Written on Saturday, December 23rd, 2006 at 1:20 pm
As the UK is covered with a thick blanket of fog, we have clear blue skies and sunshine. Luckily the Christmas house guests are getting through: Lancashire and Cambridgeshire arrived on time on Wednesday; Berkshire changed plans and drove on Thursday; Gothenburg arrived with only an hours delay in the end yesterday. Just the London contingent to arrive tonight. Here’s hoping they get through.
Back to work on the reserves of Vitamin D; and then off to Nyons this afternoon to do some shopping. And sit in a cafe and rejoice that we’re not battling the crowds (and the fog) on Oxford Street.
And the weather forecast is set fair for at least the next three days. So we’ll be able to do aperitifs on the terrace on Christmas Day.
Written on Tuesday, December 12th, 2006 at 10:42 pm
apple, dessert, gingerbread
heston blumenthal
use any fruit for compote; and any spiced cake as long as it doesn’t include dried fruit
APPLE CRUMBLE
Serves 8
For the crumble topping
225g unsalted butter
175g plain flour
140g unrefined caster sugar
100g ground almonds
125g gingerbread
Pinch of salt
For the apple compote
2 vanilla pods
6 braeburn or cox’s apples
150g unsalted butter
100g sultanas
A little ground cinnamon, to taste
To make the crumble, preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Melt the butter in a frying pan over a gentle heat for a couple of minutes, until slightly brown. Place all the ingredients along with the melted butter into a food processor and reduce to crumbs. Cover a large baking tray with parchment paper, add the crumb mixture and place in the preheated oven. Cook for 20 minutes until golden brown and crunchy, turning the mixture halfway through cooking. Keep an eye on it, as you don’t want it to get too crunchy.
In the meantime, make the compote.
Halve the vanilla pods, scrape out the seeds and reserve. Peel, halve and core the apples, then cut them into 1cm cubes. Heat the butter in a large pan (such as a sauté pan) over a medium-low heat until golden. Sauté the apple cubes for about 2 minutes, in batches, stirring frequently. Add the sultanas and cook for a further 3 minutes or so, then stir in the vanilla seeds and cinnamon and remove from the heat.
Place the apple compote in an ovenproof dish (about 23cm sq) and bake at 200C/400F/ Gas Mark 6 for 10-15 minutes. Once the compote is cooked, sprinkle the crumble mixture over the top and serve
Written on Tuesday, December 12th, 2006 at 10:35 pm
banana, dessert, lime
ETON MESS
Serves 4
For the meringue
100g egg whites
100g caster sugar
100g icing sugar
For the mess
4 bananas
2 tbsp lime juice
200ml double cream
Seeds of 2 vanilla pods
1 tbsp kirsch
Grated zest of 4 limes
Preheat the oven to its lowest setting (110C/ 225F/Gas Mark ) and line a baking tray with parchment. Beat the egg whites until very stiff — this is important as they must stay stiff when the sugar is added. Beat in the caster sugar, then the icing sugar. Spoon the meringue mix onto a baking tray, in 12 even shapes. Cook for 4 hours, or overnight. They should be crisp all the way through, with no colour. Turn the oven off, open the door and leave the meringues inside so they cool down slowly.
Peel the bananas. Purée 2 of them with half the lime juice. Cut the other 2 bananas into 3mm-thick slices and mix with the remaining lime juice to prevent them browning. Whisk the cream until stiff — being careful not to overwhip it — and stir into the crushed or puréed banana. Then fold in the vanilla seeds and kirsch.
Break the cool meringue into large pieces, mix with the banana cream and the sliced bananas. Spoon into a bowl and grate over the lime zest before serving.
Written on Tuesday, December 12th, 2006 at 10:26 pm
dessert, pears
from Heston Blumenthal
PEARS POACHED IN RED WINE
I did this christmas 2006. An advantage was I could calmly prepare it before the hoards arrived. The added marinating time (it will hang in in the fridge for up to a week) was really useful. Because when it came to eat it – I could really appreciate it as it was ready and waiting to serve.
Serves 4
1 bottle good-quality red wine
200ml crème de cassis or blackcurrant syrup
200g sugar (or 300g if not using crème de cassis)
1 cinnamon stick
6 cloves
1 star anise
20g ginger root, peeled
25g liquorice root
Zest of 1 orange, peeled in one piece (using a sharp peeler)
Zest of 1 lemon, peeled in one piece
8-10 ripe, unblemished pears
Bring the wine to the boil in a casserole big enough to hold the pears and boil for 10 minutes to drive off the acidity. Remove from the heat, then add all the other ingredients, except the pears.
Prepare the pears. Peel them, leaving the stem intact. If you are keeping them whole, remove the core so that they cook evenly all the way through. To core them, insert the tip of a peeler into the base of the pear just on the edge of the core, push into the fruit and turn the peeler around the core, cutting it out. If halving the pears, do so lengthways. Neatly cut out the root and core.
The liquid will have cooled down a little by now. Place the prepared pears side by side in the pan and top with a disc of greaseproof paper cut to the same size as the pan. Pierce a few holes in the paper and press it down slightly so that some of the poaching liquid comes through the holes: this will keep the pears submerged during cooking. If the liquid does not cover the pears, add a little water until it does.
Place the casserole back on the heat and bring to a simmer. As soon as this happens, turn down the heat and cook at a gentle simmer — just enough to form the odd bubble on the surface of the water — for 30 minutes, or until the pears are done. Test by inserting a small pointed knife into the flesh. If it goes in with little resistance, they are ready.
Remove from the heat and leave to cool. When cold, carefully transfer the fruit to a sealable container. If you have added extra water, reduce the liquid to the required consistency and taste. If it is still too thin, thicken with a little cornflour. Reserve the zest and spices for decoration, if required. Pour the liquid over the pears in their container and store in the fridge for at least a day. The pears will keep for a week in the poaching liquid. Serve hot or cold.
Written on Tuesday, December 12th, 2006 at 10:20 pm
fennel, soup
FENNEL VELOUTE
Serves 6
2 tsp fennel seeds
1 star anise
50g butter
1kg fennel, finely sliced
2 medium onions, finely sliced
1 small potato, finely sliced
2 tbsp Pernod
750ml warm chicken stock (ideally fresh)
100ml double cream
Salt and cayenne pepper, to taste
Place the fennel seeds and star anise in a muslin bag and tie it up to make a bouquet garni. Set a large pan over a medium heat, melt the butter and cook the sliced fennel, onion and potato with the bouquet garni, stirring constantly, for about 10 minutes, until slightly softened. Add the Pernod and bring to the boil for a couple of minutes to reduce it. Now add the warm stock to the vegetables, then simmer for 10minutes. Remove the bouquet garni. Blitz the soup using either a hand blender, a mouli-légumes or by putting batches in a food processor, then pass through a sieve. Return the soup to the pan, add the cream and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat, season with salt and cayenne pepper to taste, and serve.
from Heston Blumenthal
Written on Tuesday, December 12th, 2006 at 10:18 pm
cucumber, soup
YOGHURT AND CUCUMBER SOUP
Prep: 10 min plus chilling
Serves 4
1 litre natural low-fat yoghurt, well chilled
500g long ridged cucumber
500ml iced water or vegetable stock
1 tsp sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
Half tsp finely chopped mint
2 tbsp finely chopped dill
1 garlic clove, crushed
Fresh mint sprigs for serving
Method: Peel the cucumber and cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon and discard. Finely chop the flesh. Combine the yoghurt, iced water or stock, sea salt and pepper in a liquidiser or blender (more successful than a food processor, which leaves it slightly bitty). Add the dried mint, dill, garlic and all but 1 tbsp of the diced cucumber, and whiz until pale green, smooth and frothy. Chill for at least an hour and serve in small, chilled bowls.
Add the reserved cucumber and top with a sprig of fresh mint.
Written on Tuesday, December 12th, 2006 at 10:12 pm
pumpkin, soup
Butternut squash and ginger soup
Serves 4
Prep 15mins
Cook 30mins
1 small onion, roughly chopped
1 small leek, roughly chopped
30g root ginger, peeled and grated
Good knob of butter
1kg butternut squash
500ml vegetable stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1tbsp pumpkin seeds, toasted
METHOD
Gently cook the onion, leek and ginger in the butter until soft. Peel, seed and chop the squash and add to the pan with the stock. Bring to the boil, add salt and pepper and simmer for 20min. Blend in a liquidiser, then strain through a sieve. Reheat the soup and adjust the consistency with stock or water. Serve immediately with pumpkin seeds.
# The Simple Art of Marrying Food & Wine, Mitchell Beazley, £20.
Written on Saturday, December 9th, 2006 at 10:30 pm
I’m not sure whether this is city versus rural, or France versus England, but in the week I’ve been back in London I’ve been noticing some differences. In France, back at Le Colombier, everything helps you to be “in the moment” – whatever that moment is. It might be about the seasons, or the weather, or market day, or aperitif time, or coffee on the terrace. The moment is as long as it takes. If it’s fine, you sit outside. If it’s raining, you stay in.
There are a few things you need to be aware of in terms of time; shops close for lunch; lunch is served between 12.00 and 2.00 so if you want lunch out you to have to remember to be in time. But of course it’s only city-basd foreigners who would ever want to eat outside of the main eating moments.
Whereas in London life is ruled by the clock, agendas, plans. You can shop and eat 24/7. The weather was really bad the other day – cold, windy, heavy rain; but everyone still carried on rushing from a to b, getting to work, coming back from work, rushing between meetings, going to the gym, getting to that class, going Christmas shopping, meeting up with friends, remembering the train schedules and the last tube home. And texts and phone calls on the ever present mobile to schedule, reschedule, plan and replan. All commuters hear the mobile phone “I’m on the train” refrain day in, day out.
Cafes proudly display there wi-fi zone notices; laptops jostle with the latte and americanos; and busy busy executives are grouped around the tables in earnest conversation, jostling files and papers, or on their phones.
Whereas sitting outside La Belle Epoque in Nyons, you just watch the world go by. It’s a cafe moment. And probably in the sun.
Written on Friday, December 8th, 2006 at 11:12 am
films
I’m in London at the moment, but decided to take advantage of a wet and windy afternoon (tornados in North London) to take myself off to the Ritzy cinema. This is a great art cinema in Brixton (just a short bus ride from me in Vauxhall), and usually has something “foreign” that’s worth seeing. So yesterday’s treat was Pan’s Labyrinth:
Director: Guillermo Toro Origin: Spain Year: 2006 Duration: 119m Starring: Ariadna Gil, Maribel Verdu, Doug Jones, Ivana Baquero, Sergi Lopez
A fairy tale for adults inspired by the paintings of Francisco Goya and rooted, like THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE, in the context of war, this is del Toro’s most accomplished work in his own opinion. In 1940s Spain, recently remarried Carmen (Gil) and daughter Ofelia (Baquero) move in with the cold and authoritarian new husband, Vidal (López), a captain in General Franco’s army. Finding her new life difficult, Ofelia seeks refuge in a labyrinth she discovers next to the house. A magical creature named Pan, the guardian of the labyrinth, reveals that Ofelia is the long-lost princess of a magical kingdom. To discover the truth, she will have to accomplish three dangerous tasks. Del Toro’s startling vision rests on a profoundly moving story with universal appeal.
It was slightly odd seeing it subtitled into English – I’m more used to seeing French subtitles! But well worth seeing.
One thing that I did notice was that in France, at the end of the film, most people sit through the music and the credits at the end – “respect” to the makers of the film. Here in London, people were putting on their coats and leaving as the first credits started to roll. And people were coming in for the next showing before the credits had finished.
Written on Wednesday, December 6th, 2006 at 11:30 pm
I’m trying to do some research into the traditional food for Christmas in Provence.
I’ve spent Christmas in the Beaujolais region (around Macon and Lyon) and there we would have the “reveillon” after midnight mass … a full meal, at 2.00am! However, I think that’s one tradition I’ll avoid – especially as we will be doing a more traditional English style Christmas lunch of turkey with all the trimmings.
But I’ve just found this about Christmas traditions in Provence.
The “great supper” is eaten on Christmas Eve, before going to midnight mass. Everything is minutely prepared. Each dish has its own symbolism and numbers are important :
The table has 3 white tablecloths – 3 for the 3 members of the Trinity – with 3 white lighted candelabras and 3 saucers of sprouted wheat germs planted on St. Barbe’s Day. Absolutely no mistletoe 
believed to bring bad luck&!
The “great supper” is paradoxically made up of 7 lean dishes in memory of the 7 sufferings of Mary. It is served with 13 bread rolls followed by the 13 desserts, which represent the Last Supper with Jesus and the 12 apostles.
These lean dishes differ from one part of Provence to another. The dishes often served are chard stalks and celery, cauliflower, spinach and cod, omelette, snails, garlic soup & but never any meat, simply fish, shellfish, gratins, vegetables, soups and anchoïade (anchovy paste). The only abundance is that of the thirteen desserts.
The thirteen desserts are eaten after Midnight mass. They will remain on the table for the following 3 days, until 27th December:
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  the 4 mendicant (orders): dry figs (Franciscans), almonds (Carmelites), raisins (Dominicans) and hazelnuts (Augustinians),
 dates: symbol of Christ who came from the Orient,
nougat (black and white) for the white penitents and black penitents according to some people, while for others white nougat, soft and creamy represents purity and goodness, the harder and brittle black nougat symbolising impurity and forces of evil&
 the “fougasse à l’huile d’olive”, also called “la pompe”: a flat loaf made using olive oil,
quince cheese or crystallised fruit in the Apt or Carpentras regions,
“oreillettes”: light thin waffles,
fresh fruit: mandarin oranges, oranges, pears, raisins and winter melons preserved for the occasion. |