This week we’re in France with one of the bibles of French cooking. The Complete Robuchon, by Joel Robuchon. Sunday lunch was a bit of a Robuchon fest. We cooked Roast Duck with Spiced Honey, Cabbage with Melted Tomatoes and Saffron, New Carrots for Roast Chicken, and Mashed Potatoes. Whilst I’d probably been a touch overzealous with the number of dishes, they were all excellent. Spiced honey for the duck used Juniper, coffee, yes, coffee! And aromatics such as cinnamon and star anise. The duck was delicious, and it was the first time we’d tried a frozen duck – it was fantastic. The cabbage with tomatoes and saffron was an absolute winner. Carrots for roast chicken were simple and really tasty. Joel’s mash should come with a health warning. We used half the amount of butter he uses and even then, they were rich like pommes purée in the best restaurants. All in all the dishes were wonderful and ones to go back to.

Next up was Pork Chops with Cornichons. Simple pork chops pan fried with a sauce made from the pan juices, white wine, mustard, stock and cornichons. The sweet tart cornichons complimented the fatty pork perfectly. It’s definitely a great little sauce to have in the pocket for pork dishes.