Food and Drink - Winter Warmers

from The Local Buzz - Issue 9

by Buzzing

Winter Gardening: Thinking Ahead

Beautiful to look at and a delight to savour

Will Baker is the Chef de Cuisine at Walnut Bistro in Eymet, Dordogne. Taking his experience from around the world, he focuses on a seasonal and fresh offering.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP WITH DEHYDRAT- ED MUSHROOMS AND CURRY LEAF OIL.

THE SOUP (Serves 10)

3 Butternut squash, cubed

3 White onions, sliced

650ml Coconut milk

330ml Water

30g Ginger, grated

3 Cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

160ml White wine

Garnish

Dehydrated mushrooms

Coconut cream

Chervil

Sauté the onions and garlic until soft and fragrant. Deglaze the pan with white wine, reduce, season with salt and pepper. Add the squash, coconut milk, ginger and water, cook until soft. Blend until smooth. For that silky texture pass the mixture through a sieve. Pour soup into bowls and drizzle with curry oil and coconut cream. Garnish.

CURRY LEAF OIL

150ml Sunflower oil

10 Curry leaves

1cm Slice of ginger

1 tsp Fenugreek

1 tsp Coriander seeds

1 tsp Turmeric

1 tsp Mustard Seeds

Heat olive oil to 55°C in a pot, add the ingredients and leave to infuse for two hours. Sieve thoroughly, leave to cool.

DEHYDRATED MUSHROOMS Slice the mushrooms thinly, place on a hatched metal rack in a 70°C convection oven, and leave until dry in texture.

WALNUT PANNA COTTA WITH CANDIED WALNUTS AND WALNUT LIQUEUR SAUCE

Serves 10

750ml Full Fat Milk

750ml Cream

2 Vanilla beans, deseeded

5 Gelatine leaves

200g Caster sugar

200g Ground toasted walnuts

Grease moulds with vegetable oil, place in freezer. Soak gelatine in warm water until soft. Place the cream, milk, ground walnuts and vanilla seeds in a pot and heat to 80°C. Stir in the gelatine and sugar until dissolved. Place a metal bowl over ice cubes and strain into the bowl, stirring continuously to a sauce consistency. Pour the mixture into the moulds, refrigerate for 24 hours. To serve, turn out onto plates, dress with candied walnuts and a drizzle of walnut sauce.

CANDIED WALNUTS

500g Walnuts

400g Sugar 300ml Water

Bring the water to a boil, add the sugar until dissolved, add whole walnuts and keep on a very low simmer for three hours. Strain through a sieve, making sure you keep the liquid for the sauce. Place in a very low oven overnight.

WALNUT LIQUEUR SAUCE

200ml Walnut sugar syrup

100ml Walnut liqueur

Boil the walnut sugar syrup and add the liqueur. Leave to cool. www.walnutbistro.com

You can find Will’s recipe for Pan-cooked Foie Gras with Apple Mustard Slaw and Apple Purée in the Guest Chef section at www.thelocalbuzzmag.com/ articles.

**Pan-cooked Foie Gras with Apple Mustard Slaw and Apple Purée**
www.walnutbistro.com

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Winter Warmers

Three dishes that show off the less well-known side of the Gers kitchen, plus some great Christmas wines.

Passionate about cooking since she started baking with her grandmother aged five, Louisa Hallewell moved to Gers 12 years ago, setting up an organic farm raising Porc Noir pigs, chickens, ducks and geese, and a huge vegetable garden. Inspired by her seasonal homegrown produce, and using a zero waste approach, Louisa offers catering and runs workshops for people interested in cooking and homesteading. She brings us these three very different recipes.

Aïgo Boulido (Garlic Broth)

(Serves 4) 1L Vegetable stock

1 Head of garlic, cloves peeled and left whole (white, purple or a mix of both)

4 Sage leaves

A couple of sprigs of fresh thyme

1 Bay leaf

Pain de campagne

Method Pour the stock and garlic into a large pan, cover and bring to a gentle boil for 20 mins. Take off the heat and remove the cloves with a slotted spoon, reserving them in a bowl. Add the herbs to the pan, cover and stand over a gentle heat for another 20 mins to infuse. Mash the cooked garlic cloves to a paste (add a small splash of olive oil if required). Slice the bread and lightly toast. Drizzle with olive oil and place a round in the bottom of a bowl. Strain the broth and swirl the garlic paste in to it. Season to taste. Ladle the broth over the bread and serve.

Boudin Noir & Poached Apple Jalouise

**Delicious as an amuse bouche or starter**
www.enjouanisson.fr

(Serves 10 as Amuse Bouche)

300g Frozen suet

450g Plain flour

250ml Cold water

Pinch of salt

1 Egg, lightly whisked

500g Organic Porc Noir boudin noir

200g Organic apples, poached until soft

Method Make some quick flaky pastry by grating the frozen pork suet into salted plain flour. Add approx 250ml water to bind it together. Cover and refrigerate for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Blend the poached apples to a purée. Roll the pastry to approx 4mm thick then spread the purée lengthwise along the pastry, 3cm up from the bottom. Cut the boudin to about 2.5cm in diameter and place along the strip of purée. Roll the pastry up, covering the purée and boudin. Using egg as your glue, brush a line along the pastry and stick the two edges together. Remove any excess pastry with a sharp knife.

Heavily grease a roasting tray and gently place your boudin roll onto the tray. “Score” the pastry to give it some texture. Brush the top of the pastry with more egg, so it becomes golden when cooking. Place in the middle of the oven and cook for approx 40 mins until the pastry has a crunchy bottom and golden glaze.

Serve as an apéro dînatoire or an amuse bouche, cut into small slices or as larger slices, for a starter.

Coq au Floc

(Serves 4 – 6)

2kg Coq

150g Dried raisins

1 Large onion, chopped

Duck fat

250 ml White Floc

1-2tsp Flour

Salt & pepper

Method Quarter your cockerel. Melt the duck fat in a large ,heavy oven-proof pan (cocotte or casserole dish), and bring to a medium/high heat. Add the quartered sections and sear until browned. Remove the chicken pieces and reserve.

Reduce the heat, add the onion and cook in the fat and juices until golden. Stir in the flour, add the raisins and then deglaze the pan with the Floc. Return the chicken pieces to the pan, season with salt and pepper.

Place a lid on the casserole and cook slowly in the oven for 2-3 hours, basting it from time to time. Add a little water if necessary. Serve with sautéed potatoes and French beans tossed in garlic butter.

John’s Pick of Christmas Wines

John Gilchrist is a former UK Sommelier of the Year and winner of the Mondavi award for the best wine list in the world. He gives us his pick of wines for Christmas.

I am often asked what to drink at Christmas. Mulled wine is a festive staple in our house. It should never be a complicated drink; simple is best with beautiful Christmassy scents. I am lucky tasting wine throughout the year and always happen upon gems for celebratory meals.

This year we are drinking a Crémant de Bordeaux of great finesse. Château Tour Calon – Lateyron Cuvée Abel is a blend of old vine Semillon with a touch of Cabernet Franc. Fine bubbles with a nose of vanilla roasted nuts and lime and delicate palate of hawthorn and currant. lateyron.com

White will come from Domaine Chante l’Oiseau, south west of Domme in western Dordogne, where the soil in this tiny vineyard is similar to that of Grand Chablis. Cuvée Champs de la Tour is an elegant smoky and buttery chardonnay balanced with a stamp of chalky minerality and baked apples. domaine-chante-loiseau.com.

Red is from the great Joseph Janoueix who has numerous chateaux in Saint Emilion, Pomerol and Castillon. Château la Croix St-Georges is one of the most velvety wines I have ever tasted. The 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc Pomerol is the deepest purple with sweet, silky, blackberry and truffle flavours and is perfect with roast beef. josephjanoueix.com

For dessert this year will be Château Doisy Daene from Barsac. A beautifully sweet sauternes that is never cloying and is great to finish a meal as it partners both blue cheese and dessert.

John runs Les Caulins, a gîte and cookery school in SW France, with his wife (and chef) Emma. www.lescaulins.com You can find John’s recipe for Mulled Wine in the Food and Drink section at www.thelocalbuzzmag.com-articles

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