Tart Tatin part 2

Just a quick post to say that tart tatin doesn't have to be restricted to apples - in the summer I make it with apricots but I make a caramel first, then add the apricots, the heat of the oven is enough to cook them with the pastry. Cooked apricots are slightly sour which balances the caramel brilliantly. Another favourite is quince.

I made this quince tart tatin in Paris last October. with the quinces from Franck and Lise's garden. They took for ever to soften and the smarter method would be to poach them first, then add them to the caramel like the apricots. But this tart had the most fabulous flavour from the long slow cooking and the quinces imbued the caramel with their powerful perfume, plus  the colour was fabulous.

Quince

My friends Franck and Lise came for dinner last week - I've either been cooking dinner or eating out every night so I've had no time to blog - with this bag full of goodies from their garden in Champagne. There were fresh walnuts and, individually wrapped in newspaper, my favourite - quinces.

More Fat In Paris

If you are a foie gras lover this photo will make you swoon. Our friends Matt and Victoria, who we met at the Epicurean Classic in Traverse City, Michigan, stopped in Paris on their way home from the Frankfurt book fair. We'd planned this dinner in September at the Classic, Matt asking simply for good Burgundy and foie gras. Well that was easy, we chose Le Régalade, a restaurant close to our apartment in the 14th. This is a good, friendly restaurant (many of the staff speak English) with an excellent menu at 32 euros. Plus, there are always special dishes available for a supplement. As it is autumn, these included game, mushrooms and this wonderful foie gras. Also joining us for dinner was Victoria's charming brother Tom, who was experiencing Paris for the first time. It took us a while to make our choices but sautés of cepes, girolles (which are chanterelles in English) game pate studded with foie gras and this magnificent whole roasted foie gras were our choices for entrées.
Matt and my husband shared the foie gras (it was for 2) and joy of joys it arrived perched on a sautéed thick slice of quince - notice how it stays yellow when cooked quickly - a perfect foil for the rich foie gras.
I have a recipe for sautéed foie gras on gingered vanilla quince in my book FAT. I've only tried roasting a whole foie gras once - with disastrous results. I was left with a tiny liver and a pan of fat! Of course I thought it was my fault or bad recipe instructions but I have since learnt that the older the liver the more fat it releases. So when I try again I'll be sure that I have a very fresh liver. Until then I am happy just to walk down the street to La Régalade and enjoy it accompanied by a glass of Jurançon.

Amazing Quinces

Just look at these two photographs - the before and after.

Quince is one of my favourite fruits - when raw most varieties are inedible, dry and astringent. While the skin of quinces turns from green to yellow and their flesh softens slightly as they ripen they don't loose their astringency, for that they need cooking. Cooked quinces not only change texture, becoming soft and edible, this autumnal fruit like autumn leaves, dramatically changes colour, turning dark ruby red.