Beef Purses

Here’s  a recipe I found on a cookbook it was offered me by some friends  in London.
We went in Portobello’s Road and we entered the most amazing cookbooks-library I 've ever seen  since now . They asked me to choose a book and that’s the one I chose http://www.francinesegan.com/sk.html a book that I love so much , a source of inspiration for me, tough I think recipes are not so precise in quantities sometimes .
The recipe I made for Xmas is called ‘Beef Purses ‘ and I here it is , with some little changes of mine . It’s simply delicious so …..make full of them !

The recipe

The filling :

400 gr of ground round or sirloin
¼ of teaspoon of ground rosemary
½ cup of currants
1 tablespoon of fiely chopped candied ginger
¼ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon of freshly ground nutmeg
½ tablespoon of light brown sugar
½ teaspoon of salt
A  pinch of freshly grounded long pepper

A tablespoon of duck's grease or a tsp of olive oil

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and let refrigerate at least 6 hours , better overnight . Remove the mixture from the refrigerator 1 hour before baking .

The dough :

4OO gr of sifted pastry flour

2 egg’s yolks beaten
200 gr of butter cut in small cubes
½ teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon of sugar
iced sparkling water ( approx 50ml )
1 egg’s yolk beaten with 1 tsp of water

Mix the flour , the salt, the sugar and the butter with the tips of your hands till crumbly , make a hole in the middle , add the egg’s yolks and the water and mix toghether to obtain a smooth dough . Add a little bit of water if too dry . Flatten the dough with a rolling pin , fold the dough in three , flatten again , refold in three  ( you’ll obtain a perfect rectangle ) . Cover the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour , better overnight.

Preheat the oven at 350° F or 180° C .

Cut the dough in two , keep one piece in the refrigerator .Roll out  the dough ½ inch on a floured surface , cut circles using a 3,5-inch round ring cutter , place a full teaspoon of the  meat mixture on each circle , fold in two and pinch the edges to seal . Brush the purses with the mixture  egg-water and place them on a baking-pan covered with a baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes , until golden.

An olive tree in the middle of the village

Today I want to guide you into the very heart of a small village in Provence : Goult where I live  since last year , when I rented a house at the top of the village , near the mill . In  september I relocate  in the centre of the village and in front of my home there's an olive tree which was bought and planted by the people living around the little square.

So in November or December ( even if I'd agree for a later period ) all the ' owners' get togheter to pick up olives . Even the cat.....

This year our tree ( yeesssss....)  was very charged and we got about 50 kg of olives , that means that I'll have my bottle of oil . Because I helped .

I spent an amazing time with my new friends . Living in a village is quite different : people know each other ,and even if it's not so easy for new comers to be accepted at first , then with time we can be part of the community . Naturally you have to give something ....I began with ..offering biscuits for the Christmas party at " La salle de fêtes"  : great success !

La velouté de Potiron

Pumpkins in Provence

There are so many recipes for pumpkin soup so...I'll give mine . I love create recipes with the less of ingredients ( less is more ....) because I like to feel the taste of what I eat , nevertheless you have to choose the best products , otherwhise it won't work ! I love pumpkins but I never loved so much soups made with it , I wanted the taste of it , pure ....but not so sweet at the same time . Lemongrass gives a freshness to this soup , and the final result is a velvety , creamy ' velouté' , nobody believes that's so simple ! All my clients love it .

Ingredients for 4:

800 gr of pumkin roughly chopped and without skin

1  stalk of lemongrass

1 and 1/2 liter of vegetable stock

Ground ginger-powder

125 gr of double cream

Salt if needed

Put the chopped pumkin in a stockpot , cover the pumpkin with the vegetable-stock ( if you don't have cover with water and add one organic vegetable-stock cube and a csp of salt ) bring it to the boil and let it simmer till it gets tender ( about 30 minutes ) .Taste for the salt , put in the stalk of lemongrass and leave for 5 minutes then take off the stalk and mix till it comes velvety.

Wisk the cream with a little bit of salt and of ground ginger , pour the soup into the bowls , add a large spoon of cream on the top and serve immediatly. It' so simply delicious and easy to do ! 

French version

Soupe  de potiron à la citronnelle

Ingrédients pour 4 :

 800 gr de potiron

une tige de citronelle ( lemongrass) 

1 litre  et ½ de bouillon végétal (1 poireau , une carotte, une branche de céleri , 2 feuilles  de laurier , sel ) ou un cube de bouillon aux legumes bio

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

gingembre en poudre

125 gr de crémé fraîche

Emincez les légumes pour le bouillon , couvrez-les avec 1,8 litres d'eau , faites bouillir pendant 30 minutes avec le laurier et le sel , filtrez.

Epluchez le potiron , coupez-le en des et mettez-le dans un faitout avec le bâton de citronnelle décortiqué , couvrez avec le bouillon faites  cuire jusqu'à le potiron sera bien tendre , mixez pour obtenir une velouté .Fouettez la crème avec un peu de sel et de gingembre en poudre à l'aide d'un fouet à main , juste pour l'avoir un peu plus épaisse . Versez la velouté dans des bols , posez une cuillerée de crème et servez aussitôt.

C'est delicieux et très facile !

Pumkins in Paris

La crema di zucca alla citronella

Ingredienti x 4

800 gr di zucca brodo vegetale sale 1 gambo di citronella

250 gr di panna acida pepe di sechuan sale

Tagliare a cubetti la zucca , metterla in una pentola profonda , coprirla di brodo vegetale ( oppure acqua e un dado di verdure biologico ) , fare cuocere fino a che la zucca é morbida. Mettere il gambo di citronella ( se non la trovate potete sostituire con un pezzo d zenzero) lasciare in infusione 10 mn .Togliere la citronella , aggiustare di sale , frullare tutto con un frullatore a immersione :otterrete una crema deliziosamente densa senza dover aggiungere altro. Servire con una cucchiaiata di panna acida e un po di pepe di sechuan pestato.

My Christmas Table in Provence

Here's My Xmas Table ....in Provence this year ( for the first time ....yeeessssssss : my son is coming here )
Con questa foto partecipo al "gioco" La tavola di Natale " di Csaba dalla Zorza e ' Un Tocco di Zenzero'

Ravioli with scallops in fennel sauce

Yesterday M. asked me to make some ravioli filled with scallops : not so easy really.Scallops are very delicate in savour & you must py attention not to overcook them also .I slept over it and this morning when I woke up I had the recipe in my mind :scallops are just tender and juicy , the dough as a neutral taste , not to overwhelm the filling and the fennel sauce so light . I think it makes a wonderful entrée for a refined dinner ( in this case 2 or 3 ravioli each would be enough )

Ingredients for 16 ravioli

The dough :

140 gr of white flour

60 gr of rice flour


Water


The scallops


16 scallops ( very fresh ! )


10 gr of butter

1 spoon of extra-virgin-olive oil


1 spoon of pastis


2 leaves of algue ( dulse )


The sauce


1 big fennel

1 spoon of extra-virgin-olive oil


1 csp of  fleur de sel


Pinch of safran


Pinch of  ground Piment d’Espelette ( pay attention if you find a very strong one)


Pinch of wild fennel seeds