The chayote grows very well in the garden but take care to tie in supports because it can grow to 4 m in height and bear more than 30 kg of fruits ! It is necessary to leave it to grow shoots like with a potato and plant it 20 cm deep in March in a rich soil. Protect until the end of the frosts. This recipe can also work well with another cucurbitaceae.
Ingredients for 2 to 3 people :
2 chayotes
1/2 glass of white wine
1 small onion finely chopped
1 egg
1 dessert spoon of fresh cream
1 teaspoon of flour
5 grains of coriander crushed
20 g of butter
10 g of gruyère cheese grated
Salt, milled pepper, parsley
Peel the chayote and dice, cook over a low heat in half of the butter.
Add the crushed coriander, salt, pepper, white wine and the onion. Cover the pan and leave to cook for 15 minutes.
Mix in a bowl the egg, fresh cream and flour. Beat well with a fork.
Strain the chayotes and place in a buttered tin. Cover with the egg mix and sprinkle with the cheese.
Place in a pre-heated oven at 180° for 20 minutes or until goden brown.
Decorate with parsley leaves and serve hot.
SWEET AND SOUR FISH SOUP
This recipe uses courgettes and garden tomatoes in an original and exotic way. The basil used can be either fresh or dried. I dry my own to use all the year. The fish sauce used is asiatic. You can also use chayotes in place of courgettes.
Ingredients for 4 people :
2 mackerels
16 prawns (optional)
2 average courgettes cut into morcels
4 tomatoes diced
4 slices of fresh or tinned pineapple
1 garlic bulb plus 2 fried garlic bulbs
1 dessert spoon of fish sauce
1 dessert spoon of tamarind
1 dessert spoon of powdered sugar
Salt, fresh or dried basil
Cut the mackerel into 4cm slices and cook in oil over a low heat
Boil a litre of water, add 1 minced garlic clove, the pineapple slices and salt and bring back to the boil
Add the mackerel, fish soup, tamarind and the courgettes. (see photos).
If using dried basil add now, if using fresh basil then add just before serving.
Add 2 dessert spoons of fried garlic and the powdered sugar.
After a few minutes add the tomatoes and the prawns.
Adjust the seasoning and sugar according to taste. Serve with Thai rice.
SEA BREAM WITH LEEKS AND CORIANDER
The leek is an excellent winter vegetable, it goes very well with fish. I sow Coriander, also called Chinese parsley, in the vegetable garden in early March. It is an ideal complement for this sophisticated dish . You can harvest coriander fresh but it grows very quickly, I prefer to harvest its grains in the autumn. In the place of sea bream you could use salmon or sea trout.
Ingredients for 4 people :
2 sea bream
5 leeks (the white parts)
40 g of butter
20 cl of fresh cream
20 cl of dry white wine
1 teaspoon of coriander grains crushed
Salt, milled pepper
Finely chop the leeks and cook them in 20g of butter for 10 minutes over a low heat.
Add salt, pepper and the crushed coriander.
Pre-heat the oven at 200°.
Salt and pepper the fish and stuff them with the leek mix.
Place the stuffed fish into a buttered oven-proofed dish.
Heat the wine and pour over the fish. Place in the oven for 25 minutes.
Remove from the oven, place the fish on a serving plate and keep warm. Filter the juices and stir in the fresh cream.
Adjust the seasoning and serve immediately. This dish goes well with potatoes.
PUMPKIN FLAN
The pumpkin is often used in soup, pureed or as a gratin. I find that gourds in general are delicious as a dessert. Here is an original recipe for a pumpkin flan (you could also use courgettes). Be careful because the gourds give more or less water and are more or less sugary depending on the variety. It is neccesary to adapt the quantities of flour and sugar to the variety used.
Ingredients for 6 to 8 people :
500g of pumpkin (approx)
1/2 liter of milk
100 to 125 g of cornflour
100 to 150 g of powdered sugar
1 ou 2 sachets of vanilla sugar
3 eggs
Peel the pumpkin, cut into morcels and cook in the milk until tender.
Strain the pumpkin and mash with a fork. Reserve the milk.
Stir in the cornflour by adding a little at a time to the milk.
Stir in the sugar, vanilla sugar, the pureed pumkin and the eggs. Mix carefully.
Turn the mixture ino a flan tin and place in a pre-heated oven (about 200°) for around 45 minutes.
Leave to cool before serving.
GRATED FRIED POTATO CAKE
The potato has many virtues, amongst these is the means to cook it in several different ways. See my pages on the potato. I propose an original recipe that will please everyone.
Ingredients for 4 people :
750g of large potatoes with a firm skin (like Emeraude)
2 onions
1 garlic bulb
2 eggs
Chopped parsley
Grated nutmeg, salt and milled pepper
Peel and wash the potatoes, coarsly grate them.
Finely chop the garlic and the onions. Put them in a bowl with the grated potato, the chopped parsley, eggs, salt, pepper and grated nutmeg.
Wash and husk the strawberries, put 400 g of them into a blender and mix until pureed. Keep the remaining 100 g for decoration.
Mix in the sugar and lemon juice.
Pour the mixture into ramekins or serving dishes.
Add 1 teaspoon of fresh cream to each dish or ramekin (optional).
Cut the remaining strawberries into halves or quarters and add.
Decorate with the mint leaves.
Leave in the fridge for several hours and serve cold.
REDCURRANT AND RASPBERRY ICE CREAM
When the small red fruits arrive in the garden it's in quantity. What to do with all the redcurrants, blackcurrants, raspberries, gooseberries ? These small fruits are very juicy and I propose that you make ice cream based on these delicious juices...
Ingredients for 8 people :
500g of redcurrants
100g of raspberries
100g of powdered sugar
Juice of a lemon
20 cl of fresh cream
Blackcurrant liquer (optional)
Wash and place the gooseberies and redcurrants in a blender.
Add the sugar, fresh cream and lemon juice to the mix.
Mix with a fork and place in an ice cream tub.
Put in the ice cube compartment of the fridge and stir from time to time before it totally freezes.
To serve leave it at room temperature for 5 minutes then place in serving dishes with some blackcurrant liquer.
SPRING BROAD BEANS
Beans and peas arrive early in the season. Here is an easy recipe for tasting these first garden vegetables. It also works well with peas.
Ingredients for 8 people :
1,5 Kilo of broad beans
200g of smoked bacon
200g of spring onions
1 teaspoon of powdered sugar
Mixed herbs
Sea salt and milled pepper
Pod the beans and plunge them with the herbs into 2 litres of boiling salted water for 10 minutes.
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