Cervelle de Canut
In French, this curious name means "silk-weaver's brain", but don't be alarmed, this tasty "brain" consists of cottage cheese mixed with herbs, vinegar and finely chopped shallots.
The Canuts were the silk weavers in the area around Lyon, France. In the nineteenth century this was one of their favourite dishes.
The Canuts were the silk weavers in the area around Lyon, France. In the nineteenth century this was one of their favourite dishes.
19K 2 3.5
Last modified on: August 1st 2021
Keywords for this recipe:For 1 kg, you will need:
- 1
800 g cottage (or curd) cheese - 2
6 shallots - 3
4 cloves garlic - 4
chives - 5
parsley - 6
8 tablespoons liquid cream - 7
8 tablespoons olive oil - 8
8 tablespoons white (spirit) vinegar - 9
salt - 10
pepper - Total weight: 1,350 grams
How long does it take?
Time required for this recipe:
| Preparation | Resting | Start to finish |
|---|---|---|
| 21 min. | 1 hour | 1 hour 21 min. |
At what time:
- When will I finish if I start the recipe at ... ?
When should I start for the recipe to be ready at ... ? - Work this out...
Step by step recipe
Stage 1 - 1 hour
Thoroughly drain 800 g cottage (or curd) cheese: put in a strainer over a bowl and leave for at least 1 hour.
Stage 2 - 10 min.
Meanwhile, peel 6 shallots and 4 cloves garlic. Prepare the chives and parsley.
If you can, pick a few chive flowers as well.
If you can, pick a few chive flowers as well.
Stage 3 - 3 min.
Chop the shallots and garlic cloves very finely.
Stage 4 - 2 min.
Chop the parsley and chives.
Stage 5 - 2 min.
Transfer the drained cottage cheese to a bowl, add 8 tablespoons liquid cream and beat with a whisk to loosen the cheese.
Stage 6 - 2 min.
Salt and pepper, then add 8 tablespoons olive oil and 8 tablespoons white (spirit) vinegar. Beat again to mix well.
Stage 7 - 2 min.
Add the shallots, herbs and the chive flowers if you have some, and mix these in with a spoon.
Check the seasoning.
Your Cervelle de Canut is ready.
Check the seasoning.
Your Cervelle de Canut is ready.
Stage 8
You can enjoy it on fingers of toast...
Stage 9
...as an aperitif snack.
Stage 10
Or as part of a meal with, say, steamed potatoes.
Remarks
The amounts given are for guidance, so do adapt them, a little more of this or less of that, to suit your taste.
The herbs can be whatever you prefer: parsley and chives as here, or chervil and tarragon, which also work well.
The herbs can be whatever you prefer: parsley and chives as here, or chervil and tarragon, which also work well.
Keeping
1 or 2 days in the fridge, covered with plastic film.
Source
Home made.
Nutritional information
| Whole recipe | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Energetic value | Proteins | Carbohydrates | Fats |
| 2,413 Kcal or 10,103 Kj | 96 gr | 78 gr | 190 gr |
| 121 % | 37 % | 7 % | 29 % |
| Per 100 g | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Energetic value | Proteins | Carbohydrates | Fats |
| 179 Kcal or 749 Kj | 7 gr | 6 gr | 14 gr |
| 9 % | 3 % | 1 % | 2 % |
How much will it cost?
- For 1 kg : 5.20 €
Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
This recipe uses (among others)
 | Cottage (or curd) cheese : You can check-out other recipes which use it, like for example: Frozen cottage cheese with strawberries, ... All |
 | White (spirit) vinegar: You can check-out other recipes which use it, like for example: Caesar salad, Béarnaise sauce, Provençal remoulade sauce, Puff or flaky pastry (pâte feuilletée), Sautéed chicken with leeks, ... All |
 | Liquid cream: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: French toast "cordon bleu", Soft Croque-monsieur with 3 cheeses, Little vanilla, clementine and chestnut verrines, Ham pasta bake, Involtinis, ... All |
 | Olive oil: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Mushrooms on toast, French style, Roasted leeks with pesto, Kérinou slices, Fillets of sole Dieppoise, Chicken and mushroom brik rolls, ... All |
Other recipes you may also like
Almond cream or frangipane
Light and delicious, it is used in a lot of desserts like tarts, cakes and pies (epiphany galette).440K 25 44 min. January 23th 2022
Pumpkin (or potimarron) soup
A smooth and fragrant soup, it's much better with potimarron (Japanese chestnut pumpkin) than ordinary pumpkin.329K4.1 1 hour 10 min. October 13th 2010
Salmon "en papillote" with small vegetables
A fresh salmon escalope just salt and pepper with small dices of small vegetables.236K 15 1 hour 28 min. June 22th 2011
Chocolate almond cookies
Cookies made with ground almonds, chocolate chips and a little cocoa.225K 14.3 1 hour 49 min. February 21th 2011
Eton mess
Behind this strange name there lurks a delicious traditional English dessert made of meringues, strawberries and cream.155K5 4 hours 55 min. July 25th 2010
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2024-04-28)
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Post your comment or question
Follow this recipe
If you are interested in this recipe, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the recipe is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.