Entree

French Lentils Salad from the Lyon region


This is a delicious entree from Lyon (this town in France is also called the Capital of Food) that can be completed with other salads or cold cuts but also can be served to accompany a barbecue or roast meats.

Serve 6 to 8 persons

Ingredients:
250g of French du Puy lentils or bondi lentils*

200 g of Bacon or smoked speck
1 small yellow onion
1 red onion
3 carrots
5 branches of parsley, 1 bay leaf
1 litre of vegetable stock
*bondi lentils are distributed by - jcsqualityfoods - available in most of Sydney's fruit shops

for the dressing:
1 coffee spoon of french mustard, 3 coffee spoons of olive oil,1 coffee spoon of wine vinegar, salt and pepper.

1. Cut the bacon or speck in small rectangles of 2 cm long and 1/2 cm wide (what we call lardon in France).
Slice finely the yellow onion.In a pot, fry the yellow onion slices and the "lardons" in 2 spoonfuls of olive oil for a few minutes. The onion should get transparent but not turning brown.Add the vegetable stock and the laurel leave. add salt and pepper.Let this cook for 30 to 40 mn at low heat.Taste the Lentils (with a wooden spoon), they should be tender, not hard and not turning into mush either. Strain the lentils and let them cool down.
2. Peel and grate the carrots in a salad bowl. Add the sliced red onion and the parsley finely cut.Prepare the dressing.
3. Take the laurel leave out of the lentils and mix with the other ingredients in the salad bowl.Pour the dressing over it and mix again.

You can serve the salad warm, cold or at room temperature, to your taste.

Rillettes du Mans
This is a delicacy for the French... and you do not ( I mean do not) spread it over a slice of bread, non non, you need to put a bit of rillettes at the end of your piece of bread and crunch it. Then put again some rillettes at the edge of your bread and crunch again.... Yum!
Originally from Le Mans (French town in the Loire valley) this is a preparation of pork meat slowly cooked in its fat.  An ideal dish for the aperitif or an entree with a glass of white wine...

Serve 6 to 8 persons

Ingredients:
500g of pork neck
500g of pork rashers without the skin
1 spoonful of 4 spices
15 g of sea salt
5 g of white ground pepper

  1. Cut the pork neck and the pork rashes in small cubes. Put this meat in a stoneware pot (Le Creuset style) or any slow cooking pot and add 100ml of water. Let it cook at really small temperature during 3 hours steering from time to time (the trick is that it should not burn in the bottom but cook slowly in the fat. When the meat begin to disintegrate add the salt, pepper and 4 spices. 
  2. let it cool down and add again salt or pepper to taste.
Put in small jars and refrigerate. This can stay for 1 week in your fridge (if it is not all eaten before).



Zucchini Soup with Coriander
Very easy  to prepare and kids love it ! Serve with toasted bread

Serve 6 to 8 persons

Ingredients:
4 small zucchinis
2 potatoes
1 litre of vegetable stock
3 laughing cows cheese portions
salt & pepper
10 stem of fresh coriander
3 garlic cloves
1 spoonful of olive oil 

Peel the zucchinis and potatoes, wash them and cut in small pieces.
Peel the garlic, pick the leaves from the coriander stems and cut them finely.
In a casserole, fry the vegetable in olive oil for 10 minutes, add the garlic and the fresh coriander. Add the vegetable stock, cover and let it cook for 30 min.
Add the laughing cow cheese portions and blend slightly the soup with an electrical blender or use a julienne mill it is even better !