Alsace spring recipes

SALADE DE ‘FLEISCHSCHNACKA’ AU JAMBON ET AUX ASPERGES
Prosciutto and asparagus spirals on a bed of salad leaves
 A variation on the Alsace theme of asparagus and ham: brik leaves (feuilles de brik) are lined with jambon cru,  filled with asparagus, rolled up and baked till crisp, then sliced and served over a salad.

Serves 6-8
Dressing
150ml olive oil
50ml vinegar
salt and pepper
1 tsp coarse-grain mustard
a pinch of sugar 

12-14 green asparagus spears 
6-8 large slices (ca 200g) thinly sliced prosciutto
6-8 brik leaves
olive oil 
assorted salad leaves (oakleaf, lollo, rocket etc.)
parsley and chives to garnish

• Put all the ingredients for the dressing in a jam jar with lid and shake well to emulsify
• Trim the asparagus spears and cook them in boiling salted water for 10-15 minutes or until just tender
• Drain, refresh in cold water and allow them to cool
• Brush each brik leaf with olive oil and lay a prosciutto slice on top
• Place two asparagus spears at one side of the brik leaf and roll up tightly
• Chill the rolls
• Shortly before serving, heat the oven to 200oC and brush the rolls with more olive oil
• Bake the rolls for 10-12 minutes or until the pastry is golden and crispy
• Remove and slice them in 2 cm slices on a slant to give nice spirals
• Put a bed of salad leaves on each plate and arrange the spirals on top
• Sprinkle the salads with some dressing and garnish with parsley and chives

PAIN AUX POMMES DE TERRE ET GROS SEL
Michel Husser’s potato bread with coarse salt

 A moist, focaccia-style bread from chef Michel Husser at Le Cerf, Marlenheim, made with white flour (Type 55) and instant mashed potato flakes, painted with olive oil and sprinkled with coarse salt and herbs before baking. Eat up pronto, as it stales quickly.

For a rectangular bread about 28 x 35 cm
500g strong white bread flour (Type 55 in France, Zofpfmehl in CH)
125g instant mashed potato flakes
20g fresh yeast, or 1 sachet easy-blend dry yeast
2 tsp salt
500ml warm water
olive oil
coarse salt and herbes de Provence

•  Mix together the flour, potato flakes, yeast and salt in a large bowl
• Add the water and work up to a smooth, elastic dough - it will be rather soft, and it is easier to do this in the electric mixer or food processor than by hand 
• Encase the whole bowl in a large plastic bag and leave to rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, or in the fridge for 4-6 hours or overnight, if this suits you better 
• Oil a heavy, preferably black, baking sheet with cooking oil
• Heat the oven to 200oC
• Deflate the dough with floury hands, lift it out and arrange it in/on the baking sheet
• Press it (or roll it, using a well-floured rolling pin) gently down and out to the edges to fill the whole baking sheet - it will spring back, but keep gently pressing down
• Leave it to rise at room temperature for about 15 minutes or until about 2 cms high
• Brush with olive oil and sprinkle generously with coarse salt and herbs
• Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until the top is beginning to go a nice golden colour
• Reduce the heat to 180oC and bake for 10-15 minutes more, or until evenly golden
• Lift it up to see that the bottom is well cooked and golden too
• Lift the bread off the baking sheet and cool on a rack
• Cut in large squares or strips and serve warm

MAGRETS DE CANARD À LA CHOUCROUTE ET AUX POMMES
Duck breasts with choucroute and apple stuffing 
 Choucroute makes an excellent sharp foil for rich meats like duck. Here a savoury mixture of choucroute and apples is slipped under the skin of the duck breasts, which are roasted and served with a red wine butter sauce. The breasts can be stuffed in advance, ready for roasting.

Serves 8
For the stuffing
25g butter
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 medium-sized apple (e.g. Braeburn, Maigold, Cox), peeled and diced
300g cooked choucroute
3-4 tbsp crème fraîche

4 duck breasts with skin, about 350g each
salt and pepper

For the sauce
300ml chicken or beef stock
150ml robust red wine
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
100g cold butter, cut in pieces

• Soften 1 shallot and the diced apple in half the butter
• Add the choucroute, cover and cook gently for 10 minutes
• Uncover, raise the heat and cook till all liquid has evaporated
• Tip into a bowl and allow to cool, stir in the cream
• Peel and cut away the skin from the breasts, leaving it attached all along one side
• Season the breasts and skin
• Lay the choucroute stuffing on top of the breasts, bring the skin up and over and score it with a sharp knife
• Fix the skin over the filling with a toothpick
• Heat the oven to 220oC
• Put the breasts skin side uppermost on a cake rack over a roasting pan
• Put about one inch of water in the bottom of the pan (to prevent the fat burning and smoking)
• Roast for 25-30 minutes until the skin is golden and crusty and the meat still slightly pink
• For the sauce, soften the second shallot in the rest of the butter
• Add the stock and allow to reduce by half
• Add the wine and the vinegar and reduce again by half
• Off the heat, whisk in the cold butter bit by bit until the sauce is glossy and rich. (If wished, the sauce can be further thickened with Maizena – dissolve 1 tsp in 2 tbsp wine or stock and stir into the sauce.) 
• Slice the duck breasts and serve half per person with some sauce and Grumbeerekiechle

 

GRUMBEEREKIECHLE
Potato patties

Grumbeere means potatoes in the northern Alsace dialect (‘earth berries’). A bit like mini-Röstis but with raw potatoes and added egg, they go well with any kind of meat. Don’t grate the potatoes too far ahead, or they will blacken.

Serves 6
1 kg firm, waxy potatoes (e.g. Charlotte, Nicola)
salt and pepper
2 spring onions (scallions), finely chopped
plenty of parsley, finely chopped
2 eggs, beaten
oil

• Peel and grate the potatoes
• Put them in a sieve to release some of their juice
• Tip them into a bowl, and season to taste
• Mix together with a fork the onions, parsley and eggs
• Add this to the potatoes
• Heat enough oil to film the bottom of a non-stick frying pan
• Fry spoonfuls of the mixture (about 4 to a pan, depending on size) on both sides till golden brown, turning once
• Put them in a serving dish lined with paper towels and keep them warm while you prepare the rest

CAROTTES ET NAVETS AUX PETITS LARDONS
Baby carrots and turnips with cream and bacon

Serves 6
a bunch of young carrots
a bunch of small navets (spring turnips)
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
a pinch of salt
25g butter
100g lardons (Speckwürfeli)
1 onion, finely chopped
3-4 tbsp cream
fresh parsley, chopped

• Trim the carrots and turnips
• Scrape the carrots (no need to peel them if they’re new ones), peel the turnips and cut both in finger-sized pieces
• Put in a wide, shallow pan with a little water, vinegar, salt and butter
• Boil for 10 minutes or until just tender and the water evaporated
• Put them in an ovenproof dish to keep warm
• Melt a little more butter and add the lardons and onions to the pan
• Let the onions get soft and the lardons become a little golden
• Tip the vegetables back into the pan, add the cream and parsley and bubble up
• Put them back in the serving dish
• Either serve at once, or allow to cool, then cover with foil and refrigerate till needed
• Reheat in the oven at 180o C for 15-20 minutes or until hot through

MOUSSE GLACE A LA RHUBARBE, COULIS DE FRAISES
Frozen rhubarb mousse with strawberry sauce
 A soft fruit ice cream for spring, which can be frozen in a loaf tin for slicing, or in cups or other containers. Serve over a rhubarb or strawberry coulis with almond tuiles.

Serves 6-8
500g rhubarb, trimmed and cut in chunks
150g sugar
juice 1/2 lemon
1 egg
2 egg yolks
300ml whipping cream (Schlagrahm, crème fraîche liquide)
500g strawberries
sugar to taste 

• Put the trimmed rhubarb in a bowl, sprinkle with the sugar and lemon juice and leave to macerate for several hours, or overnight - it will release a lot of juice
• Transfer the rhubarb and juice into a saucepan and simmer very gently for about 10 minutes or until the rhubarb is just tender
• Tip the rhubarb into a sieve, reserving the juice
• Cool the rhubarb, then purée in the liquidizer or processor until smooth
• Pour the reserved juice back into the saucepan and boil it hard for about 5 minutes - it will bubble up and should reduce by about half to give a syrupy consistency. Be careful not to reduce it too much, it burns easily
• While this is happening, beat together the egg and yolks with an electric mixer until creamy and well mixed
• When the syrup is ready, pour it in a steady stream onto the egg mixture. Continue beating until light, fluffy and tripled in bulk (about 5 minutes)
• Beat the cream until it forms soft peaks
• Fold together all three preparations: rhubarb purée, egg mousse and cream
• Turn the mixture into little dishes/cups, or a kougelhopf mould (preferably metal, which freezes best) or a loaf tin and freeze till firm.
• For the coulis, purée the strawberries with sugar to taste in the blender or food processor
• Add a little water if necessary to give a pouring consistency
• Take the mousse out of the freezer and put it in the fridge as you sit down to eat
• Serve with strawberry coulis and almond tuiles