Dinner Party: One Night in Paris

Last weekend I hosted a fabulous dinner party for five fabulous friends. The theme (clearly) was French, and I am proud to announce that despite my initial stress about cooking this completely new and terrifying-to-me cuisine, everything turned out looking great and tasting even better. I even got Franc to eat his vegetables :) 

Here's a run down of what was served.

We kicked off the evening with the most amazing cheeses from the Vic Markets. Incredible, oozy, buttery brie; sharp, pungent roquefort and a clean, mild cheddar. All delicious and oh so moorish.

For entree we had ratatouille, and yes, I did watch the movie while I was preparing it, thanks for asking. Main was a rich cassoulet brimming with tender pork belly, speck and flaked duck served alongside creamy potato gratin, mustardy green beans, french style peas, a rocket & walnut salad and (the thing I am most proud of) my homemade baguettes!

For dessert I made a tangy lemon tart, which, despite not looking as pretty as I had hoped, made up for in flavour what it lacked in appearances.

So, now that I have your mouth watering, let's see the recipes! This menu serves six hungry tummies...

Baguettes

4 cups plain flour

7g (1 sachet) dried yeast

2 tsp flaked sea salt

1 1/2 cups warm water

Oil (to grease the bowl)

In a mixing bowl, combine the flour and the salt. In another bowl, combine the yeast, warm water and then add in half of the flour & salt mixture. Use a wooden spoon (or your hands)mix until it forms a dough, then cover with a clean tea towel and let it sit at room temperature for 2 - 3 hours. It should triple in size.

Gently incorporate the remaining flour & salt, then turn onto a lightly floured bench and knead for about 10 minutes. The dough should be supple and elastic when you stop kneading.

Place the dough into a clean, lightly oiled bowl and cover again with  the tea towel. Let this rest  for 1 hour until it is doubled in size.

Preheat your oven to 220°C. Grab the dough and knead it again briefly, then cut into 3 equal parts and form each piece into a long baguette. Place on a baking tray and let them rest for 20 minutes. I sprinkled mine with sesame seeds and made little decorative cuts along the top at this point, but you could leave them plain if you prefer.

Place a heatproof bowl of water in the oven (this helps create a super crispy crust) and bake the baguettes for 20 - 25 minutes or until golden brown. 

 

Ratatouille

1 eggplant, thinly sliced

1 zucchini, thinly sliced

3 roma tomatoes, sliced

2 - 3 sprigs fresh oregano

1 cup tomato passata

Sea salt & cracked black pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

Pour the passata into the bottom of a 20cm pie dish, and sprinkle with salt, pepper and a sprigs-worth of oregano leaves. Then layer the vegetables in a circular direction, alternating them along the way. Sprinkle with more salt and pepper, oregano leaves and drizzle with olive oil. Bake in a 180°C oven for 25 minutes, or until the vegetables have really softened, then gently scoop onto your serving plates. 

I made my portions quite small as you can see, as I didn't want to overstuff my guests straight away!

Cassoulet

1 cup dried cannelini beans (soaked overnight in cold water)

500g pork belly, cut into 2cm cubes

200g speck, cut into batons

2 pork & garlic sausages

2 duck marylands

2 brown onions, coarsely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 sprig thyme

1 sprig rosemary

400g can chopped tomatoes

3 cups chicken stock

1 1/2 cups fresh breadcrumbs (made from day old bread) 

Olive oil 
Cracked black pepper

Preheat your oven to 140°C. Heat oil in a large casserole pan over high heat, add half the pork and cook for 5 minutes or until browned. Transfer to a bowl and repeat with the second half.

Add the speck to the pan and cook for 2 minutes or until brown then transfer to the bowl with the pork belly. Add the sausages and cook, turning occasionally for 5 minutes or until brown all over, then slice thickly on the diagonal.


Add the duck skin side down and cook for 4-5 minutes or until the skin is crisp then turn and cook until the meat is browned. Transfer to the bowl. Next add the onion and garlic and saute until soft. Return the pork belly, speck, sausage and duck to the pan, then add the thyme and rosemary. Drain the beans and add to the mix, along with the tomatoes and stock. Season with pepper, remove from the heat, cover with a lid and transfer to the oven.


Bake for 1 1/2 hours or until the meat is tender. Remove the duck marylands and use forks to coarsely flake the meat from the bone, then return to the cassoulet. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs then bake, uncovered, for 30 - 40 minutes or until the top is crisp and golden.

Mustardy Green Beans

4 handfuls of green beans, ends trimmed
2 - 3 tsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
7 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 medium shallot, peeled and finely chopped
Sea salt & cracked black pepper

Bring a pot of water to the boil and cook the beans until bright green and just tender. While this is happening make your dressing by whisking together the mustard, vinegar and olive oil, then season with salt and pepper and mix through the chopped shallot. Once the beans are cooked, drain and dress immediately.

French-Style Peas

1kg fresh peas, shelled (you can use a bag of frozen if you like)

3 gem lettuces, thinly sliced

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp flour

300ml chicken stock

2 sprigs fresh mint

Juice of half a lemon

Sea salt & cracked black pepper

Add the butter and flour to a hot pan, then pour in the stock and whisk until smooth and bubbling. Add the peas, lettuce, mint and lemon juice, season with salt and pepper and remove from the heat. You want the lettuce to be just wilted.

 

Potato Gratin

6 large waxy potatoes, thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, crushed

300ml thickened cream

Sea salt & cracked black pepper

1 tsp butter, to grease the dish

Grease a 25cm dish with butter, and line with a layer of potato. Sprinkle over a teeny bit of garlic, season with salt and pepper then repeat with another layer of potato and so on, until the dish is full. Be careful not to go overboard with the garlic, your really do only need the smallest amount.

Pour over the cream, cover tightly with foil and bake in a 200°C oven for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and cook for a further 15 minutes, or until the top is golden and bubbling.

Rocket and Walnut Salad

1 bag rocket 

Juice of half a lemon

1 handful walnuts

Pretty simple really.... Arrange the rocket on a serving platter, squeeze over the lemon juice and sprinkle with walnuts.

And now for dessert.....

Lemon Tart

Pastry
250g plain flour

150g butter, cut into cubes

100g caster sugar

1 egg
 

Filling
4 large eggs
40g butter, chopped into pieces

2/3 cup thickened cream
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice

200g caster sugar

Finely grated zest of one lemon

Place the flour and butter into a food processor and blend until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the caster sugar and egg, then blend again until the mixture comes together in a ball. Wrap the pastry ball in glad wrap and rest in the fridge for 2 hours.

Once the pastry has been rested, roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface until it is 1/2 centimetre thick. Next, use your rolling pin to carefully lift the pastry into a 25cm tart shell, and use your fingers to shape the pastry to fit the shell. Return to the fridge to rest for 1 hour.

Preheat your oven to 165°C, line the tart shell with foil and fill with rice to prevent it from rising in the oven. Bake the tart for 40 minutes, or until just golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before removing the rice. Reduce the oven temperature to 120°C.

To make the filling you will need a medium saucepan and a large heatproof bowl to sit on top. One-quarter fill the saucepan with water, sit the bowl on top of the saucepan (checking that the base of the bowl doesn't touch the water) and bring the saucepan of water to a gentle simmer.

Crack the eggs into the bowl and lightly whisk with a fork to combine. Add butter, cream, lemon juice, zest and sugar, then stir to combine.
 

Stir the mixture constantly with a wooden spoon for around 20 minutes, scraping the base and sides of the bowl to prevent the mixture sticking and overcooking. You will need to adjust the heat to keep the water at a simmer (don't allow the water to boil). After 20 minutes the mixture should be slightly thickened and just coating the back of your spoon. 

Pour the filling through a fine sieve into the pastry case to remove any lumps, and smooth the surface of the filling with the spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake for about 18-20 minutes on the lowest rack in the oven. The tart is ready when the filling is set around the edges and slightly wobbly in the centre if you shake it gently.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack. Serve dusted with a little icing sugar and fresh cream.

And there you have it folks, one French dinner party. I have to say, it was a lot of work but certainly a lot of fun, and most definitely a delight to eat!