New Recipe - Gratin Dauphinois and a Menu Selection

Since I have been cooking for my husband and me I have always done this with cookbooks by the famous French chefs. I read them in the evening, like others read novels, chose favorites and cooked them the next day. Paul Bocuse was one of my first teachers, since I have known Alain Ducasse I have been modeling myself on him. I love his cuisine, always natural and always with this typical French raffinesse.

IMG_0972

You could start a menu with a sauté de légumes (s. photo above), lightly roasted vegetables with peanuts and a vinaigrette. Sadly you cannot open the video, it only works when you subscribe to Académie du Goût, something really worth to do. It is less than 60 Euro per year, you find there more than 5000 recipes and 2000 videos and you get newsletters with recipes, tips etc almost daily. The only challenge: it is written in French. This could be an impulse to start studying French …

IMG_0973

On the photo above: Soupe au Pistou – a consommé with vegetables, beans, pasta and “pistou” = the French pesto. This one is made of basil, garlic and parmesan (for a plant based version replace it with vegan cheese or oil or leave it out). After the primer and the soup you could serve the Gratin Dauphinois (s. photo and recipe below), something typical French, refined and delicious and easy to make.

IMG_0971

  • Ingredients* (serve 2 – 3)

  • 300 – 400 g potatoes
  • 1/2 fennel bulb (or more)
  • 300 ml plant milk (I took almond mild)
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 tbsp margarine (organic!, made of oil and seeds)
  • 10 cl plant cream (coconut, almond)
  • ground nutmeg
  • salt, pepper

Preheat oven to 180 ° C.

Wash potatoes and fennel bulb, peel potatoes. Slice potatoes and the fennel bulb finely (3 mm) with the help of a mandolin.

Peel garlic clove, mash. Heat plant milk in a pan, add garlic and salt. Let boil, add potatoe and fennel slices. Let cook for about 8 minutes.

Grease a casserole. In a bowl mix well cream, nutmeg, pepper and salt. Sieve the sliced vegetables and put into the casserole. Press firmly and cover with the cream. Bake for about 45 minutes. The vegetables should be soft inside and crispy outside. Serve and enjoy.

IMG_0975

As a dessert you could serve this nectarine sorbet, something very easy to make. You only need a few ingredients and you need not to own an ice cream machine. The trick is … this secret will be revealed in an extra post.

*I veganised the ingredients of course, this is quick and easily done.

Post a Comment