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 :)

Le Far Breton : Pitted prunes batter cake

The "Far breton" is a famous cake from Brittany, France. Some versions have Rhum or Kirsch.

Vanilla flavoured, it looks ands tastes like a French Flan (Custard Tart) 

though a bit heavier and dense, BUT it's so easy and quick to make, that we don't really care :)

This recipe has been perfected along the years by a family from brittany :

my step-brother's mother kindly shared it with me, thank you Yvonne !

  Preparation    Hard to do easier than that ;) Cooking time can change depending on your oven. 

I used a glass-pan (Pyrex) and it was longer than expected. 

I have added more prunes than I was supposed to, for a perfect dose of fruits :)

  Tasting    It has to be eaten fresh and cool, so you'll have to wait a bit before tasting it ;) 

According to me, proportions seem perfect. I've seen others on websites with more sugar or flour. 

This one was delicious. It was not as heavy as I remembered some bought in stores !

  To conclude    It took us a few days to finish the pan, there is only 2 of us :) But we both liked it.

Serves 8

   You will need :   

1cup 3/4 flour (7oz/200gr)

1cup white sugar (7oz/200gr)

4 eggs

4 cups hot milk (34 fl.oz/1L)

12 to 15 pitted prunes

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven at 350°F (180°C) with the buttered pan inside.

Hot milk

Heat the milk with the vanilla in a medium saucepan. (it must not boil)

Main batter

In a large bowl, mix sugar with flour. Add in the eggs one by one until homogeneous.

Pour the milk

When the milk is steaming but not boiling, pour it slowly on the previous mix, 

stir by hand with a wooden spoon. 

\\ Take your time, don't pour it at once or you will completely miss the recipe //

Pouring

Take the warm pan out of the oven, place the pitted prunes in it 2 inches apart.

Add more or remove some depending on the size of your mold.

Pour slowly the batter on them, really slowly or the prunes will move.

Baking

Bake 1h or so, turn off the oven and let it bake 15 more minutes.

Mine took 1h15 to bake completely. (+15minutes in the oven)

- If you use a stone-pan it can be quicker -

The top must be golden

Mine had a strange shape when out of the oven :D

I should have turned it front to back at halftime-baking... do so !

Let it cool down at room temperature, then cover with a plastic film and reserve in the fridge.

Eat after at least 4 hours in the fridge !

The Lemon cake : one of my favourite classics

Each one has its own recipe, its own version of that cake. More or less buttery, acid etc...

I hadn't done it in a few months and suddenly I realized it shoud be on my bog since it's a recipe I've kept in my cookbook for a while now :)

I hope you'll like it as much as I do. Its advantage is that it can be baked in different kind of mold, 

it's really easy to make and it suits all seasons.

Why don't I have an lemon or an orange tree in my garden ?

  Preparation    Easy, it takes 15 minutes to put in the oven

  Tasting    I really do love that cake :) So fresh but amost like a pound cake, delicious !

  To conclude    It's definitly a recipe that I'll keep all my life

Serves 10 to 12

   You will need :   

1 stick softened unsalted butter (4oz)

- vous pouvez arrondir à 100gr en France -

2/3 cup white sugar (4.6oz/130gr)

1 cup 1/3 +1tbsp flour (6oz/175gr)

4tbsp milk :)

2 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 organic meyer lemon

2tsp baking powder

For the icing

2/3 cup powdered sugar (100gr)

lemon juice

Making the cake

Grate the lemon zests. Reserve

Preheat the oven at 360°F

Butter your mold with a cooking spray

Using a food processor

Mix butter and sugar, then add in eggs. Add in the milk, the vanilla. 

Add in the flour and the zests. Mix everything at least 2 minutes.

By hand

Work butter and sugar until creamy,

stir in the eggs until homogeneous.

Stir in milk, vanilla.

Stir in the flour with the baking powder and the zests.

Pour it in your mold unil 2/3 full

Bake 30 to 45 minutes

Check cooking at 30 minutes by inserting a toothpick in the cake to check the moist.

Let cool down 20 minutes before turning out.

Making the lemon icing

Mix the sugar with the lemon juice. Add the emon juice spoon by spoon. 

Stirring after each spoon. And keep adding spoons until you have the right consistency.

It must be a cream, liquid enough to be spread, but not too liquid !

Pour it on your cake when it's out of the oven

Coconut Macaron, Christophe Felder's recipe

I was looking for macaron recipes... my first try was the Pierre Hermé's macarons, delicious but their shape was not perfect ! I still have to work on them :)

In Christophe Felder's "Exquises pâtisseries pour les fêtes"

He proposes these coconut macarons.

  Preparation    Really quick and easy, in 20 minutes top they are out of the oven, already cooling down to be eaten !

  Tasting    So good ! You can fill them like usual macarons with a custard, but they are also delicious by themselves. Moisty, and chewy and coconutty :)

  To conclude    My mum and I loved them, they were all eaten in on evening !

For 3 dozen of macarons

  You will need :   

7.8 oz (220gr) shredded sweetened coconut

1/2 cup white sugar (3.5oz/100gr)

1/2tsp baking powder

2 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil (3.4fl.oz./10cL)

5tbsp powdered sugar

 + cooking spray

Preheat the oven at 360°F

In a bowl, stirr all ingredients but powdered sugar,

Mix 1 or 2 minute until a bit foamy

Use a cooking spray on your cooking tray or use a parchment paper to cover it

Pour powdered sugar in a bowl and drop a small golfball-size of dough in it, 

roll it in sugar until covered. 

\\ Use a spoon to drop it in it, the batter is too moisty to handle by hand //

 Make a ball by hand, reroll in the powdered sugar and place it on your cooking tray.

Place each macaron 2 inch apart

Bake 12 minutes to 15 minutes until golden and cracked.

Cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes before tasting

These macarons are better when fresh, the day they are made

If you're less than 5 to eat them, divide all proportions by 2 !

Vanilla rice pudding - Creamy rice

Another classic recipe !

I followed Françoise Bernard's advice but I made my own mix of ingredients !

As a result, it's really creamy, sweet and tasty rice pudding, 

especially with a spoon of quince jam on the top :)

Serves 6

   You will need :   

7oz. / 200gr pearl rice, arborio rice

- I used the same rice as for sushis -

3 2/3 cups fresh milk (30.4 fl.oz/90cL)

3tsp vanilla extract or a vanilla bean grated

1/3 cup + 2tbsp white sugar (2.5 oz/70gr)

1tbsp of butter

To serve

Jam from a citrus fruit :)

Precook the rice

Rinse the rice until water is clear

Bring to a boil in a saucepan full of water with 1 pinch of salt.

Let it boil 5 minutes, turn the stove off and drain the rice.

Preparing the rice pudding

Pour in a wet saucepan the milk, the vanilla, the sugar and the drained rice.

Cover and let it cook at low heat until almost totally absorbed by the rice.

It takes 40 minutes or so. Stirr a few times while cooking.

After 40 minutes, turn the stove off, stirr in the sugar and the butter.

Pour in ramequins or any dish you prefer, cover with a plastic film.

Refrigerate 2 hours before serving

- well, try to refrigerate :) -

Serve when cooled, nature or wih a jam, a syrup... etc.

Lemon Tart with lemon french custard

Lemon tart with mandarines, it's a season dessert by the French Pastry Chef Christophe Felder.

I love citrus fruits and his recipe sounded great ! Who doesn't have a few lemons and mandarines ?

This recipe comes from the book "Exquises pâtisseries pour les fêtes" of Christophe Felder. 

 There is a lot of amazing recipes in it, even some muffins :)

I did my own cookie dough and I flavored it, but I followed all his steps for the lemon cream.

My cookie dough is mandarine flavoured, with the zests and a bit of juice.

I divided all the proportions by half and did 2 medium tarts instead of a big one.

  Preparation   I tried to follow his instructions, but it got harder than it is supposed to be... I felt like I lost a lot of time. But there is no difficulty in the recipe. It lacked of details, but I'll explain it clearly on this post. Still, it took me about 1 hour to prepare... mainly because of the mandarines.

  Tasting   I've never been disappointed by Christophe's recipes ! That cream is absolutely delicious, though too buttery for some people. It's a fresh, rich and buttery cream... it's an all-season dessert actually. A lot of flavor with a hint of sugar... I really don't think I could find better, unless there is less butter in it ahah. For the mandarines, I'm not convinced, it seemed like a nice touch but it's not worth it !

  Conclusion   I keep the recipe, without the mandarines :)

For a 9 inch pie : serves 6 to 8

Christophe Felder gives a recipe for the cookie dough :

Same as mine but +2tbsp of butter and no zests. Softened butter mix everything with a wooden spoon.

Keep 1 hour in the fridge, then cook at 350°F for 15minutes. Turn out when cooled.

   You will need :   

For the cookie dough

1lb of cookie dough with :

2 mandarine's rinds, shredded finely

3tbsp of grounded almond
1/2 cup white sugar

- instead of 2/3 cup -

For the lemon custard

5 meyer lemon's rind, finely shredded

1 1/4 cup sugar (270gr)

3 sticks of butter (350gr)

- it hurts ! -

5 eggs

2 mandarines
1/3 powdered gelatin bag (0.07oz/2gr)

Turn the oven on at 325°F

Making the dough

Finely peel the mandarine's zests with a cheese grate. Chop them.
Add it to the flour with grounded almonds and sugar. Then follow the recipe of cookie dough.

Flatten it on 0.2 inch (5mm) and place it in your buttered mold. Press gently on the sides so it won't fall.
Put 20 minutes in the oven.

Turn out when cooled.

Prepare the custard

Prepare the gelatin by following the instructions on the package.

While your dough is cooking, peel coarsely your lemons to get the rinds.
They may be thick, it doesn't matter... do as peeling an apple.

Cut the butter in dices, set aside.
Press lemon juice in a saucepan, with zests, gelatin, sugar and eggs beaten, whisk.

Turn the stove on at low/medium heat while stirring.

- ingrédients non battus - après battage - après cuisson -

After a "while" (15 to 20 minutes) the cream will thicken and start simmering.
Turn the stove off, add the diced butter and stir until homogeneous.
Use a strainer to pour in a bowl and remove the zests.
Once filtered, beat with an electric beater at medium speed for 1 minute.

Making the tart

Remove all the thin white skins from your mandarines.

- it takes a while ! -

Cut them in dices if too big. 

On your pre-cooked dough, Pour half of the custard, then the mandarines.

Keep the center of the tart without mandarines (circle of 2inches) so it will be beautiful when served. 

Pour the end of the custard, flatten it.

Decorate with a vanilla bean and a few mandarines... a rasperrie or whatever you have :)

Refrigerate 2 hours before serving !