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Ingredients1 kilo floury potatoes250g-500g butter (yes, half a kilo)250ml-500ml milk (basically you want your milk and butter together to weigh half what the potatoes weigh)10g saltMethodFirst, put down that potato peeler. That’s it, put it down. On the floor. Now kick it towards me. That’s right, nice and easy now.Please. Stop peeling your potatoes. It’s…
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Ingredients1 pastry case1 rice pudding1 Crème anglaise1 apple tartMethodAssemble in the above order, bottom to top. Eat. Burp. Lie down swearing you’ll never, ever eat so much ever again.Ha ha ha ha!OK, joke over because this pudding is No Joke. When I wrote the chapter about cooking it, I called it “Now THAT’S a pudding!”…
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Ingredients200g chopped or crushed almonds200g icing sugar50g plain flour2 whole eggs2 egg whites50g butterA little vanilla essence if you likeSome butter to grease your baking trayMethodAlmond Tuiles are excellent for a couple of reasons. First, they fast really excellent. Secondly, and most importantly, they give you Top Bragging Rights. “Mmm, these are lovely” your guests…
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Ingredients 1.5 kilos collar or shoulder of veal, cut into reasonable chunks 200g each of carrots, onions, leeks 100g celery 2 cloves 1 bouquet garni (leek leaf wrapped around herb stalks and a bay leaf) 2 litres veal stock (see recipe after chapter 5) For the velouté you need: 60g butter 60g flour (preferably cornflour)…
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Ingredients1 or more chicken carcasses with its giblets, if you have them (keep the liver apart – that’s some good eating right there)Per chicken carcass you will need:100g carrots, roughly chopped100g onion, roughly chopped200g tomatoes OR 20g concentrated tomato pasteBouquet garni (herb stalks, bay leaf, leek leaf wrapped together)1.5 litres waterMethod‘Brown’ because you roast the…
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Ingredients(Pretend this is a list of the ingredients you need to make pastry) OR a packet of ready-made pastry1.2 kilos of apples1 lemon40g sugar140g Apricot jam1 beaten eggMethodOK, let’s cut to the chase. There are three main parts to making a successful French-looking apple tart; the neatly-sliced and beautifully-arranged apples; the smear of apple compote…
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Ingredients1 litre milk8 − 10 egg yolks200-250g sugar1 (or more) vanilla pod(s)MethodThis is not, as I repeatedly tell my students now, English Cream. Or custard. Custard is something else entirely more horrible, powdery, icky and comforting.English cream simply doesn’t exist in the way they mean it, so get over that one.So, Crème anglaise is easy…
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Ingredients1 litre milk450g plain flour (type 45 or 55)100g sugar (optional)10g salt6 whole eggs200g butter500g apples10g cinnamonMethodDon’t say pancakes. Pancakes are what you eat with maple syrup for breakfast. These are crepes – light, lacy and French.So. Peel, core and large-dice your apples, fry them until lightly coloured in half the butter and sugar and…
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Ingredients1kg peas100g lettuce100g spring onions200g lardons or diced baconButterSugarSaltMethodIn the same way that a l’anglaise means cooking whatever in boiling, salted water, cooking something a la française means adding bacon bits, specifically lardons.Now, French people believe, incorrectly, that lardons straight out of the packet are already cooked and that there’s no need for any further…
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