Showing posts with label France. Show all posts
Showing posts with label France. Show all posts

Monday, April 12, 2010

Ratatouille

If you are trying to think of a different way to cook summer vegetables, why not take a leaf out of Disney's book, and make ratatouille? Ratatouille is a vegetable stew from Provence in Southern France. It makes a colorful and delicious vegetable dish when all of the summer are relatively inexpensive. It can be served hot with grilled or roasted lamb or pork, or chilled with garlic bread as an appetizer. You might even get the kids to try some if you tell them it's called !

Ingredients
  • olive oil for frying
  • 1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed with 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 lb zucchini, sliced
  • 1 lb tomatoes, skinned, seeded and chopped, or 1 x 14 oz can tomatoes
  • 1 large eggplant, sliced
  • 1 green pepper, cored, seeded and sliced
  • freshly ground black pepper
(serves 4 to 6)
  1. Heat 2 spoons of oil in a large saucepan.
  2. Add the onion and garlic and fry until golden.
  3. Add the remaining vegetables, season well with black pepper and stir in enough water to come about half way up the mixture.
  4. Bring to the boil, stirring constantly, then lower the heat, cover and simmer gently for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. The vegetables should be broken down and soft, and the juices quite think.
  6. Adjust the seasoning and transfer to a hot serving dish, or cool and chill in the refrigerator.

Friday, November 16, 2007

Beaujolais Nouveau


Yesterday was the day for the arrival of Beaujolais Nouveau. If you are not familiar with Beaujolais Nouveau, on the third Thursday of each November, cases of Beaujolais Nouveau begin their journey from France to all parts of the world. Beaujolais Nouveau is a red wine made from Gamay grapes produced in the Beaujolais region of France, and is the most popular vin de primeur, fermented for just a few weeks then officially released for sale.

What makes Beaujolais Nouveau different to regular Beaujolais? It is a very young wine - pressed after only three days, creating a very light, fruity red wine, without the usual tannins normally found in red wines. It is also best when served slightly chilled, making it an ideal accompaniment to lighter foods such as pasta, poultry, cheese or fish. It is also a fairly inexpensive wine, so if you would normally buy a white wine but want to try something different this is definitely a wine worth tasting.

So if you are looking for a light, fruity, inexpensive wine to go with your Thanksgiving celebrations, why not try Beaujolais Nouveau for a change?