it's a family affair

I wrote a few months back of my love of cheese and the dish my husband first wooed me with, all those years ago. What I omitted to mention was that he had another up his sleeve. In fact, this dish was first made for me by my mother-in-law at their home in the Côte d'Or, the first time I met them. From that point on, I knew things were going to be ok. Gougères are believed to originate from Burgundy and are made from a type of cheese choux pastry (think savoury profiteroles), and they are quite the business. They are readily available, ready-made, in most boulangeries in Burgundy and many other areas of France. A busy morning of splashing and jumping at the swimming pool made for hungry work and we arrived home to be treated to my husband busy at the stove preparing a big gougère for lunch. If this post had smell-o-vision, you would be in your element right now. Friends look forward to birthdays and any special celebration round at our place as the gougère almost always makes an appearance. My husband even gets requests in advance of such occasions, by way of a polite hint at what is expected on the day. If you cannot quite read the recipe above, or indeed do not have the time to translate into English, here is it below:

Gougère

Makes 1 large gougère (that can be shaped into a ring or round loaf) or several smaller apéritif-sized versions (place a tablespoon amount of the mixture onto the baking tray to create mini ones).

200ml water
100g butter
125g plain flour
3 eggs
100g gruyère/comté/uncoloured cheddar cut into little cubes
salt
pepper


Preheat the oven at 240°C. Place the water, butter, salt and pepper in a saucepan. Slowly bring to the boil. Remove from heat and add all the flour in one go. Mix together with a wooden spoon to form a large ball (mixing for 2/3 minutes on the stove at a very low temperature can sometimes help, too). Off the heat again, add the eggs one-by-one and mix well. Add the cheese. Mix well again to incorporate all the ingredients. Butter an oven tray. Spoon your preferred amount of mixture onto the tray for a large or lots of mini gougères.

Serve immediately accompanied by a green salad. Get this one right and your friends will be with you for life.

Source: author's mother-in-law