This text is part of the special Pleasures notebook
Stimulating, seductive, voluptuous, astonishing… Make no mistake, ladies and gentlemen! The balls of chef, speaker and author Sonia Lizotte, founder of L’Escouade Culinaire, are edible. They are even delicious, in addition to being practical, easy to make; and why not, ideal to offer or serve for Christmas.
The concept of 9e recipe book by Sonia Lizotte, to whom we already owe works on lunch, the pressure cooker and type cooking one pot, was born by chance. Or rather a joke from her editor, for whom the chef was preparing meals following an accident. “As he was running out of energy balls, he said to me: “I miss your balls, Sonia!” Haha! We had a monumental laugh, but I don’t know why, it gave me the idea of a book on the subject,” says the author.
On the other hand, the boss didn’t want yet another guide on energy balls. “I am the first to recognize that energy balls are nutritious and functional,” she says. However, as I am a complete gourmand in life, I decided to also explore this theme from the angle of pleasure. » A successful bet with the publication this fall of the book Happiness is in the ballswhich contains 80 nourishing sweet recipes… or downright decadent.
An infinity of balls
Can everything be cooked in the form of balls? For Sonia Lizotte, this is obviously the case. The chef provides proof of this in her book, for which she, for example, created a recipe for grilled sesame balls from an Asian-style tofu dish, another with a cotton candy flavor (minus the sticky effect). ), or a third with couscous, almonds and raisins.
“Challenge me to make a complete brunch or dinner in scoop form, and I will do it!” she says. Because when you think of a recipe based on specific flavors and what is needed to recreate them, yes, everything is achievable. »
Rest assured, though. The balls in Sonia Lizotte’s book are not all as daring as those we have just cited. A quarter of them are pretty faithful to the energy balls we already know, with ingredients like cereals and dried fruits. But the gourmet adventure really begins in the second part of the book, with balls inspired by the chef’s favorite desserts (rum baba, strawberry shortcake, lemon tart, etc.), others which take us back to our childhood (old donut, strawberry jam, hot chocolate, etc.). And others, again, which make us salivate just by reading their title, like those entitled Hearts with Caramilk, Café Bailey’s and Dulce de leche.
“I really wanted to go in all directions,” explains the author. I even managed to “hide” ingredients in balls that people are less inclined to include in sweet recipes (or in their diet altogether), like tempeh, beets, zucchini or white beans. The strong idea of this book is that balls can meet all our needs, whether we are sporty, parents, adventurous or simply greedy. »
Let us add to this that all the balls in the chef’s book have the same advantages that are usually attributed to this category of products, namely that they are easily transported and keep very well (14 days in the fridge and up to ‘for a year in the freezer), which gives them a very practical character.
The tree has… delicious baubles!
As Christmas approaches and the fir trees take pride of place in our cottages, Sonia Lizotte has no shortage of ideas to make her delicious baubles the queens of the party. “It is entirely possible to assemble them in the form of a tree or a snowman,” she says, taking as an example her Red Velvet balls, a beautiful deep red, or the Black Forest balls, coated in chocolate. .
The author also suggests making Christmas baubles based on her recipes. All you need to do, she says, is to roll the balls, before baking, around a short length of butcher’s twine, leaving the end folded in two out of the cake. Once the balls are cooked, all that remains is to dip them in colored melted chocolate, holding them by the string, then let them dry. “Hang them in the tree one to two hours before your guests arrive, and it will be magical! », Promises the chef.
This content was produced by the Special Publications team at Duty, relating to marketing. The writing of the Duty did not take part.