French Fridays with Dorie...Sweet and Spicy Nuts...really late!!

I have been really behind with my cooking for the French Fridays with Dorie group. Some of this has been because of time issues over the last couple of months and the other excuse I have is that some of the recipes chosen are just not right for our very hot summer season as it is winter in most of the world. However I really should have made these earlier. Not only are they extremely easy to make, but they deliver a big bang for your buck in the flavour department. They have that great balance of sweet and spicy which make them very, very moreish! I used almonds and cashews and between us all we managed to get through a big bowl of them they were that good. I will definitely make these again. Go to here to see how the others found it or even better purchase this amazing book.

FFwD- Basque Potato Tortilla

Finally I am posting this FFwD on the right day! AND I am back on track with the recipes. This weeks pick was this tortilla. I have made this kind of thing many times in the past. A tortilla like this something you can serve as a light meal (we had our for dinner with a salad), or cut up and served as a tapa with drinks. The Italians make something similar but theirs is called a Fritatta. I have made both and to me both are as good as each other...although Italian fritatta's don't seem to have as much potato in them as this one does and often include a bit of parmesan. The 'recipe' I have always used, and I put it in inverted commas because you can really do what you like with this dish, is a Ray McVinnie one where he slices the potatoes rather than cubes them. Both are good and I really don't think it matters too much as to what you do. I did find that the potatoes took longer to cook through than when they are sliced, but Harry was happy as to him it looked like eggs and chips tortilla style due to the colour I got on the potatoes. I'm not sure that the whole garlic clove and sprig of fresh rosemary added all that much to the flavour and I think that I will continue to do my old method of sauteing the garlic with the potato to give more oomph. Regardless this is an easy dish perfect for a quick lunch or dinner and even better as a snack with drinks. See how the others went with their dish here.

Starting to saute

Finally cooked through

Eggs added

Almost ready to go under the grill

Inside the tortilla

FFwD- Chicken B'stilla

Yes I know it isn't Friday and for those other members of the French Fridays with Dorie group I know I am way behind BUT in my defense it has been a very busy last month and a half with the end of the school year, Harry's birthday, Xmas, my brother's wedding, then organsing and going on our 'summer' holiday as well as working for most of it. So I am playing a bit of catch up...well a lot of catch up. I was thrilled when this recipe was put onto the rotation for the group as it was one which really appealed to me the minute I saw it in the book. I decided to make it for dinner last night but actually started making it the day before. It made dinner preparation very quick and easy last night and although there are a few steps to the recipe, none are labour intensive.


A b'stilla is a Morrocan dish and is traditionally made with pigeon...hmm I don't know if I could eat those rats with wings! I didn't know if I would like the flavour of this pie as I don't tend to like sweet and savoury together but in the interest of forging new grounds I was willing to give it a go. And I'm glad I did. The flavours in this dish really improve with age so making the filling the day before helped to develop a complexity it lacked when it was first made. I even made sure that in the interest of following the recipe and being more authentic that I would do the cinnamon sugar on top even though my mind was telling me yugh! And it was good!


You start off with marinating the chicken in some onions, garlic and spices, then simmering it in some broth until you can shred the chicken up. The remaining stock is then reduced right down to abut a cup and thickened with egg and honey. This was probably the most tricky part as the eggs can quickly scramble when they are added to the hot stock. Mine did a bit but I was able to whisk it well and I didn't even notice it once it was made. However I read on another blog a good tip to temper the eggs first and in hindsight, that would have been a good idea and totally made sense, (interesting how hindsight is 20/20). Finally the chicken, some fresh herbs and onions are added back, given a good mix and put in the fridge until the next day or even for a few days if you like. The next day you line a cake tin with fillo, cover it all up to make it look good and sprinkle over the cinnamon sugar. Bake it until it's crispy and there you have a lovely pie with delicate and slightly unusual flavours. 

Chicken marinating

With the stock added

Fillo lined tin

With added chicken mix

Lined top and bottom with toasted, slivered almonds

Waiting to be baked

Finished product

Yum!

FFwD- Potato Gratin

For this weeks FFwD, (which I am posting on Thursday due to the fact that I am working a 13 hour day tomorrow), I chose Potato Gratin also know as Potato Dauphinois. It was very easy to make and involved heating some cream (well in my case lite cream and milk) with some garlic, thinly slicing potatoes, sprinkling over a bit of salt and pepper and rosemary, pouring over the cream, then topping it all off with some cheese before baking it. Very easy for a lovely result. Unfortunately for me I used the lite cream which I think made it a bit watery. Even though it tasted lovely, it just lacked that delicious creaminess and 'treat'factor. Regardless this is a make again....so long as it's made with normal cream.

FFwD- Roast Chicken for Les Paresseux

Les Paresseux translates to lazy people so therefore this weeks FFwD dish is roast chicken for those who are too lazy to faff around too much. She is right...it doesn't get much easier than this. Instead of roasting your chicken in a normal roasting dish you put it, (untrussed), into a dutch oven, (or in my case a Le Creuset casserole dish), with a few bits and bobs, stick it in the oven and leave it to do it's thing. She introduces the 'bread trick' which is to put a slice or 2 of thick country style bread or else a few slices of baguette underneath the chicken to create a 'cook's treat' of crispy, chicken soaked bread. Although the idea appealed I found it to be a little too greasy for my taste...but I could see the how in theory this would be a wonderful idea. I only added carrots and small onions to mine as I roasted some vegetables separately. 

The flavour of this chicken was fantastic. I thought the meat was more juicy and succulent because of the method of cooking it. Surely the high sided dish combined with a bit of wine and oil contributed to this? As well as that the whole head of garlic was amazing. I love how the flavour of garlic mellows so much when you roast it taking it to a whole new level. I will definitely be using this method again to roast my chicken. It was easy, uncomplicated and delicious. See how others found it here.

FFwD- Hachis Parmentier

This weeks FFwD was a dish called Hachis Parmentier. At first glance I was thrilled to be making this as I love cottage pie and this is essentially the French version of that. However once I reread the recipe I was a bit...ok a lot more dubious about it. I decided to continue on with the recipe as I already had the ingredients so thought if it all went terribly wrong, I could at least rustle up something else to eat. As well I have been surprised by Dorie's recipes before and thought they will not taste and they have been fantastic so I just put the faith in Dorie and hope this was one of those times. I have to admit that right up to the very end I was convinced we weren't having this for dinner.... Well I was wrong! It was actually pretty tasty and we all ate it for dinner so there was no need for any alternative. I did it the long way and I think that for a long-in-the-making dish I don't know if it was worth the effort as you essentially make a beef stock then chop all the meat up before cooking it with sausages and a tiny bit of tomato paste.

Does this look unappetising or what!

I actually thought it would be the boys who would like it the least but in fact they gobbled it up quite willingly with some fresh bread. I also enjoyed it and was relieved to no have to find something else to make. Actually I have to say the real star of the dish was the potato mash and cheese on top! So all up a pleasant surprise with this recipe. See what the others thought of it here.

FFwD- Spicy Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup

As I have been a little behind on the eight ball with the whole blogging thing, I missed out on joining the Tuesdays With Dorie baking group as it has now closed. Therefore when I found out there was another group starting up but this time with her new French cookbook I thought I would give it a go. Luckily she gave us the first 5 recipes as I am still waiting for my book to arrive. The thing that really swayed me to give the group a go was this soup. I normally detest soup. I never ever choose it when I go out and if I make a big pot for the family I very rarely eat it. BUT the exception to this rule are the Asian style soups but only ones with body (usually noodles). Therefore this recipe really appealed to me.

Taking a look at the ingredients you know this will taste good and as I love love love fresh mint and coriander I was sold....almost. I have to admit I did have a moment of wondering if it might be just a bit too simple. I know some people are hard to please....! The soup is basically chicken stock (I just used good old Campbell's), coconut milk, poached chicken, noodles (rice noodles in my case) and some spices and fresh herbs. When you start making it you wonder if it will taste ok as it does look a little insipid as you can see in this photo.

But it all comes together and even though it looks curdled at times I listened to Dorie and just stirred and it so it looked normal again. I elected to make the standard one in her book without the curry powder and lemongrass but I think I would give this a go next time...as there will be a next time. I found the soup to be light, tasty, filling and I almost felt virtuous after eating it. I would also recommend using the condiments she suggests. Surprisingly the hoisin sauce was really fantastic in the soup.

To see how others found this soup visit the French Fridays with Dorie site here http://www.frenchfridayswithdorie.com/