Foodies Read: Lunch in Paris by Elizabeth Bard - Goat's Cheese Salad with Fresh Figs

This is my May Foodies Read. It's a memoir of an American meeting a French guy and moving to Paris. The trials and tribulations of ex-pat living.

The book itself it not actually all that interesting, there are definitely more interesting memoirs of moving to France out there and she does complain about a lot of things, which gets a bit irritating but the most interesting thing about this book are the recipes. I have bookmarked so many to make. I decided on making the Goat's Cheese and Fresh Fig Salad from the book as the weather has turned a bit sunny and I had all the ingredients in the house.

The salad was delicious and really evoked a French summer. The sweet juiciness of the figs is complimented by the flavour of the goat's cheese. It was such a lovely dish to sit outside and eat in the sunshine.

Goat's Cheese Salad with Fresh Figs (from Lunch in Paris by Elizabeth Bard)
(Serves 2)

1 small head lettuce
4 figs, cut into quarters
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp Dijon mustard
250-300g soft goat's cheese
2 large thin slices sourdough bread

Preheat the grill.

Spread the goat's cheese on top of the bread and put under the grill until the cheese is softened and beginning to colour.

Meanwhile, whisk together the oil, vinegar, salt and mustard. Toss with the lettuce and the figs.

Divide the salad between two plates, top with the goat's cheese toasts and devour.

Energy Bars

One of my friends gave me this recipe, she makes a batch a week for her and her husband. So I thought I'd try them and they are delicious. I actually used a 3 nut butter rather than peanut and I added chopped walnuts and pecans for my nuts and figs and raisins for the dried fruit and they are delicious. Definitely a keeper.

Energy Bars (adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction)
(Makes 12-16)

100g honey
250g nut butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
127g whole wheat flour
80g oats
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp salt
120ml milk
90g chopped mixed nuts
70g dried fruit, chopped if big
1 tbsp stem ginger, chopped

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a 20cm x 20cm baking dish with greaseproof paper.

Using an electric mixer, beat the honey and peanut butter together until light and fluffy. Mix in the vanilla. Turn the mixer down to medium and add in the flour, oats, baking powder, bicarb and salt. The dough will be very thick and clumpy, but it will come together.

Slowly add the milk, mixing until a dough forms. Fold in the nuts, dried fruit and ginger until evenly distributed.

Press the dough lightly into the prepared baking dish. Bake for about 25-30 mins until the bars are lightly golden and set. Allow to cool completely and cut into squares. They will keep for about 2 weeks.

Baked Apple Dumplings

The weekend before last we tried to go and see a recording of The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice. Sadly we didn't get in but I did have a go at making a bake to take along. As the theme was desserts I tried making Apple Dumplings.

The variety of apples that I used were Cat's Head. They are a variety that dates to the 1600s and farm labourers used to take the apples, baked in pastry, for dessert for lunch. So I tried to recreate it and oh my goodness I had all sorts of problems! Everytime I made them they burst and split from the seams. I tried with skin on and skin off and they still burst! Ah well, they tasted really good!

Baked Apple Dumplings (adapted from The Kitchn)
(Serves 6)

For the Crust:
3 75g plain flour
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbinate of soda
pinch  salt
2 tbsp butter
2 1/2 tbsp vegetable shortening
just enough milk to make the dough stick together

6 small cooking apples
6 dried figs, chopped

For the filling:
6 tsp demarara sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tbsp butter, cut into 6 pieces

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and bicarbinate of soda, and salt. Using your fingertips, rub the shortening into the flour mixture until it resembles small peas. Add the milk a little at a time and stir until a shaggy ball of dough just begins to form. Turn out the dough onto a well-floured surface and roll into a large rectangle or square, about 1/2 cm thick.

Cut a piece of parchment paper into a 6-inch square. Using the parchment paper as a guide, cut out 6 total squares from the dough, gathering scraps and re-rolling as needed. Layer the dough on pieces of parchment paper and refrigerate while preparing the apples.

Preheat the oven to 200C.

To make the filling, combine the demarara sugar, cinnamon, and ginger in a small bowl.

Peel and core the first apple. Place the apple in the middle of a piece of pastry. carefully sprinkle a little of the filling mixture into the centre of the apple, about half a tsp and top with 1 chopped dried fig, then another 1 tsp filling mixture. Top with a little of the butter. Bring the four corners of dough up around the apple, pinching the edges to seal and folding over excess if necessary. Repeat with all of the apples.

Arrange the apple dumplings in a large cast iron frying pan, leaving about 1-inch of space between each apple. Bake until the crust begins to turn golden brown, about 45 mins.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before eating. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Roast Duck Breast with Herbed Freekeh and Preserved Lemon

This was an incredibly tasty dish and I was so excited that I managed to cook the duck perfectly! This looks like a complicated recipe but actually it's deceptively simple.

Roast Duck Breast with Herbed Freekeh and Preserved Lemon
(Serves 4)

200g freekeh
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
4 duck breasts, skin scored
1 tbsp oil
2 small preserved lemons, cut into tiny dice
50g dried figs, chopped
handful chopped mint
handful chopped parsley
juice 1 1/2 lemons
125ml extra virgin olive oil
pepper

Cook the freekeh according to packet instructions adding the olive oil and salt to the water.

Preheat the oven to 220C. Season the duck breasts and heat a frying pan until very hot. Fry the duck, skin side down, in the oil until golden. Turn the breasts over and cook until coloured, this should take a couple of mins. Put the duck into a roasting tin and roast for 7-9 mins. When cooked, remove to a plate, cover with foil, insulate with a few tea towels and leave to rest for about 5-10 mins.

Toss the lion rind with the freekeh, along with the figs, herbs, lemon juice and olive oil. Season with pepper.

Slice the duck breast and toss with the fresh. Serve with a green salad.

Fig and Goat's Cheese Pizza

This was a deceptively simple pizza to make, especially for the flavours that you get at the end. One of my friends gave me some figs from her garden, the last of the crop and I ate most of them just as they were and made pizza out of a couple! This was a truly delicious pizza, I was expecting it to be dry without any sauce but it wasn't at all. The crust was lovely and crunchy.

Fig, Goat's Cheese and Parma Ham Pizza

(from The Telegraph)

(Serves 2-4)

1 packet pizza dough mix

1 tbsp oil
4 onions, halved and very finely sliced
8 small figs, halved
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
a little caster sugar for sprinkling

2-4 slices Parma ham
125g (4½oz) goat’s cheese, broken into chunks
a little extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling

Make up the pizza dough according to packet instructions.

Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the onions. Fry over a medium heat for about 7 mins, then add a couple of tbsp of water, season, cover the pan, turn down the heat and cook for about 10 mins. You want the onions to be soft and golden. If the mixture is quite “wet” at the end of this time, turn up the heat (with the lid off) to cook off the excess moisture. Set the onions aside.

A good half an hour before you want to cook the pizza, preheat the oven to 230°C, as hot as you can get it. Place a baking-sheet or pizza stone into the oven to heat.

Turn out the dough on to a lightly floured surface and knead it a little, then roll it into a circle or a rough square, depending on whether you are using a pizza stone or a baking-sheet. It doesn’t have to be neat. It should be about 30-32cm across.

Carefully take the hot baking-sheet or stone out of the oven and flour it. Put the pizza dough on to it and, working quickly, top with the onions and the halved figs, leaving a 3cm edge all the way around the pizza. 

Spoon a little balsamic vinegar on top of each fig half and sprinkle a bit of sugar on each as well. Dot the chunks of goat’s cheese among the figs and rip over the Parma ham. Drizzle the goat’s cheese with a little olive oil. Grind some pepper over the top. Bake in the oven for 15 mins. The pizza should be golden and the figs slightly caramelised in patches. Serve.