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Menu of the Month
Soufflé d’avocat au crabe - [French Fare]
Serves 4
The light texture and delicate flavours of this soufflé will delight your tastebuds. If desired, replace crab flesh with king prawns or smoked salmon. Serve with a glass of chilled dry white wine or rosé.
Ingredients
3 ripe avocados
1 × 170g / 1 × 6oz tin crab flesh in brine
55g / 2oz flour
400ml / 14fl oz milk
4 whole eggs
2 egg whites
55g / 2oz butter
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 pinch cayenne
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1. Grease and flour four individual soufflé dishes. Preheat oven to 200ºC (400ºF).
2. Halve the avocados and spoon flesh out. Roughly mash with mustard and cayenne. Season with salt and pepper. Melt butter. Remove from heat and mix in flour. Stir milk in gradually until smooth. Cook over low heat, stirring continuously, until sauce thickens (this takes approximately 10 minutes). Remove from heat.
3. Mix in egg yolks, drained crab flesh and mashed avocados. Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until firm, and fold delicately into crab and avocado mixture. Pour into prepared dishes and bake for 25 minutes. Serve immediately.
Tip: Make sure not to open the oven door while baking as your soufflés will deflate in no time.
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Chicken in tomato sauce - [French Fare]
Serves 8
This chicken casserole can be frozen, or made the day before and reheated. This makes it a good choice if you want to throw a dinner party without the stress.
Ingredients
6 cloves garlic
1 bunch parsley
600g / 1lb 5oz chicken
100ml / 3½fl oz condensed milk
1 pinch cayenne
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 × 410g / 2 × 14½oz tins tomatoes in juice
Salt and pepper
1. Peel and finely chop garlic cloves. Chop parsley and fry in a deep pan with garlic and one tablespoon olive oil.
2. Add the tomatoes and blend, preferably in a food processor or with an electric blender. Season with salt, pepper and cayenne.
3. Cut chicken into strips and cook in a frying pan with remaining olive oil. Add to the tomato sauce. Mix in the concentrated milk and simmer over low heat for 45 minutes. Serve with basmati rice and a green salad.
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Crèmes vanille et chocolat - [French Desserts]
Serves 12
If you are after a simple yet truly indulgent treat that will only take you a few minutes to prepare, this is it. These creams will appeal to most people and don’t require you to be the greatest chef ever. They are also well suited to many different flavours: chocolate and vanilla are the ones presented here but nothing stops you from experimenting with lemon essence, berries, or coconut milk which also give great results. Just make sure not to bake the creams at a higher temperature than that specified, or for too long to avoid curdling.
Ingredients
500ml / 17fl oz milk
500ml / 17fl oz fresh cream
1 vanilla pod
6 eggs
150g / 5½oz white sugar
100g / 3½oz dark chocolate
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1. Preheat oven to 180ºC (350ºF). Halve the vanilla pod lengthways and place in a pan with the milk and cream. Bring to the boil.
2. Beat the eggs and sugar together until pale yellow. After removing the vanilla pod, pour the boiling milk and cream over the egg mixture and beat well. Pass through a sieve over another mixing bowl.
3. Break the chocolate into pieces in a bowl. Put aside half of the milk and egg mixture and pour the rest over the chocolate pieces, stirring until the chocolate has completely melted.
4. Pour both the chocolate and vanilla creams into individual ovenproof dishes. Place these small dishes in a large ovenproof dish half-filled with water. Bake for 30 minutes or until just set.
5. Sprinkle the vanilla creams with cinnamon. If you can wait, refrigerate before serving!
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© copyright Christelle Le Ru
Simply Irresistible French Desserts (CLR Books, 2005),
French Fare (CLR Books, 2006),
Passion Chocolat (CLR Books, 2007)
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