Gourmet coin-Personal French Teacher

Organize and make up your own French Dinner !!

Provencal specialities

Entrée:

Salade Niçoise

Ingredients for 6 persons:

4 tomatoes
4 eggs
2 green peppers
20 black olives
300 gr tuna flesh
12 anchovy fillets
1 shallot
6 onions
6 basil sheets
6 soupspoons olive oil
3 tablespoons vinegar
Salt & pepper

hard boil the eggs for 10 minutes.

- Meantime prepare the sauce: peel and mince the shallot; mix the mustard
with the vinegar, then incorporate the olive oil; add the shallot, onions, basil sheets, salt & pepper.

- Clean and seed the green pepper and cut it in large slices; clean the
tomatoes and slice them as well. Gently put them in a big salad bowl and cover
with half of the sauce.

- Peel the eggs and cut them in quarters; crush the tuna flesh.

- Gently add all the ingredients except the eggs (includes
olives and anchovies).
Mix all with great care then top the salad with the egg quarters and the rest of sauce.

La pissaladière niçoise

Ingredients for 4 persons
dough: buy a pizza dough

Garnish:
¼ cup olive oil
600 grams onions, finely sliced
1 teaspoon freshly chopped thyme
1 teaspoon of freshly chopped rosemary
1 bay leaf
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 anchovy filets
8 black olives, pitted and halved

Place the dough in a bowl, cover with a cloth, place in a warm and humid place, proof until the dough doubles in size.
Cook the onions:
Sweat the finely sliced onions in olive oil with freshly chopped thyme, rosemary and the bay leaf. Cook the onions for about 30-35 minutes, stirring time to time to avoid any colour, season with salt and pepper, strain in colander when onions are soft and tender.

Line the Pissaladière:
Grease a 8 inch pizza tray with some olive oil. Roll and line the dough into the tray, top with the strained onions, garnish with anchovy filets and pitted and halved black olives. Set in warm place for 30 minutes and preheat oven to 450º F. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the dough becomes golden and crusty. Serve hot.

Main course :

Petits Farcis Niçois
Provencal Stuffed Vegetables

In Nice everyone loves les petits farçis niçois, which means provencal stuffed vegetables. The term is applied almost exclusively to vegetables that are stuffed, baked and served hot or cold. Stuffed tomatoes, eggplants, zucchinis, onions and peppers can also be prepared in the same way and the stuffing can be flavoured with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

6 medium ripe tomatoes, washed & dried
6 courgettes ( zucchinis)
6 medium red onions
Salt

STUFFING
4 slices firm white bread, crusts removed
350 ml (12 fl oz) milk
15 ml (1 tbsp, olive Oil
225 g (8 oz) lean minced beef
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
15 ml (1 tbsp) chopped parsley
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Olive oil for roasting tin and vegetables

Core the tomatoes and cut in half crosswise. Cut off a small slice from the rounded end of each half so that it will stand upright.
With a small spoon or a melon baller, hollow out each half, discarding seeds and pulp.

Cut the courgettes (zucchini) into 6.5 cm (2.5 inch) lengths. Scoop out and discard the flesh with a small spoon or melon baller, leaving the walls of the hollowed cylinders about 1.2 cm (3/8 inch) thick.

Prepare the stuffing: put the slices of bread in the milk and leave to soak. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the minced beef and the garlic and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Squeeze out the bread and stir into the meat mixture along with the egg and parslev. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix together well.

Season the interiors of the vegetables with salt and pepper, then spoon the stuffing into the vegetables.

Brush a roasting tin with olive oil. Arrange the vegetables in the tin and brush them with oil. Reduce the oven heat to 190 C (375 F) and bake the vegetables for 40-45 minutes, until just tender. Place the tops on the vegetables 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time. Serve hot or cold with a mesclun salad.

Dessert

Tarte aux Fraises

ingredients :
500 gr strawberries
a tart dough
1 egg
1 egg yolk
3 tablespoons sugar (60 gr)
250 gr flour (3 tablespoons flour)
2 teaspoons gelatin
milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
vanilla or rum

Line a flan ring with a tart dough, bake it, and cool. In a saucepan beat 1 egg, 1 egg yolk, 3 tablespoons sugar, and 3 tablespoons flour until the mixture is light and fluffy. Stir in 2 teaspoons gelatin and 3/4 cup hot milk and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until the cream becomes very hot and thick, being careful not to let it boil.

Enjoy your French meal !!!!!!!