French with Nicole

This recipe is from one of my favourite chefs, Raymond Blanc, and was demonstrated live last Saturday on his ITV programme  "Simply Raymond". "Tarte aux poires et aux amandes" translates into English as "Pear Frangipane tart or Pear Almondine".   Frangipane,  an almond-flavoured sweet pastry cream, is widely used in France in various desserts, pastries and cakes. Serves 6 to 8 people Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 20 to 25 minutes + 10 minutes cooling time. Ingredients 100 g unsalted butter, room temperature 100 g caster sugar 100 g ground almonds 1 teaspoon cornflour 1 egg, medium, organic/free-range 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 8 pear halves, tinned or from a jar 80 g melted butter to brush the inside of the tart ring or use spray oil To serve A handful flaked almonds (for extra flavour, first toast them in a dry pan) Icing sugar, for dusting Method Preheat the oven to 160°C. Place a tart ring, about 18cm x 2cm, on a lined baking tray

A great alternative for supper: a steaming bowl of fragrant mussels! Serves 4 Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time:   15 minutes Ingredients 50 g butter 4 shallots – chopped 1 celery stalk – chopped 2 garlic cloves - crushed ½ bunch of flat-leaf parsley – finaly chopped 400 ml dry white wine 2 kg live mussels, scrubbed and beards removed (discard any that stay open when sharply tapped) 150 ml double cream Sea salt and freshly ground pepper Method Melt the butter in a large saucepan and cook the shallots, celery, garlic and half of the parsley over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the shallots are softened but not brown. Add the wine to the pan and bring to the boil for 2 minutes Tip in the mussels, cover the pan tightly and simmer over a low heat for 2-3 minutes shaking the pan occasionally. With a slotted spoon, remove the cooked mussels and transfer them to a warm dish. Discard any mussels that did not open. Strain the cooking liquid through a fine sieve

  These airy cheese puffs make a perfect bite size appetiser. The recipe requires a bit of a “workout” but well worth the effort!   Preparation time: about 20 minutes Cooking time: 45 to 50 minutes Makes approximately 30 Gougères Ingredients 250 ml water 80 g unsalted butter 1 tsp sea salt 100 g plain flour, sifted 4 eggs 150 g grated Gruyère 1 tsp grated nutmeg ¼ tsp cayenne pepper (optional) Method Preheat the oven to 200C Boil together the water, butter and salt in a large saucepan. Remove from the heat and pour in all the flour in one go Whisk together until fully blended (keep persevering) and the mixture almost coming away from the sides of the pan in a ball. Leave the mixture to cool for 3-4 minutes. Add the first egg and whisk thoroughly. Add the remaining three eggs one by one, repeating the same process. Add the cheese, nutmeg and pepper. Once more, whisk to blend. The cheese may not fully become smooth but do not worry as it won’t affect the end-result. Line a

  A crisp, buttery crust with smooth, tangy lemon custard sum up this beautiful “tarte au citron traditionnelle” (classic French lemon tart ). Unlike the Lemon Meringue Pie, this tart does not traditionally feature a meringue top.   Serves 8 Preparation time: 45 minutes Cooking time: about 40 minutes Ingredients One standard pack of ready-made short crust pastry 250 ml of freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 6-7 lemons) Zest of 2 lemons (organic if possible) 150 g caster sugar 170 g butter (cubed) 4 large eggs + 4 large egg yolks Method Pastry Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Roll out the pastry to a circle approximately 12 inch in diameter.  Transfer the pastry to a greased 9 inch tart tin.  Trim the sides and prick the base with a fork.  Cover with baking parchment and a layer of baking beans (you can use any dried bean, rice or even pennies if you don’t have baking beans). Bake for 20 minutes .  Carefully remove the beans and parchment and bake for a further 10 minute