Tartiflette by Franck Raymond of Augustine Kitchen

January was pretty cold, wet and miserable, wasn't it? I caught some horrible cold, felt ill, and everyone got sick of being rained on. I don't know about you, but the whole experience left me craving hot, rich, comforting food to provide a little internal central heating. 

I don't know what we can expect from February. The weather in the UK is becoming..... more than a little unpredictable. But if we are due for more of the same, then I have a treat for you!

I was delighted to meet Chef Franck Raymond very recently, at his newly opened own restaurant, Augustine Kitchen in Battersea.  Franck is branching out on his own for the first time in London, having run his own restaurant in his French hometown of Evian, called Le Cheval Blanc. Chef Franck has worked for Marco Pierre White at the Oak Room and Titanic as Executive Sous Chef, followed by a position as Head Pastry Chef at Kensington Place. After that, he became the Head Chef at Mon Plaisir in London's Covent Garden and Head Chef at Le Marignac in Geneva, Switzerland (where he achieved the accolade of two Michelin stars). 

Chef Franck Raymond and Augustine Kitchen

Franck's home town of Evian (which is the place of the famous source of the mineral water) is close to the Franco-Swiss border. As a result, the food is influenced by both nation's culinary traditions. Alpine ingredients and cooking techniques are common in this area. 

Many people who have been skiing have discovered the warming, rich joy of Tartiflette. A cheesy, oozy, satisfying baked dish, perfect with a glass of chilled white wine is an excellent restorative after a day out in the cold. I don't ski. I'm far too much of a motor skills moron to master this very physical sport. But Tartiflette is an apres ski ritual I think I can get used to!

So, here is the Tartiflette recipe that Chef Franck was willing to share with me and my readers. I hope you will give it a go. 

Chef Franck and I

However if it all seems like too much hard work, you can always visit Augustine Kitchen and have Chef Franck make it for you. Tartiflette Tuesdays are starting at Augustine Kitchen and you can have CHef Franck serve you a big helping of Tartiflette, accompanied by a green salad and served the house aperitif of sparkling rose, priced at a very reasonable £14.95pp.

Tartiflette recipe by Chef Franck Raymond

You will need 2 frying pans, a skillet, a mixer, a saucepan and a gratin dish.

You will need to use Reblochon cheese for the Tartiflette to be made authentically.

(for 6 people)

Ingredients: 

450 grams of potatoes

160 grams of smoked bacon

200 gr onions

30cl dry white wine

30g butter

1/2 Reblochon

25 cL creme fraiche

75 cL semi-skimmed milk

2g of chicken bouillon

salt and pepper

water

Method:

Remove the rind from the Reblochon.

Peel the potatoes. Cut into large cubes and put them into water before they get dark. Drain and cook in water 15 minutes. 

Peel the onions, chop and sauté in a pan with 15g butter.

Add 30cl white wine and reduce until you have a syrupy juice.

Fry the bacon in a frying pan without fat. Slowly add it to the onions and let it rest. 

In a saucepan pour milk 75 cL and 25 cL of creme fraiche. Add half Reblochon cheese (cut into chunks) and reduce by half. Add a pinch of salt and 2 grams of chicken bouillon.

At the end of cooking, add a pinch of salt to the potatoes. Cook for further 2 minutes and drain. 

In the mixer, pour the sauce and the rest of Reblochon (add a little water). The sauce should be quite syrupy. 

In a skillet, sauté the potatoes. They should be lightly browned. Toss bacon and onions with potatoes. 

Put everything in a baking dish. Pour the Reblochon sauce evenly.

Cook for 10 minutes in an oven at 200 ° C. 

Augustine Kitchen

Opening Hours: 12:00 to 3:00 6:00 to 10:30

020 7978 7085

63 Battersea Bridge Road, Battersea, SW11 3AU

http://www.augustine-kitchen.co.uk/

January 2014 Favourites List

Hello everyone!

I am feeling rather sorry for myself. I caught a cold over the weekend, which has been incubating and growing in virulence to the point where today I was just feeling too bad to go into work. I should be more philosophical about these things, after all, if you work in a university, you are in very warm buildings with lots of warm bodies and germs are going to be transmitted between students and tutors. But I'm finding it difficult. I have so many things I'm meant to get done, and I have zero strength and vim to do them. 

So I won't be writing a long introduction to my carefully curated treats for the month of January. I'd just like to remind everyone who is in the middle of Winter like us folk in the UK to wrap up warm. And to keep your hands clean. Cold virus bugs can survive on door handles and the like for 24 hours. So keep your hands clean, please sneeze into a tissue and cough with your hand covering your mouth.

My cousin Barnali shared her cold remedy recipe with me, so I thought I'd post it here for anyone similarly suffering:

Boil a pot of water of 4 quarts (About 4.54 litres)

With:

10-12 garlic pods

4 lemons halved (wax free)

Honey (amount to suit your taste)

Reduce water to half.

Strain and let it work its magic.

This month's pictures are from the Hundertwasser Haus in Vienna, a crazy, kookily creative block of flats remodelled by visionary artist and architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser (1928-2000) who loved colour and despised straight lines and flat floors. 

You can find out more about his life here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedensreich_Hundertwasser and the website devoted to his art and architecture is here: http://www.hundertwasser.com/

I'm off to make me some hot lemon......

Blogs Worth Following:

British home cooking with a New World twist: http://insideabritishmumskitchen.blogspot.co.uk/

Chef Ashish Bhatia's wonderful writings about Indian cuisine: http://ashishbhatia3.wordpress.com/

Lots of ideas and inspiration for vegetarians and vegans: http://veganrecipesonline.wordpress.com/

Recipes:

Roasted cauliflower, chickpea and quinoa salad with jalapeno lime dressing:  http://www.mydarlinglemonthyme.com/2013/08/roasted-cauliflower-chickpea-quinoa.html

Recipes with booze: Green Apple Guinness Melt Recipe, Beer Beef Stew Recipe and Tamarind And Dark Beer-Glazed Wings: http://gizmodo.com/5991940/3-beer+based-recipes-for-the-boozy-chef

Braised beef and port hotpot: http://www.thebritishmenu.com/braised-beef-and-port-hotpot/

Ottolenghi does lentils: Crushed puy lentils with tahini and cumin with flatbreads and Puy lentils with mushrooms and preserved lemon ragout: www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/jan/03/lentil-recipes-yotam-ottolenghi

Heston Blumenthal's Macaroni Cheese: http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/chefs/heston-blumenthal/macaroni-cheese-recipe

Creamy and indulgent dal for chilly Winter nights: http://www.archanaskitchen.com/indian-recipes/dals-kadhis-and-currys/1493-green-moong-dal-makhani

Cute little ricotta and spinach dumplings! How to make Malfatti:  www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/jan/24/italian-malfatti-recipe

Japanese Panko breadcrumbs are crispy deliciousness, so how about beery panko onion rings? MMMM! http://www.getmecooking.com/recipe/crispy-panko-beer-batter-onion-rings

Black chick peas are nuttier and pleasantly chewier than their pale counterparts, here is a recipe for a curry using them: http://www.archanaskitchen.com/indian-recipes/dals-kadhis-and-currys/438-kala-desi-chana-sabzi

Articles/Know How:

For foodies wanting more bang for their buck, the 10 best value places to eat in the UK: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/jan/19/10-best-value-restaurants-britain

Wines for miserably cold grey weather? Sounds wonderful! http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/jan/04/wines-for-the-winter-blues

Know your pasta shapes and what to match them with: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/pages/pasta-primer.html

It would, of course, be better if we got all our vitamins and minerals from our food and drink. But being realistic, I know I don't. This is a helpful and informative guide to vitamins and supplements. http://www.goop.com/journal/do/267/a-vitamin-supplement-cheat-sheet

Books:

Songs That Saved Your Life 

Film:

Despicable Me

TV:

Sherlock, Season 3 (BBC, 2013)

Suits, Season 2

Music:

The Penelopes - Never Live Another Yesterday

David Bowie - The Next Day

The Pastels - Slow Summits

Thai style salad with stewed beef

Thai salads are spicy, fresh tasting and glorious. They are vibrant, colourful and full of flavour. Seared beef is a common Thai salad ingredient. We love to have a hot, fiery, fresh tasting seared beef salad every now and then. Other than the preparation of the salad ingredients, is a swift and easy weekday supper. 

But every now and then you crave something a little different. As we are still in the middle of Winter, we've been enjoying lots of casseroles, curries and stews with slow cooked and tender meat. So we got to thinking, what would a Thai salad be like with a slow cooked and tender beef instead of quickly seared?

This dish was the result of our experimentation. Much of the credit goes to Him Indoors, my stalwart life partner and joint head chef. I don't profess to say that this dish is authentic. Hence the "Thai style" moniker. It is an imagining of a Thai salad with a few twists. The first being the slow cooked beef. The second being the dressing, which although it includes a number of classic Thai ingredients, would be highly unlikely to include Oyster Sauce. It was chosen as it so beautifully complements beef.

This recipe will require overnight marinading. So please note that there are definite stages to this recipe. Stage one is the marinading overnight, so you need to plan ahead. Then there is the second stage, the stewing, which will take a fair amount of time. Then the third is preparing the salad and dressing. You will need to plan when you want to make this dish accordingly.

Hopefully you will like this new recipe. Please get in touch with your impressions, thoughts and feedback in the comments below.

Happy cooking and happy eating!

Thai style salad with stewed beef

Serves 2

Ingredients:

350g sirloin steak cut into 1" (2.5cm) cubes

For the beef marinade:

1 stick lemongrass, peeled and very finely sliced

50ml fish sauce

For the beef stew:

1 stick lemongrass, peeled and cut into chunks of 1" (2.5cm)

1 birds eye chilli, chopped

1 400ml can coconut milk

For the salad:

8 cherry tomatoes, halved

1 yellow pepper cut into slices/chunks

a handful of fresh coriander leaves, chopped roughly

a handful of fresh mint leaves, chopped roughly

1 to 2 Thai shallots, sliced finely

For the dressing:

1 lime, juiced

1 birds eye chilli, chopped finely (deseeded if you don't like your food too hot)

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce

1 1/2 tbsp palm sugar, crushed/ground

Method:

Prepare your beef by cutting to size and then marinading overnight with the fish sauce and lemongrass in the fridge in a non-metallic container. A plastic sealable container would be perfect.

The next day, drain away the marinade and discard the first stick of lemongrass. Put in a saucepan with the second stick of lemongrass, the chilli and the contents of the can of coconut milk. 

Put on the hob and cook on a simmer for 40 minutes. 

Drain away the coconut milk and pick out the lemongrass. 

Prepare your dressing, ensuring it is thoroughly mixed. The oyster sauce and palm sugar will be difficult to mix. Either whisk up or put in a jar and shake vigourously. Leave for 10 minutes or so for the flavours to combine.

Assemble the salad, by mixing up the tomatoes, red onion, peppers and herbs, piling the beef on top and then dressing.

Enjoy immediately before the herbs get soggy.