asparagus – Page 2 – Myfrenchkitchen

In the spirit of this perfect spring , enjoying fresh asparagus with a balsamic sauce, topped with a poached egg fresh from my chickens, is a sin easily forgiven. It is a popular spring dish and with a twist here and there, you can enjoy it several times and each time have something different on your plate. (see suggestions below)

Suggestions:

Stem or boil the asparagus instead of sauteing in oil if you want to cut down on fat. Make a vinaigrette of olive oil and lemon juice and balsamic and drizzle when served.
If the asparagus are too thick, cut in half.
Use wild asparagus.
Use thin green string beans instead.
Instead of a poached egg, a soft boiled egg can be used.
Chop a hard boiled egg finely, sprinkle on the asparagus and top off with a dollop of mayonnaise and fresh herbs, instead of the poached egg.
Instead of balsamic vinegar, make a reduction of white wine and a few saffron strands: Remove the asparagus from the pan, add about 150 ml white wine, 1 tsp of white balsamic to the pan along with a few strands of saffron, let simmer until syrupy and drizzle over the asparagus.
Use dry roasted almond flakes instead of pine nuts.

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…and a brocante at Collonges la rouge.

Elsewhere it may be cold and rainy, but here in Correze, France, it seems we have skipped spring and jumped straight into summer. Browsing the brocante in Collonge la rouge this past Easter weekend, couldn’t have been more perfect, The brocantes are starting off with full force and every weekend one can pick and choose between several. I prefer the small town, more informal ones with jovial, hearty conversations and laid back country side ambiance.

Collonges la Rouge counts as one of “The most beautiful villages of France” and is a charming little 800’s village with its rustic red stone. In a next post I’ll show and tell more about it.

We can never do it any other way..always start off with a coffee!

…Wooden farm furniture at the brocante…

…and two sketchers…not buying, only observing…

…and Scruffy is keeping an eye from down below…

…bottles I would love to have, but can’t afford…

…and ditto for this beautiful white and black Gien pot…extremely expensive…

…such nice milk glass vases…

…and finally I found lovely lace curtains for the barn door at Coin Perdu…

àla prochaine!

ronelle

With our weather being somewhat cooler and the rain pouring down constantly, our bones are in need of some warmer nourishment. The grey skies whispered lemon chicken. So we had the old classic, lemon chicken with herbs. An ever popular meal, so easily done in the oven and sliced at the table, which leaves you with ample time to indulge in that book you just glance at every time you speed past it.

Oven baked lemon chicken with herbs

Do I need to give the recipe?

Take a chicken, clean it. Flee into your garden and cut herbs to heart’s delight…tarragon is a must. Lemon cut into chunks is a must. As is some butter, salt and pepper and two or three shallots. Then just stuff the chicken with all ingredients, rub with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Bake in a 180 deg. C oven for about an hour or until you have clear juices running when piercing the chicken into the thick flesh of the thigh next to the bone, normally the part which takes the longest to cook. Turn the chicken over and drizzle often with the pan juices.
In the meantime prepare some vegetables. I used green asparagus, of which I snapped the ends off and some cherry tomatoes. Clean and dry them.
When the chicken is done, remove from the pan and cover with foil on a serving platter. Skim off the excess fat from the pan.
Arrange the asparagus in the pan and roast at 200 deg. c until nicely caramelized. Add the tomatoes 10 minutes before the asparagus is done and roast until the tomatoes start shrinking.
Serve on the platter alongside the chicken, drizzle with the pan juices and serve the rest of the sauce on the side.

*for more about herbs and it’s uses, see “In my herb garden”