France are one of the tastiest looking teams at Russia 2018 with an abundance of young talent and strength with their dynamic team containing talents such as Pogba, Greizmann, Mbappe.
They are my pick to win the World Cup, so it will be interesting to see how Les Blues fare during the tournament.
In 2014, I went out for a French meal rather than cooking something specific, so this year I had to make amends with two ultimate forms of French indulgence- Champagne and Cheese.
When visiting London last year we discovered a cracking place- Champagne et Fromage http://www.champagneplusfromage.co.uk.
It is a small Bistro at 22 Wellington Street in Covent Garden which specialises in authentic French food. When we were there, we had a baked Camembert with Garlic & Herbs, which we washed down with a couple of glasses of Champagne.
It was absolutely fantastic, so for this World Cup Dinner, I decided to re-create it at home.
Ingredients:
- 2 whole bulbs garlic with tops sliced off.
- 20g butter
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt & pepper
- 2 tsps Rosemary
- 2 bay leaves
- 250g camembert
To serve:
- 1 French baguette warmed in the oven then cut into slices.
- 6 sticks celery washed and trimmed.
- Red & Green Grapes
- Peppery salad leaves
- Cornichons
- Cocktail Onions
Champagne:
I went for a couple of glasses of Taittinger which we were given recently as a wedding present- yum! What will you have with yours? Let me know in the comments.
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/ Gas 6
- Place the garlic cut side down in a baking tray lined with foil. Add the butter, bay leaves and salt and pepper to the tray. Drizzle the olive oil over the garlics and put in the over for 40 minutes.
- With 10 minutes to go make a cross in the top of the camembert, sprinkle with rosemary and add to the oven.
- With 5 minutes to go, rub the French baguette with water and bake in oven.
- Remove everything from the oven and serve on a platter along with the other bits.
Have a lovely big dollop of camembert on the bread, celery or leaves, and then a onion, cornichon or sip of champagne to cleanse the palate!
Bon Appetit!
World Cup Dinners 