Tag: home cooking

Spaghetti aux palourdes (alle vongole)

The vigneron's wife

Sharing recipes is no way complete, without this favourite favourite dish on the list and I can’t believe I haven’t posted ‘Spaghetti all vongole’ (ie clams, palourdes – as you wish to say it) yet!

Naked Wines (UK and US) kindly posted a photo of our clam pasta/ ‘Spaghetti vongole’ dish online (served with Ben’s Pique Nique Blanc)- and it got me thinking, I should share what’s in it! So I posted the recipe there, and now it’s here at HQ…

This is a super quick and simple dish, and I’ve more or less always followed the Jamie Oliver version (that you can find online). We ate ours outside – yay! – our first dinner outdoors for the season, and with Ben’s Pique Nique (unashamed plug)… it was hard for me to stop eating and drinking.

Perhaps a good thing it was just the one meal outside this week.

I hope you give it a try!



“Spaghetti aux palourdes’ (ie ‘vongole’, ‘clams’ Frenchie style)

+ 1.5 kg rinsed clams
+ 3 x roughly chopped ripe tomatoes/ 15 or so halved cherry tomatoes
+ 2 x finely chopped shallots (or 1x small onion)
+ 4 garlic cloves (I squash them under the knife and then add to pan without chopping)
+ 1 x cup white wine
+ small chopped chilli/ chilli flakes to taste
+ olive oil
+ large handful of chopped parsley and cracked pepper for serving

– Put a large pot of water on to boil*
– In a second large pot over medium-high heat, fry shallots in a generous serving of olive oil until golden
– Increase flame/ electric setting to high heat and add garlic, chilli and tomatoes, stir for 5 minutes, or until softened and colouring
– Add the white wine, stirring continuously

* while you are frying, check to see when water is boiling, and add pasta and cook until al dente

– Once liquid has heated up, pour in clams and put a lid on the pot
– Clams should start opening after 4-5 minutes, keep mixing them around/ shuffling the pot until open.

With clams cooked, pasta cooked – serve with generous scattering of parsley and – cheeky plug!! – a chilled glass of Pique Nique Blanc or Pique Nique Rosé!

Et voila! Bon appetit.

Kat xoxo

a good tart

The vigneron's wife

I love a good tart.

Tarts are for hot days on the terrace, warm Summer nights… sitting around a table nibbling on crisp, flaky pastry adorned with fresh tomatoes and basil, and washing it all down with a cold glass of Rose.

In the colder months, it can be a warming slice of delicious saltiness – crisp and topped with the vegetables that I always seem to have in my fridge at this time of year: leeks, onions, mushrooms, spinach. Sprinkle in some hearty bacon pieces, grated Gruyere cheese, cream/yoghurt, garlic and herbs, and you have a seriously good tart on your table.

The tart of the moment in our house is this Winter version.

The market stalls are laden with leeks, onions, spinach and mushrooms and it’s a dish that makes for a delightful lunch or light dinner, served alongside a tossed green salad. It’s also a wonderful left-over served cold or slightly warmed in the oven.

Note: If you are like me and enjoy the flavours of a dish even more on day 2, I like to prepare the filling of this Winter tart the night before. Not only are the flavours of the leek, garlic, onion and bacon all beautifully melded together, it also makes it a super quick meal to prepare the next day if you have the bulk of the filling already sorted.

p.s. a small note on the word ‘tart’ as opposed to ‘quiche’. I personally just prefer the word – tart – or savoury tart to quiche, but I’ve often wondered if I was correct to use this term. I have since been told that I can use it… while a quiche is usually only savoury, a tart can be both, either a sweet version, or the savoury version with the egg ‘custard’ filling. And either of these become a pie when you add a pastry lid. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong!

p.p.s. our local market is full of apples right now, and for a quick, easy apple tart, simply scatter almond flour over pastry to thinly cover and place sliced apples, place about 6-8 knobs of butter and a generous sprinkling of sugar over the top, and bake until golden.

Winter Leek and Mushroom Tart

ingredients:

1 x packet flaky pastry, 230g

(I have a confession to make. I have never made my own flaky pastry 🙄. When I make these tarts here in France, I always buy my pastry (‘pâte feuilletée’ in a packet of 230g) as it is very good. One day I’ll take the leap)

3 x eggs

200ml fresh cream or plain yoghurt

100ml full-cream or skim milk (I always have a little milk on hand to add to the egg and cream/yoghurt mixture if you don’t think it will be enough to cover the cooked vegetables spread over the tart base)

1-2 cups of grated Swiss Gruyere cheese (as you wish)

200g bacon pieces

1 x onion, chopped or sliced finely

3 x leeks washed and sliced thinly

12 (approx!) x mushrooms, sliced or quartered

option – a cup of blanched spinach if desired

olive oil

salt and pepper (note the mixture might already be salty from the bacon)

fresh or dried thyme to sprinkle on top

method:

Fry onion and leek in large pan over low/medium heat until golden (approx. 25-30 mins.

Pre-heat oven to 190-200 degrees Celsius (375 F/ gas mark 6) when onion/ leek is almost golden.

Add crushed garlic, mushrooms and bacon and fry till takes colour, stirring well.

Remove pan from heat.

Line a 28-30cm diameter tart tin* with baking paper, place pastry and scallop the edges.

Sprinkle grated cheese evenly over tart pastry.

Spoon the cooked vegetables over pastry, making sure evenly covered.

If adding blanched spinach or silverbeet, layer over top.

Whisk eggs with cream/ yoghurt – and add salt and pepper as desired.

Pour egg mixture over pastry/ vegetables, tilting and turning the tin to ensure that it spreads evenly over mix.

Sprinkle over the thyme, and a little extra grated cheese if desired.

Place in middle of oven and cook for 35-40 minutes, or until golden (check after first 25 minutes to see how it looks).

Et voila, Bon appetit!

Kat xoxo

Pssst. Speaking of wine🍷. We’re a house that is happy to drink Ben’s Rose all year round – and always like serving a chilled pale pink glass with this dish. But if you’re not, you could always serve this with a crisp white wine (Ben’s is pretty damn good!) or a chilled, slightly sweet fortified French wine like a Rivesaltes (this one is also pretty damn good!).

*N.B. I don’t use porcelain or glass because the pastry doesn’t cook so well, sometimes turning soggy

Chilli con carne

The vigneron's wife
Chilli con Carne (paired with Benji’s ‘Benjamin Darnault 2019 Minervois’)

It’s blowing a gale out on this Autumn day – it’s miserable weather!
– a perfect evening to savour a heart and stomach-warning ‘Chilli con carne’!

Our daughter Lilas begged me for a long time to cook her a Chilli con Carne. She’d discovered the dish at a friend’s house and every time she returned home, would remind me of my promise to make our own.
There is only so long you can make an 8-year-old wait – so thanks to Lilas (just like the chocolate cake!) I have been making this version, found on Jamie Oliver’s website, ever since.

What’s good about this Chilli con carne? Chickpeas along with the kidney beans lightening it all up, making it a little less ‘meaty’.

A few tips –

  1. I always double the quantity from the original recipe, so listed here is my doubled version.
    To be honest, for people like me who chop slowly (!) it’s a time-consuming dish as you chop the vegetables finely – so I prefer to go for it and make more than less, with the bonus of (even tastier) left-overs (I am a huge left-overs fan!).
  2. I order half beef mince and half beef rib/topside pieces to use (and cut the beef chunks into 3-4cm pieces) as we enjoy the variation in texture. Using only mince, I find the meat ‘disappears’ into the sauce.
  3. For best, tasty results, cook this at least one day ahead. The spices really come through on day 2 (like a good red wine).

Chilli con carne

ingredients:

1kg beef (500g minced/500g beef rib or topside pieces)
olive oil
4 x onions
5 x cloves garlic
4 x carrots
4 x sticks celery
4 x red capsicum/peppers
1 tablespoon chilli powder *
1 tablespoon ground cumin *
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon *
2 x 400 g tin chickpeas
2 x 400 g tin red kidney beans
4 x 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
bunch of fresh coriander (separate leaves from stalks)

* I am constantly tasting the pot as it cooks and often add more

method:

method:

Peel and finely chop the onion and fry over a medium heat, in a large cast-iron pot, with a few tablespoons of olive oil, until slightly golden.

Add garlic and finely chopped carrot, celery, peppers and add the chilli, cumin, cinnamon, salt and pepper and fry until soft, about 15-20 minutes.

Add drained tinned kidney beans and chick peas and tomatoes, breaking up tomatoes, add chopped coriander stalks. Stir.

Add the beef, breaking up the mince and pour two cans of water and balsamic vinegar into pot.

Bring to the boil, then lower heat to simmer, and cover with lid (or ajar if you want it to reduce a little). Cook for about 1 hour.

Serve with steamed rice, Coriander leaves, yoghurt and fresh wedges of lemon or lime.

Cheeky plug…
Why not serve it with Benji’s beautiful Minervois* red – or if you like pairing spicy with a white wine, his Viognier?!*

Et voila!

Kat xoxo

*Benjamin Darnault Minervois 2019, available in the UK here and in the US here
*Benjamin Darnault Viognier 2019, available in the UK here and in the US here

Mamy Jeanne’s Jardinière de Légumes

The vigneron's wife

 

jardiniere cooking

It’s the season of peas.  How delicious and sweet they are – served in the pods as a nibble during the aperitif, or boiled or steamed.  I grew up with my fair share of them – Mum always hid them in the mashed potato –  and I loved them like that even if ‘green’ was a no-go zone at the time.  But I must say that the peas we ate were more of the frozen in a bag variety (feeding a family takes a lot of shelling I now realise).  Now it’s a delight to find so many fresh peas around at the markets and Lilas and I’ve had a great time sitting amongst the rows of vineyards (Benjamin uses them as a ‘green fertiliser’) picking and eating them.

pea

 

Lilas shelling peas for Mum
Lilas shelling peas with her Mum

 

 

A couple of years ago, my parents-in-law brought Mamy Jeanne with them to stay at our place (Mamy Jeanne is Benjamin’s maternal grandmother and ever since my arrival in France has been a huge support – even when my French was non-existant and communication was conveyed by gestures).  Not one to sit around and enjoy  being waited on , Mamy wanted to help contribute to the numerous family reunions we were having that week and prepare a few of her favourite Spring dishes from over the years.  And we’re talking a few Springtimes here – Mamy is 90 and also been known to wield a ping-pong bat in games against the great-grandchildren.

Mamy Jacqueline et Mamy Jeanne
I just love this photo of the two Mamys: Here is Mamy Jeanne on the right and Mamy Jacqueline on the left

jardiniere on stove

So I took Mamy to the local market and she was very keen to buy up on the peas.  She wanted to show me how to make a Jardinière de Légumes (as one of my husband’s favourite dishes, it was almost a family duty to add this to the repertoire) and I was very eager to hover over the stove as she did it.

When the peas are abundant in Spring and you have the arrival of the other ‘legumes nouveaux’ (new vegetables), this dish is served on many French tables.  It’s extremely easy, colourful and healthy. We had some Australian friends to stay recently and with a couple of vegetarians amongst them, it was a perfect meal.

Mamy Jeanne’s Jardinière de Légumes

(please note that quantities are approximate – I vary them, depending on how it looks in the pot) 

ingredients:

10 or so lettuce leaves (any type of green salad leaf)

10 carrots

10 potatoes

6 turnips

4 onions – or about 8-10 new baby onions

367 432 peas (that’s what it seems like – but make it about 800g, unshelled)

bay leaves

fresh thyme

butter, olive oil

salt, pepper

salted pork (this is optional – depending on how you feel and if there any any vegos)

 

method:

First I like to fry the onion in a good chunk of butter and olive oil until almost golden as I enjoy the sweetness (and easier for hubby to digest).

(I read a recipe where a women likes to caramelize a bit of sugar in her pot first, but I really don’t think you need to when the new vegetables are so sweet and fresh)

Once onion is done, add the salad leaves and stir well until leaves are floppy.  If using pork, add now too.

            Then add the carrots, potatoes, turnips, all cut into random, small chunks (some like to perfectly dice each vegetable but I think this looks too neat!), and herbs.

            Add water to the pot, until vegetables are just covered, close lid and simmer after boiling for about one hour – or until vegetables are to your liking (the French have a reputation for very well-cooked vegetables, something unheard of in the Asian-focused cuisine so popular in Australia!)

Remember to add the shelled peas about half-an hour into the cooking time.  I don’t like to add them from the beginning as they can get mushy.

 

Serve on its own or as an accompaniment to veal, pork or chicken, with a big pot of French mustard on the side.

jardiniere 3

Bon Appetit!

P.S. There are many, many versions of a Jardinière, this recipe below came from a treasured copy in her cookbook collection…

 

'Les Recettes Faciles' (easy Recipes) by Francoise Bernard, Librairie Hachette, 1965
‘Les Recettes Faciles’ (easy Recipes) by Francoise Bernard, Librairie Hachette, 1965

Francoise Bernard's version
Francoise Bernard’s version

 

 

Simple Country Lentils*

The vigneron's wife

(* this dish is a version of the one listed in the fabulous “French Farmhouse Cookbook” by Susan Herrmann Loomis)

a simple lentil dish
a very simple lentil dish – minus the sausages

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).

porc demi-sel
pork for your fork
(‘petit sale’ or ‘porc demi-sel’)

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…

Simple Country Lentils

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

lentils 1
add the lentils and stir

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!

lentils 2
pour boiling water over the lentils etc and then cover

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…