Episode 45: Cheese

Rabbit Leg Stuffed w/ Creamy Goat Cheese & Celery Root Leek Brunoise
Oven Baked Camembert w/ Pine Nuts & Macintosh Apple Wrapped in Filo Dough
Quenelles of Sweet Goat Cheese, Flavoured w/ Maple Pepper Strawberries & Mango
Oven Roasted Veal Tender Loin w/ Pear & Ange Cornu Cheese Sauce

RABBIT LEG STUFFED WITH CREAMY GOAT CHEESE AND CELERY ROOT LEEK BRUNOISE

For the stuffing:
450 grams of soft goat cheese (14 ounces)
grated zest of 1 lemon
juice of a lemon
100 grams of celery root, brunoise (3 ¼ ounces)
100 grams of the white of leek, brunoise (3 ¼ ounces)
50 milliliters of finely chopped garlic (3 large tablespoons)
50 milliliters of chopped onions (3 large tablespoons)
2 sprigs of thyme
salt and black pepper

For the rabbit leg:
4 de-boned rabbit legs
30 milliliters of oil for cooking (2 tablespoons)
30 milliliters of butter for cooking (2 tablespoons)
salt and black pepper

Preparation time is 45 minutes
Ease of preparation is moderate
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit

In a large stainless steel bowl, mix the goat cheese, the garlic, the lemon juice, the lemon zest and the thyme. Season. Mix thoroughly. Put a side.

Put the oil and the butter into a hot sautéing pan and add the onions and leeks. Cook until they begin to caramelize. Then add the celery root cook and for about 2 minutes. Remove the vegetables from the pan and allow to cool. Once cool, add the vegetables to the goat cheese mix. Separate the stuffing into 4 equal parts.

Take the legs and season the inside. Stuff the legs with the cheese and vegetable mixture. Close up the hole in the legs.

Add some more oil and butter to the sautéing pan if necessary, when hot, slide in the rabbit legs and roast each side until golden. Move the pan to the oven to cook for about 12 minutes.

Once cooked, cut the legs in two to show the creamy cheese melting out. Place the legs on a plate and serve with deep fried leeks and cider vinaigrette.

Yield: 4 servings.
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OVEN BAKED CAMEMBERT WITH PINE NUTS AND MACINTOSH APPLE
WRAPPED IN FILO DOUGH
100 grams of roasted pine nuts (3 ¼ ounces)
30 grams of butter for the pine nuts (2 tablespoons)
450 grams of French or Canadian camembert or split into 4 servings of 125 grams
400 grams of diced Macintosh apple, sautéed (13 ounces)
45 grams of butter (3 tablespoons)
28 milliliters of Calvados (2 tablespoons)
50 milliliters of sultana raisins (1/3 cup)
50 millilitres of dried apricots (1/3 cup)
2 sprigs of thyme
salt and black pepper

For the filo dough:
1 pack of filo dough
80 millilitres of butter for cooking (28 ounces)

Preparation time is 45 minutes
Ease of preparation is easy
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit

Roast the pine nuts in the butter in a frying pan. Set aside. In another frying pan, sauté and caramelize the apples and flambé with the Calvados. Set aside. In a stainless steel bowl, mix the sultana raisins, the apricots, the thyme and add the apples and roasted pine nuts. Season with pepper.

Separate the apple mixture into 4 equal parts. Lay the filo on the counter, butter one sheet of dough, place another sheet of dough on top and repeat two more times. Place the camembert in the center of dough. Pile some apple mix on top, wrap the cheese completely with the dough. Repeat for the other cheeses.

Place the filo parcels on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 25 minutes, or until liquid in the middle.

Serve the camembert with a leek coulis.

Yield: 4 servings.
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QUENELLES OF SWEET GOAT CHEESE, FLAVOURED WITH MAPLE PEPPER STRAWBERRIES AND MANGO

For The Goat Cheese
500 grams of fresh soft goat cheese (1 pound)
100 grams of diced fresh strawberries (3 ¼ ounces)
100 grams of diced ripe mango (3 ¼ ounces)
35 grams of maple flavoured pepper
Grated zest of one orange
Juice of one orange
50 grams of chopped mint (4 tablespoons)

For The Garnish
100 grams of fresh strawberries, diced (3 ¼ ounces)
100 grams of ripe mango, diced (3 ¼ ounces)
35 milliliters of maple syrup (2 large tablespoons)
fresh mint
100 milliliters of coulis (3 ¼ ounces)
maple flavoured pepper

Preparation time is 15 minutes
Ease of preparation is moderate

Put the goat cheese, the maple pepper, the mint, the grated orange zest and juice in a bowl and mix well. Set aside. Dice the strawberries and the mango. Add the strawberries and the mango to the cheese mix and mix well. Set aside at room temperature.

Take the diced strawberries and sauté gently with half of the maple syrup so as not to bruise them. Set aside. Sauté the mango lightly. Set aside.

Form 12 quenelles with the goat cheese mix. Place three quenelles per plate. Put the sautéed strawberries and the mango in the centre of the plate and drizzle the juice from the pan onto the goat cheese quenelles. Garnish with fresh mint, candied orange peels and mango coulis.

Yield: 4 servings.
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OVEN ROASTED VEAL TENDER LOIN WITH PEAR AND ANGE CORNU CHEESE SAUCE

1 kilogram of veal tenderloin (2 pounds)
4 Forel pears or 4 small Bartlett pears
1 litre of water for cooking the pears (1 quart)
100 grams of sugar (3 ¼ ounces)
zest of one lemon
juice of one lemon
100 millilitres of veal stock (3 ¼ fluid ounces)
50 millilitres of 35% cream (3 tablespoons)
50 millilitres of Poire William (pear eau de vie) (3 tablespoons)
125 millilitres of Pelee Island Gewürztraminer wine (4 fluid ounces)
10 millilitres of finely chopped onions (1 tablespoon)
10 millilitres of finely chopped garlic (1 tablespoon)
2 sprigs of thyme
1 bay leaf
salt and black pepper
30 millilitres olive oil (2 tablespoons)
30 millilitres of butter (2 tablespoons)

Preparation time is 1 ½ hours
Ease of preparation is moderate
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit

Season the veal and drop it into a hot frying pan with the olive oil and butter. Cook until golden brown. Remove the veal from the pan and put the veal on a baking sheet and set aside.

Prepare a simple syrup with the water, the lemon zest, the juice and the sugar for cooking the pears. Peel the pears put them in the syrup. Cook them until they are soft in middle, about 45 minutes. Set aside.

Take the pan that you used for the veal and add the chopped onions, the garlic and the thyme. Flambé with the Poire William eau de vie. Add the wine. Reduce by half. Add the 35% cream and the veal stock. Simmer the sauce slowly without boiling. Add the cheese. With a hand held blender emulsify the sauce. Season with pepper. Take the poached pears and slice them in three. Set aside.

Place the veal tenderloin on a cutting board and slice into four pieces. Place on a baking sheet, layer the veal followed by a piece of pear and add some sauce. Repeat for each piece of veal.

Place under the broiler to colour the sauce and pears. Drizzle with the balance of the sauce and serve. Garnish with roasted potatoes and parsnips.

Yield: 4 servings
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Recipe courtesy of Chef Georges Laurier, Executive Chef & owner of Laurier Sur Montcalm in Hull, Quebec