Champagne for starters
In France, cooked oysters are traditionally prepared with champagne.For example, topped with a champagne sabayon and baked au gratin, oysters with fish roe are child's play and absolutely delicious.
Dare to try snails with champagne, simmered with garlic and shallots, to which you can add a few lardons.Drizzle with champagne and serve hot.
If you happen to open a bottle and find a champagne base, don't hesitate to make ice cubes from it, for later use in cocktails.
Champagne in dishes
Champagne's tangy aromas make it an excellent companion for white meats.Instead, use your non-vintage champagnes to create sauces to accompany white meat and poultry dishes. The most classic Champagne recipe is the unconditional Poularde au champagne.
Perfect for a family lunch, tasty scallops with champagne will be a delight. A simple recipe to be found on the Tasties Foods website.
Lively, delicate champagnes such as Blanc de Blancs are a perfect match for seafood.It's easy and excellent to pour a splash of champagne over grilled fish such as sea bass fillet, for example, on the barbecue, just before serving.With raw fish, such as a ceviche of sea bream and prawns with champagne enhanced with pink berries and fleur de sel, a truly beautiful and luxurious recipe.
For a very simple dish, you can cook rice or pasta in champagne instead of stock or water.
Truffles are also often cooked in champagne, especially when whole.Marc-Antoine Carême, the Parisian chef to Tsar Alexander II, the future George IV, the Austrian Emperor Francis I and banker James de Rothschild, famously cooked Sauce aux truffes, made with champagne, and Ragoût d'estomacs de mauviettes aux truffes, both pairing truffles with champagne.
Champagne in desserts
Strawberry and raspberry soup with champagne is a classic, but what better way to end a meal than with a note of sparkling freshness. Dice fresh strawberries and raspberries, then marinate for a good hour in a little sugar and Cointreau.To serve, use a well-chilled rosé champagne, poured into serving glasses.
To end a meal on an ultra-refreshing note and aid digestion, try an easy recipe for champagne granita made with champagne of course, lemon juice, a touch of sugar and candied lemon peel.
For a fragrant end to the meal, prepare pears poached in champagne, flavored with a few cinnamon sticks. Or you can simply drizzle champagne over your fruit salad to add fragrance and style!
Champagne recipe books
- "La Cuisine au Vin de Champagne", published in 1970 by Editions Lallemand for the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne. This hard-to-find (but not impossible) bible includes 117 contemporary recipes and 26 from the great cooks of the 18th and 19th centuries.
- La vraie cuisine de la Champagne by Roger Lallemand, published by Dominique Guéniot
- La cuisine au champagne by Aline Faurie, published by Magasin Pittoresque. From appetizers to desserts, these recipes celebrate champagne.
- Histoire & recettes d'hier à aujourd'hui by François Bonal, who traces the history of the use of champagne in
dishes, accompanied by Lise Bésème-Pia, who has selected 270 recipes. Published by Editions du Coq à l'âne.
