A big moment during the day is the ‘apéritif’ hour, an interlude between the end of an activity and the beginning of a meal. A glass of rosé wine or champagne (or anything you like), served with saucisson sec, pickles, and crunchy radishes is an important part of French food culture.

Radishes were traditionally eaten to stimulate the appetite and prepare the palate for food. These peppery pink vegetables, eaten with a sliver of butter and a pinch of fleur de sel, is one of the simple pleasures in life that make me love France so much. Whether you are in a bistrot or a three Michelin starred restaurant, you are likely to be served radishes, gougères and hopefully a glass of champagne! Read the rest of this entry »

Now that it is the month of June, the garden has really come to life. Without noticing it, a miracle has happened. Our walls are like romantic fragrant moodboards pinned with hundreds of beautiful shell pink roses. Having only lived in the country-side for less than two years, gardening has become a new passion. I am discovering flowers and plants everyday and getting a whole new level of ‘green’ education. I am fascinated by all the variety of roses, as there are more than three thousand of them. I can just imagine how lucky Josephine, wife of Napoleon Bonaparte, was when she established the most beautiful rose garden in Malmaison containing all the roses in the world.

Naturally, roses are my main inspiration these days. I wanted to fulfill this visual treat and add some sweetness to it, so I baked a cake dedicated to the rose garden. Roses and ruffles. I love old-fashioned cakes, something out of time and delicate. An edible fantasy turned into reality!

ps: Happy mother’s day to all the French mothers! It’s mother’s day in France today!

Ingredients:

Cake:

225 grs self-raising flour
225 grs butter, at room temperature
225 grs caster sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.
Mix all the ingredients into a large bowl and use an electric whisk on a low-speed. If you want a layer cake, pour the mixture into 2 non-stick (18cm) tins. I used a bundt cake pan (with a ‘swirled’ top and hole in the middle). Place them in the oven till golden brown 15-25 minutes, or until the ‘test-knife’ comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack before decorating.

Buttercream vanilla icing:

140 grs softened butter
150 grs icing/ confectioner’s sugar – sifted
1 tbsp vanilla essence
A pinch of salt
3 tbsp milk
1 tsp red food colouring

Roses for decoration. (Mine are organic)

Mix sifted icing sugar, butter, vanilla essence, salt and milk together in a large bowl. Refrigerate icing in the fridge for 30 minutes so it becomes firm. Sandwich the two cakes with a 1 cm thick icing layer. Fill a pastry bag with the pink buttercream and use a flat line tip for piping (a vertical slit about 1.5 cm length and 3-4mm thick). Start from the bottom of your cake and pipe in a back and forth direction (approx 2-3 cm wide). Repeat all over the cake. Remember, practice makes perfect!

Decorate with beautiful garden roses. Mine are organic.

Médoc is not only famous for its fine wines but also for some of the best oysters in the world. There are about 350 oyster farmers on the Arcachon Basin producing 10,000 tonnes of oysters a year. The basin has an enclosed bay with an ideal temperature for oyster farming. Oysters are sold everywhere, from markets to any street corner, and during the autumn season, stalls are setting up ‘en force’, getting ready for the winter, where oysters are the main attraction for the festivities of Christmas and New Year’s eve. In summer, the markets open little stalls where you can sit and have plates of oysters, served with a small glass of crisp and fresh white wine. Yesterday, I couldn’t resist buying ‘take-away’ oysters and have them at home for starters. I always serve them with lemons and a red wine vinegar/chopped shallots sauce.

We love going to Cap-Ferret on summer week-ends – it is about an hour’s drive from where we live. Cap-Ferret is renowned for its understated chic, beautiful white sand beaches, amazing pine forests, sand dunes and little oysters cabanons (sheds built on piles with rounded tiles). It is an idyllic place, like a venetian lagoon, where you get a taste of French paradise.

Duck confit parmentier is a classic Gascon dish, similar to a cottage pie, but with duck meat. It’s the kind of meal I would have as a ‘plat du jour’ (daily special) in a cozy bistrot with red and white checkered tablecloth, a salad on the side and a little glass of Bordeaux red wine. That’s what I call a perfect lunch.

I make my own duck confit – it is very easy and you can prepare it in advance. You can also use canned/preserved duck confit – if that is the case then this recipe will take very little time. I like to serve this duck confit parmentier as a savoury cake – so I bake it in a cake pan with a removable bottom (approx 25 cm). You can choose a classic baking dish if you wish. Serves 4-6.

Duck confit:

5 good-quality fresh duck legs
6 garlic cloves
handful of thyme
4-6 tbsp duck fat
Generous amount of salt and pepper

For the mashed potatoes:

5-6 large potatoes
4 tbsp crème fraîche
4 tbsp butter
30 grs parmesan

For the duck layer:

2 cloves garlic
2 shallots
1 onion
1 glass red wine
handful of parsley
Shredded duck meat from the confit
Butter or duck fat for frying

Cover your duck legs with ‘fleur de sel’ (coarse sea-salt) and rub them well. Cover and leave in your fridge overnight, but you can also salt your duck legs and leave them 2 hours in room temperature. When ready, take out the duck legs (make sure they are at room temperature, I always take out any meat I am about to cook 2 hours before) and place them in a oven-proof dish. Add 4-6 tbsp of duck fat over the duck legs. Add the garlic (with the skin on) and sprigs of thyme and bake in a preheated oven on 200°C for about 2 hours. I would recommend to check the duck legs after and hour and a half. When ready set aside and leave to cool. Separate meat from bones and skin with the help of a fork. Set aside.

Pre-heat oven 180 degrees celsius.

Chop the shallots, onion and garlic and fry in a large pan with the butter or duck fat for 4-5 minutes. Add the duck meat and chopped parsley, deglaze with the red wine, and reduce for 4-5 minutes. Place in the bottom of a the baking pan.

Peel the potatoes, cook them in boiling salted water until tender. Mash the potatoes, add butter, crème fraîche, salt and pepper. Mix well. Top the duck mixture with the mashed potatoes. With a fork, flatten the potatoes to create an even layer. Sprinkle with parmesan.

Bake in the oven for 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve with a salad on the side.

My daughter Louise woke up feeling unwell yesterday – she’s having a little cold. Nothing too serious, but I wanted her to stay at home and get some rest. I could see a ray of light glowing with happiness in her eyes when she asked: ‘Will I get Chinese rice for lunch?’ It is our family tradition to have ginger fried rice when someone gets ill. It’s our equivalent of chicken noodle soup for the soul. Growing up in Hong-Kong, Chinese herbal medicine was a way of living. There was always a soup boiling in the clay pot with goji berries, ginseng, lotus seeds, red dates to name a few. Every morning my mother gave me a spoon of bird-nest soup (delicacy in Chinese cuisine filled with minerals) before going to school. Nutrition has a purpose – natural preventive medicine.

Ginger does wonder to health, and I always make sure to have a few roots at home. Whether I use it as a spice for cooking or grate it for drinks, it’s my miracle ingredient. It acts as an anti-oxidant, has powerful enzymes for digestion, eliminates toxins and purifies blood. So next time you feel tired and unwell, try this drink: Boil one liter of water in a pan. Add 3 tbsp grated fresh ginger, 3 slices of ginger, 5 tbsp honey and set aside to cool. Drink this rejuvenating ‘potion’ all day long – you will be amazed with the results. My mother always said that ginger kills the bad fire caused by inflammatory food. That ‘bad fire’ is the source to all health problems.

Louise was very happy to have the ginger fried rice served in her princess bed – pure comfort food filled with goodness. It is so easy to make and takes a few minutes to cook.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp grated ginger root (I like to put 5 but it’s a bit strong for kids)
250 grs left-over cooked white rice
2 eggs
3 tbsp soya sauce
1 garlic clove (minced)
1 shallot (chopped finely)
3 tbsp canola or ground-nut oil

Heat the oil in a frying pan on a high heat. Fry the shallots, garlic and grated ginger for two minutes. Add the rice and stir well. Make a well in the middle of the pan and break the eggs in the center. Mix the eggs and cook in a ‘scrambled eggs’ style, then mix all the ingredients together in the pan. Add soya sauce and fry for two more minutes. Serve immediately.

What I enjoy most about butchers is their culinary ‘savoir-faire’. A butcher is like a consultant – meat is your primary material to build from. Each piece has a specific duty and a butcher is there to advise you on what is best for your cooking purpose.  I got to spend a very instructive afternoon with Michel Stein, butcher in Médoc.  Always in a humourous mood, Michel has an excellent selection of meat.  The Charolais beef, Corrèzes veal and various delicacies are extremely popular with the locals of Médoc.  Michel deals with farmers directly and has a very good reputation with his clientèle.  When I queue at Michel’s, I will know what half of the store will be having for dinner – now that is what I call inspiration.  Michel was kind enough to show me the tricks of the trade. I even learnt a few tips on cutting meat, and got to wear a very impressive aluminium disk apron for protection.

In France, people love talking about food. It’s a way of life. When I catch up with my aunt, it’s five minutes on general affairs, and fifty-five minutes on our culinary life.  Once a month, our dog-food delivery man Jacques comes over.  As he stays for coffee, he never fails to impress us with his woodcock recipes.   His account on cooking the bird, the cognac glazing, the pan-fried foie gras and the wine makes me have ‘l’eau à la bouche’ (mouth-watered state) by the time he leaves.   Médoc in the fall is a gourmet’s dream – it’s all about the ‘cèpes’ mushrooms – saying bonjour goes hand in hand with ‘did you find any cèpes today,’. In France, a butcher could be a food ‘shrink’ – he listens to your food stories (on the other side) and tries to direct you in the best possible way.

According to Michel, the bavette (beef flank steak) is the ‘butcher’s choice’.  For a delicious bavette bistro style, fry the meat in a searing hot pan with margarine and lots of shallots one minute on each sides.  Rare is a way of living when it comes to the ‘cuisson’ (cooking).  We discussed the importance of the quality of meat in France, and how unfortunately farmers are becoming more scarce by the year.

The main advice is clear:  we must consume less meat.  You would be doing a favour to the planet and to your health by avoiding large-scale meat production.  If you want to indulge in red meat, try to find a good artisanal butcher.  Less meat, but better quality.

I first discovered baba au rhum (rum baba cake) when I was a child visiting my grandmother in the South of France. Out of all the pastries, I was most fascinated by this one because it was ‘interdit’ (not allowed). Drenched in rum, dressed in whipped cream with a cherry on top, I had to wait a few more years before expressing my food independence.

Invented for an exiled Polish king who thought his marble cake was too dry and who’s favourite book was ‘One Thousand and One Nights’, the baba au rhum is today a national treasure in France. The pâtisserie Stohrer (51 rue Montorgueil 75002 Paris) is the birthplace of the baba. It really is one of the most special pâtisseries in the world.

I like to use a tube baking mold/pan with a ‘swirl’ pattern because it looks old-fashioned and perfect for this timeless cake.

Ingredients:

Cake:

120 grs plain flour
150 grs caster sugar
10 grs baking powder
50 grs melted butter
3 eggs (separated)
3 tbsp warm milk

Cream topping:

250 ml whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla essence
30 grs caster sugar

Rum syrup:

150 ml water
120 ml dark rum
150 grs caster sugar

For coating the cake:
40 grs apricot jam

Pre-heat oven, 180 degrees celsius

Cream egg yolks and sugar. Add the warm milk, melted butter, sifted flour and baking powder. Mix well.

Whisk egg whites till stiff, and gently fold into first batter.

Pour into buttered and floured cake mold.

Bake for 25 minutes. When ready, leave to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

Prepare the rum syrup. On a medium to light heat, heat the water and sugar till it starts boiling. Add the rum and lower heat for 2 minutes. Set aside until cool.

Whisk cream and vanilla until stiff, gradually adding the sugar.

Brush the cooled cake with the apricot jam to create a glossy cake.

Slowly pour the cool rum syrup in the center of the cake and wait till fully absorbed. Add the whipped cream in the center and on top of the cake.

Serve with more rum syrup if desired.

The roses in our garden have been the main attraction these days. They are so beautiful and smell like heaven – we have many different types with inviting names like Pierre de Ronsart, magical moment, Sombreuil and Félicité. In Rome a wild rose would be placed on the door of a room where secret matters were discussed. The phrase ‘sub rosa’, means to keep a secret — derived from this ancient Roman practice.
Meringues are so beautiful to make from the beginning till the end – there are so many endless flavours you can add. Inspired by our garden roses (organic of course), I made some candied rose petals, pink rose flavored meringues with a rose cream and strawberries. I serve these little treats with tea from Ladurée called Marie-Antoinette, a blend of China black tea, citrus notes, rose and jasmine. It was only fitting to call these meringues Marie-Antoinette’s secrets.

6 egg whites
300 grs caster sugar
1 tsp red food coloring
2 tbsp rose-water
25 cl whipping cream
sliced strawberries

Candied rose petals:

1 egg white
25 organic rose petals
35 grs white sugar

Candied rose petals:

Clean delicately the rose petals, and brush each petal gently with the frothy egg white. Sprinkle petals with white sugar and dry on a small wire rack or parchment paper covered plate for half a day, or even overnight.

Pre-heat your oven 140° celsius.

Whisk the egg whites until soft peaks start to appear, then you can start adding the sugar gradually, spoon by spoon, and the food coloring and 1 tbsp rose-water until the whites become glossy then stiff – this should take approx. 10-12 minutes. I use an electric whisk.

On a parchment line baking tray, form 26 little meringues. I use a pastry bag with a medium tip. Bake for 30-35 minutes. I always like my meringues to be slightly softer inside. When ready, open oven, switch off the heat, and leave to cool in the oven for 10 minutes, then place on a wire rack and leave to cool.

To make the rose whipped cream, whisk the cream until it starts to stiffen, add the rose-water and 25 grs sugar. Whisk again until it becomes fluffy and stiff.

Slice the strawberries. Set aside.

Make meringue ‘sandwiches’ – take two meringues place whipped rose cream, add sliced strawberries and place the other meringue on top. Repeat procedure for all the meringues.

If I didn’t live in France anymore, and came back as a visitor, what would I want to eat? I like to play these little ‘short-listing’ games – favourite dishes, restaurants and cities. One of the winners would be steak, French fries and Béarnaise sauce. This is my feel-good Friday night kind of meal – a juicy steak, covered in the best golden sauce, and finger licking good French fries with a beautiful glass of Bordeaux. What more could I ask for?

As I am a red meat fan, I love ‘Le Severo’ in Paris (8, Rue des plantes 75014 Paris). Owned by William Bernet (he was a butcher at the ‘Boucherie Nivernaises’, one of the best butchers in Paris), Le Severo is a red meat temple, serving the best steak-frites in Paris. He is also famous for a superb wine list. I once asked Bernet what was his secret for cooking the meat so perfectly. His answer was simple – ‘I use peanut oil’ (huile d’arachide). Now that is a good tip.

Can you believe Béarnaise sauce was a glorified mistake? The scene takes place in the kitchens of the ‘Henri IV pavilion’ in St-Germain-en-Laye in 1837. A cook by the name of ‘Collinet’ overboils a shallot sauce by letting it reduce too long. He decides to save it by adding egg yolks and herbs. When asked the name of his sauce, Collinet tries to find a name and gets inspired by Henri IV who came from Béarn province. The Béarnaise sauce was born!

Ingredients:

4 faux-filets (sirloin) steaks (this is my preference, but you can obviously choose your favourite type of steak)
250 grs butter
50 ml white wine
30 ml white wine vinegar
4 tsp water
4 egg yolks
2 shallots (chopped very finely)
salt and pepper
1/2 bouquet chervil (chopped)
1/2 bouquet tarragon (chopped)
Dash of peanut oil

Clarify your butter – melt the butter in a saucepan on a low heat. Simmer gently until the foam rises to the top. You should see the milk solids separating. Set aside to cool slightly, discard the foam, and pour the clear clarified butter in a bowl. You only want to keep the ‘clear’ butter which is perfect for cooking on high temperature and making sauces. You might want to use a strainer if you wish.

Chop the shallots and herbs very finely. Set aside

In another saucepan, boil the vinegar, white wine, finely chopped shallots, half of the herbs, salt and pepper until it has reduced and turned slighty syrup-like. Remove from heat, add the 4 egg yolks and the 4 tsp of water and whisk continuously. Return to a low heat, continue to whisk, and remove from heat every 1 minute – repeat this process for 10 minutes, constantly whisking until the sauce becomes frothy and starts thickening. By now your sauce should have reached its goal. Remove from heat and add the cooled clarified butter, continue to whisk, (just as if you were preparing a mayonnaise). You should obtain a beautiful thick yet smooth sauce. Add the rest of the chopped herbs. The key is to constantly whisk the sauce, alternating on/off the heat.

Fry your steak on a griddle or frying pan. Heat a frying pan or griddle on a high heat, and when the pan gets very hot, add a tsp of oil. Fry steak on both sides – I like mine medium, so about 2 minutes on each side.

Here are three golden rules when cooking steak: 1) Always take out the meat from the fridge 1 hour before cooking. 2) Salt the steak before cooking it. 3) Do not move of touch the steak when cooking. Just let it sizzle.

Serve with French fries.

‘Life without love is like a year without a summer‘ – Swedish proverb.

Summer has entered our lives in Médoc, with all its glorious flowers, green trees and lovely singing birds. The sweet and woodsy smell of the pine forest that surrounds us is so energizing!

There is so much life in our garden, from growing tomatoes, lemons, oranges, roses, fuchsias to name a few. Being passionate about flowers, I am starting to get very interested in edible flowers. There is a world of new ideas for recipes coming to my head, especially with lavender and roses, both organically grown here. Due to the popularity of the garden cake, I wanted to make another one with edible flowers and leaves from this season’s crop. I picked a few leaves from our vines, bellflowers (Campanula), thyme flower and lavender, all-organic of course. I couldn’t resist adding a dash of yellow, so I plucked a few tomato flowers, but be careful as they are not to be eaten.

Our new puppies were extremely interested in the cake, as you can see! Hugo, Harper, Halle and Hank are so irresistible – they are 2 and a half months now, and every time I look out the window they have learnt a new trick!