This week I’m in the south of France, visiting my mother-in-law in Agde - not a noted gastronomic destination up to now but on this visit we’ve found two restaurants that have really impressed me and come up with some great ideas you could easily adapt for home entertaining over the Christmas period

Little pots of salmon and dill spread
Brought as an ‘amuse’ by the first restaurant, Le Bistro d’Hervé. Simply flaked poached salmon, mixed with some fromage blanc (fromage frais) and generously seasoned with dill and a squeeze of lemon juice. Served with breadsticks. A good accompaniment for a Sauvignon Blanc.

Pumpkin soup with fried chestnuts, hazelnuts and serrano ham
A great combination of ingredients and a classy presentation. In the restaurant the solid ingredients, which had been chopped and pan-fried were brought to table in a bowl and the soup which was presented in a small carafe, was poured over them. At home you could do this in the kitchen or give your guests their bowls of ingredients and ladle the soup from a tureen. The soup was sublimely silky, a combination of good stock and a bit of cream I’d imagine. We accompanied this with a pleasant house white, a blend of Chardonnay, Sauvignon and Viognier which went perfectly well.

Smoked onglet with sautéed wild mushrooms
The next course is more an idea for restaurants than the home cook but a brilliant one. Smoked onglet served with sautéed mushrooms and shallots. It was served in a Staub ‘cocotte’ which are extremely fashionable in France, in the base of which there were a few vine clippings and a trivet with holes to allow the smoke to permeat the meat. It looked as if the meat had been seared first then finished in the cocotte. Take a look at Staub's American website which has lots of bright ideas for using them -  You can also find them on Amazon and silvernutmeg.com. Great Christmas presents for the foodie in your life . . .This dish would be a perfect and original pairing for a serious red Bordeaux.

A modern ‘tagine’
Another interesting meat dish from a restaurant called Larcen which was served as the plat du jour. A modern spin on a tagine and couscous. The meats (lamb, beef and pork) were marinated then cooked ‘a la plancha’ (a solid cast-iron grill). The side dish was a serving of couscous topped with diced vegetables that had been cooked like a vegetable couscous (a bit like the verrine presentation I was writing about the other day). It certainly helped that the chef, who was Moroccan, was skilled at spicing but you could easily adapt it with the help of a Moroccan cookbook. The fruity 2006 Minervois from Domaine de Barroubio we were drinking matched well with this.

Ultimate chocolate brownies
Finally a terrific dessert of the day, also from Larcen. Crumbled freshly made chocolate brownies drowned in a rich (but not over-sweet) chocolate sauce topped with cream, a light coffee granita and some crisp sugary biscuits that emerged from the top like rabbits’ ears. Another adaptation of the verrine idea (told you the French were mad about them!) but you could simplify it. Just brownies in chocolate sauce topped with cream or ice cream (or both . . . ) would be pretty amazing. No wine though! Espresso coffee, if anything.

If you’re interested in cheese you can also find an interesting cheeseboard from Le Bistro d'Hervé on my blog The Cheeselover.