Michel Roux Jr Pineapple Dessert Recipe

What’s the USP? A Michelin-starred chef eschews the involved methods and techniques of the professional kitchen and shares his favourite (but not always) simple recipes from home that he cooks for family and friends.

Who’s the author? Michel Roux Jr is restaurant royalty, son of the legendary Albert Roux, father of Emily (who runs the acclaimed London restaurant Caractère). At the time of writing, he is chef/patron of legendary two Michelin-starred Mayfair restaurant Le Gavroche which is due to close in January 2024. He remains head of food and beverage at The Langham hotel in London. He is a regular on TV shows like Saturday Kitchen and has written eight previous cookbooks including

Is it good bedtime reading? A five page intro and succinct recipe introductions and that’s your lot. Best keep the latest Richard Osman handy.

Celebrity Chef Recipes

How much difficulty will I have getting hold of ingredients? You will need a decent butcher to mince some pork fat for you if you’re going to make the delicious sounding venison turnovers (and you could buy the venison leg or shoulder you’ll need while you are there, although you can get it from some supermarkets too), lamb merguez sausages to serve with red rice and herb pesto, pigs trotters and ears to serve with boned and rolled pork shoulder, and the various meaty elements of a game pate or a terrine made with rabbit and green ham hock.

A good cheesemonger or online supplier will probably be required for the Fleur de Maquis or Berkswell cheese for an omelette with mushrooms, parsley and sheep cheese or the Mimolette required for a chicory tart recipe. Your local greengrocer might have dandelion leaves for a salad made with potatoes, bacon and quince vinegar (good luck finding that, although you can substitute the good old cider variety) but you will have to get your wellies on and go foraging for the nettles for a chilled soup with radish tops. If you are in the UK, you can get cod cheeks from The Fish Society to roast and serve with a watercress salad, a whole sea bass to roast with vegetables or a whole sea bream to bake in a salt crust. What they won’t sell you is the smoked eel required for a canape with beetroot and horseradish cream as it’s now considered a critically endangered species.

Although that might seem like a long list, the book is mainly full of recipes with easily accessible ingredients, as demonstrated by the following list of killer recipes.

Coconut Pancakes With Mango And Passion Fruit Curd

Killer recipes? Cauliflower and broccoli gratin with Comte cheese; courgette gratin; sausage, pea and potato casserole; barbecued chicken with summer salad; potato and sweetcorn waffles with bacon crumb; prawn French toast with walnut and coriander pesto; linguine with olives, artichokes, sundried tomatoes and herbs; blackberry and apple mille-feuiiles.

How annoyingly vague are the recipes? For the most part, the recipes are specific when you want them to be. For example, the lovely cauliflower and broccoli gratin recipe gives weight indications for both the main ingredients which is extremely helpful given that cauliflowers range from golf ball to beach ball in size (I’m exaggerating for effect, but not much). Elsewhere, however, things are more hazy, with a ‘bunch of asparagus and a ‘bunch’ of spring onions for a barbecued lamb steak recipe. Both of course as sold in bunches, but the number (and weight) of asparagus spears and spring onions in any given bunch can vary wildly. This is a minor niggle, as cooking from the book has been a pleasure, with clear, easy to follow methods and delicious results.

What will I love? With chapters including Breakfast and brunch, quick lunches, simple suppers for two, meals for family and friends, sweet finish, family celebrations at home and kitchen basics, it’s quick and easy to choose a recipe appropriate to your needs on any given occasion. There’s a huge variety of dishes, from simple sweetcorn soup to the more challenging game pate as well as dishes such as pork steaks with summer vegetables that would make a great mid-week meal.

Michel Roux Diplomat Pudding With Croissants And Peach Jam Recipe On Michel Roux's French Country Cooking

Should I buy it? There’s still a fair amount of Michel Roux the two-star chef in the book with some fairly time consuming preparations and ingredients that are everyday to the French but more challenging for us Brits to get our hands on. That said, there is much to inspire keen home cooks into the kitchen and dishes that you won’t find in your average TV chef’s cookbook, so it’s a hearty ‘Oui chef’ from us.

Cook from this book Prawn French toast with walnut & coriander pesto by Michel Roux Jr Root Vegetable Tart Tatin by Michel Roux JFirst make the pancake batter. Beat the egg in a bowl, then whisk in the flour a little at a time. Add the sugar and salt and mix well with a whisk. Stir in the milk to make a smooth batter, then leave it to rest in a cool place for at least an hour. To cook, brush a frying pan or crêpe pan with a little of the clarified butter and heat. Ladle in less than a quarter of the batter and cook the pancake for 1 or 2 minutes on each side, turning it with a palette knife. You should get 4 or 5 pancakes.

Segment 2 of the oranges (see page 86) and squeeze all the membranes into a pan to extract any juice. Add the juice of the other 2 oranges to the pan. Place over a low heat and reduce by half, then strain into a bowl and set aside at room temperature.

Decadent Dessert Recipes

Put the crème pâtissière in a bowl, place it over a pan of simmering water and heat gently. Meanwhile, beat the egg whites with a pinch of sugar until they form soft peaks. Take the crème pâtissière off the heat, whisk in the Grand Marnier and beat briefly, then add one-third of the egg whites. Mix well,

Preheat the oven to 240°C/Fan 220°C/Gas 9. Lay a pancake on a board and spoon a quarter of the crème pâtissière mix over one half. Add a few orange segments, then fold the pancake over and press down gently to seal the edges. Repeat with the remaining pancakes, crème pâtissière mix and orange segments. Put the filled pancakes on a lightly greased baking tray and bake in the preheated oven for 2–5 minutes. Remove and dust them generously with icing sugar, then place under a hot grill for 4–5 minutes, so that the sugar melts and becomes partly caramelised. To serve, slide each pancake on to a plate. Pour some of the reduced orange juice around each one and add a few orange segments. Serve at once.You’re in for a treat with this classic dessert which sees a perfect custard, topped with meringues then covered in caramel. How you flavour the custard is up to you!

“At the old Le Gavroche, when my father and uncle first opened, they would serve desserts on a trolley and there were always floating islands in a big silver bowl – a mountain of caramel and meringues the maître d’ would spoon out ceremoniously to serve.”

Chef Anaam M

Michel Roux Jr began his career with a patisserie apprenticeship in Paris. For nearly 30 years he’s been chef-patron of two-Michelin-star restaurant Le Gavroche, opened in 1967 by his late father Albert and uncle Michel Sr. He also oversees the food at London hotel The Langham and teaches at its cookery school, Sauce by The Langham. Michel Roux Jr’s classes are a chance to learn from the main man, while preparing a menu of his design.

Quickly pour it through a sieve into a bowl – that will bring the temperature down. If it’s still a little grainy, immediately whizz with a stick blender and it should come back to smooth.

Egg whites whip up better if they’re old, which is fine if you’re making meringue that’s cooked for hours in the oven, but for this recipe it’s better to use fresh and to make sure the meringue is whipped to stiff peaks.

Michel Roux Jr's Poached Pears With Chocolate Almond Sauce

Use big kitchen spoons or large serving spoons. Dip in water and take a big scoop. Don’t be too fussy. They can be freeform – like icebergs. They don’t have to be the perfect quenelle shape.

The water should be barely simmering. It mustn’t boil. If it does, it will cook the meringue too quickly and it will collapse. It takes 2-3 minutes on each side. You’re looking for it to be sealed and firm to the touch.

Break down the lumps in your sugar when you pour it out of the packet and start on a moderate heat until the sugar starts to melt. You can stir it – there are recipes that say don’t, but you can – and be careful. It’s very, very hot.

Fruit Soup With Verbena By Michel Roux Jr

The darker it is, the more bitter the caramel will be; a lighter caramel is sweeter, with less caramel flavour. Aim for a golden brown.