First Fish !

It was a long time ago I did not write anything ! It is just that I have been so busy , and writing a decent article takes a few hours if not , like in my case , days . Anyway , I have made up a few little menus the last couple of weeks , menus that I wanted to share with you . My aunt - fabulous cook and once youngest woman chef of Belgium , nothing less - visited and we talked about my project . Until , she suddenly asks me : " what difference are you giving to the people who read you ? Because most of your recipes are not your own . " Well , to that I said , without a doubt : " I am very well aware of that . The purpose of this blog is not only to show what I can create , but also how I can assemble what I create . It goes beyond the actual cooking part . It is also about assembling different dishes , trying to show my way of shaping up a menu , giving it a kick , and pleasing the palate . Who likes a dinner where dishes flow , but none has any link with each other ? Have you - for example - already had a meal in Belgium ? I am very proud of my origins , but , let's face it , their food culture is not the finest . They make good staple , but that is almost it . As an entrée , you are very likely to be served "kaas kroketten" ( cheese crocets or I do not know how to say that in Enlgish ) . This , followed by a "vol au vent" or "carbonnade" with Belgian fries . Very niiiice . And your stomach ? I hope there is still a little place in there because wait for the dessert ! Mousse au chocolat ! What a meal ! I swear , the next day , you swap breakfast . Enfin voila , and to that , my aunt - whom I sometimes help with " inspiration" said : " Not bad . I myself resent choosing recipes and creating a menu . " So , here we go . First menu . It was a nice summer day , and the market inspired me . I tried to keep the meal fresh yet comfortable .

Tepid salad of leeks, coppa and red pepper

Red mullet with laurel and anchovy butter - Summer tian

 Spiced apple brunoise with a dollop of Petit-Suisse

The entrée and the dessert were originally created by : bcommebon.canalblog.com

The main course comes from the Cuisine et Vins de France magazine

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Tepid salad of leeks, coppa and red pepper

For 4 people as a first-course

Ingredients: 2 leeks ; 8 thin slices of coppa ; red pepper ; sea salt ; vinegar ; olive oil

Recipe:

- Clean and cut the leeks in nice wedges (approx. 2,5cm long). Bring salted water to boil, and put in the leeks until they are tender (the time will depend on how big your pieces are, but it should take around 5 big minutes)

-Drain them and leave them to cool (really, you should count a least 10 minutes. I did not wait long enough, and the result was not the same as the first time I tried it out)

-Meanwhile, cut your coppa into thin long pieces

-In small cups, assemble the leeks and coppa. Season. Pour over a spoon of olive oil and one of balsamic vinegar.

Red mullet with laurel and anchovy butter - Summer tian

For 4 people

1.  Red mullets

Ingredients: 4 cleaned 200-gr. red mullets ; 8 laurel leaves ; salt ; 10 anchovies ; 125 gr. butter; pepper ; pink bays ; olive oil

Recipe:

-Rinse the anchovies. Take out the central nerve and rinse again. Dry them on white absorbant paper.

-In a bowl, assemble the anchovies, the butter and pepper. Mix.

-Season your mullets with salt and put two laurel leaves in its belly. Dust the fish with flour.

-Heat a good lug of olive oil in a wide pan. When it is very hot, put in the mullets and sizzle until tender.

-When the fish are ready, eat them immediatly, served with the butter, and a few pink bays.

          2. Tian

Ingredients: 3 tomatoes; 2 yellow courgettes; 2 green courgettes; 2 oignons;a big glass of vegetable stock; basil ; thyme; rosemary; black olive tapenade ; salt and pepper

Recipe:

-Heat your oven to 170°

-Rinse your vegetables. Cut the tomatoes into slices (+/- 0,5 cm). Peel 1 ribbon/2 of the courgettes (well, I do not know how to say this properly in English but anyway, the vegetable should show a nice griddle), cut them into slices (+/- 0,5 cm). Peel the oignons and cut them into thin slices.

-Coat an oven plate with olive oil. Make a little bed of oignons and sprinkle it with dollops of tapenade. Season lightly (careful! The tapenade can be very salty...).

-Arrange your vegetables in line on this bed. Try to do tomato/yellow courgette/green courgette and so on...

-Sprinkle with the thinly cut fresh herbs, freshly grinded black pepper and sea salt.

-Let's go! Put the plate in the oven for at least 45 minutes, pouring over some hot vegetable stock if it loos too dry. The oignons should be soft underneath!

Spiced apple brunoise with a dollop of Petit-Suisse

For 4 people

Ingredients: 8 small red apples ; 3 Petits-Suisses ; a coffee spoon butter ; 60 g raw sugar flavoured with a table spoon of cinnamon - 6 table spoons of raw sugar flavoured with a coffee spoon of ginger - 70 g almond powder - the juice of 1/2 a lemon

Recipe:

-Heat a pan and pour in the powder. Wait for it to become lightly coloured. Set aside. When it is less hot, whisk in 2 table spoons of the ginger sugar

-Peel the apples and cut them en Brunoise (very very very small squares). Add the lemon juice and cinnamon sugar. Heat the butter in a pan and add the apples. Caramelize them. Set aside.

-Whisk the remaining ginger sugar with the Petit-Suisse.

-Make your verrine: at the bottom of a glass or cup, place some almond power. Cover with the apples and finish with a spoonful of Petit-Suisse. BON APPETIT!

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P.S.: The picture was made by my best friend, who has an incredible talent. This particular photography was included in the book she had to make to enter one of Belgium's best art schools. And, she got in !