The Taste of Autumn

Sautéed Girolle Mushrooms with Girolle Cream and Soft-Boiled Eggs

Sautéed mushrooms, sprinkled with garlic and parsley are obviously a must.

For a twist of originality, you can choose girolle mushrooms, put a quarter of them to one side to whizz in a mixer with a little cream and parsley to make a mushroom cream sauce to accompany the sautéed mushrooms.

Top tip for preparing the girolles: with a small knife scrape the stem from top to bottom, cut the base of the stem, then scrub the mushrooms’ grooves while rinsing them rapidly in fresh water, so they don’t absorb the water like a sponge.

Sautee with garlic and shallots then deglaze with Grand-Marnier at the end of cooking. Add a soft-boiled egg as an accompaniment.

Mushroom Torte

The best part about this recipe is that you can adapt it to your day’s mushroom find and mix them all together.

Sautee the mushrooms with parsley, garlic, and cream. Place a layer of puff pastry in a tart dish and prick it with a fork. Spread the sauteed mushrooms over the pastry and cover them with a second layer of puff pastry and pinch the edges together. Brush with egg yolk for a lovely golden colour and make a hole in the centre of the pastry to allow the steam to escape. Bake and serve with a salad seasoned with walnut oil and sprinkled with a few little chunks of Comté cheese.

Morel Mushrooms on Toast

If you are lucky enough to know of, or come across, a nest of morel mushrooms, keep it a secret, then enjoy them with devilish pleasure! The morel mushroom is a rarity and has a very aromatic flavour.

Use crusty homemade bread. Sautee the morels in a pan with a little butter, shallots, and cream, then add a splash of Arbois Yellow wine or Straw wine with notes of walnut and hazelnut. Simmer till it reduces and add a little grated Comté cheese.

Spread the mixture onto slices of crusty bread and slide them under the oven grill to give them a golden finish. A sublime delicacy!

This recipe for Rougeot du Charvin was created with this in mind. The pork meat from the Salaisons du Mont Charvin is derived from pigs raised on straw belonging to a prestigious livestock breeding sector whose guarantor is the Master Artisanal Butcher Christian Favre.

The selected piece of meat is roasted in a cooking juice steeped with fresh herbs and spicy undertones.

Autumn flavours are condensed in a velvety pumpkin cream, fried polenta with a crispy outer crust and soft, tender interior, accompanied by sautéed chanterelle mushrooms bringing woody aromas that provide this season’s earthy charm.

A bewitching flourish of authentic savours is enhanced by this intense, full-flavoured juice.

An iconic dish that symbolises this autumn season’s heart and soul, with its auburn colours and comforting fragrances.

A restaurant that embodies an approach promoting seasonality by interweaving a network of local producers with shared values and ethics: the cured meats from Mont Charvin and the Maison Baud, cheeses from the Chèvrerie de la Closette in Thônes, Ponant Farm in Chapelle-Saint-Maurice and GAEC Les Noisetiers at the Col de Leschaux, olive oils by Chris & Olive and market garden products from the Drôme.

With the view across the lake, the gastronomic journey promises to be sheer alchemy.

La Boussole restaurant

Crème de Marron (Chestnut Cream)

A genuine Proust madeleine and inspiration for gourmet and comforting desserts, the crème de marron (chestnut cream) recipe maybe a little fastidious to make but it’s easy and you only need chestnuts, sugar, water, and vanilla pods.

For connoisseurs, or to give a twist of character, add a pinch of cinnamon.

Put into a sterilised jar and sealed, it will keep for up to a year and be ready to dress your crepes and pancakes, or fill your rolled sponge cakes, brioches, and other sweet delicacies.

Candied Chestnuts

As the Autumn rings in the coming of Advent, the tantalizing scents of chestnuts grilling lead us like the Pied Piper into the warm and festive atmosphere of Christmas markets and the celebrations being prepared.

If you fancy having a shot at making these candied chestnuts, a typical delicacy at this time of year, you will need a dash of patience and to follow one of the numerous recipes you can find on the Internet.

We tested one (in French) that proved a wonderful success and perfectly detailed in the French cooking blog Au Fil du Thym, and here’s a link to an English version of this classic French seasonal delight.

Treat yourself to a velvety hot chocolate and snuggle up in a warm blanket, autumn is here and brings with it a wave of warm aromas bursting with nature’s gifts, nutty flavours, spices, woody notes, caramel colours, and pleasurable moments.