RECIPES

Sweet pepper cream soup
with goat's cheese
Ici pou français

The smoothness of Pineau successfully balances the strong flavour of pepper and paprika.  Also, the goat cheese slowly melts when in contact with the hot soup, resulting in a pleasant marriage of textures.

In summer, you can serve this dish chilled as a “gazpacho” (use in this case fresh goat cheese).

Serves 4
Preparation: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

3 red sweet peppers (800 g)
1 large onion (150 g)
150 ml white Pineau
1 litre chicken stock (or water)
½ teaspoon paprika (hot or mild to taste)
Some thin slices of fresh or semi-hard goat cheese (2 or 3 per serving)
Salt, pepper
(chopped parsley or chive for decoration)

Suggested wine: a glass of white Pineau (if served hot) or sauvignon (if served chilled)

  • wash, dry, peel, deseed and dice peppers
  • peel and thinly slice onion
  • place onion and Pineau into a saucepan and bring to the boil
  • lower the heat and cook 4 to 5 minutes until the onion becomes translucent
  • add diced peppers and chicken stock
  • salt (lightly, depending on the bouillon and goat cheese), add pepper and paprika
  • bring to the boil, cover and let cook over a low heat until pepper is cooked (approx. 15 minutes)
  • blend well in a food processor, return the mixture in the saucepan and heat gently
  • pour into a soup tureen or divide between four individual serving bowls
  • place the slices of goat cheese in the middle
  • sprinkle with parsley or chives and serve immediately (salt and peppermill aside)
 

© Françoise BARBIN-LECREVISSE
Cuisine du pineau (Paperback)
by Françoise Barbin-Lecrevisse (Author)
Editor's foreword
With "Cooking with Pineau", learn the history and manufacturing process of Pineau des Charentes, a fortified wine which was was born over four centuries ago and appreciated in France for all that time. Try these recipes from starters to desserts. They will bring flavours of a unique terroir to your table.

"Cooking with Pineau" has been awarded "Best in the World" in the category of cooking with Wine or Spirits by the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2006 in Madrid, Spain.

Author's biography
Living in the heart of the Pineau production region, Françoise Barbin-Lecrevisse has published several books on the products of the Charentes. The success of the "Cuisine du Pineau" led to this third edition since 2000 and its English version, "Cooking with Pineau" thus spreading Françoise's passion for Pineau and the Charente region well beyond the borders of the Hexagon (the French people's nickname for France).
 
 

For a quality Pineau des Charentes, The Chai du Rouissoir, a small, family-owned business, makes award-winning pineau as well as cognac, wine and grape juice from the vines on their property near Jonzac.  Find their site by clicking HERE.   The owners, Didier and Hugues Chapon, are ecologically aware, and take great care of both their vines and of the forests which surround them.

For those who are interested in the grape picking process, the Wine production October 2008 photographs can be seen by clicking HERE.