Fine Foodies magazine

Issue.1 Vol.1 March/April 2011

Fine Foodies Passionate about good food Brand new foodiiene magaz

INTERVIEW

Raymond Blanc Best bar none THE MAN BENEATH THE CHEF S WHITES OPENS UP

Plus:

March/April 2011

] SUMPTUOUS RECIPES ] IN SEASON ] FOODIE HERO

IDEAS FOR A CHOCOLATE FEAST...JUST IN TIME FOR EASTER

Food around the globe NEW ZEALAND UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT

Welcome

Fine Foodies Passionate about good food

Target Publishing Ltd, The Old Dairy, Hudsons Farm, Fieldgate Lane, Ugley Green, Essex CM22 6HJ Telephone: 01279 816300 www.finefoodiesmag.com

W

Editor: Rachel Symonds e: editor@finefoodiesmag.com t: 01279 810088

elcome to the launch issue of

Fine Foodies, a brand new bimonthly magazine that is all about good food and drink.

We have been planning Fine Foodies since

Contributing Editor: Sarah Willingham

September, and are very excited to bring you

Contributors: Jennifer Britt, JJ Goodman, Jane Baxter

our first issue, which can be found in delis, food halls and farm shops across the country.

But what can you expect from us?

Sub Editor: Jeff Munn-Giddings Group Sales Manager: Kathryn Howe

British people like to eat, yet many of us – whether through lack of

e: kathryn.howe@targetpublishing.com t: 01279 810067

hours in the day or inspiration – don’t actually spend much time

Sales Executives: Ben Brooks e: ben.brooks@targetpublishing.com t: 01279 810068

convenience. Here at Fine Foodies, the ethos is very different. We like to

cooking at home anymore. Instead, we have become a nation of shout about fine food, and we are passionate about giving our readers the help and advice they need to cook at home and enjoy their food.

Production Leann Lau e: leann.lau@targetpublishing.com t: 01279 810075

hugely popular Michelin-starred chef and star of the TV shows The

Design Clare Holland e: clare.holland@targetpublishing.com

Contributing Editor – Sarah Willingham, about how his early years

Administration/Distribution/Marketing James Rix e: james.rix@targetpublishing.com t: 01279 816300

Our first issue is extra special because we talk to Raymond Blanc, the

Restaurant and Kitchen Secrets. Raymond talks to his friend – and our defined his passion for food, and urges us to get back to respecting food. Find out what he has to say on page 12.

We also bring you a selection of mouth-watering recipes; whether it’s chocolate-themed dishes in time for Easter, or sumptuous recipes

Accounts Lorraine Evans e: lorraine.evans@targetpublishing.com t: 01279 816300

from the Masterchef experts, there is something to whet the appetite

Managing Director David Cann e: info@targetpublishing.com

other countries and how their cuisine has been shaped over the years.

of every palate.

Food is such a big part of our culture, and so we look further afield at This issue, we turn our attention to New Zealand. Turn to page 34.

Finally, we hope you enjoy this issue of Fine Foodies, and we look forward to bringing you many more. We’d love to know what you think of the magazine, so why not drop me an email at

ISSN 2046-438X

Published by Target Publishing Limited. Printed in the UK by The Magazine Printing Company plc www.magprint.co.uk ©2011 Target Publishing Ltd. Produced on environmentally friendly chlorine free paper derived from sustained forests. The Publishers cannot accept any responsibility for the advertisements in this publication. To protect our environment papers used in this publication are produced by mills that promote sustainably managed forests and utilise Elementary Chlorine Free process to produce fully recyclable material in accordance with an Environmental Management System conforming with BS EN ISO 14001:2004.

editor@finefoodiesmag.com?

Rachel RaCHEL SyMONDS

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Sarah Willingham is one of the most successful people in the food industry, best known for appearing alongside top chef Raymond Blanc as an inspector on the popular BBC show, The Restaurant. With two business degrees, the self-confessed foodie most recently was acknowledged as one of the 35 most successful women under 35 in the UK, featured in the Courvoisier Top 500 and in Business Weekly’s young Entrepreneur of the year awards. For over a decade, Sarah has managed some of the biggest brands in the restaurant industry, including Pizza Express International. In 2004, she was part of a consortium which acquired The Bombay Bicycle Club in London, growing it from six restaurants to 17.

March/april 2011 FINE FOODIES

Fine Foodies

Contents Passionate about good food

12 COvEr StOry

12

an evening with raymond Blanc – The Michelin-starred chef opens up to Fine Foodies contributing Editor, Sarah Willingham

FEaturES

18

Food focus – chocolate: from its history to recipe ideas for Easter, this feature cannot fail to whet the appetite

28 Recipes – chocolate indulgence from Terre à Terre

30 34

Recipes – dishes from the Masterchef experts

Global foodie – Fine Foodies explores traditional New Zealand cuisine

24

rEgularS

6 8 10

Foodie bites – what’s going on in the world of fine food

Sarah’s view – Fine Foodies contributing Editor, Sarah Willingham, this month talks local, fresh and eating as a family

16 FINE FOODIES March/april 2011

18

24

Shelf life – Explore the latest products in store

iSSuE 1 March/april 2011

UK fare – the great-tasting foods native to Wales

28

In season – what’s ideal for eating and cooking with at this time of year? riverford Organic tells all

38

Drink up – from wines and cocktail ideas to the newest hot drinks

42

Fine Foodie hero – rupert parsons

Product news

News update

Foodie bites cheese choice tom parker bowles

FOOD FEStIval SEcurES Star lINE-up Tom Parker Bowles and Brian Turner have joined as patrons for this year’s Malton Food Lovers Festival.

Held over the weekend of May 21 and 22, the Yorkshire event has added the popular food personalities to their board.

Parker Bowles, a popular food writer and presenter of the Good Food Channel’s Market Kitchen and Turner, a long-time TV chef, are joined

by Yorkshire culinary ambassador Andrew Pern, along with TV cook Rosemary Shrager.

Added to that, there will be 90 stallholders offering regional and local produce along with live cookery demonstrations – perfect for some andrew kitchen inspiration. As if that pern wasn’t enough, there will also be the Beer, Wine and Drinks Festival to include tastings, flamboyant cocktail mixing, and an all-day beer garden.

• Find out more about what’s on offer by visiting www.welovemalton.co.uk

FINE FOODIES March/april 2011

There’s no denying that blue cheeses have a rather unique smell to them, and now researchers are aiming to find out why.

Scientists are putting blue cheeses from the East Midlands under the microscope in an attempt to explain what gives them their distinctive taste, texture and smell.

The team, from the universities of Northampton and Nottingham, and supported

by Food and Drink iNet, will be looking at how micro-organisms in blue cheese work.

They will be specifically studying the secondary flora, which can have a significant impact on the properties of the final product.

Deli expanDs with cooks’ club Deli and café Country Harvest has diversified by creating a new cooks’ club. Wensleydale cheese was its first ‘ingredient of the month’, complete with in-store tastings and a feast of recipe ideas for customers signing up for the club.

Members pay a one-off £15 joining fee and in return receive a goodie bag worth more than £50 including a specially-commissioned Country Harvest apron and a copy of the book Great British Cheeses and a free family visitor pass to Wensleydale Creamery.

Looking ahead, Country Harvest is putting the finishing touches to a series of Cooks’ Club demo and dine evenings to be held next year.

• Find out more at www.country-harvest.co.uk

LEARN TO COOK

If you struggle for inspiration in the kitchen, a new series of workshops could be just for you.

Mobile cookery company Cookery Coach has joined forces with School of Wok for a series of classes taking place during 2011. Over three months, professional tutors will take turns to lead classes based on three different international cuisine themes; School of Wok, Flavours of India, and Gastro Pub Classics.

Using fresh, quality ingredients and avoiding the use of additives and preservatives, they will reveal how to cook international cuisine including home-made dumplings, tandoori chicken and panroasted venison.

FISH FOR THOUGHT

Jamie Oliver has been doing his bit to encourage the nation to opt for British-farmed fish.

A new series of 10 bite-sized programmes on Channel 4, called Jamie s Fish Supper, have been airing to highlight why we should buy and cook with some of the less widely used, yet plentiful, species of fish and seafood such as trout, mackerel, coley and mussels.

The series has been welcomed by the British Trout Association, with Chief Executive, David Bassett, commenting: It s great to see such a high profile British chef championing trout in this way. The endorsement of a high quality farmed product is very encouraging and shows the increasing trend in preference for farmed fish.

SUFFOLK FARE

Everything from food and drink producers to farmers markets are being celebrated in a new campaign to highlight the fare of Suffolk.

Suffolk Food & Drink ‒ Experiences to Savour aims to promote the county for its rich choice of real food and drink and encourage visitors. It will coincide with Suffolk s Big Taste event.

Suffolk s local food and drink brings together everything that s great about the county, on one plate ‒ from its beautiful landscape and open seas, to its glorious sunshine and fresh air. The new Choose Suffolk campaign is a celebration of Suffolk s position as a UK culinary county, explained Oliver Paul, of the Suffolk Food Hall.

• Find out more at www.choosesuffolk.com

• Check out the details at www.cookerycoach.co.uk

Foodie fact

Did you know that olives are given a quality based on what, in wine terms, is known as Terroir.

Terroir relates to the soil and geography surrounding the olive tree, and plays a crucial role in the characteristic of olive oils that you buy.

This comes from online fine food store, www.getoily.com, which recommends using a peppery virgin olive oil for enhancing salad, or a more modest oil for cooking.

DIARY DATE

If you want to celebrate the wealth of good food and drinks in regions around the UK, then Foodies Festivals could be for you.

Kicking off in May in Brighton, the threeday show then moves to Hampton Court Palace in May, before heading off to Bristol, Edinburgh and Oxford later in the summer.

Demos will take place while local restaurants can showcase their signature dishes from around the world in the Restaurant Village. Alternatively, mixologists from top bars can show off their skills accompanied by a line-up of live music entertainment.

• Check out the dates at www.foodiesfestival.com

MARCH/APRIL 2011 FINE FOODIES

7

Product news

Shelf Life WHAT S NEW IN THE WORLD OF GREAT-TASTING FOOD

OILED UP Terre di San Vito is a new premium olive oil hitting the UK shelves.

A natural extra virgin olive oil that hails from the small town of San Vito in the heart of the Puglia region of Southern Italy, the oil is blended from six different types of olive, each handpicked, handpressed, filtered only once, and then bottled, all within 24 hours from start to finish.

Berry good

ICE SCREAM

We may not be into summer yet, but that doesn t stop the people at Beckleberry s Ice Cream tempting our tastebuds.

Hand-crafted using fresh milk and cream collected from local farms, the Beckleberry s range includes Great Taste award-winning ice creams as well as blackcurrant and kirsch sorbet or the rather imaginative mango, chilli and ginger variety. If you fancy an extra treat, you should sample their sumptuous desserts, especially the Tart aux Pommes.

DAIRY DELIGHT

Liz and Roger Sutton bought their first three goats in Delamere Forest, Cheshire, late in 1985.

Today, Delamere Dairy is an awardwinning producer of goats products, and to mark 25 years in business Liz and Roger have created a special celebratory goat s milk carton. Look out for the commemorative carton in store now.

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FINE FOODIES MARCH/APRIL 2011

If you ve never tried spelt, then what better introduction than with Sharpham Park s new Organic Spelt Berry Puffs.

Spelt is a healthy grain that offers a good source of protein and fibre. While not being gluten- or wheat-free, it can often be eaten by those with wheat intolerance.

Using organically-milled spelt, the Berry Puffs are coated with natural blueberry and blackcurrant juice with a touch of organic honey. Enjoy with lashings of chilled full cream milk or for a sweeter dessert option, sprinkle on top of rich chocolate ice cream.

Fine Foodies recommends

Aspall has unveiled a new range of premium vinegars.

Following six months in development, the 11-strong range is perfect for using in dressings, sauces and marinades and include Aspall Cyder, available as organic and standard, and Apple Balsamic. Or you could opt for one of the two single wine vinegars, Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc.

Regular bite

Sarah’s view

T

Each issue, Fine Foodies Contributing Editor, Sarah Willingham, gives her view. In our launch issue, she reflects on the importance of truly loving – and respecting – the food we eat.

he last couple of weeks,

my four-year-old daughter. I handed her a

following my interview with

tomato and asked her ‘what does this smell

Raymond Blanc and a large

like?’ ‘Nothing,’ she replied. I did this with

press conference on food

four different ‘packets’ of tomatoes until she

nutrition, have forced me to

said – ‘ooooooo Mummy that smells like

reflect on the food I’m eating in restaurants

Grandad’s tomatoes’. Jackpot!

and the food I am putting into the mouths

But we live in England where the sun

of my children.

shines for a few weeks of the year and my

Earlier this week, I was asked to join a

vegetable patches bloom over summer.

press conference with John Torode from

The rest of the year they sit looking bare.

Masterchef, for Unilever Food Services.

Most of the UK’s trade press were there to discuss the findings of a new report and a recent hot topic in Government; with obesity in this country hitting crisis point and one in six meals today eaten out of the home, the Government and press are asking if the eating-out market needs to start taking more responsibility.

The report showed that the majority of people would like to know more about the nutritional value – or otherwise – of the food that they are eating. The suggestion is to put a full nutritional breakdown, as you’d see on a supermarket ready meal, on menu items.

Whilst I think that we all need to take responsibility for our nation of unhealthy eaters, I wonder if it’s realistic. Our chefs are not trained to cook by numbers, they are trained to cook by taste. In addition, my biggest concern is that the majority of people buying these products wouldn’t actually understand the breakdown as you just about need a degree in nutrition to understand those charts. Can you all tell me that if a dish has 4g of salt in it, is that good?

Bad? Average? What per cent of RDA is that? And we’re all foodies!

A full calorific and nutritional breakdown would not only confuse us but make it impossible for chefs to provide seasonal, ever-changing menus that react to the catch of the day, or the best vegetables from the market. Let’s not take the love out of our kitchens and become too prescriptive.

My suggestion instead is to be more

Our local ‘pick your own’ opens its doors for

10

FINE FOODIES March/april 2011

10 to 12 weeks and the rest of the year works hard to get ready for ‘peak season’.

Faced with this, let’s be sensible – we’re never going to be wholly sustainable! But after my discussion with Raymond, I think

“It strikes me that it’s less about local food, and organic, for example, and more about respect”

I’ve been missing the point. It strikes me

transparent on menus. Mark a few dishes as

we are raising our children to actually

‘lighter options’, ‘low fat’, or ‘low salt’.

respect the food we serve, and to give it

As a mum of three – and very soon to be four – I was moved by the romanticism of

that it’s less about local food, and organic, for example, and more about respect. I adore food, it’s the centre of our family and our life – the levels of excitement that I can reach over a good dhal isn’t normal and, of course, my children feed off this.

This is all well and good but I wonder if

such value? I’m not so sure.

Yes, we’re ‘foodies’ but that’s all about

Raymond’s upbringing, how his parents and

flavour and quality. I have never considered

surroundings were responsible for instilling a

looking at a pig in the way that Raymond

love of and, more importantly a respect for,

does and I find the experience humbling.

food that runs so deep that each growing

Last week, a friend left a brace of

vegetable, swimming fish, and roaming

pheasants swinging over my gate. After I

animal holds such value for him – this is a

was over the initial shock of putting my

man who can gush about the taste of soil!

hand on a dead pheasant in the pitch black

Of course, times have changed. This was

(they came with no warning!) I skinned them

post war, food was not in abundance and if

– rather reluctantly I’m ashamed to say – but

you wanted to eat well, you had to grow it,

then very happily put in a pot full of seasonal

pick it or kill it. He’s right that we have been

meats to make my very own ‘Oxfordshire

spoilt, become gluttonous and take for

Cassoulet’. What I think is important is that

granted the shelves and shelves of cheap

the children actually saw the entire food

food in our supermarkets. Does the life of

chain – how often does that happen?

the pig really matter to us? Do we care that

So, my task to myself this month is to

our vegetables have been sprayed with

respect the food that we eat, rather than

chemicals to look that ‘good’?

simply focusing on the flavour and skill of

Last week I stood in a supermarket with

cooking it. FF

Interview

An evening with

Raymond Blanc World-renowned chef Raymond Blanc opens up about respecting our food, family values, and the romance of food to his friend and Fine Foodies Contributing Editor, Sarah Willingham.

K

nowing Raymond, I call ahead to be sure that he’s running to schedule.

All is well, I am reassured – 6.30pm at his house. At 6pm I say night to the kids, am putting my coat on and the

phone rings...RB is running late, he’s still at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons. I offer to come to Le Manoir instead – offer accepted. I set off. Phone rings – it’s Raymond.

“I’m exhausted – meet me at home.”

He’s been so busy recently, finishing filming of the second series of Kitchen Secrets (where we see Raymond at his best, in my opinion), opening The London Cocktail Club in Goodge Street, finishing his book, working with Orient Express Hotels in his new role as Vice-President, not to mention Le Manoir, Brasserie Blanc, Maison Blanc. I’m glad he’s changed his mind – at least he can put his feet up, put his slippers on and sit on his own sofa.

We both arrive at his house at the same time. He has his suitcase with him, having spent the last couple

12

FINE FOODIES March/april 2011

“In Maman Blanc’s house I was shown every day the true beauty of the world around us.

Local produce and seasonality were all second nature.”

of nights in London and seems so pleased to be home. We stand chatting in the kitchen with his gorgeous fiancé, Natalia,

Raymond...it s a pig!

He laughs, full of mischief.

Oh my lovely Sarah (I now wish I could

and I can visibly see him relax in her

write with a French accent), this is not just

company with a glass of champagne,

any old pig all right, she is a symbol of

some smoked trout, feta cheese and

fertility, of beauty, she represents all that is

olives.

British, all that we need in our food chain,

We talk everything from business to kids to new restaurants, sexism and holidays. They are such good company!

Finally, we adjourn, sit on the sofa and

she is magnifique! he says.

It s amazing but I sit back and listen as he continues to gush about this black and white pedigree pig and realise that he s

I start to tell him a bit about Fine Foodies.

not even trying to dig himself out of a

I brought with me a couple of other

hole ‒ he really and truly thinks this pig is

magazines to give him an example of

one of the most beautiful things in the

similar publications from the publishers,

world. Only Raymond can get away with

Target Publishing, and he is naturally

likening me to a pig!

drawn towards Organic & Natural Business, I assume because Helen Browning, the

Discovering good food

Director of The Soil Association, is on the

So, where did his love and passion for

front cover...how wrong I was!

food and all things natural come from?

Raymond looks at my big, bulging

It took him until the age of 19 to know

tummy ‒ heavily pregnant with my fourth

that he had to be a chef. His parents took

baby ‒ and strokes the front of the

him to a local restaurant in Besançon, and

magazine. In his strong French accent he

as he walked out onto the terrace he

turns to me and says she is just like you ‒

recalls it was like falling in love .

look at her! In the prime of her life ‒ glowing .

I m still thinking he s talking about

He sat on his chair and watched what he describes as the most extraordinary scene ever; leaves shimmering, poetry in

Helen Browning as he continues she is a

motion, waiters in black ties dancing from

pedigree ‒ the finest example of her kind .

customer to customer like a ballet ‒

What on earth is he talking about?

lovers, romance, forever, encore. As he sat

I look down at the front cover, look back up at him and ask if he s serious.

and watched this scene he had his epiphany ‒ he knew he would become a

MARCH/APRIL 2011 FINE FOODIES

13

Interview

involve food or the garden. He was a postwar boy and food was scarce and precious. He earned his food by chopping wood and helping his Papa outside.

“I was never allowed to serve the bread at home, only ever my father.

Papa would put a cross on the bread as a sign of respect for the food – you had to earn it.”

He says he was Maman’s helper whenever she gave him the chance (at this time the girls cooked and the boys laboured outside). He chopped, killed, and plucked anything he was allowed to and eventually she let him inside her kitchen.

He talks of Maman’s values and the chef and make his customers’ experience as perfect as this every time.

He should have known before then, he says.

“You create a caring family, you create a

values of his home; generosity, detail, love,

caring society,” he explains. I couldn’t

sharing, training team, ethics, seasonality

agree more.

and I realise just how much Le Manoir

Most of Raymond’s earliest memories

reflects him. FF

“In Maman Blanc’s house I was shown every day the true beauty of the world around us. Local produce and seasonality

The food crisis

our food as I did growing up, we will

were all second nature.”

I ask him what he thinks is the future of

have no choice, the cost of food will go

the food on our table? Will it be organic

up and up,” he says.

Their garden was the size of the magnificent garden at Le Manoir – not

or genetically modified?

because they were rich but because that

“Globally,” he says, “we have no clue.”

was how they survived in those post-war

We are in crisis – prices are rocketing

years.

But will the food chain become organic?

He laughs: “I doubt it!”

because there is simply not enough food.

He explains to me that there are 70

The UK still imports over 70 per cent of its

different types of organic, and the Soil

him taste the soil that their food grew in.

food, we are not competitive, and it’s

Association’s is the purest form of

He smelt it, felt it, tasted it.

cheaper to import it than to make it. As

definition. He starts to get very passionate.

At the age of seven his father made

“It’s a living soul,” he gushes,

we become more and more dependent

“We are being misled, everyone is

“thousands, millions of nutrients, of living

on other countries for our food chain we

doing their own things, and the

things are in that soil. I learnt what grows

have less and less understanding of the

Government needs to take some steps

in soil according to its taste and smell.”

true cost to the environment of

and put together a legal criteria. There

His Maman is a typical French mum.

transporting it across the world.

are 75 assurance schemes – no wonder

“Cooking is an act of love from my mum, she is a giver,” he says.

Raymond’s Grandmere was an exceptional cook and Papa, the gardener.

His mum never asked him to go and

“Sarah, each time you choose an apple you are making a choice – not just a

the consumers are confused.

“Nowadays you have to know so

culinary choice but a political choice, an

much about food to be a responsible

environmental choice.”

customer – you need a magnifying glass.”

Ten per cent of the population of

At this point, Natalia calls downstairs to

get the potatoes from the garden. She

Great Britain are leading the way and

tell him that Arsenal is playing. His

would only ever ask for the variety – if she

trying to create a better place and chefs

attention is instantly switched to another

said Maris Piper he knew it was purée day,

are now reconnecting with these values.

huge passion in his life. We sit watching

whereas Charlotte was salad day.

Raymond believes that during our

Arsenal thrash Leeds and he’s very happy.

lifetime we will undoubtedly see more

I decide it’s time to wrap up as I can’t

and more food produced in the UK.

bring myself to interrupt the game now

It’s this culture that he has introduced into his restaurants over the years. Food is not about stuffing your face, he says, it’s about family, friends, an event.

14

FINE FOODIES March/april 2011

“We are going to learn how to revalue

as he’s relaxing for the first time in days.

UK fare

Welsh flavours

Traditional Welsh cakes

Explore the wealth of distinct flavours for which Wales has become known.

W

elsh food has a

building awareness of the food brand

long-established

Wales the True Taste.

reputation for its

Winners for 2010-2011 included Y

distinctiveness

Bwtri, which took gold in the Deli/

and quality, but

Speciality Store category. Three brothers,

what’s so special about it?

Geraint, Dafydd and Eilir Hughes, took

Well, to start with its very landscape

over the running of Y Bwtri in north-west

reflects freshness, quality and variety, and

Wales, nearly four years after it was first

the country prides itself on supplying

established.

some of the finest produce in the world.

Y Bwtri is dedicated to bringing the best

From unique cheeses and wines, famous

choice of good food to its customers and

Welsh beef and lamb, to fresh fish and

has a special emphasis on local produce. In

seafood, Wales has it all.

addition, they offer a complete food Welsh cawl

And research has confirmed just how many of us are turning to Welsh food and drink.

A poll carried out for the Welsh

service including outside catering, hampers, buffets and an online shop.

made with lamb and leeks.

Another popular dish is laverbread,

Also scooping an award was Vaughan’s Family Butchers, the gold winner in the

Assembly Government has revealed that

which is made with seaweed and often

Butcher category. This independent retail

nine out of 10 people could name at least

fried into patties with egg, bacon, and

family butcher offers a range of quality

one native food, revealing that awareness

cockles to be eaten at breakfast, or Bara

fresh traditional meat cuts and associated

is now at its highest since 2005.

Brith, a lovely fruit bread often served with

products including sausages, bacon,

afternoon tea. Or you could try Welsh

burgers and pies, all made with local

cakes, which are a bit like scones.

ingredients.

Meanwhile the survey revealed that three quarters of those questioned found Welsh menus appealing.

Signature foods

And then of course, there’s Welsh rarebit, an upmarket cheese on toast.

You will often find many regional

Lamb is the meat that is most commonly

specialities across Wales, which will often

used in dishes, and Welsh lamb is famed

revolve around the foods that are

across the world, although beef is also

available to the area.

very commonly eaten. The cuisine will often also include seafood, particularly in

Welsh winners

areas close to the coast.

Wales is leading the way when it comes

Cheese, too, is a big export product, with the most famous perhaps being Caerphilly, which is exported all around the world.

Leeks are very commonly used in Welsh recipes. In fact, cawl is a Welsh stew

16

FINE FOODIES March/april 2011

to good food if Wales The True Taste Food & Drink Awards are anything to go by.

Launched in 2002, these awards are managed by the Welsh Assembly Government as part of its commitment to developing the food and drink sector and

Diary date If you like the sound of Welsh fare, then a weekend-long event could be for you.

The Welsh Food Festival takes place on September 3 and 4 in Powys.

Visitors can learn all kinds of things, from the world of bees to how you can give a hen a home. There will be cookery demonstrations taking place throughout the weekend, while Welsh producers will be on hand to showcase their produce.

Find out more about the Welsh Food Festival by logging onto www. welshfoodfestival.co.uk

Take inspiration with this selection of mouth-watering recipes from winners of the Wales True Taste Food & Drink Awards.

Usk Valley rib-eye steak with Perl Las oyster

Griddled Springfield’s asparagus and goat’s cheese tart

A speedy and tasty alternative to the traditional surf and turf.

This tart is ideal for a summer picnic.

Make individual tarts by cutting the pastry into four equal squares.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 10 minutes Cooking: 10 minutes Ingredients: • 4 rib-eye steaks • 1tbsp sunflower oil • 25g Bethesda butter • Halen Môn • 4 oysters, shucked, reserving four halves of the shells • 100g Perl Las Method: • Take the steak out of the fridge at least 20 minutes before cooking and leave to reach room temperature. Rub with the sunflower oil, black pepper and Halen Môn.

• Heat a frying pan until smoking hot.

Cook the steaks for two minutes on each side (depending on the thickness).

Remove from the pan and allow to rest for about five minutes.

• Top each oyster in its shell with a slice of Perl Las and place under a hot grill until the cheese has melted and is bubbling.

• Serve the steak with the oyster gratin and chips.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 10 minutes Cooking: 25 minutes Ingredients: • 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed • 1tbsp olive oil • Halen Môn and black pepper • 1 pack ready rolled puff pastry or filo pastry sheets • 100g Blaenafon soft goats cheese • 1tbsp fresh thyme or parsley, finely chopped To serve: • Balsamic glaze (optional) Method: • Preheat oven 200ºC/400ºF/Gas 6.

• Drizzle the asparagus with olive oil and season. Heat a griddle pan until smoking and griddle the asparagus until nicely charred.

• Place the pastry on a baking sheet and score a 1cm border around the edge of the pastry. Prick inside the border with a fork.

Bake for five minutes until beginning to brown.

• Meanwhile mix the herbs into the goat’s cheese. When the pastry is ready remove from the oven, spread the herbed cheese evenly over the pastry base and top with the griddled asparagus. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until golden.

Llandudno smoked duck noodle soup Ingredients: • 1tbsp groundnut oil • 3 garlic cloves, crushed • 2.5cm piece of ginger, peeled and sliced thinly • 125g Maesyffin shiitake mushrooms, sliced • 2 red chillies, de-seeded and sliced thinly • 2 litres chicken stock • 1 star anise • 1tbsp rice wine or dry sherry • 2tbsp soy sauce • 200g noodles • 2 large heads bok choi (or greens of choice such as spinach or cabbage) • 4 spring onions sliced diagonally • 1 x 250g Llandudno or Black Mountain smoked duck breast, sliced thinly Method • Heat the oil in a deep saucepan or wok.

Add the garlic, ginger and chilli and cook over a gentle heat for a minute.

• Add the mushrooms and stir fry for two minutes before adding the wine and soy.

• Pour over the stock, add the star anise and bring to the boil. Simmer for a few minutes.

• Add the bok choi and leave to cook for two minutes.

• Add the noodles, spring onions and duck slices.

• Divide the noodles between four serving bowls. Ladle over the hot stock and serve.

MArch/April 2011 FINE FOODIES

17

Food focus

In love with

chocolate

How do you love yours? Food expert Jennifer Britt explores the world of chocolate.

T

he small cacoa tree grows

chocolate, with cocoa powder in water

abundantly in the steamy

mixed with flavourings such as chillies,

Central American and

vanilla, herbs and honey. In Europe, too,

Southern American

chocolate was a drink for a couple of

rainforests. And even

centuries before someone discovered

before humans started their love affair

how to make it into a bar.

with chocolate, monkeys knew a thing

In the England of King Charles 11, the

about the sweet pulp concealed inside

diarist Samuel Pepys tells us that he was a

the thick, melon-shape pods hanging

frequenter of the chocolate houses that

from the trees, which turn a vibrant

became the in-vogue meeting places

golden or scarlet colour.

extensive pantheon of deities, inspiring

from the mid 1600s onwards. The most

the 18th century Swedish botanist, Carl

famous, White’s of St James, still lives on

by spitting out the bitter beans. At some

Linnaeus to name it in Latin, as

today as the crème de la crème of

point deep in the mists of history, the

Theobrama cacoa, translated as ‘food or drink of the Gods’.

Whereas today we see chocolate as a bit of indulgence, cacao was considered a health-restoring source of energy, wisdom and sexual prowess, but the beans were also guarded in the vaults of the counting houses as a currency.

And when, in the 16th century, European explorers and adventurers first set foot on the American continent and encountered the Aztec people, it was as a commercial proposition that cacoa, which they pronounced as cocoa, held its greatest appeal. Nevertheless, when the conquistadors took this new thing called chocolate back to Spain, the taste for it soon started to spread across Europe among the well-to-do.

Ancient hieroglyphics show that the Mayans and Aztecs drank, rather than ate

gentleman’s clubs.

However, the monkeys missed a trick

indigenous South American people realised that roasting or fermenting beans creates something truly enticing and mood-enhancing – what we now know and love as chocolate!

Chocolate’s origins The Olmecs – living in what is now Mexico and Guatamala – are believed to have planted the first cacoa plantations in around 400BC. But it was with the later Mayan and Aztec civilisations of course that chocolate became most famously associated.

Cacoa was a valuable commodity, only affordable for consumption by the wealthy, rather like the finest wines or delicacies such as caviare or truffles today.

It also had a revered place in religious ritual and ceremonies centred around an

18

FINE FOODIES March/april 2011

Modern chocolate Chocolate became more affordable but it remained a health drink, a vitamin pill of its day; indeed some of the most famous names in the story of British chocolate, Fry’s of Bristol and Terry’s of York – remember them? – were originally apothecaries.

Chocolate for eating didn’t really take off until Victorian times, prompted by the invention of a machine that extracted the cocoa butter from the beans.

Chocolate makers discovered in their experiments that the cocoa butter mixed with powder and sugar made something rather delicious to eat... and chocolate was born.

Today, we’re more than spoilt for choice, but what’s your poison, as it were?

“The indigenous South American people realised that roasting or fermenting beans creates something truly enticing – what we now know and love as chocolate!”

March/april 2011 FINE FOODIES

19

Food focus

With a splash of coffee

Higher, higher, higher

With milk

The percentages you see on chocolate

It was an English medical doctor, Sir Hans

refer to the total proportion of

Sloan, who back in the 17th century

ingredients, which come from the

decided he preferred the bitter taste of

fermented and roasted cocoa beans, so

chocolate – in those days still a drink –

the cocoa liquor and the cocoa butter, as

that was mellowed with milk.

opposed to the sugar. The higher the

It was two centuries later that the Swiss

cocoa content, the lower the amount of

produced the first milk chocolate bars for

sugar in a chocolate, bringing out the

which they are still famed today. Look for

earthy, fruity taste of the cocoa.

at least 30 per cent cocoa solids to give a

Seventy per cent cocoa solids have

good balance of cocoa and sweetness.

become a benchmark of quality for dark

Try a little bit of... Green & Black’s

chocolate but increasingly, you can find

original milk with 34 per cent cocoa solids

85 per cent, and even 90 per cent. The

for added depth of chocolate flavour.

Academy of Chocolate, a group of

Coffee with chocolate is a bit like Marmite – you either love it or you hate it.

If you’ve never tried it, you’d better decide which side of the mocha fence you’re on.

Go*Do is a new Italian brand of organic chocolate, named for pleasure... yes, that sort of pleasure! Whether or not you’d describe it as orgasmic, Go*Do Dark Chocolate Espresso with its double dose of caffeine is definitely for grown ups and crunchy coffee nibs give it even more bite. Or try Plamil’s new Coffee Bar for a real wake-up call, which amazingly has no added sugar and is vegan, not that you’d know it unless you read the label (we loved their Rum & Raisin too!)

April this year, Charlotte Flower Chocolates

leading chocolatiers and chefs, places the

White delight

minimum for a fine chocolate at 60 per

Should you still be eating white chocolate

bitter almond sloe blossom ganache as

cent but says quality is not only about the

after the age of about 10?

well as its Hot Cross Bun special; milk

machismo of high percentages. Varieties

Of course you should if you love its

of bean, how they are grown, processed

creamy taste, but make sure it’s made

and blended together, and of course the

with a high proportion of cocoa butter.

recipes used, are all just as important for a

Chocolate aficionados may say white

will be looking to make gorgeous, slightly

chocolate cream ganache flavoured with cinnamon, nutmeg and orange zest.

For the children

delicious end result.

varieties are not really chocolate at all

It may be stuff of Willy Wonka’s dreams,

Try a little bit of... Beyond Dark Drops of

because they don’t contain any of the

but for Clare Gardiner, of the Little

Pure Pleasure. These little chocolate drops

chocolate liquour. But with a good splash

Chocolate Shop, it became a reality.

with Madagascan vanilla come in a

of vanilla extract, it’s a treat.

perfect-sized 35g bag. The Beyond Dark

Try a little bit of... Divine’s White

factory in Yorkshire, and when she’s giving

chocolate makers say their smooth taste

Chocolate with Strawberries. A taste of

children – and grown-ups too – tours she

and rich antioxidant content is due to

English summer from this Fairtrade brand,

points out that the chocolate fountain

their careful selection of beans and the

which is co-owned by the Ghanaian

imagined by author Roald Dahl was not

gentle way they process them.

farmers who grow the cocoa.

so far-fetched after all as it was probably

Fruity and nutty

Raisins and hazelnuts are the classic combo in chocolate, although whatever fruit or nut you put with chocolate, it’s pretty irresistible.

Try a little bit of... Booja Booja’s Raspberry Ecuadorian Truffles won a Gold Great Taste Award last year, and are the first chocolates to be made in Ecuador.

In the raw

Egg-shaped

FINE FOODIES March/april 2011

inspired by the machinery used to “temper” the chocolate, heating and

Brightly-painted real eggs, or even the gift

cooling it to prevent it crystallising.

of a simple bird’s egg, are the traditions

Try a little bit of... The Little Chocolate

that lie behind the modern tradition of

Shop handmade animal figures, including

chocolate eggs, which were a 20th

Happy Hippo and Silly Snail. You might find

century introduction – hard to imagine

them too cute to eat, though.

Easter without them now!

Try a little bit of... Charlotte Flower

It’s hot

Chocolates, with flavours inspired by what

With chilli is how the South American Mayans

is available in the wild. With Easter late

and Aztecs used to take their chocolate.

The health benefits of chocolate have been in the news with the latest study about chocolate, this one from the Hershey Centre for Health and Nutrition.

This research institution was set up by Hershey – as in the classic American chocolate bar maker – so you would expect them to be looking for the best in chocolate.

There is now a long line of studies pointing to cocoa’s nutritious qualities. This latest finding is that there are more healthy plant compounds and antioxidants gram for gram in cocoa powder than in powders from fruits such as açai berries, blueberries, cranberries and pomegranates.

If you want to maximise the goodness of chocolate, then eat it “in the raw” – which means chocolate processed at low temperatures.

Chocolate really is the food of romance, says Raw Chocolate Company, because among its rich cocktail of goodies is phenylethylamine, otherwise known as PEA or the “love molecule”.

20

Clare runs her own real-life chocolate

Try a little bit of... Montezuma’s Chilli & Lime. The namesake of this Sussex-based chocolate maker was the Aztec emperor famed for his love of chocolate. The people behind this adventurous brand have made a name for their daring flavours and helped revive the idea of chocolate with chilli.

Funny to think how it made everyone so hot under the collar.

Your view What do you love about chocolate?

And what’s your bar – or drink – of choice? We’d love to hear your stories, so why not email me at editor@finefoodiesmag.com

Cooking tips

Sarah recommends

E

Contributing Editor Sarah Willingham offers up her favourite recipe for all those chocolate lovers out there. very time I’m pregnant I retreat into my kitchen and just continue to produce...I think it must be part of my ‘nesting’.

Baking is my thing – I absolutely love to bake

anything and everything.

Because of this, I’ve tried so many recipes for brownies and I

can safely say that this one is by far the best!

You need 200g of the best dark chocolate you can find – my choice is Lindt 90 per cent – it’s divine.

The result is these brownies are rich and moist – just as brownies should be.

Chef’s note: Make sure that the chocolate has cooled a bit before adding the eggs, otherwise you effectively get scrambled eggs and the recipe won’t work.

Ingredients: • 200g dark chocolate, roughly chopped • 175g unsalted butter • 325g caster sugar • 130g plain flour • 3 eggs • Icing sugar to decorate Method:

Sarah’s t ip

A great lit tle trick is to put a bit of chocol ate on your bottom lip – if you can feel it it’s still to then o hot!

• Preheat oven to 170ºC (325ºF) Gas mark 3 • Put the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, without letting the base of the bowl touch the water. Leave until melted and smooth • Remove from heat. Add the sugar and stir until well incorporated. Add the flour and stir. Finally, stir in the eggs and mix until thick and smooth.

• Spoon the mixture into the prepared baking tray and bake in the preheated oven for about 30-35 minutes, or until flaky on top but still soft in the centre. Be careful not to overcook otherwise the edges will become hard and crunchy. Leave to cool completely before dusting with icing sugar to decorate.

Recipes

Chocolate indulgence With Easter around the corner, whet your appetite with these mouth-watering recipes from Terre a Terre.

ladies of Seville

Warm chocolate and hazelnut torte, with bitter chocolate sauce served with Seville orange candy and orange salad.

The sour punch of the magnificent Seville orange, coupled with this fabulous tart, makes a great thing better. Delicious made with sweeter orange varieties, we guarantee it will drive any savoury-toothed soul into a foodie frenzy!

Serves 6 Ingredients: Chocolate and hazelnut torte (gluten free): • 175g dark chocolate (70 per cent cocoa solids) • 175g unsalted butter • 4 eggs • 150g caster sugar • 75g hazelnut flour • 40g gluten free plain flour • a pinch of salt • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Method: • Melt the chocolate and butter together in a bain-marie. Separate the eggs, yolks in one bowl and whites in another.

• Mix the hazelnut flour, plain flour and salt together. Whisk the egg yolks with 75g of the sugar to the ribbon stage. Fold the chocolate and butter mix into the whisked egg yolks, then fold in the hazelnut flour mix. Whisk egg whites until they form firm peaks, then whisk in the remaining 75g sugar.

• Fold this gently into the chocolate mix and pour into a lined 25cm cake tin. cook at

24

FINE FOODIES March/april 2011

180ºc/gas mark 4 for about 20 minutes, until an inserted skewer comes out largely clean. allow to cool before cutting into slices.

Chocolate glaze: • 100g liquid glucose • 150ml water • 200g dark chocolate (70 per cent cocoa solids) • 15ml vegetable oil Method: • Bring the glucose and water to the boil in a pan and instantly pour on to the chocolate. Stir well and add the oil. allow to cool, then refrigerate.

Sugared orange candy: • 3 thick-skinned oranges (preferably Seville, but navel or Valencia will do) • 375g caster sugar • 200ml water Method: • cut the tops and bottoms off the oranges and score the remaining fruit into quarters, cutting only into the skin, not the fruit. cut the peel thinly off the oranges in large pieces, remove and discard pith. liquidize the flesh of the oranges, strain and reserve the juice. cut the peel into strips about 6mm wide.

• put the peel into a saucepan, cover with

water and bring to the boil. Once boiled, drain and refresh under cold water. repeat twice. put the sugar and water into a heavy based pan, bring to a simmer, making a syrup.

• add the peel to the simmering syrup, cooking gently for about 45 minutes until it becomes translucent. Do not stir the peel when it is cooking as this may cause the syrup to crystallize; a little shake of the pan will do.

• Drain the candied peel and save the syrup. add the reserved orange juice to the syrup, cool and refrigerate. roll the peel or ‘candy’ in a little extra caster sugar and dry on a cooling rack for four to five hours. Store in an airtight container.

To assemble: • 1 sweet orange (navel or Valencia) • Good quality cocoa powder to dust (Optional) Method: • remove the peel and pith from the orange and, using a very sharp knife, cut into thin segments. Warm the slices of torte in the oven, about five minutes at 160ºc/gas mark 3.

Meanwhile melt the chocolate glaze gently over a bain-marie.

• put the torte slices on plates, then spoon over the chocolate glaze to coat. Garnish with fresh orange segments, candied orange peel and bitter orange syrup. if desired, dust the torte with a little cocoa powder.

Spaghetti sweetie Chocolate spaghetti served with dark chocolate sauce, sweet walnut pesto, Espresso granita and candied kumquats.

Serves 6 The italians have been at the sweet pasta lark forever but it’s not caught on big time in the UK yet... and we think it should. Make these slippery chocolate strands the base of a mouth-watering combination, adding a rich chocolate sauce, a sprinkling of minty walnut pesto, an intense, slightly bitter coffee ice, and the sharp-sweet tang of barely cooked caramelised kumquats.

Walnut pesto: • 75g walnuts, toasted and chopped • 50g mint leaves, chopped • Grated zest of 1 orange put all the ingredients in a pestle and mortar (or mixer) and pound together. You do not want a paste, just a nice crumbly mix of the ingredients to sprinkle over the pasta.

Chocolate pasta: • 250g ‘00’ pasta flour • 30g good quality cocoa powder • 2 eggs, beaten • 3-4 tablespoons cold water • Sieve the flour and cocoa together (either on to a work surface or into a large bowl). Make a deep well in the centre of the dry mix, and pour in the beaten eggs and two tablespoons of the water. Using a circular motion draw the dry mix into the centre and add another tablespoon of water.

• Mix with a fork until the mixture binds together (adding more water if necessary).

Bring all the mix together and start kneading with your hands to form a smooth ball of dough (this takes approximately 10 minutes). cover the dough with clingfilm and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

• Using a pasta machine, roll out one quarter of the dough at a time, in the same way as you would roll out any pasta, stopping at setting number two to make spaghetti. leave the strands to hang over a broom handle or similar to dry for at least 10 minutes.

• if you are not quite ready to cook them yet, layer the slightly dried-out pasta in loose bundles between greaseproof paper and refrigerate in a sealed container. Only cook the pasta just before you are ready to eat.

• add a drop of olive oil to a large pan of water, bring to the boil and plunge in the pasta. cook for one minute only, then quickly drain.

Candied kumquats: • 200ml water • 100g caster sugar, plus extra for dipping • ½ vanilla pod, split and scraped • 200g kumquats • Bring the water to the boil and add the sugar and vanilla pod and seeds. Gently simmer for five minutes until a syrupy consistency is reached.

• halve the kumquats lengthways. Bring a dry non-stick frying pan to medium heat. Dip the kumquats cut side down into a little caster sugar and place them face down in the frying pan, cooking until they are nicely caramelised.

• Now put them straight into the syrupy

mixture, bring it back to the boil and simmer for one minute. leave to one side until you are ready to assemble the dish.

Chocolate sauce: • 300ml whipping cream • 175g dark chocolate (70 per cent cocoa solids) • Bring the cream to the boil in a small pan and remove it from the heat. add the chocolate and whisk well to make a smooth sauce.

• Once cooled, refrigerate until you are ready to use it.

Espresso granita: • 100ml strong espresso coffee • 400ml sugar syrup • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract • Mix all the ingredients together in a container and freeze. Fork through the mix every 30 minutes to form icy coffee crystals, then freeze until you are ready to use it.

To assemble: • The pasta is best cooked just before serving (see recipe). heat through the chocolate sauce in a pan.

• Twist the freshly cooked and drained spaghetti into portions, using a long pronged fork, and spoon a generous amount of the chocolate sauce over the top.

• Sprinkle with the walnut pesto and lay some kumquats to one side, drizzling the kumquat syrup over them. Serve the espresso granita in icy cups on the side of the plates.

March/april 2011 FINE FOODIES

25

Recipes

Vodka cherry chocolate churros

Sweet spice-dusted doughnut batons served with warm sticky dipping chocolate and vodka-sozzled cherries.

Serves 4-6 We have Spanish shepherds to thank for this centuries-old dish. When their nomadic lifestyle high up in the mountains left them bereft of freshly-baked staples, they came up with this sweet stick that could be cooked easily in a pan over an open fire. Originally, churros were skinny, like breadsticks, but often curved and even coiled, and eaten plain or rolled in cinnamon sugar. They became a daily treat for the sweet-toothed shepherds, too good a secret to keep quiet, and word got around. Their popularity spread and these irresistible snacks became a Spanish tradition.

Once they d found their way to Terre à Terre, and after numerous tasting and slurping sessions involving chocolate dip and cherry vodka, they became a firm favourite.

Churros: • 500g strong flour • ¼ teaspoon salt • ½ teaspoon caster sugar • 50g soya margarine • 5g dried yeast • 280ml warm water sunflower oil for deep or shallow frying For the cinnamon sugar: • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon • 40g caster sugar • Sift the flour, salt and sugar. Rub in the soya margarine.

• Stir the yeast into the warm water.

Make a well in the flour and pour in the

yeast and water mix. Mix to a smooth dough either by hand or with a hook attachment on a mixer.

• Once the dough has formed, knead for five to six minutes. Cut into quarters, cover with a damp cloth and leave for five minutes to allow the dough to puff up slightly. Now divide each quarter into three pieces and roll each one into a 10cm-long cigar shape.

• Place the churros on a lined baking tray, cover loosely with clingfilm and allow proving for one hour. They do not need to double in size as they will expand when they are being fried.

If you are not ready to cook them, freeze and remove from the freezer one hour before cooking.

• Prepare the cinnamon sugar just by mixing the cinnamon into the sugar. Finally, either deep fry the churros for two to three minutes, or shallow fry (turning regularly) until golden all over. While they are still hot, roll them in the cinnamon sugar.

Chocolate dip: • 250g dark chocolate (70 per cent cocoa solids) • 300ml soya cream • 2 tablespoons hot water • Break the chocolate into pieces into a medium-sized bowl.

• Bring the soya cream to the boil. As soon as it has boiled, pour on to the chocolate. Stir with a small balloon whisk until thoroughly combined, and then add the hot water.

Vodka cherries: • 300g fresh cherries, stoned • About 200ml vodka • 1-2 teaspoons runny honey (optional) • Cover the cherries in vodka (add more if you dare), cover with clingfilm and leave to marinate overnight.

• Add a small amount of honey if you prefer things a little sweeter. Chill the vodka cherries until needed.

To assemble: • Set the bowl of chocolate dip over a pan of simmering water and warm through without letting it boil, then pour into small bowls ready for dipping.

• Divide the chilled vodka cherries into cold glasses, adding cocktail sticks for spearing the fruit, and put these with the hot churros on to serving plates.

• The best bit is supping on very cold cherry scented vodka while dunking your churros into the warm chocolate. Roll up your sleeves and dig in!

Recipes from Terre à Terre , The Vegetarian Cookbook 26

FINE FOODIES MARCH/APRIL 2011

Photos courtesy of Lisa Barber (www.lisabarber.co.uk)

In season

Sleek leek

What s in season right now? The people at box scheme specialists Riverford Organic offer some inspiration.

A

s spring approaches,

its tastiest and Riverford aims to get it

trial to clean. If you have ever cursed a

Riverford s field workers

from the field to your plate within 48

muddy leek at the sink, take this tip from a

are busy picking organic

hours.

Welshman who used to work at

purple sprouting broccoli for their vegboxes.

It s important to pick through a field

As with calabrese, it s good boiled, steamed or stir fried ‒ although don t let

Riverford s farm.

Insert a knife just above the bottom of

the flower go mushy before the stem is

the leek and slice up to the top, splitting it

once a week to keep on top of the crop

tender. You could try bunching it loosely

in two with the halves still attached at the

and this will step up into April, when

with a rubber band and boiling in an inch

bottom. You can then easily wash out the

purple sprouting broccoli becomes

of water in a tall pan, asparagus-style.

mud under a running tap, shake off the

desperate to go to seed.

Until 30 years ago, purple sprouting

The leaf is tasty to eat, too ‒ leave it on the spear for cooking or use it as an

was the standard, widely-available

alternative green, wilted into stews, soups

broccoli, before the meteoric rise of green

and curries.

excess water and put the halves back together for slicing.

Leeks are incredibly versatile in the kitchen ‒ useful in soups, stews, stir fries

(calabrese) broccoli. It has a stronger

There are also plenty of leeks to be

flavour and grows well in the colder

harvested in the coming weeks. Rain

months of the year. Purple sprouting

splash in the field can wash mud down

preparing seasonal veg on Riverford s

broccoli needs to be really fresh to be at

between the leek s layers, making them a

website www.riverford.co.uk

28

FINE FOODIES MARCH/APRIL 2011

and pies.

You can find recipes and tips on

Jane Baxter, from the Riverford Field Kitchen, offers some seasonal recipe ideas. Find out more in the Riverford Farm Cook Book.

Bacon, leek and potato gratin Serves 6 Ingredients: • 2 leeks, sliced • 1 knob of butter • 100g bacon, cooked and chopped • 300ml double cream • 100ml milk • 2 garlic cloves, crushed • 800g potatoes, peeled and cut into 23mm thick slices • 1-2 tbsp freshly grated parmesan • Sea salt + black pepper Method: • Sweat the leeks in butter for 10 minutes, then add the bacon and garlic.

• Add the cream and milk and bring to the boil.

• Season and mix in the potatoes. Transfer

• Juice of 1 lemon

to a gratin dish. Cover with foil and bake

• A pinch of cayenne pepper

at 180° C for about 50 minutes, until

• 2tsp wholegrain mustard

potatoes are tender.

• 1tsp chopped tarragon

• Remove the foil, sprinkle with parmesan

• 1tsp chopped chives

and bake for another 10 minutes, until

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

golden brown.

Method:

Purple sprouting broccoli with mustard and tarragon hollandaise

• To make the sauce, melt the butter slowly in a pan, then remove from the heat.

• Put the egg yolks, lemon juice and cayenne in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water, making sure the water doesn t touch the base of the bowl.

• Cook the purple sprouting broccoli in a

Serves 4

• Using a balloon whisk, whisk until slightly

large pan of boiling salted water until just

Ingredients:

thickened, then whisk in the melted

tender. Drain and refresh in cold water,

• 400g purple sprouting broccoli, trimmed

butter a little at a time until it has all been

then dry well.

incorporated. The sauce should be thick

• Heat a ridged grill pan (or a barbecue)

For the mustard and tarragon

and glossy.

until very hot, then place the broccoli on

hollandaise:

• Stir in the mustard and herbs and season

it. Cook, turning occasionally, until slightly

• 250g unsalted butter

with salt and pepper. The sauce will keep

charred. Arrange on a serving dish and

• 3 egg yolks

in a warm place for about an hour.

drizzle over the hollandaise sauce.

MARCH/APRIL 2011 FINE FOODIES

29

Recipes

Masterchef inspiration Create dishes to impress with tips from the Masterchef experts.

Saffron glazed scallops with apple and pistachio purée and pistachio oil

By Dhruv Baker, 2010 champion Preparation time: 40 minutes Cooking time: 20 minutes Serves 4 Ingredients: For the purée: • 1tbsp light olive oil • 1 cinnamon stick • 6 whole cloves • 1 star anise • 2 Braeburn apples, peeled, cored, and chopped • 50g (13⁄4 oz) unsalted pistachios, shelled • Juice of 1 lemon • Salt and freshly ground black pepper For the oil: • 50g (13⁄4 oz) unsalted pistachios, shelled • 3tbsp extra virgin olive oil For the scallops: • 1tbsp sherry or red wine vinegar • 1tbsp clear honey • Small pinch of saffron strands • 12 scallops, cleaned and corals removed Method: • To make the purée, heat the olive oil in a saucepan with the cinnamon, cloves, and star

30

FINE FOODIES MARCH/APRil 2011

“I would eat the whole lot.”

Gregg Wallace: anise, letting them fry gently for two to three minutes, or until they begin to release their aromas. Add the apples with 100ml (31⁄2 fl oz) of water and cook over low heat for five to 10 minutes, or until very soft. Remove the spices and add the pistachios. Cook for about five minutes, then transfer to a hand-held blender or food processor, and purée. Pass through a sieve into a bowl, add a little lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and set aside.

• To make the pistachio oil, put the pistachios into a clean blender or a food processor, and add the extra virgin olive oil. Blitz in brief bursts, so the nuts are chopped but not to a smooth purée as you want to retain some texture and bite. Spoon into a bowl and also set aside.

• For the scallops, heat the vinegar in a small saucepan until reduced to about 1tsp. Stir in the honey and saffron and keep warm over low heat.

• Heat a large non-stick frying pan until searing hot. Season the scallops with salt and pepper and carefully place six of them around the edge of the pan, and cook for about one minute. Then turn over and cook for a further one to two minutes or until cooked through.

Using tongs, dip each into the honey glaze on one side only and set aside to keep warm while cooking the remaining scallops in the same way.

• Spoon three rounds of apple purée onto each serving plate and set a scallop on top, glazed side up. Spoon over a little pistachio oil, to serve.

Blanquette de volaille

By Michel Roux Jr This is an especially rich and delicious chicken dish. The name translates as white meat in white sauce , so the finished dish should have no colour in it at all, except for the crisp, golden crouton.

Preparation time: 30 minutes Cooking time: 55 minutes Serves 4 Ingredients: • 2 skinless chicken breasts, halved • 2 chicken legs, skinned • 2 chicken thighs, skinned • 1 large carrot, quartered • 2 onions, 1 cut into quarters and 1 studded with a whole clove • 1 bouquet garni (see Master tip) • 1 litre (13⁄4 pints) chicken stock • 125ml (4fl oz) double cream • 1 large egg yolk • Salt and freshly ground black pepper • Juice of 1⁄2 small lemon

To serve: • Knob of butter • 2 thick, crustless slices of bread, cut into large rounds • 12 baby onions, peeled • 125g (41⁄2 oz) small button mushrooms • Cooked pilau rice, to serve Method: • Place all the chicken pieces into a large saucepan with the carrot, onion, and bouquet garni. Add the chicken stock, making sure all the chicken is covered by the liquid, adding more stock if necessary. Cover with a piece of baking parchment cut to fit the pan; there s no need to add the pan lid as well. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

• Remove the pan from the heat, and set aside. Ladle 250ml (9fl oz) of the stock into a small pan. Bring up to a simmer and reduce by half. Then add 100ml (31⁄2 fl oz) of the

cream and reduce again.

• Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix together the egg yolk and the remaining double cream.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the egg and cream mixture. Stir until incorporated and the sauce thickened slightly. Season to taste and flavour with lemon juice.

• For the croutons, melt the butter in a separate pan and fry the round bread until golden and crisp.

• Meanwhile, put 500ml (16fl oz) of the stock from the chicken pan into another pan along with the baby onions. Bring the liquid to the boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 10‒15 minutes or until the onions are tender. Add the mushrooms, cover, and simmer for a further 10 minutes. Drain the onions and mushrooms and keep warm until serving.

Remove the chicken from the stock.

• Divide the chicken between four plates. Pour over the sauce and add the onions, mushrooms, and croutons. Serve with pilau rice.

Master tip

A bouquet garni is a bundle of herbs that is usually tied together with a piece of string and then used to flavour stews, stocks, and soups. It is removed after cooking and before eating. For this recipe, use half celery stick, half small leek, and herbs such as a sprig of thyme, flat-leaf parsley stalks, and one bay leaf.

Recipes extracted from Masterchef At Home recipe book, out now from DK, priced £20. Masterchef returns to prime time BBC One this month.

MARCH/APRIL 2011 FINE FOODIES

31

Recipes

White chocolate mousse with raspberry and elderflower jelly

By Claire Lara, lecturer and 2010 Professionals champion Preparation time: One hour, plus chilling Cooking time: 30 minutes Serves 4 Ingredients: • 5 leaves of gelatine • 200ml (7fl oz) double cream • 150g (51⁄2oz) Valrhona white chocolate • 400g (14oz) raspberries • 150g (51⁄2oz) caster sugar, plus extra for scattering over the filo sheets • 3tbsp elderflower cordial • 4 sheets of filo pastry • 50g (13⁄4oz) butter, melted • 2tsp chopped freeze-dried raspberries Method: • Soak two of the leaves of gelatine in cold water for at least 10 minutes to soften. Whip the cream until soft peaks form.

• Melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, making sure the bowl is clear of the water. remove the bowl from the pan. While the chocolate is

32

FINE FOODIES March/april 2011

still warm (not hot), squeeze the excess water from the gelatine and stir the gelatine into the chocolate. Whisk the chocolate into the whipped cream and transfer to a piping bag with a plain nozzle. place in the fridge for 20 minutes to set.

• Meanwhile, place the remaining leaves of gelatine in cold water to soften. reserving 12 raspberries, whizz the rest of the raspberries to a purée with the sugar in a food processor, then pass through a sieve.

• place the raspberry purée and elderflower cordial in a pan and heat gently, then stir in the gelatine. Warm over low heat until the gelatine is dissolved. pour into mini muffin tins, sit a raspberry on top of each and put in the fridge to set.

Master tip

Michel Roux Jr:

“It’s good because there are lots of textures. It’s damned good and I would definitely wipe the plate clean.”

• preheat the oven to 200° c (400° F/Gas 6). cut each sheet of filo pastry into four rectangles.

Brush with melted butter and sugar and bake in the oven for three minutes until crispy, then remove and cool. Scatter with freeze-dried raspberries.

• To serve, on each plate pipe three to four lines of mousse on top of a filo rectangle and top with another piece of filo. repeat twice, finishing with a piece of filo pastry. Serve with the jellies alongside.

Elderflower – a common hedgerow and woodland tree, elder was once regarded as a complete medicine chest. Today, the flowers are commonly used to make refreshing cordials and “champagne”, and the berries can be added to jams and compotes. Wrapped in muslin, the flowers can also be used directly to flavour fruit compotes, jellies, and panna cotta. Look out for the blooms in early summer and the berries in early autumn.

Global foodie

New Zealand

bites

It may have a relatively small population, but New Zealand is packed full of history, culture and fantastic food. Rachel Symonds explores all that Kiwi cuisine has to offer.

N

ow attracting more than

resurgence in both restaurant and home

two million international

cuisine, such as toroi, which are marinated

visitors a year, New

mussels, whitebait patties, smoked fish

Zealand has much to

and eel, and shark liver paté.

offer.

So much so that the country has most

recently been named third in the top destinations to visit from travel bible

Every February, Kāwhia Kai Festival, takes place near Hamilton, Waikato, where visitors can experience traditional Māori

food. Food is cooked for the event in Wanderlust, followed an accolade traditional underground ovens using from CNN naming New Zealand as heated stones, a technique Foodie super the number two of the top nine known as hangi. Although fact: destinations for 2011, coming food is traditionally wrapped Accordin Maori le g to in just behind New York in leaves before being ge abundan nd, an But what about when it lowered into the hangi pits, t su of food is pply comes to New Zealand food? modern hangi is more likely a gift from Go d What would be its signature dishes, to feature aluminium foil and and where do they originate from? wire baskets instead.

Kāwhia is the spiritual home of the Historical influence Māori Tainui tribe, who arrived on the Māori are the tangata whenua, or people great ocean-going canoe Tainui, after of the land, who arrived in New Zealand in traversing the Pacific Ocean. Their migration waves around 1,000 years ago.

Māori cuisine was always based on the land, with indigenous people living off New Zealand birds and fish cooked with wild herbs. But lamb with the arrival of Europeans, other foods were introduced and adopted, such as potatoes, wheat and sugar.

However, Māori cuisine is still an important part of New Zealand, but continues to develop with a more contemporary twist. Traditional Māori foods and delicacies are enjoying a

34

FINE FOODIES March/april 2011

The facts

• New Zealand can be found in the southern Pacific Ocean and is made up of two main islands; the North and South island, and smaller islands.

• Around four million people live in New Zealand.

• Around 15 per cent of New Zealand’s population are of Maori descent.

• New Zealand was an official British colony from the 1850s and became fully independent in 1947. descendants went on to found the single largest grouping of Māori, which includes the Waikato, Maniapoto, Raukawa and Hauraki tribes.

Cuisine today Kiwi food today still retains these traditional influences but has become more contemporary. New Zealand food is now famed for its distinct fusion between ethnic influences coupled with quality produce.

New Zealand’s most popular foods that are known the world over include the kiwi fruit, of course, but also green-lipped mussels, asparagus and apples.

Lamb, cervena (venison), crayfish, fresh fish and shellfish are also among the most popular foods in New Zealand. If you fancy something a little more alternative, other interesting Kiwi foods range from sheep’s eyes and bug larvae to pesto ice cream.

Possum pie is a West Coast speciality

Green-lipped mussels

March/april 2011 FINE FOODIES

35

Global foodie

while Kaikoura is considered the crayfish and lobster capital of New Zealand. And Marlborough is not only known for its wine region; the clean, clear waters of the Marlborough Sounds grow New Zealand’s best green-lipped mussels.

New Zealand also boasts thousands of acres of olive groves, with olive oil being a big export product. And don’t forget manuka honey, a powerful health-giving honey that is full of goodness.

But tradition is not just about the type of foods New Zealanders eat, but the way they eat it. For example, Kiwis like a

On the wine trail New Zealand’s wine industry may be relatively young, but in recent years it has grown hugely in popularity around the world, and there are now more than 300 wineries in the country, commonly located in the dry, sunny eastern regions.

Leading wine regions include West Auckland, Gisborne, Martinborough and Hawke’s Bay in the North Island, and Marlborough, Central Otago and Canterbury in the South Island.

There is even now the Marlborough Wine Research Centre in the heart of the region. It is currently running New Zealand’s first large-scale wine research project into the Sauvignon Blanc grape, which aims to help the industry understand the unique qualities of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and ensure that it maintains its international reputation.

Wineries in New Zealand are also increasingly environmentally conscious. In fact, Yealands Estate is New Zealand’s largest carbon-zero winery, and one of only a handful in the world.

relaxed approach to meals, eating outdoors in the summer for barbecues with the focus on fresh foods.

Fresh is big in New Zealand and, as in

Debate has rumbled on for years as to whether it was New Zealand or Australia who created the pavlova. While it was

the UK, locally sourced and home-grown

created to honour Russian ballerina Anna

food are becoming increasingly popular.

Pavlova during a tour of Australasia in the

Piece of pavlova

1920s, New Zealand’s tourist board points out that the Oxford English Dictionary’s

Every country has one staple dish that is

online edition recognises the pavlova as a

considered its most famous, and New

New Zealand invention, first being recorded

Zealand is no different.

in a New Zealand recipe book in 1927.

For Kiwis, they have the meringue dessert, pavlova.

For almost a century, the classic

Today, it remains a hugely popular dessert in New Zealand.

pavlova topped with cream, kiwifruit or

A New Zealand institution

summer berries has been eaten the

The UK has Nigella, Jamie and Gordon, but

length of the country.

in New Zealand the Edmonds Cookery

36

FINE FOODIES March/april 2011

Book has been part of almost every home for years.

In fact, at one time, a copy was sent to every couple who announced their engagement and it’s tradition to receive a copy when you leave home.

The first edition was published in the early 1900s by Thomas Edmonds in thanks for the support given to his product, Edmonds Baking Powder.

By 1955, the first Deluxe Edition had been created and more than three million copies have now been printed.

Today, it features traditional New Zealand recipes, and has grown from its original 50 pages to 250. FF

Drinks update

Drink up sweetness in a glass

Sweeten your favourite tipple with a new elderflower liqueur.

Elderflower is traditional western blossom that is often mixed with white spirits. Most recently, the Bitter Truth has created a liqueur, which is designed to sweeten a drink but also offers drier undertones. Infused with fruits, flowers and spices in either water or alcohol with a drop of sugar, the luminous golden colour fuses fresh elderflowers, grapefruit zing and a slight spice.

You can enjoy this liqueur chilled on ice, with Champagne as an aperitif or in a long cocktail such as the Elderflower Collins.

Spice and all things nice At this time of year, we like something with a bit of warmth, so why not try Qi White & Spicy Tea, a gorgeous tasting – and smelling – organic blend of white tea, cinnamon, cloves and ginger. As an added benefit, you can do your bit to help people in disadvantaged countries as Qi sources its ingredients directly from a co-operative of Fairtrade farmers.

38

FINE FOODIES March/april 2011

For wine lovers Sample wines and discover new varieties at the first Natural Wine Fair launching this year.

Held at Borough Market on Sunday, May 15, this will be the UK’s first event dedicated to natural wine made without the use of chemicals, whether that be organic or biodynamic varieties. The event will bring together wine producers from across Europe.

The event is being hosted by Isabelle Legeron, who was France’s first-ever female Master of Wine. She recently redesigned the wine list at Hibiscus, a two Michelin starred restaurant in Mayfair.

“In France and Italy, there is a big natural wine movement so I am determined to get people to know about it over here and hopefully get people to think about what they drink in the same way they think about food,” commented Isabelle.

ExpErt tO gathEr FOr wINE FEStIval The third Cheese and Wine Festival kicks off in March.

Held at London’s Southbank Centre from March 18 to 20, the event includes talks and demonstrations from renowned restaurateurs such as Cyrus Todiwala, of Café Spice Namaste, and Georgio Locatelli of Locanda Locatelli.

Wine buff Jilly Goolden, along with other experts such as Patricia Michelson, Robert Joseph, and John Quilter will be in attendance, along with suppliers including Vintage Roots.

50p

OFF

To the customer: The coupon may be used as part of payment towards the purchase of 1 Litre of any variety of Grove Organic Fruit Co Juice.

Only one coupon can be used against each item purchased. Please do not attempt to redeem this coupon against any other product as refusal to accept may cause embarrassment and delay at the checkout.

To the Retailer: Grove Organic Fruit Co Ltd will redeem this coupon at its face value provided ONLY that it’s been taken in part payment for the purchase of 1 Litre of any variety of Grove Organic Fruit Co Juice. Grove Organic Fruit Co Ltd reserve the right to refuse payment against misredeemed coupons. The cash redemption value of this coupon is 0.001p. Please submit this coupon to: Valassis Ltd, 5 Alpha Court, Corby, Northants NN17 5DP. Coupon valid until 31st December 2011.

Drinks update

CuttINg COFFEE may NOt bE bESt hEalth ChOICE, StuDy FINDS

Brits drinking More wine

The UK has overtaken France in spending on wine, new research has revealed.

Britain is now the world’s biggest wine-importing market, according to VINEXPO and IWSR. Moreover, British wine drinkers are trading up to more expensive wines.

The data shows that 1.1 per cent more wine was drunk in the UK last year compared with 2009, equating to 147.12 million 9-litre cases – or 1.765 billion bottles!

Consumption has been gradually increasing since 2005, rising 5.5 per cent between then and 2009. And we can expect further growth of 2.9 per cent between 2010 and 2014. White wine is the UK’s favourite colour, accounting for nearly 45 per cent of wine consumption, although rosé is growing fast.

Look out for... = Love tea, Løv organic

Launching in 2011 is a French organic tea brand.

Løv Organic opened its first boutique outside of France in January, having created a range of 22 high quality organic packed whole leaf teas. Using muslin teabags, which are unbleached and free from staples and glue, this allows

40

the tea leaves to unfurl and release all of their natural aromas.

= get into the grove Quench your thirst with Grove Fresh’s brand new juice flavour.

The organic juice brand has unveiled Apple, Pear and Blackcurrant flavour, with no preservatives or concentrates.

FINE FOODIES March/april 2011

In our quest to be healthy, we could be cutting out certain drinks that offer antioxidants.

A recent study of over 2,000 people has revealed that up to three quarters of people who embark on healthy eating plans are drinking less red wine, tea and coffee.

Yet Dietician, Dr Sarah Schenker, pointed out then when consumed in moderation, these are excellent sources of antioxidants, which protect the body’s cells from free radical damage, which may otherwise

damage our body’s cells.

“Healthy eating plans should be about balance, making informed choices, and taking a sensible long-term approach,” Dr Schenker said. “For instance, whilst the vast majority of Britons believe giving up coffee will benefit their long-term health, the reality is coffee can be good for you when drunk in moderation and is in fact one of the richest sources of antioxidants there is.”

The study was carried out by Nescafe.

a flavour of Brazil A key ingredient in Brazil’s national drink, the Caipirinha, cachaça is still relatively unknown in the UK. Now Abelha Cachaça is working to change those perceptions, explaining that it has been drunk in Brazil since the 1600s. In fact, the Brazilians now consume some one billion litres a year!

The Caipirinha is a close relative of the Mojito but shorter and snappier.

Whilst rum and cachaça are both made from sugarcane, most rum is made from molasses while with cachaça, the alcohol comes from the fermentation of sugar cane juice alone.

Here, Abelha gives you the lowdown on how to make your own Caipirinha.

• Take a whole lime and cut into 8ths. Add to a sturdy rocks glass and muddle with 2 barspoons/ teaspoons caster sugar.

• Add some cracked ice and a 50ml measure of Abelha silver cachaca and stir.

• Serve with a straw.

Fine Foodie hero

G

rowing up

the right thing to do.

surrounded

“I do time in one sense and

by fresh

thyme in another,” he joked. “I

produce

have grown up with it so it

grown in the

feels very natural and I just

family garden and home-

love what I do.”

cooked food, from a young

The aim now is to educate

age Rupert Parsons has had a

shoppers about the use of

passion for good food.

Womersley products.

It is this passion that goes

“What we are really trying

into the family brand,

to do is get people to

Womersely Fruit and Herb

understand more about what

Vinegars. Started by his

the products do. If you go out

parents, Martin and Aline, in

shopping, you wouldn’t

the early days the products

necessarily see our products

were hand-made in the family

and know what to do with

kitchen, using herbs and fruits

them.”

grown in their garden. Today, things are a little different in terms of the company’s size, but its ethos is very much the same; a passion for good food, locally-sourced and homemade.

“All the products were made by my mother on the Aga in the kitchen so I had

So, what could you do

Rupert Parsons

Fine Foodies celebrates those making great food. Here, we talk to Rupert Parsons, the second generation owner of Womersley Fruit and Herb Vinegars.

years growing up with all virtually no food you can’t

from there. For many years,

that’s really stuck with me over

put with our vinegars and

the company had a vast range

the years,” Rupert said.

jellies.”

of jams, jellies and vinegars,

The fruits and herbs used in

until more recently, the

to really enhance a dish, to

the products in the early years

decision was made to cut

bring out the flavours. There is

were grown in the garden at

back on the range.

the family’s home, Womersley

line because there were far

been in the Parsons family for

too many. We went back to

generations. It was back in

the core products and we

1979 that Martin decided

now have eight, which are

there may be a business

jellies and vinegars,” he said.

“My father had always been

FINE FOODIES March/april 2011

the vinegars are perfect for spring and summer time for salads.

“Our lemon, basil, bay and juniper vinegar is great for a salad as it really brings out the flavour in the foods,

Although Womersley Hall is no longer in the Parsons

“All the products were made by my mother on the Aga in the kitchen so I had years growing up with all these amazing fragrances”

interested in herbs and

family, the fruits are still

wanted to use the fruit and

bought locally, and the

with anything,” Rupert said.

herbs that we grew to sell,” he

products still hand-made,

“And you can put it over

said. “He was fantastic at the

albeit on a bigger scale.

some salmon, wrap it in foil

recipe production and had a

Rupert took over the

and boil in the oven. The

great palate for what to put

company in 2009, which was a

difference between just

together.”

slight departure from his day

cooking it normally and this

His parents opened a craft

42

“We reduced the product

Hall, in Yorkshire, which had

opportunity.

Martin Parsons

Well, Rupert points out that

and you don’t need to mix it

these amazing fragrances –

“The aim of the products is

with a Womersley product?

job as a clock repairer, but

way is amazing. It just really

shop in the village and sold

given that he has grown up

gives it more of an intense

various jams and vinegars

with the company, it seemed

flavour.” FF

WWW WOMERSLEYFOODS CO UK TWITTER COM WOMERSLEYFOODS

%NTHUSE YOUR EVERY DISH WITH THE FRUITY INFUSIONS OF 7OMERSLEY &OODS¨