Home-made buttery croissants, freshly baked, are a real triumph. Feel proud when you spread on the jam!

Ingredients :

625g/ 1lb 5oz strong white  flour, plus extra for rolling out
12g/ 1/2 oz salt
75g/ 3oz sugar
20g/ 3/4 oz dried yeast
500g/ 1lb 2oz butter, chilled
8 sticks chocolate ( optional )
1 free-range egg beaten
Preparation Method :

1.Place the flour, salt, sugar and yeast in a large mixing bowl. Using a wooden spoon, slowly mix in a little water until the mixture forms into a pliable dough.

2.Place the dough on a floured surface and knead until it feels elastic.

3.Return the dough to the bowl, cover and chill in the refrigerator for an hour.

4.Return the chilled dough to your floured work surface and roll it into a rectangle, around 60x30cm/24x12in.

5.Roll out the chilled butter into a rectangle about 1cm/½in thick, around 20x30cm/8x12in.

6.Place the butter rectangle in the centre of the dough rectangle, so it covers the middle third of the dough.

7.Fold each side of the dough over the butter, so there is one layer of dough on the bottom, a layer of butter, then two layers of dough.

8.Wrap the dough in cling film and chill in the fridge for another hour.

9.Lightly flour the worktop and roll out the dough to a rectangle, around 60x30cm/24x12in. Repeat the folding process, folding the long sides into the middle, then return the dough to the fridge for a further hour.

10.Repeat this process of folding and chilling two more times, then wrap the dough in cling film and set it aside to rest overnight.

11.Using a rolling pin, roll out the rested dough to 3mm/1/8in thick.

12.Either use a croissant cutter to cut triangles or cut the rolled out dough into squares, each 20cm/8in square.

13.Cut each square diagonally, making two triangles.

14.Place the dough triangles on a lightly floured surface with the right angle away from you.

15.Roll the croissant towards the right angle point and curl the dough roll around into a traditional crescent shape. If using chocolate, add the chocolate across he widest part of the triangle, before rolling it up.

16.Place the shaped croissants on baking trays lined with baking parchment and leave to rise for 1½ hrs.

17.Preheat the oven to 200C/425F/Gas 6.

18.Lightly egg-wash the croissants and bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.


Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/croissants_91574
 
Ingredients: 
 
450g/1lb fresh tuna or 4 x 175g/6oz  tuna steaks, 2.5cm/1in thick
8 new potatoes, cooked and  quartered lengthways
4 plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
115g/4oz extra fine French  beans, topped, cooked and drained
4 little gem lettuce hearts, quartered lengthways
1 red onion, finely sliced
4 eggs, cooked for 6 minutes in boiling water from room temperature, halved
6 anchovy fillets cut lengthways into thin strips
16 pitted black olives in brine
8 basil leaves, ripped

For the dresing or marinade:

105ml/7tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp aged red wine vinegar
2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
2tbsp freshly snipped chives
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper

Method :

1. To make the dressing or marinade whisk together the red wine vinegar, olive oil, parsley, chives, garlic, salt and pepper. 

2. Place the tuna in a shallow dish and pour over half of the dressing. Cover and chill for 1-2 hours to allow the fish to marinate. Toss in the marinade from time to time.

3. Heat a ridged griddle pan on the hob or a hot barbecue for 5 minutes. Remove the tuna from the marinade. Cook the tuna steaks for 2-3 minutes on each side, depending on how rare you like your fish.
 
4. Lay the lettuce leaves onto a large plate and add the lettuce, onion, tomatoes, potato, tuna, beans and anchovies. Drizzle over the remaining dressing then finish by adding the eggs, olives and ripped basil leaves.
 

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/saladenicoise_6572