Cooking French Food with Angela in Zurich

Last year in June, Angela was back in Zürich for a visit. We had planned a cooking session with her before she left for North Carolina, but unfortunately things got too hectic with her move. As she was coming to visit she very kindly offered to do the french cooking planned from the previous year. We used the American Women's Club kitchen for this event. It was great and we'd certainly host another meeting there next time we need a large kitchen.

Here are some of Angela's recipes, collected from various cooking classes taken in Paris:

Tarte a l’oignon Onion Tart

Ingredients:
1 roll puff pastry or Pate Brisee
600 g sweet onions (oignons doux des Cévennes or oignon de Roscoff)
200ml cream
salt, pepper,
nutmeg (not ground nutmeg)
1 teaspoon sugar

Prepare the onions: peel and slice. Sauté them in a part with 40 grams of butter at a low temperature till tender and golden, for about 10 minutes
Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of sugar, cook 10 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Allow to cool.

Grease your tart mold, push the pastry into the pie shell, prick with a fork.
Fill with the sautéed onion Season the cream with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Pour over the onions.

Bake 30 to 40 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 180C. Serve warm

Pate Brisee:
200 grams flour
100 grams butter, softened
1 egg yolk
3 tablespoons water
pinch of salt

In a food processor, mix quickly the flour and the soft butter, add the water, the salt and the egg yolk. Mix quickly, stop when the batter forms a ball. Wrap in a plastic film. Let rest 1 hour in the fudge. Sprinkle flour on the table and roll your dough.



Salad of smoked duck breast and warm grapes



I have the recipe in pdf format only at present. Email me if you want it.



Veal with Morels




Roti de Veau aux Morilles (Veal with Morels)

For 6 people

Veal roast ca. 1 kg
25 grams dried morels
250 grams mushrooms
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 tomatoes, peeled and diced
2 carrots, diced
1 TB veal stock powder
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
300 ml apple cider
250 ml cream
butter, oil, salt, pepper


Heat 1 TB oil in a heavy casserole pan. Brown the veal roast on all sides. Transfer to a plate. Sauté vegetables (tomatoes, garlic onions, carrots) for 5 minutes, or until slightly tender. Add half the cider and the veal stock powder. Return roast to pan. Season with salt and pepper. Cook over low heat for 1 hour 15 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare the dried morels: soak them in hot water for 15 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Drain the liquid, reserve 100ml liquid and put aside. Pat dry the moreIs and cut them into 2 (or into 4 pieces, if large).

Clean and slice mushrooms. Heat some butter in a frying pan and sauté mushrooms. Add morels, cook for 2 minutes.

When the meat is cooked, remove and cover with foil and keep warm. Add the remaining cider, 100ml of the juice from the morels and cream. Reduce sauce for 5 minutes.
Add the mushrooms and the morels. Check seasoning.

Cut the meat, and pour over the sauce. Serve with rice and sautéed apples




Tian de Courgettes
Zucchini Gratin
For 6 people

Ingredients

1 kg zucchini
3 garlic cloves
2-3 TB chopped parsley
1 cup milk
2 small eggs
100g shredded cheese (Comté or gruyere)
2 TB olive oil
salt and pepper

Preparation

1. Slice the zucchini. Melt the 2 TB of olive oil in a frying pan, add the zucchini and cook to brown for about 10-15 minutes while constantly watching them. You may have to sauté them half at a time. Add salt and pepper.

2. Mix in a bowl the pressed garlic, the parsley and the milk and the eggs. Add half of the cheese. Add salt and pepper.

3. Put into a gratin dish. Add the rest of the grated cheese on top. Cook about 20 to 30 minutes at 180°C or 375°F.

Serve with either meat or poultry or a fish dish without a cream sauce. Can be made ahead and reheated.

This dish can be made with leeks instead of zucchini. Mushrooms can be added as well. Clean the leeks well by cutting off most of the dark green part, leaving about 1 inch of the darker green part with the light green. To clean: cut a cross down the top and rinse under cold water. Bring abut 1 1/2 liters of water to a boil; put in 2 chicken bouillon cubes to dissolve. Cook the leeks in barely simmering water for about 10 minutes then drain. Cut the leeks into about 3-4 pieces each and continue as above.

Zucchini Gratin



Caramel Apple Shortcake
Apple Sables with Caramel Sauce
(For 4 people)
Ingredients

Pastry (Pàte Sablée)
2 egg yolks
250 g (1 2/3 cup) flour
75g (1/2cup+ I TB) powdered sugar
120g butter, softened
1 TB warm milk
pinch salt
3 apples (granny smith, elstar or goldens)
2 1/2 TB butter
50 g (1/2 cup) walnuts
50 g (4 TB) sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Caramel
80g (6TB) sugar
120 ml cream
45g (3TB) salted butter
2 TB water

Preparation
1. Pastry: Put in a food processor: sugar, softened butter and yolks. Mix well. Add the flour. When crumbly, add the milk. Put in the fridge for about 3 hours before using in order to give the butter time to harden.

2. Roll out the pastry thinly. Cut the pastry into 8 circles of about 3-4 inches in diameter and cook for about 4-8 minutes in an oven at 200°C or 390°F. Let cool. This can be done ahead of time.

3. Peel and de-seed the apples. Cut into thin slices (each quarter into 5ths). Chop the nuts.

4. Make the caramel: In a heavy-bottom pan, put the sugar and water. Heat it over a high heat until a caramel is formed, At that point, add the cream. Add the butter and mix well.
5. In a teflon pan, melt the butter and add the sugar. Let the sugar start to caramelize and put in the nuts first. Add the apple pieces. Cook for about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with cinnamon. All this can be done ahead. The apples should be slightly undercooked.

6. Put one sablee on a plate. Add some apple and nut mixture. Put another sablée on top and some more apple/nut mixture. Surround with the caramel mixture, which can be heated up if it is not hot. The caramel should be served warm.

Serve with vanilla ice cream sprinkled with cinnamon.







The apple sablée were amazing, definitely my fav out of all the wonderful things we cooked.