i Lead Recipes

Duxelles is the word used to describe finely chopped mushrooms and onion (or shallots) that are sautéed in butter until soft. The mixture, which should be quite dry, is used to flavour poached fish or shellfish, or to dress a fillet of beef or leg of baby lamb before they are wrapped in pastry, or to garnich a papillote.

Cooking en papillote is to enclose an ingredient, usually already half cooked or sealed, in an envelope of strong paper or aluminium foil. The foil or paper is cut into an oval the size of an A4 piece of paper, greased with butter or oil on the inside, and then folded to enclose the ingredient to be cooked. Herbs may also be added. This is an excellent way to cook trout, sole, salmon, turbot or veal.

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To barbecue or braai is to cook meat, poultry, game or fish in the open air over hot charcoal. Originally the term meant the cooking of a whole animal over an open fire or in a pit (in France the word for a whole sheep braai or barbecue is le méchoui.). Barbecued meats are usually basted with a highly seasoned sauce during the cooking process, the timing of which is critical.

Potjiekos directly translated from the Afrikaans means pot food, or food prepared in a pot. A potjiekos is traditionally South African and is a full meal prepared in a three-legged cast-iron pot over hot charcoal. A little cooking oil is first placed in the pot, followed first by the meat, then sliced onions and layers of vegetables according to their cooking times – carrots, potatoes, beans, peas, whatever is your fancy. Add stock to about an inch over the top of the vegetables and season. Replace the lid and simmer for 2 or 3 hours or until cooked. Never stir while cooking. Once the potjiekos is cooked you may stir and serve.

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To blanch is to preheat in boiling water or steam. This can be done for several different reasons:

• To loosen the outer skin of fruits , nuts or vegetables (e.g. Tomatoes)
• To whiten sweetbreads, veal or chicken
• To remove excess salt, or the bitter flavour from bacon, gammon, ham, Brussels sprouts, turnips, endive etc.
• To prepare fruits or vegetables for canning, freezing or preserving

To glaze is to cover with a thin layer of syrup or aspic, which is brushed over sweets, puddings, fruits, cooked ham, tongue, beef, pork etc. Food must be cold and dry before aspic will set.

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Liaison is:
To thicken a sauce, gravy or stew

• By the addition of flour, cornflour, arrowroot, rice flour, potato flour or a beurre manié.
• By stirring in egg yolk, double cream or, in the case of some poultry or game dishes, blood.

Macédoine is:

• A mixture of raw or cooked fruit for a fruit salad.
• A mixture of cooked diced vegetables garnished with a cream sauce, mayonnaise or aspic, usually served as an hors-d’œuvre salad, or as a garnish.

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A ragoût is a stew made from regular sized pieces of meat, poultry or fish that have been sautéed in fat until brown, and then simmered in stock, meat juices or water, or a combination of these, until tender. A good example of a brown ragout is Navarin de mouton. Irish Stew would be a typical example of a white ragout, where the meat is not browned before stewing.

A quenelle consists of the finely pounded flesh of fish, shellfish, veal, poultry or game mixed with egg whites and cream and pounded over ice to a velvety smooth paste. These light dumplings are then poached in either stock or salted water.

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