Champagne Recipes & Cooking

Not so fast: "I get no kick from champagne..."

In the kitchen, too, champagne shows its charm and artistry, as a fine ingredient in many culinary creations. Here is a handful of sparkling recipe ideas for (almost) every occasion:

Onion Soup "Les Halles"

Serves 4

You will need: 2 large onions 3 tablespoons butter 2 cups beef stock 1 cup diced Gruyère 1 cup champagne Salt and pepper 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce Grated Parmesan

Slice the onions thinly and separate the rings; fry until golden, then add them to the stock together with the champagne and the Worcestershire sauce. Simmer gently for 15 minutes. Spread the Gruyère in an ovenproof casserole dish, pour the soup over it and bake in a low oven for one hour. To finish, serve with croutons and grated cheese.

Bouillabaisse

You will need: 2 lb fish: bass, salmon, haddock 2 lb shellfish: lobster, shrimp, scallops, crabmeat ½ cup olive oil 1 chopped onion Salt, pepper, paprika, saffron 1 chopped leek 2 chopped tomatoes 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 2 teaspoons chopped parsley 1 bay leaf Just under 1 litre (about 1¾ pints) fish stock 1 cup champagne

Fry the leek, onion, garlic and tomatoes in oil and season to taste. Add the fish, then pour over the stock and champagne. Simmer for 10 minutes, then serve with garlic bread.

Vichyssoise "Triomphe"

(Serves 4) You will need: 2 tomatoes, peeled 2 tablespoons butter 2 whole leeks 2 cups chicken stock ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg 1 tablespoon pimento ½ cup champagne ½ cup fresh cream 1 tablespoon chopped chives

Cook the potatoes, drain and let them dry. Sauté the chopped leek in butter and one cup of the chicken stock, then cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the potatoes, the second cup of chicken stock, the salt, cayenne pepper and nutmeg, and rub everything through a fine sieve. Stir in the champagne and stir the soup over ice until thoroughly chilled. Finally, stir in the cream. Garnish each portion with chives.

Aperitif Champagner

French Dressing "Royal"

You will need: 3 cups salad oil ½ cup olive oil 1 teaspoon lemon juice 2 tablespoons basil wine vinegar 2 tablespoons champagne A dash of Tabasco 3 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper 1 teaspoon ground mustard seed A pinch of sugar

Mix all the ingredients well. The mixture works as a versatile dressing and can be refined to taste with garlic, chives or other fresh herbs. To use it as the base for a vinaigrette, add hard-boiled eggs, herbs, capers and olives.

Sauce Hollandaise "Piquante"

You will need: ¾ cup butter 6 egg yolks ¼ teaspoon salt A pinch of cayenne pepper ¼ cup champagne

Melt the butter, but do not let it get hot. Stir in the egg yolks one at a time, then gently beat in the champagne and the cayenne pepper. Keep the heat off here too!

Eggs "Benedict"

You will need: 4 eggs 2 tablespoons champagne Salt 4 thin slices of grilled ham 2 English muffins, split Butter 2 cups sauce hollandaise 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Poach the eggs in boiling water to which you have added 2 tablespoons of champagne. Toast and butter the muffins and top each of the four halves with a slice of ham. Finally, place a poached egg on each, pour over the hollandaise and sprinkle with parsley.

Champagne Burger

(Serves 4) You will need: 2 lb minced beef sirloin 1 teaspoon garlic salt 1 teaspoon seasoned salt 2 tablespoons chopped parsley ½ cup chilled champagne 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce Freshly ground pepper

Mix the freshly minced beef with the seasonings, the parsley, the champagne and the Worcestershire sauce. Shape four patties and grill them as you like.

Coq au Champagne

You will need: 2 small chickens 4 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons cognac 18 small pearl onions ½ lb mushrooms 1 stock cube 2 tablespoons flour 1 cup stock 1 chopped tomato ½ cup chopped green olives ½ cup champagne ¼ cup red wine Salt and pepper

Clean the chickens carefully. Brown them whole in hot butter. Pour the cognac over the chickens and set it alight with a match. Once the flames have died down, take the chickens out of the pot and brown the mushrooms and onions. Add the dissolved stock cube and take the pot off the heat. Stir in the flour and add the tomato, olives, stock, champagne and wine. Bring back to the boil, stirring constantly, add the seasoning and the jointed chickens and simmer until cooked through.

Rainbow Trout

You will need: 4 whole rainbow trout Salt and pepper Just under 1 litre (about 1¾ pints) champagne 6 peppercorns 1 bay leaf ¼ teaspoon rosemary 1 teaspoon flavour enhancer

Clean and gut the fish, but leave them whole. Heat the champagne with the seasonings. Add the trout and top up with hot water if needed to cover. Cook covered until the fish is tender, about 12 minutes per pound. To finish, serve with remoulade sauce.

Veuve Clicquot Tasting

Shrimps de Jonghe

You will need: 2 lb fresh shrimp 1 tablespoon salt 1 garlic clove, finely chopped 3/4 cup butter 1 cup breadcrumbs A pinch of paprika A pinch of cayenne pepper 4 teaspoons chopped parsley ½ cup champagne

Clean and peel the shrimp and remove the vein. Cook the shrimp and add the salt, garlic, whipped butter, breadcrumbs, paprika, cayenne pepper, parsley and champagne. Sprinkle buttered breadcrumbs over the top and bake in a moderate oven for about 10 minutes, either in a casserole dish or in individual dishes if you are serving it as a starter.

“Sauté the chopped leek in butter and one cup of the chicken stock, then cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Lobster "Newburg"

(Serves 4) You will need: 1 lb lobster meat ½ cup sliced mushrooms 3 tablespoons butter ¼ teaspoon chopped onion ½ cup champagne 2 egg yolks 1 cup cream Paprika, salt, cayenne pepper

Cut the lobster meat into cubes. Heat the butter and cook the mushrooms and onion with salt and pepper for 5 minutes. Mix the egg yolks with the cream and beat well. Add the lobster meat and the champagne to the onion and mushroom mixture and stir until evenly combined. Last of all, add the beaten egg yolks and cream. Stir gently over the heat until the mixture has thickened and is hot.

Fish in Champagne

You will need: 5 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons chopped celery 3 tablespoons chopped onion ¾ lb crabmeat, shelled Salt and pepper to taste 1 cup breadcrumbs ¼ cup chopped parsley 1 cup cream 3 lb whole fish, gutted ½ cup champagne 1 tablespoon flour

Melt 4 tablespoons of butter and sauté the onion and celery until the onion is translucent. Add the crabmeat, salt and pepper, breadcrumbs, parsley and ¼ cup of the cream and mix well. Stuff the fish loosely with this mixture and sew up the openings. Place the fish in a greased roasting tin and pour the champagne over it. Bake at 200 °C (about 400 °F) for roughly 25 minutes, or until cooked through.

Baste it repeatedly with the champagne pan juices. Transfer the fish to a serving platter and boil down the liquid in the pan over a high heat until half has evaporated. Add the remaining cream and stir in the remaining butter, which you have first mixed with the flour. Cook the mixture for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly, taste for seasoning and pass it through a sieve into a sauceboat; it is served separately with the fish. If any champagne is left over after the preparation, serve it with the meal.

Steak "Supreme"

Serves 6
You will need:
3 lb beef fillet, in one piece
1 teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove
1 cup olive oil
¼ cup champagne
½ lb bacon
Freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Mix the oil, champagne, salt and garlic and marinate the fillet in this mixture in the fridge for 24 hours. Pour off the liquid and lay strips of bacon over the meat, secured with cocktail sticks. Season with freshly ground pepper, then roast in the oven at 180 °C (about 350 °F) for 1 hour, basting regularly to keep the meat juicy. Slice and serve garnished with parsley.

Laurent-Perrier Champagne

A word of warning for the following recipes: if you have no experience with flambéing, you should work with someone
who does before trying it on your own!

Flambéed Bananas

You will need:
2 teaspoons butter
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons champagne
4 bananas, halved lengthways
3 cl cognac

Melt the butter in a chafing dish set over a pan of hot water and add the bananas, sprinkled with sugar and champagne. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Flambé the bananas with 1.5 cl of cognac. Put out the flames by shaking the pan and repeat the process, and you are done!

Crêpes Suzette

You will need:
1 cup flour
1/3 cup icing sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 beaten eggs
1 cup milk
½ cup unsalted butter
2 tablespoons icing sugar
Juice of 1 orange
2 tablespoons champagne
1 tablespoon each of cognac, rum and Cointreau

Sift the dry ingredients, then add the lemon zest, beaten eggs and milk. Heat a greased 6-inch pan and pour in a wafer-thin layer of the batter. Brown one side of the pancake first, then the other. Place it on a warmed plate and repeat for the remaining crêpes. Dust them with a little icing sugar. Blend the butter with 3 tablespoons of sugar, the juice and the champagne, stirring constantly. Turn the folded crêpes in the sauce until they are well coated. Add the spirits, set them alight with a match and turn the crêpes in the burning sauce until they have reached their full flavour.

Bon appétit!
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