I’d like to share with you a very easy recipe that I like to prepare in the summer to accompany the 'apéritif'.

You might already know that for French people l’apéritif – also called l’apéro – is a very important time of the day, especially during vacation time.

Between around 6pm and 9pm, we usually drink either some wine, beer, a local spirit like Pastis from southern France, or homemade spirits, such as walnut wine or Orange Wine). And what we eat with our “apéro” is also very important to us.

If you have guests or on a special occasion, you may want something more than just olives and crackers. In our experience, bite-sized pastries (bouchées – like vol-au-vents) go down a real treat with guests. And this brings me to the recipe I want to share with you: Feuilletés au échalottes et au chèvre - cheese and shallot pastries.

Everybody likes it and it’s very easy to prepare quickly.

Ingredients 

Serves 4 people

  • Puff pastry (I buy them ready-made)
  • 10 medium shallots
  • A little white sugar
  • Fresh goat's cheese

If you don’t like goat cheese, you can also use Camembert or blue cheese. It’s delicious with any type of tasty cheese.

In the pictures, I used “Picodon” cheese, which is a typical goat's cheese from the Drôme area in northern Provence.

 Picodon cheese

 

Instructions

  • Pre-heat your oven t0 190°C/375°F
  • Brown the shallots gently in a teaspoon of olive oil – add some white sugar halfway through so that they caramelize.
  • Cut your puff pastry into 5cm/2 inch squares.

provence cuisine

  • Add a teaspoon of shallots to the middle of each square and a piece of cheese. Add some salt and pepper to season.
  • Close the squares by folding and pasting together (using a little water) the opposite corners of the pastry.
  • Put in the oven until the pastry has a nice color (about 20 minutes).

The bouchées should look a little like the ones in the photo below. They look much nicer if you take your time to close the pastries carefully before putting them in the oven! You can eat these hot or cold.

french recipe

 

Tip: If you use a creamy cheese such as camembert, don’t put too much into each “bouchée” otherwise it will drip during cooking.

I hope you enjoy your pastries with a nice drink!

Bon Appétit!

french recipe feuilleté

France Just For You

Experts in self-drive tours in France

Travelers Reviews

5.0
Don
We heard about Emilie from a friend who used her travel services twice. They spoke so highly of her we figured we had to visit France just to meet her. We traveled to the Loire Valley with another couple and she interviewed us separately to understand what we wanted to see and do and what we didn’t want to do. As a result, she designed a perfect …
Kelly
My husband and I just returned from a 9 day trip to Burgundy and Provence. We had fairly high expectations based on all the reviews we had read about France Just For You. I must say, the trip far exceeded those expectations and was such a memorable experience. The B&Bs recommended were right in line with what we were hoping and the hosts were …
Barbara & Gary
Emilie, You have created for us the most outstanding well planned vacation possible. We have thoroughly enjoyed following your suggestions each day-- each choice well selected specifically for us. And even when things didn't go perfectly-- like a flat tire on the rental car or a pilot's strike which resulted in the cancellation of our light, you …
Bonnie
A wonderful trip through Provence and the Riviera planned and organized by Emilie. Stayed in lovely B&Bs and had enough scheduled activities and free time. Emilie provided lots of options of things to do and a complete package for the traveler. Would highly recommend!
Jeanne & Michael from Australia
A Great Cultural Experience What we loved most about our wonderful trip was the special activities that FJFY hand picked and tailor made for our interests. We did an awesome cooking experience in Provence, a fun food and wine walking tour with in Nice and a very enjoyable and informative walk in Lagrasse with Carlos. We visited many local markets …
Ricki & Craig
There are not enough superlatives, or kind words, to describe the level of service Emilie, with France Just for You, provided us from the moment we contacted her, throughout our trip, and even her thoughtful emails upon our return. We contacted Emilie with a list of all the places we wished to go, the things we hoped to do, and our budget. We …