Occasional Notes on the wines I drink.

John's Blend by John Glaetzer, No29 Langhorn Creek, Cabernet Sauvignon 2002.

£23.99 from Philglas & Swiggot

I am not usually a fan of Australian Cabernet Sauvignon which I usually find to be overripe and unstructured. This is not one of those... At 8 years of age it has had the time to mature and turn into a very fine rich Bordeaux style wine. I can't help wonder what it would be like with the addition of a bit of cabernet franc.

Occasional Notes on the wines I drink.

Kooyong - Estate Pinot Noir 2007, Mornington Peninsula.

£25.25 from Philglas & Swiggot

The best Australian Pinot Noir I have had, would compete very favourably with the best Kiwi Pinot Noirs. Very well structured and complex palate the growers own notes claim a note of rhubarb which I'm not too sure about.

Anne Sophie Pic's, Valence, August 14, 2010

This is one of the most accomplished meals I have ever had. Literally everything from the reception to the coffee at the end of the meal was genuinely three star. Inventive without being unnecessarily fancy, this was food at the very highest level possible. The worst I can say about the experience is that he Tourteau was not as good as the rest of the food.

The Amuse Bouche was a foie gras creme brule with grapefruit mousseline. This is normally a dish I find quite boring so I was very disappointed to see it put in front of me in a restaurant that I have very high hopes for but this was the finest example of the kind I have ever had. Partially this was due to the fg creme brule being made with an exceptionally light touch but more importantly the mousseline was an inspired accompaniment. Mousseline just means light mousse, however, combined with an ever so slight taste of grapefruit it completely cut trough the fattiness of the fg for a melt in the mouth combination.

The anchovies where a very feminine dish that relied completely on all the ingredients complementing each other perfectly. Individually, the ingredients would not have impressed but put together they where perfection. Strong anchovies, soft fresh cucumber, tiny bit of fat from the colonnata and just a bit of taste from the tomato and beurre blanc based sauce. Very difficult to describe but incredibly sophisticated.

The Saint Pierre or John Dory was also incredibly accomplished. In theory a simple dish of some steamed John Dory and anis flavored beurre blanc but in fact the dish was absolute perfection. The fish had been prepared in sous vide at 50 degrees for over one hour which left it cooked but pink and not flaky at all. I am not sure I have ever had braised or slow cooked fish before but that is what it was and the result was very surprising. The combination with the anis flavor and richness of the beurre blanc was perfection.

I was very scared of taking a 24 year old Croze Hermitage as that is usually a bit beyond their tolerance but the solid producer and the strong recommendation of the sommelier made me take the plunge. Although the wine does not have many years left in it I was rewarded with an excellent and highly complex drink.

Foie Gras Three Ways/Foie Gras Suzhi

I was in Gaillac for a few days. That always means raw foie gras... this time I decided to make three small dishes that were inspired by a visit to Dinings a few weeks ago. No rice though.

Two of the dishes require a glazing or a reduction that I made with a combination of apple juice, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce and a little bit of sugar.

Glazing:

1. 100 ml best quality apple juice;
2. 100 ml medium quality balsamic vinegar (no point in using the £15 stuff);
3. 50 ml light soy sauce;
4. 2 - 3 tsp sugar.

Reduce all the ingredients under low heat until you have a thick syrupy substance. It needs to be runny but no so runny that it runs of the fg when applied.

To try: cider vinegar instead of balsamic.

Foie Gras in broth:

1. 100 ml home made chicken broth per person;
2. 3 3x2 cm cubes of foie gras per person;
3. 1 tsp roast spices (I roasted and then crushed cardamom seeds, cumen and turmeric in about equal measure with a very small amount of salt & pepper).

Heat the broth with the spice mixture and let simmer until the spices are cooked and the taste settled.

On a very hot skillet sear the fg until slightly caramelized. Put the fg cubes on the bottom of a small soup bowl and cover with the broth. Serve immediately with a little bit of finely chopped parsley (or another herb) as garnish.

To try: coating the fg with balsamic before searing.

Seared Foie Gras on pear:

1. 2 ½ cm thick slices pear per person;
2. 1 thinly slices brioche toast per person;
3. 1 1 cm thick slice raw fg;

On a very hot skillet sear the fg until slightly caramelized. Assemble the brioche, pear and fg and coat the fg with the glazing. Serve immediately.

To try: caramelizing the pear in butter and use Asian pear.

Seared Foie Gras on fig and parma ham:

1. 1 ripe fig per person;
2. 1 15x4 cm slice of parma ham per person;
3. 1 1 cm thick slice of raw fg.

On a very hot skillet sear the fg until slightly caramelized. Assemble the ham, fig and fg and coat the fg with the glazing. Serve immediately.

To try: caramelizing the fig in the glazing and add some kind of blue cheese to the dish.

Braised lamb shoulder with olives and Artichokes

Ingredients:

1. 2.5 kg Lamb shoulder bone in for about 6 - 8 people;
2. 250 gr tin of pitted black olives;
3. 4 Artichokes with stem cut off and cut into half;
4. 4 tbsp sea salt;
5. 2 tbsp black pepper;
6. 3 cloves garlic;
7. 2 tbsp finely chopped rosemary leaves;
8. 2 tbsp finely chopped thyme leaves;
9. 1 tbsp honey (ideally scented with either rosemary or thyme);
10. 2 tbsp EVOO;
11. Juice of one lemon;
12. 1 large coarsely cut onion;
13. 2 finely chopped parsnips (finely chopped as they are meant to completely break apart during the cooking and serve to thicken the sauce);
14. 4 - 5 sprigs of Rosemary and Thyme;
15. 1 bottle either red or white wine;

Preparation:

1. Make a paste of the salt, pepper, garlic, rosemary, thyme, honey and EVOO. Rub paste all over the lamp and let sit for at least 30 min but several hours would be better.
2. Brown the lamb and set aside.
3. Soften the onion and parsnips, add the artichokes flat side down.
4. Load the meat on top of the artichokes, add the rest of the ingredients, and 125 ml of the wine;
5. Braise in a 160 degrees oven for at least 3 hours adding 125 ml of the wine every 30 min or so (pour the wine over the meat) baste every 30 min when the whole bottle of wine is in.
6. If serving potatoes add them to the pan with the meat about 45 minutes before serving.
7. Let rest for 15 min;
8. Cut the heart out of the artichoke and serve with the meat;
9. Make sauce by reducing the cooking liquid and adding more wine/stock as needed.

Serve with Muhummra and Deep fried chick peas.

Deep fried chick peas

Ingredients:

1. Tin of chick peas in water rinsed and dried;
2. 1 tsp roasted cumin seeds;
3. 1 tsp chilli flakes;
4. 1 tsp Spanish sweet paprika;
5. 1 tsp salt
6. 1 tsp black pepper;
7. 500 ml vegetable oil (one with a high tolerance for heat).

Preparation:

1. Pound the spices in a mortar until quite fine;
2. Combine spices and peas in a bowl and toss to cover the peas with the herb mixture;
3. heat the oil to high heat (180 degrees) in a wide pan;
4. Fry the chick peas in the oil for about 30 seconds.

Muhummra

I had this with lamb at Moro's and simply loved it. The Moro recipe book says to use it with fish such as Monkfish which I have yet to try but I have high expectations. Essentially Muhummra is Mojo Roco with substance and as such can replace it in all recipes. Below is my version with is not quite the same as the Moro recipe but obviously similar.

Ingredients:

1. 6 large roasted red peppers (you can use canned ones if you are feeling lazy);
2. 400 gr toasted walnuts;
3. 4 garlic cloves made into paste with 1 tsp sea salt;
4. 150 gr bread crumbs;
5. 3 tbsp EVOO;
6. 1 tbsp roast ground cumin seeds;
7. 2 tsp chilli flakes;
8. 2 tbsp red wine or sherry vinegar;
9. 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses;

Pulse peppers and walnuts until smooth paste fold in rest of ingredients and hey presto!

Broad bean and Asparagus mousse with poached ducks egg

Ingredients:

1. 400 gr shelled broad beans (or peas);
2. 300 gr asparagus (cut of the ends if fibrous);
3. 50 gr rocket;
4. 50 gr roasted pine kernels;
5. 50 gr parmesan cheese;
6. 150 ml chicken stock;
7. 1 poached ducks egg per person;
8. 4 rashes streaky bacon fried till crisp and cut into 2 cm pieces;
9. 3 tbsp EVOO;
10. 2 egg whites whipped to soft peaks;
11. Grilled polenta medallions;
12. Finely chopped chives;
13. Salt & Pepper.

Preparation:

1. Poach beans and asparagus in chicken stock until soft, pour off the stock and mash the vegetables in a blender;
2. Make pesto with rocket, pine kernels, parmesan, salt and pepper;
3. Combine pesto with vegetables mash and fold in egg whites;
4. Make forms of grease proof paper same size as polenta medallion and fill with mousse up to 2 cm thick on a non stick oven tray bake at 200 degrees for 20 min;

Service:

1. Cover the polenta medallion with the bacon;
2. Put mousse on top of the polenta medallion and top with the poached ducks egg;
3. Drizzle best quality EVOO over the egg (using truffle flavoured EVOO would be even better);
4. Scatter a pinch of chives over the egg;
5. Season with S&P.

Note: The mousse can be baked up to half an hour before serving but not much more or it will be too cold.

Notes from Provence 1/6/10 – 10/6/10

I’m stealing the idea of writing notes about the food in the places I go from David Richter. I note from his “notes” that calling his writing notes somehow excuses him from writing full sentences let alone coherent paragraphs. If you dispense with these then things are naturally much easier.

La Oustaou

The best restaurant in Flayosc is great value and very faithful to the cuisine of Provence. The highlight was a tarte of wild mushrooms.

1 bottle le grand jas.

Bruno:

I think I may have gone for the last time to Chez Bruno. First visit I think in 1988 so I have been going there more or less every year for 22 years. Used to be fabulous now just milking past reputation. I had the caviar de truffe (blinie + whipped truffle flavoured cream + caviar de truffe + compote de tomates) which was way too rich in a slightly sickly kind of way, the potato which was absolutely fabulous as always and a duck in porto jus with loads of truffle which was very pub grub and not interesting at all. Predesert was vanilla cream (consistency of panna cotta) with a glazing of citrus peel and roasted caramelized nuts which was the highlight after the potato. Desert was a truly disappointing cherry tart (cores still in the cherry!) and pistachio ice cream. How can you mess up pistachio ice cream.

Very satisfying 2006 Chateau Roubine

Bastide de Moustiers:

Alan Ducasse’s place in Moustiers, an old very grand house in one of Provence’s most beautiful old towns, not quite up to the standard of AD’s other place but still a very satisfactory experience. I unfortunately forgot to get the name of the vine they recommended but it was Patricia something from Bagnol. Highlight of the food was a unbelievably tasty and intentionally salty asparagus soup with a dash of goats cheese and a bowl of braised summer vegetables with local olive oil. The latter was basically a mix of summer veggies lightly boiled in a very buttery light vegetable broth. Incredibly good to consume on a hot day.

La Hostellerie des Gorges De Pennafort

Philippe da Silva get’s two M stars for his restaurant and I think he deserves at least that many. This has got to be the only two star in the world where they throw in a few extra courses for the hell of it. We had the six course menu for €75 but got at least five extra courses – all very light so we did not suffer from post two star dinner drowsiness. All very stunning food and very difficult to select a favourite though highlights included Ravioli de foie gras et parmesan (did not order this it came as surprise), turbot in a very light butter based asparagus and ginger sauce, John Dory in a mixed seafood sauce with a slight curry feel to it and a Feuilleté de poires à la fourme d'Ambert. The last is paper thin pastry topped with very thin pear and melted blue cheese... definitely will be writing to the chef for the recipe for that. Also one of the best Cannele Bordelaise that I’ve ever had.

1/2 bottle of Chateau Maime 2008 (Ugni Blanc 50%, Rolle 25%, Sémillon 25%) excellent Provencal white;

1 bottle of Chateau d'Esclans La Deesse rouge (50/50 grenache and syrah) alright, very syrahish and not very sophisticated. Recommended by the sommelier which just goes to show that you should not believe those bastards.

Cafe de Paris, St Tropez

This is a very high end cafe (or as they themselves have it Restaurant-Club-Lounge-Art, don’t ask) in the harbour of St Tropez that I really was not expecting to get good food from but as they had wi-fi and Jules desperately needed such this is where we ate on our last night in Provence. They however came up tromps and surprised us with really good sashimi, a great salmon tartare with fromage fraise and honey (spiced with dill) and a surprisingly good gambas pasta. The thing about the pasta was that it was slightly underdone (al dente), the sauce was very dry and clung to the pasta, the gambas themselves where perfect and they had added a handful of dried seaweed of some sort on top. The seaweed took this from being a very well executed classic to being something special. The waiter did not know what kind of seaweed but I suspect Japanese kombu.

Le Safari, Nice

Another old favorite that I will give a miss to in the future. This used to be a notch above the other restaurants in the Cours Saleya in Nice but has unfortunately become a total tourist dive. We had a beignet de fleur de courcette that was ok but way to greasy, a cardboard pizza that I swear was reheated and a langustine pasta that was overcooked and tasteless... no need to go back.

Salsa Verde

Ingredients:

1. ½ bunch flat leaf parsley;
2. 1/3 bunch fresh mint;
3. 1 Garlic clove;
4. 1 tbsp Dijon mustarde;
5. 3 whole anchovies in olive oil;
6. 1 tsp sea salt;
7. 100 ml EVOO;
8. 25 gr Capers;

Preparation:
Chop or grind all ingredients as appropriate (using only the leaves of the herbs) mix and leave to infuse for at least 30 min.

Chicken two ways with seared foie gras and tarragon sauce

I made this recipe from memory the other day when visiting Caroline in Cahuzac. Essentially, I was looking for something to do with fresh foie gras that was not too overpoweringly fatty. I say I made the recipe from memory although I have no recollection of where the original recipe came from. In any case it was a resounding success according to the people at the table who regularly tell me I’m a much better cook than I really am just so that I keep on cooking.

This recipe requires braising the legs, roasting the breasts and making stock out of the rest of the chicken. It is important to start the stock an hour or two ahead of the rest as it will be needed in the cooking of both the legs and the breasts.

Ingredients:

1. Two smallish young free range chickens, ideally poussin, cut up so that you have, per chicken 4 legs pieces, 1 whole breast, 4 wings pieces and two back pieces;
2. 7 medium turnips, cleaned, trimmed and 6 cut in half, 1 cut into ½ cm thick medallions;
3. 3 red onions sliced in ½ cm thick slices;
4. 2 whole leeks cut into cm thick chunks;
5. A large bunch of tarragon cut finely;
6. 1 large quartered onion;
7. 1 large carrot;
8. 50 gr softened butter;
9. 1 bottle full bodied white wine.
10. 3 large sprigs rosemary;
11. 1 bunch thyme;
12. 1 bunch sage leaves;
13. 1 medium fresh lobe of foie gras, cleaned up (devein it and remove any other nasty bits), cut into 1.5 cm thick slices and generously seasoned with sea salt and black pepper. Keep the foie gras in the fridge until just before searing.

Preparations:

1. Preheat oven to 180 C (200 if no convection);
2. Make the broth by combining the onion, carrot, chicken wings and chicken backs in a large stock pot, season lightly with salt and pepper, cover with water (should need about a litre and a half) let simmer briskly for at least 1.5 hours (the broth will be better the longer you let it simmer);
3. To braise the legs start by softening the red onion in a heavy bottomed pan under medium heat. When the onion has turned slightly translucent add the leeks and turnip slices and continue frying until the onion in completely translucent;
4. Cover the bottom of a medium oven proof dish with the onion mixture and add the rosemary, thyme and sage and top with the chicken legs (including the top bit of the wing if you like) sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour the entire bottle of white wine over the chicken and cover with aluminium foil.
5. Cook chicken legs in the oven for 1 hour. After the first hour take out the chicken and add the halved turnips to the dish. Add chicken stock to the dish until the legs are slightly covered with liquid put back in the oven for another hour;
6. When the 2^nd hour is up drain the liquid of the chicken legs into a sauce pot. You should have about 500 ml of milky brown liquid that needs to be reduced by half (obviously if there is a lot less liquid less reduction is needed). When done reducing the sauce add the tarragon and let simmer for about 10 min;
7. Remove the meat and skin from the chicken legs and chop finely;
8. Put the chicken breasts in a medium oven dish, cover with softened butter and season to taste. Squeeze the juice from one lemon over the chicken and cover the base of the dish with the stock. There should be about a cm thick layer of liquid on the bottom of the dish. Cover with foil so that there is a good 5 cm cover between the chicken breast and the foil. Put into the oven with the chicken legs for the last 45 min of cooking;
9. When done slice the meat of the breast so that you get four slices per breast;
10. On a very hot, preferably non stick, pan (ideally smoking hot) sear the slices of foie gras for about 30 - 40 seconds per side. NOTE cold foie gras and very hot pan are key here;
11. To assemble but the leg meat into a circular form and press down on it to form small cake and wet generously with very hot sauce. Top with a slice of breast meat and a slice of foie gras. Serve with two turnip halves on the side.
    
    Skip the FG and serve with fondant potatoes and this dish is still fab.

Pork Cheeks braised in Absinthe

New favourite. Still learning how to make this properly.

Ingredients:

1. 4 trimmed pig’s cheeks;
2. 50 ml Absinthe;
3. 30 ml Good quality white wine vinegar;
4. 5 tbsp olive oil;
5. 1 leek, finely sliced;
6. 2 carrots cubed;
7. 2-3 sticks celery, chopped;
8. 1 onion, chopped;
9. 2 cloves garlic, chopped;
10. 1 bay leaf;
11. 2 sprigs thyme;
12. 1 tbsp tomato purée;
13. 2 tbsp honey
14. 750ml chicken stock
15. 125ml white wine;
16. Freshly ground salt and pepper

Preparation:

• Marinate the meat in 2 tbsp olive oil, the Absinthe, vinegar and salt and pepper for at least 4 hours before cooking. The Absinthe gives a very distinct taste that may not be to everyone’s liking and could be replaced with e.g. vermouth or some other liquor;
• Preheat the oven to 170C;
• Heat the oil in a casserole with a tight-fitting lid. Add the leek, celery, carrot, onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes, then add the bay leaf, thyme, and tomato purée. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the honey and cook for a further 5 minutes to caramelise;
• Add pig’s cheeks, stir well and cook for 3-4 minutes to coat and colour. Add the stock and wine. Bring to the boil, season, then cover and transfer to the preheated oven. Cook for 2 ½ - 3 hours;Remove from the oven, lift the cheeks from the stock and reserve. Strain the stock and place in a medium-sized saucepan. Bring to the boil and allow the mixture to reduce in volume by half;
• For an extra savoury sauce wiz the strained vegetables (less herbs) in a food processor until smooth and add back to sauce until desired consistency is achieved;

Serve with creamy mash or parsnip puree and your selection of vegetables. Last weekend this was the filling for the best pasta parcels I’ve ever had.

Skate Knobs with Crab Potatoes & Beurre Blance

I got the recipe for the crab potatoes from Santino Busciglio the chef at Mennula in Charlotte Street. The restaurant btw is highly recommended. They serve very simple but delicious Sicilian food that hits all the buttons as far as I am concerned.

Ingredients (for a starter for 4 triple everything for a main):

1. 300 gr mealy potatoes e.g. King Edwards;
2. Fresh preferably white crab meat;
3. 2 spring onions;
4. 3 tbsp best quality EVOO;
5. 1 tbsp white wine balsamic;
6. S&P to taste;
7. 1 large skate knob per person;
8. Beurre Blanc.

Instructions:

• Bake the potatoes in their skins on a bed of coarse sea salt at about 160 to 180 depending on their size;
• When potatoes are cooked through slice the potato in half and scoop out the flesh into a bowl;
• Crush the potatoes with a fork (crush don’t mash you want the texture of potato) and the olive oil, sweet white balsamic vinegar, chopped spring onions, season with salt and finally the fresh crab meat. Do not over mix as it will turn in to crab glue.
• Fry skate knobs in oil on a hot pan for about 1 min per side;
• Form crab potatoes into a circular pile by pressing them through cake cutters, add skate knob on top, add about a table spoon of the beurre blance. Serve immediately.

Fondant potatoes

Gordon’s own recipe more or less. I have been cooking those a lot lately after having forgotten about fondant potatoes for a long time.

Ingredients:

1. 2kg potatoes;
2. 50g butter;
3. 400ml chicken or vegetable stock;
4. 1 sprig fresh thyme;
5. 2 peeled cloves garlic;
6. Freshly ground pepper and salt

Preparation:

• Peel and cut the potatoes into even-sized barrel shapes, approximately 4cm in length, 2.5cm in width. It is important that the potatoes be of a similar size so that they cook evenly. I usually just them to size and to a more of a square form than barrel;
• In a large sauté pan, melt the butter over a low heat, add the potatoes, thyme and garlic and cook slowly, shaking the pan and stirring regularly until potatoes are golden brown all over. This will take 15-20 minutes;
• Add 200ml of the stock and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add the remaining stock and cook for 35-40 minutes until the stock has reduced and potatoes are tender. Season and serve immediately.

Mark & Gaia's Farewell Dinner

Il Duomo

Il Duomo

Ragusa Ibla

Sicily

02-09-09

Sicily’s only two Michelin star restaurant, probably only worth one star but probably got the second on the basis of it being very innovative. Baroque building, rather austere interior and rather stiff service that was trying too had to live up to the two star billing. I suspect they are trying very hard to distinguish themselves from the rather informal/casual air of Ragusa in general.

We had a 15 course tasting menu. This is not quite as large as it sounds as 9 of the dishes where very small antipasto style dishes some of which where only one bite. Nonetheless that means we had 9 small and 6 normal sized dishes. This completely overpowered my appetite!

Much of the food was not terribly memorable such as the local langouste served raw with honey as a one bite dish. Pleasant, fresh but not memorable. Similarly, a dish of raw sea urchin and ricotta sounded exiting but did not live up to its billing.

Highlights:

1. Melon sorbet w/basil soup. An absolutely stunning combination. I’m not sure how you make basil soup it may just be masticated basil with water and some syrup but add in very cold cantaloupe melon sorbet and you have a killer combination;
2. Sword Fish w/fresh green chilli. Literally just a 5 ml thick slice of lightly seared swordfish fillet with a tiny piece of chilli. Turns out that’s all you need for a wonderful mouthful;
3. Sauce from leaves of zucchini: we had a rather uninspiring tuna steak that was served in a sauce made from the leaves of the zucchini plant which I was not aware where used for cooking. Turns out they have a wonderful fresh yet tangy taste and as a sauce completely saved the dish;
4. Pasta al limone w/squeeze of scrimp head: If I understood the Matre D correctly this is nothing but classic pasta al limone (lemon juice, lemon zest, Parmigianino and olive oil) with the juice made by crushing scrimp heads, pored over at the last moment. We also had a few lightly steamed scrimp in the pasta but they where not important. The important thing was the strangely attractive combination of the limone sauce and the scrimp head juice. Very difficult to describe but somehow the fishyness of the scrimp head and the light clear and tart taste of the sauce just work perfectly.

Seared Sesame Salmon!

A simple everyday salmon recipe:

Ingredients:

1. A skinned salmon filet;
2. Tablespoon of sesame seeds (toasted if you like);
3. Pinch of sweet soft cayenne or other such pepper;
4. Pinch of salt and a couple of twists of the pepper mill;
5. 1 tbsp Toasted Sesame oil;
6. 1 tbsp EVOO;
7. 1 tsp mild soy sauce;

Preparation:

1. Mix the seeds and spices together in deep plate;
2. Whisk the liquids together and completely cover the salmon fillet;
3. Coat the salmon fillet with the seeds mixture;
4. Heat a non stick pan over high heat;
5. Fry the salmon on both sides for no more than 30 sec per side, less if the fillet is thin;
6. Set the salmon aside to cool before cutting it into ½ cm thick strips;

I serve the salmon on top of a peppery salad leeve, avocado and potato salad tossed in a simple Dijon mustard, lemon juice and EVOO dressing. Eggs and beans are great additions as are croutons.

The Square

The Square

2^nd Anniversary Dinner July 26, 2009

Thinly Sliced Avocado with a Sweet Pepper Vinaigrette, Gazpacho Jelly Shot and Sour Cream Ice Cream

****

Saute of Langoustine Tails with Parmesan Gnocchi and an Emulsion of Potato and Truffle

****

Roast Foie Gras with a Sweet and Sour Citrus Glaze, Slow Cooked Cherries and Honeycomb

****

Loin of Monkfish with a Puree of Peas, Lardo di Collonata and Glazed Lettuce

****

Herb Crusted Saddle of West Country Lamb with Shallot Puree, Garlic, Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil

****

A Tasting of Barkham Blue Cheese

****

Brillat-Savarin and Red Currant Cheesecake with Black Currant Sorbet and White Currant Puree

****

Peach Melba Souffle

Josmayer: Hengst, Riesling Alsace Grand Cru 2000

Sylvain Cathiard: Nuit-St-Georges – 1^er Cru “Aux Murges” 2002

What can I say. I needed a fantastic dinner to celebrate and The Square delivered a perfect evening. The food and service completely lived up to the two star billing.

Braised Fennel

This is an all time favourite originally picked up from a River Café cookbook. Like so many of the recipes I have prepared repeatedly my version is not necessarily recognisable as the RC recipe I started with. I also think that at some point I picked up a recipe from the guy who owns the French Laundry in California that somehow got worked into my own version.

Ingredients (for 4):

1. 4 medium size fennels cut into quarters. Clean up the end but keep the tough core as it will keep the fennel from falling apart during the cooking. Reserve the fronds and tops and chop finely;
2. 50 gr butter;
3. 1 glass or about 125 ml white wine;
4. 150 ml good quality chicken stock;
5. 2 tbsp EVOO;
6. 1 tbsp sweet vinegar such as cider or white balsamic;
7. 1 lemon;
8. Salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation:

• Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed pan under medium heat. Add fennel and caramelize the flat sides turn over and caramelize the rounded bit a little;
• Return the fennel onto the flat side and poor over the white wine. Let simmer until most of the wine has evaporated;
• Add the chicken stock and let simmer covered over low heat until the fennel is soft through or about 30 min (the chicken stock should come up to half the sides of the fennel);
• Remove fennel from the pan and set aside. Stir the vinegar into the remaining sauce and slowly add the EVOO while stirring constantly. You are hoping to emulsify the sauce;
• You can either pour the desired amount of sauce over the fennel or toss the fennel in the sauce. I prefer the former;
• Garnish with the chopped fronds and tops and squeeze some fresh lemon juice over just before serving.

Optional:

1. Before adding the wine, flambé 1 shot of brandy or pastis (not sure this does much for the dish but it is good theatre);
2. 1 large Onion chopped roughly added at the same time as the fennel;
3. Rosemary & Garlic added just before the wine (this was in the original River Café recipe);
4. Replace half the chicken stock with orange juice and use the rind of one orange mixed in with the fronds (in this case skip the lemon juice at the end).