Food and Drink - Simply Delicious!

Fabrice Rodot is head chef and co-owner, with his partner Victoria Calvert, at L’Atelier in Issigeac, Dordogne. Serving home-cooked, gourmet food since 2017, the restaurant specialises in local, seasonal, fresh French cuisine.

FRESH VEGETABLE TEMPURA AND SWEET AND SOUR SAUCE (Serves 4 and can be adapted with fresh seasonal vegetables)

4 Small carrots 4 Spring onions 4 Asparagus 2 Small artichokes 100g Green beans 100g Mushrooms 1 Bunch radishes 100g Fromage Blanc 1 Bunch of chives 150g Olive oil 1 Lemon, juiced 2 tbs Honey 250g Rice flour 250g Beer Frying oil Salt and pepper Fresh herbs and edible flowers

Peel, wash and cook the carrots, spring onions, asparagus, artichokes, green beans. Chill and preserve. Cut the cooked vegetables into smaller pieces or leave whole depending on preference, e.g. cut the artichoke into quarters but leave the carrots, spring onions and asparagus whole. Thinly slice the raw mushroom and radishes. To make the tempura batter mix the rice flour and beer. Chop the chives and add to the Fromage Blanc. Season with salt and pepper. Mix the honey and lemon, whisk the olive oil in slowly, like a mayonnaise. Dip the vegetables in the batter and place in the frying oil at 160°C for about 5 minutes or until they are a pale golden colour. Place on absorbent paper and season with salt. To serve, arrange the Fromage Blanc, fried vegetables, mushrooms and radishes on a plate. Add the vinaigrette, herbs and flowers. Serve immediately.

Red Berry and Pistachio Vacherin (Serves 4, make a day ahead)

You will need 4 half-sphere moulds 250g Mixed red berries 100g Egg whites 200g White sugar 4 Scoops vanilla ice cream 20g Toasted pistachios 100g White chocolate 50g Pistachio butter 300g Full-fat liquid cream

Meringue

Mix the egg whites and sugar, heat and whip the mixture up to 50°C max in a bain-marie. Continue whipping until the mixture has cooled completely. Add the meringue to the moulds and make a small well in the middle of each. Dry out the meringue in a preheated oven at 90°C for two hours.

Ganache

Heat the cream and pistachio butter until it boils, pour onto the chocolate and mix well. Let it rest overnight in the fridge.

To serve

Whip the ganache until it is firm and creamy like a chantilly, put a scoop of ice cream in your meringue, cover the ice cream with the ganache, sprinkle red berries and toasted pistachios. Serve straight away.

Les escargots are a French favourite and Fabrice has given us another recipe which brings a different take to the traditional garlic dish. You can find his Wild Garlic Escargots in a Homemade Brioche at www.thelocalbuzzmag. com/articles. www.latelierissigeac.com

Strawberries and Rosé

Emma (Chef) and John (Sommelier) Gilchrist bring us an outdoor feast to savour.

We are well into our strawberry season and how lucky we are living in a region with a climate that produces such a wealth and variety of this summery fruit. Although strawberries can be lusciously sweet they also have plenty of acidity which makes wine pairing tricky. Champagne tends to be the go to drink but easy drinking and slightly fruity rosé wines offer a great marriage.

A good place to start is Château Pierron near Nèrac in South Lot-et-Garonne. The 2018 Fleur d’Albret Rosé is sweet and heady with alcohol and a punch of citrus, giving way to mellow, slightly sweet red fruit flavours and lipsmacking acidity. www.chateaupierron.com.

If you crave an ultra-elegant rosé then Château Mangot in Saint Emilion, Gironde, is for you. The 100% Merlot M de Mangot rosé is a light, bright, serious rosé. A subtle, red fruit fragrance with a silky-soft mouth that elevates the sweetness and mellows the acidity of a vibrant sweet strawberry.

www.chateaumangot.fr In North Lot-et Garonne is Domaine les Bertins. The 2018 La Récré de Julian rosé is a properly coloured rosé. Sweet strawberry and rosehip scents and, on the palate, silky fruit pastels with a little smack of lime. Is this summer in a bottle?

www.lescaulins.com

Emma and John Gilchrist have been running their gîte and cookery school, Les Caulins, in Lot-et- Garonne since March 2016. Emma has worked with great chefs in some of the best restaurants around the world and John, a former UK Sommelier of the Year and winner of the Mondavi award for the best wine list in the world, is an enthusiast for the smaller wine producers.

Marinated Spatchcock

(Serves 4 or 2 hungry people.)

1 Large whole chicken, backbone removed and flattened out. 200ml Plain yoghurt Juice of one lemon 2 tbs Chopped mint 2 tbs Chopped parsley 1 tsp Chilli powder 2 Cloves garlic, chopped 1 tbs Cumin 1 tbs Ground coriander 1 tbs Sea salt 1 tbs Black pepper 1 tbs Olive oil

Mix the ingredients in a bowl, rub the mix over the chicken and refrigerate for an hour or more. Slowly cook over a medium BBQ, turning every 10 mins for an hour, or roast on a tray in the oven for 45 mins at 180°C.

Salsa Verde

2 Cloves garlic, peeled 1 Big bunch flat leaf parsley 1 Bunch basil 1 Bunch mint 1 tbs Capers 1 tbs Gherkins 1 tbs Wholegrain mustard 6 Anchovy fillets (optional) 3 tbs Red wine vinegar (or white or cider) 8 tbs Extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and black pepper Pick the leaves off the herbs. Place in a food processor with the garlic, capers, anchovies, mustard and gherkins. Process on a slow setting and, as it’s running, add the vinegar. Slowly add olive oil until it’s a sauce-like consistency. Season, taste and add more seasoning if necessary.

Charred Green Beans, Pine Nuts, Shallot and Brebis

Extra-virgin olive oil (3 tbs total) 500g Haricots verts (French green beans), trimmed ½ Bunch flat-leaf parsley leaves 1 Orange, juiced and ½ zested 150g Brebis cheese, crumbed 1 Shallot, chopped 50g Pine nuts 2 Garlic cloves Salt and black pepper

Preheat oven to 180°C. Combine 1.5 tsp oil and beans on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake five mins or until beans are lightly charred and tender, stirring occasionally. In a frying pan sauté the onions and garlic and lightly toast the pine nuts. Combine 1.5 tbs oil, parsley, zest and juice in a bowl. Add beans, onions and nuts, place on a platter, top with brebis, pepper and salt.

Roasted Tomato and Chilli Salsa

500g Ripe tomatoes (any variety), quartered 2 White onions, peeled and wedged 2 Red chilles, deseeded 6 Cloves garlic, peeled 3 tbs Vegetable oil 2 tsp Ground cumin 2 tsp Sea salt 2 tsp Ground black pepper Small bunch coriander, chopped 1 Lime, zested and juiced

Line a baking tray with tinfoil and add the tomatoes, onions, garlic, chilli and oil. Mix together and place on the BBQ until softened and charred (or cook in an oven at 200°C for 15 mins). Add the cumin, salt and pepper and mash with a potato masher. Add the coriander, lime zest and juice. Serve with chicken, grilled meat or stir into pasta.

Easy Baked Lime Cheescake, Gin and Minted Strawberries (Serves 8)

225g Digestive biscuits 100g Butter, melted 250g Tub mascarpone 600g Soft cheese 2 Eggs, plus 2 yolks 2 Limes, juiced and 1 zested 4 tbs Plain flour 175g Caster sugar

Strawberries

Handful strawberries 50ml Gin 1 tsp Icing Sugar 10 Mint leaves, chopped

Heat oven to 180°C. Line a 23cm spring form tin base with greaseproof paper. Blitz the melted butter and biscuits in a food processor to fine crumbs. Press into the tin and chill for an hour. Whisk all the other ingredients in a large bowl until combined, pour into the tin. Bake for 35-40 mins until it has a uniform wobble. Turn the oven off and leave the cake inside until cool. Remove from tin and refrigerate for an hour or more. Combine strawberries, gin, icing sugar and mint in a bowl, stir and leave for 10-15 mins. Place the strawberries on the cheesecake and serve.

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