This week is all about the French bistro – a source of comfort and consistency in the cookery sphere for hundreds of years.
France has long held the keys to the culinary kingdom, and rightly so. It is a place where food is woven through the everyday fabric like a cup of tea or a pint of Guinness would be here. Quality ingredients and flavour are the expectation rather than the exception, with no shortage of demand and willingness to spend on both.
The French bistro is the equivalent of our local pub – a place where people gather to recharge, engage and refuel from the working day. The repertoire is littered with classics that have stood the test of time for a reason: oeufs mayonnaise, steak au poivre, crème caramel. Happily, the list feels almost endless.
It’s the kind of eating I love: fuss free, beautiful streetscapes and even greater people-watching. And that’s before we mention the wine.
This week, we’re taking inspiration from our neighbours to create two classics that won’t break the bank. They’re also very simple to replicate at home and suit a range of occasions.
The first is champignons (or mushrooms) on toast. This is really simple cooking that relies on quality ingredients and nothing else – mushrooms, great bread and fresh, free-range eggs.
I’ve also added a very handy recipe for a dried mushroom butter. Not only does it go wonderfully on the day, it’s a great one to slice and freeze. This gives you the option of injecting flavour into your everyday dishes each week. It’s beautiful in a pasta sauce too, melted on steak, or even added to a bolognaise sauce.
The key to cooking mushrooms is to add the salt at the very end, once the mushrooms are coloured. Add it too early and it will extract the water (of which mushrooms are about 90 per cent) and cause them to boil versus caramelise. Topped with a soft poached egg, this is a beautiful French classic that can be served for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
The second recipe is a bistro take on steak in pepper sauce, using top-quality ground mince in place of the traditional fillet. It’s essentially a very fancy burger, minus the bun. The meat is coarsely ground and seasoned before being bound together with only the pressure of your hands. Overly worked mince just becomes meat paste, not as appetising as chunky beef that is charred and caramelised on both sides.
It’s cooked off in a simple sauce made with shallots, garlic, cognac and reduced beef stock before being finished with a touch of butter and pickled green peppercorns. Crowned with a stack of shoestring potatoes, this is an absolute winner. Yes, there are a few steps, but what better way to spend a weekend evening than transporting yourself to the Parisian streets using the best of Irish ingredients?
Tip of the week
Always season your mushrooms with sea salt at the end of cooking, once they have lots of colour. This avoids the grey, rubbery mushrooms that can be off-putting for some.
