French-Queue en Hochepot

French-Queue en Hochepot

Ingredients:
1 oxtail in 4cm (11/2 inch) segments
2 pig trotters
1 pig’s ear
1 small cabbage
6 carrots 6 turnips salt

How to cook:
1. Place the oxtail, trotters and pig’s ear in a large pan. Cover with water and bring to the boil over a moderate heat, removing the scum as it appears. Once it has boiled, lower the heat and leave to simmer for 2 hours.
2. Peel the vegetables; quarter the cabbage, removing the hard centre. Leave them to stand in a basin of cold water.
3. After 2 hours, salt the stockpot and add the vegetables to it. If there is not enough liquid, add some hot water but make sure you do not cover the vegetables. Bring back to the boil on a higher heat, then lower again and simmer for a further 2 hours until the meat and vegetables are tender.
4. When all is ready remove from the heat. Slice the ear thinly, bone the trotters and cut into small pieces. Arrange the meat and vegetables on a serving dish. The stock can be kept to be used for another dish, or it can be poured into a gravyboat and served, but be sure you skim off the fat first.
5. Accompany this springtime dish with new potatoes and grilled chipolata sausages.

Sweet Dish-Fried Pineapple

Sweet Dish-Fried Pineapple

Ingredients:
Pineapple - 1
Butter - 2 tbsp
Shredded Coconut - 1 tbsp
Jaggery - 4 tbsp
Lime Juice - 4 tbsp
Yogurt to Serve

How to cook:
Using sharp knife peel the skin. Cut the pineapple into half and discard the woody core. Cut into length ways in wedges.
In a small frying pan dry fry the shredded coconut until lightly browned and set aside.
Heat the butter in a frying pan. When it has melted add the pineapple wedges and cook over medium heat for 2 to 3 Min's or until they turned golden in color.
Now sprinkle the jaggery to the pineapple. Then add lime juice and cook until jaggery has dissolved.
Sprinkle the roasted coconut and serve with yogurt.

French-Entrecôte au Beurre Rouge

French-Entrecôte au Beurre Rouge

Ingredients:
1 rib steak, 900g-lkg (2-21/4 lb)
4 shallots
15m1 (1 tbls) wine vinegar
240ml (9 fl oz) red wine: Beaujolais, Cahors, Gigondas, etc
15m1 (1 tbls) oil 100g (4 oz) butter salt and pepper

How to cook:
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F; gas mark 6). Heat the oil in a sauté pan, add 20g (1/4 oz) butter and brown the steak for 5 minutes on each side, over a low heat, to avoid burning the butter.
2. When the steak is browned, add salt, place the meat on a rack above a roasting pan and allow to cook for 15 to 20 minutes, according to its thickness and to taste. When the steak is cooked, leave it in the turned-off oven for 10 minutes.
3. 10 minutes before serving the meat, prepare the red butter in the saute pan. Discard the fat from the roasting pan. Peel the shallots, chop them very finely and add them to the pan with the caramelized juices from the meat. Add the vinegar and place the pan over a medium heat. Allow the vinegar to boil until it evaporates, then add the wine and boil over a high heat until only 100ml (31/2 fl oz) remains. Add salt and pepper. Take the pan off the heat and allow to cool for 1 minute before adding the butter, cut into small pieces, stirring with a spatula until the mixture is creamy. If the pan is too hot the butter will melt and prevent the mixture becoming creamy.
4. Remove the steak from the oven, cut it into thin slices crosswise, arrange in its original shape on a serving dish and coat with the red butter which has been passed through a strainer.

French-Aloyau Jardiniêre

French-Aloyau Jardiniêre

Ingredients:
4 red, ripe tomatoes
6 ml(4 tbls) oil
2 cloves garlic, sliced
4 slices sirloin, 150g (7 oz) each
salt and pepper
70g (3 oz) black olives
2 peppers in oil, sliced
1 stick celery, sliced small handful oregano

How to cook:

1. Immerse the tomatoes in boiling water for 10 seconds. Peel them, halve them, remove the seeds and cut into slices. Pour the oil into a large frying pan and lightly brown the sliced garlic. Add meat slices and brown on both sides over a low heat. Season.

2. Add the pitted olives, sliced peppers, celery and tomatoes, and cook over a high heat, turning the meat a few times.

3. Sprinkle with oregano, baste with vinegar and leave to cook. When ready, place the meat and the vegetables on a hot serving dish and serve at once.

French-Boeuf Bourguignon

French-Boeuf Bourguignon

Ingredients:
1.8kg (4 lb) beef: 1/3 rump,
1/3 silverside, 1/3 chuck
1 litre (13/4 pints) red Burgundy wine
250g (9 oz) bacon
36 small onions
36 small button mushrooms
30ml (2 tbls) mare or cognac
10ml (2 tsp) cornflour or
arrowroot
50g (2 oz) butter
15ml (1 tbls) oil juice of 1/2 lemon salt and pepper

How to cook:

1. Peel the onions. Cut the bacon into sticks 1cm (1/2 inch) across. Cut the meat into cubes 4cm (11/2 inches) square, and season.

2. Bring to the boil 2 litres (3 1/2 pints) water in a saucepan, immerse the bacon sticks and blanch for 5 minutes, drain.

3. Heat the oil in a large stewpan and lightly brown the bacon sticks over a low heat for about 8 minutes, till the bacon fat is transparent. Remove with a skimmer and put aside in a bowl.

4. Add 20g (3/4 oz) butter to the pan and add the onions. Lightly brown over a low heat for about 15 minutes. Remove with a skimmer and add to the bacon.

5. Add several of the cubes of beef to the pan and brown lightly (about 5 minutes), then remove and put aside. Repeat until all the meat is browned. Then discard the fat from cooking and pour the wine into the pan while scraping up the crusty bits with a spatula. Bring the wine to the boil, set alight, and when the flame is extinguished, return the beef to the pan. Bring back to the boil, cover and simmer over a very low heat, without boiling, for about 4 hours.

6. After 3 hours, add the bacon sticks and onions. Trim the earthy base off the mushrooms, wash, wipe and place in a saute pan with the lemon juice and the remainder of the butter. Brown over a high heat until they give out no more liquid and are lightly browned, then add the mushrooms and their juices to the stew.

7. After about 4 hours, when the meat is almost tender, pour the contents of the stewpan into a saucepan through a strainer. Return the contents of the strainer to the stewpan and cover. Allow the sauce to stand for 5 minutes, then skim off the fat with a spoon.

8. Dilute the cornflour or arrowroot with 30ml (2 tbls) cold water and pour the mixture into the saucepan, stirring with a wooden spoon. Bring the sauce to the boil, then heat the mare or cognac in a small saucepan, set alight and add to the sauce. Boil over a high heat until the sauce thickens enough to coat the spoon and reduce until just enough is left to cover the pieces of meat (5 to 10 minutes). Add salt and pepper to taste, pour into the stewpan and simmer for 10 minutes, then serve immediately.

Boeuf Bourguignon should be served very hot on hot plates, accompanied by steamed or gratineed potatoes. This dish is best when prepared with a large quantity of meat and better still when reheated: so prepare two meals at once, one to serve tonight and one to refrigerate.