m a n iga nc e s
N°86
december 2014
EDITORIAL FLORAL FANCY
01
A PASSION FOR THE ROSE
02-03
HEALING WITH PLANTS
06-07
RECIPIES 4 & 5 • SUPREME POULTRY APPLE , VERBENA & CELERY • FAVA BEAN SOUP • ARTICHOKE TARTLETS GARDEN CAKE • TOMATO TART • CHEESY CHIVE BLOSSOM OMELET BUSSET’S HERBARIUM 4 • ANGELICA • ORPIN • DAUCUS CAROTA • ROBERT GER ANIUM
A WORD FROM THE EDITOR • If you are not capable of a bit of witchcraft, don’t trouble yourself with cooking. There is a ferry that sails south from the town of Royan, on the Atlantic Ocean, to Le Verdon at the northern tip of the Médoc peninsula. It is not a particularly charming ride nor one I had ever planned on taking. Yet one day in late autumn some years ago, I found myself on that ferry with my husband, three kids, five dogs, and a baby on the way. We had given up our apartment in the lovely xviith arrondissement of Paris, found a house in Médoc, and, voilà, there we were. How did an only child from bustling Hong Kong, born into a family with a fondness for cats, whose French mother hardly ever set foot in the kitchen, end up on that ferry? I don’t know exactly, but I think my current country lifestyle complete with a big rowdy family, lots of dogs, and a huge kitchen where I can make all my culinary fantasies come true is something I always wanted. My favorite food memories of my childhood include my father taking me, sometimes late at night, to little food stalls in Hong Kong.
FLORAL FANCY Exploring the place of flowers in the kitchen How often do you eat flowers? You probably think the answer is “hardly ever”. to most people, “edible flowers” bring to mind crystalised petals on wedding cakes, or nasturtiums garnishing salads in trendy restaurants.
Cauliflowers, broccoli, and globe artichokes “are, technically, immature flowers” says The Oxford Companion to Food. Capers are the flower buds of the caper bush, Capparis spinosa, and saffron, those delicate russet strands used in a thousand dishes from Cornish saffron buns to Indian biryani, are the stamens of the Crocus sativus flower. But even beyond the intricacies of botanical classification and modish garnishes, the use of flowers in cooking is widespread indeed -and has been since records began. No one can be sure when mankind first ate flowers. Records show they were consumed by the ancient Egyptians, who were fans of pot marigold, as were the Greeks and Romans, who “treated marigold as the poor man’s saffron, flavouring and colouring their food with the petals”, says Jekka McVicar in Cooking with Flowers. The Chinese have used the petals and buds of day lilies in soups and other savoury dishes for centuries. By 200AD, they were also using chrysanthemums to make wine, and in bai hua gao rice cake for imperial banquets. Flowers were also
LEF T C UT NA S TUR TIU M FLOW E R S PROVI D E D BY FIR S T LE AF R IGHT FLOW E R SAL A D PR E PAR E BY M I C H E L B R A S
Photo: Line Klein
and xiith centuries were a heyday for edible flowers, both in the number of varieties used, and in their many applications. Many Tudor and Stuart houses had still-rooms where flowers and herbs were dried. Cooks made cowslip and violet vinegars, floral cordials and wines, and lavender or bugloss syrups. Every pantry had bottles of rosewater. The sweettoothed Tudors and Stuarts were fans of sugared flowers, serving “boxes of candied flowers, such as pot marigolds cut into wedges Spanish fashion, sugared pastes of cowslips and many other treats”, says Kathy Brown in her book Edible Flowers. floral salads were hugely
popular in the xiith century. According to Brown, “King James ii’s head gardener thought that there should be at least 35 ingredients in an ordinary salad”. In spring and summer, many of these were flowers - pot marigolds, borage,
C AR PAC C IO OF BAR W ITH B E E T AN D VIOL A C ANA D E NS IS FLOW E R
Photo: Line Klein
eaten by the Persians, and later became staples of English, and other European kitchens. Not just a pretry face, flowers add flavour, texture, and nutritional value to many dishes. england took many flowers
to its heart. Borage, the blue flower now best known for garnishing jugs of Pimms, was introduced to Britain by the Romans, and later became a popular flavouring for syrups and sweets. Meadowsweet was used in the Middle Ages, making an appearance in Chaucer’s The Knight’s Tale as an ingredient in the drink “save”. By Tudor times, flowers were a kitchen mainstay, and the xvith
“KING JAMES II HEAD GARDENER THOUGHT THAT THERE SHOULD BE AT LEAST 35 INGREDIENTS IN AN ORDINARY SALAD”. IN SPRING AND SUMMER, MANY OF THESE WERE FLOWERS. violet petals, primroses, and nasturtiums. In winter, salads were served with pickled or candied flowers. We’re not just talking big bowls lined with lettuce here - at some banquets, salads took the form of castles and trees carved from turnips, which were hung with blooms. edible flowers began to fall out of fashion in the late xixth century, although the Victorians had a penchant for sugared violets and cowslip wine. Brown cites the
scarciry of edible flower recipes in Mrs Beeton’s Household Management (first published 1861) as evidence that the use of edible flowers was in decline. “No recipes for flower pickles were given by Mrs Beeton. There was nothing on preserving or crystal ising flowers, although there were many recipes for crystal ising fruit”. Mrs Beeton did, however, include a recipe for elderflower wine. Though interestingly, elderflowers, that most English of ingredients, are actually more well-travelled than you might think. It’s sometimes claimed that elderflower fritters were invented by North American Indians, though as Brown says, they also “have a lineage in Europe which goes back to medieval times”. the past few years have seen a revival in edible flowers, which corresponds with renewed interest in foraging and making the most of local, seasonal ingredients. Recent cookbooks feature recipes with edible flowers, restaurants such as The Ethicurean in Bristol, England serve dishes topped with borage or nasturtiums, while Salt Yard in London is famed for its courgette flowers stuffed with goat’s cheese and
drizzled with honey. It’s easy to add more flowers to your home cooking, too. “Flowers look wonderful in salads or floating on tops of soup”, says Alys Fowler in The Edible Garden. You can use most herb flowers, including coriander, chive, mint, and dill, which all add a more subtle and delicate flavour than the leaves or stems. Try coriander flowers as a garnish to a stir-fry, or chive flowers in a simple omelette. Jekka McVicar recommends adding chive flowers to bread sauce for their “mild onion flavour”. Fragrant florals also work well in butters and jams, and of course crystalised flowers look pretry on top of homemade cakes. before you get cooking with flowers, it’s best to follow some basic rules. Use a reliable book or source to check which flowers are good to eat, and don’t use flowers which may have been sprayed with chemicals. The best way to ensure a nutritious, organic source is to grow your own edible flowers from seed. Follow these simple rules, and you’re ready to follow in the footsteps all those cooks who came before you. • Words: Katy Salter Photos: Line Klein
41º EXPERIENCE BY ALBERT ADRIÀ After pulling in a few favours, I was lucky enough to eat there recently, and it definitely ranks as my best meal since El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, the #1 restaurant in the world... What was amazing about the experience was how much it reminded me of El Bulli, which Albert Adrià ran with his brother; while still progressing towards his own personality in his cuisine; it is very international, very refined, and always delicious. The other amazing aspect was the fact that, at my request, we were seated at the counter right in front of the Chef, Oliver Peña, and he very kindly took a lot of time to explain each dish and joke with us throughout the meal. Priceless. 41º started as a Tapas and Cocktail bar for the adjacent «Tickets» restaurant, the first of Albert Adrià’s restaurants after the closure of El Bulli. But it quickly evolved to its own status, and the natural idea was to combine the 2 concepts of pre- and post-dinner food accompanied with original cocktails throughout the «experience». • Words: Olympe Émile
DOSSIER ROSE PASSION
02
N°86
manigances december 2014
A PASSION FOR THE ROSE A cultural study of how one flower rose to the top I know a place where the fruits of Rosa canina, the dog rose, are blended with other good things to make exquisite natural herbal teas.
Sitting in on a blending session set me thinking of the many uses we make of the rose when we bring it into the kitchen. After all, it’s something we have been doing for at least a thousand years. dating back more than 35 million years, wild roses grow throughout the northern hemisphere. The thousands of hybrids and cultivars around the world come from little more than 20 species. They bear sweetly evocative names such as Rosa gallica (the apothecary or French rose); Rosa damascena (the Damask rose); Rosa eglantine (the sweet briar rose); and Rosa moschata (the musk rose). On a warm summer evening, the heady scent of these varieties of “old” rose in the garden is intoxicating. the greeks saw the rose as a symbol of love, beauty and happiness. The Romans associated it with Venus, the goddess of love, and would add rose petals to their wine. In Hindu
ONCE PLUCKED, THE ROSE’S CHARMS ARE FLEETING; THE FLORAL MUSKINESS MUST BE CAPTURED QUICKLY. “OLD” ROSES ARE BEST, AS THE SWEETER THE PERFUME, THE GREATER ITS FLAVOUR. legend, Brahma used 108 large, and 1,008 small rose petals to create Lakshmi as a bride for Vishnu. Perhaps most romantic of all is the Arabic legend that all roses were originally white until a nightingale, falling in love with one, leaned in too closely to its beloved. A thorn pierced the bird’s heart, draining its lifeblood and suffusing the rose with red. grown first for their beauty
and scent, rose cultivation can be traced back more than 2,000 years to ancient Persia, Babylon, Egypt, and China. The spread of their cultivation can be charted through the development of trade routes and the pattern of conquest. The Romans ensured that they were grown in all suitable corners of their empire. In the first century, Pliny the Elder recorded 32 medicinal uses for the rose, and lO’h century Persian physician Avicenna called for rose oil in many of his healing preparations. It was also highly valued for perfumery and cosmetics.
was first captured by extracting its essential oil through distillation - familiar to us as attar of roses. Rosewater is a byproduct of this process, and is believed to date back to third or fourth century Mesopotamia. Production on a large scale is thought to have begun in xth century Persia, and as production became more sophisticated, an edible rosewater was developed. The rose began to be valued in the kitchen. once plucked , the rose’s charms are fleeting; the floral muskiness must be captured quickly. “Old” roses are best, as the sweeter the perfume, the greater its flavour. Apart from distilling, favoured methods include drying, crystalising the petals, or transforming its pans into a heavenly syrup, jam or jelly. Citrus, chocolate, or bitter-edged spices are perfect partners to balance the resultant sweetness. the persians began using rose petals for fragrant jams, dried them for use in sweetmeats, or added them to spice mixes such as advieh for savoury dishes. Egyptians delight in sherberts flavoured with rosewater, and the Moroccan spice mix ras el-hanout, used in savoury tagines, calls for dried rosebuds. The Turks use rosewater to flavour lokum (Turkish delight), of which there are versions throughout Eastern Europe, and the Greeks use it to fragrance halva. Further east in India, rose petals are valued for making the preserve gulkand, used to freshen the mouth, and rosewater is added to cooling lassi. In China, the flowerhead of Rosa semperflorens (the Red China rose) is sometimes cooked whole as a vegetable. the essence of rose
LONG PEPPER
A BL ACK PEPPER’S TALLER COUSIN, WHO BOASTS A SWEETER FL AVOUR Digbie left a recipe for conserve of red roses in which he poetically instructs the cook to boil them until “the petals be very tender and look pale like linen”. An English recipe of 17 41 refers to “butter well-washed in rose water”. Sometimes, the butter was wrapped in fine muslin, and buried in rose petals until the pat was lightly perfumed. with the hairy seeds removed, rose hips (or haws) have long been eaten as fruit in Europe, Asia, and by North American Indians. The haws of the sweet briar rose are still boiled with sugar to produce a syrup which is many times higher in vitamin C than oranges. Its oddly tropical flavour lies somewhere between mango and lychee, and it’s a taste many carry with them from childhood. With a revised interest in foraging, the gathering of rosehips is once more in vogue. so, a thousand yearsvg on, the rose retains its appeal in the kitchen. We’ve found even more uses, ranging from pickled rose petals, fragrant teas and tisanes, to heavenly perfumed chocolate, nougat, marshmallow, and patisserie. Who can resist a featherlight macaron tasting of Rosa ispahan? Is there anything more decadent than a spoonful of rose petal jam? • Words: Linda Thompson Photos: Jonathan Gregson
the passion for culinary roses spread into Europe during
the Crusades and via the spice trade. Rosewater became a favourite flavouring in the kitchens of Elizabethan England. The xviith century English courtier Sir Kenelm
Long pepper (Piper longum) is native to India, where it has been used in cookery since at least 2000 BC. In ancient times, it was the pepper of choice, and is mentioned in most medieval cookery manuscripts. It was favoured by the Romans, and remained the dominant variety until the xiv th century. A recipe for long pepper with flamingo was included in De re Coquinaria, a collection of recipes from the iv th century that is thought to be Europe’s oldest surviving cookbook. Long pepper fell out of fashion during the xvith century in Europe. Food historians think its disappearance from European kitchens could have been due to the introduction of chilli peppers, which filled the gap in the market for a product that was both cheaper and hotter than common black pepper. Long pepper has been making a comeback of late, in part, due to food writers like Nigel Slater, who calls it “the most beautiful spice of all”. We chatted to the peppermongers, Tom Alcott and Pete Gibbons, who specialise in high quality peppercorns, and have been key players in the revival of long pepper. MANIGANCES : What is the difference between long pepper and black pepper? PEPPERMONGERS : Long pepper grows as catkins on a vine. It’s best ground fresh in a pestle and mortar. It is sweeter and more pungent than “normal” pepper. MANIGANCES : Why has long pepper been so neglected, and why is it making a comeback? PEPPERMONGERS: Even until quite recently, it was the most common variety in Europe. Alexander Dumas, author of The Three Musketeers, wrote a great food encyclopedia around 1860, stating there are three types of pepper; black, white, and long. Long pepper hasn’t been neglected, exactly – it’s always been big in India and Indonesia – it’s just that Piper nigrum boomed. During the wars, black pepper was ignored in favour of Cubeb pepper, while in China and Nepal, the number one pepper is Sichuan flower pepper. Each culture has its preferences which evolve over time. Foods follow fashion; in the 1780s, everything had nutmeg in it, and don’t forget, olive oil used to be only sold in chemists for ear infections. Food fashions ebb and flow. Long is not the new black – it’s the old black! MANIGANCES : You sell Indonesian rather than Indian long pepper. What’s the difference? PEPPERMONGERS : They come from the same family – Piperacae, and they are the same genus – Piper. In size terms, they are both long, but the Indonesian species is longer! Flavour wise, the Indian long pepper (also known as pippali) has lovely chocolate aromas. It’s very pungent and slightly bitter. We prefer the Indonesian species for its incredible floral, sweet, all-spice aroma. MANIGANCES : What kinds of food particularly benefit from being combined with long pepper? PEPPERMONGERS : In Indonesia, it gets used a lot with fish, which is a huge part of the daily diet. Sweet chilli prawns with long pepper is lovely. It works really well with desserts too, because of its sweetness. It can be used in cakes, or sprinkled on strawberries, or in cream with vanilla and cardamom. You can also add long pepper whole to stews, skewer them in sweet marinaded pineapple or roast them with pork. They’re really very versatile. Whereas salt brings flavour out, pepper adds it. •
Words: Mark Taylor Photos: Line Klein
ROS E PROVI D E D BY FIR S T LE AF
Photo: Jonathan Gresgon
NOWNESS OF FLOWERS Savouring a moment The scent of plum blossom on the breeze was the essence of perfect “nowness” for playwright Dennis Potter.
He was in the final stages of pancreatic cancer, and looking through his window, saw “the whitest, frothiest, blossomest blossom that there ever could be”. The playwright’s illness had made him acutely aware that we all spend far too long reflecting on the past and anticipating the future, without savouring this very minute. “The only thing you know for sure”, he said, “is the present tense ... the nowness of everything is absolutely wondrous”. if it ’s potter ’s “ nowness” that you desire (and why wouldn’t you?), I would like to make a suggestion. My method involves flowers too, but if you
use edible ones, the sensation of living in the moment as vividly as possible will come in even greater waves. Chive flowers, rosemary, thyme, and wild garlic blooms, all have a perfect, concentrated, and intense flavour of the herbs themselves, but without the overperky clobber around the head that the bossier leaves deliver. Scatter a handful of pale lilac thyme flowers over a goat’s cheese salad, or rosemary blossoms over a pea risotro, sweet basil flowers on ripe romaroes, or tiny scallionflavoured chive petals on scrambled eggs, and you will be so caught up in the moment that it will take you some time to escape. k aren blixen , author of babette’s feast, understood the particular beauty of edible flowers and decorated her house with them. She was such a perfectionist that, according to Writers’ Houses, “on days when she
DOSSIER KAREN BLIXEN
03
N°86
manigances december 2014
HONEY A PRIVATE HISTORY We covet honey no less today. It liquefies on contact with warm toast, carrying a cargo of crumbs and molten butter like fossils in amber. The forager crawls into the darkness of the hive. A current of air flows past her, ruffling the hairs covering her body. This is no damp draft blowing in from outside, however, but rather the product of tens of thousands of pairs of interlocking wings, whirring in time. In the gloom, she unloads her bulging stocks of pollen from the panniers on her legs, and disgorges her carefully gathered horde of nectar from her croup. Just as the flowers passed their bounty into her care as she visited them each in turn, now she passes it into the care of her sisters. Another worker sucks the nectar up, and then disgorges it, but this time, it is subtly altered. She flattens the droplet with her forelegs, and fans it with her wings to hasten evaporation. The alchemy that ripens and reduces the nectar into honey has begun. The droplet will be sucked up, disgorged, and fanned by countless other workers. The factories of their tiny bodies transmute complex sugars into simpler ones, and then in turn, some of those simpler sugars into chemicals capable of safeguarding the honey, and those who consume it, from the depredations of rot and adulteration. The resulting glutinous bead of almost pure energy is enduring in the extreme, and contains a scant 18% water. It is sealed into a hexagonal cell with a thick layer of wax, and held in stasis until it is needed. the first half of a worker bee’s short life is not purely devoted to transforming nectar into honey. She also maintains the hive and its occupants; cleaning, tidying, feeding, tending, building, repairing, and guarding. Despite all this activity, “busy as a bee” is something of a misnomer. Young workers spend around two thirds of their time apparently at leisure. All this changes, however, when as if in answer to a silent call, she exchanges darkness for bright sunshine, and heads out into the wild world to forage. After unravelling the code of her sisters’ dance, she flies off in search of nectar, pollen, water, and plant sap, mapping the hive’s territories so she too can pass on trajectories and coordinates. So consuming is her labour that she drops from exhaustion, often in less than a month. All her life’s work will amount to just a few drops of honey. honey is the lifeblood of the colony. Alongside pollen and nectar, it is the mainstay of its summer diet, and come winter, when the flowers have withered, it alone sees the hive through till spring. With the foragers long gone, the remaining workers cluster around this most precious commodity as though under siege, all but unmoving in order to conserve energy. Our habit of classifying the hive as a hierarchy with the queen at the top, the drones beneath her, and the workers at the bottom, says more about us as a species than it does about the bees. It is the workers that control the supply of honey. Far from commanding on high, the queen is born into a bloody battle for survival, and is cut off as soon as her ability to lay plentiful eggs wanes. Should she fall ill, use up the supply of sperm from her single mating with the drones, or simply grow old, the workers stop caring for her, and turn their attentions to raising a new queen to replace her. The drones fare little better; beyond their brief moment of glory, mating with the new queen in a dazzlingly aerobatic display, they serve the hive no purpose. In times of plenty, they are fed and tended, but at the first hint of scarcity, they are left to cluster in increasing desperation outside the hive. It is only a matter of hours before they succumb to cold and hunger. Any ruthlessness on the part of the workers is more than matched by their willingness for self sacrifice. Not only will they work themselves to death, they are unflinching in their attacks on invaders. While a sting might be painful to its victim, it is fatal to the worker. This barbed, one use weapon hooks into the flesh of her foe, tearing the innards from the attacking bee as she flies away to her death.
KAREN BLIXEN UNDERSTOOD THE PARTICULAR BEAUTY OF EDIBLE FLOWERS AND DECORATED HER HOUSE WITH THEM. received guests, she rose at five in the morning to go our and gather flowers while they were still moist with dew”. What could be more in the moment than flowers still replete with dew? Shakespeare’s Ophelia would have got on well with Karen Blixen- most of the flowers she picked before she drowned are edible; rosemary, pansies, fennel, columbines, and violets all made their way into her tragic bouquet. Ophelia might well have enjoyed perfect “nowness” as she floated down the
all this fury evolved to protect the honey from plunder. One need only look
at the honey hunter’s armoury, which evolved in response – be it thick fur, or a hood, suit, and gloves – to see how effective a defence it is. It has long been assumed, too, that the bee in its many forms (22,000 and counting) evolved from carnivorous wasps in tandem with the arrival of flowering plants. This neat notional parallel has, however, been constantly scuppered by a fossil record for both bee and flower that leapfrogs back through time with each new discovery. A three millimetre long specimen found recently in the Hukawng Valley in Burma was so well preserved that the hairs on her legs are still visible. She pushed the bee’s appearance back to 100 million years ago, and forced science to contemplate a world with bees long before the first flowers. A subsequent discovery in Switzerland of pollen grains dating to 230 million years ago, however, had scientists asking themselves who pollinated the flowers for all that time before the bee was around to collect nectar. however long the bee’s history turns out to be, it comfortably dwarfs our own brief narrative of a quarter of a million years. The earliest surviving depiction of humans and bees is found in the Coves de l’Aranya, the Caves of the Spider, in
HONEY IS THE LIFEBLOOD OF THE COLONY. ALONGSIDE POLLEN AND NECTAR, IT IS THE MAINSTAY OF ITS SUMMER DIET, AND COME WINTER, WHEN THE FLOWERS HAVE WITHERED, IT ALONE SEES THE HIVE THROUGH TILL SPRING.
Photo: Jonathan Gresgon
the heart of Valencia. This 10,000 year old painting dates to the dawn of our history, but it may as well be just a wingbeat ago in the private history of the bee. In it, a female figure scales vines to a wild hive, filling a basket at her side with treasure, as outsized bees swarm around her. We covet honey no less today. It liquefies on contact with warm toast, carrying a cargo of crumbs and molten butter like fossils in amber. Its fragrance tells a connoisseur its provenance just as surely as a swirl and sniff does a sommelier. Hold a jar of it up to the sun, and you might convince yourself it emits light rather than simply bending it. Honey has sweetened, fortified, and sanctified us so well and for so long, it is easy to forget that it was never intended for us at all. •
Words: Richard Aslan Photos: Jonathan Gregson
river, which would be just as well, since by that stage she had very little “thenness” left. the xix th century french poet
stephane mallarmé coined a wonderful phrase ro define his belief in the duty of the poet ro do more than simply replicate reality. The poet must evoke a vision of “l’absente de tous bouquets,” he said. What Mallarmé meant was that the perfect, ideal flower will always be missing from the bouquet because it exists only in the imagination. It is the poet’s job to describe that imagined flower. I like to think of the absent bloom as an edible flower, appealing to all the senses simultaneously. despite my enthusiasm, don’t let me mislead you into thinking that edible flowers are good for “nowness” alone. Sigmund Freud developed the concept of Nachträglichkeit or “afterwardsness”, suggesting that a
LEF T B E E FRO M G EORG E ’ S INS TITUTE TOP HON E Y FRO M B R IGOUX BOT TOM HON E Y FRO M C ALIFOR N IA
FLOW E R S PROVI D E D BY FIR S T LE AF
Photo: Stephen Lenthall
later experience can bring back an earlier traumatic memory. My version of Nachträglichkeit, however, has not a shred of trauma in it, so don’t panic. Take a few blossoms from say, a basil plant. Close your eyes and put the flowers on your tongue. What happens? Just to get you into the swing of it, I’ll tell you what happens to me. I am taken to a sunwarmed terrace outside Siena. I’m eating bruschetta barely brushed with garlic, on which sit plump slices of romato, just picked, sprinkled with sea salt and black pepper, and strewn with torn basil. It was seventeen years ago this happened to me, bur the taste of the basil flowers takes me straight back to Italy in a way that the simpler taste of the more grown-up leaves doesn’t. It’s a perfect case of “afterwardsness” to add to Potter’s “nowness”. Which just leaves “futureness”, I suppose,
to complete the temporal set. It is, as yet, an imperfect method, bur since it relies on the flawed science of cryogenics, it’s hardly surprising. Last summer, I experimented with the idea of freezing edible flowers into ice cubes. Cucumber-flavoured borage flowers would be perfect, I thought, set into ice for a glass ofPimm’s. Or viola flowers frozen into cubes for a white wine spritzer. But I’m sorry to report, that despite the magic of edible flowers, “futureness” is, so far, beyond them. By the time the ice cubes had melted into my cocktails, the flowers had turned from plump and perky little blossoms into floppy, limp, lifeless forms. It seems that an edible flower can deliver on past and present, but, so far, the future eludes it. • Words: Charlie Lee-Potter Photos: Stephen Lenthall
Assembly and finish Cut the supreme of sliced poultry. In the plate, alternate the slices of supreme, the small strips of celery and apple and the sections of celery. Pay above the broth and the foam of verbena tea(verbena). Add one chips of skin and the leaves of perpetual celery. End in seasoning with a little flower of salt.
Preparation Dip the kombu into a liter of water during 30 minutes then warm the water over medium heat. From the first shivers, foam then take away from the fire and let rest approximately 5 minutes. Remove the kombu. Remove the skin of the supreme, streamline her and salt her. Place her between 2 cooktops covered with parchment paper. Cook in an oven in 165 oc during 15 minutes. Reserve these chips for the warmth. Roll the whites of the supreme in the clingfilm. Cook in the broth of seaweed in 65 oc during 20 minutes. Cut fine small strips of célerirave and apples granny in the mandolin. Add lemon. Warm 20 cl of water and make it infuse the verbena. Season, add the butter. Mix and filter. Emulsify at the last moment. Warm the broth and make it infuse again the verbena off the heat then filter.
Ingredients • 4 supremes of poultry • 1 branch of celery • 1 small celeriac • 1 stalk of perpetual celery • 1 granny-smith apple • 1 bouquet of verbena citronelle • 1 cl of lemon juice • 1,20 l of water • 20 g of kombu seaweed • 100 g of butter • fresh verbena salt, sea salt and pepper
supreme poultry apple , verbena & celery
Assembly and finish Arrange the salmon in the plate. Raise the cabbage above and strew with powder of olives. Pay the coulis of pine Douglas, add the oxalys and give a tour of pepper mill.
Preparation Arrange olives on a plate. Dry them in the oven approximately 10 hours in 100 °C. Leave cool then mix boorishly. Dip the kombu into 1 liter of water during 30 minutes then warm the water in 65 °C. Remove the seaweed and add the bonito. Skim, stop the fire before it first boiling. Remove bonite and leak out in a fine linen. Warm the broth filtered with one third of the shoots of pine Douglas. In the first boiling, take away from the fire and add the second third. Infuse 10 minutes under cover. Add the last third, the xanthan gum, the juice of lemon and the flower of salt. Mix then filter. Keep warm. Slice thinly the cabbage in fine strips. Mix it with the oil of olive and the flower of salt. Put slices of salmon on a tilted plate(patch) side skin on the top. Recover of a fine cloth. Pay some hot water in 80 oc. Stop the cooking in the ice water. Mop.
Ingredients • 4 slices of wild salmon • half a red cabbage • 1 handle of young lettuce of • Douglas pine • 1 cl of lemon juice • Oxalys leaves • 200 g of stoned black olives • 1 cl of olive oil • 1 l of water • 2 kombu seaweeds • 30 g of bonite shavings • 0,3 g of xanthan gum • sea salt and Cubebe pepper
salmon with douglas pine , red cabbage , oxalys & black olives
• 6 large egg whites, at room temperature • 1¾ cups | 350 g superfine sugar • 1 cup | 250 ml heavy cream • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract • Big handfuls of your favorite berries (I use raspberries, blueberries, and red currants) • Pretty organic/unsprayed edible flowers and leaves of your choice
What can I say … this is the cake that started it all. One early spring evening, inspired by all the new flowers in the garden, I decided to make a cake on a whim a typical Icelandic creamy meringue cake, inspired by a recipe from my Icelandic mother-in-law. There was something in the air that night, something fresh and exciting. I wanted this cake to be a celebration of spring, of the garden, something out of a fairy tale. When my garden cake was ready, I posted a picture of it online. Little did I know it would be pinned, tumblrd, linked to on Facebook, and tweeted; it was all over the Internet and so my blog, Manger, was born. It was a gift from spring, and I am forever grateful.
little by little, so it is well dissolved, then whip until the meringue is stiff and glossy. Using a narrow spatula, form 2 meringues, each 8 inches/20 cm across and 2 inches/5 cm high, on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until the meringues are crisp on top, about 55 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the meringues in the oven, with the door propped open, for 25 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool. Whip the cream until it is light, fluffy, and holds soft peaks. Add the vanilla extract. Spread half of the whipped cream over one of the meringues. Scatter as many berries as you like over the cream and sandwich the other meringue on top, flat side up. Spread the remaining whipped cream on top of the second meringue. Now you can enjoy
oregano
ground ivy
robert geranium
sweet clover
daucus carota
lanceolata
amaranth
angelica
Orpin, comfrey, dead nettle, sweet clover, major plantin, goosefoot... These names of plants or herbs do not mean much for the common run of people which is not ashamed of walking on them, crushing them, trampling them when it walks in the nature. How to bear him a grudge? How could he imagine that they are edible? The nature is a gigantic pantry which Hervé Busset learnt to tame. 20, 30, 40, 50? He does not know exactly how much he uses of plants but for each of them, he knows that he can make it, how transform it, which dish it is going to subjugate or which juice it is going to perfume.
Words: Philippe Toinard Photos: Éric Fénot
Adress: Le moulin de Câmbelong, Domaine de Cambelong 12320 Conques www.moulindecambelong.com Phone: 05 65 72 84 77
Sat in a meadow, a marguerite between teeth, Hervé Busset admires his mill which he raised among the big tables of Aveyron. A result which he owes at the same time at random, in some erring ways, in his work and what he has under the posterior at this precise moment. Plants and flowers which he ignored for a long time before understanding that they would be his source of inspiration.
Savage by nature
dead nettle
pepper water
yarrow
orpin
purslane
elderberry fruit
douglas pine
burnet
BUSSET’S HERBARIUM
Preparation preheat the oven to 275°F/135°C. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large very clean bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer on medium speed until they form soft peaks. Still whipping, add the sugar
Ingredients
garden cake
Preparation heat the olive oil and butter in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and fry until browned, about 3 minutes. Lower the heat to mediumlow, add the onions, season with salt and
Ingredients • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter • 3½ ounces | 100 g bacon, cut into lardons or diced • 1 pound | 450 g onions, thinly sliced • Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper • 1 tablespoon honey • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar • A few sprigs of fresh thyme • All-purpose flour for rolling the dough • 8 ounces | 230 g puff pastry, homemade or store-bought
I always have a big bowl of onions on my kitchen table in various shades and sizes. To me they are as beautiful as any vase of flowers and as necessary as running water or a working stove. A friend once asked what I would do if there were no onions I had no answer then and still don’t. They are the eggs of the vegetable world, endlessly versatile, and can be bit players in big dishes or leading stars in French classics like onion soup. This simple yet flavorful tart is exactly the sort of food I like to have by myself in a bistro when people have started leaving and it’s too late to order anything more serious.
onion tart
decorating your cake with berries, leaves, and flowers all things bright and beautiful. The cake is best eaten immediately.
Preparation Separate the nasturtium petals from their bases, discard bases and chop the petals coarsely. Blend with chopped herbs, scallions, garlic and butter, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Allow the herb butter to stand for a halfhour to let the flavors blend. Cut the squashes into thin slices and the blossoms into strips. In a skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of the herb butter and sauté the squash for three minutes. Add the chicken stock and squash blossoms and simmer over low heat for a few minutes. Heat salted water for the pasta and cook the pasta until done to your taste. Drain pasta well and add with the rest of the herb butter to the squash. Correct seasonings, mix well, garnish and serve immediately.
Ingredients • 18-20 nasturtium flowers • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme • 1 tablespoon fresh sweet marjoram • ¼ cup chopped Italian broadleaf parsley • 4 scallions, very finely chopped • 3 small garlic cloves, minced • ¼ cup fresh basil, coarsely chopped • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened • Salt and pepper to taste • 6 baby yellow scallop squashes with their blossoms • 6 baby zucchini squashes with their blossoms • ½ cup chicken stock Fettucine noodles for two people
baby squash , nasturtium blossoms & herbs with pasta
pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and golden brown, about 15 minutes.Add the honey, balsamic vinegar, and thyme, increase the heat to high, and boil to reduce for 2 to 3 minutes. Take off the heat and set aside to cool. Preheat the oven 400°F/200°C. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough ⅛ inch/0.3 cm thick. Line a 10-inch/25-cm tart pan with the pastry and prick the bottom several times with a fork. Trim the edges. Scoop the onion mixture into the tart shell. Bake until the pastry is crisp and golden, about 20 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before drizzling with olive oil and serving.
Preparation Start the soup. Snap off a tip of each pod and squeeze out the beans. Peel the outer layer off each fava bean and discard. In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat and cook the onion until translucent, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the fava beans, garlic, and potato, season with salt and pepper, and stir for a couple of minutes. Pour in the stock and enough water to cover the vegetables; season again with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer until the potato is cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes.
Ingredients: For the garnishes • 5 thin slices pancetta • ½ stale baguette, sliced • 1 garlic clove, cut in half • ¼ cup | 60 ml extra-virgin olive oil • Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper • ½ cup | 120 ml mascarpone • A large handful of fresh mint leaves, finely chopped • 2 shallots, minced • A pinch of piment d’Espelette
Ingredients: For the soup • 1 pound | 450 g shelled large fava beans • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil • 1 onion, sliced • 3 garlic cloves, sliced • 1 large potato, peeled and diced • Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper • 1 cup | 80 ml chicken or vegetable stock
My aunt is a wonderful cook and I spent a big part of my summers as a child watching her cook in her kitchen in the south of France. Like my grandmother, she’s always been a bit ahead of her time in terms of healthy eating, championing seasonal cooking long before it became fashionable. This soup is the recipe I most associate with her. It’s mainly made of vegetables, is delicious and healthy, and has a few little gourmet touches, including the unexpected garnishes hidden in the soup (bits of pancetta and croutons). I make this all the time in spring, and luckily for me I have an army of kids to shell the fava beans.
fava bean soup
To serve, scoop a little of the shallots, remaining mint, the croûtons, and pancetta into the bottom of each bowl. Pour in the hot soup and top each serving with a scoop of the mascarpone. Sprinkle lightly with piment d’Espelette, if desired. Serve immediately.
Chop the pancetta and croûtons separately into little bits. In a small bowl, whisk the mascarpone with 2 tablespoons of the chopped mint. When the soup is done, purée it, in batches if need be, in a food processor or blender and return it to the pot. Reheat the soup over low heat for a few minutes, then season to taste.
Meanwhile, prepare the garnishes. Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Fry the pancetta in a sauté pan over medium heat until golden and crisp. Scoop out with a spoon and drain on a paper towel. Rub the bread with the garlic clove and drizzle with the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Set on a parchmentpaper-lined baking sheet and toast in the oven until golden and crisp, about 10 minutes. Set the croûtons aside to cool.
Preparation Fill a large bowl with cold water and squeeze the juice from the lemons into it. Rinse the artichokes. Working with one at a time and putting them in the lemon water as you go, trim the stems to ¼ inch/6 mm from the base. Peel back and remove the outer petals until the pale green leaves appear. Cut off the sharp tips. Trim off any remaining green from the base of the artichokes.
Ingredients • 8 ounces | 230 g puff pastry, homemade or store-bought • 2 lemons, halved • 12 baby artichokes • 1 cup | 80 ml extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling • 4 shallots, minced • A few sprigs of fresh thyme • Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper • ½ bunch fresh parsley, leaves removed and finely chopped. On a lightly floured surfaceroll out the dough ¼ inch | 0.5 cm thick. Cut out 6 rounds large enough to line six tartlet molds, each about 3 inches | 7.5 cm in diameter. Put the rounds on a baking sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.
I am very fond of savory tarts and love to have them for little snacks or small meals (with a good glass of wine) or to serve them as starters ahead of meat or fish. I think my favorite such tart is this one, made with baby artichokes sautéed in butter with shallots. Baby artichokes are so lovely to cook with and arranging them in the tartlet shells feels like making beautiful edible bouquets.
artichoke tartlets
Preparation Squeeze chopped cucumber in a kitchentowel to remove as much moisture as possible; set aside. Blend the cream cheese, seasonings and chives or scallions. Add cucumber and combine well but do not overmix. Spread on bread and cut into fingersized open sandwiches. To serve, decorate the tops of the sandwiches with petals of various edible flowers.
Ingredients • 1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and finely chopped • 8 ounces cream cheese • ¾ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce • ¼ teaspoon minced garlic • 1 teaspoon salt • ¼ cup finely chopped chives or scallions • Thinly sliced cracked wheat or white bread,crusts removed • Lots of edible blossoms: nasturtiums, chives, borage, calendula, bean flowers or herb blossoms, rinsed and patted dry.
blossom tea sandwiches
Meanwhile, line the molds with the pastry and prick the bases with a fork. Line with parchment paper and pie weights or dried beans and bake for 8 minutes. Remove the parchment paper and weights and bake until golden, another 5 minutes or so. Scoop 1 tablespoon of shallots into each tartlet shell and arrange a few artichokes on top. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 5 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and crisp. Drizzle with a little bit more olive oil and sprinkle with the parsley before serving.
Halve or quarter the artichokes, depending upon size, and return to the lemon water to prevent browning. Drain the artichokes and pat dry. In a large sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Sauté the artichokes and shallots until slightly golden, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the sprigs of thyme and season with salt and pepper. Lower the heat, cover with a lid, and continue cooking until the artichokes are tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool for 10 minutes. Discard the thyme.
Preparation On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a 12 inch/30 cm round about ¼ inch/0.5 mm thick. Press into the base and sides of a 10-inch/25-cm tart pan and trim the edges. Prick the base with a fork. Put the pan in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.
Ingredients • 1 tablespoon grainy mustard • ¼ cup | 60 ml extra-virgin olive oil • Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper • 2 tablespoons tomato paste • 1¼ pounds | 550 g tomatoes, sliced ¼ inch thick • 1 tablespoon honey • 1 small ball buffalo mozzarella (about 5 ounces | 125 g), torn into small pieces.
There are the tomatoes readily available in supermarkets, which are often hard, watery, and fairly flavorless. And then there are the locally grown tomatoes of summer, which come in a variety of shapes and sizes, shades and colors, ranging from dark greens and yellows to deep orange reds. They have intriguing names and many of them taste so good that they explain in a single bite why the tomato is really a fruit, not a vegetable. Over the last few years, these tomatoes have spoiled my palate for any other kind. I have them on their own, with just a little olive oil, or in salads or in tarts, which really bring out their flavor. I make many different kinds of tomato tarts, but I think this is the one I like best. Allpurpose flour for rolling A few sprigs of fresh basil, leaves removed and chopped, plus more whole leaves for serving.
tomato tart
Preparation In a small bowl, whisk eggs, water, salt, pepper and parsley. Melt butter in a 10-inch omelet pan over high heat until butter sizzles but has not started to brown. Pour in egg mixture, shaking pan immediately. Using the flat side of a fork, stir eggs and move and tilt pan in a circular motion until eggs begin to set. Sprinkle chive florets and cheese down the center; allow cheese to melt slightly, then fold omelet over and serve. Garnish with blossoms.
Ingredients • 4 eggs • 1 teaspoon water • ¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste • ¼ teaspoon white pepper • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter • 3 young chive blossoms, broken into individual florets • 2 tablespoons grated • Swiss cheese • Garnish: whole chive blossoms
cheesy chive blossom omelet
Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Combine the basil, mustard, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and a pinch of salt in a blender. Puree until smooth. Spread the tomato paste over the base of the tart shell and then pour the basil oil over it. Arrange the sliced tomatoes in a circular pattern, in one layer, in the tart shell. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle the honey and the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil over the tomatoes. Bake until the pastry is golden, about 35 minutes. Let the tart rest for 15 minutes. Scatter the mozzarella and some basil over the tart before serving.
Herbarium: Hervé Busset Photo credit: Line Klein Cooked and Photographed with love for your good pleasure.
Preparation Whisk together the shallots, mustard, and olive oil in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper. Arrange the tomatoes on a serving plate. Drizzle the shallot vinaigrette over the tomatoes and scatter the parsley on top.
Ingredients • 3 shallots, minced • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard • ½ cup | 120 ml extra-virgin olive oil • Fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper • 5 or 6 ripe heirloom tomatoes, sliced ½ inch thick. • A bunch of fresh parsley, leaves removed and finely chopped
In the height of summer, we will almost certainly have one out of two salads every day: the Italian Caprese, which is now served in practically every French restaurant as “tomate-mozza,” or this “French” tomato salad with raw shallots. The rule of thumb goes something like this: If we have pasta for lunch, we will most likely pair it with the Italian version. If we have fish or cold cuts, we go for the French salad. This is a very simple recipe, of course, but one I thought I had to include because it’s such a big part of what we enjoy at our daily table.
tomato salad with parlsey & shallots
CORN IN KITCHEN
06
N°86
manigances december 2014
CORN
A CURIOUS CULTIVATION In the Americas, as in Africa, more maize is grown than any other crop. Along with wheat and rice, it forms the great global agricultural troika of the X XI st century. While this grain – also known by the more generic term corn – is undoubtedly vital to our way of life, for the inhabitants of ancient Mesoamerica, urbanisation simply would not have been possible without it. In a landscape characterised by infertile soils and sparse moisture, hunting, gathering, and subsistence-scale agriculture was only able to sustain a small mobile population, most probably made up of family groups. All this changed around 2,000 BC in Mexico, and slightly later in the Mayan cultural areas of Yucatán, and modern-day Guatemala. Quite suddenly, the previously empty countryside was scattered with agricultural settlements made up of square, thatched huts and supporting inhabitants in their hundreds – not dissimilar from the villages of today. From these beginnings, the foundations were laid for the efflorescence of the great Mesoamerican cultures, the Maya and Aztec best known among them. While this new agricultural prosperity centred on maize, the grain had been domesticated far earlier – up to five thousand years earlier, in fact – along with the other main Mesoamerican food crops such as chillies and chia (Salvia hispanica, a seed crop related to the mint family). Herein lies the mystery; something happened around 2,000 BC that radically altered the ecosystem’s capacity to support high concentrations of human population. In order to try and work out what that change could have been, we need to start at the beginning. though the history books are loathe to admit it, the gaps in our unCOR N PROVI D E D BY FIR S T LE AF derstanding of the processes of cause Photo: Tim Robison and effect that have built our modern world are vast, and knowledge of our agricultural past is no exception. The early history of maize domestication and cultivation is still only partially explored, and scientific and historical opinion remain divided. However, by taking a broad sweep of the theories available, a coherent narrative begins to emerge (the caveat being, of course, that coherence is no guarantee of veracity). Maize, like the banana, is a cultigen. In its broadest sense, this term refers to any crop which has been significantly affected by human selection. In its narrower sense – the sense employed here – a cultigen is a crop without a readily identifiably wild counterpart. In the case of maize, the route from wild grasses of the Zea family, to cultivated maize with its characteristic cob and tassel, is far from clear. The oldest archaeological finds of maize cobs date back to around 6,000 years ago in the rugged southern Mexican state of Oaxaca. Older finds have been radio carbon dated to an earlier period – around 9,000 years ago – but the actual dating process was carried out not on the kernels themselves, but rather the material found alongside them. As such, compelling as it may be, this evidence must be regarded as inconclusive. More recent molecular dating and genetic mapping, however, suggest a similar date, but a different location; the Balsas River valley where the states of Michoacan, Mexico, and Guerrero meet, known for its high seasonal rainfall and seismic activity. A date of 9,000 years ago also fits in nicely with the received wisdom which places
the earliest domestication horizon for any crop in Mesoamerica at a maximum of 10,000 years before the present. The Balsas River region also happens to be the area where maize’s closest wild relatives, the teosintes, are found in greatest abundance. all this feels very neat, but if we lay an ear of teosinte next to an ear of cultivated maize, the differences are striking.The wild grass is no longer than a finger and many times more slender – hundreds of times less massive than the maize ear. Its few seeds, just ten to fifteen in general, are encased in hard, woody husks, and are stacked one atop the other, slightly skewed. It’s almost impossible to imagine how this wispy outline could have transformed into the hefty cob with its succulent, buttery-yellow kernels. A transitional form between the two has never been attested, so scientists can only conjecture as to how the early Mexicans managed to induce such a dramatic and fortuitous change. Maize and teosintes can interbred. Hybrids are common on the boundaries of maize fields in Mexico and Guatemala, and successive generations of hybridisation certainly go some way to explain the make-up of the modern crop. The process of Vavilovian Mimicry, whereby weeds such as teosintes take on the characteristics of the crop they grow alongside, has also resulted in more maize-like characteristics among certain species. If we follow the logic through, however, neither of these processes help explain how the original and striking differences appeared between teosintes and maize in the first place. We are simply faced with a chicken and egg situation; if hybridisation or mimicry are to produce a more maizelike teosinte, the maize must already be present. Crossing one teosinte with another would simply give us a third variety of teosinte. to muddy the waters further , some researchers claim that the teosinte is not the wild vector of maize at all, but rather a hybrid itself, of maize and a less closely related grass called Tripsacum, with even fewer maize-like characteristics. Beguiling as this might be, we are still no closer to answering the question of the origins of maize, and neatly find ourselves back at square one. despite its logical shortcomings, the hybridisation theory was the darling of the scientific community until its unceremonious demise at a conference at the University of Illinois in 1969. Representing the establishment, a certain Doctor Magelsdorf presented his life’s work, proposing the existence of a third (now mysteriously vanished) species to explain the appearance of maize through hybridisation. Tempers flared when the upstart Doctor Iltis blew his theories out of the water one by one, and Magelsdorf stormed from the conference room in a huff. He proposed that the massive changes in the physiology of maize were down to a series of mutations which dramatically reorganised the plant’s flowering apparatus. He even suggested that these mutations were so drastic, that were it not for the early Mexicans stepping in, the changes would have been catastrophic for the plant’s survival in the wild. While the mutation theory has not be conclusively proven, recent genetic research has shown that most of the differences between teosintes and maize could be down to minor mutations in single genes. What is more, such mutations could be kicked off as a response to an increase in heavy metals in the environment, a situation associated with volcanic eruptions. •
THE EARLY HISTORY OF MAIZE DOMESTICATION AND CULTIVATION IS STILL ONLY PARTIALLY EXPLORED, AND SCIENTIFIC AND HISTORICAL OPINION REMAIN DIVIDED.
Words: Richard Aslan Photos: Tim Robison
VEG AN PL ATE R E ALIS E D BY Z HAN G XU
Photo: Tim Robison
If my experiences as a traveler to Beijing, Hong Kong, Macau, Shanghai, Xi’an, and throughout Hunan Province such as Mount Heng, Shaoshan, Yuelu Mountain, and the amazing Zhangjiajie, whose Wulingyuan Scenic Area, a unesco World Heritage Site, is said to have been an inspiration for the scenery in the movie Avatar are any indication, it’s all true. Much has also been written about the breathtaking effects of state-sponsored atheism in China, as well. Many claim that communism has essentially stifled even snuffed out spirituality, as the majority of Chinese citizens profess to be agnostics, nonreligious, or atheists. If my experiences as a WorldTeach volunteer living and teaching oral English in China for eleven months are any indication, however, it’s not at all true. In China, I found the Spirit of God everywhere I looked. Its sacred breath was manifested in the eyes of my students welcoming me every single day to class, in the smiles of the locals greeting me on the streets, in the voices of their children calling hello in the touch of the stranger’s hand leading me to exactly where I needed to be when I was lost, in the taste of the apple given as a gift on Christmas Eve, and in the smells of the incense wafting through the streets from the temples on the Lunar New Year. Ah, the temples
from the ivory tower kitchen : the calculus of cooking
As chefs on the line, night in and night out, we are constantly juggling the knobs of our burners to various levels. All of this is to be able to respect the calculus of cooking. It’s just science and we don’t make those rules. fork make s broccoli taste like bubblegum
Gone are the days of dreaming about candy-flavored broccoli from our high chairs. The dream is now reality. The Aromafork, a near-magical product that is part of the Aroma R-evolution kit, has the potential to transform bland flavors into thrilling ones. A capsule of liquid aroma sits under the fork’s handle and soaks through a small piece of blotting paper to emit a whiff of fragrance with every bite gradually throughout the meal. the ultimate free zer : a look at the anti - griddle
We all know you can freeze juice or fruit -- but what about alcohol? And what if you were able to get your favorite liquids even colder than you ever imagined? It might not be something you’ve ever considered, but a lot of chefs have. And as a result, the Anti-griddle was invented. The Anti-griddle was first used by chefs like Grant Achatz to further their culinary interests, but we went to Food & Wine’s FWx to play around with it as well to see what we could discover. Along the way we realized that sriracha and ice cream go together incredibly well; that frozen lattes might be the perfect summer drink; and that frozen wine on top of cheese is as perfect a pairing as you might have expected. top 5 molecul ar gastronomy re staur ants in the u. s .
Alinea
Baumé
1723 N. Halsted St.
201 S. California
Chicago, IL 60614
Ave.
Moto 945 W. Fulton
Palo Alto, CA 94306
Market
wd-50
Chicago, IL 60607
50 Clinton St.
Atelier Crenn
New York, NY 10002
3127 Fillmore St.
CHINA Much has been written about the breathtaking beauty of China.
GASTRONOMY NEWS
San Francisco, CA 94123
Daoist, Buddhist, or Confucian, China is temple heaven. The sublime states of loving-kindness, compassion, balance, and harmony emanating from these pillars of Eastern wisdom and philosophy are woven into the fabric of everyday life in China showing up in formal attire simply isn’t necessary to receive the gift of such bliss, only presence. China is open to Western religions as well. In this Gothic-style structure with its rose petal–pink walls and arched midnight blue ceilings resembling starry skies, a breathtaking Madonna floats on a heavenly orb above the altar as the Earth’s benevolent mother filled with grace, beseeching her Son Jesus to bless all of His Father’s children in the human race. Received were the twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit, flowing in infinite abundance everywhere I went in China: kindness, joy, peace, patience, goodness, forbearance, gentleness, faith, modesty, self-control, purity, and love always love. As I sat in the pew in stillness, blown away by the music, listening to a hymn familiar from my childhood but sung in Chinese, I surrendered to the sanctity of the spirit-filled momenta clear connection to an endless wellspring of love and light. A foreigner, I never felt more at home in my life. •
Words: Richard Aslan Photos: Tim Robison
HISTORIC MEDICINAL VERTUES OF FLOWERS
07
N°86
manigances december 2014
HEALING WITH PLANTS The healing power of plants Many familiar garden plants such as marigold and marsh-mallow were first grown for their healing properties rather than their appearance, and many common herbs were valued as much for medicinal uses as they were in the kitchen.
Plants with a herbal past often have “officinalis” in their Latin name, derived from “officina”, the apothecary’s workshop. Today, over 80 percent of the world’s population still relies on traditional herbal medicine for its main source of health care and many modern drugs come directly or indirectly from plant extracts, or are copies of plant compounds. Nine culinary herbs with medicinal uses most of the herbs commonly used in the kitchen also have herbal properties. As these are all edible, they are quite safe to grow in any school garden.
coriander
Coriandrum sativum
A tender annual from southern Europe and the Middle East, reaching 60cm tall with lacy, white flowers. The leaves are robustly aromatic; the edible seeds have a much sweeter smell. Coriander is believed to be good for stimulating the appetite and helping digestion. Grow it from seed sown in situ from May onwards, and keep well watered or it will run to seed and produce few leaves. dill
Anethum graveolens
A hardy annual from southern Europe, reaching up to 120cm tall, with feathery, bluegreen leaves and lacy yellow flowers. Dill is a constituent of gripe water used to soothe babies and is a popular remedy for an upset stomach, hiccups or sleep problems. Sow where you want it to grow, from April onwards, ideally in a partially shaded position. garlic Allium sativum A hardy perennial from Central Asia that grows to about 45cm and produces clusters of small bulbs when it dies down. Garlic is effective against many fungal infections, is used to treat toothache, earache, coughs and colds, and has been shown to reduce blood pressure. Break up the bulb and plant the individual cloves in autumn or spring in light, fertile soil in full sun. lemon balm Melissa
officinalis
A hardy perennial from central Europe and the Mediterranean, growing to about 75cm, and available in green, golden and variegated varieties. Lemon balm tea is used to relieve headaches and to aid digestion, and is said to help improve the memory, and reduce anxiety, irritability and insomnia. For the others you will need to divide existing plants or take cuttings in late spring.
marjoram Origanum A hardy perennial from the Mediterranean reaching 30-45cm in a variety of leaf and flower colours. The flowering stems die back in autumn but the leaves at the base remain green over winter. Marjoram has antiseptic properties and marjoram tea is used to treat bad colds and to settle the nerves and stomach. Wild marjoram and sweet marjoram can be grown from seeds started off in pots. For the others, take cuttings or divide existing plants in spring. parsley Petroselinum crispum A hardy biennial growing to 3040cm from central and southern Europe. Flat-leaved varieties have the best flavour; curly ones are more attractive. Parsley is well-known as a breath freshener, especially after garlic. It is also used to treat urinary infections and as a poultice for sprains, wounds and insect bites. Sow in situ in late spring, or start off earlier under cover using modules to reduce root disturbance. peppermint
Mentha piperata
Mints are hardy perennials found all over Europe. There are many wild and cultivated types, with a wide range of flavours including chocolate and pineapple. Peppermint (30-60cm) is rather strong for cooking, but peppermint oil is used to flavour sweets, and its widespread use in toothpaste points to its antiseptic properties. It can also be used as a herbal tea for gastro-intestinal disorders and nervous headaches, and in a rub to ease muscle pain. Seedraised plants may have poor flavour, so take stem cuttings which will often root in water, or divide an existing plant.
thyme Thymus A dwarf, evergreen shrub with many species found around the world. Varieties can have green, gold or variegated leaves and pink, white or purple flowers and may be creeping (2-5cm) or upright (15-30cm). Thyme is the source of the antiseptic thymol, used in toothpaste and mouthwash, and as a gargle for mouth and throat infections. Common thyme can be raised from seed started off in pots, but most varieties need to be grown from cuttings taken in spring or summer.
Eight plants used in modern medicine some of these plants, such as foxglove, were used in traditional remedies. thers have been recognised for their medicinal properties only recently. not all these plants would be suitable for a school garden. See individual entries for more details.
ammi Ammi majus A hardy annual from southern Europe and north Africa growing up to 90cm with pretty, white, lacy flowers. The seeds are edible and used as a spice in India. They also contain psoralen which is used in the treatment of skin disorders including psoriasis and vitiligo. Grow from seed sown in situ in spring. deadly nightshade
Atropa belladonna
A hardy perennial native to Britain, growing to about 120cm. A dull and unattractive plant with glistening black berries that are highly poisonous. It provides the drug atropine which, until recently, was used to dilate the pupils for eye examinations and is now used to dry up bronchial secretions prior to operations.
An evergreen shrub from the Mediterranean, reaching 100cm with small blue or pink flowers in early spring. There are also creeping varieties. Rosemary has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties and makes an antiseptic gargle. The oil is used externally as an insect repellent and for headaches. Take cuttings in spring or summer and grow in a well-drained, sunny, sheltered site.
rosy periwinkle
A half-hardy annual from North and South America, reaching 30-120cm according to variety. Widely used as a spice. The active ingredient capsaicin, which makes chillies hot, also has medical applications. It is used in ointments to treat neuralgia, arthritis, rheumatism and chilblains and is being investigated for many other possible uses. Raise from seed sown indoors in early spring and grow on in pots in a sunny, sheltered spot or under glass.
A tender, woody, evergreen perennial from Madagascar grown here as a short-lived pot plant for its showy red, pink, lilac or white flowers. All parts of the plant arepoisonous. Rosy periwinkle contains many compounds with therapeutic potential, two of which, vincristine and vinblastine, are important drugs in the treatment of leukaemia and some other cancers.
Capsicum annuum
Catharanthus roseus
st john ’s wort
Hypericum perforatum
foxglove
Digitalis
Hardy biennials and perennials with spires of flowers up to 1.75m tall in a range of colours. Our native foxglove D. purpurea contains digoxin, which stimulates the heart, though for commercial production the woolly foxglove is grown as in contains higher levels of the drug. Grow from seed sown in situ in autumn, or in modules, overwintering in a cold frame and planting out in a semishaded spot in spring. All parts of the plant are poisonous, so grow with care, according to the age and understanding of the children. opium poppy
Papaver somniferum
A hardy annual of uncertain origin growing 30-90cm tall with blue-grey leaves and purplish flowers. Opium poppies are the source of the powerful, illegal narcotics opium and heroin and the legitimate drugs morphine and codeine, all very effective painkillers. It also produces papaverine, used to treat cancer. Illegal drugs are produced by cutting slits in the seed heads and collecting the rubbery sap that oozes out. Grow it from seed sown in containers in autumn, overwintered in a cold frame and planted out in spring.
A hardy perennial, native to Britain, growing to around 60cm with small, yellow flowers. Wort means a medicinal herb in Anglo Saxon, and St John’s wort, flowering on St John’s day (24 June), was traditionally used on burns, bruises and crush injuries and to ease pain. It is now used to treat mild depression. Start it off from seed sown in containers in spring, or divide plants in autumn. willow Salix A large group of trees in all shapes and sizes, found in many regions of the world, including some native to Britain. Varieties of Salix alba are grown in gardens for their colourful winter stems and kept to 1.5m or so by cutting back hard each spring. Both the Ancient Greeks and Native Americans valued willow bark as a pain killer and the plant’s active ingredient, salicin, was one of the first therapeutic compounds to be isolated from plants, in 1852. It proved to be an effective pain killer, but irritated the stomach so a similar but safer compound was developed and is now manufactured as aspirin. Most willows are easily grown from cuttings taken in autumn. •
Words: Richard Kong Illustrations: Roger Page
EDIBLE FLOWERS IN HISTORY Edible flowers have been used in the culinary arts for flavor and garnish for hundreds of years.
rosemary
Rosmarinus officinalis
chilli pepper
Early reports indicate that the Romans used flowers in cooking, as did the Chinese, Middle Eastern and Indian cultures. During Queen Victoria’s reign, edible flowers were popular and they are again popular in North America and Europe. Many flowers are edible and the flowers of most culinary herbs are safe. However, proper identification is essential because some flowers are poisonous and should not be eaten. Many plants have similar common names, which may cause added confusion. Always
use the scientific name when choosing a flower. pick flowers early in the day. Use them at their peak for the best flavor. Avoid unopened blossoms and wilted or faded flowers. They may have a bitter or unappealing flavor. Do not use flowers that have been sprayed with pesticides, which often occur along roadsides, or collect flowers from plants that have been fertilized with untreated manure. Generally avoid purchasing flowers from florists, Garden centers or nurseries. These flowers are not grown for consumption. This article lists many plants that can be added to food for flavor, aroma, color or garnish. Fresh flowers also can be preserved for later use. Choose
flowers with larger petals, such as pansies, and paint the petals with an egg-white wash. Use a soft brush and dehydrated egg whites to avoid food borne illness. These flowers are edible if the dehydrated egg powder has been pasteurized. After painting, dust the petal with super-fine granulated sugar and dry it. Store preserved flowers in an airtight container in a cool, dark place. Avoid dark-colored petals; they turn even darker with this treatment. • Words: Richard Aslan
ADRESSES NEXT WEEK
08
N°86
manigances december 2014
ADVICES FROM COLETTE please eat the flowers
Using flowers in cooking is a practice that dates all theway back to the Roman Empire. It became widespread in the Middle Ages and continued in popularity through the Victorian era. These days, many restaurant chefs are reviving this culinary art, using flower petals and blossoms to add both flavor and beauty to their menus. Growing edible flowers and using vegetable and culinary herb blossoms expands the pleasure of cooking from the garden. Their flavors range from spicy to sweet a milder form of their leaves, fruit or fragrance. They add a decorative and delicious touch to everyday cooking and elegance to special-occasion dishes. by Renee Shepard nasturtiums for color and spice
Every kitchen garden should include showy and flavorful nasturtiums. They come in a wide range of saucy colors, and both the leaves and flowers are delicious mildly spicy like watercress with a hint of honey. Grow all eight colors of ‘Whirlybird,’ bright ‘Amazon Jewels,’ pastelyellow ‘Moonlight,’ creamy ‘Vanilla Berry’ or brilliant ‘Empress of India.’ I chop the petals and add them in a confetti of color to rice, potatoes, pasta or green salads. Mix the petals into cream cheese or other sandwich spreads and tuck them into lunch-box tuna sandwiches. Nasturtium flowers go especially well with seafood; add them to crab or shrimp salads and use them to garnish grilled or poached salmon.
NEXT WEEK
INSECT GASTRONOMY
Exploring taste, scent and texture
P OP COR N AN D INS E C TS PROVI D E D FRO M THAÏ L AN D
Photo: Martin Kufmann
The flowers also can be steeped in mild rice or cider vinegar to add a bit of spice. Nasturtiums are very easy and forgiving flowers to grow from seed. They thrive in most gardens and actually flower best in poor soil. The unusually rich colors of nasturtium cultivars range from pale primrose yellow to orange, bright vermilion and deep mahogany. Plants can be either softly mounding, about 18 inches across, or trailing varieties that can be trained up short trellises. They will obligingly fill in garden edges and bare spots or drape from containers. Their effect is both lovely and luxurious. Different varieties offer leaf colors including dark green, blue-green and even variegated green and white, all with pretty lily-pad-shaped leaves. edible annual flowers for garden beds
Antique petite Signet marigolds, Tagetes signata, grow quickly from seed into neat 12- to 18-inch mounds whose lacy foliage is soon covered by masses of dainty half-inch single flowers. The flowers and foliage have a scent something like lemon verbena, much different than the strong odor of common marigolds. These nonfussy, heat-tolerant, long-blooming flowers add a bright touch of color to vegetables, pastas or salads. Look for varieties like ‘Lemon’ or ‘Orange Gem,’ or grow Signet ‘Starfire’ for a mix of three colors. All annual calendula varieties, C. officinalis, are edible. The sunny golden and orange
FLOWERS IN FRENCH GASTRONOMY • Hôtel-restaurant Hervé Busset, Domaine de Cambelong, 12320 Conques Phone No.: 05 65 72 84 77
• Michel Bras, route de l’Aubrac 12210 Laguiole Phone No.: 05 45 70 89 76
SECRET ADRESSES TESTED BY EDITORS COLE T TE , E N G LIS H C H E F US IN G H E R B S AN D FLOW E R S IN H IS COO K
Photo: Alexandre Hazim
flower petals lend a delicate flavor and color to both egg and cheese dishes, add a saffron-like nuance to rice dishes and breads, and make colorful additions to salads. Easily sown directly from seed, they all grow about a foot and a half tall and bloom profusely in sunny conditions. Oldfashioned heartsease, Viola tricolor, has pretty little one-inch flowers that look like miniature pansies with faces of deep violet, mauve, yellow and white. The blossoms have a faint wintergreen taste that is mild and pleasant; use them as a garnish with cheese plates or sliced fruit, or to decorate cakes. The blossoms also can be candied for special occasions. Simply paint them with slightly beaten egg whites, sprinkle them with fine granulated sugar and let them dry. Weather-tolerant and long-blooming, Johnny-jump-ups grow six to eight inches tall and readily self-sow.
• Whatley Manor Hotel and Spa Easton Grey, Malmesbury Wiltshire, SN16 0RB Phone No.: +44 (0) 1666 822 888 Fax: +44 (0) 1666 826 120
• Everest, Chef Joho 440 S. LaSalle St., 40th Floor, Chicago, IL 60605 Phone No.: (312) 663-8920
Food at Whatley Manor bursts with flavour and originality with a choice of two dining experiences and two bars.
This, the pinnacle of Chef-Proprietor Jean Joho’s restaurant collections, is recognized worldwide for its superb cuisine and unique wine collection. In this spectacular setting with the glittering city spread out 40 stories below, you will experience a caliber of personal service and a level of culinary excellence that defines «world-class.»
• Jean-Georges 1 Central Park West New York, NY 10023 Phone No.: 212-299-3900
The jewel of Chef Jean‑Georges Vongerichten’s empire. Consistently awarded four stars by the New York Times and three Michelin stars, Jean‑Georges presents exquisitely crafted dishes blending French, American, and Asian influences.
• Restaurant Lerbach, Nils Henkel Althoff Schlosshotel Lerbach Lerbacher Weg 51465 Bergisch Gladbach Phone No.: +49 2202 - 2040
With lightness and transparency 2-star chef Nils Henkel has developed a gourmet cuisine that is absolutely unique. He manages to create pure freshness, condensed aromas and novel textures for menus that succeed in astounding his guests again and again.
PSYCHOLOGY OF DISGUST
OVERCOMING THE MENTAL BARRIER TO CONSUMING INSECTS Writing on this subject, I find it hard to ignore my own early experiences of eating insects. In Walt Disney’s jungle Book, midway through singing The Bear Necessities, Baloo lifts a rock to eat some ants, a practice copied by an impressionable Mowgli. Unlike Mowgli, I had a mother close at hand who wasn’t best pleased when she found me licking the paving slab outside our back door. Four ants down and my meal was cur short, suppressed with a rocket. stories of children eatigg insects are relatively commonplace, eating worms at the bottom of the garden, bur these experiences are almost always nipped in the bud by parents before they become a habit. Our relationship with insects as food is doomed thereafter. We learn nursery rhymes like There Was an Old LadyWho Swallowed a Fly, and refer to insects as bugs, pests, and creepy crawlies. We may have fleeting encounters with insects as food, but these usually take the form of novelty. The insect eating challenges conducted on trashy television shows do little to improve the image of entomophagy. When discussing the consumption of insects as food, we almost always consider them to be alive, still twitching between our jaws, a rogue wiry leg writhing against our lip. We are, of course, more familiar with insects in their living, wriggling state, unlike poultry, livestock, and fish. In many cases, we may be more familiar with inanimate slabs of meat than we are the animal from which they came. Yet it remains that serving a plate of insects poses something of a quandary. Why do we find eating insects so disgusting? in 1885 , Vincent Holt wrote Why Not Eat Insects? and argues the question admirably. “Why on earth should these creatures be called loathsome, which, as a matter of fact, are not loathsome in anyway, and, indeed, are in every way more fitted for human food than many of the so-called delicacies now highly prized?” Holt refers to the diets of most insects being herbivorous compared to the feeding habits of animals such as the eel, calling it, “the very scavenger of the water- there being no filth it will not swallow”. Holt also relays how lobsters are caught, their pots baited with rotten fish. Holt’s points seem just as relevant today at a time when provenance is held equally important to the diet on which livestock is raised.
“Fashion is the most powerful motive in the world”, writes Holt, “Why does not someone in a high place set the common-sense fashion of adding insect dishes to our tables?”. As the foraging trend heeded by countless restaurants now escalates into new territory, and insects are indeed appearing on a handful of menus, perhaps Holt’s point is finally being exercised. to find out a little more about our reluctance towards entomophagy, I spoke with Paul Rozin, Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. “I think insects are the answer to the world’s food problems, and the main barrier is psychological”, says Rozin, whose work has a strong focus on disgust and human food choice. “We are averse towards eating almost all animals”, continues Rozin. “Insects are the rule, not the exception”. You only have to look at the contents of your nearest zoo to realise these words ring true. In a 1997 inrerview with his University’s magazine Arts & Sciences, Rozin is quoted saying; “Disgust evolves culturally and develops from a system to protect the body from harm, to a system to protect the soul from harm”. So our reluctance lies within a conditioned defense mechanism. it isn’t hard to notice that insects are also constructed quite differently to the animals we do eat. The main difference, and an area we find difficult to contend with, is the crunchy exoskeleton. This inverse structure provides us with a texture we find uncomfortable. “The problem is two fold”, says Benedict Reade, Head of Culinary Research and Development at Nordic Food Lab. “One is the crunch of the skeleton, the other is the fact that inside the skeleton is often just goo-gunk. Its pretty hard to find something meaty inside”. for now, eating insects in both the US and UK remains a novelty, something done as a dare whilst on holiday, but Paul Rozin explains there are steps being taken towards changing our attitudes. “Waiting until we are forced to eat them, by necessity; introducing them slowly and subtly; and finding delicious ways to cook whole insects”. As these methods slowly come into practice, maybe we can regain that childlike curiosity towards eating insects again. •
Words: Nick Baines Photos: Martin Kufmann