Pets de Nonnes

And for my next recipe in the Interesting Name series, we have Nun's Farts, or pets de nonnes- it definitely sounds better in French. They are basically deep fried choux paste, and are very light and airy, which I believe is where the name comes from.

These are also a type of beignets- you can get the yeasted version, which I blogged about last year, and the choux pastry type- both are good, the latter are much lighter. Both benefit from a good dusting of icing sugar.

I really enjoyed making these- there is something slightly mesmerising about dropping teaspoons of dough into hot oil, and watching them get bigger than a tennis ball- this is something to bear in mind when choosing your pan size! I only did 2-3 at once, as they grow so large- the photos below show the at the start and end of cooking.

Looking at various recipes, some had plain dough, others flavoured it. I decided to add lemon rind and a touch of rum, as recommended by this recipe. It was quite a subtle amount of flavouring, and I would be interested to play around with different flavourings for these.

I used the recipe linked above, but I didn't use a piping bag, instead just used a teaspoons. You don't get as smooth a finish as you would with a piping bag, but having a more uneven surface means you get parts of the pastry that stick out and crisp enticingly, which I think is a bonus. Plus you don't have to clean out a pastry bag.

These make a nice weekend breakfast.

Pissaladière

Pissaladière is niçoise street food, a pizza-like creation topped with caramelised onions, anchovies and black olives. I made it with a bread-dough base which I think is more common, but sometimes shortcrust pastry is used instead. The combination of salty anchovies and sweet onion is incredibly morish, and it's good hot or cold. Although it is tradionally street food, I like making it for a meal at home, maybe with some salad and cheese on the side.

Ingredients
For the dough:
300g bread flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp dried yeast
4 tbsp olive oil
Lukewarm water
For the topping:
2 tbsp unsalted butter
4 onions, peeled and finely sliced
2 tsp chopped thyme leaves
1 small jar anchovies in oil (you probably won't need it all)
approx 15 black olives, pitted

Method
Start by caramelising the onions. Melt the butter over a low heat, and add the onions. Cook very slowly over the lowest possible heat until golden and melting, almost crushable with a wooden spoon. They should be an oniony mass, not separate slices.
Put the bread flour in a bowl with the salt and yeast. Stir in the olive oil and enough lukewarm water to make a soft dough (about 250ml). Form into a ball, put in a clean bowl and cover with clingfilm. Leave to rise until doubled in size, 1-2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 220 C. Chop 4 of the anchovies with the thyme leaves, very finely. Mix with some of the olive oil to make a spreadable paste. Roll out the dough to a rectangle of about 5mm thickness, and put on an oiled baking sheet. Spread with the anchovy paste. Top with the onions, spreading evenly over the dough. Halve some of the anchovies lengthwise, and make a diamond criss-cross pattern with them on top of the onions. In the centre of the diamonds, place an olive (the decoration is not, of course, essential, you can just dot the olives and anchovies around as you like). Bake for 10-15 minutes. Eat warm or cool.

Vacherin Mont D'or

There are certain foods that make the cold weather almost bearable, and this pungent, instant fondue is one of them. It's one of the few cheeses that is still considered seasonal- September to April, according to its website, but I tend to eat it around Christmas time. Unless you are feeling extravagant, it's probably the only time of year that you'd justify its price.
Once you have obtained your cheese, preheat your oven to 180C. Remove any plastic wrapping from the box. Take off the lid and score a cross about 3cm wide in the centre of the cheese. Poke in a few thin slices of garlic, drizzle over a few spoonfuls of dry white wine, and season with pepper. Replace the lid, and wrap the entire box in foil. Bake for around 25 minutes until it is liquid and piping hot all the way through- test with a skewer if you are not sure.
Remove from the foil, and serve with baguette, cornichons and some bitter leaves. A little charcuterie alongside is wonderful but not obligatory.

Epaule d'Agneau Boulangère

This is Sunday lunch made easy, something for the days when the military precision of a traditional roast is too much to deal with. There's a little preparation, then you can forget about it while you get on with other things. A few hours later you are rewarded with fork-tender meat and melting potatoes, imbued with the fat and juices from the lamb. All you need alongside is something green, maybe some beans with a little butter, although recently I upped my game with purple sprouting broccoli, dressed in anchovy, garlic, parsley and olive oil.

 Ingredients
1 shoulder of lamb
olive oil
glass white wine
1-1.5 kg waxy potatoes
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
Leaves from a few sprigs of rosemary

Method
Preheat the oven to its highest setting. Sit the lamb in roasting tin that will be large enough to accommodate the lamb and the potatoes, sliced, later. Rub your joint with a little olive oil, and season with salt and black pepper. Roast for about 20 minutes, then remove from the oven. Now peel and slice the potatoes and onion, and peel and roughly chop the garlic. Chop the rosemary Turn the heat down to 160 degrees. Remove the pan from the oven, and put the lamb on a chopping board while you get in with arranging the vegetables. Deglaze the pan with some white wine, scraping at any browned bits in the pan. Now add the potatoes, onions, garlic and rosemary. Many recipes tell you to layer the onion and potato, but I find it easier and just as good to toss them all in together, along with some salt and pepper. Place the lamb back on top, and put the whole thing back in the oven. Leave for 3-4 hours, till the meat is tender.

Mayonnaise

I like making mayonnaise, there is something incredibly satisfying about turning two egg yolks, seasoning and oil into an unctuous, wobbly bowl of deliciousness. People might try to scare you out of making it- not only can it curdle, but it has raw egg yolks in it. Ignore any naysayers, and make something that's worth dipping your frites into.

This is a classic recipe, no innovation or twists on my part. I wouldn't dream of it.


Ingredients
Approximately 250ml groundnut oil
2 eggs yolks only
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 heaped tsp mustard powder
1 level tsp fine salt
freshly ground pepper- white if you want to avoid black specks
1 tsp white wine vinegar

Method
Combine the egg yolks, garlic, salt and pepper in a small mixing bowl. Give them a whisk to combine them. Drop by drop, add the oil, whisking as you go. Go cautiously at first, make sure each addition of oil has been combined into the egg mixture before the next. Soon your mixture will stiffen, so add the vinegar. Now you can relax slightly, and pour the oil in a thin stream into the eggs with one hand, whisking with the other. When all the oil is added (more or less, depending on how you like it), taste, and adjust the seasoning according to your taste.