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Inspired by the traditional German White Asparagus with ham and hollandaise sauce meal, this version comes with a buckwheat crepe and some extra baby spinach leaves. It’s the season again for those spring veggies! Those are one of a kind; I knew they existed but never had the opportunity to try them out until I met my Bavarian in-laws. It is more tender and delicate than its green peer. Also, a bit more technical to prepare than the green type but in the end, it’s a more delicate, tender version that is too little known. So hopefully, this White Asparagus Crepe will make you switch from green to white! Eastern Europe Favourite In Germany, they have the “Spargelzeit,”, or the asparagus period from late April to early June, where they open little shacks by the road with white asparagus stands. Each is selling the freshest of these! The whiter and thicker,…

Buckwheat crepes with mushroom filling are crunchy, gluten-free, savoury thin crepes filled with the best seasonal mushrooms, smooth thyme-aromatized bechamel and baby spinach. You can find all kinds of filling with these gluten-free savoury crepes. A popular one would be ham and cheese with an egg on top. For this one, I’ve used lovely seasonal mushrooms. To go with the mushrooms, what better sidekick than thyme to aromatize the smooth bechamel it swims in? Plus, to give it a little crunch, a few baby spinach. Buckwheat Crepes with Mushroom Filling will become one of your favourite low-carb recipes! Galette or Crepe? Buckwheat Crepes are also known as Galettes Bretonnes in France. They are made of water and buckwheat flour which is gluten-free. Sometimes, an egg is added to make it crunchier. Simple! Some versions mix regular flour with milk, like a typical white crepe. A true Galette Bretonne should be…

Bouilli or pot au feu québécois is a traditional beef stew from Québec, Canada inspired by the famous dish ‘pot au feu’ from France. A simple stew made of root vegetables, beef and pork belly cooked slowly until tender. As a kid, I used to visit my grandparents once or twice a year. They were living in a small and remote village far away in the forest called Lac-des-Aigles (Eagles lake). We would always arrive in the late afternoon and the cast iron pot would already be doing its magic on the stove for hours… leaving behind this fantastic homey, comforting stew smell. In the pot was a succulent and traditional meat stew called Bouilli in Quebec. A winter dish to warm up the bones This recipe is a flashback to those nice visits to my grandparent’s place. My grandma would make this recipe starting from when the root veggies would be fully grown in September…

This is two soups in one for an extra tasty onion soup. Don’t we all love a good onion soup? Imagine combining an onion cream with a french onion soup! The result is just exponentially delicious! This soup is a merged of the classical French onion soup and an onion veloute (cream). It’s broth is made the onion cream way, which is basically a blended onion soup, then to keep the onion bites from the French version, I’ve added an extra 2 onions. It’s got a bite to it, although less onion pieces as the traditional French onion soup. Double the flavors but not the work, it’s important to clarify: it’s just an extra step (blend the soup) then the normal onion soup, so no extra work. How the idea took form I was feeling like an onion soup to warm me up on a cold winter day, and since I already had a traditional French…

A perfectly cooked omelette the French way is velvety yellow on the outside and creamy on the inside, folded into 3 to stuff or not. Once you learn the technique you’ll never see eggs the same way! Omelette is the French way of doing eggs, just like the Spanish have their tortilla de patata, the Italian their frittata, the Japanese their square omelette. The art of French Omelette making is quite a fast and precise way. Some people add a little milk or water to the egg mixture before cooking it in the pan. I, usually, prefer my omelette with a touch of milk, a pinch of salt and pepper. In this version, I’ve used olive oil instead of butter, simply because I believe it’s healthier, and especially with the Mediterranean aromatic herbs crusted goat cheese that I’ve used for the topping, it fits perfectly. Butter is usually used… it’s a French recipe after all.…

Beef bourguignon is French people’s favourite beef stew made from a lot of red wine, bacon bits, mushrooms, carrots, onions and aromatics. This version comes with a twist; it is Served on pasta instead of potatoes, Because why not? Beef Bourguignon pasta or spaghetti is a “mashup” dish between France’s beloved ‘Boeuf Bourguignon,’ served with potatoes and Italian Ragu pasta. I like potatoes… but my husband does not so much… so he always asks me to make his boeuf bourguignon on pasta. I agree with him; pasta and a little extra parmesan give the dish a new dimension. The pasta soaks up all the goodness from the stew better than potatoes. Boeuf Bourguignon on pasta But either way, the base of the recipe stays the same; braised beef cubes in a dutch oven simmered in a red wine sauce. So you decide which pasta or potatoes makes you salivate more.…

Morbiflette is a potato gratin on steroids! The Morbier cheese is melted on top of a creamy, winy and aromatic bed of potatoes. A pure delight for cheese lovers! Morbiflette is a tartiflette (potato covered with cream, fresh bacon bits, onions and reblochon cheese) but with Morbier cheese instead! If you are, like me, a cheese lover… This is the dish for you! Morbier isn’t a comparable cheese except maybe to Raclette cheese for its texture. Although its taste is bolder and brings in a lovely mineral tang no other cheese has. You’ll see, this cheesy dish is so simple and addictive… one bite is just never enough. Morbier Cheese Origin The protagonist is Morbier, a semi-soft cow cheese with a layer of vegetable rye in the middle. Two decades ago, the cheese was created by the cowherds from a calm land in the East part of France called the Franche-Comté region. This is where they…

Fish en papillote is such a flavourful and healthy way to eat fish. It’s mainly used to cook those really lean, flaky fishes because it keeps all the humidity that the lean fish would lose by other ways of coccion, like pan frying, simple oven, etc. It’s simply an aromatic vapor that cooks you fish, and when the time come to open those little puffy bags, all that aromatic vapor hits your nose, no better way to start a nice light diner. For this dish, I’ve used a beautiful small soles. This fish really gain from the papillote humidity, simply add some aromatics of your choice; here, I’ve used a bed of bell pepper slices, then topped with tomatoes, olives, thyme and garlic with a touch of olive oil and white wine. You can also make those papillote with aluminium foil, it’s easier to close up hermetically, but be careful… if you use…

Cheese and Thyme Soufflé is a pure airy, fluffy bite into a cloud of cheese and a touch of thyme. You can use your favorite cheese, I wanted to try it with roquefort at first but then I finally went for the queen of cheeses: Gruyere! Everyone that knows me… knows I have a thing for cheese… borderline an illness. Anyways, let’s get back to the soufflé. Soufflés are quite easy to make… although it can infuriate some… like me yesterday. I had the perfect soufflés… coming out of the oven… then, just the few seconds to bring them to the shooting table, they’ve reduced a lot. Although still great texture inside, the soufflés needs to be eaten right away… Like the French say: “you don’t wait for people to sit at the table for a soufflé, you make them wait for it”. Because it need to be eaten right…

A drunken onion soup, filled with flavors, thyme, wine and a final touch of brandy to warm us up on a cold winter day. Finishing it up under the grill to melt that tasty gruyere cheese on the crunchy piece of bread slowly getting soak with the soup.  To warm up our hearts before the heat comes, why not eat a tasty, french onion soup. Those are quite popular from where I’m from; Quebec… As one know, that place has an eternal winter and this soup helps them to keep warm. I find it always a bit tricky to eat those heavy soups as an appetizer, with the extra cheese on top… It’ s supposed to be a appetizer but I consider it more of a main meal. The french use quite a lot of butter in it, this version is lighter in butter. Also, in culinary school in Spain they made…

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