Recette: Sablés de Noël

A batch of freshly baked biscuits always makes the perfect hostess gift – and this recipe for classic French Christmas shortbread requires minimal effort for maximum reward.

Crumbly and oh-so-buttery, they’ll become your new festive season go-to.

*Bon appétit! Merci à Marmiton pour la recette.

*Enjoy! Thank you to Marmiton for the recipe.

Sneak Peek into 'le nid': Quel est ton fromage français préféré?

Creamy or hard, nutty or tangy, mild or *puant, French cheeses offer a world of indulgent texture and flavour.

Nevertheless, we asked our *profs to play favourites – naming their *fromage français préféré to deck your boards this entertaining season.

Sarah
I love Camembert on the barbecue — it’s so delicious when it melts and you can dip a baguette into it.

Justine
My favourite is Gorgonzola cheese, creamy and tangy.

Anaïs
I love Morbier: its creamy and mild. Great on its own, with bread or melted on potatoes (like raclette)

*stinky | *teachers | *favourite French cheese

Recette: Tartiflette

With roots in the snowy Alps in Savoie, Tartiflette is a rich, ultra-comforting dish made with potatoes, reblochon cheese, onions and lardons – cooked until until molten and golden.

While traditionally a cold-weather go-to, we think the French potato bake is irresistible all year round. Serve yours with a fresh *salade verte and crisp white wine on balmy nights. Delish!

*Bon appétit! Merci au Marmiton pour la recette.

* green salad | *Enjoy! Thank you to Marmiton for the recipe

Recette: Pâté de Pâques Berrichon

Looking for something to serve up this Easter instead of a classic lamb roast? This recipe for Pâté de Pâques Berrichon is well worth a try.

Originating in the Berry region in central France, the seasonal dish, signifying the end of Lent, is a *pâté en croûte with a filling of pork and veal mince and hard-boiled *œufs encased in a golden puff pastry shell. 

PÂTÉ DE PÂQUES BERRICHON (POUR 6)

1 cuillère à café de muscade
1 teaspoon of nutmeg

2 pincées de sel
2 pinches of salt

2 tours de moulin de poivre
2 turns of the pepper mill

3 brins de persil
3 sprigs of parsley

1 pâte feuilletée
1 sheet of puff pastry

150 g de viande hachée porc et veau
150g of minced pork and veal

3 oeufs
3 eggs

ÉTAPE 1

Faire cuire les oeufs pour qu'ils soient durs.
Cook the eggs until they are hard-boiled.

ÉTAPE 2

Etaler la pâte feuilletée.
Roll out the puff pastry.

ÉTAPE 3

Mélanger la viande, le persil et les épices.
Mix the meat, parsley and spices.

ÉTAPE 4

Faire un boudin de viande au milieu de la pâte.
Make a meat sausage in the middle of the dough.

ÉTAPE 5

Une fois que les oeufs sont froids, les couper en deux et les disposer sur la viande.
Once the eggs are cold, cut them in half and place them on the meat.

ÉTAPE 6

Refermer la pâte feuilletée sur le côté, pour que ce soit bien hermétique.
Close the puff pastry on the side so that it is airtight.

ÉTAPE 7

Vous pouvez badigeonner le pâté avec du jaune d'oeuf.|
You can brush the pie with egg yolk.

ÉTAPE 8

Percer quelques trous sur le dessus et faire cuire 30 minutes à 200°C (thermostat 6-7).
Make a few holes on top and bake for 30 minutes at 200°C (thermostat 6-7). 

Bon appétit*!

Merci au Marmiton pour la recette*.

*meat pâté baked in a pastry crust | *eggs | *Enjoy! | *Thank you to Marmiton for the recipe.

Recette: Vin Chaud

If you’re not lucky enough to be visiting the French Christmas markets this year, don’t despair. You can still enjoy the perfect verre de vin chaud* – in the (air-conditioned) comfort of your home.

Ideal for serving at any festive season soirée*, this traditional mulled wine will be a hit with family and friends. Filling your home with the delectable sweet, spiced scent of orange, cinnamon and star anise.

Santé*! 

Merci à Marmiton pour la recette*.

*A glass of mulled wine | *Cheers! *Thank you to Marmiton for the recipe.

Recette: Aligot

Searching for the ultimate indulgent side for your next dinner party – calories de damned? Then look no further than the creamy, cheesy, carb-laden French dish, aligot* (or cheesy mashed potatoes).

From pommes de terre fondants* to Pommes Anna* and tartiflette, the French are masters at elevating the humble spud to dizzying gustatory heights. And silky, stretchy, garlic-infused aligot – a speciality of the Aubrac region in the south of Auvergne – is a decadent taste sensation.

Just make sure you’re prepared for an arm workout as this side requires A LOT of stirring.

Tip: The recipe calls for tomme fraîche d'Auvergne – a semi-hard cow’s milk cheese that can be hard to source. If it’s not on offer at your local cheesemonger, Gruyère and Comté make good substitutes.

Bon appétit*!

Merci au Marmiton pour la recette*.

*cheesy mashed potatoes | *fondant potatoes | *Potatoes Anna | *Enjoy! | *Thank you to Marmiton for the recipe.

Chocolat Chaud

Is it just us, or does chocolate become even more enticing when it’s cold outside? While the Brisbane winter isn’t exactly glacial*, it’s the perfect time to warm up with a classic, French-style chocolat chaud* – and this video shows you how to prep one like a pro.

Stock up on the ingredients below, then follow the simple recipe and enjoy a piping hot mug.

*freezing | *hot chocolate

Recette: Pot-au-feu

Now that l’automne* chill is finally in the air, do you find yourself wanting to swap the summer salads for heartier fare? Well then, you’re in luck! This simple pot-au-feu* is a classic French recipe that will fill your family’s bellies and warm the cockles of your heart.

 
Bon appétit*!

Merci au Marmiton pour la recette*.

*autumn | *beef stew | *Enjoy! | *Thank you to Marmiton for the recipe.

Recette: Galette des Rois

Keen to bake something sucré* but had your fill of cannelés (for now)? With an almond cream centre enclosed in buttery, golden puff pastry, la galette des rois or ‘king cake’ will surely become a new favourite.

Easy to make (and difficult to resist), la galette des rois is served throughout France during Epiphany. Taking place on the 6th of January, the religious holiday commemorates the visit of the three wise men to baby Jesus.

The French celebrate the occasion by baking or buying this cake, which features une fève*, traditionally a dried broad bean, hidden inside. Whoever finds the surprise in their slice is named king or queen for the evening and earns the honour of wearing a paper crown.

Just remember to mention this hidden treat to unsuspecting invité(e)s*!

Merci au Marmiton pour la recette*.

*sweet | *a trinket/ a broad bean (fava bean) | *guests | *Enjoy! | *Thank you to Marmiton for the recipe.

Recette: Gratin Dauphinois

Pommes frites*, tartiflette, aligot… The French sure know their way around a root veg and have a knack for elevating the humble spud into a gustatory sensation. Notre plat préféré*, toutefois*, is the creamy, dreamy delight that is gratin dauphinois. For your next dinner party (or all for toi-même*), give this pomme de terre*-packed recipe a go.

Bon appétit*!

Merci à Marmiton pour la recette*.

*French fries | *our favourite dish | *however | *potato | *yourself | *Enjoy! | *Thank you to Marmiton for the recipe

Recette: Kir Royal

Planning a dinner party and want to impress tes amis* with un apero* you can prepare in under two minutes? Let us present the incredibly simple, always impressive Kir Royal. Featuring just two ingredients, champagne and traditional French blackberry liqueur Crème de cassis, this fresh and fruity beverage is the perfect accompaniment to une gougère au fromage.  

Santé*!

Merci à Marie Claire pour la recette*.

*your friends | *an aperitif (pre-dinner drink) | *for one | *Cheers! | *Thank you to Marie Claire for the recipe

Recette: Gougères au fromage

Not doing Dry January? Might we suggest these cheesy little clouds of goodness as the perfect accompaniment to un apéro*? Crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, French cheese puffs are indecently delicious – nous vous défions d'arrêter à une*!

Merci à Marmiton pour la recette*.

*an aperitif (pre-dinner drink) | *we dare you to stop at one! | *Thank you to Marmiton for the recipe

Recette: baguette facile

Who doesn’t like the sound of a baguette magique*? Here’s la recette*…

Merci à Cuisine Actuelle pour la recette*.

*magic baguette (by the way, the word ‘baguette’ in French means so many things: chopstick, drumstick, conductor’s baton and, more colloquially, legs!) | *the recipe | *Thank you to Cuisine Actuelle for the recipe

Madeleine de Proust

Talk turned to madeleines* this week at Lingua Franca, which in and of itself, is not a rare occurrence.

However, for once we weren’t rhapsodising about their buttery delights, rather the talk was of les souvenirs* and what provokes them. Pourquoi*?

Because Marcel Proust, a privileged but poorly French writer, who was confined to his bed for much of his life, wrote of an événement déclencheur* in the first volume of his classic text À la Recherche du Temps Perdu*. That event was being handed a madeleine and une tasse de thé* by his mother as he was convalescing, and the taste of that delicious madeleine immediately transported him back to his childhood, when his Tante Léonie* would offer him a taste of hers after she’d dipped it in her lime-flower tea.

With the work spanning seven volumes and containing more than a million words, Proust is not known for his vitesse*. In fact, the madeleine incident occurs only on page 95, so it’s fair to say he’s not a man in a hurry. Nonetheless, the scene is widely recognised as the point where the book really takes off, as detailed in this excellent article from the Penguin website.

Proust had his fans (Virginia Woolf, Grahame Greene, Victor Nabakov) as well as his his detractors (Somerset Maugham, Kazuo Ishiguro) but it’s unlikely any of them would turn down a petite madeleine* if offered by a caring and affectionate aunt.

If all this talk of les pâtisseries* has served to réveiller vos papilles*, voici la recette* again.

Un grand merci à Kathryn* who brought this delightful sujet* to the table at her class on Wednesday night.

*a traditional small cake from the Lorraine region | *memories | *Why? | *trigger event | *In Search of Lost Time | *a cup of tea | *Aunt Léonie | *speed | *little madeleine | *pastries | *wake up your tastebuds | *here is the recipe | *A big thank you to Kathryn | *subject

La Bûche de Noël*

Source : marieclaire.fr

Savez-vous que*…

La Bûche de Noël is the traditional cake served at Christmas in France. If you’ve been interested in French language, culture or cuisine for a little while, you may very well already know this. However, do you know the origins of this most recognisable of desserts français*?

Tradition has it that on the longest night of the year (le solstice d’hiver*), French pagans would burn an enormous log to stave off the freezing temperatures, bien sûr*, but also as an offering to the gods to ensure a plentiful harvest in the coming year.

While it’s unlikely you’ll want to recreate the heat of a burning log in our sweltering southern climes, you may wish to set yourself the challenge of making this spécialité hivernale*. Voici la recette* (it’s in French but if you need some help, just click on any term for the English translation. Bon courage!*

*The Christmas Log | *Did you know that | *French desserts | *the winter solstice | *of course | *winter specialty | *Here’s the recipe | *Good luck!

Recette : Gratin Dauphinois

There's only one...well deux* words for this delicious French version of comfort food: miam, miam*. Cuisinez bien*!

*two | *yum, yum | *Happy cooking!

Picture and recipe source : www.delscookingtwist.com

Rillettes recipe

Since it’s not commonplace for rillettes* to be included on the menu at Australian restaurants, I jumped at the chance to order them recently when on a p’tit week-end.*

So inspired was I by the ritual of spreading the confit pork onto toasted baguette on a cold winter’s day, I thought I might have a go at making some myself. I found a recipe, but fainéante* that I am, as soon as I saw an ingredient I didn’t recognise and a cooking time that totalled six hours, my desire mysteriously vanished.

I then remembered that one of the équipe*, Caroline, had brought in some homemade tuna rillettes a few months previously and they were absolutely délicieuses*, and even more importantly très simple* to make. So, if you have a can of tuna, some other fairly basic ingredients and 10 minutes up your sleeve, making this recipe will be time very well spent, indeed. Bon courage!*

PS c à s =cuillère à soupe (soup spoon), and
c à d = cuillère à dessert = dessert spoon

*Meat, fish or poultry that's been chopped or shredded, seasoned with salt and pepper and preserved slowly in its own fat | *weekend away | *lazybones | *team | *delicious | *very simple | *Good luck!

Crêpe Bretonne

Love a crêpe*? If so, you’ll be highly motivated to read the following passage en français*. If you find the task a bit fatigant*, though, we’ve provided an English translation for you below. Bonne lecture*.

La crêpe bretonne est un plat traditionnel consommé couramment en Basse-Bretagne. Devenue particulièrement renommée en France et ailleurs, elle est également servie dans des crêperies, nature ou garnie d’ingrédients divers, salés ou sucrés suivant la recette de base.

La crêpe bretonne peut être confectionnée à base de froment (crêpe sucrée) ou de sarrasin (crêpe salée, typique de Basse-Bretagne). Cette dernière est moins connue et ne doit pas être confondue avec la galette de blé noir, typique de Haute-Bretagne, et dont la recette diffère.

Compliqué, oui! Délicieux ? Sans aucun doute.

Breton Crêpes are a traditional dish widely enjoyed in Basse-Bretagne (Lower Brittany). Known not only in France but elsewhere around the world as well, you can get them from crêpe vendors where you’ll find both plain or stuffed with various ingredients, and savoury or sweet according to the recipe.

Breton Crêpes can be made from wheat (sweet crêpes) or from buckwheat (savoury crêpes, typically from Basse-Bretagne). Buckwheat crêpes are less well-known and should not to be confused with buckwheat pancakes, which are typically from Haute Bretagne (Upper Brittany) and follow a different recipe.

Complicated, yes! Delicious? Without a doubt.

*crepe | *in French | *tiring | *Happy reading!

Recette: Gâteau au yaourt

The French have a love of simplicité* and it would be hard to find a better example of it than in this recette* for gâteau au yaourt (yoghurt cake).

Traditionally the first cake a child would learn to make, at around three or four years of age, it’s perfectly designed for de petites mains*.

Even if a child has not come to grips with the metric system, they will certainly know their way around a yoghurt tub, and this is the only measurement needed to pull off this delicious recipe.

The first step is simply to empty a small tub of yoghurt (150g) into a bowl, and the empty tub then becomes the measuring cup for the rest of the ingredients. Génial*!

Lingua Franca tutor David has kindly offered up his version for you. Let us know how you go!

*simplicity | *recipe | *little hands

French Christmas Food

A French Christmas dinner is traditionally shared en famille* on the evening of the 24th December. True traditionalists will have a light supper before attending la messe de minuit*, then return home to the real sit-down dinner, which can last until 4am!

Florence from My Parisian Kitchen, a bilingual French cooking blog, has published her top picks for a traditional feast below, and though times are changing in France as everywhere, a quick straw poll au nid* revealed the team were plus ou moins* in agreement. Bon appétit*!

And let’s not forget le champagne*, of course! As per the My Parisian Kitchen article:

“This is not a dish but is actually something you definitely have to serve for a classic French Christmas eve dinner. You may want to pour in crème de cassis blackcurrant liquor to make a Kir Royal. But if the champagne is good, there’s no need!”

— Florence (My Parisian Kitchen)

[Read full article]

*with the family | *midnight mass | *the champagne | *at the nest | *more or less | *Happy eating!