Baked Vacherin de Mont d'Or

In bed with a cold I finally find the time to update the blog with the food we cooked and ate in the past weeks. On the way home through France we picked up a Vacherin de Mont d'Or, a softish cheese from the Jura mountains, together with the suggestion to bake it.

• 1 Vacherin de Mont d'Or
• 1/2 glass dry white wine
• 1 or 2 garlic cloves (optional)
• boiled jacket potatoes

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Boil the potatoes. Remove all foil and the wooden lid from the cheese. Wrap a sleeve of alluminium foil around it or insert the cheese into a snug-fitting oven dish. If no foil is at hand and the dish is to wide, one could even consider pooring hot water around it, thus creating some sort of wooden bain-marie.

Next cut some slits in the upper crust of the cheese and insert the garlic cloves (if desired). Poor the wine over the top of the cheese.

Bake for 25-30 minutes in the oven. Ladle over hot jacket potatoes, or eat by dipping bread or crudité-sticks (carrot, celery, spring onion) into the gooey hot cheese.

Meanwhile, we love the book-cover design of Chip Kidd.

Fat Duck

Yesterday we finally had dinner at the Fat Duck in Bray. This was the tasting menu:

It started with 4 amuses:

NITRO-GREEN TEA AND LIME MOUSSE Almost more of a circus act than a dish... Our (charming, French) waitress prepared for each of us in turn a puff of lime/green tea mouse, a bit like a meringue, which she quickly 'deep fried', actually deep-froze, in a bath of liquid nitrogen. The result, hard on the outside, soft inside) had to be consumed (i.e. popped into the mouth) within seconds of preparation and you better had a spacious mouth cavity (fortunately I have) or half would fall out and drip down your chin. Anyhow, this causes some sort of explosion inside the mouth, with 'smoke' coming out of your nostrils (no, not ears). The startled facial expression of the person eating it is at least half the fun. Actually they should provide mirrors, so you could see your own face! OYSTER, PASSION FRUIT JELLY, HORSERADISH CREAM, LAVENDER POMMERY GRAIN MUSTARD ICE CREAM, RED CABBAGE GAZPACHO JELLY OF QUAIL, LANGOUSTINE CREAM, PARFAIT OF FOIE GRAS

SNAIL PORRIDGE Joselito Ham, shaved fennel

ROAST FOIE GRAS Almond fluid gel, cherry and chamomile

SARDINE ON TOAST SORBET Ballotine of mackerel ‘invertebrate’, marinated daikon

SALMON POACHED WITH LIQUORICE Asparagus, pink grapefruit, "Manni" olive oil

POACHED BREAST OF ANJOU PIGEON PANCETTA Pastilla of its leg, pistachio, cocoa and quatre épices

MRS MARSHALL’S MARGARET CORNET PINE SHERBET FOUNTAIN

MANGO AND D0UGLAS FIR PUREE Bavarois of lychee and mango, blackcurrant sorbet

CARROT AND ORANGE TUILE BEETROOT JELLY

SMOKED BACON AND EGG ICE CREAM Pain perdu, tea jelly

HOT AND COLD TEA VIOLET TARTLET

Sesame roasted salmon with red pepper honey

Today we did some recipes of Swedish chef Jonas Dahlbom.

First make the red pepper honey:

• 2 sweet red (bell) peppers, chopped
  
• 3 tbsp honey
• 1 fresh chilli, whole or seeded
  
• 1 onion, chopped
• white wine vinegar
• salt
  

Put all ingredients except the vinegar in a pan and let simmer for at least an hour or as long as it takes for everything to be thoroughly cooked. Then remove the chilli if you don't like to much spicyness. Then mix in a blender or with a hand-held mixer and sieve if necessary. Season to taste with the vinegar and the salt. Keep warm.

Now the salmon:

• 100-125 g salmon fillet per person
• olive oil
• 3 dl dark beef stock
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• black and white sesame seeds (or Furikake, see picture)

Boil dowen the stock, honey, sesame oil and vinegar to a syrupy consistency. Heat a pan or griddle with some olive oil. Sear the salmon on both sides, brush with the syrupy sauce and roll through the sesame seeds (or furikake). Serve immediately with teh pepper honey on the side. We had this with noodles, mushroom ceviche (recipe tomorrow) and braised small leeks.

Meanwhile, for skating we go to Serpentine Road.

Socca

Cheap streetfood from the Provence. We used Indian chickpea flour ("Gram"), which is widely available in stores.

• 250 g chickpea flour
• 5 dl water
• 3 tbsp olive oil + 1 tbsp for the baking tray
• 1 tsp salt
• rosemary or other herbs (optional).
  

Mix the flour and the water to a smooth batter. Let stand for a couple of hours and remove the foam which may have appeared.

Heat the oven - with an oven tray or wide, shallow pan in it - to a very high temperature (240-250 degrees).

Mix the olive oil and the salt through the batter and add the herbs. Remove the hot oven tray from the oven. Grease it with the remaining olive oil and pour in the batter to a 3 mm depth. Put the whole thing back in the very hot oven and bake until the top starts to brown. Remove the 'socca', cut into pieces and serve immediately, just plain or with accompaniments of your choosing. We had caramelized onions, sun-dried tomatoes, marinated artichokes, pickled cheese, some dry sausage and a lush salad wit our 'socca'.

Meanwhile, we inaugurated our new candleholder "Tenochtitlan" from Driade.

Pasta with oysters, pancetta and leeks

A recipe from the Pacific Heights Bar and Grill, a now defunct restaurant in San Francisco. We made this on the perfect frozen oysters which were delivered to our door by the Fish Society. You can of course use fresh oysters, but personally I would consider it a wate eating the any other way than raw. Readers in the US c an consider using fresh ready-shucked oysters, as available in some West- and East coast supermarkets.

I also head some seaweed tagliatelle (see picture), which went very nice with the sea-breezy taste of the sauce.

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 150 g pancetta, diced
• 2 leeks, thinly sliced
• 1 clove garlic, pressed
• 1 tsp fresh thyme
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp grated lemon zest
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 12 - 18 oysters (liquor reserved)
  
• 200 ml thick cream
• salt and pepper to taste
• chopped parsley
• 250 g pasta (fettucine, tagliattelle, etc.)

Heat the oil in a saucepan. Sauté the pancetta until slightly crisp, add the leeks and sauté for a couple more minutes, until slightly wilted. Add garlic, lemon juice and zest, thyme and white wine and simmer until most of the wine has evaporated. Add oyster liquor and cream and reduce further until nice and saucy. MEANWHILE BOIL THE PASTA IN PLENTY WATER! Add the oysters to the sauce and let them slowly cook for some minutes (not boil!). Season to taste and decorate with chopped parsley.

Serve the oysters sauce over the pasta on heated plates.

Meanwhile, if there are no oysters in the house, cheer up with the Perry Bible Fellowship.

Crêpes Suzette

When I was a child crêpes suzette was one of the first fancy puddings (i.e. desserts) I had. I think it was Omi, my maternal grandmother who had been living in France, who made them. Anyhow, Yesterday Signe and I purloined the following recipe from Delia Smith.

First prepare the crêpes (this can be done in advance).

Batter:

• grated zest of one orange
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 110g plain flour, sifted
• pinch of salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 dl milk
• 75 ml water
• 50g butter

Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre of the flour and break the eggs into it. Whisk the eggs gradually incorporating the flour as you do so.

Next slowly add the milk and water mixture, continue whisking until you have a nice smooth batter, with the consistency of thin cream.

Now melt the butter in a pan. Spoon 2 tbsp of it into the batter and whisk it in. Save the rest to grease the pan between pancakes.

Get the pan properly hot, then turn the heat down to medium and do a test pancake to see how much batter you need. 25 ml should be about right for an 18cm pan as these crêpes need to be quite thin. Go find a ladle of roughly that size, you should be able to pour the batter into the hot pan in one go. As soon as the batter hits the pan, tip it around with your other hand to get it evenly coated with batter. It should take just half a minute or so to cook until golden on one side. Flip it over - the other side will need a few seconds only - then simply slide it out of the pan onto a plate. If the pancakes look a little bit ragged in the pan, no matter because they are going to be folded anyway. You should end up with 16 crêpes. Stack the pancakes as you make them. All this can be done up to a day ahead.

Now prepare the sauce.

• 150ml freshly squeezed orange juice
  
• grated zest of 1 orange
• juice of 1 lemon
• grated rind of 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 3 tbsp Grand Marnier + a little extra for flambing
  
• 50g/2oz unsalted butter
  

For the sauce, mix all the ingredients - with the exception of the butter - in a bowl. At the same time warm the plates on which the crêpes are going to be served. Now melt the butter in the widest frying pan you can find, pour in the sauce and allow it to heat very gently. Then place the first crêpe in the sauce in the pan, let it heat through before folding it in half and then in half again to make a triangle. Slide it to the edge of the pan, tilt the pan slightly so the sauce runs back into the centre, then add the next crêpe. Continue like this until they're all re-heated, folded and well soaked with the sauce.

Flame and serve. Heat a ladle filled with Grand Marnier over a gas flame, then set light to it. Carry the flaming ladle to the table over the pan and pour the flames over the crêpes before serving them on warmed plates.

Canapés

Today we had a party. We made the following canapés:

- bread rounds with gravad lax and dill/mustard sauce
- 'snack cups' with red cabbage and smoked venison
- organic Swedish meatballs with Scanian mustard
- toast with reindeer paté and cranberry sauce
- mini-chorizos cooked in wine
- spoons with lentils and tuna salad
- raw vegetables with sun-dried tomato dip and blue-cheese dip

Some of the recipes have already been published in this blog. Others will follow in due course.

Farro and bean minestrone

Today we made this hearty Italian winter dish from The Silver Spoon, which Sara gave me under the Christmas tree.

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped,
• 1 stick celery, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
  
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 litre stock (vegetable, chicken, veal)
  
• 3 tomatoes (tinned)
• 5 sage leaves
• 150 g dried white beans (haricots or cannelini) soaked overnight, drained
  
• 200 farro (perlato) soaked overnight, drained
• Italian sausages (optional)
  

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pan. Fry the onion, celery, carrot and garlic until soft. Add the white wine and simmer until almost evaporated. Add the stock, the tomatoes, the beans and teh sage leaves and simmer until the beans are done (appr. 1 hour, depending on how old your beans are). Transfer to a blender and bledn until smooth (this can also be done in the pan with a hand held blender. Add the soaked 'farro' and simmer for another 2o minutes. I added some nice "Napoli Italian Pork Sausages", which I first gently fired and then let simmer with the soup for the last ten minutes or so.

Just before serving taste the soup and add salt, pepper or other condiments to perfect the seasoning.

Meanwhile we can look for salvaged goods at Lassco.

Spiced Red Cabbage

• 1 red cabbage, finely sliced
• 1 onion, finely sliced
• 1 clove garlic, pressed
• 1 or 2 apples, grated
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 12 juniper berries, ground
• 4-5 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 5 tbsp wine vinegar

Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed casserole. Add the onions, garlic, apple and spices. Fry gently until soft. Add all the other ingredients (the liquids and the cabbage). Simmer for at least 45 minutes or until the cabbage has acquired your desired consistency and the flavours have integrated. Serve as a side dish with game, beef or wintry dishes.

Thai Falafel

You could call this 'vegetarian fishcakes', but I think Thai Falafel is more appropriate.

• 400 g dried butter beans (or tinned butter beans)
  
• 1 onion, very finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 tbsp (red) thai chili paste
• 1 tsp lime zest
• 1 spring onion or a bunch of chives, finely chopped
  
• handful of coriander, chopped
• lime juice aand fish sauce to taste
• flour
  
• thai chilli sauce
• fresh salad leaves (iceberg or romaine)
  

Soak the beans overnight and remove the skins. Boil the beans until soft (appr. 45 minutes, depending on the age of your beans). Omit this step when using tinned beans. Drain the beans and mash with a fork or an appropriate electric tool.

Heat the oil in a frying pan, fry the onion for 5 minutes, add the crushed garlic, fry for 2 more minutes, add the chilli paste and fry for another minute. Add this mixture to the bean mash, blend and add the lime zest and the fresh herbs. Let cool season to taste with lime juice and fish sauce. All this can be done one or two days ahead.

Form the mush into falafels, fischcakes or any other shape you fancy, roll in flour and shallow-fry in hot oil. Serve with salad leaves and thai chilli sauce.

Meanwhile we have seen two films, The Merchant of Venice (with Al Pacino as Shylock) and Man on the Moon (Jim Carrey as Andy Kaufman), and we saw the Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, Sickert exhibition at Tate Britain.

Squid with eggplant

Originally a recipe from Alistair Hendy, but as it didn't work well for me, I adapted it somewhat.

• 500g prepared squid, bodies cut in rings
  
• juice and grated zest of 1 lime
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp fish sauce (nuoc mam, nam pla)
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
  
• 1 tsp chilli flakes or sambal oelek
• cornflour
• 12 small asian eggplants, halved or quartered
  
• piece of fresh ginger, sliced
• oil for frying
• sweet soy sauce (Kecap manis)
• salad leaves
• crushed peanuts, toasted in a dry pan
  

Prepare a marinade of the lime, zest, sugar, garlic, fish sauce and chilli flakes. Marinate the squid for 1/2 hour. Remove and dry the squid. Put the eggplant and ginger in the same marinade for 15 minutes.

Heat a tbsp of oil in a wok and stir-fry eggplant and ginger until almost done. Add the soy sauce about half way. Remove and keep warm.

Dust the squid with cornflour. Clean the wok, or take another one. Add a shallow pool of oil and deep-fry the squid in small batches, just 30-40 seconds per batch will turn them nice and golden. Drain on kitchen paper.

To serve, divide the eggplants among the paltes, top with the crispy squid and sprinkle some crushed some crushed peanuts over it. Serve some salad leaves on the side.

Meanwhile I have been looking at the designs of Bathsheba Grossmann, have a look!