- 4
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (80g) honey
- 1/2 cup (125ml) apple cider vinegar or sherry vinegar
- sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
Step 1
Makes ½ cup sauce, 4 servings
You can use any fruit-flavored vinegar in place of the cider or sherry vinegar. Because you are reducing it, I would stick to a somewhat neutral-flavored honey, such as clover or
1. Heat the honey in a small saucepan over medium-low heat for 5 minutes, until it becomes a noticeably deeper shade of brown.
2. Add the vinegar and continue to cook, swirling the pan a few times, for about 15 minutes, until the sauce has thickened to the consistency of thin maple syrup.
3. Remove from heat and add a good pinch of both salt and pepper. Serve warm over roasted or simmered meats, or vegetables. Or let cool to room temperature, if serving with cheese.
will keep for up to two weeks in the refrigerator. Let come to room temperature, or gently reheat, before serving.
How to make a gastrique
There’s no link to the beans with jambonneau. I just simmered the beans with some water and chopped carrots, onions, thyme branches and bay leaves. Then when they were close to being done, I added the jambonneaux and simmered until it was warmed through as well as a handful of chopped parsley.
I admit, sheepishly, to watching those abominable cooking shows and have always wondered what a gastrique was. Now I know! I wonder, could you make this gastrique with cherries? I had a fabulous pork loin with a sauce that tasted like sweet/sour which might have been vinegar/honey and it had sautéed cherries. It was fabulous! Thanks for educating me so early in the morning.
Hey, does that make hot honey-mustard un gastrique of sorts?
Hold out for the invitation — you SHOULD be at some of the press trips at these places…
Adrian and Esmee: Well, Bobby Flay and those other chefs are big stars and on television, and draw in lots of guests. So it’s great (and they’ve worked hard to get where they are) that they get to go to those places. However I have to say, I get a number of pr things in my Inbox (and I count several publicists amongst my close friends..) but when I read that someone was asking me to write about a trip and publish photos on a trip that I never went on, my jaw dropped. And it still hasn’t recovered..!
2 tsp Fennel Spice mixture
Puree the grapes in a blender, then strain through a sieve, pressing on the solids to extract as much juice as possible. You should have about 2 ½ c of juice. Set aside. This is more than I usually do for a recipe, but it is SOOO worth it.
Preheat the oven to 400°. Season the chicken on all sides with salt and pepper to taste and the fennel Spice mixture.
Heat a large ovenproof skillet over moderately high heat. When the skillet is hot, add the oil. Add the chicken breasts, skin-side down, and brown well on all sides, about 7 minutes total. Transfer the skillet to the oven and cook until the chicken is done through (test with a knife), 12-15 minutes.
Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and pour off all but 1 T of the fat in the skillet. Add the shallots to the skillet and return to moderate heat. Cook until softened, then add the rosemary and cook briefly to release its fragrance. Add 2 c of the grape juice and simmer briskly until reduced by half. Add the stock and any collected juices from the chicken platter and simmer until the mixture has reduced to a creamy, sauce-like consistency. Add more grape juice if desired. The total volume of the sauce will be a little more than 1 cup.
Put the fennel seeds, coriander seeds, and peppercorns in a heavy pan over medium heat. Watch carefully, tossing frequently so the seeds toast evenly. When light brown and fragrant, pour the seeds onto a plate to cool. They must be cool before grinding, or they will gum up the blades.
Pour the seeds into a blender or spice grinder and add the salt. Blend to a fine powder, shaking the blender/grinder occasionally to redistribute the seeds. Store in a tightly sealed glass jar in a cool, dry place, or freeze.
I’m going to make this today to drizzle over bacon wrapped bleu cheese stuffed dates. Yum!
Inviting you to write an article w/o having been there and ‘done that’ is simply CHEATING. I don’t think they know the 1st thing about you or they wouldn’t have addressed you. With David L., you get the REAL THING! :)
We noticed last time we were in France that you don’t seem to have the seedless grapes we do. Brie (a decent Brie, not the tasteless sort you so often find in British supermarkets) and black grapes makes a sandwich to die for….
David, thank you for this: I have some outstanding plum cider vinegar and some local honey and now I know how to make gastrique. I also have a little bit of gorgonzola sitting around (wrong country, wrong cheese, I know). So simple — I like simple.
red wine; reduce by half in roasting pan. Add 2 lbs. parboiled sausages nestle them in.
Roast 20 min or so turning sausages once. Remove, put pan over medium high heat
the key is add 3 T balsamic vinegar then reduce. Yummy, not sure if gastric but….
Your blogs keep me so entertained and always make me laugh. And of course the recipes and your journey/s to perfect them are also fabulous and delicious.
I woke up to this post with the chicken in the fridge ready to make that exact same Bobby Flay recipe today. After reading your post, I abandoned ship and instead made a tangine with the chicken, which was delicious. Thank you for saving me with your experience and wonderful bog post. I will definitely keep the gastrique recipe. xoxox
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