Vanilla sugar

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Almost essential in patisserie, you can find it in expensive little sachets of about 10g. It's necessary to distinguish between the vanilla sugar which really contains vanilla, and vanillin sugar, purely chemical which has never seen a vanilla pod. Here is how to quickly make a whole jar full of your own vanilla sugar.

Citrus crunch

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These are fine crumbs of candied citrus peel. It can be used to sprinkle a dessert or other preparation to add both crunch and the flavour of the chosen citrus fruit. It is easy to prepare well in advance, and will keep in an airtight jar. This recipe is given for clementines, but can be made with all citrus fruits: lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit...

Preserved tomatoes

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Softer than dried tomatoes, they can be used as a kind of chutney in pasta dishes for instance, or simply served to accompany an aperitif.

Pannacotta and blackcurrant crumble

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This is a glass of pannacotta, with a layer of blackcurrent coulis, and a crunchy almond crumble scatterd on top.

Poaching syrup

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Less sweet than normal sugar syrup, poaching syrup is specially for slow cooking fruits to be used in other recipes.

Quick bramble jelly

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Fruit jelly is jam made with the juice only. All the skin and seeds are strained out, which gives a very smooth texture. Here's a quick recipe which will give you an excellent jelly, and which keeps the full flavour of the blackberries thanks to its very brief cooking.

Preserved lemons

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For this recipe, the lemons are sliced first (this makes them easier to use later), then salted to drain off the juice before being bottled in herb-flavoured olive oil. These preserved lemons can be used in all sorts of dishes, especially with fish and poultry.

Baker's pizza

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Baker's pizza is very quick to make using a basic bread dough. If you buy the dough ready-made (ask your local baker) and use a good tomato sauce from a jar, you can have it ready for the oven in under 10 minutes.

Red mixed pickle

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This mixed pickle is made with a variety of vegetables left to mature for 2 weeks in diluted vinegar. The result is similar to gherkins and can be added to lots of recipes, or eaten with a snack or sandwich. This red version gets its name from beetroot and red cabbage, which eventually colour everything else in the jar.

Pork Chops Champvallon style

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Pork chops à la Champvallon are a nicely historic recipe of meat and potatoes in long cooking.

Apricot jelly

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An apricot jelly is made using only the pulp of the fruit, removing the skin and any fibrous parts, which requires some cooking. The result is a much smoother, more pleasant preparation, a little less tart than a classic jam.

How to peel hazelnuts

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The skin of whole hazelnuts, unlike that of almonds, doesn't improve their taste - on the contrary. So you need to remove it before using them, and here's how.

Douarnenez salad

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For this Breton-inspired salad, warm white beans, sardine fillets and slices of radish, a delicious mix for a triple contrast: land and sea, crunchy and soft, hot and cold.

Blackcurrant liqueur

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The fruit liqueurs (or "creams" in French) are a mix of neutral alcohol in which fruits are macerated, and sugar syrup. They are the basis of the very famous "Kir", mixture of dry white wine and blackcurrant liqueur. This recipe is for blackcurrant, but it can be made with other soft fruits like raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, etc.

Pickled gherkins

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Preparing your own gherkins in vinegar is quite straightforward, if you know how to avoid a few pitfalls. Here's a recipe which works every time.

Praline

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Praline is a preparation of caramelized nuts (in this case almonds), with a very characteristic flavour. Either crushed or as a paste, it is used to fill or flavour all manner of things like creams, chocolates, biscuits, etc.

Pistachio powder or paste

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Pistachio paste has a similar texture to almond paste, but the similarity ends there, as its flavour and colour are quite characteristic.

Quick orange marmalade

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Just oranges (organic) and sugar in this simplified marmalade recipe.

Raspberry sorbet

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To make a seriously good raspberry sorbet, the fruit must be of the best quality, of course, but there is another little secret: you need to remove all the seeds to make a really smooth coulis. It is this smooth coulis that makes the sorbet so deliciously velvety.

Feta in olive oil with herbs

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This recipe tells you how to preserve cubes of feta with herbs. It will keep for a long time and improves with keeping. Using this feta in a salad, such as Greek salad, adds an amazing flavour.

Some hints for a pizza-party

A pizza party is always a very pleasant and convivial occasion. Good people (friends and family) get together to enjoy delicious pizzas, baked right in the oven. Here are a few tips to help you make yours a success.
July 14^th 2025196 K3.7

Polynesian arrow

A Polynesian arrow is an arrow with a tail that is thrown by hand, using a piece of string. The result is a "slingshot" effect that propels the arrow much further than if it were simply thrown by hand.It's a craft to do with children, for example on an afternoon when they're a bit idle...
August 29^th 2023217 K 14.3

bayleaf

Bay is a kind of laurel, grown as a shrub or small tree, of which the leaves are used, fresh or dry (other laurels are toxic). Bayleaves are used frequently in mediterraneen cooking.
August 29^th 202395 K4.2

Start off well to cook well

What do I need to get started in the kitchen? First of all, a good website! That's it, you're there ;-), then a minimum of equipment, and the few products you should always have in your cupboards or fridge. Here are a few things to help you make your choices.
August 29^th 2023341 K 13.6

Preservative oil, an asset for taste

When you prepare a dish using an ingredient that has been preserved in fat, for example a springtime mixed salad with tuna in oil or sun-dried tomatoes, you're probably going to make a french dressing (vinaigrette) next. In that case, why not use the preserved oil from the tuna or tomatoes?
June 5^th 20248,7755

The time of the jams

We are well into summer as I write this, and this is the time when most of the fruit is giving or about to give in full. And for many of us, it will also be the time for jams and jellies, one of the best ways to preserve fruit for the next winter.
July 12^th 202128 K4.5

There is vanilla and vanilla

The vanilla is a delicious taste that can be found in many many dessert recipes, creams (the cream and the cream for example), ice creams, but also cakes and entremets. Whenever you need to add this vanilla note, you have several possible choices because vanilla is commercially available in...
December 14^th 201713 K5

The taste of raw tomatoes

Let's take a look at tomatoes, which are still in full bloom at the end of summer (as I write these lines), and which make for delicious salads. I had already talked to you about the interest of peeling tomatoes, which gives them an extraordinary sweetness in the mouth, but let's talk about the...
September 8^th 201816 K4.9

Roasting spices

If you like your food a little, or a lot, spicy, you'll no doubt have a jar or sachets of mixed spices in your cupboards from which to draw when preparing a dish. I'm thinking, for example, of curries, chili and couscous, all of which fill the kitchen, and sometimes far beyond...
October 30^th 202011 K4.9

Parmesan cheese crusts

If you use Parmesan cheese (Parmigiano Reggiano) in your recipes, you may have already noticed: when you grate it, it becomes (very) difficult near the crust, especially if it is a slightly aged parmesan, as the cheese gets harder and harder. So we stop grating, leaving some crust on top, and a...
September 14^th 202218 K4.9

Always secure your cutting board

When using a cutting board, it's very important that it's stable and doesn't move while you're cutting, for safety's sake. Boards have a natural tendency to slide on the work surface, but here are 2 ways to block them effectively.
July 1^st 20255,9645

With vinegar?

When you buy a jar of pickles labeled “in vinegar,” you’re looking for their tangy, crunchy flavor to go with cold cuts, sandwiches, or salads. You expect to find small gherkins preserved in vinegar, with salt and herbs, but is that really the case?
July 15^th 20266164.8

Griottine cherries

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The griottines cherries are small red cherries, pitted and kept in a Kirsch syrup.
18 K4.5