Like Maman used to make Delicious recipes from Raymond Blanc’s brand-new cookbook

Chef Raymond Blanc brings you four favourite recipes from his brand-new cookery book

Chicken braised with white wine and mustard

Lapin à la moutarde is the dish of braised rabbit that brought a tear to my mother’s eye, and also made her smile. She’d cry because she loved the rabbit that went to make the meal she was eating. She’d smile because lapin à la moutarde – rabbit braised with mustard, white wine and tarragon – is magical. This technique of braising or one-pot cooking can be adapted to suit any meat, and has a wonderful sauce that is herby and gently acidic. As rabbits are kept as pets, I thought it best to share my recipe for chicken braised with white wine and Dijon mustard. Any of your favourite herbs and vegetables can be added.

Serves 4-6 ✢ Prep 10 mins ✢ Cook 1 hr sea salt and black pepper

4 chicken thighs and 4 drumsticks ½ white onion

6 garlic cloves

3 big, fat ripe tomatoes

150ml white wine

3tbsp sunflower or rapeseed oil 2tbsp white wine vinegar

4 pinches of sea salt flakes

6 whole black peppercorns

1 heaped tbsp Dijon mustard

1 large tarragon sprig 5-6 sage leaves a small handful of chopped curly or flat-leafed parsley or chives, to finish 1 Preheat the oven to 150C/130C fan/ Gas 2. Season the chicken flesh (not the skin). Chop the onion. Finely slice the peeled garlic. Chop the tomatoes.

2 In a small saucepan, bring the white wine to the boil and let it boil for 10 secs before removing it from the heat. This will remove some of the alcohol but keep the freshness of the wine. Reserve.

3 In a large heavy-based casserole dish over a medium heat, heat the oil, then sear and lightly colour the chicken for 7-8 mins. Transfer them to a plate.

4 Add the onion and garlic to the casserole and sweeten them over the heat for 4-5 mins, but do not brown them. Spoon out some of the fat, pour in the vinegar – it will give off a slightly aggressive smell but when that’s faded, that is just right, and reduce it to a syrup.

5 Add the salt and peppercorns and the boiled white wine. Whisk in the mustard, add the chopped tomatoes, whole tarragon sprig and sage leaves. Pour in 100ml water and return the chicken to the pan. Bring to the boil, cover with a lid (or tinfoil) and transfer to the oven to cook for 35-40 mins, stirring occasionally. Test the chicken is cooked by taking out a leg and cutting down to the bone to check it’s not pink in the centre. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

6 Garnish with the chopped parsley or chives. Serve at the table from the pot.

Baked Camembert

If you feel lazy but fancy a party, and if you happen to have a ripe Camembert in your fridge, it’s time to get it out. Baked cheese can be relished, like a warm mini fondue, before or after dessert. Or it can be served with drinks before supper, as a canapé to dip into and share.

Serves 2-4 ✢ Prep 5 mins ✢ Cook 20 mins 1 rosemary sprig

2 garlic cloves

1 red chilli

1 box (about 250g) Camembert cheese 1 Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/

Gas 4. Pick the rosemary leaves from the sprig. Finely chop the peeled garlic and red chilli. Put to one side.

2 Prepare the Camembert by removing the lid of the box and partly unwrapping the cheese so that the base remains wrapped. Place the lid of the box beneath the base for extra support. Using a sharp knife, score a lattice pattern (about

½cm deep) on the top of the cheese.

3 Gently push the rosemary, garlic and chilli into the top of the cheese.

4 Place the Camembert, still in its box, on a baking tray, and bake for 15-20 mins. The rind should be unbroken and should not be browned. Leave the cheese to cool for a few mins before serving in the box, warm and gooey. Instruct your guests, ‘Please reach for the cheese scoops!’ These may be morsels of bread, cheese biscuits, sliced celery or pear, or spoons. >>

Pear almondine

It’s rare to find a dessert that is both simple and extraordinarily delicious. Pear almondine is one of my favourites. You can find excellent preserved Williams pears in jars or tins, ideal for this recipe. For baking like this, use a baking stone. If you don’t have this, it will still be a winner.

Serves 6 Prep 10 mins Cook 20 mins ✢ ✢ 6 pear halves, tinned or jarred

100g unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for brushing the tin

100g caster sugar

100g ground almonds

1tsp cornflour

1tsp vanilla extract

1 medium egg (preferably organic or free-range) a handful of flaked almonds (for extra flavour, first toast them in a dry pan) icing sugar, for dusting

1 Preheat the oven to 160C/140C fan/

Gas 3. Butter (or oil) a tart ring, about 18 x 2cm. Cut a long strip of greaseproof paper to stick to the inside. Place the lined tart ring on a lined baking tray or baking stone.

2 Drain the pears and slice them in half again if they are large. In a large bowl, mix the softened butter and sugar. Then add ground almonds, cornflour, vanilla and egg, and mix well. Spoon the mixture into the tart ring, spreading it evenly.

3 Arrange the pear halves evenly around the outside of the tart, resting them on top of the almond sponge mixture, and with the tip of each half meeting in the middle. According to size of the pears, you may require the base of half a pear to fill a space in the centre. Scatter with almonds.

4 Bake the tart on the middle shelf of the oven, on the preheated baking stone or baking tray, for 16-20 mins, or until golden.

5 Leave the cake to cool for a few mins before removing it from the ring.

6 Before serving, dust with icing sugar.

VARIATION

1 In a saucepan, reduce the syrup from the jar, let it cool and add a dash of poire William, the pear liqueur.

2 After baking, puncture the pears with a fork and pour over the syrup. It adds colour and flavour.

Tartiflette

If I close my eyes, I am back there.

The snow is falling heavily, and indoors a log fire crackles. My mother is in the kitchen, she lifts her nose – she has detected that something is cooked to the point of delicious, and it is ready to come out of the oven. ‘Ah, la tartiflette,’ says Maman. She opens the oven door and produces a piping-hot dish of sliced potatoes, bacon and onion in a creamy, Comté-cheesy sauce. Tartiflette is a peasant dish and the best comfort food. This is my version, finished under the grill. Of course, you can make it without the cream, but I think it’s a must. Serves 4 Prep 10 mins ✢

Cook 25 mins ✢

600g King Edward or Maris

Piper potatoes

150g smoked streaky bacon, cold

1 large white onion

100g Comté cheese (preferably 12 months old)

1tbsp sunflower oil

2 thyme sprigs pinch of sea salt

200-300ml double cream

½ handful of finely chopped chives, to garnish