Garlic mushroom, followed by canard a la Normande with
roasted potatoes, cheese and red velvet cupcake as dessert. This recipe serves four and is not that difficult to cook - could be quite good for a Christmas meal.
The starter - Garlic Mushroom
This is one of the first dishes I learned to cook. It is a good option to offer as starter if you have vegetarian friends, but it does take some time to make.
3 or 4 garlic bulbs
450 grams of baby mushroom
200 ml of white wine (you may need a bit more, it depends on
your taste)
1 tbs soy sauce
Pepper
Parsley
Olive oil
Peel the garlic bulbs and press them, or chop them finely.
Clean the mushrooms. If you can, use a brush to remove the dirt. If you don’t
have a brush, wash them and dry them with a paper towel.
Heat the oil in a frying pan and then add the garlic. Fry
for less than 20 seconds. Pour a little bit of white wine on the garlic and
then add the mushrooms. Fry for a minute or so and then add the soy sauce and
the pepper. Mix well. After 3 minutes,
add more wine. Continue to cook in high fire for a couple of minutes and then
lower the temperature and let the mushroom dehydrate and absorb the wine. Add
chopped parsley and a bit more of wine if you wish.
The mushrooms should reduce quite a bit after 20 minutes or
so in medium to low fire. Remember to add wine if you feel they will stick to
the pan. When ready to serve, move to a plate and sparkle fresh parsley on top.
Tip – you can place the individual portions of mushrooms in
a ramequin and cover with grated cheese. Pop in the oven at high temperature
for three minutes or until the cheese melts. Serve immediately with good white
wine and bread.
The main dish - Canard a la Normande with roasted potatoes
A dish from the land of the wife… we’ll start with the
potatoes
Roasted potatoes
1 kg of large potatoes
Salt
4 tbs of plain flour
1 tbs of mustard
1 tbs of olive oil or butter
Clean, peel and cut the potatoes in squares. Rinse well and put
in a pot. Cover with cold water. Add salt and bring to the boil. Let it simmer
for a few minutes. Remove from the fire as soon as you can easily pinch the
potatoes with a fork, but you cannot get through them yet. It’s very important
to avoid over cooking.
Turn on the oven at 180 degrees.
Drain the potatoes. Place the potatoes in a plate and
sprinkle with flour. Add the mustard and make sure all sides are well coated. In
a heated oven dish, add the oil or butter. Put the potatoes in there and given
them a shake. Put this in the oven and cook for 20 minutes. Do not turn the
potatoes around at this stage. Once they have roasted at the bottom, turn them
and allow them to cook 20 more minutes. Drain any excess water, sprinkle with
salt and serve!
Now the duck...
Duck a la Normande
2 red apples
100 ml of crème fraiche
3 tbs of calvados
½ tbps of cinnamon powder
Salt (preferable sea salt) and pepper
Remove the excess fat from the duck but leave the skin on. Take
the duck breast and make diagonal incisions on the ducks’ skin. Then repeat the
incisions but from the opposite side. The idea is to form a grid on the duck.
Make sure the knife doesn’t go into the meat.
Cover both sides with salt and pepper. On the criss-cross
side, cover with cinnamon. Be generous with the cinnamon but not so much with
the salt.
Turn on the oven at 180 degrees (if you haven’t already done
so for your potatoes).
Place the duck in a cold frying pan with the skin of the
duck against the metal. Do not add any oil!!! Place the pan on the stove making
sure the cooker is off and cold. Turn the cooker on and increase the
temperature gradually until medium-high. This will allow the heat to penetrate
the duck gently, releasing the fat of the duck’s skin without sealing the meat.
When the skin is crispy, turn the meat around and seal it
for 30 seconds or so. Turn the duck around one more time and with a spoon
remove the excess fat from the pan and reserve. Pop the frying pan in the oven
for about 7 minutes. If you don’t have a metallic oven-proof pan, use an oven
dish that has already been kept hot in the oven.
In the meantime, remove the heart and skin of the apples. Slice
the apples and cook them in the duck fat on medium fire. Add a bit of salt and
pepper, flipping the slices after two minutes of cooking. Let the apples cook
for another two or three minutes.
After that, add the calvados and the crème fraiche to the
apples and cook at medium fire for a few minutes.
Meanwhile, take the duck out of the oven and cut in 1cm
slices. The meat should be cooked in the outside but red/pink in the centre. Serve
in the plate and cover with the apple and calvados sauce.
Enjoy with a nice red wine.
The cheese
Serve a nice cheese with bread and/or lettuce. This is the
easy bit of the meal.
Dessert - Red Velvet cupcakes (see details of the frosting below)
140 grams of plain four
1 tbs of bicarbonate of soda
2 tbs of cocoa powder
115 grams of unsalted butter
140 grams of caster sugar
1 large egg beaten
125 ml of buttermilk
1 tbs of vanilla extract
1 tbsp of red food colouring
Preheat the oven at 180 degrees
Mix the flour, bicarbonate of soda and cocoa powder in a
bowl.
In a different bowl, mix the butter and sugar until they are
fully integrated. Add the egg and mix well. Then, gradually add half of the
flour mixture. Beat in the buttermilk, the vanilla and red colouring. Add the
rest of the flour mixture.
Fill the paper cases in the cupcake tray. Bake for 15 to 20
minutes or until they have risen enough. Turn off the oven and give a few
minutes before opening the door.
Take the cupcakes out and let them cool down.
Frosting
140 grams of cream cheese
85 grams of unsalted butter
280 grams of icing sugar
Mix the cheese and butter well. Add the sugar gradually
until fully integrated and the mixture is smooth and creamy.
Cover the cupcakes with the frosting once these are cold.
Tip for decoration
In a plastic bag, add 50 grams of caster sugar with a bit of
the red colouring. Using your fingers, take the exterior of the bag and rub the
sugar until it absorbs the red colouring.
Sprinkle over the frosting.
Voila!
