Learn to cook like the French with this cookbook from Serge Dansereau.
French chef Serge Dansereau shares with us the kind of food he cooks at home, the simple combination of wonderful produce with expert French technique. Many of the recipes also offer seasonal or storecupboard variations so that they can be adapted to what is in the kitchen or markets all year round.
Substitute an ingredient here or there, you can turn a summer dish into a winter one, or adapt it to suit whatever you have in your pantry. French Kitchen also has recipes for every time of day.
Cook and eat your way through buttery brioche and baked peaches for breakfast, a salmon, potato and cream gratin for lunch, a piece of Basque custard cake for afternoon tea, and chicken confit with mushrooms and bacon for dinner, finished with a slice of chocolate and raspberry tart. There is also a chapter on cooking for kids.
Luscious summer berries, thick egg and vanilla custard, and crunchy sable biscuits make a special combination of ingredients that captures the essence of summer in a dessert. You could also add two tablespoons of roasted pistachios, candied ginger, chocolate chips or espresso coffee to the biscuit dough.
Sable biscuits with fresh berries and soft cream (sable aux fruits rouges)
Serves 10
120g butter, softened
60g icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
180g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1 free-range egg, well beaten with a touch of milk, for egg wash
1/2 tsp natural vanilla extract
1. Put the butter and icing sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment and mix on medium speed for five minutes. With the mixer going, add the egg and mix on low speed to combine.
2. Stop the mixer, add the flour and vanilla, then mix on low speed until well combined. Gather into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
3. Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
4. Roll out the biscuit dough on a lightly floured work surface to about 3mm thick. Cut the dough with a daisy shape cutter. Put the biscuits on the prepared tray and brush the egg wash over the top of each. Bake in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden.
5. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Meanwhile, prepare the vanilla custard.
6. When ready to serve, rinse the berries. Place one sable biscuit in the centre of a plate and pipe a small amount of custard on top. Place some mixed berries on top of the custard and drizzle with a touch of berry coulis. Put a second sable biscuit which has been dusted with icing sugar on top. Garnish with more berries and a spoonful of soft whipped cream on top.
Vanilla custard
1 litre (4 cups) full-cream milk
400g (2 cups) caster sugar
12 free-range egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
80g (2/3 cup) cornflour
1. Put the milk in a saucepan and heat to boiling point. Put the sugar, egg yolks and vanilla in a bowl and whisk by hand until creamy.
2. Add the cornflour and dilute with a touch of the hot milk, then pour the egg mixture into the pan of milk and cook for four minutes, stirring often, until the custard coats the back of a spoon.
3. Remove from the heat and plunge the pan into a sink of iced water to cool.
4. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin forming.
Berry coulis
100g frozen blueberries
100g frozen raspberries
100g frozen blackberries
100g frozen strawberries
200g icing sugar
1. Put all fruit in a bowl and dust with icing sugar. Defrost for at least two hours.
2. Blend with a stick blender or in a food processor until you have a smooth puree.
3. Strain through a fine sieve and refrigerate until ready to use.
Be in to win this cookbook
* French Kitchen: Classic Recipes for Home Cooks by Serge Dansereau features 230 classic French recipes for the home kitchen. Published by HarperCollins $65.
Available from Cook the Books, 81 Ponsonby Rd, Ponsonby, ph (09) cookthebooks.co.nz
They have one copy to give away. To enter the draw, email your name and address to books@cookthebooks.co.nz by Monday December 20.
