French Recipes: A Valentine Meal

Paris is the city of love. What would be more romantic than spending a full week-end in Paris to celebrate Valentine ’s Day? Quite expensive if you are not already living there, isn’t it?

Six years ago, I went with my boyfriend in a restaurant to celebrate Valentine’s Day sharing a delicious meal. That was actually my worst Valentine’s Day ever. There were only couples in the entire restaurant, seated in front of each other and barely talking. It was so depressing. We ate quickly and left the restaurant as soon as we could so the masquerade would be finally be over. Since then, we’ve never gone to a restaurant on the 14th of February. Instead we prepare to ourselves a delicious meal at home.

If you do not have either the time nor money to fly to Paris, you could bring Paris home with this fantastic raspberry Bavarois recipe. Instead of eating in a fancy and expensive French restaurant, organize a wonderful Valentine meal at home for your spouse or boyfriend.
If you have kids, send them to your mum for the night, so you can actually relax and enjoy your empty house. One flower and a homemade French meal can be much better than a dozen roses and expensive jewelry. Feel free to share this post with your man so he’ll know what you actually want for the day of love.

This raspberry Bavarois will be the icing on the cake to finish your French meal. Below find a few examples of the perfect menu, easy and quick to make.
Appertif: Kir Breton
or Apricot Royal
***
Crayfish & Asparagus mousse verrine
Salmon Tartare and Avocado verrine
or
Beetroot cream verrine with Parmesan chips (vegetarian)
***
Quails with white grapes served with a carrot purée
Mussels mariniere Recipe
or
Mustard tart (vegetarian)
***
Raspberry Bavarois

Raspberry Bavarois recipe
Genoise

• 2 eggs
• 70 gr. of flour (1/2 cup or 2.5 oz.)
• 70 gr. of sugar (1/3 cup or 2.5 oz.)
• 5 teaspoons of baking powder

Syrup

• 1 tablespoon of raspberries shaps or rhum
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 1 tablespoon of water

Bavarois

• 350 gr. of frozen raspberries (3 cups or 12.5 oz.)
• 60 gr. of sugar (1/3 cup or 2.15 oz.)
• 5 sheets of gelatin
• 350 ml. of cream (35% fat) (1 1/2 cups or 11.6 oz.)

Coulis

• 150 gr. of frozen raspberries (1 1/5 cup or 5.35 oz.)
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 1 sheet of gelatin

Genoise

Preheat to 180°C (350°F). Separate egg whites and egg yolk. Whisk egg yolks and sugar until pale yellow. Add flour little by little while mixing. Add baking powder and mix. Beat white eggs with an electric mixer until stiff and foamy. Incorporate in the previous mixture.
Put greaseproof paper on a baking tray. Place your baking disk (8.3 inches) on top. Pour mixture and bake for 13 minutes. Remove from oven and leave to cool. Remove genoise from baking disk.
Syrup
Heat few seconds raspberries schnaps, sugar and water. Brush genoise with syrup.

Bavarois

Soak gelatin in a bowl of cold water with some ice cubes. Heat frozen raspberries with sugar on medium heat to obtain a kind of coulis. Remove from heat, add gelatin, and stir 2 or 3 times slowly. Sieve and reserve.

Take out of your freezer mixing bowl and culinary whisks. Whip cream until thick and reserve. Add raspberry coulis in whipped cream and mix slowly to obtain a homogeneous color. Place genoise in baking disk. Pour this mixture on top and refrigerate few hours to one night.

Coulis

Soak gelatin in a cold water bowl full of ice cubes.

Heat frozen raspberries with sugar on medium heat to make coulis. Remove from heat, add gelatin sheet, stir slowly and sieve.

Pour raspberry coulis on top of bavarois.

Unmolding
Unmold Bavarois. Tip: Use a hair dryer to heat the edges.
To find more French recipes, visit a French girl “cuisine” blog and browse recipes!

Links:
Apricot Royal
Kir Breton
Crayfish & Asparagus Mousse Verrine
Salmon Tartare and Avocado Verrine
Verrine: Beetroot cream and Parmesan Chips!
Quails with White Grape Sauce
Carrot Purée
Mussels Mariniere Recipe
Mustard Tart  
Author: Natacha Gajdoczki hails from Montpellier and is the creator of the French Girl Cuisine Blog.