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Karen Martini's creme fraiche recipes

Karen Martini
Karen Martini

Fried morcilla sausage with figs, pickled eschalots and creme fraiche.
Fried morcilla sausage with figs, pickled eschalots and creme fraiche.Marcel Aucar

Though creme fraiche and the less glamorously titled sour cream have different fat contents and are made a little differently, they both bring much to savoury cooking, with a lightly tart profile that balances the creamy richness.

Fried morcilla sausage with figs, pickled eschalots and creme fraiche

This is quite a sophisticated and intense dish, with the rich, spicy blood sausage complemented so well by the luscious fig and tangy creme fraiche - perfect as a small appetiser or a tapa.

30g pearl barley

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salt flakes

pinch sugar

2 purple eschalots, in 3mm slices

extra-virgin olive oil

2 morcilla sausages, sliced about 2cm thick on an angle

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4 tbsp creme fraiche

2 large ripe figs, sliced thickly

2 handfuls baby kale (or use baby spinach or baby rocket)

sherry vinegar

1. Heat three centimetres of oil in a small pot until about 200C. Fry the barley in batches until it puffs up (a few seconds). Remove, drain on paper towels and season.

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2. Add a pinch of salt and sugar to the sliced eschalots, toss through and set aside for five minutes to soften.

3. Heat a splash of oil in a frying pan and cook the morcilla until crisp, about one minute each side.

4. Dollop one tablespoon of creme fraiche on to each plate, top with the hot morcilla and fig slices and scatter over the eschalots and kale. Dress with a little vinegar and oil, sprinkle over the puffed barley and serve immediately.

Serves 4

Drink Try a Spanish white such as godello or a light, unoaked tempranillo.

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Vinaigrette potatoes with cornichons, caperberries and fried egg

This is a delicious breakfast or brunch dish. You could easily add cured or smoked fish or even diced, warm corned beef.

10 chat potatoes, unpeeled

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

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extra-virgin olive oil

salt flakes

freshly ground black pepper

4 free-range eggs

2 handfuls parsley leaves, torn

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1 handful fresh dill

10 tiny cornichons, split lengthways

2 spring onions, very finely sliced

2 green chillies, finely sliced

4 tbsp creme fraiche

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8 caperberries (from delicatessen)

1. Boil the potatoes whole until tender. Drain well, slice in half and add to a bowl with the vinegar and two tablespoons of oil. Season with salt and pepper, toss through gently and set aside for five to 10 minutes to take up the flavour and cool a little.

2. In a non-stick frying pan heat a little oil, crack in the eggs, season and fry sunny side up, leaving the yolk runny.

3. While the eggs cook, gently toss the potatoes with the parsley, dill, cornichons, spring onion and chilli.

4. Dollop the creme fraiche on to each plate, pile on the potatoes, top with the egg and caperberries and serve.

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Serves 4

Drink: For a late brunch, a glass of gruner veltliner would be perfect.

Onion, gruyere, speck and sour cream tart with smoked mussels

This is my take on the German classic, zwiebelkuchen, which basically translates as onion cake. My version is a bit richer with the addition of gruyere and also has a twist with the smoked mussels - though it's delicious without them as well.

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Sour cream pastry

250g plain flour

150g butter, chilled and diced

1 tsp salt flakes

1 egg

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2 tbsp sour cream

Filling

100g smoked speck, finely diced

30g unsalted butter

4 cloves garlic, finely sliced

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4 white onions, finely sliced (about 350g)

2 eggs

350g sour cream

1 tbsp plain flour

350g gruyere

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coarsely grated salt flakes

freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp smoked paprika

To serve

18-20 smoked chilli mussels (you can buy these vacuum-packed)

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1/2 bunch dill, picked and chopped

1 lemon

1. Preheat the oven to 165C fan-forced or 185C conventional.

2. In a saute pan over medium heat, cook the speck until it starts to brown. Add the butter, garlic and onion and gently cook for 15-20 minutes or until soft and translucent but not browning. Set aside to cool.

3. While the onions cook, whiz the flour, butter and salt in a food processor to a sandy crumb. Add the egg and sour cream and process until it starts to form a ball. Form into a round between two sheets of baking paper and chill for half an hour.

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4. When you are ready to bake the tart, in a large bowl whisk together the eggs, sour cream and flour, add the gruyere and the garlic and onion mix, season lightly with salt and pepper and mix through.

5. Roll chilled pastry into a rough rectangle and place on a baking tray on baking paper. Pour mix on to the pastry (mix will be stiffish and malleable), leaving a border around the edge of three to four centimetres. Fold edges up, crimping corners together to make a free-form tart. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake 30-40 minutes or until golden. Cool to room temperature.

6. To serve, toss the mussels through the dill with a squeeze of lemon. Cut the tart into portions, top with the mussels, serve.

Serves 8-10

Drink a good weissbier

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Karen MartiniKaren Martini is a Melbourne-based chef, restaurateur, author and television presenter. She has a regular column in Good Weekend.

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