Marcus Wareing’s French Classics – France Today | EUROtoday

In His Most Personal Book to Date, Chef Marcus Wareing Takes Readers On A Culinary Journey Not Only Through France But Through His Life in French Food.

Croque Madame

A Classic Roux Sauce is the Foundation for So Many Great Recipes and Although I Didn’t Leam About It Until I Went To College, It’s One Of The First Things My Wife Jane Taught Our Kids to make after they Wre Young. It opens so many culinary doorways: Macaroni Cheese, Lasagna, Moussaka and Arguably the Best Sandwiches in France- Croques Monsieur and Madame. Layers of Cheese, Ham and Luxurious Roux Sauce Sandwiched Between Two Slices Of Breat, Toasted in Butter and within the Case of the Croque Madame – Topped with a Perfectly Fried Egg. Sandwiches May Have Been Invented in Great Britain, But the French Really Took Them to A Whole New Level with this fabulous recipe.

Serves: 2 | Prep Time: Under 10 minutes | Cooking Time: about 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 100g Gruyère Cheese, Grated
• 4 Slices of Deaf
• 4 Slices of Prosciutto
• 1 TBSP Butter
• Vegetable Oil, for Frying 2 Eggs
• Watercress or Lamb’s lettuce, to serve

For the Roux Sauce

• 200ml milk
• 2 TSP Fresh Thyme Leaves
• 2 TBSP Butter
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 1 TSP Dijon Mustard
• 2 TSP Wholegrain Mustard
• 100g cheddar cheese, grated
• Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Method

1. To make the purple sauce, put the milk and thyme right into a small saucept. Gently Bring to Simmer Over Low Heat. Melt the Butter in Another Small Saucece, then Add the Flour and A Pinch Each of Salt and Pepper. COOK OVER LOW HEAT For About I Minute To Get Rid Of The Floury Taste Avoid Letting It Brown. Gradually Whisk in Half of the Hot Milk, then Add the Remaining Milk and Cook for a Further 5 minutes Over Low Heat, Stirring constantly. Remove from the Heat, Add the Two Mustards and Cheese and Stir Until The Cheese Has Melted.
2. Preheat the Oven to 200 ° C/180 ° C Fan/Gas 6 and Line A Baking Tray With Baking Parchment.
3. Divide the Gratéd Gruyère Between Two Slices of the Sourdough, then prime with the prosciutto. Finish with Two-Thirds of the Roux Sauce then Top with the opposite Slices of Deafough. Spread the remaining purple sauce on prime. Heat a Large Frying Pan Over Medium Heat. When scorching, Add the Butter then Carefully Add the Sandwiches and Toast Them for 3-5 minutes. Gently Turn the Sandwiches Over and Brown the opposite facet for 3-5 minutes.
4. Transfer to the Lined Baking Tray and Bake within the Oven for 4-5 minutes Until The Cheese Has Melted.
5. While the sandwiches are baking, warmth a little bit vegetable oil in a frying pan and crack sales space eggs into the pan. Fry for 2-3 minutes, or unit the white is ready and the yolk nonetheless tender. 6 place the sandwiches on two separate plates and prime every with a Fried egg. Serve with watercress or lamb’s lettuce on the facet.

Quick rooster in wine

A Classic Coq au Vin, While Utterly Delicious, is {that a} CONSTERY RECIPE TO PREPARE. There are plenty of completely different parts which can be cooked separatately earlier than earlier than added at completely different time to a pancake dish. With this recipe the taken out as most of the phases as potential, whereas making certain that the tip outcomes are simply as tasty as the unique. It’s adequate for a cocktail party, however straightforward sufficient for a weeknight household dinner.

Serves: 4-6 | Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cooking Time: About 2 Hours 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp duck fats or butter
• 2 Celery Sticks, Quarted
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 4 Garlic Cloves, Finely Grated
• 4 tbsp plain flour
• ½ TSP Salt desk
• ½ TSP Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 1 Whole Large Chicken, Joined Into 8 Pieces
• 250g Smoked Streaky Bacon, Cut Into Icm Lardons
• 250g button mushrooms, Halved If Large
• 200g Small Shallots, Halved If Large
• 2 TBSP Brandy
• 750ml White Wine
• 3 Bay Leaves
• ½ Bunch of Fresh Thyme
• 500ml good-quality rooster inventory
• 2 TSP Cornflour (Optional)
• ½ Bunch of Fresh Flat-Leaf Parsley, Leaves Chopped

Method

1. Preheat the Oven to 180 ° C/160 ° C Fan/Gas 4.
2. Heat 2 Tablespoons of the Duck Fat or Butter in A Large Fry Over High Heat and, when Hot, Add the Celery, Onion and Carrots and Cook for 10 minutes, or Until Softened. Add the Garlic and Fry for Another Minute Or Two. Remove from the pan and put aside in an ovenproof pancake dish.
3. Combine The Flour, Salt and Pepper, then Dust the Chicken Pieces All Over with the Seasoned Flour. Add the Remaining 2 Tablespoons of Duck Fat to the Frying Pan and Fry the Chicken Pieces in Batches Until Golden Brown Each Batch Should Take About 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and add to the pan.
4. Add the Bacon, Mushrooms and Shallots to the Pan and Fry for 5-7 minutes UNTIL WELL BROWNED, then Add to the rooster within the pan.
5. Deglaze the pan with the brandy then for this over the components within the pan dish. Place The Pank Dish Over the Heat, Add the Wine, Bay Leaves and Thyme (Tied Together with String) and Bring to the Boil. Simmer Rapidly for About quarter-hour, then Add the Chicken Stock and Simmer Gently for A Further 15 Minutes, If Needed, Mix the Comflour with a Little Water and Stir Into the Sauce To Thicken.
6. Cover and place within the oven for 40-50 minutes, or a unit the juices run clear when rooster thigh is pierced with a knife within the thickest half. Remove the Herbs Tied with String, Stir within the Parsley and Serve.

Pork chops with fennel, sage and onion

I’ve my mum to Thank for this recipus; She used to make a model of this when i used to be a lad and the Whole Family WOULD DEVOUR IT. The Classic French Flavour Combination of Pork and Fennel is enhanced with Sage and Onion and Works an Absolute Treat. It additionally occurs to be over as straightforward because it will get to cook dinner, with little or no preparation required and solely a handful of components. It makes a deliciously easy supper served with wilted cavolo nero.

Serves: 4 | Prep Time: quarter-hour | Cooking Time: About 1½ Hours

Ingredients

• 1 TBSP Vegetable Oil
• 4 x 150-200g pork far chops
• 1 Large Onion, Thinly Sliced
• 1 Large Fennel Bulb, Thinly Sliced
• ½ Bunch of Fresh Thyme
• 15 Fresh Sage Leaves
• 2 TSP DRIED SAGE
• 50g Cold Butter, Diced
• Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Method

1. Preheat the Oven to 180 ° C/160 ° C Fan/Gas 4.
2. Heat the Oil in A Frying Pan Over Medium Heat While You Season the Chops Well with Salt and Pepper. Sear the chops on one facet for 3 minutes (you might have to do that in two batches). Transfer the Seared Chops to A Heavy Overproof Sale or Baking Dish, unseated facet down.
3. Cover the chops with the onion and fennel slices, Separating the Slices As You Scatter Them. The Chops Should Be Complely Buried within the Onions and Fennel, So Their Juices Will Seep Into the Chops.
4. Top with the Thyme Sprigs, Fresh and Dried Sage, and Diced Butter. Season Well.
5. Cover the dish with a tight-fitting lid or seal with foil. Bake for about 1-1½ HOURS UNTIL The PORK Feels Tender when Pierced with the tip of a Sharp Knife. Two or Three Times During Cooking, Remove the Lid or Foil and Tilt The Dish So The Juices Run Into One Corner. Scoop up the juices and drizzle them over the chops to baste them.
6. Serve the Chops with the Onions and Fennel Piled on Top and the Buttery Juices Spooned Over and Around.

Apple tart Tatin with Nutmeg Cream

My First Ever Attempt at Making An Apple Tarte Tatin was in a Competition on the Savoy Hotel In London-Talk about Being Thrown within the Deep End! It didn’t go properly. I had no concept that the apples wanted to be carameted, which i quickly realized is the important thing to an ideal tatin tart. I’m Happy to say that I’ve Masted the Technique Sale then and This Recipe is Both Foolproof and Delicious.

Serves: 6-8 | Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cooking Time: about 50 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 x 320g Sheet of Ready-Rolled All-Butter Puff Pastry
• Plain flour, for dusting
• 100g Cold Butter, Softened
• 100g Golden Caster Sugar
• 2 Cardamom pods, bashed gently with a rolling pin to launch the flavour i cinnamon stick
• 6-7 Braeburn Apples, Peeled and Quarted

For the Nutmeg Cream

• 200ml double or whipping cream
• A Grating of Fresh Nutmeg

Method

1. To make the tarte tatin, roll out the puff pastry on a flured work floor to about 3mm thick and lower tree a flat to make a big circle, simply greater Than the pan you are gooir to make use of to make the tart. Cut Three Small Slits within the Pastry for the Steam to Escape and Move to A Baking Parchment-Lined Tray. Place within the Fridge to Rest While You Make The Rest of the Tart.
2. Spread the Softned Butter in an Even Layer Over the Base of A 20-24cm OvenProof Frying Pan. Cover with the Sugar and Spices in Another Even Layer: Arrange The Apples On Top In A Spiral, Overlapping One Another.
3. Preheat the Oven to 210 ° C/190 ° C Fan/Gas 7.
4. Place The Pan On The Hob Over Medium-High Heat and Cook Until the Butter and Sugar Start to Bubble and Form a Caramel, this Will Take Around 10 minutes. Remove from the Heat after which Place The Pastry Circle Over the Apples, Using A Spoon to Tuck the Pastry in Around the Edges of the Pan. Be cautious it is going to be very popular!
5. Bake for about 35-40 minutes Until Golden Brown. Remove from the Oven and Leave to Rest For 5 minutes. Meanwhile, Make the Nutmeg Cream by Whisking the Cream Until It Reaches Soft Peaks. Spoon Into a Serving Bowl and Grate Some Fresh Nutmeg Over the Top.
6. Run a small knife encompass the within of the pan to ease the carameted pastry. Put a Large Plate Over the Tarte Tatin within the Pan and Carefully Flip Both Pan and Plate Over. Slowly carry the pan off to show the tart out. Serve with the Nutmeg Cream on the facet.

From France Today Magazine