We have 5 recipes this week from Florence (Flo) Rebattet; chef, founder of En Cuisine Cooking School for children aged 3-18 and semi-finalist on Gordon Ramsay’s Future Food Stars. They include two savoury side dishes and three cake variations; that promise comfort eating with a twist as autumn approaches. All are suitable to be cooked by and with children, with varying levels of supervision, so these are perfect to be enjoyed by all the family. Some even come with special “little chef tips” and are used by Flo in her classes at en cuisine.

Florence founded En Cuisine Cooking School in 2014. Passionate about food and cooking since her childhood, Florence decided to build her own cooking school designed for children and teenagers. For her, it is fundamental to see the new generations cooking from scratch with seasonal ingredients.

Roasted vegetable tray
A classic dish which will bring crunchiness and colour to any meal and is particularly delicious served with the Gratin Dauphinois below.

Ingredients for 4 servings:

1 butternut squash
6 carrots
2 onions
250g Brussels sprouts
4 potatoes
2 heads of garlic
Fresh thyme and rosemary

 

 

Step-by-step recipe:

  1. Wash your vegetables and preheat your oven at 150C
  2. Boil some salted water and cook the Brussels sprouts for 15 minutes.
  3. Peel your butternut squash and chop it into big chunks. Do the same for the carrots, onions and potatoes. All the vegetables need to be the same size to cook evenly.
  4. In a tray, drizzle some olive oil and add all the vegetables. Toss with some salt, black pepper, rosemary and thyme.
  5. Put the tray in the oven for 40 minutes. Check if the vegetables are cooked before getting them out of the oven.

Little chef tips:
You can play with the flavours by adding some spices. Smoked paprika and turmeric deserve a go for this recipe.

Gratin Dauphinois
This is a typical dish from Savoie in France and is regularly eaten over the winter. The recipe below is from my mother-in-law who lives in Grenoble.

Ingredients for 4 servings:  

1kg of potatoes
1 litre of double cream
5 garlic cloves
Salt and black pepper
1 tsp grated nutmeg

Step-by-step recipe:

  1.  Wash the potatoes and peel them. Keep the skin in a separate bowl. (These can be fried later to avoid wasting them.)
  2. With your knife slice your potatoes (1cm thickness), using the bridge technique.
  3. Peel your garlic cloves. Chop them into small pieces and then crush them using the blade of your knife.
  4. Put some crushed garlic in the bottom of your pot and rub it all around.
  5. Pour some double cream into the pot, sprinkle in some salt, black pepper and grated nutmeg.
  6. Lay the potatoes on the cream until covered then pour more cream and seasoning. Repeat until you don’t have any more sliced potatoes.
  7. Put in the oven at 190 degrees for 1 hour.

Little chef tips:
The quality of the potatoes is very important. Don’t use jacket potatoes as the texture won’t be good when cooked. Instead use potatoes for frying. Belle de Fontenay and Desiree are the best varieties for the Gratin Dauphinois.

Madeleines
This recipe for mouthwatering Madeleines is from my recipe book ‘Cook with Flo’.

Ingredients (20 madeleines):    

120g of plain flour
120g of granulated white sugar
120g unsalted butter
3 medium eggs
Zest of one unwaxed lemon
1 lemon
1 teaspoon of baking powder

 

 

Step-by-step recipe:

  1. In a large bowl, mix the flour, the sugar and the baking powder.
  2. Crack the eggs and separate the yolks from the whites. The yolk goes with the dry ingredients and the whites in a separate bowl.
  3. Whisk the white with a fork until you get bubbles on the top. Add them to the flour and yolks mix and combine.
  4. Melt the butter and wait until it cools down before pouring it on the mix.
  5. Add the lemon juice and the zest. Stir well.
  6. Pour into madeleine moulds and put them in the oven at 240°C for 6 minutes and then 180°C for 8 minutes. Your madeleines are ready when you see a little mountain on the top and a nice golden colour

Little chef tips:
Swap the lemon for ½ an orange or rose water. I really like mine with rose water and dry pieces of rose in the dough!

Gateau de Savoie
I spent most of childhood in Biarritz, on the beach, with this cake stuffed in my mouth! I absolutely loved it and couldn’t get enough

Ingredients: 

75g sugar
3 eggs
50g flour
20g cornflour
2 drops vanilla extract
60g sugar

 

 

Step-by-step recipe:

  1. In two large bowls, separate the egg whites and yolks.
  2. Whisk the egg yolk until you reach a smooth texture. Then, add the sugar and keep whisking.
  3. Whisk the egg whites until you get a stiff peak. Don’t forget to add a pinch of salt.
  4. Add the egg whites to the egg yolk by folding the white into the yolks. Do not mix and always fold in the same way.
  5. Add the vanilla, and the plain and corn flours into the mixture. Fold the flours into the egg mix.
  6. Pour the mix in a mould and cook it for 30-40 minutes in a preheated oven at 170C.

Lemon and chia seeds muffin cakes
One of my first sweet recipes when I started teaching children to cook at En Cuisine. This recipe can also be found in my cookbook ‘Cook with Flo’.

Ingredients (6 muffins):   

100g of plain flour
80g of coconut sugar
80g of unsalted butter
½ lemon + zest
1 tablespoon of chia seeds
½ tablespoon of baking powder
2 eggs

 

 

Step-by-step recipe:

  1. Melt the butter and let it cool down on the side.
  2. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs and the sugar until the mix is slightly white with bubbles on the top. Then, pour the flour into the mixture and stir.
  3. Squeeze the lemon and add the zest. Pour the melted butter in the mix.
  4. Add the chia seeds and the baking powder. Stir until you combine all the ingredients together.
  5. Pour the mixture into the muffin tray and put it in the oven at 220°C for 15 minutes.

Little chef tips:
You can swap the chia seeds with poppy seeds for a different flavour.

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