pernod

Here’s how to drink Pernod like the French do! This cocktail is a refreshing mix of the anise-flavored liqueur and water.

Pernod Drink

water

Ice, optional

Add the Pernod to a small highball glass.

Top with the water and enjoy. You can dilute with more or less water as desired.

Poached Oysters in Fennel-Saffron Soup Recipe

Poached Oysters in Fennel-Saffron Soup

unsalted butter

fennel bulbs, trimmed, each cut lengthwise into 6 wedges

olive oil

garlic cloves, chopped

saffron threads

clam juice

Bon Appétit

Melt butter in heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add fennel and sauté until golden, about 10 minutes. Add 1 cup water; cover and cook until fennel is very tender, about 20 minutes. Puree fennel mixture in processor. Set aside.

Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and saffron; sauté 1 minute. Add clam juice, cream, and Pernod and bring to simmer. Add fennel puree and bring to simmer. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Refrigerate uncovered until cold. Cover and keep refrigerated. Simmer before continuing. Add oysters with their liquor to cream mixture and stir to heat through. Ladle soup into bowls.

This fishy take on the classic pasta sauce does everything the original does but with much less cooking. Tagliatelle is great, but you can use most other pasta shapes.

Shrimp Bolognese

fennel bulb,

onion,

garlic cloves, roughly chopped

red-chile flakes

tarragon

tomato paste

cherry tomatoes, finely chopped

Salt and black pepper

stock

320 grams dried tagliatelle pasta

Add the fennel, onion, garlic and chile flakes to the bowl of a food processor and pulse about 10 times, until more finely chopped. Add the shrimp and pulse another 10 times, until finely chopped. (Don’t process too much; you don’t want the shrimp to turn to a paste. Smaller shrimp will require less pulsing, though.)

Add 1/3 cup/70 milliliters oil to a large sauté pan set over medium-high heat with the lemon peel and tarragon sprigs. Gently fry for 2 minutes, then add the shrimp and fennel mixture. Fry, stirring every now and then for about 10 minutes, or until the shrimp have released and then reabsorbed their liquid.

Add the tomato paste, tomatoes, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt and a very generous amount of black pepper and fry for 4 minutes, stirring every now and then until the tomato paste becomes thick and sticky and begins to brown. Carefully pour in the Pernod and let it bubble away for 1 minute (it may flame).

Add the stock and 1 tablespoon lemon juice, turn the heat down to medium and simmer gently for 15 minutes, lowering the heat if it is bubbling too much. Discard the tarragon sprigs and lemon peel.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta per package instructions until al dente, then drain well and add to a large bowl. Pour over the sauce and toss together well. Transfer to a platter and drizzle over the remaining tablespoon/20 milliliters oil. Finish with plenty of pepper and the chopped tarragon and serve.

Gordon's moules frites are a treat and easier than you may think to make. Spoil someone today...

Moules frites

mussels, (see try below)

spring onions

shallot

carrot

garlic

red chilli

thyme

flat-leaf parsley

dry white wine (ideally Muscadet)

Pernod

tbsp crème fraîche

potatoes

flour

cayenne pepper

mustard powder

tsp white wine vinegar

Tip the mussels into a large bowl of cold water. Discard any that remain open when tapped, then drain well and pull away any ‘beards’. (Fresh mussels look black and shiny and should only smell pleasantly of the deep sea – the vast majority should be tightly closed. Avoid any that smell ‘fishy’, look dry or are mostly open.)

Thinly slice the vegetables and garlic. Roll the chilli in your hands to loosen the seeds, then slit in half and shake out the seeds. Slice the flesh into thin sticks, then stack together and finely chop. Pick over the thyme sprigs, discarding the thick stalks, and pick the parsley leaves from the stalks. Prepare the chips (see recipe, below right).

Place a large, heavy-based sauté pan (with a lid) on the hob and heat until you can feel a strong heat rising. Pour in the oil, then immediately toss in all of the vegetables, chilli and thyme. The thyme sprigs will crackle if the pan is hot enough. Cook for about 1½ mins, shaking the pan and stirring the vegetables until they start to wilt.

With the heat still on high, toss in all the mussels and shake the pan so they form an even layer. Cover with a lid and cook for another 1-2 mins, shaking the pan once or twice.

Uncover the pan and pour in the wine and Pernod. Shake and cook for another 1½ mins so the wine reduces by half, then cover again and cook for another min. Place a large colander over a bowl and tip the mussels and vegetables into the centre. Discard any mussels that remain closed. Fry the chips.

Pour the strained liquid back in the pan, reheat and stir in the crème fraîche and whole parsley leaves. Check the seasoning; you may not need any salt. Return the mussels and vegetables to the pan and reheat, shaking the pan, then divide between two large soup bowls. Serve the chips and mayonnaise (recipe below) alongside.

TIP: Make the mayo and prepare the chips before you start the mussels. Fry the chips after you have cooked the mussels and while they are still draining in the colander, then finish the sauce.

Pearl couscous, also known as Israeli or giant couscous, is cooked here in a stock made from the heads and shells of the shrimp, making it wonderfully rich yet equally soothing. Put the pan in the center of your dining table, alongside something green (steamed French beans or sautéed chard or spinach), and you’ve got a real celebration.

Pearl Couscous With Shrimp and Clams

garlic cloves, garlic

fennel

cherry tomatoes

lemons,

tarragon (about 1/2 ounce 10 grams)

fennel seeds

pearl (or giant) couscous

clams

Twist the heads off the shrimp and place the heads in a medium bowl. Leaving the tails attached, peel off the shells, add them to the same bowl and set aside. Devein the shrimp, then add them to a medium bowl with 1 tablespoon oil, 1 crushed garlic clove, 1/4 teaspoon salt and plenty of pepper. Mix together and set shrimp aside to marinate for 30 minutes or so.

Meanwhile, heat a large sauté pan, for which you have a lid, over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil, the chopped fennel and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Fry for about 5 minutes, stirring every now and then, until browned. Transfer the fennel to a plate, wipe the pan clean and return to a high heat. Add the tomatoes and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, tossing the pan every now and then until charred in places. Set the tomatoes aside. Leave the pan to cool for a couple of minutes, then wipe it clean and return to a medium heat.

Add 3 tablespoons/45 milliliters oil to the pan along with the lemon peel, tarragon and the 5 chopped garlic cloves. Slowly fry for 5 minutes until the garlic is golden and the tarragon becomes bright green and crisp. Remove half of the tarragon and set aside, to serve.

Increase the heat to medium-high, add the shrimp shells and heads and fry for 7 minutes, stirring every so often until crisp and pink, adjusting the heat as necessary so the garlic doesn’t begin to burn. Add the tomato paste and 1/2 teaspoon salt, and fry for another 2 minutes, stirring frequently.

Carefully pour in the Pernod and let it bubble away for a minute (it may flame), then add the stock and 2 1/2 cups/600 milliliters of water and simmer gently for 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Use a potato masher to crush the shrimp heads a few times as they cook to release as much flavor as possible.

Meanwhile, in a separate small pan over medium heat, add the fennel seeds and 2 tablespoons oil and cook until the seeds begin to pop. Set aside until ready to serve.

Strain the stock, discarding the shells, heads and aromatics, then return to the same pan. (You should have about 3 1/4 cup/775 milliliters stock.) Add the lemon juice, chile flakes, cooked fennel, 3/4 of the charred tomatoes and plenty of pepper and cook at a bare simmer for 5 minutes, or until the tomatoes begin to split.

Stir in the couscous, bring to a simmer then reduce the heat to medium. Cover the pan and cook for 5 minutes, until the couscous is cooked through but still retains a bite.

Add the clams, cover the pan and cook until they all open, 4 to 5 minutes. Top with the remaining charred tomatoes and set aside while you fry the shrimp.

While the clams cook, place a large, nonstick frying pan over a high heat. Once it’s very hot, add half the shrimp, so as not to overcrowd the pan. Fry for about 1 1/2 minutes on each side, or until crisp and golden-brown on the outside and cooked inside, then repeat with the remaining shrimp.

Arrange the shrimp, along with the garlic and any oil, over the couscous in the pan, then drizzle the fennel seed oil over everything. Top with the fried tarragon and serve with the lemon wedges alongside.

Enjoy this Nordic-inspired fish chowder recipe during a snowy day, or even in the dead of summer. 

Nordic Fish Chowder Recipe

butter

fennel bulb, quartered, fronds reserved

garlic,

Pernod or white wine

lemon

gold potatoes,

cod,

heavy cream

Salt and pepper,

dill, chopped,

optional: Heavy cream,

Melt butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Once melted, add the fennel bulb, shallot, and garlic. Sautée until glossy and softened, about 3 to 4 minutes.

Once the shallots are soft, stir in the Pernod, and reduce by half. Once reduced, stir in the clam juice and lemon juice.

Add the potatoes, and cover with broth. Bring it to a boil until the potatoes are tender, but not completely softened.

Add the fish and heavy cream, and simmer until the fish is opaque and potatoes are very soft, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, let the soup rest for 10 to 30 minutes before serving.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. To serve, add fennel and dill fronds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAQAViHbOuU

In this recipe for one (or two), you have all the flavors that go so well with mussels -- fennel, saffron, thyme, tomatoes, vermouth, and of course, pernod.

Mussels for One (or Two)

Kosher or sea salt

saffron

thyme leaves

(1 tablespoon) Pernod or other anise liqueur

(1/2 cup) white vermouth or dry white wine

tomatoes

mussels,

Look over your mussels and discard any that have cracked or broken shells.  They all should be tightly closed, but if any open mussels don't close when you squeeze them gently with your fingers, discard those as well.

Melt the butter in the olive oil in a deep, heavy-bottomed pot with a lid over medium heat.

Add the leek and fennel, season with a pinch or two of salt, and cook until softened.

Clear a space in the bottom of the pot and add the saffron, crumbling it with your fingers as you do, and lightly toast it before stirring it through the vegetables.  Add the garlic and thyme, stir, and cook just until you can smell the garlic.

Add the Pernod and vermouth or white wine, stir, and let cook for 2-3 minutes before adding the tomatoes.  Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer for 20-25 minutes.

Add the mussels, stir, re-cover the pot, and cook for another 5-8 minutes or so, just until the mussels open (the timing will vary depending on the size of your mussels).  Discard any mussels that don’t open.

Stir the cream in off the heat, taste for seasoning, then spoon the mussels, vegetables, and sauce into a big, wide bowl – two, if you’re sharing.  Sprinkle the fennel fronds on top, and serve with plenty of crusty bread.

This oyster’s rock Rockefeller is adapted from my mother’s and has become the traditional first course at my her birthday dinner every year.

These Oysters ROCK! Oysters Rockefeller

chervil

savory

watercress

parsley

arugula

baby spinach

green onions

shallots

Tabasco

Kosher salt and rough cracked pepper

oysters

panko bread crumbs

Parmesan,

salt

lemons

Tear herbs and greens from stems and rinse. Dry in salad spinner.

In food processor, combine garlic and shallots, herbs, and greens with one and a half sticks of butter, cubed.  Pulse a few times then add Pernod, Tabasco and kosher salt and coarse cracked pepper to taste.  Pulse again until mixture is finely chopped.

Melt 1/2 stick of butter, add to panko crumbs and parmesean cheese.

Place rock salt in bottom of cooking tray and arrange oysters on the half shell by nestling them into the salt.

Scoop a generous portion of the greens mixture on top of the oyster. Top with a sprinkling of the panko/cheese mixture.  With a fine zester, grate additional Parmesean on top.

Broil for 6 to 8 minutes until golden.

Serve with lemon wedges.

Note:  If you have extra green/herb mixture, you can create a "non-oyster rockefeller" by nestling a scoop of the mixture directly on the rock salt  and scooping it onto a crostini after baking.  It makes a nice "chef's treat!"

Top 8 pernod recipes from across the web

The most viewed pernod recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Top Tags

Pernod Drink

Poached Oysters in Fennel-Saffron S...

Shrimp Bolognese

Moules frites

Pearl Couscous With Shrimp and Clam...

Nordic Fish Chowder Recipe

Mussels for One (or Two)

These Oysters ROCK! Oysters Rockefe...

Top 8 pernod recipes from across the web

The most viewed pernod recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Pernod Drink

Poached Oysters in Fennel-Saffron S...

Shrimp Bolognese

Moules frites

Pearl Couscous With Shrimp and Clam...

Nordic Fish Chowder Recipe

Mussels for One (or Two)

These Oysters ROCK! Oysters Rockefe...

The most viewed pernod recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine