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SATURDAY, APRIL 1, 2017
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SATURDAY, APRIL 1, 2017  south wales echo
FOOD & DRINK
A Master stroke
& breader butt
INGREDIENTS Cornbread: 100ml whole milk 240ml buttermilk CORNBREAD WITH GOAT’S 3 eggs CHEESE AND HONEY 165g sweetcorn kernels (defrosted or BUTTER (Serves four) from a cob) 100g plain flour 180g fine polenta 30g soft brown sugar butter in a pan and add 1tsp fine salt to the dry ingredients, 1tbsp baking powder along with the egg 80g butter mixture, spring onions 3 spring onions, halved and and remaining finely sliced sweetcorn. Mix briefly For the goat’s cheese: to bring it together. 250g soft goat’s cheese 3. Pour the mixture 75ml whole milk into the prepared tin 25ml olive oil and bake for 45 Salt and pepper minutes, or until an For the chipotle honey inserted skewer comes butter: out clean. Allow to cool 125g butter in the tin for 30 minutes 35g chipotle in adobo, then place on wire rack. chopped (souschef.co.uk, 4. Blitz the goat’s Amazon and Waitrose) cheese, milk and olive 50g honey oil with a blender, Squeeze of lime juice seasoning with salt and Salt pepper. It should be To serve: light and fluffy. Butter, to fry, 4 eggs, large 5. Then melt the butter handful of rocket dressed in a pan, add the with oil and lime juice chipotle and honey and whisk together. Season METHOD with lime juice and salt. 1. Preheat the oven to 6. Cut the bread into 180C/Gas mark 4 and slices and fry in a little butter a 900g loaf tin. butter to warm. Fry the 2. Blend together the eggs until crisp. milk, buttermilk, eggs 7. Serve the bread with and 100g of sweetcorn. one to two heaped Put the flour, polenta, tablespoons of the sugar, salt and baking goats’ cheese, a handful powder into a large of dressed rocket, a bowl and whisk well to fried egg and drizzle of combine. Melt the the honey butter.
The best way to discover which wines you might enjoy is by going to a wine tasting. Sometimes it’s a challenge to understand wine labels let alone the wines – but dipping in and out of wines at a tasting is a really good way to feel your way through. I’ve just been to a Burgundy tasting hosted by The Wine Society and several winemakers and growers were there, sharing their knowledge. Here’s three whites I enjoyed: Samuel Billaud Chablis Les Grands Terroirs (£15.50, 12.5% abv). This was the Number One wine in the tasting booklet but it was at the back of the room. I headed through the glassclasping throng of people, casting needy eyes sideways as I passed other wines on the way. Samuel Billaud was pouring his wines and
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ou will find a brachiosaurus moseying through an asparagus forest, a tiger surveying a field of Szechuan peppers, and a duck bobbing about with a load of cherry tomatoes in Thomasina Miers’ new recipe collection, Home Cook. And they all look so happy. “You can tell I was pregnant when I was making it, can’t you?!� the Cheltenham-born chef and restaurateur yelps with a laugh. “Oh my God, we had so much fun! The designer to begin with was like, ‘What are you doing with all the toys? Get them out!�’ Fortunately the designer caved in, and plastic toys dotting the pages included, Thomasina’s fifth book is all clean lines and straightforward recipes. It pops with colour and is bolstered by Mexican influences – this is, after all, the woman who co-founded popular restaurant chain, Wahaca, which is now in its 10th year of taco slinging. At its core though, Home Cook is a reflection of “how we eat at home�, says Thomasina, 41, and how having three small children and a restaurant empire affects that. “The food I cook now is very different to the food I cooked 20 years ago, when I had all the time in the world,� she explains. “I’m a working mother, who comes home late sometimes and just has to get food out on the table, but equally, I want to feed my family good food.� The collection of 300-odd recipes, she says, is also a “guilt-free joyous approach to food�, in reaction to “all this neurosis about eating and what not to eat� that currently abounds. “Healthy eating has become such a loaded, almost toxic
RAISE A GLASS WITH JANE CLARE he’d already gathered a little crowd debating which they preferred. This chablis was an early favourite of mine; it is an unoaked chardonnay with the grapes sourced from three vineyards; with typical crisp apple aromas but with a nod to something a bit softer; to taste, it was upright and steely with a good acidic backbone. Domaine Pataille, Marsannay Blanc 2014 (£19.50, 13% abv). Mmmm. Toast; and I sensed grilled pineapple aromas too. I’m not sure anyone else did but that’s
Thomasina Miers is back from maternity leave with a third baby and a new book. The former MasterChef champ and Mexican food pioneer talks home-cooking and so-called ‘healthy eating’ with E lla Walker
Thomasina Miers and her new book, left subject,� says Thomasina. “I grew up as a teenager full of hang-ups about food and always dieting, and it’s such a bad way to live your life. Over the years, I’ve developed – I never say no to anything. “The moment I say to myself, ‘I won’t do that’, that’s the first thing I want to do.� You have to work out what
why wine is so interesting. The aromas also included pears and a nutty creaminess; to taste, this chardonnay from the Côte d’Or shone with more pears, apples and a thrill of elegance. Winemaker Sylvain Pataille also served a Marsannay rosÊ fleur de pinot, a pinot noir rosÊ matured for a year in oak. Delicious. Husband and wife Sylvie and FrÊdÊric Burrier were positioned on the last table but their wines weren’t last in my pecking order. They poured some delightful whites; I adored the pears and spice of Chateau de Beauregard Saint-Veran En Faux (£13.95, 13% abv) , but as I write, it is sold out on the society’s website but I’ll be seeking out the next vintage. Equally moreish was
works for you, rather than letting trends and aspirational Instagram posts dictate your diet, she explains. “Everybody’s bodies are different; we all react to different ingredients in different ways, so it’s nonsense to say one diet can be suitable for thousands of people, it doesn’t work that way. It’s about adapting your own
oseph Burrier, VirÊ-clessÊ J Quintaine 2014 (£13.95, 13% abv) , left, which was citrusy, creamy and with lots of freshness. Find all the wines at winesociety.com ■■Aldi is also doing its bit to remove mystique around French wines. It’s launching two wines which focus on a couple of regions which otherwise might slip under an Aldi shopper’s radar – The Forgotten One Haut Poitou 2016 (£6.99, 12% abv) is a sauvignon blanc and The Forgotten One Cahors (£6.99, 12.5% abv) which is a malbec – you may think malbec is from Argentina but France is its birthplace.
likes and dislikes and eating the way that’s right for you, and having fun with it. “Basically, if you’re cooking a bit from scratch at home, which you can do affordably and easily, then you’re going to be eating healthily, and if you eat a few doughnuts along the way, it doesn’t really matter.� Thomasina won MasterChef in 2005 and still appears on the series as a guest judge, which she says is “much more relaxing – although it brings all the memories back. It’s amazing how food’s moved on, so occasionally I just want to be doing it again, knowing what I know now.� Her advice for the latest crop of amateur chefs entering the MasterChef kitchen is: “Cook from your heart. The second you try and get too clever with cooking, you’re found out pretty quickly. Food is a very sincere occupation, and a lack of sincerity shines out. You’ve got to cook from your heart and soul – which is what makes MasterChef so compelling, actually, seeing people putting themselves on the line.� Had she not wowed MasterChef hosts John Torode and Gregg Wallace, Thomasina is convinced she’d still be “in a similar place� to where she is now. “I don’t think MasterChef waves a magic wand over your career,� she muses. “It definitely gave me the confidence to get into a kitchen and start cooking, but, like any reality show, it doesn’t make your life, you have to make your life yourself.� Inspired by – and just as busy as – Thomasina Miers? Try one of these recipes from Home Cook tonight...
INGREDIENTS For the fish: 1 whole sea bass A few lime leaves (optional) A few slices of lime (optional) 100ml water, fish or veg stock Lime wedges, to serve Coconut rice, to serve Steamed pak choi, to serve 1tbsp sesame oil, toasted For the Thai paste: 2 star anise Half a cinnamon stick 1tbsp black peppercorn Thumb-sized piece of fresh galangal, peeled and sliced (available from Sainsbury’s) Thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced 4 garlic cloves, bashed to remove the skin 3 banana shallots, chopped 3 lemon grass sticks, chopped, outer layer set aside 6-8 bird’s eye chillies 2tbsp fish sauce Juice of 2-3 limes 2tbsp demerara sugar Large bunch of coriander, leaves and stalks chopped separately 1 x 400ml can of coconut milk Salt METHOD 1. First make the Thai paste:
a fishy feast
THAI GREEN SEA BASS WITH GALANGAL, LEMON GRASS AND COCONUT (Serves six)
Grind the spices and put in a food processor with the galangal, ginger, garlic, shallots, lemon grass (reserving the outer layers), fish sauce, lime juice and sugar. Blitz to a rough paste. 2. Add the chopped coriander stalks and coconut milk to the paste with half a teaspoon of salt and blitz again until combined. Taste the paste and add more chillies (when the paste is baked, the chilli heat will reduce dramatically). 3. Preheat the oven to 200C/ Gas mark 6. Lay out the bass in a deep roasting tin, large enough to fit it comfortably.
METHOD 1. Preheat the oven to 190C/ Gas Mark 5 and butter and line the base of two 20cm non-stick cake tins. 2. Melt the butter in a medium pan over a low heat; once melted, stir in the chocolate, being careful not to burn it. When the mixture
a piecee of cak
UNBELIEVABLY DARK AND DELICIOUS CHOCOLATE CAKE (Makes one large cake)
becomes smooth velvet, add the sugar, cinnamon and salt. Stir until the sugar has dissolved, then slowly sift in the flour, stirring to combine. Beat the eggs into the chocolate mixture a little at a time until fully incorporated. 3. Pour into the prepared tins and bake for 30-40 minutes until the outside is dark and delicious looking and a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tins for 15 minutes before removing to a cooling rack. 4. Meanwhile chop up the
Mars Bars and melt with the milk, syrup, dark chocolate and 50ml of the double cream. Whip the rest of the cream until it just holds its shape. 5. Sandwich the cooked cakes together with the whipped cream and pour over the Mars Bar sauce. Scatter the various chocolates and the glitter on top. Serve.
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â– â– Home Cook by Thomasina Miers, photography by Tara Fisher, Faber and Faber, ÂŁ25.
Aldi is also adding a Pardon My French range, all at ÂŁ4.99, designed to make French wine more accessible together with fun labels to catch the eye. Pardon My French Cotes de Gascogne 2016 (11.5% abv) is a citrusbright white blend; Pardon My French Ventoux (13.5% abv) is ruby red and very fruity; Pardon My French Minervois (13% abv) is full of red fruits; and Pardon My French Fitou (13% abv), left, says woody hedgerow fruit. Aldi is also launching a new “greenâ€? collection which includes a tropically-tasty organic Prosecco for ÂŁ7.99. â– â– All of these wines will be in store from April 4. â– â– Email jane@onefootinthe grapes.co.uk
Make a few slashes in both sides of the body and cover with enough paste inside and out so it is well coated. Stuff the inside cavity with the lime leaves, lemon grass outer layers and slices of lime if using. Mix the rest of the paste with the water or stock and pour into the tin. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a thin metal skewer can slide easily all the way into the thickest part of the fish. 4. Scatter with chopped coriander leaves and serve with lime wedges, coconut rice and some steamed pak choi laced with one tablespoon of toasted sesame oil.
INGREDIENTS For the cake: 380g butter, plus extra for the tins 380g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), chopped 380g caster sugar 2 small pinches ground cinnamon Several large pinches of salt 200g plain flour 6 eggs, beaten For the topping: 4 Mars bars 100ml whole milk 3 tbsp golden syrup 90g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), chopped 500ml double cream 3 Flakes, chopped into 2cm lengths 2 packets of Rolos 1 large packet of Peanut M&Ms (optional) Edible glitter
The Royal Collection Š 2010 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
Buckingham Palace Ăž(BSEFOT
Strawberry Fields, Penny -BOF UIF $BWFSOĂž$MVC
Take a guided tour of one of the world’s most enchanting - but least-seen gardens. On this great-value coach trip you’ll also visit the Palace itself to see UIF NBHOJm DFOU 4UBUF 3PPNT BOE UIF 3PZBM (JGUT FYIJCJUJPO B DPMMFDUJPO PG HJGUT presented to HM the Queen by world leaders over the past 65 years.
Enjoy a nostalgia-packed Beatles Coach Tour of the places where the history of popular music was changed forever, see inside the Cavern Club and journey on the legendary “Ferry ‘cross the Mersey�.
& the ‘Royal Gifts’ Exhibition 2 days from ÂŁ145.00, 12 August, 1 & 18 September 2017
Highlights & inclusions t Admission to Buckingham Palace, A3PZBM (JGUT &YIJCJUJPO BOE B HVJEFE #VDLJOHIBN 1BMBDF (BSEFOĂž5PVS t ‘Royal London’ sightseeing tour t Visit to Royal Windsor t One night’s bed and full buffet
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Call 0330 160 7728
breakfast in a three-star hotel in the Heathrow/Slough area $PBDI USBWFM GSPN UIF MPDBMĂžBSFB &TDPSUFE CZ B GSJFOEMZ UPVSĂžNBOBHFS
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WME
Convenient local coach pick-up points!
Take a trip back to the heady days of the Fab Four 3 days from ÂŁ185.00, 19 May & 1 September 2017
Highlights & inclusions t A ‘Beatles Coach Tour ’ and entrance to the Cavern Club t Leisure time in Liverpool t A journey on the “Ferry ‘cross UIFĂž.FSTFZw t Two nights’ dinner, bed and English
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Visit newmarketholidays.co.uk/wme
breakfast accommodation at a three-star standard hotel in the North West area Coach travel from the local area Escorted by a friendly tour manager
These holidays are organised & operated by Newmarket Promotions Ltd. ABTA V787X. Subject to availability. Single supplements apply. Standard phone charges.