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Gougères “Cheese Puffs”

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gougeres

A gougère is a baked savory choux pastry made of choux dough mixed with cheese, usually gruyère or comté but you can use emmenthal or any hard cheese really – even cheddar!

Gougères are said to come from the Burgundy region in France where they are usually served cold when wine-tasting in cellars, but are also served warm as an appetizer. They can be eaten just as they are or cut in half, crosswise, and then stuffed with a soft cheese filling or foie gras or even with tuna rillette, the recipe for which I posted a few days ago. They really are perfect with pre-dinner drinks but be warned, they are quite addictive!
 
 
 

Ingredients :

  • 4 eggs
  • 100g grated gruyère (or you can use any hard cheese you have – cheddar, parmesan etc)
  • 60g unsalted butter
  • 150g flour
  • 1 pinch of nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt

Method :

  1. Preheat oven to 210°C
  2. Pour 25cl of water into a saucepan and add the butter, chopped in cubes and the salt
  3. Bring to the boil
  4. Add the flour and stir well with a wooden spatula
  5. Continue stirring constantly for a few minutes until the dough pulls away from the side of the pot and forms a ball
  6. Remove from heat and add each egg , one by one, mixing well between each one (Don’t worry if the batter separates and looks curdled at first, keep beating, and it will come together eventually!)
  7. Add the grated cheese and nutmeg
  8. Using two teaspoons make small balls of dough and place them on an oven tray covered in parchment paper (dip your spoons in a bowl of hot water between each scoop to avoid dough sticking to them)
  9. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until well golden

 

 

 

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Tuna Rillettes

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RillettesTuna

Rillettes are a meat (usually pork or duck) “paté” type preparation where the meat is cooked slowly in fat and then shredded and mixed with some of the fat to form a spread. Rillettes are delicious served with bread.

This is extremely simplified version of  “rillettes” but is really lovely served as an aperitif or even as part of a starter.

Ingredients :

  • 1 tin of tuna in brine or water (150g approximately)
  • 1 cream cheese (St.Moret or Philadelphia etc) of the same weight as the tuna
  • Salt & Pepper
  • Chives

Method :

  1. Drain the tin of tuna and empty into bowl
  2. Miw well with cream cheese
  3. Season with salt and pepper
  4. Add a good dose of chives – not just for the taste but also for the colour
  5. Serve with some fresh bread

TunaRillettes



Bayonne ham and Olive Madeleines

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SavouryMadeleines

Madeleines are one of France’s  favourite small cakes. In this recipe I’ve used a madeleine tin to make savoury bites for an aperitif – perfect size to eat with drinks and a little surprising for guests to see madeleines cakes that are actually savoury!

This recipe uses jambon cru, which means cured ham. You can use one of several types of cured ham – parma ham from Italy, Serrano ham form Spain etc. Obviously being in France I alway use Bayonne ham!

Ingredients :

  • 3 eggs
  • 150g self-raising flour
  • 10cl sunflower oil
  • 12.5cl hot milk
  • 100g grated gruyere (or cheddar or any hard cheese you fancy!)
  • 175g cured ham
  • 75g green olives
  • Salt and Pepper

Method :

  1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C
  2. Slice ham and olives
  3. In a large bowl beat the eggs with the flour, salt and pepper
  4. Slowly add the oil and the hot milk, mixing all the time with a whisk
  5. Add the grated cheese, ham and olives
  6. Spoon the mixture into a madeleine tin and cook for 15 minutes

HamMadeleines