Posted on by Myfrenchkitchen

Creamy vanilla joghurt with quince and pomegranate

A quick dessert for those times you desire something sweet after dinner, but without the effort. Of course you can make it as light or as rich, as simple or as elegant as you want. I don’t give any quantities as it is all up to taste and playing around creatively with colours  and textures and experimenting with flavours.

See also Tartelette for her quince tartlets…beautiful and delicious.

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I used:

  • Cream, whisked until fluffy
  • Greek joghurt, sweetened with a littel castor sugar
  • A vanilla pod, seeded
  • Quince, peeled and cut into pieces
  • juice and zest of a lime
  • a pomegranate, seeded
  • butter and brown sugar and some apple juice, for caramelizing the quince
  1. Whisk the cream until thick and fuffy.
  2. Mix the sugar and vanilla seeds into the joghurt and swirl in the cream
  3. Peel the quince, cut into pieces and coat with the juice from the lime
  4. Caramelize the quince with  the butter, brown sugar and zest until soft.
  5. Add some apple juice to the quince and bring to the boil just until the fruit mixture is syrupy. Leave aside to cool down a bit, but serve while still softly warm.
  6. To serve: Serve a helping of joghurt/cream in a glass, top with the caramelized quince and finish off with some pomegranate seeds.
  7. Variations:
  •  Use apple, or pear or a mix of caramelized fruit
  •  Cook the fruit to a thick compote and swirl into the joghurt/cream
  •  Start with a layer of ginger biscuit crumbs in the bottom of the glass
  •  Finish off with a drizzle of balsamic/honey of your choice
  • Sprinkle with some grated chocolate/nuts

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Posted on by Myfrenchkitchen

Creamy polenta with mushrooms

I have eaten polenta many ways, with lumps, without lumps, refrigerated and cut into slices, fried, grilled, sauteed, with sugar and milk, with a rich sauce…and I love them all. There is something about polenta that makes you want to dig deep into a comfy chair and watch a good movie, or read a nice book, or have deep conversations. It is my comfort food. Not that I feel very comfortable to get onto the scale the next day, but then again, the scale has never been a comfortable spot.

My husband is away for a month, in the States, so I feel it’s permitted to indulge in some polenta. I had this for dinner tonight. A while ago we had it as a starter. After you’ve served the portions and there is some leftover, pour it immediately into a flat dish, let it cool in the fridge, cut into pieces and use in a salad the next day. You could treat it as croutons, by lightly sprinkling with olive oil and toast it in the oven. Whichever way you have it, just enjoy it.

I adore mushrooms. There is nothing more wonderful than dropping some freshly picked mushrooms, still smelling of the woods, into a pan with some olive oil and a chopped shallot. You don’t need much more. Except maybe a good glass of wine. I didn’t pick these unfortunately, but they are fresh enough at the markets.

Creamy polenta with mushrooms

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  • 1 cup of polenta(medium or fine grain)
  • 3 cups of water
  • big punch of salt
  • generous lump of butter
  • 3/4 c grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 shallot
  • a mixture of mushrooms of your choice and what is avalailable
  • olive oil
  • red wine for deglazing
  • salt and pepper
  •  a lump of butter
  • about a TBS of fig balsamic vinegar
  • chopped parsley
  1. Bring the water to the boil, add some salt.
  2. Add the polenta slowly while stirring. Lower the heat and continue stirring while it simmers  gently for about 3 to 5 minutes, or until slightly thickened and it pulls away from the sides. If you stop stirring and you stir later, it will form lumps. Remove from the heat and add the butter and parmesan cheese. If left standing it will eventually thicken, so I would suggest to make it not too long before eating, 30 minutes is sufficient time to make it and have it still soft and creamy at the table.
  3. Clean the mushrooms with a soft brush or toweling paper.
  4. Chop the shallot and sautee in some olive oil. Add the  mushrooms and suatee over high heat just until limp. If you leave them longer, they will become rubbery and lose their fresh taste. season to taste. Remove to a dish.
  5. Deglaze the mushroom pan with a little red wine and the tablespoon of fig balsamic vinegar. Whisk in a lump of butter, taste for seasoning and serve immediately.
  6. To serve. Serve a helping of creamy polenta in a bowl, top with mushrooms and drizzle with the wine sauce.  Finish off with a turn of the pepper mill and some chopped Italian parsley. Serve immediately.

                                                                               Serves 4

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