In French, that apparently means "tuna corks." We already tried the cake that got Orangette a husband, so I figured I should try the recipe that got her a french lover. CCO said it wouldn't have to be too impressive since french men are "horndogs" but that is beside the point I think. The corks are very light -- just a hint of tomato and tang from the creme fraiche. They are hard to stop eating too. A batch makes about 8-9 corks, which was supposed to feed four people. Instead CCO and I ate them in one sitting. In all a wonderful spring-type dinner. I think I may make for an appetizer next time I host a dinner party.
The creme fraiche was the most difficult ingredient to find (they do sell it at Harris Teeter, maybe also Whole Foods. Check the fancy cheese section.), but I figured I should follow the recipe once before I started making changes. I might substitute full fat sour cream next time and see how they turn out. One other note, if you don't have a muffin tin, you can still make by filling disposable muffin cups and baking on a cookie sheet (I had to do this since I lent out my muffin tins). Make sure to buy the aluminum tins though. They hold the shape much better than the paper ones.
Eat Rating: Awesome. I sort of want to be her French lover now.
Difficulty: Easy (aside from finding creme fraiche)
From A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg
1 6 oz. can of tuna in water, drained
1 cup Gruyere, finely shredded (LN: I used my nun-cheese, which I still (!) have in the fridge)
3 tbsp tomato paste
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup creme fraiche
3 eggs (LN: subbed egg beaters and it worked fine)
2 tsbp finely chopped Italian parsley (LN: couldn't find any, subbed 1/2 tbsp dried)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease a muffin tin or line with disposable muffin liners.
Drain tuna and place in a medium sized bowl. With a fork, break the tuna up into small pieces. Add the remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly.
Divide the mixture evenly between 8-9 tins. Bake 20-25 minutes until the corks appear set on top. Let cool for 5 minutes. The corks will collapse a little, don't worry. Remove from liners or pan and serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
I would like to marry you.
ReplyDeleteHey Leah, I followed your link to Orangette's story about the bouchons and found this comment from her underneath:
ReplyDelete"Pipstar, as far as I know, you can make creme fraiche (or something very close to it, although perhaps not as thick) by doing as follows: stir together 1 cup whipping cream and 3 Tbs lowfat (not nonfat) buttermilk; cover; and let stand at room temperature for 12 hours. You'll wind up with about one cup, which is much more than you'll need. I tried this once, when living in the creme-fraiche-free state of Oklahoma, and it was passable, though not very thick. Let me know how it turns out!"