Spinach Soubrics

Soubrics*

• 2 quarts spinach
• 2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg, separated
• Pinch of cayenne
• Pinch of nutmeg
• Salt to taste
• Butter for sautéing

White Sauce

• 2 cup milk
• 4 tbsp melted butter
• 4 tbsp flour
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp ground pepper
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Thoroughly wash the spinach then boil in a little water. Drain the spinach thoroughly and press out the water, and chop.
2. Add the Parmesan cheese and the yolk of the egg slightly beaten. Season with salt, cayenne, and a slight grating nutmeg and cook three minutes, stirring constantly. Add the white of the egg slightly beaten.
3. Make quenelles with a quenelle spoon or a tablespoon and sauté in butter.
4. Serve with a white sauce or cheese sauce.

* - Soubric is a classic French dish similar to croquettes or pancakes. It is made from puréed or minced meats or vegetables which are then thickened with eggs or flour and sometimes cream. The batter is then shaped and divided into smaller portions and sautéed in clarified butter. The shape can be like a small pancake or blinz, or made into quenelles. Soubrics are usually accompanied with a white sauce such as béchamel or allemande sauce. They are usually served as an hors-d’œuvre, amuse-bouche†, or a side for various dishes.

† - though a French term, "amuse-bouche" is not used in France; they use the term "amuse-gueule."

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Additions to the above recipe:

1. Reduce balsamic vinegar to a syrup stage and squeeze a small amount on top.
2. Cook some bacon or prosciutto until crisp. Put into blender to made in very small pieces and sprinkle on top of plated dish.

Watercress Soup With Poached Egg

by Gordon Ramsay (with additions by me)

This would make a good light dish for brunch. Because it is a fairly substantial dish, it would make a good appetizer for a light meal.

• 1 bag of watercress (retain a few leaves for garnish)
• 1 medium potato, peeled and very thinly sliced
• 1 small clove of garlic mashed into a paste
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 cup boiling water
• 2 oz prosciutto or bacon
• 2 poached eggs
• Salt & pepper

1. Put the watercress, potato and garlic in a saucepan with the water and butter. Simmer until thoroughly cooked.
2. When cooked, put in a blender and purée. Put through a fine sieve or tamis. Season with salt & pepper to taste. It should be fairly thick.
3. Either fry the bacon until firm but not crisp or use the prosciutto as is at room temperature or cooked till not quite crisp. Cut into julienne.
4. Poach the eggs until done to the soft to medium stage.
5. Pour the watercress soup into a warmed serving bowl and place an egg on top. Place a few shreds of the prosciutto or bacon on top of the egg and garnish with a few watercress leaves.

I tried this recipe and it was pretty good, but it needed something extra for texture and taste. I added the prosciutto/bacon slivers for texture and taste, and the garlic to punch up the flavour of the soup which was a bit bland. I would also try adding a watercress, parsley, or parsley/garlic tuile as a additional garnish instead of (or with) the watercress leaves (or could try a red pepper tuile for a contrasting colour and taste. This tuile could also be made with ajvar.). See my tuile recipes.

Watermelon Sushi

An interesting twist on sushi as a dessert with sweeetened rice. You could also add or substitute mango, papaya or another fruit as the "fish" replacement or as the purée ingredient.

Ingredients

• Sushi rice (see below)
• Watermelon
• Fresh mint leaves
• Lime zest
• Balsamic vinegar or tamarind sauce
• 1 Mango
• 1 tsp sugar

Sushi Rice

• 1½ cups cold water
• 1 cup jasmine rice
• 1 cup milk
• ¼ cup white sugar
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 egg white
• Dash of vanilla extract

1. Pour water into a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat; stir in rice. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until rice is tender and liquid has been absorbed, about 20 minutes.
2. Combine cooked rice, 1/2 cup of milk, sugar, and salt in a clean saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until thick and creamy, about 15 minutes.
3. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup milk and egg white; cook 2 minutes more, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla until combined.

Assembly

1. Slice the watermelon into thin rectangles to look like tuna sushi.
2. Peel the mango and cut the flesh away from the central pit. Put the mango in a blender with a little water and the sugar, and purée. Pass through a fine sieve or tamis.
3. Form the sushi rice into fingers. Place a watermelon slice on the rice.
4. Slice the mint leaves into a fine chiffonade and sprinkle a few on top of the watermelon and add a couple of pieces of lime zest.
5. Place a couple of drops of Balsamic vinegar (or tamarind sauce) on one end of the sushi (to look like soy sauce).
6. Optional: Place a spoonful of the mango (or other fruit) purée on a plate and place the watermelon sushi on the plate.

Other fruits could be used in place of (or in addition to) watermelon as the topping of the rice: mango, papaya, canned peaches or pears, etc. Pears and apples could be poached to soften and to add colour with food colouring.

Ideas for other "sauces" than the mango purée to use as accompaniment: lemon or lime curd, strawberry or raspberry purée.

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Another dessert that looks like sushi is to make "pearls" from fruit juices to look like fish roe. See pearls recipe here. These are placed on top of a filling in a chocolate cup. The filling below the pearls could be a light dessert like Bavarian Cream, or something a little heavier like rice pudding or cheesecake. The pearls could be any fruit, but a red or orange fruit would match the colour of roe.

Remoulade

Like tartar sauce, this French sauce is traditionally used as a condiment with seafood but is not as sweet.

Ingredients

• 1 cup quality mayonnaise
• 2 tbsps finely minced cornichons
• 2 tbsps finely chopped mixed herbs (tarragon is traditional; additionally try parsley, chives & chervil)
• 1 tbsp very finely minced capers
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
  
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• ⅛ tsp anchovy paste, or half of anchovy fillet, very finely minced
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Place the mayonnaise in a bowl along with the remaining ingredients. Stir until the ingredients are fully combined.
2. Store covered in the fridge in an airtight container. For the best flavor, let the sauce chill in the fridge for at least 24 hours to allow time for the flavors to fully meld.
3. Sauce will keep up to 2 weeks (or two days if using home-made mayonnaise).

This dish is best prepared with a home made mayonnaise; the recipe can be found here.

Mushroom Gravy

The combination of ingredients, beef broth, wine and cream, makes this the best mushroom gravy with great depths of flavour, and especially the addition of the ground mushrooms.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsps butter, bacon grease, lard or beef drippings
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• 16 oz fresh mushrooms
• 1 tbsp finely ground dried Porcini or Shiitake mushrooms
• 3 tbsps unsalted butter
• 3 tbsps all-purpose flour
• 2 cups strong beef broth
• ½ cup white wine
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  
• ½ tsp salt plus more to taste
• ½ tsp sugar
• ¼ tsp dried thyme
• 1 small bunch parsley, chopped
  
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2-4 tbps heavy cream

Instructions

1. Put the dried mushrooms in a food processor and reduce to a powder.
2. Melt the butter (or bacon grease, lard or beef drippings) in a pan over medium-high heat and fry the mushrooms and cook 7-8 minutes or until golden and the liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated.
3. Add the onions and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and cook another minute. Add the ground mushrooms and cook for another minute.
4. Add the butter and melt. Add the flour, stir to combine and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring continually. This will cook off the flour flavor and brown the flour to create more depth of flavour in the gravy.
5. Add the beef broth, wine, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, sugar, parsley, salt and pepper. Whisk continually until the gravy is thickened. Cover and simmer on low, stirring occasionally, for 5-10 minutes. Add cream, and salt and pepper to taste. If you prefer the gravy thinner add a little more cream, beef broth or water; if it is too thin, let it simmer on medium-low until it reaches the desired thickness.

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Spicy Tuna Fish Cakes - Gordon Ramsay

An easy to make delicious snack or appetizer that takes canned tuna up to another level.

Ingredients

• 2 cans (~400g) tinned tuna
• 6 tinned water chestnuts, drained and finely sliced
• 3 green onions, trimmed and sliced
• 1 inch piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 3 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 1 small red chilli, deseeded and finely minced
• 3 kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped (or zest from 1 lime - used below)
• 2 tsp Thai fish sauce
• 2 eggs, beaten
• Vegetable or light olive oil, for frying
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Dipping Sauce

• ½ tsp sugar
• 1 green onion, trimmed and sliced
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp Thai fish sauce
• 2 tsp rice vinegar
• Juice of ½ a lime
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro

Directions

1. Drain the tuna in a sieve. Slice the water chestnuts very thin. Slice the green onion thin. Finely grate the peeled ginger root. Chop up the cilantro leaves. Finely mince the garlic. Open the red chili, discard seeds, and finely mince. Roll up the lime leaves and chiffonade.
2. Combine all of the above ingredients adding the fish sauce, salt and pepper, and then mix.
3. Beat the two eggs thoroughly and add to mixture. Use hands to thoroughly mix all the ingredients together.
4. Take a small handful of the mixture and form into a ball and then flatten until about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick.
5. Heat the pan on medium and add the cooking oil. Place cakes in pan and fry until browned then turn to cook the other side. Set on a rack to drain and cool.
6. Make the dipping sauce by combining all of the ingredients and pouring into a small bowl.

Gluten and Glyphosate

Celiac disease is becoming more common and is thought, primarily, to be caused by the gluten found in wheat, spelt, barley, rye, and a few other less common grains. However, glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, is common in wheat production in North America and elsewhere, yet people with cileac disease report having breads or pastas in Italy and not having digestive issues.

Italian wheat is typically made from "soft" wheat as opposed to the "hard" wheat grown in North America.

See this article which addresses the isssue of "Gluten Intolerant or Glyphosate Intolerant?"

Brown-braised Onions

Oignons Glaces a Brun

Brown-braised onions are used whenever you wish a brown effect, such as in brown fricassees like Coq au Vin and Boeuf Bourguignon, or in a mixture with other vegetables.*

Preparation is a two-step process: first browning the onions in a saucepan then braising in stock or wine. The braising can be done two ways: in a saucepan on stove top or baked in an oven.

For 18 to 24 peeled white pearl onions about 1 inch in diameter.

Browning

• 1½ tbsp butter
• 1½ tbsp oil
• A 9- to 10-inch enameled skillet

When the butter and oil are bubbling in the skillet, add the onions and saute over moderate heat for about 10 minutes, rolling the onions about so they will brown as evenly as possible. Be careful not to break their skins. You cannot expect to brown them uniformly.

Braising

• ½ cup of brown stock, canned beef bouillon, dry white wine, or red wine
• Salt and pepper to taste
• A medium herb bouquet: 4 parsley sprigs, ½ bay leaf, and ¼ tsp thyme tied in cheesecloth

Then either braise them as follows:

Pour in the liquid, season to taste, and add the herb bouquet. Cover and simmer slowly for 40 to 50 minutes until the onions are perfectly tender but retain their shape, and the liquid has evaporated. Remove herb bouquet. Serve them as they are, or follow one of the suggestions at the end of the recipe.

Or bake them as follows:

Transfer the onions and their sauteing fat to a shallow baking dish or casserole just large enough to hold them in one layer. Set uncovered in upper third of a preheated 350-degree oven for 40 to 50 minutes, turning them over once or twice. They should be very tender, retain their shape, and be a nice golden brown. Remove herb bouquet. Serve them as they are or according to one of the following suggestions.

* - The onions may be cooked hours in advance, and reheated before serving.

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Serving Suggestions

Parslied Onions
Roll the hot onions in 1-2 tbsp of butter. Turn them into a hot vegetables dish or place them around your roast, and sprinkle with 1 tbsp minced parsley.

Vegetables Mixture
Braised onions go nicely mixed with other vegetables such as glazed carrots, sautéed mushrooms, artichoke hearts, and sautéed potatoes.

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From Mastering the Art of French Cooking, vol. 1, by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle & Simone Beck, p.483

Cheese Boards

Make a cheese board for a party or an elaborate meal. A typical board has a selection of cheese with a few nuts, often walnuts, and some small fruits like grapes and blueberries or raspberries. Another accompaniment is various savory and sweet condiments. Here are a few suggestions by chef Vicky Bisht:

Celeriac Terrine With Red Pepper Sauce

Ingredients

This recipe can be used to make a large portion for brunch or a smaller portion as an appetizer.

Celeriac terrine

• 1½ lb celeriac
• 1 oz butter
• 5 oz strong Cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 oz grated Parmesan cheese
• 4 tbsp snipped chives
• 3 eggs
• ¼ tsp celery salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Cherry tomatoes, parsley and chives for garnish

Red pepper sauce

• 2 tbsp olive oil
  
• 2 small onions, finely sliced
• 2 red peppers
• 5 fl oz chicken or vegetable stock
• Salt
• ¼ tsp hot sauce - Frank's Red Hot, Tabasco, etc. (optional)
  
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 tbsp heavy cream (optional)

Instructions

Prepare the terrine and while it is cooking prepare the red pepper sauce

Celeriac Terrine

1. Pre-heat the oven to 325℉.
2. There are two ways to prepare the terrine: (1) Grease and line a 1 lb loaf tin with a piece of non-stick parchment paper to cover the base and extend up the short sides. Grease again. (2) Grease individual terrines lightly inside then coat with fine bread crumbs.
3. Steam or boil the celeriac until tender: usually 12-15 minutes. Drain the celeriac and place in a bowl.
4. Add the butter to the celeriac and mash, but don’t purée because some texture is good in this dish. Mix in the grated Cheddar and Parmesan cheeses, the chives, eggs and salt and pepper to taste.
5. Spoon the mixture into the large tin or the terrines and level to the top. Bake for about 50 minutes or until the terrine feels firm to the touch, is golden-brown and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
6. When the terrine is cooked, remove from the oven and allow to stand for 5 minutes or so before slipping a knife around the edges to loosen, then turn it out onto a warm plate.

Red Pepper Sauce*

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan, put in the onions and cook over a gentle heat with the pan lid on for about 10 minutes until the onions are softened but not browned. Meanwhile, wash the peppers and cut into rough pieces.
2. Add the peppers to the onions, cover the pan again and cook gently for a further 5-10 minutes until the peppers are thoroughly cooked.
3. Pour in the stock. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the peppers are tender.
4. Liquidize the sauce in a blender, strain through a sieve or tamis into a clean saucepan. If sauce is not thick enough, simmer to reduce.
5. Season the sauce with salt, pepper and optional hot sauce to taste. Reserve butter.
   

Assembly

1. Just before serving, reheat the sauce. Take off the heat and whisk in the cold butter, a little at a time, to make the sauce glossy. Stir in the heavy cream.
2. Serve the terrine with the sauce and garnish with halved cherry tomatoes, sprigs of parsley and small strips of chives.
3. For brunch, serve along with some cooked green vegetables like green beans or broccoli.

* - for a quicker sauce, replace the red pepper sauce with ajvar. Purée in a blender adding water or stock if too thick; finish as above.

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Additions to the above recipe:

1. Make a thick purée of sun dried tomato and pipe on top of plated dish.
2. Reduce some balsamic vinegar to a syrup stage and squeeze a small amount on top.
3. Add parsley, tomato or red pepper tuile.

Tuile Recipes

Tuile is the name for the very thin pastry made to be formed into a wafer or a roll to hold appetizers. Another use of a tuile preparation is to make molded creations for decoration using tuile molds.
Following are some sweet and savory preparations for tuile.

Red pepper tuile

Honey Tuile

Ingredients

• 1¼oz (35gm) butter
• 1¼oz (35gm) honey
• 1¼oz (35gm) egg white (about 1 egg white)
• 1¼oz (35gm) all purpose flour
• 1-2 drops of yellow food colouring
  
• Honeycomb tuile mold
  

Method

1. Melt butter and honey together in a microwave
2. Add all ingredients together and mix with whisk until smooth
3. Spread on mold and bake for about 8 minutes at 320°F (160°C)
4. Carefully remove from mold before cooled. The tuile will be soft until it cools.

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Chocolate Tuile

Ingredients

• 2oz (60gm) icing sugar
• ¾oz (20gm) Cocoa powder – 100%
• 1¾ (50gm) wheat flour
• Pinch (2gm) salt
• 2 Egg whites
• 1oz (30gm) Butter

Directions

1. Mix all the ingredients very well with the help of a whisk, spread in a very thin silicone mold.
2. Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (180°C) for approximately 4 minutes or until dry.
3. Let cool on a wire rack and store in an airtight container.

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Raspberry Tuile

Ingredients

• 18oz (500gm) raspberry purée
• 3½oz (100gm) water
• 3½oz (100gm) sugar
• 1¾oz (50gm) lemon juice
• ⅓oz (8gm) gelatin

Method

Mix all ingredients together and pass through a fine sieve. Spread into molds. Refrigerate for 1 hour then unmold.

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Sugar Tuile

This is a neutral recipe for a sweet tuile that can be used for decoration for a variety of dishes or drinks without altering the taste.

Ingredients

• 1¾ (50gm) Butter
• 1¾ (50gm) Egg White
• 1¾ (50gm) Flour
• 1¾ (50gm) Powdered Sugar
• Food coloring (optional)

Method

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan
2. Add the egg white, flour and sugar
3. Mix the ingredients until you get a homogeneous mixture
4. If you want, add food coloring based on the intensity of color you want to obtain
5. Pour the mixture into the mold and remove the excess
6. Cook in a preheated oven at 300°F (150°C) for 6 minutes
7. Let the mold cool and remove the garnishes
8. The garnishes are ready to use on your drinks

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Garlic Tuile

Ingredients

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3-4 large garlic cloves, mashed into a paste
• 1 tbsp fresh chives, finely minced
• 1 tbsp Italian parsley, finely minced
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• A pinch cayenne pepper
• ½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 extra-large egg whites
• 1 tsp confectioner’s sugar

Method

1. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. When bubbling, stir in the garlic and allow to sizzle for a few seconds then and remove from the heat. Add minced chives, parsley, freshly ground black pepper to taste and cayenne.
2. Position oven rack to center shelf and preheat to 350°F (180°C).
3. Whisk together the flour and salt, and set aside.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites until just frothy, not stiff. Add the sugar and whisk till smooth.
5. Sift in the flour, then pour in the garlic-chive butter and whisk till smooth.
6. Spread on mold and bake for 5-8 minutes. This mixture can also be spread on a plastic or silicon mat to make wafers.

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Red Pepper Tuile

Ingredients

Red pepper purée

• 5 red peppers
• 3½ fl oz of olive oil
• 1 sprig of rosemary
• 1 sprig of thyme
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled
• salt

Tuile base

• 1½ tbsp of sugar
• 1½ tbsp of water
• 1⅔ fl oz of lemon juice
• salt

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
2. For the red pepper purée, halve the peppers, cut the cores out, discard the seeds and then cut each half pepper in half again.
3. Heat the olive oil in a roasting tray. When it is hot, add the peppers and then the rosemary, thyme, garlic cloves and sea salt.
4. Cook in the oven for approximately 30-40 minutes or until all of the ingredients are well roasted. Reduce oven temperature to 190°F (90°C). 
5. Remove the rosemary stalks and any thyme twigs, then place into a blender and purée to a very fine texture. Pass through a fine sieve or tamis and leave to cool
6. To make a sugar syrup, combine the sugar and water in a pan. Place over a medium heat, stirring constantly, to completely dissolve the sugar before the mixture begins to boil. Heat gently until the mixture starts to thicken, remove from the heat and leave to cool.
7. To make the tuiles, add the syrup, glucose, lemon juice and salt to the red pepper purée. Spread the purée very thinly onto a plastic or silicon mat and place into the oven at 190ºF (90°C) for about 2½ hours.
8. While still warm from the oven, cut the tuile into strips about 4 inches wide and roll into tubes or shaped into cones to serve as a holder for purées or other appetizer mixtures. See my equipment page for cone molds.

Alternately the uncooked mixture can be spread onto tuile molds and baked as per the above instructions. Leave to cool then remove from the molds.

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Parsley Tuile

Parsley could be replaced with thyme or rosemary to suit the dish. It may be necessary to finely grind rosemary and even pass through a tamis.

Ingredients

• 1 bunch parsley, leaves only
• 3½ oz (100gm) wheat flour
• 4 egg whites
• 1½ oz (50gm) butter
• pinch of salt

Directions

1. Mix all the ingredients in a blender until it forms a very uniform paste, spread in the silicone mold and place on the tray.
2. Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (180°C) until dry — approximately 6 to 7 minutes.
3. Let cool on a rack.
4. Store in an airtight container.

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Get tuile recipes from Frida Molds here, and Great British Chefs.