XISCA’S MALLORCAN SPONGE CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE Grandma’s friend Nikki goes often to Mallorca, where the treat of choice is a sponge cake, cut in squares to dip in hot milk chocolate sauce in the manner of cheese fondue. Serves 6-8 Butter for the pan 7 eggs, separated 340 g/2¾ cups sugar 200 g/1 2/3
MARINATED EGGPLANT Todd, who is Lucy and Leo’s Dad, once spent a junior year abroad studying architecture in Florence. Along with useful knowledge for modern home improvements, he picked up this wonderfully simple eggplant recipe. If you prefer to use less olive oil, the eggplant can be broiled or barbecued. Any leftover oil will be
CHEESE PUFFS Grandma lived on and off in Burgundy for 30 years and scarcely a week went by without one of the local cheese choux puffs so often served there with a glass of white wine. Cheese Puffs sometimes come stuffed with goat cheese or a creamy filling, and in one inventive version, the dough
GAZPACHO To call gazpacho a liquid salad is unkind, but the expression does sum up the appeal of this chilled Spanish soup. Like any salad, prime ingredients – in this case, fresh ripe tomatoes, red bell pepper, and cucumber – show at their best but it takes time to peel, seed, and chop them, an
DROP SCONES One of the first recipes Grandma learned to manage on her own was drop scones, like small American pancakes but with a bite on the tongue. They are best of all served hot from the pan with a knob of butter on top and a drizzle of honey — her mother would trace
SUMMER PUDDING Without her mother, Grandma would never have made this pudding, which depends on really ripe berries and, strangely, dry white bread. The riper the berries – raspberrries, strawberries, blackberries, currants — the better. After searching her mother’s personal cookbook dating from the 1930s, Grandma finally found the recipe and it is a winner.
SAUTEED SCALLOPS WITH SPICES In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Breton port of Nantes was a center of French trade with Asia, and a taste for spices with shellfish still lingers in Brittany. Shrimps Nantaise are also a favorite of Grandma’s, allow about 2 pounds/900 g raw shrimp in the shell and peel them
CHERRY TOMATO SALAD Flavours blend wonderfully well in this simple little salad. Walnut oil adds a touch of luxury but olive oil can be used instead. To make this a more substantial course, add some cold roast chicken. Serves 4-6 as an appetizer 900 g/2 lb cherry tomatoes 60 g/2 oz walnut pieces For the
RICE PUDDING WITH CARAMEL Creamy rice pudding is called terrinée, a Normandy specialty that is baked long and slowly, sometimes overnight, in an earthenware dish so it develops a deep brownish crust. In a recent trend, farmers earn a bit extra by making dishes like this at home for the many visitors who tour the
ZUCCHINI CAVIAR Zucchini caviar is one of the traditional Russian dishes introduced to us by Simon’s wife Katya, along with a delicious soup she makes with dried porcini mushrooms, blini pancakes with jam, and pelmeni dumplings served with thick cream called smetana. This “caviar” is made with coarsely grated shreds of zucchini that are slowly