Oeufs au pain (bread pudding soufflé)
The lightest, airiest bread pudding I’ve ever tried – total winner!
Tag: Louisbourg
Matelotte of Large Onions
Large onions, in beef gravy, with seafood. I thought it might be one of those odd sounding dishes that are great – read on to find out!
White beans au gras
Another recipe from From the Hearth, we first made this without the beef (as the authors note, this is an option for “non-meat days”). It was a hit with our kid! We then later made it with the beef – both are great!
Ingredients
1 cup white beans, soaked 1/2-1 lb beef rump, cubed 2 carrots (or other root vegetables) 2 cups bouillon Bouquet garni: 1/2 tsp pepper 1/2 tsp thyme 1 bay leaf 1 tsp parsley
Instructions
Soak beans overnight. Drain beans and add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 2 hours, or until beans are tender. Remove herb bouquet (I left it in - nice and herby). The liquid will reduce to make a thick sauce.
We actually made this dish in our Instant Pot. It was set for 35 mins on high pressure, and then the lid was removed to reduce the liquid using the sauté feature.
Unfortunately, we ate most of the non-meat version before taking photos!
The Verdict
Definitely one we will make again! Our five-year-old really liked it, and so did we.
Did you make this? Let us know how it turned out!
Tart pastry cases
This is less of a recipe, and more assembly instructions. I have not (yet) been brave enough to try making my own pâte feuilletée, or puff pastry. It’s an intimidating process of several hours. Fortunately, frozen puff pastry is widely available!
Make up some dessert cream, then bake these tart cases to fill with it! And even little kids can do the assembly.
Modified from original directions in From the Hearth. Makes about 12 tart cases.
Ingredients
200 grams frozen puff pastry, thawed 1-2 tbsp milk 1 egg yolk
Instructions
Preheat oven to 450F. Roll out puff pastry to 1/8" thickness. Cut 24 two-inch rounds. For half of the rounds (12), cut the centre out with a smaller cutter (1"). (Either keep the centres to bake as little lids, or knead them together, re-roll them out, and cut more tart shells from them). Brush the plain rounds with cold water and press the cut-out rounds on top. Brush the tops with either milk or a milk/egg yolk mixture. Bake for 10-15 minutes at 450F, or until delicately brown.
The only thing challenging thing in terms of timing is to remember take the puff pastry out of the freezer well in advance. Check the package about exact length of time to thaw and whether you should thaw in the fridge or at room temperature.
I was skeptical when I rolled this pastry out paper thin. This surely wouldn’t result in usable tarts?! But this pastry lives up to its name – it puffed up beautifully.
My kid very much enjoyed putting together his own tart, with dessert cream and a few pieces of candied peel on top.
The Verdict
As long as you are using the pre-made puff pastry, these are very easy and look quite impressive!
What would you put in these tarts? Sweet or savoury nibbles? Let us know in the comments!
Dessert Cream
Dessert cream has multiple uses, and it’s even delicious by the spoonful out of the fridge!
Lemon meringues
This is a sweet (and lemony) way to use egg whites when you’ve made a recipe that only takes the yolks!
Frangipan pie (cream, almond flour, and candied lemon peel)
I had no idea what this would turn out to be like when I first made it. I mean, ground almonds and orange flower water? But it was a hit – my neighbour said it was the best pie she’d ever had, bar none.
The texture lands somewhere between “custard pie” and “butter tart”. It’s not too sweet, either. Just the right balance, in so many ways!
Orange flower water, or orange blossom water, shows up in a number of 18th century French recipes, but it was definitely not something I had on hand in my kitchen. Luckily, it’s also used in Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and North African cooking, so specialty stores in North America (like Gourmet Warehouse, where I got mine) do carry it.
Ground or powdered almonds (sometimes called almond flour) are not in every North American kitchen either – you can get them at some grocery stores (I got mine at Famous Foods) or you can make your own with some whole raw almonds and a good food processor or blender. (If you are getting some for this recipe, definitely some extra to make this chocolate-y Swedish kladdkaka (sticky chocolate cake) recipe!)
Candied lemon peel was impossible to find in a store. So I made my own, and it was surprisingly easy! (Candied lemon peel recipe here).
Modified from the recipe in From the Hearth, this makes one 9″ pie.
Ingredients
Pastry: 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour 1 tsp salt 1 cup lard 1/3 cup plus 1-2 tbsp very cold water Filling: 5 oz powdered almonds (about 1.5 cups) 2 oz candied lemon peel (about 1/2 cup) 2 egg yolks 2/3 cup white sugar 2 cups whipping cream 1 tbsp orange flower water Gilding: 1 egg yolk 2 tbsp milk Topping: 2 tbsp white sugar
Instructions
Pastry: Mix the flour and salt. Cut in the lard until it is pea-sized pieces or smaller. Add the cold water and mix gently with a spatula until it comes together as a dough. You may need to knead it a few times. If it needs more water, add a little at a time. Make into a ball and place in the fridge while you get the filling ready. Filling: In a saucepan, whisk together all the filling ingredients, taking care to break up any lumps of almond flour. Heat saucepan on medium while continuing to whisk until thickened. Let cool. Assembly: Preheat oven to 425F. Roll out two pieces of pastry. Line a 9" pie pan with one piece. Pour in cooled filling. Place remaining pastry on top in decorative strips (about 3/8" wide) or lattice. Brush with gilding mixture. Bake at 425F for 30-35 minutes. Sprinkle with sugar and bake for another 5 minutes.
Once I got all the ingredients, the recipe is pretty straightforward. The original recipe has you mixing the egg yolks and almond flour first, but that ended up lumpier than if I added the liquid earlier in the filling proceedings. You might play around with the order of ingredient addition for the filling.
I didn’t end up doing the gilding step (or a proper lattice top), but did all the rest. The filling gets bubbly and the sugar sprinkle gets brown and the whole thing ends up looking and tasting great.
The Verdict
Yes, yes, yes. This one is a winner. I’ve already made this a second time, and a wide range of folks have liked it. I actually think it’s better on the second day, when those citrus and almond flavours have had time to merge.
(Note that you will have leftover egg whites after you make this – try making Lemon Meringues too!)
Are you ready to try something different in the pie department? Then try this one, and tell us about it in the comments!
Eggs au fromage (soft-scrambled eggs with cheese and wine)
Like soft-scrambled eggs and cheese fondue in one amazing dish. Great recipe for weeknight dinner or weekend brunch!