FRENCH MARKET RECIPES
French Market Recipe 2025 03 Croissant « Hamburger » Auvergnat Croissant « hamburger » from Auvergne
French Market Recipe 2025 03 Croissant « Hamburger » Auvergnat Croissant « hamburger » from...
French Market Recipe 2025 02 Glace au gingembre Ginger Ice cream
For my recipe this week I decided to share a recipe for a refreshing ginger ice cream to serve on a hot sunny day, the recipe is easy, but you will need an ice cream maker. I served it topped with some poached quince on a bed of hazelnut crumble. I suggest pairing with a glass of Louis Roederer Rose champagne.
French Market Recipe 2025 01 Les quenelles Quenelles
For our recipe this week I am sharing a recipe for Quenelles, small, oval shaped dumplings, made with finely pounded cooked fish or meat. The most famous quenelles come from Lyon and are made with Pike, fresh from the river and served with a creamy sauce Nantua. This is a béchamel sauce made with crayfish or prawns. My cousin in Paris served this to me as a special treat on a previous visit. My recipe is a more simple, paysanne dish, using cooked chicken breast and grated Comte cheese. These quenelles are served with a tomato mayonnaise sauce and a light salad. I suggest pairing with a glass of Louis Latour Chardonnay from the Vars, at the southern end of Burgundy, as this Chardonnay is fairly delicate and allows the flavour of the quenelles to come through.
French Market Recipe 2024 52 Marquise au chocolat The Chocolate Marquise
For my recipe this week I am sharing one of my favourite desserts, a Marquise au Chocolat. It is a completely decadent, very rich chocolate mousse which I first tasted when I stayed in France as a teenager, and I loved it. It was made for me by my hostess, Chantal, Vicomtesse de la Salle and I have never forgotten it. This is a beautiful dessert to serve at a festive dinner. I found a recipe in my traditional Good French Food Cooking book by Mapie, Comtesse Toulouse Lautrec which I adapted slightly. It is not too difficult to make but can be quite messy and I always end up with chocolate all over the kitchen. I add some fresh berries to decorate the dessert when I serve it, I find their freshness balances the richness of the mousse and they make a beautiful colour against the white cream. I recommend serving this with a Pol Roger champagne to really enjoy it.
French Market Recipe 2024 51 Confit de canard aux pommes de terre a l’arome de truffe Duck confit with truffle scented potatoes
Many of you are entertaining visitors over the holidays and will be looking for new recipe ideas and tastes to serve your guests. Dishes with Duck confit (preserved duck meat) are very popular. Traditionally the duck is slow cooked for about 8 hours then the meat is preserved in its fat. We sell the ready cooked Confit in tins and in frozen packs. Duck confit is counted in cuisses (thighs) even though the lower leg is also included for preserving. Confit is an easy dish to prepare as you just heat up the preserved Duck gently in a frying pan or in the oven. The duck fat in which the meat is cooked is perfect to roast potatoes as it gives them a delicious taste and makes a good accompaniment to the duck. When you lightly sprinkle the truffle zest over the top of the roast potatoes it adds an amazing aroma.
French Market Recipe 2024 50 Le Pudding de Noel Christmas Pudding
This week’s recipe is a traditional English Christmas Pudding recipe from my really old family cookery book, I love the aroma when making the pudding, it is steeped as much in history as it is steeped in brandy. My favourite accompaniments are clotted Devonshire cream and Brandy butter and a glass of my favourite Louis Roederer Crystal Champagne.
French Market Recipe 2024 49 Confit de Canard hachis Parmentier Slow cooked duck legs and mash pie
Duck fat has a higher cooking temperature which enables the potatoes to become crispier. We stock tins of Duck confit in various sizes and we stock frozen duck confit in 4 leg packs. There are many ways to serve duck confit including a version of Hachis Parmentier (shepherds pie). In this week’s recipe you create a base of onions and sliced duck skin and top this with roughly chopped duck topped with mashed potato. Pair this with a glass of our Cabernet Sauvignon from Bordeaux. I recommend The Charmes de Kirwan a Cabernet Sauvignon dominated, stunning wine from the Margaux region in Bordeaux.
French Market Recipe 2024 48 Poulet à la crème de Calvados Chicken with Calvados sauce
For my recipe this week I am going to share a Thanksgiving dish that a dear American client kindly shared with me, instead of the traditional turkey, this recipe is a chicken served with a cream and Calvados sauce, based on a recipe from Normandie. Also note that we do have stock of Calvados in the shop!
French Market Recipe 2024 50 Porcinis carpaccio Cepes salad
We have received the first of the Season’s stock of the beautiful Cepes (Porcini), from Kokstad. With thick stems and large brown caps, they have lots of aroma. These wonderful earthy mushrooms can be eaten in many different dishes. For my recipe this week, I suggest try the following raw porcini salad recipe which is simple and easy to make, and has a wonderful subtle, earthy flavour. At first the taste of the raw cepes can be very delicate then after a while the flavour develops and you really feel the mushroom flavour fill your mouth. I recommend pairing this earthy tasting salad with a De la Doucette Pouilly Fume from the Loire valley. The flint in the soil gives a unique mineral taste to this unique sauvignon blanc.
French Market Recipe 2024 49 Terrine de Porc et pistache Pork and pistachio terrine
This week I am sharing one of my favourite recipes from the French countryside, a coarse textured pork terrine made with Armagnac and Port. This is a dish that is served sliced with fresh baguettes and cornichons whenever you have an “Apero” (pre-dinner drinks) in the countryside in France. It is easy to make but requires some advance planning as it needs to rest for 2 days before serving.
French Market Recipe 2024 48 Ratatouille
For my recipe this week, I am sharing a traditional ratatouille dish, originating from Provence, perfect for serving as a side dish to roast meat, or as a light vegetarian meal. It is a simple dish of seasonal vegetables, where you can prepare the vegetables and toss in some olive oil, then slow bake in the oven. I like to include lots of garlic and fresh rosemary from my (balcony) garden plus Herbes from Provence. Ideal for entertaining as you can just heat up the dish prior to serving.
French Market Recipe 2024 47 L’Agneau braise aux olives et citron Braised lamb with olives and lemons
For my recipe this week, I fancied the taste of lamb cooked slowly in red wine and herbs. In this easy recipe I combined a shank of lamb with garlic, olives and some fresh lemon and rosemary from my balcony garden. While I slow cooked the lamb in some red wine on the stove, the heady cooking aroma filled my kitchen. I paired this with the Pavillon St Pierre made from a blend of the Cotes du Rhone local grapes, Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, Carignan and Marsellan available from our French Market shop.
French Market Recipe 2024 46 Gateau de Marrons et chocolat Chestnut and chocolate Cake
These chestnut forests are harvested in November. There are festivals to celebrate the harvest in the local towns where chestnuts are roasted in the streets. Whilst there are many different recipes using chestnuts, this week I am sharing a Chestnut cake recipe, which is traditionally served during the Festive season. Accompany the cake with a bowl of crème fraiche this complements the sweetness of the cake. This recipe comes from my favourite Good French Cooking book by Mapie, Comtesse de Toulouse-Lautrec. I suggest pairing with a glass of Champagne Le Mesnil Blanc de Blanc Grand Cru available at our shop.
French Market Recipe 2024 45 Lentilles de Puy salade
There are lots of recipes for Puy Lentils, both hot and cold. For this week, I am sharing a simple country dish of lentilles de Puy with fresh herbs, topped with grated parmesan (we have an 18 months matured Parmigiano Reggiano in stock) and medium soft-boiled eggs (oeufs mollet).
French Market Recipe 2024 44 Poached trout
My recipe this week is the simplest poached trout fillet with baie roses (pink peppercorns), this is such an easy and delicious dish, perfect for a light meal. Pair it with a glass of Tribaut Schlosser Brut Origine Champagne.
French Market Recipe 2024 43 Glace au gingembre Ginger ice cream
For my recipe this week, I decided to share a ginger flavoured ice cream to pair with the Cremant d’Alsace, you could also try pairing with the Gewurztraminer, it would be most interesting.
French Market Recipe 2024 42 Tartiflette de Savoie Savoie potato and Reblochon cheese bake
Then there is Tartiflette which is also a dish made of sliced potatoes and lardons (chunks of bacon) cooked in cream, topped with a whole sliced Reblochon from the Savoie, the dish is baked until the cheese melts all over the top of the potatoes. I suggest pairing with a white wine from Alsace, Prince d’Abbes Riesling, as this wine has plenty of flavour to balance the strong cheesy taste of this dish.
French Market Recipe 2024 41 Petits gateaux au Cantal Little Cantal cheese biscuits
For my recipe this week I decided to share some little cheese biscuits made with Cantal cheese from the Auvergne. They are very easy to make, and they taste delicious. I suggest to pair with a Valmoissine Pinot Noir from the Vars region.
French Market Recipe 2024 40 Artichauts farcis Stuffed Artichokes
I decided to share another recipe for violet artichokes stuffed with bacon, shallots, garlic and herbs to enjoy while they are in season, this is a really easy dish that can be left to cook gently while you entertain your friends. With thanks to Mapie, Vicomtesse Toulouse Lautrec for her wonderful Good French Cooking book which I treasure. I suggest pairing with the Cotes du Rhone blanc available in our shop or online at www.frenchmarket.co.za.
French Market Recipe 2024 39 Artichauts violets rotis Roasted violet artichokes
I hunted around for a recipe for the artichokes and found the following one on the French website Marmiton.org a really great website for interesting French dishes. Note once you cut the raw artichoke you need to immerse in water with lemon juice to stop it discolouring and going dark brown. This dish can be served as a starter or as a side vegetable dish to a roast meat. I suggest pairing the artichokes with a local Everson cider from Elgin.
FrenchMarketNews 22Aug2024 Alain Delon-Wolfgat-St Nectaire-Epoisses-Delice-Pickled Onions-Ham Chips-Squid Ink-FrenchMarketRecipe2024 38 Pasta Vongole
This week we received Linguine nero di Seppia, a black coloured pasta. This durum wheat semolina pasta with wheat germ and black squid ink squid ink is made by Morelli Pasta. A family-owned business in its fifth generation, which has continued with the traditional production of pasta made from wheat germs which gives a unique flavour and delicious taste. This pasta is ideal to accompany seafood such as clams.
French Market Recipe 2024 37 Veloute de chou fleur et Cantal Cauliflower and Cantal cheese soup
Now the Olympics are over, a favourite occupation during cold and wet Sunday afternoons, is to sit near a hot fire and to play scrabble or bridge with some good friends. I find that a home-made soup is ideal to serve my guests as I do not have to fuss with the recipe when I am playing. Everything can be made in advance and the soup can be served whenever it suits. A velouté is a creamy soup. This easy cauliflower soup recipe is delicious, all you do is chop up the ingredients and pop them in a pot and simmer for a while. The addition of Herbes de Provence gives a fragrant, herby aroma to the soup. I like to add fried croutons and grated Cantal over the soup, this makes a filling and warm meal. Pair this creamy soup with a J Moreau Chablis from our shop.
French Market Recipe 2024 36 Gateau de marrons au chocolat Chocolate chestnut cake
The French often make dishes using chestnuts. The Romans planted chestnut (sativa) trees to feed their soldiers, as they settled in countries across Europe. The trees grew well on hilly surfaces such as the Ardeche and provided highly nourishing nuts which could be ground into flour. King Charlemagne encouraged the planting of chestnut trees extensively in France particularly in the Ardeche, to save the population from starving. These chestnut forests are harvested in November. There are festivals to celebrate the harvest in the local towns where chestnuts are roasted in the streets. Chestnuts are gluten free which is an advantage for certain diets. Whilst there are many different recipes using chestnuts, this week I am sharing a Chestnut cake recipe named after the refion of the Ardeche. The bitter chocolate topping is delicious. I accompanied the cake with Crème fraiche this complements the sweetness of the cake. This recipe comes from my favourite Good French Cooking book by Mapie, Comtesse de Toulouse-Lautrec. I recommend pairing with a glass of Champagne from our shop.
French Market Recipe 2024 35 Fondue au Kirsch Cheese fondue with Kirsch
One of my favourite winter dishes is a cheese fondue, this dish is usually made with three types of grated alpine cheese. It was originally used by the farmers when a chunk of cheese had dried out and was too hard to eat so they grated it and melted it. Fondue is a very easy recipe to make, the cheese is gently heated in a pot that was rubbed with raw garlic and eaten by dipping chunks of fresh bread into the melted cheese. Instead of, or as well as bread, you can also use florets of cauliflower broccoli and slices of apple. Each family has their own version, part of the fun is the traditional family game that is played. The first person who loses their piece of bread in the fondue has to pay a forfeit, depending on the age of the person this could range from drinking a glass of wine, or reciting a poem, singing a song, or wearing a funny hat. In my Fondue recipe I use Comte, Emmental and Tomme de Savoie you can also use Le Gruyere, Beaufort, and Appenzeller. I recommend pairing with a glass Prince d’Abbes Riesling and some Kirschwasser which we have in stock.
French Market Recipe 2024 34 Champignons farcis au soufflé au Cantal Mushrooms filled with Cantal cheese souflee
For this week’s recipe I did a cheese soufflé style filling for large field mushrooms. The secret is to use large field mushrooms with high sides which curl in a bit, forming a wall, as this helps the soufflé to rise, if the mushrooms are too flat the filling spills out and does not rise much (as I found out) but it still tastes good. It is also important to get the right temperature otherwise it does not rise. I used Cantal Cheese and a lot of garlic in the sauce which makes it nice and pungent. I sprinkled small croutons and crumbly bacon bits over the mushrooms which is not essential but adds an interesting saltiness to it. One advantage of the sauce is that it can be made the day before, then kept refrigerated until the dish is assembled. I suggest pairing with the Pavillon St Pierre, an earthy red wine from the Rhone valley.