This lovely recipe is from Alain Fabergues, the fabulous French chef who owns The Loose Box at Mundaring, just outside Perth, W.A.   Truffles combine well with cream and sugar as you’ll discover in this dish.

For The Pannacotta: In a medium saucepan, heat the cream and caster sugar.  Bring to the boil, remove from the heat, add the truffle and infuse with a lid on for 15minutes. Soak gelatine in cold water then add the softened gelatine to the hot infusion. Place in plastic moulds (or use dariole moulds) and cover with plastic film to avoid a skin forming. Refrigerate.
For The Shiraz reduction: Bring the Shiraz to the boil and flambé to remove the alcohol, add the sugar and reduce till it thickens. Add the ground truffles and boil for two minutes. Remove from the heat and keep it in a glass jar till needed.
For The Salsa: Peel and dice the apples.  Peel and dice the pears – but you will have to wait for your salsa to be ready to be served to dice the pears as they will get brown.Mix the salsa in a bowl with 10g of peeled and diced truffles, add a pinch of sugar cover with a film and refrigerate until needed.
To Serve: Dip the bottom of each pannacotta in hot water for just a couple of second and turn out chilled moulds into a bowl and serve by sharing the salsa around the pannacotta.Finish with a drizzle of Shiraz and truffle reduction. Garnish as you like; it is time to make them look pretty, remember the last dish of a meal is an important statement so take that extra minute.

This quantity will make 15 Pannacotta.

Note: Alain suggests you try to find the “Green Star” apples which is a new West Australian apple.  “Please do as this apple doesn’t get brown  once peeled so you do not have to use lemon to keep it white – lemon is not a friend of truffle as its acidity cancels the subtle phenols of this fungus.”
In 2008, a farm near Donnybrook  at Kingswood Heights Orchard in South West W.A. grew a new variety of apple was picked for the first time in Australia. The apple is a cross between the Granny Smith and Delicious varieties and has been imported from Belgium.

A flavourful, savoury onion flatbread from the south of France. The name derives from the Provencale word `pissalat’ which was a fish based condiment, represented today by a combination of anchovies and thyme

Make the focaccia base: place flour and salt in a large bowl, make a hole in the centre and put in the yeast, olive oil and water. Stir with a wooden spoon to bring together and make a soft dough. Tip out onto a lightly floured benchtop and knead vigorously for 5 – 8 minutes or until smooth and elastic.
Form into a dough and place in lightly oiled large bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and a cloth and place in a warm spot.  Leave until dough has doubled – time will depend on how warm it it.  It may take anything from 1 – 3 hours. Remove dough from bowl, punch down and knead for 2 minutes.Roll dough out to form a rectangle (approx 35cm x20cm).  Place on an oiled baking tray, prick all over with a fork.  Combine topping ingredients in a small bowl and brush liberally over top of the dough. Leave to rise for about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 220degC.
Meanwhile in a heavy frying pan, sweat the onions in the oil with the garlic, bouquet garni and salt.Cover and leave over low heat ( a simmer pad is useful) until onions have collapsed and are cooked through, about 35 minutes – don’t let them colour.  Turn frequently with tongs. Remove the bouquet garni, drain off excess juices and spread onion mixture evenly over pizza base.
Bake the pissaladiere in the oven until browned and crisp, being careful not to burn the onions, about 25 – 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and arrange the anchovies in a lattice pattern over the onions, placing the olives in between.  Sprinkle with thyme.  Serve warm or at room temperature, cut into rectangles.  Also good with a tossed green salad for lunch.

Tip: If you soak the anchovies in milk for 10 – 15 minutes after rinsing, they will lose some of their saltiness. Drain on paper towels before proceeding.

A hearty warming soup, perfect for a Sunday lunch or supper.

Serves 4

Put the onions, garlic and butter into a large heavy pan. Add the bay leaf and thyme, cover and leave over medium-low heat for 15 – 20 minutes until onions have softened, stirring occasionally.  Remove lid, sprinkle over the sugar and cook onions another 30 minutes until golden brown all over, stirring frequently.

Remove from heat and sprinkle over the flour.  Stir to combine, return to heat and cook 2 – 3 minutes, stirring all the time. Add the wine and simmer until almost evaporated.  Pour in the hot stock and season to taste.  Leave to simmer for 30 – 40 minutes, skimming the top occasionally. Remove the herbs.

Can be pre-prepared up to here.

Meanwhile spread the slices of bread with mustard and top with the combined cheeses.

Heat the grill.

Put the hot soup into individual heatproof bowls or soup tureen (or you can leave it in the saucepan if the handle is ovenproof).  Place the bread on top and place under the grill until cheese is melted and golden.  Serve immediately.

Tip: for a richer soup, add 2 –3 tablespoons Cognac just before topping with the bread.

A good old-fashioned pudding, excellent served with a frothy crème anglaise’ flavoured with a little Calvados.

Apple Filling:

6 Granny Smith apples (about 6), peeled, cored and quartered
30g unsalted butter
2 tablespoons apricot preserve
60g (1/4 cup) caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon zest
Pinch cinnamon
1 tablespoon Calvados or dark rum

The Bread:
12 slices white pre-sliced bread(medium thickness), crusts removed
Approx 75g melted unsalted butter
Sugar for dusting

The sauce:
4 tablespoons apricot preserves
2 – 3 tablespoons Calvados (or dark rum)
2 tablepsoons sugar
Juice of 1 – 2 lemons, or to taste

Cut the apples into small pieces. Put them in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat, covered, and cook for about 20 minutes or until soft, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat, stir through the apricot preserve, sugar, vanilla, lemon zest, sugar, cinnamon and brandy ( if using). Return to the heat and stir until well combined and all liquid has evaporated. Leave to cool.
Meanwhile, brush four ramekin dishes with melted butter. Sprinkle sugar over base and sides of the dishes.
Preheat oven to 200degC.
Using a rolling pin, flatten each slice of bread. Cut out eight rounds to fit the bases and tops of the ramekins. Place one circle in the base of each ramekin. Cut the remaining four slices of flattened bread into three rectangles and line the sides of each ramekin with these.
Spoon in the cooled apple puree. Butter both sides of the remaining circles and place on top of the apple filling. Sprinkle liberally with sugar and bake for 20 minutes or until golden on top (the longer you leave it in the oven, the crisper the bread will be – a delightful contrast with the soft filling). Remove and leave to stand for 15 – 20 minutes before turning out. Serve with the apricot sauce and cream or ‘crème anglaise’.
To make the sauce: put all the ingredients into a small saucepan and simmer until combined. Taste, adding more lemon juice, sugar or Calvados. Strain. If you like, you can omit the Calvados from the sauce and flame it, pouring a little over the top of each pudding after the sauce.
Tip: you can use tinned pie apple if you’re running short of time, but make sure it is free of excess moisture and flavoured with lemon zest, vanilla, brandy and cinnamon.
salt and pepper

A classic French provincial dish, hard to beat on a cold winter’s night.

Serves 4

1 medium corn-fed chicken (1.4 – 1.6kg), cut in serving pieces
Salt and freshly cracked pepper
2 tablespoons light olive oil
125g steaky bacon, rind removed, diced
1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed
12 – 16 baby onions, peeled
2 tablespoons brandy
¾ (three quarters) bottle red wine
250ml (1 cup) chicken stock
Bouquet garni
250g button mushrooms, browned in a little oil
1 tablespoon softened butter
worked with 1 tablespoon plain flour

Wipe the chicken pieces dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a medium heavy casserole, fry the bacon until crispy, add the onions and garlic clove and fry until golden, turning them frequently. Remove to paper towels. Fry the chicken pieces until golden all over. Tip out any fat, then pour in the brandy and flame it (stand back!). When flames have subsided, return bacon, onions and garlic to the casserole, pour in the wine and stock and add the bouquet garni. Cover and simmer very gently until chicken is tender, about ¾ – 1 hour. Add mushrooms to chicken and simmer until mushrooms are soft.
Remove chicken pieces and vegetables to a warm serving platter or dish. Discard bouquet garni. Bring the red wine to the boil and reduce by half over medium heat. Skim off any fat. Add the butter/flour mixture (‘beurre manie’) in small pieces to the red wine, stirring over low heat until the butter has melted and the sauce has thickened. Bring just to boiling point and when shiny and glazed, pour over the chicken. Serve immediately.