Everybody Cooks!: aperitif

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Goat Cheese & Apple ( with Smoked Duck Fillet ) Verrines

Whether you are having a dinner party, a romantic dinner, or you want to treat yourself, here's an idea for a refreshing appetizer or starter.

I would suggest serving this goat cheese and apple with smoked duck fillet verrine as a small portion (the verrine containers I used are shot glasses) because, even though this is delicious, you don't want to be full and spoil your appetite for the meal to come.

The ingredients are for 4 verrines, so feel free to adjust the quantities if you cooking for more or less people.

You will need:

One good-sized apple
3 tablespoons of crème fraîche*
Some pepper
Some salt
A small round goat cheese called "Crottin de Chavignol"* (if you can find it, or any other chalky goat cheese will do the trick)
As many smoked duck fillets as you are creating verrines* (as an alternative for smoked duck fillets, you can use crispy bacon or proscuitto ham)

For the goat cheese, try to find something that is dry and chalky (not a spread):

The smoked duck fillets (or your meat of choice) should be just fine pieces:

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Start by peeling your apple.

Then cut your apple into small cubes ...

... and place them in a plate.

Cover your apple pieces with some parchment paper and place the plate in the microwave. Heat it for 1 to 2 minutes at maximum heat.

Your apple pieces should get out softer and ready to be mashed.

Mash your apple pieces ...

... until they become a puree, but leave some chunks in there.

In a saucepan, heat up the crème fraîche with some salt and pepper.

Once the crème fraîche is warm, let it cool down while your are mashing your goat cheese (no worries if you leave some small chunks of goat cheese).

Then pour the crème fraîche on the mashed goat cheese and mix them together with a fork ...

... until the mixture becomes a puree-like.

You are now ready to assemble your verrines.

Remember verrines are all about layers: so we are going to start by a layer of goat cheese and crème fraîche mixture, then make a layer of apple puree, and finally place our smoked duck fillet at the top.
To create your layers, you can use a teaspoon or a pastry bag.

Add each layer of the verrine to all the verrines before moving on to the next layer, so you can make sure that all your verrines are equally made.

Place the verrines in the fridge for at least ten minutes.

Enjoy!

Note: You can even make these verrines vegetarian by not adding the smoked duck fillet or any other meat.

*Tips: Don't throw away your smoked duck fillet, refer to our "Let's not waste anything!" page, and check out few ideas on how to use your smoked duck fillet.

Don't throw away your crème fraîche either, refer to our "Let's not waste anything!" page, and check out few ideas on how to use your crème fraîche.
Don't throw away your leftovers of Crottin de Chavignol (goat cheese), refer to our "Let's not waste anything!" page, and check out few ideas on how to use your Crottin de Chavignol (goat cheese).

As with all the other recipes we put on this site, this is meant to be easy to follow. We are hobby chefs who love to cook, and we are always up for learning new techniques. If you know of anything in this recipe which can be done a different way, whether for increased ease of preparation or better taste, please add a comment below!

Whipped up by Charline Leblond

Cucumber and Mint Verrines

This Cucumber and Mint Verrine is a lovely summer appetizer, it is cool and refreshing, and helps to cleanse one's palette before the main meal. One great thing about serving these verrines is that they are meant to be served cold, which means you can make them few hours in advance of your meal and put them away in the fridge.

Verrines are meant to be small-sized servings. You don't want to get bored of eating one, it is just a little refresher. If you are unsure on how many servings to make or what serving size to use, always make more, smaller servings. That way, nobody thinks its too much, and you have a few more servings if someone wants seconds!

For three to four servings, you will need:

1. One large cucumber
2. Three tablespoons of Philadelphia® Cream Cheese
3. One tablespoon of crème fraîche
4. A handfull of mint leaves
5. Two teaspoons of salt

First, we start by peeling the cucumber.

Next, cut it in half, and then slice it into quarters, like this:

With a small knife, now cut out the fleshy insides. While these taste good, they will make the verrine too watery and sloppy, which we don't want.

Finally, dice the cucumber up into small pieces.

We need to try and get as much water out as possible, so place your chopped cucumber in a strainer and toss them around with the salt. Then place the strainer in the fridge, with a plate underneath to catch the water, for about an hour.

After the cucumber has been sitting in the fridge for an hour, we can get back to preparing the verrines. Chop up a handfull of mint leaves and set them aside. Save a few full leaves for decoration.

To prepare the top layer of the verrine, whisk together the cream cheese and the crème fraîche until they form a creamy consistency.

And finally, it is time to arrange the verrines. You'll need a glass and all the ingredients you have prepared so far. You can use a martini glass, shot class, a cocktail glass, or a verrine glass.