Exclusive Recipes from C’est de la Trish! by Trish Deseine

First published: November 12, 2019 by France Today Editors

In her latest book, the Irish-born food writer, who has lived in France since 1987, shows how adding fresh twists to simple, everyday dishes will wow your taste buds and your friends.

Recipe excerpts from C’est de la Trish! by Trish Deseine. Photography © Virginie Garnier. Published by Éditions de La Martinière. (Reproduced/translated by arrangement. To be published in English at a future date.) Purchase the book on Amazon here.

VELOUTÉ D’ÉPINARDS
with miso

Serves 4 | Preparation time: 10 minutes | Cooking time: 10 minutes

Ready in 10 minutes! You’ll be surprised at how a mere tablespoon of miso can add a thousand and one flavours to a dish.

INGREDIENTS

1 garlic clove
2 shallots
1 tbsp sunflower oil
500 to 700g of spinach shoots
1 tbsp red miso
50g smoked Scamorza (or any other smoked hard cheese)
1 carrot
1 Granny Smith apple
2 to 3 tbsp almonds
Juice of half a lemon
Salt, pepper

1 Peel and finely chop the garlic and shallots. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat, add and stir in the garlic and shallots for a few minutes. Add and sauté the spinach, stirring it in. Pour in just enough water to cover, bring to the boil and let it simmer for approx. 5 minutes, until the leaves are cooked. Stir, add more water if the soup is too thick, then whisk in the miso. Season if needed and keep the soup warm.

2 To make the garnish, grate the cheese, the peeled carrot and apple. Chop the almonds and mix with the lemon juice. Lightly season. Pour into soup bowls. The cheese will melt divinely, and the vegetables and almonds will remain crunchy.

Leeks with beurre noisette featured in “C’est de la Trish!” Photo: © Virginie Garnier

POIREAUX BEURRE NOISETTE
with capers and toasted chunky breadcrumbs

Serves 4 | Preparation time: 5 minutes | Cooking time: 25 minutes

Here, butter reaches new heights as it takes on a fabulous caramelised hazelnut flavour. Simply divine served with robust baby leeks and tart capers.

INGREDIENTS

8 to 12 small leeks
175g salted butter
2 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp chunky breadcrumbs made from pain de campagne (rustic, crusty bread)
4 tbsp capers
Grated zest of half a lemon

1 Steam the leeks for 5 to 10 minutes, depending on their size. They must be tender. In the meantime, cook the butter on a medium heat until it begins to foam. Then, slowly, you’ll see the milk solids at the bottom of the saucepan turn golden and start to caramelise. That’s a beurre noisette. Remove the saucepan from the hob and let the butter briefly cool down. In a frying pan, heat up some oil and fry the chunky breadcrumbs. When they turn golden, place the crumbs on absorbent paper to drain the oil.

2 Fan out the leeks on each plate, add the beurre noisette, and sprinkle with the breadcrumbs, capers and lemon zest.

Butter biscuits featured in “C’est de la Trish!” Photo: © Virginie Garnier

SABLÉS AUX PENSÉES

Makes approx. 20 pansy sablés | Preparation time: 10 minutes | Baking time: 10 minutes | Resting time: 30 minutes

Easy as can be and requiring minimum time, cost and skill, these delicious butter biscuits make the perfect companion to tea, ice cream, compote or fresh fruit salad.

INGREDIENTS

150g flour
75g salted butter
75g caster sugar
1 egg
1 egg white
20 pansies (these flowers tend to retain their colour well during baking)
Grated lemon zest to flavour, or natural vanilla, rose or lavender extract

1 In a salad bowl, mix the flour and sugar. Dice and mix in the cold butter before adding the lemon zest or aromatic extract. Work the mixture with your fingertips until powdery.

Portrait of Trish Deseine. Photo: Virginie Garnier

2 Add a lightly beaten egg, mix in with the ‘sandy’ mixture and shape it into a ball using your hands.

3 Wrap it in cling film and let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.

4 Preheat the oven to 180 °C.

5 Roll out the dough until it’s 1cm thick. Then, stamp out small round biscuits with a 3cm cookie cutter. Brush each biscuit with lightly beaten egg white. Press the flowers down on the surface of each biscuit before adding another layer of egg wash to help them stick and to add some extra shine.

6 Place the sablés on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake for 10 minutes, until the edges turn slightly golden.

7 Take out of the oven and sprinkle with sugar. Let them cool down on a cooling rack before tucking in.

LATTE GLACÉ
with turmeric and spices

Serves 1 | Preparation time: 10 minutes

It’s not like me to follow fashion when there are so many traditional dishes still to savour. But as the healthy eaters’ camp continues to grow I sometimes have to keep abreast of the latest food trends. This delicious recipe is a great alternative to iced coffee – with a lovely colour to boot!

INGREDIENTS

25cl oat, soy, cashew, almond or even coconut milk
2 tbsp fresh grated turmeric
1 tbsp fresh grated ginger
1 pinch nutmeg
1 pinch cardamom
1 tbsp honey or maple syrup or coconut sugar (we may as well be as trendy as possible)
1 tsp lemon or lime juice
Ice cubes

1 Place all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk together. Let it infuse for approximately 10 minutes before pouring into a glass filled with ice.

2 Alternatively, use a shaker.

As seen in France Today magazine

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