Pâtissons Farcis

 

I discovered these lovely pâtissons at the stall of my favourite greengrocer on the market and decided they would make a slightly different dish from the stuffed courgettes I had made the previous week.

They looked almost too good to cut and some visitors thought they were little cakes, resembling yellow muffins.
Having made a cream of mushrooms the day before, I still had quite a few button mushrooms left and chose to use them for the filling.

Serves 2:

2 pâtissons or small round yellow courgettes
5 big button mushrooms, peeled and sliced very thinly.
100g pancetta

1. Rinse the pâtissons and cut them in half, horizontally.

2. Steam them for 10 minutes in a pressure cooker as the skin is fairly tough.

3. Meanwhile, put the pancetta in a non-stick frying pan and stir regularly.You do not need any fat as the pancetta is fat enough. After 5 minutes, add the mushrooms. Stir for a further 5 minutes. Reserve.

4. Take out the pâtissons halves and scoop out the seeds, keeping some of the flesh.
5. Add the mushroom and pancetta filling and place in an oven-proof dish in a pre-heated oven at 200C for 10 minutes.

Bon Appétit!

Note: 1. The skin is not edible but looks pretty.

2. For a vegetarian option, omit the pancetta.

.

Cream of Mushrooms

This easy starter can become a pleasing sauce if you thicken it a little.
It will go very well on grilled steak, gammon, chicken or fish. It will also be delicious in lasagne.
You can also use Portobello mushrooms.

Serves 4:

You need:
500g button mushrooms, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
3 garlic cloves, peeled
50g unsalted butter or slightly salted butter, in which case you use less salt
2 tablespoons corn flour
1 big tin unsweetened condensed milk (i.e.Carnation)
A handful of flat leaf parsley
1 vegetable cube
Pepper

1. Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan and toss the mushrooms in it for 5 minutes over a low heat.
2. Whizz the mushrooms in a food blender with the garlic and the parsley. Reserve.
3. Melt the butter in a saucepan over a low heat. Add the cornflour slowly, stirring all the time. Pour the milk gradually, making sure to avoid lumps forming. (If they do, pour the mixture in the blender and this will get rid of the lumps).
4. Dissolve the vegetable cube in a little hot water and pour into the saucepan.
5. Finally, add the mushroom mixture, stirring well and heat over a low heat for 5 minutes.
6. Serve immediately.

Bon Appétit!