Balsamic Reduction

This is one of those 'cheffy' things that works well at home – it's fairly easy to make, even though the kitchen will stink of vinegar - or you can even buy it pre-made in big supermarkets. Not only does it taste good but it looks good too. Home made will definitely taste a lot better as the commercial preparation is really a sugar syrup of the vinegar, yours will be a concentrate.

Don't hurry the final simmering of the reduction; the point is to evaporate off most of the acetic acid in the vinegar and to reduce down the natural sugars in the vinegar to form a plate/food coating consistency at room temperature. The boiling point of acetic acid is 118 degrees centigrade, so it will evaporate best when the balsamic sugar syrup has reached a good sugar density (as then the temperature will rise above that of boiling water).
It's best to stay in the kitchen during the whole reduction process of about 45 minutes to avoid burning the reduction, or worse it catching fire!
Many chefs add a lot of sugar to the vinegar to increase the yield; don't it will just taste much less good.

Ingredients (Yields 100-150ml)

1 l balsamic vinegar (normal quantity, nothing aged or fancy)
1 wide, heavy bottomed pan (even a frying pan, I use an old non stick wok)

Method

Boil the vinegar in the pan over a high heat until ½ of it has been evaporated.

Turn down the heat to medium and boil a further ½ away.

Turn down the heat to low and let it simmer away. After a bit, it will start to get very vinegary at this stage, an indication that bit is not far from being done. It is not possible to give precise timings as it all depends on how much grape must (i.e. sugar) has been added to the vinegar when it was made.

It is ready when it looks syrupy. Lift a little onto a plate that you have kept in the freezer and if it goes thick and syrupy and stays in a trail it is done. In order to see a picture of what the reduction should look like, click on this link: feta, watermelon, basil and mint salad

Cool until tepid and then pour into a squeezy bottle (plastic bottle with a small nozzle), or failing that a ketchup bottle with a nozzle. Keep at room temperatures; keeps indefinitely.

(Note: if when tepid it turns out to be too liquid, then continue cooking, if too solid then add a little water. The bottle and its contents can be warmed briefly in the microwave if the reduction is slightly too stiff).

 

Mediterranean Stuffed Turkey Breast

Turkey escalopes combine with herby light stuffing, smokey pancetta and a wonderful silky sweet sauce of Muscat wine and vanilla. The first time I tried the vanilla in the sauce I just knew it would be amazing and so it is, matching the flavours of the little rolls (called paupiettes in French) perfectly. In any kitchen, preparing ahead is very important – here you can prepare the turkey breasts 24 hours in advance and refrigerate them before cooking.

I always serve this dish with the paupiettes on a little potato purée, everyday potatoes, with a nice fresh green vegetable tossed in butter and a serving of white bean cassoulette. The slightly austere white beans and simple vegetables really are a good foil to the turkey in its sauce. It's a filling combination so a light starter is a good idea.

Ingredients (Serves 8)

8 sliced turkey escalopes, preferably from a butcher who will do this in front of you, or otherwise in a supermarket packet (which will contain several hidden mis-shapen ones)
16 slices pancetta or smoked streaky bacon, rinds removed.
1 ½ cups dry stale breadcrumbs
2 tsp fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried
2tsp fresh rosemary or 1 tsp dried
2 eggs
4 cloves garlic chopped coarsely
150 g green olives in brine, drained weight
grated rind ½ lemon
5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Ground pepper
8 halves of sun dried tomato in oil, drained and chopped into small squares

Method

First prepare the stuffing. Place the breadcrumbs, herbs, grated lemon rind, chopped garlic, olives, eggs and olive oil into a blender or food processor. Add a good grinding of black pepper. Pulse until the mixture has formed a cohesive mass and the olives have mostly disappeared. Taste and correct seasoning, salt will probably not be necessary due to the salty olives and breadcrumbs. The mixture should taste fresh and lively, a nice balance of herbs and lemon.

Examine the turkey escalopes; if they are quite thick you can beat them out by laying them between cling film (top and bottom) and firmly beating them with a rolling pin – but not too firmly or you will make holes in them. If this happens, or some of them are a bit ragged, not to worry as the stuffing and pancetta will cover this up.

Lay each escalope on a board, scatter with one of the chopped sun dried tomatoes, press a ball of stuffing in the middle and with a wetted hand press it out to within a cm of the edges of the escalope. Roll each one up from the long side and wrap each one in 2 slices of bacon or pancetta.

Place in a roasting tin. (Can be prepared up to 24 hours ahead at this point, refrigerate in the tin).

The Sauce

300 ml sweet Muscat wine (Greek or Spanish are fine)
3 eggs yolks beaten with 2 tbsp crème fraiche.
1 tsp chopped lemon thyme (if available)
1 tsp real vanilla extract
15 g knob of butter

Method

In a wide pan, reduce the wine over a high heat until it is down to about 5-6 tbsp. Watch carefully towards the end and reduce the heat in case it burns (as it has high sugar content). Set aside while the escalopes cook.

Place them in a preheated oven at 220 degrees for 15 minutes. Test if they are done by poking one of them with a sharp knife in the middle - leave the knife in for 15 seconds and then press it flat against your cheek. It should be hot. If not cook a little longer. The pancetta or bacon should be nicely patched and brown, if not either blow torch it or pop them under a very hot grill, or if you prefer just carry on with them as is (I like it browned as it gives more flavour).

Cover the escalopes in their pan with tin foil and a clean kitchen towel. Rest for at least 10 minutes before you carve them; finish the sauce in the time. (They can rest like this for up to 3 hours without any detriment as the moist stuffing and pancetta will keep the turkey moist – in which case put them back in the oven for 3-4 minutes to warm them through)

Finish the sauce; return the reduced Muscat pan to a high heat, drain any collected juices from the roasting pan into the pan (if they are very fatty, go via a small bowl and scoop the fat off). There will not be a copious quantity of sauce – just 2 tbsp or so per person. When the sauce has boiled again, turn the heat to low and with a balloon whisk, whisk 3 tbsp -1 tbsp at a time -into the egg yolk and cream mixture (this is to prevent the egg yolks curdling). Immediately add the contents of the bowl to the pan and whisk constantly over a low heat. The sauce will thicken to a nice coating consistency, this will take about 1 minutes. Do not hurry it or the eggs might curdle, and do not leave the whisking or watching or you will end with scrambled eggs. Turn off the heat and whisk in the lemon thyme (an optional addition but good), vanilla and butter. Check seasoning, adding drops of lemon if desired.

Carve each escalope lengthwise on the diagonal, arrange on a little potato purée and coat with the sauce. Serve with a little white bean Cassoulette.

White Bean Cassoulette

Although you can use dried beans to make this, it works better with beans in jars (or cans, although jared ones always taste better) as the dried ones will break down into a mush – unless you cook them very carefully in acidified water - and it will look like a splodge. (Those in jars and cans have been cooked in acidified water which is why they do not break down as easily).

Ingredients

1 small onion chopped, 2 tbsp chopped celery and 1 tbsp chopped carrot (called a Mirepoix in French, after the town)
2 cloves chopped garlic
200 ml white wine
2tbsp tomato puree
bouquet garni
500 g jar/tin of white beans, drained into a sieve and rinsed very thoroughly under the tap.
2 tbsp butter

Method

Cook the Mirepoix of vegetables in the butter until golden and tender, about 5 minutes. Add all the rest of the ingredients, bring to the boil and leave to bubble on a low heat until nicely reduced, so that the beans hold their shape but are not dry, about 45 minutes. Do not stir them more than necessary or they will break up. Taste and adjust seasoning. (This can be made up to 48 hours in advance or frozen).

 

Grilled Fish Brochettes with Romesco Sauce

Fish always looks nice served on brochettes; if you have some nice fancy kebab sticks these look great, or you can use wooden barbecue sticks too. The wooden ends may burn under the grill and if this bothers you just twist a little foil over the end of each and take off before serving.

The skewers are flavoured nicely with rosemary, lemon and garlic; don't overcook the fish as it will dry it out and toughen it. If in doubt about whether it is cooked cut into one of the chunks; if it is still pink it needs a little longer. The Romesco sauce originates from Spain and is quite concentrated; a tablespoon per serving should suffice.

This is the sort of dish one hopes one might encounter in a Greek taverna; simple tasty, good, fresh. However I have yet to come across anything as good as it.

Ingredients:
750 g firm fish in chunks (tuna, swordfish, tilapia, monkfish)
2-3 raw prawns per person, peeled, tail on
2 cloves garlic
2 20 cm stalks Rosemary, leaves striped off (or 2 tsp dried)
3 tbsp olive oil
Juice half lemon
Salt and pepper
1 lemon, cut into chunks

Romesco sauce:
1 thick slice white bread
6 whole almonds, blanched
4 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
4 medium sized tomatoes, skinned peeled and chopped
1 red pepper from a jar
Drops Tabasco and lemon juice
Salt and pepper

Method:

Romesco sauce:

Heat the olive oil in a small pan and fry the almonds until they turn a light golden brown, remove and set aside. Drop in the bread cut into chunks and sauté until it starts to brown very lightly and then drop in the garlic, cooking briefly until the bread is a light brown and the garlic is cooked lightly. Pour the contents of the pan over the almonds and leave to cool slightly.

Add the almond, bread, garlic and oil mixture to a blender and process until well ground, stopping 2-3 times and pushing down the contents. Add the tomato and red pepper to the blender and process until smooth, adding a little water if it seems too thick (the sauce is to be served warm alongside the fish brochettes) Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning, adding lemon and Tabasco. Reserve and reheat to hand hot before serving (the sauce keeps well in the fridge for 2-3 days).

The brochettes: Pound the rosemary leaves in a pestle and mortar to break them up and release their aromatic oils, add the garlic and crush it too, then pour in the oil and lemon juice. Toss in all the fish and prawns and add salt and pepper, and mix gently.

Skewer the fish and prawns onto the brochettes, ending with a piece of lemon at each end.

Grill under a very hot preheated grill for 3 minutes each side, serve with the Romesco sauce, rice or chips (somehow I feel there is something dreadfully wrong with this word, but they are great with this dish) and a green salad.

Christmas Cake

One of the relatively few areas of cooking where the British do win convincingly against good French cooking is with a fruit cake and nowhere more so than in the epitome of this, the Christmas cake. Indeed a fruit cake is called cake a l'anglaise in France and is honestly a rather disappointing affair.

A good Christmas cake is at the heart of the celebration for me. It needs to be moist and fruity with hints of citrus, almond, spices and alcohol but above all it needs to cut well, not be crumbly. Over the years I have experimented with many recipes, including those of my mother, aunt and grandmother which they handed down to me in their own recipe collections. Traditional recipes do produce crumbly cakes that need to be kept for several months and fed with alcohol; even then the result may still be dry and crumbly. They also happen to be a lot of work in the making with all the creaming of butter and adding eggs bit by bit and they often sink in the middle. So, in the last few years I have used a boiled fruit cake recipe, which in my view offers a number of considerable advantages over the traditional method; quick to make, no need to keep, it will be ready to eat in 48 hours although it will keep for a month at least, deliciously moist and crumb-free. Indeed the perfect cake and a very unorthodox method.

Tips for Success

Don't skimp on the ingredients, a good Christmas cake is not cheap, especially in alcohol – use brandy (or rum if you prefer the taste).

It is almost impossible to buy good quality candied peel any longer (the process of making it is very laborious) so I use the rinds of 2 boiled oranges for their flavour. This works amazingly well. If you prefer you may substitute 120 g chopped candied peel which you will have to buy in whole pieces from a specialist supplier (use equal parts orange, lemon and citron - called cédrat in France) and then shred very finely with a sharp knife, pieces need to be thinner than a matchstick. This is hard work and will take you 20-30 minutes.

Know your oven. I quote the temperatures that work in my current oven without the fan. Oven temperatures vary from what is on the dial and due to the high sugar content the cake can burn readily. This will give a very unpleasant flavour; if it does happen cut off all the burn areas with a sharp knife, once it is iced no-one will be any the wiser.

Never open the oven door before the cake is cooked, if in doubt turn the heat down to prevent burning and leave the cake longer. Actual cooking will vary according to the oven temperature and the thickness of the cake mixture.Test the cake for final doneness by poking it with a skewer, the tip should come out clean. If it has a sticky paster stuck to it the cake is not done.

Use a spring form tin, 20-22 cm in diameter and line the base and sides of the tin with greaseproof paper. I don't find it necessary to cover the tin in brown paper.

Always use unsalted butter, never margarine.

Bake the cake on an oven tray as butter will ooze out during baking and burn on the oven floor.

Ingredients:

200g unsalted butter
200g soft brown sugar
250 ml brandy
400 g each of sultanas, raisins and currants (or 1.25 kg mixed dried fruit – all dried fruit is cleaned these days and does not need to be rubbed with flour and picked over as in the past)
250 g glacé
cherries
125 g ground almonds
2-3 drops real almond essence
1 tsp ground mixed spice
2 oranges
3 large eggs
200 g plain flour sifted with 1 ½ tsp baking powder.

Method:

Boil the oranges in a pressure cooker for 45 minutes until very soft. I do a batch of oranges once a year like this as I use them to make a delicious orange and almond cake (recipe to follow). If not using a pressure cooker, boil for 3 hours until very tender. Cool, peel off the skin and chop the skin roughly with a sharp knife, discarding the insides.

Pre-heat the oven to 130 degrees C, line the tin with greaseproof paper

Halve the glacé cherries and place in a large heavy bottomed pan along with the chopped orange rinds, dried fruits, brandy, butter, spice and sugar. Bring the mixture to the boil and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Stir in the ground almonds and leave until tepid. The almonds will swell in the mixture and go grainy.

In the pan, stir in the eggs and flour sifted with the baking powder. Spoon it into the lined tin and smooth the top flat, leaving a small indentation in the middle to take account of the rise of the cake.

(The cake can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours before baking at this point; if so increase cooking time by 45 minutes.)

Bake for 3 hours, turning the temperature down to 120 after the first hour.

Keep for at least 48 hours before icing.

Ice with marzipan and royal icing as normal; I always buy ready made marzipan and use royal icing made with 250g icing sugar and 1 egg white beaten with a Kenwood chef and enough lemon juice to form a stiff white paste (the points of the paste dabbed on a finger should stand firm).

A White Christmas Cake

A rather decadent and sumptious alternative is made by replacing the brandy with white rum and the 1.5 kg of dried fruits with 750 g sultanas and 750 g of a mix of chopped cystallised pineapple, red and and yellow cherries, candied apricots, candied figs, pecan nut halves and angelica.

Duck Breast with Honey, Thyme and Red Wine

Magret are extremely popular in this region of France and they are undeniably very delicious. You will love this combination of a slightly sweet and sour sauce scented with wild thyme with the rich duck breast. The breasts are given a flavoursome rub and then roasted in a very hot oven; no need to pan fry. Many recipes do suggest pan frying, don’t think that they skin will become crispy as it will not, the dish is meant to be succulent and moist. Crispy duck breast is a product of Chinese cooking.
Duck breasts are best served pink; if going for well done they will be tough and dry, honestly I would serve something else!. Count on 1 duck breast to serve 2 people or 2 breasts for 3 with a large appetite. The sauce is quite simple to make, but none the worse for it, being based on reduced wine flavoured with cherries and lightly sweetened, this sweet-sour combination cuts the richness of the duck very well.

Ingredients

4 duck breasts, at room temperature.
2 tbsp dried thyme
2 tsp Japanese soya sauce
Pepper and salt
250 ml red wine
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp good flavoured red jam or jelly, such as cherry or redcurrant jelly
Half a small jar of stoned Morello cherries (a large handful)
2 tsp arrowroot slaked in 1 tbsp water

Method:

Dry the duck breasts on paper towels and score the skin lightly with a diamond pattern using a very sharp knife. This will allow the fat to run out as the breasts cook. Rub the duck breasts with half of the dried thyme, the soya sauce and season with pepper and salt. Place them in a baking dish large enough to hold them in a single layer. (This dish can be prepared ahead up to this point.)

Cook the duck breasts in an oven at 220 degrees centigrade for 12 minutes for very rare, 15 for pink. If you are not using a fan oven, heat a normal oven to its maximum and if the breasts are not fully at room temperature, give them 2-3 minutes more each. Remove the dish and transfer the duck breasts to a plate, cover with foil and a towel and rest for at least 10 minutes before cutting them. Reserve the meat juices in the baking dish, scraping up any baked on bits, but drain or scoop off the fat, which will be copious (this may be reserved for cooking potatoes).

While the duck breasts are cooking, boil the red wine hard with 1tbsp thyme until reduced to about 4 tbsp. Pass the purple liquid through a sieve and discard the thyme. Add the reduced wine liquid to the breast roasting pan, and start to simmer, adding any juices collected on the duck resting plate and later from carving the duck. Remove any grease as carefully as you can, add the honey and jam/jelly and taste for seasoning, adding extra honey if necessary. Add enough arrowroot to thicken the sauce lightly, simmering gently. The aim is to create a balance of sweet/sour/aromatic in the sauce so as to complement the rich duck breast.

Carve each duck breast on a diagonal slant as thinly as possible with a very sharp knife. I find this easiest on a wooden chopping board. Add any juices to the sauce, give it a final reheat and as is usual for nearly every French sauce, add a knob of butter about the size of a halved walnut to make the sauce glossy and round out is flavour. Arrange the sliced duck breasts on each plate, fanning them out and pour a little sauce over each one.
Serve with potato gratin and a simple vegetable, such as glazed carrots.

Feta, Watermelon, Basil and Mint Salad

The perfect blast as a summer starter, looking just amazing in its 'sarcophage' and tasting superb too. It is a simple dish (all the best are after all), so you need matchless quality ingredients, no skimping whatsoever. Take care over the presentation and do not combine the salad ingredients until 30 minutes before serving at most, or it will lose its freshness

Ingredients (Serves 8)

1 large seedless watermelon
200g Greek Feta Cheese
Small bunch of mint, Italian and Asian Basil, absolutely fresh.
1 tsp pink peppercorns
2 tbsp red onion, sliced very finely.
1 small cucumber, skinned and seeded
6 tbsp basil olive oil (buy this, your own will not taste as good as the basil flavour will oxidise)
1 tbsp aged balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper, dash Tabasco, pinch sugar
Balsamic reduction

Method:

Prepare the watermelon sarcophagi in advance; cut the watermelon in half and then into quarters. Cut off the rind to make 8 rectangles, one from each quarter. Reserve all the cut off flesh for snacking. With a sharp knife cut down about 1 inch into the watermelon rectangle at eh the top leavuing a border and take out the centre. Chill all of the rectangles in the fridge (this can be done up to 24 hours in advance, wrapping them in cling film). Cut about 1/4 of the flesh into neat cubes the size of croutons, reserve. Cut the cucumber into squares the same size, mix an equal volume with the watermelon. Rinse the Feta under a cold running tap, dry and cut into cubes of equal size, reserve. Pick through the herbs to take out any tough stalks or damaged bits, reserving some nice leaves for garnish. (This can all be completed in advance up to this point)

No more than 30 minutes before serving, snip the herbs lightly and combine all the ingredients except the sarcophagi in a bowl. Taste for seasoning; it should be lively, fresh and zingy with a good balance of sweetness and salt and a warmth of chilli. Add lemon juice or sugar if necessary. Chill for a few minutes.

Place the watermelon sarcophagi on the plates, spoon the salad into the hollowed out part, garnish with the reserved leaves and drizzle with the balsamic reduction.

Four Moroccan Salads

North African influences are found across the cooking of the South of Spain from the times of the Moors. These unusual and truly delicious salads simply zing with flavour and colour. I love them.

They would be fabulous with Baked Fish with Chermoula, a well chilled rose and fresh pitta bread - pop this in the toaster to refresh before serving.

Grated Carrot, Cinnamon and Ginger

Ingredients:

500g carrots
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp honey
1 tbsp olive oil
75 g currants
Salt and pepper

Method:

Peel the carrots and grate on the medium/fine grater, using a food processor if you wish. If the carrots come out very wet from the grating process, squeeze out the excess juices with your hands. Mix in the remaining ingredients and season to taste; there should be a nice balance of sweet and spicy flavours. Chill until needed, preferably overnight to allow the flavours to develop.

If you wish to modernise the presentation, then ribbon the carrots after peeling using a a vegetable peeler, blanch them in boiling water for 15 seconds, refresh under cold and add 2 tbsp chopped mint or coriander to the dressing. Arrange the salad on a platter and garnish with mint sprigs and a scatter of toasted sesame seeds.

Navel Orange, Red Onion and Black Olive

This very weird sounding recipe is an amazing combination of flavours. The briny black olives are just right with the onion, chilli and oranges; don’t over do the onion but add plenty of salt to balance the sweetness of the oranges. Navel oranges are particularly sweet and juicy and are just right for this recipe.

Ingredients:

4 big sweet juicy Navel oranges
Halved, drained and pitted Kalamata olives
½ small red onion, sliced very finely in half moons
1 red chilli chopped finely or ¼- ½ tsp chilli powder
½ tsp salt
Black pepper

Method:

Using a very sharp knife, cut a slice off the top and bottom of each orange, so that they stand flat on a chopping board. With a sweeping motion of the knife, cut off the skin and pith so that you have 4 naked oranges. Cut crosswise into ¾ cm slices and arrange them in one layer on a large platter. Pop one halved black olive into the centre of each orange. Scatter over the chopped onion, and then the chilli, salt and pepper. Taste and add more chilli or salt if desired.

Roasted Vegetable Salad with Coriander and Garlic Vinaigrette

This dressing simply leaps with flavour over the roasted vegetables. You can vary the exact vegetable mix according to what you have in. If you can do try to find thin pointed pale coloured aubergines (a mauve colour) in a Continental grocers as they are more tender than the normal purple fat ones – although these are just fine too. The herb and spice mixture that is added to the French style vinaigrette - a legacy of colonial days - is a Moroccan chermoula and is also delicious with a ripe fresh tomato salad. I often do a tomato salad this way.

Ingredients:

1kg mix of aubergine, red peppers, courgettes and small onions
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
6 tbsp wine vinegar vinaigrette, adding:
3 garlic cloves, crushed or finely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp chilli powder
3 tbsp chopped coriander and 2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley

Method:

Prepare the aubergines, red peppers and courgettes, cutting them into chunky bite sized pieces. Put them on a large baking try. Cut the onions into quarters and add them too. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle over 2 tbsp olive oil, mixing lightly so as not to break up the onions too much. Bake in a preheated oven at 190 degrees centigrade for 60 minutes, until the vegetable are soft and scorched here and there. Give them a gentle stir at the half way mark.

Mix the vinaigrette ingredients together and season well; it should be highly flavoured and with a good tingle of chilli. Arrange the vegetables on a dish and pour over the dressing, chilling until needed.

Garnish with sprigs of coriander.
Keeps 2-3 days in the fridge.
 
Green Bean and Tomato

I have been making this recipe for 30 years; it is excellent and I have absolutely no memory of its origin. If you grow your own runner beans, it is excellent made with the glut that gardeners always get at the end of the season, in early September. Now I nearly always make it with French beans as these are available all summer long in our local market.

Ingredients:

750 g runner, Romano or French beans
4 cloves garlic, crushed or very finely chopped
500 g tomato Passata
4 tbsp olive oil
Juice ½ lemon
1 tbsp sugar
Salt and pepper
Chopped fresh coriander to garnish

Method:

Prepare the beans by washing them, topping and tailing them and cutting them into bite sized pieces. Put them in a pan with a close fitting lid with all the rest of the ingredients except the coriander garnish. Bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes until the beans are tender (not crunchy, the beans are supposed to soak up the sauce flavours). Adjust seasoning. If the sauce is too thick add a little water.

Leave to cool and serve at room temperature, garnished with chopped coriander.

Keeps 2-3 days in the fridge.

Brandade de Morue

I grew up (I must have been a strange child) thinking that brandade de morue is a ghastly preparation, for my step mother for all her eclectic cooking hated salt cod and would not have it in the house. I have to admit it does not sound so very nice. Only much later have I tried salt cod, and found how good it is when prepared like this; a light creamy fish pâté. Indeed, this is one of the very best ways of serving it. (My other favourite is to take equal parts of salt cod and choux pastry, grating in a little nutmeg, and after refrigerating, deep fry little balls of the mixture in a hot oil until golden brown. These are delicious with a glass of fino.Plain grilled de-salted salt cod is rather watery and has a 'wrung out' feeling about it. Extra potato can be added to stretch the cod so as to feed more people. You may serve it cold, warm or hot and it reheats perfectly in the oven.

Brandade originates from Nîmes, a lovely old Roman town in the North East of the Languedoc; it is very Nîmois to add garlic to the purée, as i have in this version. Other versions, which you will find all over the Languedoc, are garlic less. You will see great sides of salt cod all over the Languedoc and the Iberian peninsular in local markets; buy a big thick chunk there and bring it back as it will keep forever in a cool dry place.

Tips for Success:

Absolutely do not reduce the desalting soaking time; salt cod is very salty indeed.
Poach the fish on the merest bubble to keep its delicate texture.
Pick out all the skin and bones from the cooled fish.
Warm the milk and olive oil until just too hot to keep a finger in; this will help then amalgamate with the fish.
Crush the fish finely before adding the milk and oil.
Add the milk and oil slowly, a spoonful or two at a time.

Ingredients:

175ml olive oil
500 g salt cod fillets
1 garlic clove
2 large cooked potatoes (microwaved or baked in their skins)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tsp fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
100ml full fat milk

Method:

Soak the cod in a bowl either under a dripping tap or changing the water twice a day for 48 hours. Do not shorten this soaking time as salt cod can be extremely salty (In France one can buy salt cad that has already been de-salted, frozen. Results are every bit as good).

Bring a pan of water to the boil and pop in 1 tsp dried thyme and a bay leaf, slip in the desalted cod and poach on the barest simmer for 15 minutes. Let it cool in the liquid and then drain it. Pick over the fish removing all skin and bones.

Warm the oil and the milk separately until just too hot to touch with your finger.
Chop the garlic. Add the garlic to another pan and add 2tbsp oil, heating slowly crushing the garlic against the sides. When the first bubbles rise around the garlic, add all the cod and mash against the sides with a wooden spoon, breaking it up slowly. Add spoonfuls of milk and olive oil, and keep crushing the mixture and stirring it. Surprisingly the cod will absorb the milk and oil. When 2/3 of the milk and oil has been absorbed, add the potato and stir that in, then add the rest of the olive oil and enough milk to make a light purée that will just hold its shape.
(If you prefer you can process everything in a food processor, add the cod and the hot garlic in the oil, pulse briefly and then add the milk and oil in tablespoons, then the potato, followed by the final addition of the milk and oil. Do not over process as potato can turn very gluey in a food processor)

Taste and adjust seasoning. Can be made in advance and gently reheated prior to serving which is how I do it but it can be served cold too.

Spoon into flat earthen ware dishes to serve and garnish with garlic croutons. Make these very simply by toasting some cut up baguette and then rubbing the toasted pieces with a halved clove of garlic, serve 3 or slices person.

Other good serving local suggestions that I have eaten as far afield as Toulouse and Girona in Spain are: allow the brandade to cool and then spoon it onto roasted red pepper pieces, garnish with croutons and serve with a rocket salad with aged balsamic vinegar or cook plenty of mustard greens, young spinach or fat hen in boiling salted water until tender, drain and anoint with olive oil (cavolo nero or bok choi would be nice too), spoon the warm purée over the greens and drizzle with basil infused olive oil.

Kitchen Utensils

Some people like a lot of electric gadgets in their kitchen. I prefer to keep it simple; gadgets do have a place but often results are not as good as doing things by hand and by the time you have washed them up, you did not save any time anyway.

A good example of this is the food processor. i only use mine for grating potatoes for rösti and making French pastry (which it does in moments). When it breaks I will not replace it. For chopping, slicing or blending, the blades bruise food rather than chop it finely or crush it; and unwanted flavours are released. If you don’t believe me use it to chop onions and compare the results with those chopped by hand using a proper knife; you will be struck by how strong and unpleasant the food processor ones taste. Invest in some high quality knives like Henckels or Sabatier, a steel for sharpening them and a wooden chopping board and learn how to handle them. You will be able to chop ingredients as you need them quickly, but don't do it after a dark and stormy cocktail or a caipirinha! You will be shocked at how expensive good knives can be but you will have for the rest of you life as long as you do not put them in the dishwasher. For blending or pureéing a food processor does not do as good a job as the blender or mouli-légumes.

While we are on the subject of dishwashers, a dishwasher saves so much time in the kitchen, far more than buying ready made meals. Unfortunately granny’s best china and glasses will not be dishwasher proof so buy white pottery china and dishwasher proof glasses. Like mine, your best china and glasses will stay in the cupboard from one year to the next.

Another huge time saver is the microwave. In my opinion this is an essential tool in any kitchen. It is a completely different cooking method compared to baking, roasting, braising etc., and the end result does taste different so I would never use it for cooking a complete dish. However, it has legions of uses in the kitchen and I find it performs much better than other techniques for: defrosting something in a hurry, melting butter/chocolate – no more bain maries, reheating leftovers such as rice, softening onions without burning them, cooking rice and couscous easily, warming plates (amazingly it will warm a large stack of plates in minutes), scrambling eggs (but you must stir them every 45 seconds or so with a fork),cooking vegetables, making lemon curd, cooking crispy bacon and steaming fish.

A good blender is indispensable for making soups, purées, breadcrumbs etc.

A hand held blender; this just has to be the cookery invention of the last 30 years. Invaluable for blitzing soup in moments, rescuing a split custard, making fruit sauces, taking lumps out of a flour sauce... returning the skin into hot milk etc.

The Kenwood chef (or other electric beater on a stand with changeable beaters) is a must-have for making cakes (especially creaming butter and sugar, you can never get the same results with a hand held beater and as for doing it by hand, forget it!), kneading bread and whisking egg whites, the results are excellent and time savings significant.

A hand held electric beater is extremely useful for whipping creem. Copper bowls for beating egg whites are - yes it is true - very slightly better but it is not worth the arm ache for the marignal result. I spent years slaving with them!

Stainless steel pans ; while the initial outlay is high they last for years and are easy to keep clean.

A non-stick frying pan with glass lid – you can see what is going on inside without fat splattering everywhere. Perfect for making Fennel, Garlic and Anchovy chicken or chicken with South of France Herbs and Vermouth.

A well tempered steel frying pan; perfect for searing steaks or sea food. Never scour the pan, clean with washing up liquid and a soft brush.

An iron wok – great for steaming and stir frying. You need to season the wok before you cook with it the first time. Wash off any protective coating with hot water and soap. Rub the wok with 2 tbsp oil and a paper towel, place over a medium heat for 10 minutes. The oil will bond to the metal and seal it. Do not leave the kitchen at the point in case it catches fire. Wash with soapy water and repeat. Never scour the wok as it will remove the tempered surface. Just clean the wok with a soft brush, hot water and soap. Rinse thoroughly and dry the wok by placing it over a direct flame. Leave to cool.

An electric wok is very convenient but is not going to do the true wok trick. It is just not hot enough and the food will partly steam, partly fry. The taste of wok cooked food is much enhanced by the searing of the food against the extremely hot wok. The Chinese call this wok hay. This is very hard to achieve in a domestic kitchen as the flames are simply not high enough, so to go some way to it, heat the wok over a flame until it literally is smoking and is as hot as possible. It will go an ashy white in the hottest part. Add the oil, pouring it down the sides and then immediately afterwards the ingredients. This hot –wok-cool-oil combination also means that the food will not stick.

Woks make very good steamers too, put a trivet inside, water and hey presto, off you go. I have cooked Christmas puddings, steamed puddings, cheesecakes etc. like this.

A quality electric fan oven with a glass window in the door; I almost never pre-heat my Miele oven as it comes up to an even temperature in 2-3 minutes. A glass window is essential as it is often good to be able to see what is going on inside the oven without opening the door.

Cast iron enamelled baking dishes and covered casseroles. Again these are expensive but last for ever. The results from cast iron pans for roast potatoes and gratins are excellent as are slow cooked foods cooked in large cast iron casserole pots.

A rubber spatula, so efficient at scraping out bowls in a moment, an absolute kitchen essential.

White porcelain soufflé dishes and little moulds like crème caramel. (Pillivuyt is a good brand)

Measuring jug and set of measuring spoons.

Cherry stoner, grater, peeler, potato masher, palette knives, ladle, slotted spoon and, balloon whisk.

Silicone mat for baking; this is good innovation, rolls, croissants etc. do not stick.

Nozzled plastic bottles for dressings. I keep vinaigrette in the fridge in these and ready made raspberry and other sauces in the freezer.

Large freezer bags for marinating joints in the fridge.

A good range of bowls and microwave proof lidded plastic items.

A pestle and mortar and coffee grinder for crushing roast spices. A rough granite pestle and mortar from an Asian shop is so much quicker and betterthan a smooth one.

An ice cream scoop.

An ice cream maker with built in freezer. If you like homemade ice cream, and I have never met anyone who did not, this is made for you. It is relatively expensive but it produces crystal free smooth ice cream in 40 minutes, any flavour you like. I do have several recipes for no-churn ice cream that work well, but these are limited to vanilla, chocolate, Baileys and coffee and dulche de leche.

Unfortunately the ice cream makers that go in the freezer are too much fiddle if you are busy and making custard based ice creams in trays in the freezer gives a hard crystalline result, even if you do break it up. Ice cream is meant to be smooth and voluptuous not hard and icy. In my youth we used a salt and ice hand churn version; great ice cream but a lot of work. It took 4 of us to operate it.

A meat thermometer - this is invaluable when roasting meats – you will be able to tell exactly when roast meat is cooked how you like it.

A simple timer – never try to remember cooking times, when we are busy we are surprisingly poor at measuring the passing of time. A simple timer will save you, as it has me, from many disasters.

Pressure cooker – the English have a phobia about pressure cookers; hissing, spitting, dangerous, bad flavours, etc. Nonsense, everyone in France, Germany and Spain has one and results are excellent. I use mine all the time; it cuts cooking times by around 70% and saves the same on energy. If you cook a lot of slow cooked food - casseroles, braises, soups, beans, mashed potatoes, vegetable purees, then you must get one as well.

Follow the manufacture’s instructions carefully and cut the normal cooking time by 3. Never open the lid while it is under pressure, so allow it to cool down at the end of cooking before you take the lid off.

Mouli-légumes - not so easy to find in the UK, specialist cooking shops only. It will simplify pushing things through a sieve enormously; the tough stringy bits get left behind and the edible get pushed through but retain their texture. Great for soups - Spring Vegetable Soup - vegetable purees, fish terrines, coulis, etc.

Baking trays and swiss roll tins.

Spanish Fish Casserole

The best fish and seafood in Europe is found in Spain. I love it cooked a la plancha (grilled, usually with garlic and olive oil) or in this famous seafood casserole called zarzuela. Fond memories of New Year’s Day a couple of years ago, when we sat outside for lunch enjoying the winter sun and lunch at one of the excellent seafood restaurants in the Marina at Barcelona.

This version has a very Southern French treatment with Pastis, Vermouth, a little cream and orange peel that I like very much. The fish and seafood can be varied considerably according to what is available. Oily fish – such as mackerel or herring, soft fish such as plaice and strong tasting fish such as tuna are not suitable for this recipe.

Ingredients:

500 g firm white fish in nice chunks (monkfish is ideal)
125g salmon (optional but the pink looks nice)
150g scallops
12 peeled raw prawns, heads on.
2-3 handfuls of mussels
1 large onion
1 red pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
250 ml fish or vegetable stock
125 ml white Vermouth
2 tbsp Pastis
½ tsp saffron powder or threads (optional!)
3 ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 tbsp paprika
1 strip dried orange peel
5 tbsp crème fraiche
Pinch chilli powder
2 red peppers from a jar

Method:

Cut the fish into nice chunks about 2 ½ cm by 2 ½ cm. Scrub the mussels with a stiff brush and pull off the ‘beards’.

Cook the onion and red pepper in the olive oil in a nice roomy pan until very soft and then add the tomato, garlic and paprika, cooking down until a thick paste. I use a non stick wok. Pour in the stock, Vermouth, bay leaf and orange peel and simmer for 5 minutes. Pour tbsp hot water over the saffron threads and leave to soak.

Add the fish in a single layer, in batches if necessary, and poach the fish on a very gentle simmer until cooked through (about 5 minutes per batch) with the lid on. Remove and keep warm. When the fish has all been cooked, add the scallops, cooking for about 1 minute until they firm up, remove and reserve, then add the prawns, cooking until they turn pink, removing and reserving them too and finally the mussels, cooking them on a high heat until they open up. Remove and reserve these, throwing any away that do not open. Discard the bay leaf and orange peel.

Boil the juices hard for 5 minutes to concentrate their flavour. Add the Pastis, crème fraîche, and taste for seasoning, adding a little Tabasco if desired. Slip in the red peppers cut into strips or squares. Thicken the sauce lightly with potato flour (1 tsp slaked in 2tbsp cold water) and pour in the saffron and its soaking liquid. Return the seafood to the pan and let it sit in the hot sauce for 5 minutes to allow flavours to exchange.

Sprinkle with continental parsley before serving; I like to serve this from the cooking dish. I serve this with rice or bread, no vegetables with this one.