Home schooling
Get your children involved in cooking and you can enjoy culinary adventures together, writes Fred Berkmiller of l’escargot bleu
Today it feels more important than ever to find new social activities as we have been deprived of them for nearly a year now. I feel food can, and should, be the key to fun, smiles and happiness at home. Surely turning into a home teacher is not an easy thing to do, and being successful at it even harder. One thing I know is that the school of happiness for a youngster is probably the best school ever.
I come from a working class family and our food budget was always tight. But my grandmothers and parents always took the time to prepare good food for us. It didn’t have to be expensive. Very often just a couple of eggs, some pasta, milk, mustard or honey would do the trick. We made simple cakes or crêpes as a fun way to pass the time. A nice way to entertain us and feed us.
So, I encourage you to cook with your children, discover recipes together, show them how to peel an onion, use the cooker, get familiar with a knife. Children are not stupid, trust them.
Coq au vin
It’s always a pleasure to place this dish in the centre of the table to share with family, or friends. The list and quantities of ingredients will vary depending on the size of the chicken and the number of guests. A 3kg chicken will serve six to eight people with leftovers for another meal. Serves four to six
1 chicken cut into pieces
1 or 2 bottles of red wine
1 or 2 onions, peeled and roughly chopped
1 or 2 carrots peeled and roughly chopped
1 bouquet garnis 1 or 2 garlic cloves
50g beurre manié (25g butter mixed well with 25g flour using a spatula) flour oil – olive oil or vegetable for frying butter for frying salt and pepper
1 Pre-heat the oven to 160C/gas Mark 3 and season the pieces of chicken with fine salt and pepper then roll in flour, tapping off the excess. Set aside. 2 Heat a heavy-bottomed pan or frying pan, and add some oil and butter. When fairly hot place the chicken pieces in for a few minutes until golden all over, turning them as you cook. Do this with all the chicken. 3 Once browned, get rid of excess grease from your pan, then sweat the onions, carrots and garlic on a medium heat. Add the bouquet garnis and pour two-thirds of the wine into the pan. Bring to the boil then cook for a few minutes on a medium heat.
4 Add the chicken to the sauce and return to the boil. Then cover with a lid and place in the pre-heated oven for about 45 minutes to an hour.
5 Once cooked, leave the chicken to cool in the sauce, then remove it and place it in a clean pot or cocotte. Pass the sauce through a sieve, pouring it over the chicken and bring it back to the heat slowly.
6 Place the beurre manié in a bowl and pour the hot sauce over it whilst whisking – this will thicken the sauce. Then pour the sauce back into the pot or cocotte with the chicken and stir. Add the rest of the wine, stirring it without breaking the chicken. Taste and season if necessary. Cook on a medium heat for a few minutes to finish the sauce.
7 Serve, with artisanal pasta or mashed potatoes. Sautéed mushrooms with bacon and glazed onions can also be a nice addition.
Steak tartare
The meat and all ingredients should be only be mixed when ready to serve. Never mix the ingredients and place them back in the fridge.
Serves four to six
400-600g hanger steak 1 onion/shallot, peeled and diced very finely
1 or 2 crushed cloves of garlic
2 soup spoons of finely chopped parsley, chives, chervil and tarragon a dash of tomato ketchup a splash of olive oil a dash or two of Tabasco sauce a dash or two of Worcester sauce a few baby capers a few chopped gherkins salt and pepper
1 small egg yolk per 100g of meat
1 Cut and dice the meat by hand to a size of your choice using a very sharp knife. Place the meat in a mixing bowl in the fridge while chopping all the other ingredients.
2 When everything is ready, add all the ingredients to a large mixing bowl, season well with salt and pepper, and mix using a spoon.
3 Mix well for a couple of minute and taste, season again and taste again.
4 You can keep more of the ingredients in little dishes for your guests to help themselves and add any to their liking.
5 To serve, use a couple of forks to form a patty shape of the mixture on each plate.
6 This is perfect served with croutons, a green salad and sautéed potatoes.
Bourguignon of beef cheeks, garniture grand-mère
The secret of a good Bourguignon is very simple. The longer it takes, the better it tastes!
Serves four to six
4 to 6 beef cheeks, diced 500ml red wine
2 onions, peeled and cut into large dice
2 large carrots, peeled and cut into large dice
1 large bouquet garni
10 black peppercorns
2 celery stalks
2 dashes of cognac
3 dashes of olive oil
3 knobs of butter
1 litre demi-glace (beef stock) 2 tablespoons plain flour 200g button mushrooms 200g lardons
200g silverskin onions
20g caster sugar
1 Put 400ml of the wine in a large container then add in the carrot, onion, celery, bouquet garni, peppercorns, a dash of olive oil and cognac. Cover with cling film or a lid and place in the fridge for 2 days.
2 After 2 days, add in the diced beef cheeks and keep for another 2 days in the fridge, turning the meat upside
down every day. You can then keep it for up to 5 days until you’re ready to cook.
3 When the meat has marinated, drain and retain the wine and the bouquet garni, putting all vegetables aside until needed. Place the meat on a tray between two drying clothes, so the meat is completely dry.
4 Preheat the oven to 140C/gas Mark 1 5 Sear the meat on a very high heat in a cast iron casserole pot with butter and a dash of olive oil, and brown until golden all over. Remove from the pot and set to one side. Lower the heat and sweat the marinated vegetables until the onions are cooked. Then put the meat back into the pot and sprinkle over the flour. Stir, then pour over the marinade. Bring to the boil and season. Stir in a litre of beef stock and add the bouquet garni. Cook in the pre-heated oven for 2 to 3 hours. When cooked, the meat should be not far from falling apart.
6 Remove the meat from the pot and set aside. Pass the sauce through a strainer into another pot and bring to the boil. Keep reducing until it’s a good consistency. Taste it and season. Taste again to check the seasoning. Then return the meat to the sauce.
7 You can serve the same day or keep it for a day or two in the fridge. When needed, pour in the rest of the wine, and gently bring to the boil, simmering until hot.
8 Meanwhile, prepare the grandmère garnish. Sauté the mushrooms in a frying pan in oil and butter until well coloured. Drain and reserve. Sauté the lardons in the same pan, then set aside with mushrooms. Fry the silverskin onions with butter and sugar until golden. Drain. Then sauté all the garnish together.
9 When ready to serve, add the garnish to the top of the Bourguignon casserole.