A big Hip hip to this New Year, 2013! May it be a good one for all and a happy and healthy one.
Just thought I’d say I haven’t forgotten about the blog, just busy cruising the streets in S.A. (South Australia) and lapping up as much quality time as possible, before the annually dreaded departure. Gotta make the most of it!
But somehow there’s those petite ‘mon Dieu’ surprises that always bring France back to mind…
Back soon…
It’s here!?!!
I must admit I often feel flat at this time of year, well for the first few weeks anyway – no more bare legs and t-shirts, no more swimming outdoors, cold dashes out of the shower… But finally I somehow get into the swing of it and embrace the warm fires inside, the hearty meals and walks in the brisk air. And after so many years of braving the cold INDOORS when I rented in Australia, I am loving and embracing the central heating everywhere.
Yes, Autumn has arrived but thankfully with all its magical colour. It’s making me think ORANGE!
I’m loving this colour right now and thought I’d put together a few of my favourite ‘orange’ pictures… And f you’ve wandered around this blog already, you might have picked up on the fact that I do have a little thing for collages. I’m pathetic, once I like something, I can’t stop! (my lovely girlfriends had diagnosed me at the age of 14 with O.C.D).
So hulahup, Barbatruc, here’s another one for you.
‘Witlof’, ‘Chicory’, ‘Chicon’, ‘Endive’, ‘Belgian Endive’… I’m never quite sure what to call this vegetable. Each country seems to have a different name for it. In Australia for example, we call it ‘witlof’? Here in France it is called ‘endive’ and would you believe it has been grown commercially since only the 1930’s.
Whatever the name for it, since moving to France I have developed a huge liking for this interesting vegetable from the Chicory family. Thanks to Benji and his mum, I was introduced to a beautiful new ingredient and a few recipes that are now family favourites. Even our six-year-old loves eating them.
Endives are so verstile – they make a great salad when served raw with vinaigrette drizzled over it or, the particular family favourite, when braised with white wine and lardons and parsley, over a gentle heat for a few hours (the longer the better, you want them to caramelise!). You can serve this dish on its own or it makes a great side dish to lamb chops, veal or pork.
During the first few weeks of us living back in Australia in 2004, I decided to prepare the family favourite for our friends who we were lodging with. I was so excited to share this newly-loved vegetable of mine. After quite a search, I finally found them in a fruit and veg shop in North Fitzroy. I filled the bag, enough for four people and when I went to pay I nearly fell over. They were so expensive! I concealed my shock and quietly paid the money, vowing never again to buy this vegie in this suburb again. I at last appreciated why Claude (my Frenchie – amazing cook – friend who was living in Western Australia with his NZ wife), when he had yearnings for a good old endive dish, would only use three or four of them in a gratin. Braising them en masse was a complete luxury. Anyway – big sigh of relief – the dish worked out pretty well that evening, but not to be repeated for quite some time!
Here in France however, they are cheap and we eat them regularly, especially around October. A few years ago, I had to prepare a lunch at the last minute for some friends of friends travelling through the area. I added pan-fried chicken thigh fillets and julienned carrots to a pot of left-over braised endives and the result was really delicious. One of our lunch guests, the owner of a well-known bakery in Melbourne (yeah, not much pressure), was keen to get the recipe. High five! I was tres contente. I’ve been adding the chicken and the carrots for many a meal since.
But much to my husband’s relief (I’m someone that could eat the same dish 4 times in the one week if I like it), I’ve branched out and tried a new recipe – the traditional ‘Gratin d’Endives au Jambon’ (Endives and Ham Gratin). Once again, as is usual for all the recipes I prepare, this is pretty simple and easy to make. It is a particularly good dish for the Autumn-Winter months and with today’s maximum temperature reaching six degrees celsius, I think I should get to it and make some.
Here’s the recipe for you… (I should tell Claude I’ve finally made it)
Gratin d’Endives au Jambon (serves 6)
ingredients:
(note: my quantities are always on the generous side – I prefer to have left-overs than not enough!)
8-10 endives (depending on size)
8 slices ham
60g butter
60g plain flour
200g Swiss Gruyere, grated (the AOC Gruyere ‘Alpage’ or ‘Reserve’ are incredible! – and even available in Australia)
1 litre full cream milk
salt, pepper
olive oil
method:
Trim stems off endives, pull off any discoloured leaves, then cut in half (I do this to help with cooking them through and browning)
Fry the endives in a pan over a low-medium heat with a little olive oil. As they begin to brown (or burn!), you can pour in a small amount of white wine to keep the pan moist. Fry until golden/dark golden and moisture has evaporated
(NB: some like to steam or boil the endives to part cook them but I prefer to fry them as I find there is too much liquid in the baking dish later when serving)
+ Heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (about 7 or 8 on my gas oven) +
While the endives are cooking, prepare the cheese sauce (I like to grate the cheese before beginning the sauce so that your hands are free to keep stirring – and ready to be added when needed)
Melt butter in large saucepan
Heat milk in a different saucepan (it helps reduce overall cooking time if the milk is warm)
Stir in flour with a wooden spoon and cook for a few minutes over a gentle heat, stirring continuously.
Once it becomes a golden paste, pour in heated milk gradually, stirring continuously
(NB: How much milk you add depends on how thick or thin you like your sauce – my husband likes it thin and runny but I like it thickish and runny – so you may want to use less or more than the 1 litre. Just remember it will thicken over the heat eventually!)
add salt, pepper to taste
Once it comes to the boil, add the cheese and stir until melted.
Remove from heat.
Oil a large gratin/ baking dish
Gather your endive halves, wrapping two halves inside each slice of ham (as though it’s a whole endive)
Place them in the baking dish and pour cheese sauce over the top – add a little extra grated Gruyere if desired
Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden
et Voila!
(* this dish is a version of the one listed in the fabulous “French Farmhouse Cookbook” by Susan Herrmann Loomis)
Nothing like keeping the monsieur happy – and at this time more than any other. Harvest time means good, honest, country cooking and this very simple (the best kind!) lentil dish is a winner in our house. It’s easy and so versatile – it’s great on its own or delicious paired with country sausages, pork chops, lamb chops, whatever you feel like. They say that dried pulses were a staple in many homes during the harsh Winter months, a time when people also consumed more preserved, salted meats (no wonder I feel like large slabs of juicy ‘petit sale’ with my lentils).
And it’s another one of those dishes that tastes better and better each day it gets older!
I first tried this dish here in France at Benji’s parents’ house. A large cast-iron pot was plonked in the middle of the table and we helped ourselves to this comfort-food’ – the country sausages (mmn, like a bit of country saucisse, but not these!!) swimming in a dark brown-green mass of steaming lentils, with dollops of Dijon mustard, soaking it all up with crusty bread and wine.
I’m wondering if it was the first time I’d had ‘Puy’ lentils? These are a dark green/grey coloured lentil commonly found in ‘Le Puy’, in the Auvergne area of France. Grown in volcanic soil, they are very small and lovely to cook with as they retain their form. Until that time, all the lentil dishes I’d tried were mostly Indian influenced, eg dhal, using red or brown lentils. Come to think of it, I used to eat a lot more ‘Asian’-influenced dishes in Australia. Coriander, soy sauce, chillies and limes were far more common sights in the kitchen than wild thyme, bay leaves and olive oil. Who would have thought…
ingredients:
500g green Puy lentils (this will serve about 6 people)
2 onions, diced
4 carrots, chopped
250g salted pork, cut into chunks (optional)
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 sprig fresh thyme
bay leaf
country sausages/ frankfurters (1-2 per person) – (optional)
parsley and mustard for serving
pepper to taste (if you are using the salted pork you will not need to add any salt)
method:
Fry your onion until golden in a generous amount of olive oil, in a heavy casserole pot
+ During this time, boil a full kettle of water for pouring over the lentils later – the hot water greatly reduces the cooking time +
Add the roughly cut chunks of salted pork and fry for a few minutes, stirring frequently
Add the carrots and the garlic, give a good stir
Now add the lentils, stir well
Pour boiling water to cover well.
N.B. During the cooking, you will find that the lentils soak up a lot of water, you may need to add a second pot of boiling water over the mixture if you have no liquid left. I know, it may look like you are drowning the lentils with water, but believe me it does dry up!
Add herbs and pepper to taste.
N.B. You do not need to add salt if using the salted pork (I’ve made that mistake!) – but if you’re not using meat DO NOT salt at this point. – adding salt to lentils during cooking may toughen them up. Add it after the cooking.
Cover with lid and let simmer for one hour (if you have too much liquid, leave the lid slightly ajar) – or until lentils are tender.
Voila! – and enjoy with a light red or a dry white…
“1. a bundle or parcel. 2. that in which anything is packed, as a case, crate, etc. 5. to put into wrappings or a container.” – ‘Package, packaging’ from the Macquarie Dictionary, 2nd Edition, 1981
Do you remember when I let it slip that I have a thing for packaging? Mmn, yep, still have it and lately I feel like I’m being bombarded with even more wonderful examples of it, everywhere. At home, at the markets, at the vide-greniers (the village garage sales – something I must absolutely tell you about soon), at friends’ houses, in the guise of gifts from friends… everywhere.
Colours, texts, fonts, old, new, shabby or shiny… I can’t get enough of it – and if there’s a text or a word here or there in French, even better! It’s amazing how much you can improve your vocabulary just reading the fine print! (and probably a lot more educational than my dippings into, shock, horror – Voici).
At the moment I’m getting a buzz out of OLD packaging and the eg’s here are from either home (my mother-in-law is a great help here) – or from stands in the markets and vide-greniers. I understand why people start up businesses selling this stuff – there are crazy people out there, like me, who love it! But a lot of it can be quite expensive so I’m happy to admire it and ask permission to take a photo or two. Yes, I think I am mad!
So here’s a second instalment of boxes, tins, bottles I’ve seen here in France lately. I should add however, that not all these products are French. Some come from next door in Spain (thanks to Vincent who is aware of my condition) or further afar. But they seemed too lovely to leave out.
I hope you enjoy them!
The Vigneron's Wife 