Pâte Brisée (Savory Short Pastry)

A great crust for quiche or any savory tart. French crusts are always made with butter, rather than shortening. They're not as flaky as ones made with shortening, but they sure do taste good!


200g flour
1/2 t. fine sea salt
125g chilled butter, diced
1 large egg, lightly beaten
ice cold water

Combine flour, salt and butter in a medium bowl. Rub the mixture with your fintertips or a wire pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Beat the egg slightly in a small bowl. Form a well in the center of the flour mixture, add the egg, and blend gently with a fork. When most of the egg is incorporated, knead gently until the dough comes together. If it is a little dry, add ice water, 1 T. at a time, until the dough forms a ball. Avoid overworking the dough, or it will become tough.

Shape the dough into a slightly flattened ball. Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes, or up to a day. Let stand at room temp. before using, just long enough that the dough can be rolled out without cracking (usually about 10 minutes).

Sprinkle flour lightly on a clean work surface and on your rolling pin, and roll the pin over your dough 2-3 times with moderate pressure. Rotate the dough by a quarter of a turn and roll the pin over it 2-3 times. Repeat until you get a circle large enough to line your pan, sprinkling both your work surface and rolling pin with a little more flour when the dough starts to stick to either.

Variation: flavor the dough with a T. of dried herbs (rosemary, thyme, oregano), 1/2 - 1 t. ground spices (nutmeg, ginger, cumin), or 30g hard grated cheese (parmesan in particular).

Pâte Sablée (Sweet Short Pastry)

Makes enough to line a 25cm tart pan, or 6 10cm tartlet molds.

75g chilled unsalted butter, diced, plus a pat to grease the pan
75g sugar
150g plain flour
1/4 t. fine sea salt
1-2 T. cold milk

Grease a 25cm tart pan with butter.

Combine sugar, salt, and flour. Add butter cubes and rub into the dry ingredients with the tips of your fingers, until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add a tablespoon of milk and blend it in, handling the dough as lightly as you can. The dough should still be crumbly, but should clump if you gently squeeze a handful in your hand. If it doesn't, add a little more milk, teaspoon by teaspoon, and blend again, still working lightly.

Pour the mixture into the tart pan and use the back of a tablespoon to spread it evenly over the bottom. Using the heels of your hands and your fingers, press down on the dough to form a thin layer, covering the surface of the pan and creating a rim all around. Don't worry if the dough is a little dry, this is normal. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to a day.

Variations: flavor the dough with 1 t. vanilla extract or finely grated citrus zest, 1/2 t. spice such as cinnamon or nutmeg, or 1 t. liqueur (Grand Marnier, rum). Add these ingredients along with the butter.

Conversions

Okay, here are approximate conversions from Metric to U.S. measurements:

WEIGHT

50 grams = 2 ounces
110 grams = 4 ounces
150 grams = 5 ounces
200 grams = 7 ounces
250 grams = 9 ounces
450 grams = 16 ounces (1 pound)
900 grams = 32 ounces (2 pounds)


LIQUID

5 milliliters = 1 teaspoon
15 milliliters = 1 Tablespoon
60 milliliters = 1/4 cup / 4 Tablespoons
80 milliliters = 1/3 cup
240 milliliters = 1 cup
1000 milliliters (1 liter) = 1 quart


TEMPERATURE

140º C = 275º F
150º C = 300º F
170º C = 325º F
180º C = 350º F
190º C = 375º F
200º C = 400º F
220º C = 425º F
230º C = 450º F
240º C = 475º F

Now, go and try French recipes!

Quiche Oignon avec Lardons (Onion Quiche with Bacon)

Pâte Brisée

1 T. olive oil
about 6 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
1/2 t. fine sea salt
3 large eggs
200 ml cream
1/4 t. freshly ground pepper
150 g. grated gruyere or emmental cheese
100 g. lardons (small strips of bacon)

Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onions, sprinkle with 1/4 t. salt, and stir. Cover, turn the heat down to low, and cook for 30 minutes, stirring from time to time, until onions are soft and translucent. Remove the lid, turn heat to med. high, and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring, until most of the liquids have evaporated.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before using. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease a 25 cm quiche pan. Roll out the dough and transfer to the pan; prick all over with a fork. Bake for 7 minutes, until lightly golden, and remove from oven.

Remove onions from the pan and fry up the lardons until crisp.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and cream. Season with remaining salt and pepper. Fold in the cheese, onions, and lardons, and pour into the tart shell.

Bake for 35 minutes, until the top is golden and the center of the quiche is still slightly jiggly. Turn off the oven and leave the quiche in the closed oven for 10 minutes, until the filling is set. Serve warm.

{recipe from Chocolate & Zucchini cookbook}

Porc Fermier (Farmer's Pork)

1 kg. pork roast
6 yellow potatoes
4 carrots
4 stalks celery
6 branches of parsley
1 bouquet garni
2 large (4 small) chicken bouillon cubes
6 black peppercorns
50 g. butter
50 g. flour
20 cl. milk
100 g. grated gruyere or emmental cheese

Place the pork in a large pot, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil. Drain, rinse, and cover with fresh cold water. Add 3 branches parsley, peppercorns, bouquet garni, and bouillon cubes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes.

Peel the carrots and cut carrots into discs. Cut potatoes into cubes. Slice the celery. Add the vegetables to the pot and cook 20 minutes after it returns to a boil. Drain, reserving 30 cl. of the cooking liquid.

Cube pork, removing any remaining fat. Place pork and vegetables in a large gratin dish.

Prepare the cheese sauce: melt the butter in a saucepan, then add flour, whisking vigorously, and cook for 1 minute. Gradually add the reserved cooking liquid and milk to the pan, whisking constantly. Bring to a boil while stirring, and let simmer 2-3 minutes, until it thickens. Add 3/4 of the cheese; salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Pour the sauce over the pork and vegetables, then sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake 30 minutes. Sprinkle with minced parsley and serve immediately.

Mediterranean Zucchini Casserole

500 g small zucchini
100 g grated parmesan
100 g mozzarella
250 g puff pastry
3 T. pesto
1 small branch of mint
2 cloves garlic
2 eggs + one egg yolk
1 T. olive oil

Grate the zucchini, salt and let drain in a sieve for 10 minutes. Sop up liquid with a paper towel.

In a large bowl, mix zucchini with parmesan, diced mozzarella, lightly beaten eggs, pesto, minced garlic, and minced mint. Salt and pepper.

Place in a 9x13" pan and roll out pastry to cover. Make several small slits in pastry with a knife. Brush pastry with remaining egg yolk.

Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until top is lightly puffed and golden.

Spinach Leek Tart

200 g flour
100 g butter
1/2 t. salt

4 large leeks
350 g fresh spinach
3 eggs
40 g butter
25 cl creme fraiche
80 g grated emmental cheese (or swiss)

Mix flour, butter and salt together gently with fingertips in a small bowl. Incorporate 3 T. water. Gather dough together in a ball, wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.

Clean and slice leeks, then sauté in butter for 15 minutes, over low heat. Rinse spinach. Place in a saucepan and salt. Cook for 3-4 minutes over low heat. Drain and coarsely chop. Add to leeks and cook another 3 minutes. Salt and pepper and let cool.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roll out the pastry dough and place in a 12" tart or quiche pan. Poke with a fork and then add spinach/leek mixture.

In a bowl, mix the eggs with a fork and add the creme and cheese. Salt and pepper. Pour mixture over vegetables and bake for 30 minutes, reducing the temperature to 375 degrees after 15 minutes.