Recipe for an Onion Tart:

1 pâte brisée (I promise to post a good explanation for basic recipes very soon! And for anyone waiting for my pastry cream recipe to finish the Napoleon, I’ve got it. I just need to write out the step-by-step directions.)

about 6-8 medium sized onions, sliced very thinly*

olive oil

fresh thyme for garnish

*You can use onions of any size, using more or less to have enough to garnish your tart. I would love to try this with some big and sweet Vidalia onions next time I’m in the states.

….

In a large nonstick pan on the lowest heat, add a few good tablespoons of oil. Don’t be stingy or the onions don’t cook quite right. Stir from time to time, and if you get impatient or the onions seem to be drying out, partially cover the pan, but don’t turn up the heat!

Roll out the pâte brisée and shape or cut into a circle. Place onto a baking sheet by rolling the dough around your rolling-pin, as if you were rolling up a poster, then unroll it onto the baking sheet. I have nonstick baking sheets and don’t need to oil them, but if you are worried about sticking, oil the baking sheet just a little. Place in the fridge to keep cool. If you are working in a hot space, work quickly, or the butter in the dough beings to melt making your dough difficult to tinker with.

When your onions are nicely caramelized, remove from heat and allow to cool a little while you preheat the oven to about 375°F or 200°C. When the oven is ready, remove the tart crust from the fridge and evenly spread the onions across the surface, leaving a little border. Fold the border over to create the edge of the tart and place in the oven, near the bottom. I place it on a pizza stone. You want the crust to cook, but you don’t want the onions to blacken to cinders.

Cooking time depends much on your oven. I would say about 30 minutes. Check by looking at the color of the bottom of the tart, manipulating with care of course. A pâte brisée is fragile, especially when hot.  If a good golden-brown color looks back at you and it looks yummy, go for it. If it’s still white, but your onions are darkening, cover them with a little aluminium foil while the bottom finishes cooking.

Serve warm with a big green salad. If it’s summer time, this works with a cool unpretentious (or slightly pretentious if you prefer) glass of rosé.