Vegetarian Lasagne.

Vegetarian Lasagne

As I've said before, one dish that seems to be a big hit with our customers here at Chez Teresa is our Vegetarian Lasagne.  What could be more inviting and warming as the chill hits the air of an Autumn day, or even as a summer dish served with a crisp salad, then this particular dish.

At Chez Teresa we make it with strips of lasagne alternated with our home made ratatouille or wuth a soyay mince that has been gently fried beforehand in a little olive oil with a handful of grated onions, some chopped tomatoes and basil leaves and a couple of cloves of crushed garlic.  Mixed with the ratatouille and then alternated with the layers of lasagne and topped with a Parmesan cheese sauce it makes for an easy and satisfying dish.  Top with a generous amount of sliced tomatoes and a few chopped black olives (my current passion is for black olives from Nyons in the South of France) add some more grated Parmesan cheese with a generous grind of black pepper then bake in a hot oven at 180c for around 40 minutes or until the top is golden brown and bubbling on top.

Serve with a fresh green salad with a dressing of your choice and you have a simply divine family meal as well as for guests.  I have by the way started to use a half wholemeal flour (semi-complet) for our sauces, crepes and scones and really they are as light as if you use white flour, but with the added bonus of extra nutrition especially in terms of B vitamins.

For up to 10 portions (depending on your appetite of course..) you will need:-

A large rectangular ovenproof dish
10 - 12 sheets of dried lasagne pasta strips  (Barilla is a good authentic Italian make)
A large jar, or can of good quality Ratatouille or for Home made Ratatouille see my blog post on the subject 'making Ratatouille
A generous quantity of cheese sauce (see the recipe below)
A splash of Worcestershire Sauce (Lea and Perrins is my favourite)
about 1 tbs of grated cheese, some slices of a large firm tomato and around 6 juicy black olives.

Method:-

Layer some sheets of lasagne at the bottom of your dish.  I usually alternate 3 slices then add the filling be it Ratatouille or a soya, onion tomato mince mix then layer with more lasagne sheets.

Once you have finished alternating your layers.  Top with a home made cheese sauce and decorate with one large beef tomato (cut into the thinnest of slices), a few chopped olives and some extra grated cheese.  Bake in a pre-heated oven for around 40 - 45 minutes or until golden brown and bubbling.

Recipe for Cheese Sauce

50g butter
2 tbs flour (plain or semi wholemeal flour is best)
200 mls of milk
1/2 tsp mustard
200g of grated Parmasan or a strong mature cheddar
sea salt and black pepper to season

Melt butter, add four and mix until a smooth paste.  Next add the milk mustard, salt, pepper and cheese.  If your sauce goes lumpy just get out the electric mixer and mix until smooth.

Serve hot with a sprinkle of fresh Herbes des Provence.

One huge compliment recently was the fact that we had a large Italian family in who went on to compliment us on our pasta dishes...what an accolade!

I have in the past made my own pasta sheets with flour, eggs, oil, salt and water and these have turned out very well, especially when I have dried the pasta sheets out on a line in our kitchen.  Often though speed is the essence of our daily lives and quite frankly even when I've spoken to an Italian they will say that in Italy most households in this modern age cook with dried pasta and seeing as there is now such a marvelous range available certainly throughout Europe we should never feel that we are coping out by using the dry stuff.  If you do decide to make your own however, here is a recipe:-

Lasagne Sheets

300g semi-wholemeal or plain flour
pinch of sea salt
2 lightly beaten eggs
100ml whole or semi-skimmed milk
1 tbs butter

On a cold surface (I use a lovely what and black marble board that I've had for  years) place the flour in a heap, add the sea salt and rub in the butter.
Gradually add the eggs, then the milk and mix and knead until your have a smooth dough.

Roll out the dough until it is as thin as you can get without it being see through..... Cut into lasagne shapes and air dry.

By the way you can use this recipe for practically any pasta dish that you choose to make from noodles to Tagliatelli  (the latter incidentally is from the Italian word to cut i.e. tagliare)

Chez Teresa and the International Appeal of the Knickerbocker Glory

As previously reported we have had many nationalities through our doors this summer at Chez Teresa/A Taste d'Angleterre in Fontevraud l'abbaye in the Loire Valley and one of our most popular desserts is without doubt the Knickerbocker Glory.

Mostly folks whether they be from Brazil, Belguim, Belarus or sometimes even Birmingham ask what is it?  Once described, the tantalising appeal of such a melange of gateau, cream, fresh fruit, ice-cream, more fresh fruit, some crumbled meringue and swirls of Chantilly with a flourish of berry coulis and a strawberry or two or other seasonal fruit on the top served in a tall elegant glass, is for many of our customers, too good to miss.  When I was a child on holiday in Folkestone, my Father and I used to go and play bingo along the Harbour. Then it was off to one of our favourite quayside cafe's for a Knickerbocker Glory.  Actually it was on one such holiday that we went on a day trip to France and I first had a taste of delicious French patisserie and we know what that led to....

Here at Chez Teresa we make as a rule the full fat version, and for those of a more restrained disposition we create a skinny one featuring Yogurt, and sorbet as opposed to cream and full fat ice cream.

The Knickerbocker Glory first seems to have appeared, at least in the UK in the 1930s.  When I was a child - not in the 1930s I hasten to add, this elaborate concoction was to be found at seaside resorts, in promenade cafes and sometimes in Italian restaurants.

We are often asked here at Chez Teresa why is this dessert called a Knickerbocker Glory?  I usually come out with an explanation, which has particular appeal to our French customers, in so far as I say that it is to do with the fact that in France trousers are often referred to as Knickerbockers, and if you look at the shape that the Knickerbocker Glory makes in its tall glass it does look a bit like the glass is wearing within it a type of trouser.  Of course during the first French Revolution of 1789 and beyond, the revolutionaries abandoned such trousers for sans culottes (which means without trousers though not completely I would add, as there would have been I daresay more of a scandal then there already was)... and so for a while there was not a Knickerbocker to be seen.  In addition if we think of the Victorian era and the English lady or girl, she might wear an undergarment that was sometimes referred to as a pair of Knickerbockers.  I am also reminded of seaside towns and of music halls of yesteryear and a recollection that some of the dancers would wear something akin to a Knickerbocker,especially if they were doing a less risqué version of the routine of the ladies at the Folies Bergère in Paris.  

When I was a teenager back in the 1970s there was a revival of such knickerbockers which young women would wear under their floaty cotton maxi or midi dresses... Knickers are of course knickers and many an adolescent especially from the UK has collapsed into laughter when we offer them the possibility of a creamy dessert with knickers in the title....but we assure them that our Knickerbockers are fresh, fruity and delicious and if you opt for the skinny version possibly even healthy.

Recipe for the Chez Teresa Knickerbocker Glory

You will need a tall, elegant sundae glass into which you will place the following ingredients:-

1 slice of cake (Victoria Sandwich or a cup cake drizzled with fruit coulis or a splash of your favourite liqueur if you are feeling especially decadent - if the latter try matching the liqueur to suit the fruits that you will use...for example if you are using citrus fruits then a splash of Limoncello, an Italian lemon liqueur which will work well; for strawberries what about a splash of Tia Maria, for blackberries or blackcurrants try a splish splash of Chambord or Cassis and so on).

Next simply layer the glass with a melange of fruit, cream, ice cream, more fruit and one small crumbled meringue

Top with a large pretty swirl of Chantilly Cream and top with some more coulis and one or two fruits of  your choice.  Even a single Glacé cherry on top will look good.  In fact use your imagination to embellish your glory...I sometimes place a few toasted almonds on top and this can add an unexpected contrast and frisson to the dessert.

For the Skinny Version of the Chez Teresa Knickerbocker Glory

Do exactly the same as for the above recipe, but instead of using cream and ice cream substitute good quality low or full fat Yogurt, and sorbet, and if possible swirl some frozen yogourt on top.

Quite frankly the only thing that will stop you from creating your own fabulous Knickerbocker Glory is your imagination and the fruits that you have available at your fingertips at the time.

One of our lovely customers, Julie Lawrence from Chippenham negotiates her peachy Knickerbocker Glory on a visit to us with her family, Ben, Georgia and Alex and this summer.

Incidentally the doyenne of country and western Miss Dolly Parton is sometimes referred to as a Knickerbocker Glory.......


 

Chez Teresa's Apple and Cinnamon Cake

Another hit this week has been our Apple and Cinnamon Cake.  Basically I made a Victoria Sandwich mix with a hint of maple syrup, a splash of syrup of stem ginger, and a generous amount of powdered cinnamon.  Should you decide to make this cake, instead of using white sugar use a rich brown one.  Pour into a deep buttered cake tin with a circle of parchment paper at the bottom.  Next slice some fresh French Gala apples (keep the rosy skins on) and plunge them into the cake mix rather as if in the cake mixture you are creating a mini Stone Henge.  Top with some crumble mixture use semi-wholewheat flour and brown sugar with butter rubbed into the mix.  Sprinkle with some more brown sugar and bake in a pre-heated oven 180c for 45 - 50 minutes or until you can plunge a knife into the center and it comes out clean.  When cool empty onto a pretty plate.  Serve with Crème fraîche, Fresh Cream or Crème Anglaise. 

                             

I am not sure if I mentioned before that this has been the week of the Germans in terms of the overall number of customers of a particular nationality?  Last week was the week of the Italians and the week before was the week of the visitors from Chile.....they never seem to know each other, but such groups seem to visit Fontevraud l'abbaye in culturally diverse waves....Today we have also had in French, Spanish and English customers so all good.  Mostly our customers are great fun and interesting to talk to and very complimentary about our the food and atmosphere though we do get the odd horror through our doors...guess that is to be expected.  We have anyway been very very busy these past few weeks which is of course good and a revelation after the past two years when due to all the road works etc outside Chez Teresa we did not receive as many customers as in previous years.  I am very tired though, but I guess this is normal and in a way it is a nice kind of tired as overall we have had some lovely customers in this season so far to our tea room.  There is something really rather heartwarming to think that when visitors enjoy their stay with us or their lunch or afternoon tea, we are part of making their overall holiday experience a good one.  We were also thrilled earlier on in the week when a young French couple came over from Tours for a cream tea.   They had read about us in the Geo Guide and visited Fontevraud l'abbaye specifically for a taste d'Angleterre.  They combined this visit with a walk through the forest and its environs and collected a bowl of sweet tasting juicy blackberries which they gave to us as a gift.

Tofu is a great thing...from Chez Teresa

Tofu is a great thing....Today I made a veggie tofu dish in a vibrant Thai style source with lots of veggies thrown including Courgettes, Aubergines, Sugar Snap Peas, Tomatoes, Onions and grated garlic, a generous grating of fresh ginger, and some diced orange, yellow and red peppers.  Add a large splash of Tamarind sauce which is great to use plus a dash of Soya Sauce, Worcestershire sauce (Lea & Perrins we love) plus a little brown sugar.  Saute your tofu in onions and garlic then add a tin of tomato pulp, add some chopped basil then all of the above.  Simmer until the flavours suit your palette.  It is simply delicious served with brown rice.  To be honest with a lot of my dishes today I also add a veggie Knorr stock pot  which I suppose you might see as a bit of a cheat, but what the hell.  A tsp of black bean sauce is also a wonderful addition to this dish and makes it rather sticky and gorgeous and that is just what I added today.

Yesterday was a bit of a sad day for us at Chez Teresa/A Taste d'Angleterre in Fontevraud l'abbaye as we hardly had anyone in and after a busy couple of  weeks what with all the Italians and visitors from Chile and also Kwait it was rather disappointing.  Today however we have been back on track and have had many customers in mainly from France and Holland as it happens, but also from the UK and Portsmouth in particular.  Our Lemon drizzle cake has been a huge hit along with the fondant au chocolat.  Quite a few people have wanted to drink Chocolate Chaud which we make with creme fraiche, full cream milk, sugar and melted chocolat.  This is a sure sign I think that Autumn is on the horizon and cannot we just feel it in the air first thing in the morning?  There is something about the quality of the air as late August and early September approaches whereby you can almost smell Autumn nights, the changing of the trees and the time when hot soup and a baked potato are going to be just what you want whilst you contemplate solstice and of course the impending lead up to Christmas.

Au revoir for now

T. xx

Running a vegetarian 'petit restaurant' in France can often be a challenge i.e. to entice customers through our doors.  Of course having been here in Fontevraud l'abbaye since 2006 we do have our wonderful regular customers plus we are mentioned in quite a few guides now such as Trip Adviser, The Lonely Planet, The Geo Guide and the Green Guide to the Loire Valley so many do come through our doors because of these reviews.

The biggest challenge in France is still to convince potential customers that you can have a perfectly wonderful and sustaining meal without it comprising of meat, meat and meat.  There does seem however to be some kind of zeitgeist in France at the moment in terms of healthy eating and more and more people of all nationalities who live here are making healthy decisions as to how they nourish themselves to the extent that it is now possible in most supermarkets to get hold of Soya products such as veggie mince, veggie burgers and the like.  Whilst we do like to use fresh, organic ingredients here at Chez Teresa I have recently started cooking and experimenting with Soya/Soja bean products.  I realise that there is a huge ethical debate about genetically modified soya and the pros and cons of this as a product, but we do try to use non-gm when we can obtain it.  Incidentally we had a vegetarian in the other day who said that she would never eat anything that even resembled meat so would not be partaking of a special Vegetarian sausage rolls.  I kind of get her point, but my husband Tony makes our Vegetarian sausage rolls and they are delicious!

In truth we are not fully vegetarian as in fact we do serve fish dishes such as smoked salmon at lunchtime with salads or in an omelette, and also fish pies/Parmentier and Saumon en Croute in the evenings for guests and/or for those who book in advance.  

So far this week has been the week of the Italians as we have had so many Italians in through our doors and also from Sicily.  They have all been an absolute joy and very appreciative of what we have to offer including dare I say it our pasta dishes!  They especially seemed to rank our cream teas.  Maybe there is nothing like them in Italy and Sicily.  The Sicilians that we had in for a cream tea today enjoyed it so much that they are returning at the weekend with some friends, so that is of course very encouraging.  They found us on The Lonely Planet so thanks again to that publication.  We also had a family in from Kuwait today who bought lots of pretty English and French china from our boutique. Actually one my major tips to anyone thinking of opening a small business in France is to diversify and not put all your eggs in one basket so to speak; as some weeks we sell a hell of a lot of china and then other weeks our tea room and restaurant is packed out....At other times our B & B is busy.

Sourcing vintage china is such a joy and I love to visit the Vide Greniers whereby the French empty their attics or I daresay other parts of their Maisons and sell all sorts of wonderful and less wonderful objets d'arts and an assortment of things.. selling everything and anything often including the kitchen sink!  I would also recommend visiting charity emporiums such as Emmaus as you never know what treasure you might find. 

Crêpes at Chez Teresa

We have had some great people in for lunch at Chez Teresa today including a Dutch/Israeli Family the girls of the family were delightful and the Mother who is Israeli said that she hoped for peace in her life time and a French chap who said that his slice of Tarte au Citron was the best that he had tasted in a long while....The children had crêpes with bananas and melted chocolate.   Next we had a lovely gay couple in from North London for full lunches who plan to stay with us in the future and also a Scottish couple who shared some Scottish and Irish recipes over a pot of tea and some scones with me.  I just love the cultural diversity of those who come through our doors and feel very lucky that we are able to meet with so many different people on a daily basis.  Of course the Abbaye Royale is the draw, but we are grateful for our visitors who come to see us either before or after their visit for a taste d'Angleterre....

Mid afternoon I had a Dutch couple in asking for Crêpes a la flambé in Grand Marnier to boot..Honestly am I being silly here in so far as we offer crêpes throughout the day but my recipe is simple but effective, but no Grand Marnier and flambé does not really figure and certainly not during the afternoon as one of our take aways.   We might offer it as an evening treat to be served in our dining room. Anyway the aforementioned left sans crêpe.  It was 16hrs and quite frankly where in France could you expect to be able to enjoy a crêpes a la flambé ?  At such an hour I would like to know.    Still they were on their velos and I guess they needed to be sustained.  "Au revoir" says I, "farewell and bonne route... "

When we first put crêpes on our menu I was a bit worried that our French customers would not like them, but this has proved far from the case and we have received many compliments and tips.   It is like serving pasta dishes to Italians you tremble a little bit as you serve it, but as the summer has progressed I am beginning to feel more and more confident serving crêpes.
 

Here is my recipe for crêpes with some suggested fillings and yes you could even flambé the crêpes with Grand Marnier

125 ml du lait/full cream or semi du lait/ milk

350 gms farine de blé or semi complet if possible, or white or semi wholemeal will do

plus a pinch of sea salt and

4 l'oeufs/4 free range eggs as fresh as you can...

Suggested fillings are as follows:

Melted chocolate (a few cubes of 70% chocolate, with a noisette of butter and a little sugar) and some chopped bananas to add within the crêpes in the middle before you serve with a drizzle of chocolate on the top and a couple of pieces of fruit for decoration is particularly yummy.  Alternatively use freshly squeezed lemon and sugar within the crêpe then dust with sugar or what about honey and lemon or Maple syrup and a flourish of Chantilly cream?  Interestingly we have had many French customers in of late who just want a plain crêpe with lots and lots of sucre.

This is a very versatile mix that you can add savoury ingredients to especially if you choose to make the crépe with semi complet/wholemeal flour as it gives the crêpe a delicious nutty texture...  If I am going down the savoury route I tend to fill the pancakes with buttery leeks in a cheese sauce, or smoked salmon and cream cheese, spinach and ricotta cheese, or a spicy vegetable filling..

Enjoy...

T. xx

Here is a recipe that is a big hit in our Salon de thé.  Since 2006 we have been offering our customers and guests flavours from Angleterre that are often inspired by traditional French recipes and patisserie.   Being a chocoholic and a passionate baker, our dishes and recipes often feature chocolate, such as Mexican Chocolate Chili and Chocolat au Fondant. My version of the latter was actually inspired by reading The Elusive Truffle: Travels In Search Of The Legendary Food Of France by Mirabel Osler, a book I would highly recommend to lovers of France, provincial cookery and travel writing. Not that many chocolate recipes feature in this particular book, but even so the fondant cake that I make was inspired by reading it and my version is now a huge hit with our regulars and visitors from overseas who describe it as Gourmet….It is also incredibly quick and easy to make.  In addition you can dress it up as a celebration cake if you wish.  Another great thing about this cake is the fact that because it is so densely chocolatey it keeps well.

To make your Fondant au Chocolat you will need:

5 large free-range eggs (separated)
2 x 200g of best quality dark chocolate of at least 70%*.
200g butter
200g sugar
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon plain flour or for gluten free add two tablespoons of ground almonds

Method:-

Melt the chocolate, butter and sugar in the microwave until melted and glossy
Separate the eggs and whisk the whites until stiff then add them to the cooled chocolate mixture along with the beaten yolks
Fold in the flour or the almonds and add the salt
Pour into a deep round 20cm non stick tin
Bake for around 40 minutes at 180c. Bake for around 40 minutes.
Remove from the oven. It will still look like chocolate liquid, but once it cools it will sufficiently harden. What you are aiming for, at least what I aim for is a hard top and a gooey center.

Serve with fresh raspberries and Crème fraîche.

Alternatively you can pour the mixture into buttered ramekins that you then coat with a dusting of cocoa and bake in the oven for around 12 minutes. These are great served piping hot from the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.

For a variations on this theme you can add
a hint of chili or
a splash of dark, smokey coffee or a
hint of your favourite liqueur such as Amaretto, or a rich chocolate or berry liqueur

The Queen Victoria Sandwich is also popular with our customers including a chocolate version that I sandwich with chocolate butter cream or crème fraîche laced with chocolate liqueur and filled with blueberries. Simply scrummy…

A note on the chocolate debate engendered by Michael Roux Jr on  his recent BBC programme Chocolate Perfection:-

* Depending on what we have in our store cupboard, for our chocolate cakes and dishes I might use Lindt Excellence dark chocolate or Chocolat Menier Pâtissier – personally though and relating to the current chocolate debate as triggered by Michael Roux’s recent programme on the BBC, I think that proper French chocolate from a reputable chocolatier is fabulous if a little expensive for cooking, but I am also partial to Swiss, Belgium and Dutch chocolate. Droste chocolate pastilles are a firm favourite in our family.  A bar of Cadbury’s Bournville would also work well in a chocolat au fondant.

This ones a bit wonky, but personally I think that this adds to its luscious chocolate charm!