All things French

by Food Diva -Vanesha Palani...Sharing her Love of Food & Travel

 

 Over the last few days I’ve been constantly hit by French inspiration. Great tennis at the French open, good wine and French design by Louis Vuitton. I’ve never been crazy about French food as I always thought it to be far too pretentious however I soon realized that French food is very much like me. We can come across as pretentious however deep down we’re just simple, warm at heart and always stylish.

 

People often ask me what’s my style of cooking and the best way to describe it is – I love cooking food that is simple, easy to make , with as little fuss as possible, but that definitely gets lots of “oohs” and “aaaahs” when presented and always the letting out of a belt notch or two. I also cook food that requires very few ingredients and ingredients that are always easy to find. There’s nothing that I hate more than getting a million ingredients for a recipe, that cost a fortune, to never use again. So my recipes can be made easily with everything that can be found in a Woolworth’s food store.


The cold front hitting Johannesburg has reminded me that winter is definitely here and called for me to kick into gear and prepare something hearty. What better than a classic French dish, beef bourguignon served with buttery mash followed with a yummy French almost flourless chocolate cake. Oh, that’s another thing you need to know about me….I’m a chocolate addict. So you can look forward to chocolate featuring frequently on my blog. For my debut blog however, I’m giving you my favorite and most decadent chocolate recipe. I believe strongly in making grand entrances…..no half measures. Try this cake and everyone will love you.

Before I get carried away with the cake, first things first. We start with the beef bourguignon. Not as exciting as the cake but every bit as yummy. The beef bourguignon is not something you make on a whim. It has to be well planned as the beef has to be marinated in red wine and it’s best when marinated overnight. Believe me its well worth the wait and this step should never be compromised.



You’ll need the following ingredients:

• 200 gr baby Onions
• 200 gr baby Carrots
• 2 long peices of Celery. 1cm slices.
• 3 Bay leaves
• 1 Tbsp Whole peppercorns
• 1kg Cubed beef : I use sirloin or rump
• 4 cloves of Garlic
• 1 bottle of Red wine, always use the best bottle you can afford. Since the dish is from the burgundy region in France, a Pinot noir is probably the best red wine to keep the regional flavour. you will need to use the bottle, but the chef can be spared a sip or two.

Marinate all the ingredients together and leave in the fridge overnight.

• 1tbsp Olive oil
• 100gr Pancetta, diced
• 1tbsp Butter
• 2tsp Dijon mustard
• Parsley

To cook
Use a good cast iron pot (I prefer le Creuset) and add the olive oil. Brown the meat. Add salt. Remove from pan. Then fry the diced pancetta, add onions, add butter, and add the garlic and the marinated vegetables. Cook for 5 min. Add Dijon mustard . Then add beef. Stir and cook for 5min. pour in wine marinade. Cook on low heat for 2 1/2 hours. Add chopped parsley.
Serve with buttery mash potatoes.The way I like this served is with a glass of good red wine, snuggled in front of a warm fire.



Now on to the bit that I’ve been waiting for…the chocolate cake. The cake is best a day after being baked, so its perfect to make before you marinate the beef. This cake is the easiest, with only 5 ingredients, but it’s the most impressive chocolate cake. Its beautifully rich, fudgy, chocolaty…. its liked a baked chocolate mousse.

Using good chocolate is key and I normally use 70% dark Lindt. However for this cake I used a 78% Ecuador cacao chocolate from Fine and Raw chocolates. I met Lara from Fine and Raw at the amazing Neighbourgoods market in Juta Street in Johannesburg. Lara convinced me to try her chocolate in this recipe. I didn’t need much convincing after tasting her amazing hot chocolate drink. The cake is absolutely amazing with Fine and Raw chocolate. Thanks Lara.




You’ll need:

• 225gr 70% dark chocolate
• 225gr butter.
• 225gr castor sugar
• 5 large eggs
• 1tbsp of flour, sifted

Melt butter and chocolate in a bowl over boiling water. Once melted remove from the heat. Stir in castor sugar. Then add eggs one at a time not beating tool much as this is a dense cake and you don’t want to get too much air in the cake. Then add the flour.
Put in a well-greased 20cm spring form tin lined with greaseproof paper. Bake at 180 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove from oven once done. Centre will be squiggly but don’t worry it’s perfect once cooled. Cut the cake at least 3 hours after being baked. It’s much better the next day, so if you can resist, wait for the next day. I love this cake served with a dollop of mascarpone cream and some fresh raspberries.



I hope you enjoy making these recipes. I want to give a special thank you to my sous chef, my husband, Prej. He used the be the chef in the house, but I think after these recipes, he has to admit that I’ve taken over… Here’s another sound bite about me…I’m very competitive.

Watch out for my next blog where I’ll be talking about stereotypes .

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FOR EASY INFO ON ACCOMMODATION, ENTERTAINMENT, EATING OUT, WELLNESS SERVICES AND MORE, VISIT our sister sites: www.localspots.co.za and www.iguestandtraveller.co.za