Kaninchen Provençal

 

Am besten paßt dazu Baguette, Fougasse, oder griechisches Fladenbrot

Achtung! Zubereitungszeit ungefähr 70-80 Minuten

Vorbereitung Dafür braucht man nur: Einen großen Bräter mit Deckel Eine große Schüssel zum Parken des Gemüses Eine kleine Schüssel zum Parken der Schalotten
Zutaten (für 3 Personen) 1 ganzes Kaninchen 200 g Schalotten 1-2 grüne Paprikas 1-2 rote Spitzpaprikas 12 getrocknete Aprikosen (wenn möglich sollten sie noch weich sein, nicht ganz trocken) 600 g Tomaten 100 g Fenchel 2 Knoblauchzehen 20 schwarze Oliven 1 EL Tomatenmark 1 EL Ricard 2-3 Stängel Thymian (falls gerebelter aus der Dose: 1 EL) Salz, Pfeffer, mildes Paprikapulver Ca. 100 ml Wasser
Vorbereitungen Paprika waschen, halbieren, Samen und weiße Wände entfernen, in Streifen schneiden. Tomaten je nach Größe vierteln oder halbieren. Fenchel waschen und in kleine Stücke schneiden. Ggf. Thymianstangen waschen. Knoblauch pressen oder fein hacken. Alles zusammen in großer Schüssel auf die Seite stellen. Schalotten schälen und eventuell halbieren, separat auf die Seite stellen. 12 Aprikosen und 20 schwarze Oliven zusammen auf die Seite. Kaninchen waschen, trocken tupfen, falls vorhanden den Kopf abtrennen, und in mehrere Teile zerteilen. Mit Salz, Pfeffer und Paprikapulver einreiben. Bis hierher sollte das grob 45 Minuten dauern.
Das Braten In einem Bräter die Kaninchenstücke in einfachem Olivenöl scharf anbraten, bis sie die gewünschte Bräunung haben, rausnehmen. Die Schalotten ebenfalls scharf anbraten bis sie mittelbraun sind, ca. 2 bis 4 Minuten. Die Hitze auf mittlere Stufe reduzieren, 1 EL Tomatenmark hinzufügen und weitere 2 bis 3 Minuten braten. Die Schüssel mit Gemüse/Aprikosen zugeben, gut umrühren, mit Salz und Pfeffer abschmecken. Kaninchen wieder zugeben, sowie 1 EL Ricard, 100 mL Wasser, sowie die 10 Aprikosen und 20 Oliven. Zugedeckt bei mittlerer Hitze ca. 30 Minuten köcheln lassen, dabei ab und zu umrühren; immer auf Feuchtigkeit kontrollieren und ggf. Wasser zugeben.

Lamb Carré with Vegetables (Updated - v2)

Attention! Preparation time around 2 hours!
Before cooking, take the lamb out of the fridge about 1 to 2 hours beforehand and 60 g butter (put in a medium bowl) 20 minutes beforehand.

It goes very well with rösti (make it yourself or I find the ones from McCain surprisingly good). I'm using frozen roestis here - it's best to cook them in a small or medium pan with a little butter (I don't find them so good with oil).

Preparation You'll need: A medium sized bowl A large pan with lid for the vegetables A large frying pan to sear the lamb carré pieces
Ingredients for the Carrés (for 2 persons) 2 Lamb Carré each with 7 or 8 bones, around 800 g 40 g breadcrumbs 8 g finely grated Parmesan cheese 60 g butter, at room temperature! 4-5 cloves of garlic 2 twigs rosemary ½ bunch thyme 3 to 4 twigs parsley 7 large leaves of sage Salt and pepper Sunflower oil
Ingredients side dish (for 2 persons) 1 long thin courgette (or one half each in green and yellow) 2 medium-sized carrots 10 to 12 cocktail or cherry tomatoes 2 to 3 cloves of garlic Salt and pepper A good deal of olive oil If you like: Rösti (3-5 pieces, the ones from McCain are good)
1) Roast the Carré If needed, remove tendons and skin from the Carrés. Cut the racks into pairs. Heat up sunflower oil in pan and sear the Carrés very hot on all sides until nicely brown. Remove from pan, lightly sprinkle salt and pepper, let it cool down.
2) Herb butter Pluck all herbs, and chop very fine with 4 to 5 cloves of garlic. Grate 8 g parmesan cheese. Put the herbs, Parmesan cheese, 40 g breadcrumbs and 60 g butter (room temperature) into a medium sized bowl. Season with salt (3 or 4 pinches) and pepper. Knead the ingredients well until you get a homogenious dough. Form a ball and place in refrigerator.
3) Prepare the vegetables Cut 1 or 2 carrots and the courgette into thin slices - you could take a potato peeler for that. Leave the 6 to 8 cherry tomatoes as they are. Chop the 2 to 3 cloves of garlic.
4) The Rösti Slowly fry 3 to 5 Rösti in 1-2 Tbsp of butter in a medium pan at medium heat. That will take its time and they should be ready around the time the rest is done, too. In the meantime continue with the rest...
5) Preparing the Carrés for the oven and frying them Preheat oven at 150℃. Place the carrés on a baking tray and carefully cover the meat in herb butter, around 2 or 3 millimetres thick. Place the lamb into the oven (middle rack) and fry for approx. 9 minutes (large racks with approx. 500 g: 11-12 minutes). After that switch to top grill at around 250℃ and continue to fry for another 3 to 4 minutes. Make sure that the crust is getting a bit brown, but doesn't burn!
6) Sauté the vegetables Pour a good amount of olive oil into the pan and switch to a medium heat. First add the carrot strips to the pan, cover and simmer for approx. 3-4 minutes. Then add the courgette strips and the garlic. Continue to simmer gently, possibly even reducing the heat to low. This should take about 10 to 15 minutes. Turn the vegetable stripes from time to time. It should be done around the same time as the previous section - the lamb in the oven. 1 or 2 minutes before the end, add the small tomatoes. Check a piece of carrot in the end, it should be soft, but still "al dente". Add a bit salt and place the pan with the veggies on the side until everything's ready.

 

Chicken Provençal (Updated - v2)

Goes well with Baguette, Fougasse, or Greek flatbread

Attention! Preparation time around 100 minutes

Preparation You'll only need: A tajine or casserole A large bowl to set the veggies aside A small bowl to set the shallots aside
Ingredients (for 2 persons) 2 large chicken legs (500-600 g) 200 g shallots 1-2 green bell-peppers 1 red pointed pepper 15 dried apricots (if possible it should be the soft ones, not the completely dried ones) 600 g tomatoes 100 g fennel 2 cloves of garlic 20 black olives 1 Tbsp. tomato paste 1 Tbsp. ricard 2-3 stems thyme (if you use dried crushed thyme: 1 Tbsp.) Salt, pepper, mild paprika Ca. 100 mL water If you have one or two potatoes left and want to get rid of them, that's fine too
Preparations Clean the bell pepper, cut into halves, remove all the seeds and the white membranes inside, cut in stripes. Cut the tomatoes into halves or quarters, depending on size. If using fresh thyme, rinse. Finely chop the cloves of garlic. Put everything aside in large bowl. Wash the fennel and cut into small pieces. If you want to add potatoes, peel them and cut into bite-sized pieces. Also put on the side. Peel the shallots and halve if necessary, also set aside. Put 15 apricots and 20 black olives together on the side. Wash the chicken drumsticks, pat dry and rub with salt, pepper and paprika powder. It should take roughly 45 minutes to get here.
Cooking In a frying pan, fry the chicken drumsticks in a little olive oil over a medium heat until they have a nice dark brown colour, remove. Fry the shallots over a high-medium heat until they are medium brown, about 2 to 4 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium, add 1 Tbsp of tomato puree, the fennel pieces (and potatoes if using) and fry for a further 4 to 5 minutes. Add the bowl of vegetables, stir well and season with salt and pepper. Tip everything into the tajine, add 1 Tbsp Ricard, 100 mL water, apricots and olives. Stir well, add the chicken legs, cover, place in the oven (fan oven setting) and cook at 160°C for approx. 40-45 minutes.

 

French Onion Soup

Preparation time: approx. 90 minutes

Preparation You'll need: A medium pot Two ovenproof baking dishes of medium size
Ingredients Soup (for 2 persons) 4-5 medium onions 45 g butter 90 ml red wine 30 ml cognac 750 ml granulated chicken stock 750 ml granulated beef stock just under 1 Tbsp toasted flour Nutmeg, pepper Ingredients Topping 100-120 g grated Gruyère 6-8 slices of baguette, depending on the diameter. Approx. 1 cm thick. 1 small clove of garlic
Preparation Peel and quarter the onions, then cut into thin strips. Heat the medium pot over a high heat. Add just under 1 Tbsp of flour and toast until medium to dark brown, stirring constantly to prevent burning. When ready, tip the flour into a small bowl. Put the pot aside for 2 or 3 minutes so that it can cool down a little. Now melt 45 g butter in the pot and cook the onions over a medium heat until soft, about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally. Meanwhile, measure 90 ml red wine and 30 ml cognac into a glass. Add 3 heaped tsp of grained stock (chicken, beef) to the roasted flour. Now switch to a high heat and continue to cook the onions, stirring constantly (make sure that no black burnt crust forms on the bottom of the pan) - approx. 10-15 minutes. As soon as the onions are well browned and caramelised, deglaze with wine and cognac. Continue cooking until the liquid has evaporated, which is quite quick. Add the roasted flour/grained stock and stir well. Deglaze with 1.5 litres of water and stir well again. Bring the soup to the boil. Now reduce the soup by a good half (approx. 900 ml) over a medium to high heat. This will certainly take half an hour to three quarters of an hour - in the meantime: Stir from time to time. Flavour with pepper and nutmeg. Don't forget to preheat the oven: approx. 210℃ top heat. Toast the 6-8 slices of baguette in the toaster to a medium brown colour. Grate 100-120 g Gruyère cheese. As soon as the toasted slices of bread have cooled, cut 1 small clove of garlic in half and rub lightly into one side of each slice.
Last Steps Once the soup has reduced to approx. 900 ml, divide between the two oven dishes. Now sprinkle about 2 Tbsp of the cheese over each, place 3 slices of bread on top and sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top. Place in the oven and bake for approx. 5 minutes. The cheese should then be lightly browned, otherwise switch the oven to grill briefly and don't let it out of your sight.

 

Gratin Dauphinois

 

 

You can also eat this gratin just like that, then of course you have to increase the quantity, but we like to eat this very much with a good beef steak or lamb chops or similar.

Preparation time: approx. 75 minutes

Preparation: You'll only need: One somewhat larger or two smaller (e.g. for lasagne) oven dishes A small pot A small sieve A not too small ceramic bowl for the sauce
Ingredients (for 2 persons) 400 g (as a side) - 700 g (not just a side) large potatoes (waxy) 300-400 mL milk 75-100 mL sweet cream 3 cloves 2 bay leaves Salt, black ground pepper and nutmeg 1 clove of garlic some butter (20-25 g)
Preparation First rub the oven dishes well with a clove of garlic and then grease them with a little butter. Then crush the garlic clove a little with a kitchen knife. Bring 300-400 mL milk and 75-100 mL cream to the boil in a small pot, adding the spices straight away: 3 cloves, 2 bay leaves, the crushed garlic clove, plenty of salt (about 1/3-2/3 tsp), pepper and nutmeg. Simmer for 5 minutes then pour through a sieve into a ceramic bowl. The spices can be thrown away. Peel 400-700 g potatoes and cut into slices as thin as possible. Preheat the oven to 180℃ (fan oven). Now alternate layers of potato slices in the oven dishes (so that they overlap only slightly) and 2-3 Tbsp of the sauce. Repeat until all the slices are in the dishes. Pour the rest of the sauce over (the potatoes will soak up some of the sauce), then spread about 20 g butter flakes on top. Place the moulds in the oven for 40-45 minutes, keeping an eye on them at the end for the desired browning. Start the meat in good time ☺. The oven dishes can then be placed on the table with an appropriate base for each person.

 

Pasta with Truffles

 

The best match is the white wine you used for cooking ;-)
And if you find it too cheap to drink, then it was also the wrong one to cook with!

Preparation: You'll only need: A large pot A glass beaker A ladle or a mug
Ingredients (for 2 persons) 300 g pasta (e.g. linguine or tagliatelle) Approx. 15-18 g black truffles (the more, the better ;-) 40 ml white wine 100 g good Parmesan cheese 1 tablespoon truffle oil
First steps Bring 3 litres of water in a large pot ℃to a boil. Finely grate 100 g Parmesan cheese. Place in a plate in the oven at 40 (so that it melts better afterwards). Put 2 large pasta plates in the oven as well. Measure 40 ml white wine into measuring jug, ... into the oven. Cut the truffles into very thin slices.
Preparation As soon as the water boils, add 3 tsp salt and cook the pasta according to the instructions (my linguine takes 12 minutes). Shortly before the time is up, skim off about 50-75 ml of pasta water and add to the measuring cup with the white wine. Place back in the oven. Tip the pasta into a sieve and immediately put it back into the still hot pot. From now on you should stir the noodles regularly! Add parmesan cheese to the pasta and stir until the cheese has melted. Then add pasta water and white wine and 1 to 2 Tbsp. truffle oil, stir again briefly. Pour into the warm pasta plates, spread the truffle slices on top and serve immediately. You can also put the bottle of truffle oil, parmesan and a grater, and possibly ground pepper on the table.

 

Grilled Lobster with Cream Sauce

Preparation time: 25-30 minutes.

Preparation You'll need: A casserole dish A pan A small pot or pan with lid A good kitchen knife to cut the lobster Maybe some lobster tongs A small sieve
Ingredients (for 2 persons) If this is the main course, it should certainly be 4 lobsters (I always prefer to buy 2 small ones per person, it is cheaper). As one course of several, 2 lobsters would also do - then halve the other ingredients. 4 lobster tails or better 4 whole lobsters (approx. 400 g each) With whole lobsters, the claws and legs go well cold with garlic mayonnaise as entrée. 30 g butter 2 shallots 1-2 bay leaves 65 mL white wine (dry) 2 sprigs thyme 160 g crème fraîche 5-6 sticks of chives A little bit of dill Some salt and coarse pepper
First steps Check that there is white wine in the fridge! Preheat the oven at 200℃. For whole lobsters, remove the legs and claws (can either be placed in the oven like this or served cold as an entrée). Carefully cut the lobster in half lengthwise with a sharp knife so that you get two equal halves. Chop 2 shallots finely. Pluck the thyme leaves. Add to the pot together with 30 g butter, 1-2 bay leaves and 65 mL white wine. Coarsely chop 5-6 sticks of chives and the dill. Put on the side, will be needed later.
Preparation Place the lobster halves, shell down, in the oven pan and bake for 10 minutes (pre-cooked lobster). If the lobster is not pre-cooked, the lobster halves must be placed in the oven a little longer (about 6-8 minutes longer). Meanwhile, start the sauce. Cover the pot and put it on the cooker. Bring the contents to the boil briefly and then simmer gently over a low heat for 5 minutes. Add 160 g crème fraîche, mix and bring to the boil briefly. Then put it on its side and remember the lobster in the oven ;-) As soon as the 10 minutes are up, take the lobster out of the oven and put it on its side for a short time. Now filter the cream from the pot with a not too fine sieve, pressing the shallots well against the walls of the sieve with a spoon. Add the chopped herbs (chives and dill), mix and generously sprinkle the lobster halves and season with salt and coarse pepper. Put the lobster halves back into the oven and bake for another 7 minutes. Serve hot immediately. Goes well with baguette or toast.

Tartare

 

 

Suitable side dish: baguette or French fries

Preparation You'll need: A good large knife to mince the fillet.
Ingredients (for 2 persons) Approx. 450 g beef fillet 2 or 3 egg yolks (just put the third one in a litte bowl on the table, maybe someone wants more egg yolk). 1-2 Tbsp. chopped capers 3 French Cornichons 3 Tbsp. very finely chopped onion (1 small onion) 2 Tbsp. chopped parsley Additional condiments, to put on the table: Regular salt or Fleur de Sel, pepper, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco
Preparation Chop the capers, cornichons and the parsley. Chop the onion as finely as possible. Arrange everything separately on a large dinner plate. One can get the fillet minced from the butcher, but then one has to eat it on the same day. Besides, the right consistency can only be achieved by cutting, not with a meat grinder. ChezTeddy Tip: With a good knife, you can get the meat small quite well and reasonably quickly. I do it like this: First put the meat in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes, then it is easier to cut. Now cut the meat into thin slices first, about 2-3 mm thick. Then cut these slices into thin strips, preferably so that the shape of the slice is retained. Turn the cutting board 90° and cut the strips into small pieces. Now press the meat firmly onto the board with the flat blade and chop the meat, first evenly with parallel cuts in one direction, then turned 90° in the other direction. Press the flat blade firmly onto the board again. Repeat this until the meat looks like it came straight from the mincer. But the trick is that our hand-cut meat has a much better consistency. Now divide the meat into two portions and arrange on dinner plates, forming the minced meat into the shape of a thick slice and making a dent in the center. Just before serving, separate the eggs and put 1 yolk per plate in this dent. Place the third in a little bowl on the table in case someone wants more yolks. Served, everyone can add the ingredients one likes to one's own taste. Mix well. Personally, for example, I do not like onion with it, but I like to add Tabasco, which Carinne doesn't like so much.