A friend of mine recently gave me a fabulous book on how to make all kind of spreads. This particular raspberry and black pepper curd recipe picked my curiosity… Raspberry and black pepper, really?!

Well, let me tell you these two perfectly match! Used in the right proportions, black pepper amazingly enhance raspberry’s taste. And if you’re not convinced, you can just skip the pepper part and enjoy a delicious raspberry curd

You can spread it on bread or sweet buns, mix it with plain yogurt, use as a pastry case and so many more. Amongst other pastries, I used it to make individual fig tartes tatin that came out wonderful. Unfortunately they were all gone before I could take pictures!

This recipe is a perfect basis for tons of desserts. Stay tuned; I’ll definitely post a bunch of recipes using this raspberry curd.

Here is a link to the original book « Pâtes à tartiner » by Rachel Khoo on Amazon.

Preparation time: 10 minutes – Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients (for about 1 lb / 450 g)

0.6 lb (300 g) of fresh or frozen raspberries
0.4 lb (200 g) of sugar
3,5 oz (100 g) of butter (at room temperature)
3 eggs
2 tablespoons of water
1 teaspoon of freshly grounded black pepper
1 pinch of salt

Instructions

Hint: In order to easily sterilize the jars you’ll be using, just put them in a cold oven, set heat to 350°F (180°C – Th 6). Once temperature has reached, leave the jars for 20 minutes in the oven. Let them cool down, you’re done! Ready to be filled.

1/ Heat a medium pan over low heat, add raspberries, water, sugar, eggs, ground black pepper and salt. Stir with a wooden spoon.

2/ Dice butter into small pieces.

3/ When raspberries begin to break and mixture is starting to bubble, add butter and stir until it has melt.

4/ Increase heat and keep stirring the curd mixture until it thickens. (Your raspberry curd should coat the wooden spoon, not staying liquid)

5/ Rub immediately through a sieve (prefer a plastic one, a metallic one would spoil fruit flavor), and pour into an airtight container or a sterilized pot.

You can keep it for 3 weeks in the fridge.

Have fun making more recipes with it

Here are some cute savory flans really easy to make. They’re a perfect side dish for fish or meat and you can find thousands of variations. This recipe features Parmesan, goat cheese and spinach. Once you’ve mastered them you can let your imagination fly and try broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, eggplants or any vegetable you like with all sorts of cheeses. It’s a great recipe, very useful whenever you don’t have much in the fridge

Preparation time: 20 minutes – Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients (for 2 to 3 servings)

1 lb (450 g) of fresh spinach leaves
2 1/2 oz (75 g) of goat cheese
1 1/2 oz (45 g) of grated Parmesan
2 eggs
2 tablespoons of heavy cream
2 teaspoons of butter
Salt & pepper

Instructions

1/ Wash and dry spinach leaves thoroughly. Pinch off the stems.

2/ Melt 1 teaspoon of butter in a frying pan over medium-low heat. Add spinach leaves and stir regularly until they’re soft.

3/ Preheat oven to 350° F (180° C/ Th 6).

4/ Dice goat cheese.

5/ Break eggs in a large bowl and whisk them with a fork. Add heavy cream, Parmesan, goat cheese and spinach. Add salt and pepper and whisk again.

6/ Grease individual ramekins with butter and pour flan mixture into them.

7/ Bake in oven for 20 minutes and serve right away.

My life is pretty crazy right now, I’m having a hard time finding moments to post
But don’t worry, I keep cooking and shooting so I’ll have a lot of dishes to share with you once I can escape more often from by business!

This lamb and pistachio skewers recipe was inspired by the French « Saveurs » magazine although it ended up a lot different from the original. These kebabs are a variation of the Mediterranean kofta. Like the original, they’re served with a mint and yogurt sauce and can be eaten with some salad in a flatbread.

Preparation time: 30 minutes – Cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients (for 4 servings)

Lamb and pistachio skewers

1.3 lbs (600 g) of  ground lamb meat
1 oz (30 g) of shelled pistachio nuts
6 sprigs of fresh parsley
1 egg
1 onion
2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 teaspoon of ground cilantro
1 squeeze of lemon juice
Salt & pepper

Yogurt sauce

2 Greek yogurts
30 mint leaves
1 garlic clove
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Salt & pepper

Instructions

1/ Prepare mint yogurt sauce: Peel and chop garlic finely. Rinse, dry and chop mint leaves. Combine yogurt, garlic, mint, olive oil, salt and pepper. Keep in the fridge.

2/ Prepare skewers: Rinse, dry and chop parsley. Peel and chop onion. Chop pistachio nuts.

3/ Break egg in a small bowl and whisk it with a fork.

4/ Keep some chopped pistachios aside for sprinkling. In a large salad bowl, combine lamb meat, onion, pistachios, parsley, olive oil, breadcrumbs and whisked eggs.

5/ Add one squeeze of lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper and scrunch all together with your hands.

6/ Preheat oven over grill position. Line a baking sheet on a baking tray. Wash your hands with cold water. Don’t get them totally dry, meat will stick less on your hands.

7/ Mold lamb mixture around each skewer into a kind of flat sausage. Place kebabs on the baking tray as they’re made.

8/ Bake in oven for 10 minutes, turning them after 5 minutes.

9/ Sprinkle with chopped pistachios and serve with mint yogurt sauce.

Bechamel sauce is a basic in French cooking. It’s a thick sauce made of butter, flour, milk and nutmeg that adds creaminess to a lot of famous French dishes. You can use it for making veggies au gratin with spinach, egg plant, Belgian endives or anything you like! Bechamel is often used in lasagna and eggs mimosa. You can even subsitute creme fraiche with Bechamel when making quiches! Explore

Bechamel sauce is also used in the famous Croque-Monsieur served in Parisian brasseries. Coming soon…

Preparation time: 15 to 20 minutes

Ingredients (for 2 cups)

1.4 oz (40 g) of butter
4 tablespoons (1.4 oz/ 40 g) of flour
2 cups (50 cl) of milk
1/4 teaspoon of grated nutmeg
Salt & pepper

Instructions

1/ Dice butter and melt it in a small pan over low heat. (Be careful not to let your butter get burnt! Once it gets a brownish color, it’s too late… The taste has changed and it’s pretty bad for health eating it like that. If it happens to you, best choice is to throw it out and do it again with new butter.)

2/ Once butter is melted, add all flour at once and stir energically with a wooden spoon until mixture is homegeneous.

3/ Let mixture cook for about 5 minutes stirring often so it doesn’t get burnt. (You’ll see it bubbling; mixture should keep its white color at all times.)

4/ Pour a small quantity of milk and stir. Repeat operation until you get a nice creamy texture. (If it is too liquid, just leave it for a while over low heat, it will thicken.)

5/ Season with grated nutmeg, salt and pepper and stir again. (At this point, you should taste your bechamel and adjust seasoning if needed.)

6/ That’s it! Ready to use

There are many ways of cooking rabbit in French cuisine but with mustard sauce is the most famous of them. In my version of the recipe, I use both Dijon mustard and old fashioned mustard. That’s because old fashioned mustard doesn’t taste as strong as Dijon mustard. It’s a way to get the Dijon’s taste keeping the old fashioned look of the dish.

If you only have one kind, don’t worry, it should work too

Preparation time: 10 minutes – Cooking time: 50 minutes

Ingredients (for 4 servings)

1 whole rabbit (cleaned, in pieces)
4 tablespoons of old fashioned mustard
2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons of creme fraiche
1 glass (25 cl) of dry white wine
1 tablespoon of olive oil
3 shallots
Salt & pepper

Instructions

1/ Season rabbit pieces with salt and spread them with old fashioned mustard using a kitchen brush or a knife.

2/ Pour olive oil in a large iron-cast casserole. Heat it over medium heat.

3/ Peel and chop shallots.

4/ When oil is hot, add rabbit pieces and leave them 2 minutes on each side or until they get a golden color. Take them off casserole and set aside. (If your casserole is too small to broil all rabbit at once, repeat this step several times).

5/ Pour shallots into the casserole.

6/ Once shallots are translucent, add white wine and get to a smooth boil until the strong smell of alcohol is gone.

7/ Return rabbit pieces to the casserole. Cover and leave over medium/low heat for 25 minutes.

8/ Combine creme fraiche with Dijon mustard and the old fashioned mustard you have left (if any).

9/ Uncover casserole, add mustard sauce and stir well so your sauce is homogeneous.

10/ Leave it simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until sauce thickens.

11/ Serve with potatoes, rice or tagliatelle and top generously with mustard sauce.