Rösti potatoes

This Swiss way with potatoes is very good. Nice with grilled meats, sausages, ham and eggs and roasts.

For 6, take 900g potato and par boil them in salted water in their skins. Drain and cool – preferably do this the day before and chill the par-cooked potatoes overnight in the fridge. Peel them if you prefer and then grate them into a bowl with a coarse grater, taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper and 2 tbsp fines herbes (if desired – nice with eggs)

Heat a large well seasoned or non stick frying pan with 3 tbsp butter or olive oil; press the potato in firmly with your hands. Reduce the heat to medium/low, cover the flame with a heat diffusing mat, and cook for 15 minutes. Reverse the rösti onto a large plate or board add a further tbsp of olive oil or butter to the pan and cook the other side for a further 10 minutes. Rest for 2-3 minutes to firm up.

Cut in slices and serve. After you have made it once you can adjust the heat and cooking time to give the desired degree of colour - see my photo.

Usually the slices will hold together nicely, but if they don’t they will still taste delicious.

(Alternatively if you do not have time for the cooking the day before business, grate the potatoes on a medium grater – one of the few things that I use my food processor for –rinse the grated potatoes thoroughly in a colander to rid them of the sticky starchy juices,and then squeeze out the water with your hands, a hand full at a time. Proceed as before but increase cooking time to 20 minutes on each side.)

Every Day Potatoes

I find that I constantly return to five ways of cooking potatoes; roast potatoes, gratin potatoes, rösti potatoes, mashed potatoes and boiled potatoes. If possible try to find a floury variety (e.g. King Edwards) for roasting, mashing and making gratins and a waxy one (e.g. Charlotte) for rösti and steaming/boiling (or salads). Maris Piper is a good all-rounder if you can’t find these. Sauté or chips are nice too, but take too much last minute attention for doing often and if left waiting for more than 5 minutes they go fatty and unpleasant; I hardly ever do them.

Boiled potatoes; these are particularly good with fish or with braised dishes with plenty of sauce. Use waxy potatoes (or new ones), peel them and cut them up neatly into cubes or in halves or quarters, cook gently in boiling salted water, drain when tender and then dot with butter sprinkling with herbs if you like (parsley or chives are lovely). Try not to use floury potatoes; they are dry and uninteresting when boiled. Conventional boiling will take about 30 minutes, or 10 in a pressure cooker.

(Potatoes can be cooked up to 2 hours in advance; keep them covered with a cloth or in the pan and reheat gently in the microwave if necessary.)

Crushed potatoes are also excellent. Use mid season new potatoes (turning slightly floury) or waxy old potatoes. Boil them in their skins, whole or cut into pieces depending on their size. When they are tender, drain and squash each of them in a bowl with a potato masher, leaving them whole but well crushed. Dot with butter, salt and pepper and optional chopped parsley and continue in layers if necessary.

Serve immediately or cover with cling film and a towel and leave aside for up to 2 hours, re-heating in the microwave before serving.

Mashed potatoes need little introduction; use whatever combination of butter, milk, cream or olive oil (strangely olive oil mixed with cream or milk is good) you prefer, feel would be appropriate given the current state of your waistline, or think would be suitable for the dish. Men love mashed potatoes; the perfect stodge food.

Boil or steam the potatoes in salted water until very tender, about 30 minutes (15 in the pressure cooker, which is by the way a much better way of cooking them as they turn out free of all lumps). You may peel the potatoes or leave the skins on as you wish. Often I leave the skins on as it gives extra flavour. Drain thoroughly and mash with a potato masher. The French method adds a lot more cream and is more of a light purée, the English more solid. I usually use about a cup of creamy milk for 4 and about 20 g of butter, whisking it in with a sturdy balloon whisk and adjusting seasoning right at the end.

A lovely variation is rosemary mashed potatoes. For six, take the leaves off two 20cm stem of rosemary and chop very finely with a sharp knife. Infuse the leaves for 20 minutes or more (can be prepared in advance) in a cup of scalding cream or creamy milk and then proceed as before, using 3-4 tbsp of olive oil to enrich the potatoes.

(Mashed potatoes can be prepared 3-4 hours in advance and either reheated in a microwave or in a pan over a low heat and a heat proof mat.)

Potato gratin

I have two methods that I use constantly, gratin dauphinoise and crushed potato gratin The crushed potato gratin freezes perfectly part cooked or can be prepared up to 48 hours in advance and cooked later. Complete the final browning before serving. As gratin dauphinois is such a special dish, I would never re heat it or freeze it.

Gratin Dauphinois:

Tips for Success:

Gratin dauphinois is not as easy to make as it appears, one reason being that is takes a good 2 - 2 1/2 hours in a normal oven to cook the slices of potato, to allow the potato to absorb the cream and for that characteristic glazed top, patched with brown, to appear. Always allow the maximum time to cook it as it can rest for anything up to 45 minutes before serving after browning (on a low shelf or simply covered with a cloth). There is nothing worse than uncooked potato.
If you simply must make this dish but do not have the requisite 2- 2 1/2 hours for baking, use a pottery dish that will fit in your microwave and after the initial assembly cover with cling film, microwave on high for 10 minutes and then on low for 20, transferring to the oven to complete browning - about 20- 30 minutes. It will be very good, but not perfection.
There is no need to peel the potatoes, unless you wish to.
Slice the potatoes as thinly as possible; a mandolin works well, but frankly it is such a fiddle to use I simply do it by hand.
Save the 'ends' for soup as one of the keys to a truly great one is to arrange the slices tightly in concentric rings in the dish; their rounded shapes gets in the way.
After each layer sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and pour over a little of the cream/milk mixture. Continue until the dish is full.
This is a rich dish; don't skimp or it will just be dull and dry.
Season the cream mixture too; potatoes take quite a lot of salt
Rub a clove of garlic around the dish to scent with an aroma of garlic, but throw the garlic away.
Grate a little nutmeg over the top before it goes into the oven and dot with a little butter (30 g or so for 6).
I find the best results come from a cast iron enamelled baking dish; this transmits heat better than pottery.
Some recipes call for grated Gruyère cheese, delicious but difficult to match the cheesy flavour of the dish with your chosen main course, so I prefer to leave it out. Others add egg yolks, fine but not necessary as it is rich enough already.

Ingredients:

2-3 potatoes per person
Enough single cream, adding salt and pepper, to half fill the dish (this is one of the few occasions where I do not use crème fraîche in a savoury dish; the sweet flavour of un-fermented single cream works better with the potatoes)
30 g butter (for six; scale up or down accordingly)
1 clove garlic
Salt pepper, nutmeg.

Method:

Follow the instructions above; cover with foil and place on a baking dish in an oven at 160 degrees for 2 hours, then dot with the butter removing the foil and raising heat to 180 degrees for a final 15 minutes to brown the potatoes. Poke them with a sharp knife right in the centre of the dish, the potatoes should be tender and the cream absorbed. If they are not cooked properly then cook for another half an hour, covering with foil if the the popatoes brown too much.

Let the dish settle for 10 minutes on a surface of the kitchen, covered with a clean cloth, before serving. It will be much easier to serve nicely slightly cooler rtaher than piping hot.

(Optional addition for gratin lyonnaise. For 6 people thinly slice 2 large onions and arrange them in layers in amongst the potatoes - nice with pork. Omitt the garlic.).

Poor man's potatotes is a dish from Spain, which is really a variation on gratin dauphinois. Melt 2 large onions, 2 cloves of chopped garlic, 1 tsp thyme and 1 jar of bottled red peppers in strips in 6 tbsp olive oil, until very soft. When they are cooked add them in layers to the above gratin recipe, using chicken stock or water and vegetable stock powder in place of the crème fraîche and milk. Proceed as above. This goes well with almost any well flavoured dish.

Crushed Potato Gratin:

This is very much easier to make than gratin daupinoise; almost fool proof in fact.

For 6 people, cut up about 750 g potato (peel if you wish, weigh the peeled amount then) and cook with 300 ml milk in a pan, with 1 tsp salt, nutmeg and pepper. When the potatoes are very soft crush lightly with a potato masher, add 150 ml crème fraîche and 30g butter, tip into a gratin dish, dot with a further 30 g butter and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. (At this point the potato mixture will look a little sloppy; never fear the liquid will be absorbed into the potatoes as they sit and cook more) Bake at 180 degrees for 30 minutes. (Optional addition - for garlic potato gratin, add 3 whole garlic cloves to the initial potato cooking pan.)

(Crushed potato gratin freezes perfectly; reheat for half an hour in a 160 degree oven. Can be made 24 hours in advance; reheat for the same length of time)

Roast potatoes

Everyone loves roast potatoes and the key to good roast potatoes is to:

Cook them in very well salted water, bringing them to the boil from cold and boil for 2 minutes. If you boil them longer they may break up while they are roasting.
Always peel them before boiling to get a crisp crust and sprinkle them after boiling with semolina for extra crispness - and more salt as they won't absorb much in the brief boiling.
Heat the roasting pan in the oven for 10 minutes before adding the oil, about 1 cm depth is plenty. Heat for a further 5 minutes before adding the potatoes
Cook on a high oven heat, preferably with nothing else in the oven as the steam from other foods will make them less crispy (roast meats can easily be left to rest while potatoes cook). 200-220 works well for me. A Miele fan oven gives excellent results, time after time.
Use a roomy roasting pan, the potatoes will cook much more evenly and won't break up if they are not crowded.
If you have a cast iron enamelled baking dish it will give the best results, potatoes will brown and crisp up wonderfully. Other wise use a metal tin in preference to pottery or pyrex.
Absolutely the best results do come from using duck or goose fat, but sunflower oil will give a good result too. Olive oil doesn't work so well for me.
Turn the potatoes once in the cooking and transfer any that are overcooking to the middle of the dish.
Use old potatoes (not new ones) and a floury variety.
Some potato varieties taste better than others; i am very lucky to buy a French variety called Mona Lisa from a grower at our local market. These taste delicious.

I would allow 4-6 peeled pieces per person. If you like a lot of crispy surface cut the pieces smaller. i like a soft centre contrasting with the crispy outside, so I like to leave the pieces a bit large, around the size of a Kiwi fruit. Bring them to a boil from cold for two minutes, do not boil them longer or they will start to collapse during cooking. Add plenty of salt as the potatoes will not be in long enough to absorb much (the water should be as salty as sea water).

Drain thoroughly and sprinkle with semolina, about 1 tbsp per person (thank you Nigella Lawson for this tip). You can keep the potatoes in a colander covered with a tea towel for several hours before roasting. Roast in a tray for 60-75 minutes at 200 degrees using sunflower oil, duck or goose fat to a depth of 1 cm, turning once. They will come out wonderfully crispy.

They will keep warm drained of fat in a turned off oven for up to 45 minutes, although they will start to lose their delicious crispness.

For garlic potatoes add one head of unpeeled garlic cloves for 6 people during the last 30 minutes; this will give a perfume of garlic without a strong flavour. Excellent with lamb.

For lemon and herb potatoes, for 6, scatter 1 tbsp herbes de Provence, the grated rind of 1 large lemon and plenty of pepper over the potatoes before sprinkling with semolina. This is great with chicken or pork.

Baked Fish with Chermoula

This is an excellent and characteristic cooking method for fish from Morocco, found in ports such as Tangiers. You could serve this dish as part of a lunch with a salad, fresh bread or steamed rice. Any large flaky white fish with good texture and flavour will be good and I often use sea bream or red snapper. You can use steaks of these or a whole fish (which is my preference)

Ingredients:

1 whole fish, about 1 ¼-1 ½ kg or 6 steaks about 175g each
Salt and pepper

Fish Chermoula mixture:

3 tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander
3 tbsp chopped continental parsley
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 ½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
1 tsp mild paprika
½ tsp chilli powder
4 tbsp olive oil
Juice of half a lemon
Lemon slices, pitted olives, coriander or parsley leaves to garnish

Method:

If using a whole fish, ask the fishmonger to clean the fish for you, removing the gills, insides and any scales, but leaving the head on (preferably – if you really must then have this removed too, although it will be less juicy and succulent when

Slash the fish diagonally down to the bone in about 4 places, season with salt and pepper and then rub with the chermoula mixture rubbing well down into the slashes. Take a large piece of foil large enough to cover the top and bottom of the fish and fold it in half, place the fish inside, scattering in any extra chermoula mixture, pour the olive oil and lemon juice over the fish, fold over the foil and crimp over the edges.

If using steaks, scatter half the chermoula mixture on to a baking dish or try large enough to hold the steaks in a single layer, pop the steaks on top, finish with the rest of the chermoula, drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice and cover loosely with aluminium foil.

Bake at 190 - 25-30 minutes for whole fish and 15-20 minutes for steaks.

Moroccan Chermoula

Chermoula is essential to Moroccan cooking; coriander, sweet spices, a touch of chilli, parsley and garlic. Delicious especially with grilled fish or chicken, in the oven or a barbecue.

Mix 3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander and continental parsley with 1 tbsp chopped garlic, ½ tsp chilli powder, 1 tsp each ground cumin, black pepper, salt and cinnamon. A pinch of saffron is added to many recipes. (I don’t as it is overwhelmed by the other ingredients and rather expensive too)

Slash the fish or meat at its thick parts, rub in the paste, leave to marinate at room temp for 30 minutes. Grill or barbecue slowly, brushing with a 50/50 mix of olive oil and lemon juice.

Normandy Apple Tart

Read my notes tips for making fruit tarts

This recipe works equally well with apples or pears; as the fruit will shrink as it cooking overfill the pastry shell a little with it. The resulting tarte has the character and appeal of a rustic French country farmhouse kitchen; no need to glaze it.

Fruit:

6 ripe pears or 6 sweet eating apples (Golden Delicious or Cox’s)
3 tbsp icing sugar
1 20-22 cm tart tin
1 ready rolled all butter puff pastry round
My lemon tart recipe has a good sweet short crust pastry that works equally well if you prefer to make you own.

Almond filling:

125 g soft butter
125 g sugar
2 eggs
125 g ground almonds
2 tbsp Calvados (optional)
Drops almond essence
2 tbsp flour
½ tsp baking powder

Method:

Prepare the filling. Cream the butter briefly with the sugar in a bowl – no need to spend ages beating it to a white fluff, mix in the whole eggs and the almonds, almond essence, Calvados and dust in the flour/baking powder through a sieve. Stir well to mix. Spread it over the base of the pastry in the tin.

Peel all the fruit, quarter it and core it. With a sharp knife cut the fruit thinly crosswise and arrange the slices on top of the almond mixture, pressing them down lightly. Extra fruit can be tucked in here and there. Sprinkle the fruit with the icing sugar.

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees and place a baking tray in the oven. Transfer the tarte to the oven on top of the tray and turn the heat down to 160. (This very hot start with heat from below will make sure the pastry is crisp. Bake for 1 hour covering the top with aluminium foil if it is browning too much. The almond mixture will have puffed up nicely around the fruit.

Serve warm or cold. It is already a rich and moist dish, so i do not find it necessary to serve with extra cream.(Freezes perfectly; reheat straight from frozen – 30 minutes in a 180 degree oven).

Tips for Cooked Fruit Tarts

Over the years I have made a lot of different fruit tarts, labouring to get them looking perfect using special glazes, caramelising apples for tarte tatin, arranging apples in paper thin overlapping slices, making pastry cream and so-on. Altogether, too much work for the home cook, but I learnt a lot in the doing.

When making home-made tarts now I think of Italian looking tarts, not glazed French patisserie creations. Your pastry will always shrink at the edge, the fruit may weep, but all will taste wonderful. It is meant to look homemade not something bought in Fauchon in Paris

I find this method works particularly if you use an almond frangipane cream with the fruit; Normandy apple tart. It will taste delicious and cover up any imperfections, no need to glaze it either. Apples and Pears can be added raw to the almond cream topped pastry shell and then cooked. Apricots and plums work well too but they to be poached first as they exude too much liquid in the cooking, this can be a little tricky as they need to be cooked just enough but not too much so that they collapse and whither away.

Use ready rolled all butter pastry – surprisingly all butter puff pastry makes a good crisp base for any tart, sweet or savoury, where the filling is going to be cooked in the shell in the oven, crisper than short crust (this is a good recipe for a nice crisp sweet short crust pastry that is faily easy to handle) . Remove the pastry from the fridge 30 minutes before handling it to allow it to lose its hardness and become more handle able.

Use a metal tart tin, metal conducts the heat better to cook the pastry more quickly.
Line the tart tin with greaseproof paper; cut in a circle about 8 cm wider than the tin, or use the paper that comes with the pre-rolled pastry. When the tart is cooked, you can lift it out of the tin easily by holding the paper on two sides.

Leave the pastry about 1 cm higher than the tin, cutting any excess off with a sharp knife as it will shrink on cooking whatever you do, especially if you make your own. This will enable you to get more filling in.

Preheat the oven with a baking tray on the shelf, slide the tart onto the hot tray so as to start the cooking of the base (and trap any leaky juices). There is no need to bake the pastry blind if you use puff pastry; the hot shelf will make sure that the pastry at the bottom is cooked through nicely.

Garlic Mayonnaise (Aïoli)

This can be made in the pestle and mortar, the traditional way, but the blender simplifies it so much. Indeed making mayonnaise in the blender is no more difficult then blending soup, but never use cold oil from the fridge or an unheated pantry in winter as it may cause the mayonnaise to curdle.

Ingredients:

2-4 cloves garlic (as you prefer)
1 whole egg
150 ml sunflower oil
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper

Method:

Put the whole egg and garlic into the blender goblet and run with the lid on until the egg mixtures turns a paler colour and the garlic is puréed. Mix the oils in a measuring jug, take the centre of the blender lid out and with the motor running add the oil in a very thin trickle until about 2 tbsp has been added. Add the oil a bit faster until it has all been used up. The mixture will be very thick by now. Add the lemon juice, salt and pepper and process until well mixed.

Keeps 2-3 days in the fridge.

Sea Bass Baked in Salt

OK, this doesn’t sound such a great idea, too salty perhaps, but I have to say for a dish that captures the absolute freshness of good fish, look no-where else (and it is not salty either). The fish is baked in sea salt which crusts around the fish so that it bakes in its own juices and the result captures the iodine sweetness of the flesh. This makes a gorgeous Valentine’s day dinner for 2, or you could cook it for 4 if you use two large bass. I wouldn’t do it for a lot more as it takes a bit of care to remove the crust, bones and skin.


I serve this with aïoli, rosemary mash potatoes and a salad.

Absolutely gorgeous.

Ingredients (serves 2):

1 large sea bass, un-gutted weight about 750 g
3 20 cm rosemary sprigs
1 ½ kg coarse sea salt
3 tbsp aïoli (or pesto if this is too garlicky for you)
Few drops lemon juice

Method:

Ask the fishmonger to scale the fish and gut it, leaving it whole. Wash it if necessary and dry it thoroughly on paper towels. Rub it with a little lemon juice.
Heat the oven to its maximum.

While the oven is heating take a large baking dish (large enough to hold the fish). Spread half the salt on the bottom in a fish shape about the size of the fish. Tuck the fish on top, place the rosemary sprigs around it, popping one of then inside it and then cover it with the rest of the salt, spreading it to a depth of around 1 cm.
Pop the fish in the very hot oven for 20 minutes. Salt conducts heat quite quickly so it does not need a long time in the oven, remove the fish, let it settle for 5 minutes.


Crack the salt firmly with two spoons and remove it carefully from the fish. The skin will peel off and you will be able to fillet the fish easily.

The diner will be met with the most delicious fish, delicately perfumed with rosemary.

Guinea fowl roasted with herbs and garlic

Guinea fowl is so very much better in flavour than chicken. In this recipe it is roasted with a fragrant herb and garlic accompaniment; very South of France and very good too.

Interestingly sage is a pungent Mediterranean herb rather than a Northern one and in our garden it flowers extravagantly in March in a purple profusion. Sky blue flowers of Corsican rosemary cover our bushes in February, heralding a much awaited spring. Rosemary bushes on the banks in our garden release their aromatic oils into the summer air when brushed against - our dogs are fond of hunting small lizards amongst them, returning after hours smelling strongly of herbs.

Tips for Success

Season the birds thoroughly inside and out with salt and pepper
Guinea fowl can be a little dry so do start roasting it breast side down, basting with the buttery juices and flip it over for a final browning of the breast for the last 15 minutes. In the absence of guinea fowl choose a good free range chicken or a pheasant, which will be delicious too.
Do not over cook the bird; it is done when the last drops of juice that come from inside the cavity are clear (if they are pink, cook a little longer). I spear the bird with a carving fork and tip it up to drain out the juices. Alternatively you could use a meat thermometer.
Rest the birds for at least 15 minutes after cooking so that the fibres relax. This will make them much easier to carve as well as more juicy.
Deglaze the roasting tin with wine, scraping up all the coagulated bits. Boil the wine down by half, add the juices accumulated from the carving and resting of the birds to the pan. Strain through a sieve and press hard on the debris to extract the juices.

See my tips for successful sauce making.

Ingredients

Serves 8

2 guinea fowls or (free range chickens) about 1.75 kg each
1 head of garlic broken into cloves, unpeeled
2 small lemons
6 sprigs Rosemary about 10 cm long, leaves stripped off stalks
4 sprigs sage about 8cms long
30g unsalted butter
Salt and pepper
125 ml dry white wine
1 tbsp honey

Method

Remove any excess fat from the cavities of the birds, salt and pepper them all over including inside.

Strip the leaves from 2 sprigs of rosemary and 2 sprigs of sage and chop finely. Chop 2 cloves garlic and mix with the chopped herbs and the butter. Oil your hands and carefully loosen the skin from the breast by pushing your fingers between it and the flesh and working the skin free. If it rips slightly do not worry. Carefully push half the butter between the loosened skin and flesh of each bird, and press on the skin to smooth the butter out. If the skin has ripped badly, secure it in place with toothpicks.

Loosely stuff the cavities with half the garlic, one lemon in each and half of the remaining herbs.

Roast in a pre-heated oven breast side down for 60 minutes at 190 degrees centigrade. Baste every 15 minutes and for the last 15 minutes, roast breast side up. The birds are done when the last drop of juices running from the cavity if tipped up are clear.

Rest the birds for 15 minutes and prepare the sauce by deglazing the pan with the white wine, passing the juices though a sieve and removing excess fat. Taste for seasoning, adding 1 tbsp honey if preferred. Spoon the herby concentrated juices over the birds once carved.
Serve with gratin dauphinoise and pan fried courgettes.

Spice Mixtures

Whole spices have far more flavour than ground; allspice, coriander, cumin, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon (beware cassia bark, the true cinnamon bark has a far finer flavour and is a pale colour), fennel seeds, aniseed, caraway, juniper berries, black (some recipes call for white but I find its flavour harsh and always use black) peppercorns, nutmeg, chilli powder or flakes and saffron (if you holiday in Spain buy it there it is so much cheaper) are all store cupboard staples. I do keep in ground cinnamon, turmeric, paprika (smoked and normal) and ginger for convenience. Try to buy all your spices from Asian shops as they are much cheaper although I have never found real cinnamon there.

Dried lavender flowers and orange peel are good to have in for Southern cooking. You need to make your own; pick the lavender flowers on a hot sunny day, or even a moment in a day, shake the heads to remove insects and leave in a warm place (or a turned off oven) until dry. Shave off orange peel from an orange with a vegetable peeler and dry as above.

If you need some ground spices for a dish you need to dry roast your whole spices first otherwise they will not grind up finely. Take whatever you need and pop them in a heavy pan over a low heat for 5 minutes, then cool for a further 5. A heat diffusing mat comes in useful, but do not worry if the spices have toasted lightly. Crush in your pestle and mortar or coffee grinder, whichever you prefer. If you use a coffee grinder you will never rid it of the flavour of spices whatever you do to it so don't use it for grinding coffee as well as spices.

It is also useful to have a little ready made spice mixture in the cupboard. Store bought curry powder is nearly always heavy with bitter fenugreek; nasty. This simple spice mixture is fragrant and easily made; take 4 tbsp coriander seeds, 2 tbsp cumin seeds, 1 tbsp fennel seeds, 6 cloves, ½ a nutmeg and 5 cm cinnamon stick - dry roast and grind finely. Mix in 2 tsp ground turmeric and 1 tsp chilli powder. Pop the spice mixture in an old jam jar and it will keep for 6 months or so.

Another useful spice mixture that is more fragrant is the French quatre épices; excellent flavouring for pâtés, meat balls, slow cooked dishes of all types - dusting over a slow cooked beef dish to finish it off, or adding to a marinade. Take 1 heaped tbsp black peppercorns, 2 tsp whole cloves, dry roast them in a pan until they toast and smell fragrant. Leave to cool, pulverise and mix in 1 tsp ground ginger and 2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg. Store in an air tight jar.

Mussulman curry pasteMussulman curry paste is a hard to find but wonderful, aromatic spice paste for Thai cooking.

Camargue Red Rice Salad

A recipe from the Camargue where red rice is cultivated as it is in other parts of Southern France. Indeed about 5 km from le Domaine there is a rice paddy in the étang de Marseillette, where the same family have grown rice for 100 years. I always use this rice for this recipe but you can use red rice from the Camargue which is widely available in supermarkets. If you have tried rice salad before and not much enjoyed it, try this, this red rice salad has a much better depth of flavour and a nice texture. The yield from red rice is quite high and so a little will go a long way. Red rice must be cooked in plenty of boiling water to burst open the grains. Makes a light lunch dish, buffet dish or can be served as a first course; the rice salad will keep for 2-3 days in the fridge.

Ingredients

125 g red Camargue rice
3 red peppers, bottled (skinned and cooked)
1 tbsp capers, drained and rinsed.
3 hard boiled eggs
1 packet baby salad leaves

Vinaigrette

100 ml olive oil
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tbsp water
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 small garlic clove
Salt and pepper

Method:

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and drop in the rice. Simmer for 45 minutes. The grains will have opened and cooked but there will be some texture left in the rice. Drain through a sieve and run cold water through the rice until it is cold and all the starch has been washed off it. Transfer to a bowl and add the capers.

Chop the red pepper into strips and then into small pieces, about the size of the capers, reserving a few strips to garnish the top. Add the vinaigrette ingredients to a blender and process for 20 seconds until beige and creamy. This emulsified dressing will coat the rice grains with a lovely creamy dressing.

Pour the dressing over the rice mixture, taste for seasoning and add plenty of pepper.

Arrange some salad leaves around the plate, wet a crème caramel mould and fill it with rice, inverting it into the centre of the plate. Garnish with quarters of hard boiled eggs and strips of red pepper.