We quickly found that Lavender grew very well at Le Chatel. Several bushes were already established when we arrived, though they had gone rather woody with age.  We have since planted many more. The front of the house, particularly, is ideally sheltered and faces south. The sun reflects onto the gravel too and the this keeps everything warm. Its a good plant to have if you are not able to be there all through the summer because it doesn't need attention or watering. And all it needs is a good trim over at the end of the season to keep the bushes tidy. Obviously these flowers are harvested for their scent....but they have use in the kitchen too.

Ingredients: Several heads of fresh Lavender, 200g Light Muscavdo Sugar (or Caster Sugar will do as a substitute) 300g Self Raising Flour, 150ml of natural Yoghurt, 90ml (6 tablespoons) milk, 1 large Egg, pinch of Baking Powder, grated zest and juice of 2 large Lemons, 100g Butter.

Heat Oven to 190/fan 170/ gas 5. Line a muffin tin with cases. Pull the florets from the lavender stalks and put into a processor with the sugar and whizz well together. Transfer the lavendered sugar into a bowl and add the flour and baking powder and mix. In another bowl mix the wet ingredients....egg, lemon zest and juice, yoghurt, and milk. Soften butter until almost runny and add that as well. Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and stir together until only just combined. Don't mix it too much. Spoon into the muffing cases and bake for about 20 minutes.

Lavender Icing is nice drizzled over them..To prepare lavender flavoured Icing you must put several heads of lavender into the dry powder and keep for a few days until the sugar has absorbed the flavour....mix the sugar together with a little lemon juice .

Apple Crisp with Calvados. (A very superior crumble)

The vast majority of Normandy's orchards grow cider apples. Many different varieties which ripen at different times....from late August to just before Christmas...which makes harvesting less hectic and allows for the many different blends and flavours of Calvados. These apples are small and very tart and have a high acid content and no use for cooking, except for making apple jelly. While eating apples and cooking apples  are rarely grown commercially, Normandy is good for growing most varieties. The apple is a staple of the menu and it is used in starters, main course and pudding. (At the restaurant of Pere Magloire Calvados distillery, for example, the apple is the theme that features in all the dishes to some extent.)  So its a rare garden that doesn't have at least one apple tree for the  eating rather than drinking! We are no exception and have a lovely big apple tree in the meadow which is of the old school and requires a ladder to get into. (All the best fruit is  at the top, naturally.) They are cookers....but sweeter than Bramleys and can be eaten raw sliced in salads for example. There is also a more modern 'green apple' variety in the Potager which is a half standard tree.

Ingredients  (for the Crumble): 225g Plain Flour, level teaspoon of Baking Powder, 225 Granulated Sugar (Golden is preferable), 1 egg, 1 teaspoon of Salt. (For the filling) 3 or 4 large Cooking Apples , peeled cored  and sliced ,  50 g of Sugar, small measure of Calvados. 65g of melted Butter and Sprinkle of Cinnamon to finish.

Sift the Flour, salt and Baking Powder into a bowl and then mix in the sugar. Beat the egg and then mix into the dry ingredients with a fork until it resembles breadcrumbs.

Poach the apples in a pan with a little water and the sugar until mushy. Remove any hard pieces of core that spoil the texture. Take off the heat and stir in the Calvados. Put into the pie dish. Cover with the crumble mixture taking care to go right up to the sides. Drizzle the melted butter over the top of the pie. Add a sprinkle of cinnamon.  Bake for half and hour in a moderate over...180 c/ 160 fan/ Gas 4.

Serve with cream of Calvados Cream. (Whisk cream until thickened and add small measure of Calvados and icing sugar to taste.)

Walnut Shortcake biscuits

Walnuts are more associated with the South West, Dordogne in particular. However, walnut trees grow very well in Normandy too and we have two mature trees in our meadow. They were obviously planted a long time ago and perhaps that was at a time when most food was either home produced or local. Good fortune for us because they crop heavily on our sheltered south-facing land. On the tree they look more like bunches of big limes. The nuts are inside a thick skin of green pith. When they are ripe this splits and the nut falls out onto the ground. Hence the reason Walnut Groves are shorn of all grass under the trees. It is wise to wear gloves when picking walnuts because sometimes the nuts still have pith attached to them and this contains a black stain which is very difficult to remove. The trees produce many hundred-weight of nuts  between them so I tend to shell them and freeze the halves until I am ready to use them.

From Le Chatel's two walnut trees.

Ingredients:  175g Plain Flour, 75g Light Muscovado Sugar (castor sugar at a pinch), 100g Butter, 50 Chopped Walnuts.

 

Chicken in Normandy sauce.

 

Every region of France has its special ingredients and flavours and these often find their best expression in a sauce.  In Normandy, anything that is cooked 'a la Normande' is served in a sauce based on cider and cream. Not really surprising, as Normandy is popularly defined by postcards of the famous speckled cows grazing under apple trees.  And although this is a cliche it is also an accurate summing up of of the main products: dairy produce and cider apples.

 

 

 

 

The famous Norman cows are close relatives of Channel Island breeds and their milk shares that high fat content and creamy flavour. Norman cream has a culture added to it which gives it a character rather like an extremely rich version of greek yogurt. But either standard english cream or thick yogurt, or a mixture of both, will do instead.

There are many variations on the basic recipe....some include Calvados and some include cheese or mushrooms. But the distinctive characteristic is a crisp acidic edge of cider cutting through the cream. I much prefer it to the similar sauce made with white wine.  Another important culinary product from the orchards is cider vinegar, and this is used to give an added kick to the dish.

 

Ingredients:2 or 3 cloves of garlic, crushed;  10 shallots or other small onions, halved; 4 skinless chicken breasts;1 tablespoon of dried tarragon (or 2 if fresh is used);240ml / 8 fluid ounces cider; 180ml/6 fluid ounces of chicken or vegatable stock; 2 tablespoons of cider vinegar; 200g/7 ounce carton of cream or yogurt . (Serves 4)

 

Heat a small amount of oil in a deep frying pan and add shallots and stir fry for about 5 minutes and then add the crushed garlic and stir together. Add the whole chicken breasts and brown on all sides for approximately 10 minutes before adding the cider, stock, and vinegar. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and cover the pan so that it is gently simmering. After about 15 minutes add the tarragon and stir in (adding the tarragon too soon would mean it lost its flavour by the time the chicken was cooked.)  Simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes until the chicken is tender.  Remove from the heat and stir in the cream or yogurt and season with black pepper.