We made a dish today at Le Cordon Bleu, that was super yummy. I loved the theme of the recipe because I got to create each part as if it were a present. The lamb was wrapped in brik pastry, like one of those packages with loads of tissue paper popping out. The vegetable Tian (layers of tomato, onion, eggplant, zucchini) I baked in a ring mold and placed strips of zucchini around the sides to form a wrapping paper with a bow of zucchini on top. The little breaded deep fried garlic cloves brought back memories of styrofoam popcorn – but they actually tasted really good.
The lamb is first seared rare and then left to cool in the fridge. Any cut of lamb will do– you can choose a fillet or have individual chops. Next we made an herb crust with pistachios, pine nuts, basil, egg white, and oil that we smeared over the meat. We wrapped the meat up in brik pastry and baked it for 10 minutes. This is one of those recipes that would be excellent for a dinner party. Everything can be done ahead and refrigerated and then baked right before serving. If you’re not a lamb eater then why not fish? Salmon would be de-lish.
The vegetable Tian is nothing more than slices of zucchini, eggplant, onions, and red peppers sautéed quickly in olive oil and then layered together with sliced tomato. A little salt and pepper et viola! You can cook the Tian in a big dish or make individual ones.
I would love to give quantities here, but I’m afraid this is one of those Le Cordon Bleu special recipes. However, you can take the general idea and play around with it. It was a lot of fun to create. Let me know if you have any questions about brik pastry or anything else.
P.S. This book has most of the recipes that we cook at school in a menu format (entrée, main course, dessert). It’s a great book. I’ve already bought two for both my mums! Wish I had bought them on Amazon, they’re 20 euros cheaper, can you believe that!?!? I got all the chefs to autograph it too, so I suppose that makes up for the extra expense.
Technorati Tags: Food, Le Cordon Bleu, Paris, lamb , recipes
that looks so very pretty.
Guess I have to add one more book to my library……looks yum!
Hello darling! The lamb looks delicious…I love the presentation. Are you hanging out with some British friends (with your use of the word “Mum”)? I love it!
OMG, those look so YUMMY!!!!!!!
I love the presentation, nicely done! Can you explain what brik pastry is? Would phyllo make an adequate substitute?
Hi Karen – That’s a great question…
Both phyllo and brik are thin pastry that is made from compressed flour and water. I’ve never heard of actually making it by hand, but they both can be bought. I find that they are interchangable but the taste and texture does vary.
Phyllo dough is more flaky and gives the illusion of puff pastry flakiness. Normall you brush 3-4 sheets with melted butter, layer them on top of eachother, and fill with desired food. Due to the butter it has more taste too.
Brik pastry is normally layered in one or at the most two sheets. It is more simple and elegant look in in design. The pastry is brushed with olive oil normally instead of butter so it’s not as tasty.
They both cook for the same amount of time, so aside from a slight change of taste and a more flaky appearance, you can definately use phyllo for brik!
Bisous,
Ms. Glaze