Programme eight In the eighth episode of French Odyssey, Rick Stein enjoyed freshly grilled sardines from the market, white pudding cooked by his artist friend and used local honey to add a little 'je ne sais quoi' to his baking.

In this article

Making madeleines Rick Stein's Honey madeleines

Recipes from French Odyssey Details of Rick's journey

Programme eight

Coming towards the end of his journey, Rick enjoyed the changes in cuisine as much as the landscape. Hearty dishes such as Cassoulet and Duck confit give way to lighter meals including lamb cooked with fresh haricot beans and grilled fish served with tomato salad.

On a visit to his artist friend Simon Fletcher's home in the Languedoc, Rick relaxed over an enviably simple meal. Slices of the local speciality, white pudding, were fried in a little oil and served with overflowing platters of artichokes, courgettes and other homegrown vegetables.

Onwards with his journey and he met an English chef who made the most of an abundance of seafood, cooking Rick a classy dish of Cuttlefish-ink pasta with shellfish. Next stop was to meet local bee-keeper Denis Cournol. His honey inspired Rick to bake classic French cakes, known as Madeleines, which he served with vanilla-poached apricots and vanilla ice cream.

Rick said: "I have to confess my recipe for madeleines came out of an enthusiasm for Marcel Proust's 'A la Recherche du Temps Perdu'. Since the memory of madeleines served with a lime tea was the catalyst for his charming memories of his childhood, I had to fit it in somewhere on this trip."

Madeleines are miniature bite-sized French sponge cakes, widely recognised as having originated in the town of Commercy in Lorraine. Made with plenty of lemon zest for flavour, they're light and buttery and should have a melt-in-the-mouth texture. Rick added honey and a little extra butter to his version for richness. They're traditionally baked in little scallop shell-shaped moulds which must be well greased and floured to prevent the cakes from sticking. According to Rick, grown men have been 'known to cry' because their Madeleines would not come out of the baking tin.

Rick Stein said: "The addition of a little honey to a madeleine is delightful. Combine that with some apricots poached with vanilla and a little more honey, together with vanilla ice cream, and you have the sort of dessert that the French are justly famous for."

• Vanilla poached apricots with honey madeleines

This dish and other recipes cooked by Rick on the programme feature in a book accompanying the series. Rick Stein's French Odyssey is published by BBC Books. RRP £20. ISBN 0563522135.

Here are some other baking recipes using honey from BBC Food:

• Honey cake by James Martin
• Honey drop scones by Flour Advisory Bureau
• Honey flapjacks by Celia Brookes Brown

Not all the Rick Stein recipes featured on the programme are available on the website owing to copyright issues. However the recipes cooked by Rick on the programme are featured in a book accompanying the series, Rick Stein's French Odyssey, published by BBC Books. RRP £20. ISBN 0563522135.

You can trace Rick's journey through southern France on his website, which features an interactive map and directory of the places he visited.