Fish pastillas @ Bertrand Gueneron

Bertrand, I know him since I was a kid

He used to work in luxury gastronomy restaurants

now, he has his own restaurant in Paris : Le Bascou

\\ My review of the Bascou at the end of this post ! //

Guéneron, la volupté, la discrétion

C'est simple : en sortant, on a l'impression qu'on nous a confié une adresse fragile, 

noble et sentimentale (...). C'est comme un cadeau qu'on n'ose porter trop loin (...) 

douceur, compréhension et bienveillante volupté.

Le Figaro, François Simon.

Translation : Gueneron, subtility and sensual delight

It's easy to describe : once out, you feel as you've been entrusted a noble, sentimental and fragile address.  It's as a gift that you barely dare giving away. Softness, understanding and bright delight.

Préparez vos papilles, c’est la meilleure adresse du quartier

Depuis que Bertrand Guéneron, formé par Senderens, a repris ce restaurant basque un peu mou du béret, le Bascou a pris un sacré coup de piment sur la tête. C’est fête de Bayonne à chaque plat...

Le Fooding.com

Translation : Prepare your taste bud, it's the best address of the neighborhood

Since Bertrand Guerneron, trained by Senderens, became the owner/Chef of this uninteresting restaurant, the Bascou took a strong "chili on his head"/became of great interest. It's Bayonne's festival all around the menu, each appetizer, main course or desert... !

This recipe is light, savory and slighlty sweet. I made it 3 times 

(it took me 3 times to make it perfectly)

Though we enjoyed it every time :)

The first time it was after a quick chat over the phone, I interpretated it but I had some doubts.

Then Bertrand answered my questions for a second try, and finally, the 3rd was perfect !

  Réalisation    Easy when you know what to expect and how to manipulate Filo dough. I didn't have all the ingredients, butthankfully, they are easy to use in other recipes :) (Filo dough > appetizer or deserts, dry apricots > cakes or sweets, raw pine nuts > salads, savory muffins).In the USA, Filo dough are bought frozen, so you have to use them correctly, I'll explain it all. The folding of the pastilla can be tricky, the most important skill to have : be quick about it !

  Dégustation    Surprisingly delicious. The fish is amazingly tender.

I goes alltogether perfectly. It's a delicate, fresh and light combination of flavours. The filo dough are so light that you don't even taste these (only 2) But they bring a crusty + and maintain it together.

I loved the cinnamon and the suga on the top, but some don't like the sweet/savory blend, then it's optionnal.

- "Dinner is ready !"-

Serves 4

- 4 adults, or 5 smaller ones -

   You will need :   

for the pastillas

2/3lb of wild salmon (300gr)

2/3lb of catfish (300gr de cabillaud)

8 filo dough sheets

3tbsp fresh basil, sliced

- 6 to 8 leaves  -

2tbsp raw pine nutes

- 1tbsp coarsely choped, 1tbsp whole -

2tbsp dry apricots, chopped

1/4 cup olive oil (5cL)

1tsp cumin powder

cinnamon, powdered sugar

\\ I put a lot of basil, a bit more apricots, a bit less oil ! //

On the side

3 tomatoes, peeled and heart removed

2tbsp green olives, slices

1tbsp black olives, sliced

Green salad

Oil & Vinegar

"My" on the side

First, I did as Bertrand said, and the second time, 

I cooked some zucchinis in a pan, with pine nuts and cumin powder.

The day before, take the filo dough out of the freezer and put it in the fridge 

Prepare the "on the side"

Rinse and dry the salad and the tomatoes

Bring to a boil in a saucepan, water and 1 pinch of salt.

Cut the extremity of the tomatoes to remove the stem.

Put them in the boiling water for 10 secondes, them in cold water for 30 secondes.

\\ It's realy quick ! You don't want to cook the tomato //

Place the tomato on a cutting board, remove the skin with a knife, it must wear off easily.

Cut them in half (in the length) and remove the heart. Cut them in dices.

Serve on the salad.

Stirr olive oil and balsamic vinegar with your sliced olives, spread on the salad.

Refrigerate.

\\ Make an extra of salsa : 

in a ramequin, slices olives + 2tsp vinegar + 3 tbsp olive oil, salt, pepper //

Prepare the pastillas

Preheat the oven at 410°F

Remove the fish's skins and cut them in dice (regular dice size)

Chop finely your dry apricots.

In a bowl, stir the fish, with the fresh basil, cumin powder, raw pine nuts, apricots and olive oil.

Stir, divide in 4

Unroll the filo dough

\\ You have to use them quickly, because they get dry and fragile in the air //

Place 1/4 of the mix on a filo sheet, spread a little bit in a disk shape.

Fold the sides on the top to obtain a round shape. Put a second sheet on the top and return the pastilla upside down. Fold it before the first one breaks.

\\ To make a nice fold, I turn clockwise, doing small triangles from the center //

Place the pastilla in a plate before cooking it.

Fold the 4 pastillas.

Heat your pan at medium/high heat, grease it with an absorbent paper dipped in oil.

Place the pastilla and let them get golden 1min30 on each side.

Be careful they don't burn. They must be golden, not black !

\\ The filo dough burns too quickly ! //

Place the pastillas in a oven-dish or on a tray covered with parchment paper.

Cook in the oven (it must be real hot ! 410°F) for 6 minutes

As soon as the pastilla are out of the oven, spread cinnnamon and powdered sugar on the top.

Place the pastilla in the center of the plate, surrended by the salad.

Ready to serve !

Thanks to Bertrand Gueneron who entrusted me with that recipe !

Elue Ambassade du pays Basque : Au Bascou

Un sympathique établissement qui présente un rapport qualité prix des plus avantageux.

Derrière une devanture discrète se cache une véritable vitrine de la côte basque, (..), et même si le chef, Bertrand Guénéron (ancien second au Lucas carton), est breton, les nourritures toutes en saveur et en nuances, elles, sont bien du sud-ouest.

Le Journal du Parlement 

Translation : Elected embassy of the Pays Basque (Hinterlands) : the Bascou

A nice and charming place with a great value for money. Behind a shy storefront is hidden a true window to the Pays Basque. Even if the Chef  Bertrand Gueneron (ex 2nd at the Lucas Carton) is from brittany, the flavours, are savory and delicate as the ones of the south-west.

"Dans cette auberge basque, ensoleillée de piments suspendus... la cloche sonne gaiement pour signaler que les plats sont prêts. On propose ici des nourritures sensuelles et gourmandes, de quoi en tout cas se faire plaisir sans prendre un gramme. Un vrai bonheur..."

Le Journal du Dimanche, nov 06

In this basque Inn, enlightned by hanged chili... the bell happiy rings to announce a new dish coming up. Sensuality and generous food is proposed... you can discover and enjoy without gaining any weight... a real pleasure !

! The Bascou Website !

So, the Bascou :) 

In this brassery/restaurant, Bertrand is always here and he contributes to the warmth and the jolly atmospehere of the place. He comes out of the kitchen at the beginning and at the end of his service. He speaks and learns something about each of his client. He listends, advises, compliments or critics.

They are aways booked, no surprise :)

In the menu, you'll find a lot of basque-dishes, but not only.

He has succeded to make the place a romantic and inimate restaurant as much as it's a family one.

The room is deep and narrow, each table has its own vital space.

As soon as you get in, you know you will spend a marvelous evening.

The design is also really interesting : each chair has its story, from a theater, an opera, a bistro etc.

The Bascou in a restaurant with a lot of character.

I really love it :)

Spinach Flan

I've worked on this recipe for a while, a few miserable try and deception.. 

Couldn't unmold it, then there was too much flour, not enough flavour etc... 

I've finally found a good balance between ingredients :)

I tried with ham, less cheese more milk... Finally the dry-ripened tomatoes are perfect !

For 4 people

   You will need :   

for the spinach batter

1lb of fresh spinach

- around 1.1lb if possible -

7oz ricotta (200gr)

3 eggs

1oz flour (30gr)

- 2 small tbsp -

1/3 cup + 1tbsp of milk (3.4 fl oz.)

1tbsp olive oil

"herbes de provence"

- mix of thym, rosemary, oregano, basil, lavander, sage... -

1/2tsp of salt

pepper

If you have some agar agar, you can add some so it will be even more flan-texture

for the heart

#tbsp of dry-ripened tomatoes(1.4 oz/40gr)

1tbsp of flour

2,1 oz ricotta (60gr)

Prepare the spinach

Rinse them well and remove the biggest stams.

Put your spinach in a big sauce pan  full of salted water and bring to a boil. After 2 minutes at a gnetle boil, drain them well in a strainer. Use a spatula to press and remove as much water as you can.

Put them on your cutboard and coaersely chop. Reserve.

Turn the oven on at 360°F

Prepare the flan

Beat egss and salt, pepper ans ricotta for 2 minutes with an electric beater.

When the batter is homogeneous, stir in by hand the flour and the milk

Pour it little by little, starting with the flour, ending with the flour.

Finally, add the oil and the herbs. Mix well and stir in the spinach. Reserve.

Prepare the heart

Chop finely your dry tomatoes, remove the excess of oil with an absorbent paper and mix them with the flour. Stir in the ricotta. Reserve.

Cooking

Cover your mold with parchment paper and use some cooking spray on it.

If you have a silicone mold, oil it with an absorbent paper.

Pour 3/4 of the spinach-batter in the mold, and in the center, 

pour the tomato-mix as a long strip in the center of the cake. 

Use 2 teaspoons to help you shape that stripe.

Pour on the top the end of the spinach-batter.

Cook 40 to 45 minutes

Turn the oven off, slightly open the door and let it cook 20 more minutes in the oven.

You can enjoy it as a main course : still warm with rice, salad or a tomato sauce. 

But it's also good when cold, as an appetizer.

Well, and next, what should I do...

How to make sushis and makis, sunday night : sushis night !

Since we got a rice cooker as a wedding gift, every sunday night, it's sushis night !

We have fresh fish from the morning's market, avocados, cucumber,

rice is prepared in the morning, and in the evening it takes me an hour to make them :)

I make 1 cup and a half (of the rice cooker's cup) for 2 people, like that we have some leftovers for monday's lunch.

You can either make more makis or sushis, it depends on your taste, I'll explain it all

- 8.8 oz of dry rice allow me to make 4 rolls or 30 sushis

For 2 people,

   You will need :   

For the rice

8.8 oz of pearl rice, short grain

- I take the Hinode's rice -

5tbsp of rice vinegar

- I use Marukan's vinegar -

2tbsp of white sugar

1 tsp of salt

To garnish

Seaweed's sheets for the rolls

1/4 cucumber

- we eat the rest as a snack with the sushis -

1/2 avocados

- depending how many rolls you make -

11oz 3of really fresh fish,

Pick the thickest one you can, if you are mostly doing rolls, you won't need that much

Wasabi

- japanese mustard -

Tools

1 big smooth knife

1 large spatula

- the one with the rice cooker is perfect -

1 bamboo mat

- I use my table sets :) -

- Let's go ! -

Prepare the rice : vinegar rice

Rince your rice until the water is clear, and cook it in the rice cooker, or in a casserole following the rules
I think that for 8.8 oz of rice, it's 8.5 fl.oz of water 

During that time, in a small casserole, melt the sugar in the rice vinegar on low fire,
 - you have to move it from the bottom of the casserole with a wooden spoon -

once it's totally melted, turn off the fire and let it cool down a bit

When the rice is cooked and tepid, put it in a bowl and pour that sugar/vinegar in it,
mix carefully with a spatula so all the grains are covered with it, and don't break the grains
Cover it with a humid tissue

Let it rest until the sushi-making

Prepare the ingredints

Cucumber

Cut it in half in the longest way, remove the heart/seeds with a spoon
Then cut it in long slices of 1/4 inch thick

Avocados

Cut it in half, then in 4, cut it in long slices of 1/4 inch thick

Fish

Tuna can be cut vertically, in the thickness of the steak, if it's not thick enough, cut it obliquely

 you have slices of fish 2.8inch long on 1.1 inch wide

Use the small pieces and what's left to garnish the rolls

Salmon has to be cut horizontally start by dividing it in 2 or 3 filets of 1/6 inch thick,
then cut them in long slices of 1.1inch wide and 2.8inch long

                                                                    Good to know :                                                            

When touching sushi rice, have your hand cold and wet, rince them after each use with cold water to avoid having rice sticking all over you.
Do the same with your tools, the knife and the spatula.

                                                                                                                                                         

Doing makis (rolls)

Place on your bamboo mat the seaweed sheet, in the sens it bends easily

- try to bend it in your hands -

The shiniest side is on the mat
Spread some rice with your hands, leave 0.4inch towards you and 1.2 inch on the top with no rice

Flatten it with your wet spatula, using the knife as a wall on the side so it won't go out

Put avocados, cucumber and fish at 1/3 of the rice from you, as shown on the drawing.

Use a wet finger to put a line of wasabi along the garniture,

it must be really light, be careful, it's strong

Then roll it, use the mat toward you with your thumbs, squeeze it but not too much,

use your free fingers to keep the garniture in place otherwise it will slide

Cut the extremities at 1/4 inch, and then every inch or so

Use a smooth and wet big knife, do it carefully

Doing sushis

Take a nut-size amount of rice in your fresh wet hands, squeeze it to obtain a cylinder

of you littlefinger-size

Take a slice of fish, spread some wasabi, lightly with a humid finger along the slice of fish

And put it on the rice,

The fish has to be long enough to cover all the rice in the long way

- as on the photo I took -

Don't make it too big, otherwise it's hard to eat

It's so good, we are done for the week after eating them :)

If I did more that 8.8 oz of rice, we would eat it all anyway !

Quiche with leeks, proscuitto and goat cheese

Here is a quiche with leeks as I love them

For a quiche of 6 people (10inch)

If you have a 9inch pan, put only 6fl.oz of milk

   You will need :   

1 pâte brisée with salted butter, pepper and a pinch of ground nutmeg

- I also put 1 pinch of ground thym -

1 lb of leeks

7.4 fl.oz of milk

2 eggs

1 big pinch of ground nutmeg

shredded cheese

salt and pepper

optionnal :

2 slices of prosciutto, italian ham

- for a salty and crusty touch -

1.4 oz of fresh goat cheese (40gr)

-for its softness -

The leeks

Remove the exterior leaves and the dark green extremity, the hard ones.

It's kinda like sharpening a pencil, you will just have the thin and light leaves left.

Cut them in half (the long side), and then in half cylinder of 1/2inch each

Wash them carefully to remove all the dirt that may be left between the leaves, 

and use a colander to dry them off

Cook them : in a pan with some butter and salt at low heat

- they must not get any coloration, they just have to get softer -

OR in boiling water : 6 to 7 minutes in salted boiling water

OR steam-cooking

- I eat a lot of cakes, so I cook them without any butter -

Dry them with a colander and set aside on an absorbant paper

Turn the oven on at 450°F

The dough

Do your shortcrust dough, flatten it to 0,1 inch thick

Place it in your pie mold, stab it with a fork at equal distance and put it in the oven for 4 minutes

If your mold is in silicone, make a cylinder of alluminium to put as a circle 

around the edges to avoid them falling down

The filling

Beat the eggs with a hint of salt and a half teaspoon of ground nutmeg,

add the milk, whisk it and set aside

On your pre-cooked dough, spread the goat cheese in pieces,

place the leeks on it carefully, don't forget the edges

Pour little by little your milk/egg mix, it must not go over the crust, otherwise it would be flabby.

If you can't pour it all, don't risk it and stop pouring

- my mold was a little bit wider than 10inch -

Take 2 slices of prosciutto,

cut them in long bands and place them on the top of the quiche carefully,

Spread it all with shredded cheese and some pepper

Put in the oven for 35 minutes at 450°F 

Then turn it off and let it 10 more minutes

It's better to eat it warm :)

Quiche with zucchinis, goat cheese and cumin !

For a 6 people quiche

   You will need:   

3 zucchinis

- 1lb -

2.8 oz of goat cheese

6 fl oz of milk (18cL)

2 eggs

salt, pepper, cumin (caraway) and ground nutmeg

- caraway can be replaced by saffron -

4 tbsp of fresh grated parmegianno

Do a shortcrust dough and add to it 2 pinch of salt, 1tbsp of parmegiano, 

2 pinch of caraway and 1 pinch of nutmeg with the flour

Turn on the oven at 425°F

Flatten your dough, put it in your pie pan, 

sting it with a fork 4 or 5 times at equal distance from each other

Put it in the oven for 4 minutes

Let it cool down a bit outside the oven

- By doing that, you won't have a flabby dough at the end of the cooking -

Wash and peel your zucchinis to create stripes, 

cut them in thin slices and place them carefully on your pre-baked crust 

Beat the eggs with a fork with 2 pinch of salt, then add the goat cheese

and stir it to get an homogeneous cream

Add the cold milk, 2 pinch of cumin and 1 pinch of nutmeg, whisk.

Pour that sauce on your zucchinis to fill up your quiche :

be careful to not pour it under the dough, it would make the flabby crust

Spread parmegian on the top with some pepper

Put in the oven and lower down the temperature at 375°F, let it cook 35 to 40 minutes

Turn off the oven and let it 15 more minutes in it

Bon appetite :)