How is it that whenever I let myself be inspired by our recipe of the week by Ursula Heinzelmann, it always ends up with something baked? ... Last time it was a Romanesco tart with blue cheese – this time a beetroot tarte tatin in a freestyle version with Piedmont hazelnuts, olives and two kinds of cheese. Maybe something in her recipes tickles the baker in me? Anyway ... The tart is a wonder bag of flavors – thanks to the beetroot it is mild and earthy-aromatic, the vinegar adds a sweet acidity, the nuts and olives complement the whole thing with their aromatic crunchiness, respectively their Mediterranean spice ... the intense cheese and the fresh herbs round off the bouquet even more and make all the aromas shine.

A first: a sweet recipe at Maître Philippe & Filles! The pre-Christmas season is to blame, and the fact that I finally wanted to know what on earth you can do with pure hazelnut paste made from delicious Piedmontese hazelnuts. The answer: nutty oat cookies with blackcurrant jelly!

Shortcrust pastry, caramel and 200 g of walnuts: a tart for 6 people, featuring Laurent Mariotte’s nut filling and Jamie Oliver’s pastry. We recommend serving it with Quevedo’s 10-year-old Tawny Port.

For her birthday, our former employee Theresa Anaïs baked the wonderful original Piedmontese Torta di Nocciole, which consists of no fewer than 3 ingredients: eggs, nuts, and sugar. And a few coffee beans to enhance it. And lots of love, of course! So that makes 5 ingredients after all, not just 3 ... Theresa brought the recipe back from her student days in Piedmont, where it is among the region's best-known Dolci. 

A quick walnut cake with 150 g of walnuts, just 40 g of flour and two tablespoons of Armagnac, for 6 people and mixed in ten minutes. To go with it, we recommend the Pineau des Charentes Blanc by Jean-Luc Pasquet.

The other day, I went canoeing on the Spree with some friends. It was wonderful—we felt like real freshwater pirates…! For our picnic on land, we had wonderfully chilled rosé (we had it in a bag towed behind us in the water) and delicious little puff pastry parcels that my friend Anne had prepared. I was inspired to make a sardine version of the recipe, which I "recreated" at home. It is super easy and looks really beautiful. Perfect for a picnic with friends or a dinner for two (or three, or four...)—as an aperitif, finger food, starter, or main course, perhaps with a green salad! Bon appétit! Ingredients (for 2 people) 1 pack of puff pastry (if you are not making it yourself) some sesame seeds 1 small eggplant 1 small zucchini 3–4 mushrooms Feta Zucchini cream and/or tapenade (black olive paste from Provence) 1 pack of sardines in oil (e.g., Sardines Saint-Georges by La Belle-Iloise) Olive oil Salt Pepper Wash the vegetables and cut them into cubes, while preheating the oven to 200°C. Heat oil in a pan and fry the vegetables until they are lightly browned and translucent, but still slightly al dente, and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the sesame seeds on the countertop or a board and roll out the puff pastry on top. Press the sesame seeds firmly into the pastry. Then cut the pastry into equal squares (I get 6 pieces from one roll). Spread a dollop of zucchini cream and tapenade in the center of the pastry squares (this can be omitted to taste. Since I really like both, I made 3 pieces with tapenade and the others with zucchini cream. The pieces with tapenade are more savory, while those with zucchini cream are more "vegetable-forward") and add small mounds of the vegetables, crumbled feta, and small pieces of sardine. Caution: do not put too much filling on the pastry, otherwise the pieces will rise too much in the oven! Fold the corners of the pastry diagonally so that they form nice, firm parcels. Press the loose ends and sides together well. This requires a little dexterity, but it is important, otherwise the pieces will rise too much in the oven. Bake on the middle rack for 15–20 minutes until golden brown and serve hot. Bon appétit! We opened a bottle of Alento Rosé 2016 Alentejo to go with it, which paired wonderfully! A young, intense Portuguese rosé full of joie de vivre—an easy everyday wine that goes well with any food, but is also fun to enjoy on its own.

The second Sunday of Advent is just around the corner, and the festive season is officially underway! That means we can indulge in plenty of delicious treats from now until January 1st—and without feeling guilty. In keeping with the motto "Life is short, eat dessert first," we have chosen a dessert to kick off this culinary marathon as our Recipe of the Month. A cake with chestnuts, walnuts, chocolate and cognac. A gluten-free sweet indulgence that puts us in a festive mood after just one bite...

New year, new quiche—something like that could be the theme of today's recipe, which offers a special blend of savory and sweet flavors. After all the hearty dishes served at Christmas, it's time to start the new year with a lighter creation that tastes just as good. Stichelton-Membrillo Quiche with Nutty Hokkaido Squash. The recipe comes from Israeli chef Yotam Ottolenghi, who became world-famous for his excellent cookbooks. We have adapted the recipe slightly and are presenting our version of this delicacy to you.

True to the motto "first things first", our current recipe of the week is a very classic dessert that is sold in almost every bakery in Brittany and was once invented by Breton sailors: the Far Breton aux Pruneaux, a kind of flan with lots of egg and the Pruneaux d'Agen, which remind me of my childhood summers in France like almost nothing else …

Our autumn classic: French onion tart with pink onions from Roscoff, Ventrêche, a touch of Piment d'Espelette and Selles-sur-Cher on top, for a springform pan. To accompany it, we recommend a fresh Sauvignon de Touraine from the Loire.