I love chocolate éclairs, be it with the traditional custard filing, ice cream or my families version with whipped cream. I find it quite easy to substitute éclairs for any meal, and just between you and me, that meal is often breakfast.

According to Wikipedia the éclair most likely originated in France during the nineteenth century, allegedly created by Antonin Carême, the famous French chef (and genius in my mind).

For me, chocolate éclairs say party-time, partly because I only ever indulge at celebrations, but also because they are a celebration as you bite through the delicious layers of heavenly light pastry, luscious cream and chocolate.

Despite looking complex, making decadent chocolate éclairs is easier than it first appears. The choux pastry is quick and uncomplicated, much easier than making other pastries (i.e. short crust pastry). I’d love you to give his recipe a try, you won’t be disappointed, neither will your family and friends!

It’s important to note that the chocolate topping recipe here has been adapted from Gourmet Traveller’s chocolate éclair recipe.

Making chocolate éclairs
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Recipe

Makes 30 mini éclairs

Ingredients
Choux Pastry
1 cup (250ml) water
1/2 cup (125g) unsalted butter, chopped
1 cup (150g) plain flour, sifted
Pinch of sea salt
4 free-range or organic eggs, room temperature

Cream filling
1 1/4 cups (300ml) thickened cream
2-3 tablespoons caster or icing sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (optional)

Chocolate topping
1/4 cup (60ml) thickened cream
200g dark chocolate (40% cocoa solids), coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Method
1) Preheat oven to 190°C and line 2-3 trays with baking paper. Bring water and butter to the boil (over medium-high heat), ensuring butter is melted. Add all the flour and salt at once, beat vigorously with a wooden spoon to incorporate and continue beating until mixture leaves the sides of the pan (about 1 minute). Remove from heat and set aside for 5-10 minutes to cool.

2) Add eggs, one at a time, beating vigorously to incorporate after each addition until well combined.

3) Spoon choux pastry into pipping bag fitted with 2cm plain nozzle. Pipe into 6cm lengths (12cm for larger éclairs) and 4cm apart. Bake for 30 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 150°C and bake for a further 15 minutes. Remove from oven and prick pastries with a skewer or tip of a small knife and bake for further 5 minutes. Transfer the éclairs to a wire rack to cool at room temperature, then halve lengthways using a bread knife and set aside.
Note: If you don’t have a piping bag use two spoons to form rustic pastry mounds.

4) Meanwhile whisk cream, icing sugar and vanilla bean paste (if using) until soft peaks form (3-5 minutes), refrigerate until required.

5) For chocolate topping, combine cream and chocolate in a small saucepan over low heat and stir until chocolate melts and mixture combines. Stir in vegetable oil and keep warm.

6) Remove cream from fridge and spoon into piping bag filled with 2cm nozzle and pipe into eclair halves, then dip pastry top into chocolate and place over cream. Serve immediately or refrigerate and serve chilled.

Tips:
- The pastry can be used straight away or left to rest for up to 40 minutes, covered with plastic wrap.
- Do not open the oven during cooking or the pastry will collapse.
- Éclairs will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Cooked choux pastry (not filled) stores well in the freezer for up to 3 weeks.

Grandma Babeth, who brought us the French Lemon Chicken with Rum and Raisins recipe is a bit of a raisin fan. Even her traditional quiche recipe has the unexpected twist of a handful of raisins. I know what you’re thinking, raisins in quiche, how on earth can such a combination possibly work? Admittedly, I was a little concerned so I only added raisins to half of the quiche, but to my surprise I found the combination heavenly, even moreish. It’s a bit like the sweetness of onions when they’re cooked slowly, delicious.

Making the crust from scratch is easier than I thought and I even made mine by hand, without the aid of a food processor! It took a little bit of time and patience but the taste is so much better than the store bought options. What’s really cute about Grandma Babeth’s recipe is that rather than using baking beans or raw rice to blind bake the tart, she uses dried cherry pits, I just love the old fashioned way of doing things, nothing is ever wasted!

If you’re not a raisin fan, just leave them out. You can even try other combinations like bacon and leek, roast pumpkin, goats cheese and caramelised onion. The options are endless, so get creative!

Line the base with foil and fill with pastry weights, uncooked beans/rice, then blind bake

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Recipe

Serves 8

Ingredients
Shortcrust Pastry
250g plain flour
125g cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 organic or free-range egg yolk, lightly beaten
4-6 tablespoons cold water

Filling
Olive oil
6-8 bacon rashers, rind removed, diced
3 organic or free-range eggs
1 1/2 cups (375ml) sour cream
1 cup (80g) Gruyere cheese, grated (or tasty cheese)
1/3 cup (65g) raisins (optional)
Pinch of grated nutmeg
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method
1) For the pastry, place the flour, salt and butter in a food processor and whiz until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs (15-20 seconds), or if you don’t have a food processor use your fingertips and the palms of your hands to combine the flour and butter in a mixing bowl (5 minutes). If using a food processor tip the mixture into a mixing bowl, make a well in the centre then add egg yolk and 4 tablespoons of chilled water and stir with a butter knife until the dough just comes together. If it seems too dry add another 1-2 tablespoons of water (try not to make the dough too wet). Gently shape the dough into a smooth ball. Wrap in plastic and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

2) Roll pastry out on a lightly floured work surface to the thickness of a coin (3-5mm). Loosely drape the pastry over the rolling pin and gently place over a 23-25cm tart tin, 3-4cm deep, with a removable base. Evenly press the pastry into the edges of the tin and leave a little excess overhanging the sides. Chill for 30 minutes.

3) Preheat oven to 200°C.

4) Remove chilled pastry from fridge. Prick the base with a fork every 1-2cm. Line the base with foil and fill with pastry weights, uncooked rice or beans. Blind bake for 15-20 minutes or until the sides are lightly golden. Remove the foil and weights and return to the oven for another 5 minutes or until dry and there are no uncooked patches. Remove and allow to cool slightly (10-15 minutes). Using a sharp knife, trim off the excess pastry to be level with the rim, or if you prefer leave as is for a more rustic look.

5) Meanwhile, heat olive oil (or butter) in a frypan (medium heat). Add bacon and fry until softened and slightly crispy (5 minutes). Drain on absorbent paper and allow to cool.

6) Reduce oven temperature to 150°C. Beat eggs, sour cream, salt and pepper until well combined and smooth. Stir in the nutmeg, cheese, bacon and raisins (optional). Pour the filling into the pastry base. If you like, sprinkle over some extra grated cheese. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the filling is set and golden on top. Cool slightly, then unmould and slice. Eat while warm or at room temperature with a simple green salad.

Tips:
- To test if the quiche is cooked, insert a knife into the centre, if it comes clean the quiche is ready.
- Watch video on how to make shortcrust pastry by hand
- Watch video on how to make shortcrust pastry with a food processor

Alex’s grandma lives in Valence, France. It’s 100km south of Lyon and 100km north of Avignon. When Alex visits her grandma she always requests her favourite home-cooked dish, ‘Poulet au Citron’ and after cooking it for dinner last night I can totally understand why. The combination of sweet raisins, tangy lemon and velvety rum is oh so comforting and of-course delicious too!

It’s a rustic one-pot dish which has been in the family since the early 1900s. You can imagine the ‘Poulet au Citron’ being served for special occasions, placed in the middle of the table and shared with rice and fresh crusty bread. For me, this dish has a real celebratory feel, the rum and raisins would make it perfect for a simple Christmas lunch or special dinner party, served with fluffy rice and buttery green beans.

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Recipe

Serves 8

Ingredients
200g raisins
1 free-range or organic chicken, jointed (or substitute with 8-10 assorted pieces of drumstick, thigh and breast)
60g butter
4 onions, sliced
1 cup (250ml) rum
juice of 4 lemons, plus 3-4 pieces of peel
2 tablespoons plain flour
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped (optional)

Method
1) In a medium bowl pour over enough water to cover raisins (1½-2 cups), stir and cover. Allow to stand for 1 hour.
2) Heat half the butter in a large casserole or pan (medium-high heat). Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper and cook in batches skin side down, turning once until golden (5-7 minutes). Transfer to a warm plate and set aside.
3) Reduce heat (low-medium), add remaining butter, onions and a pinch of salt, stir frequently until translucent (5-7 minutes). Turn the heat up, add raisins and soaking liquid, add the rum and flambé (1 minute). Add lemon juice and peel and return the chicken pieces and juices to the casserole/pan, ensuring all the chicken is covered with liquid. Bring to the boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour.
4) Remove chicken to a plate, cover loosely with foil to keep warm. Remove and discard lemon peel. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add flour and whisk quickly. Bring liquid to the boil to slightly thicken (2-3 minutes). Check seasoning and adjust if necessary. Return chicken to sauce to warm through and take off heat.
5) Garnish with coarsely chopped parsley and serve with cooked basmati rice.

Tips:
- Ask your butcher to joint the chicken, they’ll do a perfect job and it’s usually free.
- If you don’t have a gas stove and are unable to flambé (flame) the rum, use a long barbecue lighter or lit candle to light the alcohol at the edge of the pan. Stand back, turn your face and have the lid close by. You can also try heating the rum in a small pan before you flambé and add to the sauce. Checkout this helpful YouTube video on How to Flambé.

Okay, so this isn’t a family recipe and it’s not Macedonian either, but I’m a sucker for homemade mayo and wanted to help dispel the myth that making it is hard – it’s easy!
It’s also been around for years so it can definitely qualify as a ‘village’ recipe ;)

I have never really eaten the supermarket mayo (it’s way too sugary and artificial), so when I discovered that homemade mayo takes less than 10 minutes to make I felt compelled to tell the world (sorry if you’re one of the converted).

I love how a good mayonnaise can elevate the humblest ingredients (e.g. potatoes, cabbage), and how everyone thinks you’re an expert if you know how to make it, afterall, it is the beginning of ‘molecular gastronomy’.

This recipe is based on Gordon Ramsay’s version from his book ‘3 Star Chef’ however I prefer to use a Dijon mustard over hot English and an electric hand-held mixer over a food processor (which is what he uses).

Once you have a basic mayonnaise you can quickly turn it into aoili (add the juice of 1/2 a lemon and a crushed garlic clove), or finely chopped gherkins, capers, lemon and parsley to turn it into tartare sauce.

Step 1 – Combine egg yolks, vinegar, mustard

Step 2 – Gradually add oil

Step 3 – Thick creamy mayonnaise

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Recipe

Makes about 1 cup

Ingredients
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
200-250ml rice bran oil (or other flavourless oils like canola, sunflower or light olive oil)
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Method
1) Put the egg yolks, vinegar and mustard into a medium mixing bowl. Using an electric hand-held mixer on the lowest setting whisk until all the ingredients are well combined (1 minute).

2) While you’re whisking add a drop of oil, once that’s combined add another drop and continue to do this until you have blended 1/3 of the oil. Now you can add the remaining oil in a slow steady stream until you have a thick creamy mixture. Blend in the water, salt and pepper and transfer to an airtight jar/container and keep in the fridge for 3-5 days.
Note: The key to a successful mayonnaise is making sure each drop of oil is thoroughly whisked in before adding the next drop.

Tip: Use really fresh eggs and have the oil in a jug/bottle to make it easy to pour.