A Plate of Good Food

My adventures in the kitchen and other things

Strawberry Tarts

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I’d actually made these tarts to use up some of the rich ripe early summer strawberries from the in-laws’ garden a while ago. It never made it here mainly because I was pretty annoyed with the pastry shells that shrank on baking (again!) and wanted to get it absolutely right the next time. Of course, I never got around to making these tarts again and they did actually taste great with a filling of creamy creme patissiere topped with luscious deep red strawberries.

strawberry tartlets

So as the last few days of summer go by, I found myself reminisicing of the fun we had with all those strawberries and since this one’s quite a handy recipe for a make ahead dessert, I thought why not share it here. To make it even better, the original Michel Roux Jr. recipe calls for the use of a variety of fruits. So you see, you can make these tarts any time of the year with whatever fruit you have handy!

fruit tart

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Rabbit in Mustard Sauce – Lapin à la Moutarde

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Rabbit or lapin seems to be as commonplace as beef, chicken or lamb in French cuisine. It is commonly available in any local supermarket right beside chicken, duck and other poultry.

Last week, we happened to have a lovely dinner at the local ‘bar tabac’ (the local joint where workers in the area hang out and have their lunch daily or  a beer at the end of the day) where Monique, the lady who runs it, cooked up quite a meal.  We’ve come to love these rustic meals where you’re fed until you have to be rolled out of your seat – the usual meal consists of at least 4 courses if not more, all for a princely sum of around 11-15 EUR including a carafe of wine. So, when at Monique’s place, we tasted the main course of rabbit, it reminded me of how i’d tried out a rabbit in mustard sauce recipe once before. We’d really enjoyed it and when I spotted some great looking rabbit meat on our last supermarket trip, I knew I had to make it once more and share it here.

rabbit stew

lapin a la moutarde

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Chicken & Yoghurt Curry

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If you’re looking for a mild curry to satisfy your curry cravings then you should try this one. I made this simple dish to accompany the fiery beef stew the other day so that everybody at the table had something to their taste. It went down a treat and so, I thought I’d share it here.

indian chicken curry

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Spicy Indian Beef Stew

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The last few weeks have been both busy and quiet. Busy with family and quiet as we took a week long trip to the Dordogne region, some 3 hours from where we’re at the moment. So, although I’ve been in the kitchen and have tried out interesting recipes, I never really got around to documenting them here.

Yesterday, however, I made an Indian dinner on special request from my dear step father-in-law whose b’day it was and who really loves spicy exotic food. The menu included chicken smothered in a yoghurt sauce, a spicy beef stew and a side dish of pan fried aubergines along with a cucumber coriander raita to cool things off. Dessert was creme brulee indianised by the addition of cardamom and orange zest for extra measure.

Indian dinner

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Apricot Almond Cake

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If you are like me and keep buying irrestibily good looking fruit and then wonder what to do with it, then this recipe is for you. I originally found this Dan Lepard recipe for an apricot tart quite interesting. However, when I finally got down to using up some lovely apricots I got from the supermarket, I decided to make a cake instead.

apricot cake

fresh apricot cake

I would change just one thing if I were to make it again – I’d use a slightly bigger cake tin. The 20-inch tin I used made the cake thicker than I wanted it to be and hence, it was difficult to cut a truly modest slice. Not a bad thing however if you’re in the mood for some indulgence.

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