Refreshing chocolate and lemon treats, served in the natural lemon shells. If you wish to serve them in a la cafe gourmand style, use small lemons, surprise your friends.
Lemon Shells Stuffed With Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 6 lemons
- 1 (300 g) lemon sorbet
- 1 (300 g) chocolate ice cream
Instructions
- Cut off the top of the lemon. Hollow out each lemon by using a teaspoon. Remove juice and flesh, but be careful not to puncture the lemon skin.
- Spoon some lemon sorbet into shells and press firmly with teaspoon. Fill the rest of the lemon with chocolate ice cream.
- Place stuffed lemons in the freezer with the hats on top. You can serve this fancy dessert in as little as one hour, or when the lemon shells are completely frozen.
Sautéed Zucchini
Finely sliced zucchini, sautéed in a pan with olive oil and garlic. In this recipe, they are seasoned with salt, pepper, and freshly pressed lemon juice. Add your favorite fresh herbs before serving.
Sautéed Zucchini
Ingredients
- 4 zucchini
- 1-2 garlic cloves
- 2-3 Tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil
- Some fresh parsley (dill or mint)
- 2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice (optional)
Instructions
- Cut the zucchini into thin slices.
- Peel and chop the garlic.
- In a large pan, heat the oil. Add the zucchini and sauté them for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, and continue to sauté for about 3 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat. Salt, pepper, and sprinkle with lemon juice. Powder with fresh herbs before serving.
Seasonal Radishes Salad
Even with it’s simplicity, this seasonal radishes salad will look good on any table arrangement. You just need fresh radishes and fresh herbs for this recipe. These thinly sliced radishes create a colorful and delicious entree that will please any veggie-lover. Add your favorite fresh herbs, season with salt and pepper, and drizzle with vinegar and olive oil. You can use any vinegar you like: white, apple or balsamic. I like to make this salad with white vinegar. This salad looks amazing if served in a white salad bowl.
Seasonal Radishes Salad
Ingredients
- 2 bunches radish
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- fresh herbs (dill, green onion, parsley) chopped
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp white vinegar
Instructions
- Wash and cut off roots from the radishes, slice thinly. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with vinegar and olive oil. Garnish with fresh herbs and serve.
Green Mango Salad (Кalawang)
Green and unripe mangoes can be eaten, and are often delicious. For example, this salad with shredded green mangoes is very popular in French Guyana, and if you like spicy food, you will love this salad! Serve cold, as an appetizer or as a side dish with fish, shrimp, or meat. For a pretty presentation, I serve the Kalawang in individual plates with shrimps.
Green Mango Salade (Кalawang)
Ingredients
- 2 green mangoes (unripe)
- 1/2 onion peeled and finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and pressed
- 1/2 chili pepper seeded and finely chopped
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 3 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon (or lime) juice
- 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
- Some fresh herbs (cilantro, green onion, parsley)
- 24 prawns (or shrimps) cooked and peeled
Instructions
- Peel the mangoes with a peeling knife. Shred the pulp and discard the pit.
- In the salad bowl, toss the mangoes, onion, salt and pepper. Drizzle with lemon juice and oil. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in a refrigerator for 2-3 hours.
- When ready to serve, transfer the salad on to the serving plates, embellish with fresh herbs, and prawns.
Homemade Olive Tapenade
The homemade olive tapenade is a dip or paste made with olives (black or green), anchovies and capers. This appetizer comes from Provence, France and is great with fresh bread or toast. With the help of a food processor, or blender, this hors d’oeuvre is ready within 5 minutes.
Homemade Olive Tapenade
Ingredients
- 200 g black olives pitted
- 1 Tbsp capers (optional)
- 20 g anchovies filets in oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 lemon (juice only)
- 4 Tbsp olive oil
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in an electric blender. Pulse a few times until finely chopped. The tapenade should have small pieces of olives. Do not over blend!
- Serve with crackers or fresh baguette slices.
Gluten-free Almond Cake
Here is the incredibly delicate and gluten-free almond cake. This is the “Amandier” recipe by renowned French Pastry chef Christophe Michalak with minor modifications. The main ingredients are almond flour and mascarpone.
If you enjoy this recipe, check out my other gluten-free desserts, such as the delicious banana muffins!
Gluten-free almond cake
Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- 180 g sugar
- 40 g honey
- 300 g almond flour
- 140 g softened salted or unsalted butter
- 100 g mascarpone cheese
- Some orange zest
- 1 Tbsp liquid vanilla (or 1 packet of vanilla sugar) (optional)
- 2 Tbsp sliced almonds
- Some powdered sugar (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 330°F (150°С). Grease baking pan with butter or line with parchment paper.
- In a mixer bowl, put eggs, sugar, and honey.
- Mix together.
- Add almond flour and mix again.
- In another bowl, mush the butter and mascarpone cheese together using a fork.
- Add the mascarpone and butter to the egg-sugar mixture and mix again.
- Add orange zest and vanilla to the batter. Mix well for the last time.
- Pour the batter into baking pan.
- Sprinkle with sliced almonds.
- Bake in the preheated oven until golden, about 45 minutes. Allow the almond cake to cool before removing it from the pan. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.
Vanilla Creme Brulee
Absolutely amazing what a little cream, a little sugar and couple of eggs can turn into…. Perfect restaurant quality dessert. A rich custard topped with a hard layer of caramel. This Vanilla creme brulee is very easy to make if you follow all the steps correctly.
It will perfectly complete your cafe gourmand if the crème brûlée is served in small ramekins.
Look at this short video ! 🙂
Vanilla Crème brûlée
Ingredients
- 8 egg yolks
- 120 g granulated sugar
- 1/2 vanilla bean
- 640 ml whipping cream
- 6 tsp granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Split the vanilla bean in half and scrape the seeds into the cream. In a medium bowl, combine together sugar, eggs yolks, vanilla and whisk.
- Add the cream a little at a time and stir. Remove the scum with a tea spoon.
- Strain the mixture through a fine sieve and pour it into the ramekins. Divide cream mixture among ramekins (about 6 ramekins).
- Arrange the ramekins in a baking pan with deep sides. And carefully pour water around ramekins so that the water level must reach about 2/3 of the ramekins.
- Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes. You will know its ready when the custard is wobbly and jiggle from side to side when nudged (it looks like jello).
- Remove the custard from the water bath and let cool completely, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 6 hours (overnight).
- Before serving, cover each cold creme brulee evenly with sugar (1 tsp). Caramelize using a propane torch. If you don’t have one propane torch, use the broiler: put the oven rack about 6 inches away from the broiler. Place the custards on the baking sheet and broil for about 3-5 minutes, or until sugar bubbles and turns golden brown. (Keep a close eye on them, they can burn quickly)
Notes
Tuna Quiche
This French open-faced pie with canned tuna, egg & cream filling seems completely simple, but it is so delicious. Don’t forget to add mustard to this Tuna Quiche, it will give a charm to it.
Tuna Quiche
Ingredients
- 1 sheet all butter puff pastry
- 200 g tuna in water (drained)
- 1-2 Tbsp mayonnaise
- 2 tsp mustard
- 2 eggs
- 100 ml sour cream
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tomato
- 30 g cheddar cheese shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lay the puff pastry out on a baking sheet. Prick all over with a fork.
- Pop in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until the crust starts to turn light gold. Remove the pastry from the oven, pressing the center down with a fork, if it puffed up a bit.
- Meanwhile mix tuna and mayonnaise with fork. Season with salt and pepper.
- Spread the mustard across centre. (I use mustard “a l’ancienne).
- Spoon the tuna mix on top.
- Combine eggs with sour cream and mix together. Season with salt and pepper.
- Pour over tuna.
- Slice tomato and arrange them on top of your quiche. Sprinkle with cheese.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until quiche is golden brown.
Cheese and Garlic Stuffed Tomatoes
You can serve this Cheese and garlic stuffed tomatoes as a starter or as a salad.
Cheese and Garlic Stuffed Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 18 large cherry tomatoes
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- 1 cup grated cheese american, cheddar, etc.
- fresh herbs chives, parsley, basil leaves
- 2-3 Tbs mayonnaise
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cut off the top of cherry tomatoes. Keep the tops for presentation.
- Using a small spoon, scoop out the insides of the tomatoes. Place the tomatoes upside-down on a paper towel.
- Remove juice and seeds from the pulp. Mince the pulp.
- Press garlic using a garlic press. Mix the cheese and garlic together.
- Add mayonnaise, finely chopped herbs and tomato pulp. Salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.
- Using a spoon, add cheese filling to the tomatoes and place the tops back on top of your cherry tomatoes.
- Refrigerate tomatoes before serving.
Tomato Tart
Who said that tarts are only for dessert? Fill a square of puff pastry with colorful mosaic of tomatoes, cheese, Dijon mustard, herbs de Provence. Then surprise your friends or family with this savory piece of artwork.
Tomato Tart
Ingredients
- 1 sheet all butter puff pastry
- 1-2 Tblsp Dijion mustard
- 5-6 tomatoes
- 30 g shreaded cheese (parmesan)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- herbs de provence (optional)
- couple basil leaf (optional)
Instructions
- Cut tomatoes into thin (0.5 cm) slices. Put them in a single layer on paper towel. Pat dry with paper towel.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. On the floured piece of parchment paper roll out the puff pastry and poke all over with a fork, to release the steam while baking.
- Evenly spread with dijon mustard.
- Arrange the tomatoes on top. Fold the edges of dough.
- Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with cheese and herbs.
- Bake on the bottom rack of the oven for about 25-30 minutes until the tomatoes are cooked through and the cheese is softening and colouring at the edges.
- Cut the tart into quarters, garnish with fresh basil and serve.
