Brittany lobster with butter tarragon sauce

Nervous and excited, that’s essentially how I felt about cooking lobster. We had a very Annie Hall moment in the kitchen, as much as I had no problems holding these glorious shellfish, there was no way I would plunge them in boiling water, so I asked my husband to do the job. To celebrate last week’s Bastille day, we ordered lobsters from Brittany at our … Continue reading Brittany lobster with butter tarragon sauce

Old-fashioned chocolate mousse with salted butter caramel chunks

It was so enjoyable having our friends stay over recently – they had previously spent a holiday in Brittany visiting relatives and brought us a bag of local treats – a delightful Kouign Aman (traditional butter and sugar cake), galettes, pancakes and the most amazing salted butter caramel spread ever! In Brittany, every Bretons and Bretonnes believe that life cannot exist without butter. We ate … Continue reading Old-fashioned chocolate mousse with salted butter caramel chunks

Black pig flank and apple sauce

When I visited Yves Bruneau butcher’s shop earlier this week, I bought Pierre Oteiza’s label of black pig. Pierre Oteiza is a champion charcutier from the ‘Vallée des Aldudes’ in France’s Pays Basque. He breeds exceptional meat, one of my favourite being the black pig. Roaming free in the green Basque pastures and forests, they are fed acorns and chestnuts. The meat is pure delicacy, … Continue reading Black pig flank and apple sauce

Summer trifle

Making trifles is like writing poetry. You can adapt to any season, add any ingredients you like and play around with different textures. It’s such a creative dessert, so scrumptuous and beautiful to look at, and most of all, so delicious. When I lived in London as a student, I loved all the cult classics, like scotch eggs, pork pies, Eton mess and berry trifles. … Continue reading Summer trifle

Merveilles

‘Merveilles‘ means wonders in French, and it’s just the kind of sweet pastry that brings me straight back to my childhood. When I was on holiday in the South of France, I remember buying ‘merveilles’ with my own pocket money at the market – the woman selling them was called Bernadette, she was a farmer’s wife, straight out of a baroque painting with her old-fashioned … Continue reading Merveilles