Champagne recipes & Cooking

Not at all:
"I get no kick from champagne..."

Even when cooking, the Champagne its charm and Art - as a noble ingredient in many culinary creations.
Here are a handful of tangy recipe ideas for (not quite) every occasion:

Les Halles" onion soup

4 portions

For this you need:
2 large onions
3 tablespoons butter
2 cups of bouillon
1 cup Gruyère cheese cubes
1cup of champagne
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
Grated Parmesan cheese

Cut the onions into thin slices and separate the rings; then sauté until golden brown and add to the stock with the champagne and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer over a low heat for 15 minutes. Spread the Gruyère cheese in an ovenproof casserole dish, then pour the soup over it and bake in the oven for an hour on a low heat. Serve with croutons and grated cheese.

Bouillabaisse

For this you need:
2 pounds of fish: perch, salmon, haddock
2 pounds of shellfish: Lobster, shrimps, scallops, crab meat
½ cup olive oil
1 chopped onion
Salt, pepper, paprika, saffron
1 chopped leek
2 chopped tomatoes
2 finely chopped garlic cloves
2 teaspoons chopped parsley
1 bay leaf
1 litre of fish stock
1 cup of champagne

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

Vichysoisse "Triomphe"

(4 portions)
For this you need:
2 peeled tomatoes
2 tablespoons butter
2 leeks in one piece
2 cups chicken stock
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon allspice
½ cup of champagne
½ cup fresh cream
1 tablespoon chopped chives

Cook the potatoes, drain and dry. Sauté the chopped leek in butter and a cup of chicken stock, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the potatoes, the second cup of chicken stock, salt, cayenne pepper, nutmeg and stir everything through a fine sieve. Add the champagne and stir the soup over ice until it is chilled. Finally, stir in the cream. Garnish the individual portions with chives.

French dressing "Royal"

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

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

Hollandaise sauce "Piquante"

For this you need:
¾ cup butter
6 egg yolks
¼ teaspoon salt
A pinch of cayenne pepper
¼ cup of champagne

Melt the butter without heating it. Stir in the egg yolks one at a time and then beat in the Champagne and carefully add the cayenne pepper. Do not heat up when doing this either!

Eggs "Benedict"

For this you need:
4 eggs
2 tablespoons champagne salt
4 thin slices of grilled ham
2 English muffins, sliced Butter
2 cups hollandaise sauce
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, top each with a poached egg, pour over the hollandaise sauce and sprinkle with parsley.

Champagne burger

(4 portions)
For this you need:
2 pounds of chopped beef tenderloin
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon of seasoning salt
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
½ cup of chilled champagne
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Freshly ground pepper

Mix the freshly cooked fillet with the spices, parsley, champagne and Worcestershire sauce. Form four patties and grill them to your liking.

Coq au Champagne

For this you need:
2 small chickens
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons cognac
18 small silver onions
½ pound of mushrooms
1 soup cube
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup of stock
1 chopped tomato
½ cup chopped green olives
½ cup of champagne
¼ cup of red wine
Salt and pepper

Clean the chicken carefully. Brown them whole in hot butter. Pour the cognac over the chicken and light it with a match. Once the flames have died down, remove the chicken from the pan and brown the mushrooms and onions. Add the dissolved stock cube and remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the flour and add the tomatoes, olives, stock, champagne and Wine Add to the pan. Bring back to the boil, stirring constantly, add the spices and the cut-up chicken and simmer until cooked.

Rainbow trout

For this you need:
4 whole rainbow trout
Salt and pepper
Almost a litre of champagne
6 peppercorns
1 bay leaf
¼ teaspoon rosemary
1 teaspoon flavour enhancer

Clean and gut the fish, but leave in one piece. Heat the champagne with the spices. Add the trout and top up with hot water if necessary to cover. Cover and cook until the fish is tender - about 12 minutes per pound. Serve with remoulade sauce to finish.

Shrimps de Jonghe

For this you need:
2 pounds fresh shrimps/shrimps
1 tablespoon salt
1 finely chopped clove of garlic
3/4 cup butter
1 cup breadcrumbs
A pinch of paprika
A pinch of cayenne pepper
4 teaspoons chopped parsley
½ cup of champagne

Clean and peel the shrimps and remove the shells. Cook the shrimps and add salt, garlic, beaten butter, breadcrumbs, paprika, cayenne pepper, parsley and champagne. Sprinkle with buttered breadcrumbs and bake in the oven over a medium heat for about 10 minutes, either in a casserole dish or individual bowls if you are planning to use it as a starter.

Hummer "Newburg"

(4 portions)
For this you need:
1 pound lobster meat
½ cup sliced mushrooms
3 tablespoons butter
¼ teaspoon chopped onion
½ cup of 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 onions with salt and pepper for 5 minutes. Mix the egg yolks with the cream and beat well. Add the lobster meat and champagne to the onion and mushroom mixture and mix evenly. Finally, add the beaten egg yolks and cream. Stir gently over the heat until the mixture has thickened and is hot.

Fish in champagne

For this you need:
5 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons chopped celery
3 tablespoons chopped onion
¾ pound crab meat, peeled
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup breadcrumbs
¼ cup chopped parsley
1 cup cream
3 pounds fish in one piece, gutted
½ cup of champagne
1 tablespoon flour

Melt 4 tablespoons of butter and sauté the onions and celery until the onions are translucent. Add the crabmeat, salt and pepper, breadcrumbs, parsley and ¼ cup of cream and mix well. Stuff the fish loosely with this mixture; sew up the openings. Place the fish in a greased roasting tin and pour the champagne over it. Bake at 200 degrees for approx. 25 minutes or until cooked through.

Drizzle it repeatedly with the champagne gravy. Transfer the fish to a serving dish and cook the stock in the pan over a high heat until half of it has evaporated. Add the remaining cream and stir in the remaining butter, which has previously been mixed with the flour. Cook the mixture for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly, taste it and pass it through a sieve into a sauce boat; serve separately with the fish. If there is any champagne left over from the preparation, serve it with the meal.

Supreme" steak

6 portions
For this you need:
3 pounds fillet of beef in one piece
1 teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove
1 cup olive oil
¼ cup of champagne
½ pound of bacon
Freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Mix the oil, champagne, salt and garlic and marinate the fillet in this mixture for 24 hours in the fridge. Drain the liquid and lay the bacon in strips over the meat, fastened with toothpicks. Season with freshly ground pepper, then roast in the oven for 1 hour at 180 degrees, basting regularly to keep the meat juicy. Slice and serve garnished with parsley.

Caution with the following recipes: If you have no experience with flambéing, you should talk to someone,
who has experience with it, work together first!

Flambéed bananas

For this you need:
2 teaspoons butter
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons of champagne
4 bananas, sliced lengthways
3 cl cognac

Melt the butter in a rechaud 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. Extinguish the fire by shaking and repeat the process - done!

Crêpes Suzette

For this you need:
1 cup flour
1/3 cup icing sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 grated lemon peel
2 beaten eggs
1 cup of milk
½ cup unsalted butter
2 tablespoons icing sugar
Juice of one orange
2 tablespoons of champagne
1 tablespoon each of cognac, rum and Cointreau

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

Bon Appetit!
With champagne recipes & cooking!