Alsace: The Food, Part One

I spent the start of this week in Alsace, having been lucky enough to be given a place on the annual Ecole d'Alsace. This three day 'school' is hosted by seven of the region's most prestigious wine-making families (Hugel, Trimbach, Josmeyer, Schlumberber, Beyer, Mure and Dopff) who make up the Grandes Maisons d'Alsace. Over the course of the three days, each 'maison' took turns in hosting our group of ten eager UK wine trade professionals - teaching us about the wines, showing us their vineyards and instilling in us a passion for their beautiful region that will be long-lasting. On the final day, we were examined on all that we had learnt. Our reward? A stunning lunch in Alsace's only restaurant to boast 3 Michelin Stars: L'Aubege de l'Ill.


Alsace is often overlooked as a holiday destination but I cannot recommend it enough. Picture postcard villages a-plenty, sensational food, terrific wines and welcoming locals. We stayed in Riquewihr, a charming fairytale village/town surrounded by Grand Cru vineyards and with a wealth of great eateries. Kodak moments are round every corner. It is almost too perfect.


So, what of the food? The Alsaciens take their food very seriously. This is not the place to head for if you are on a diet. As Jean Trimbach said many times, 'why have olive oil when you can have butter?' I know what he means.

First on the menu was choucroute. Good to get it out of the way. Alsace's proximity to Germany is, of course, apparent in the cuisine. I have to admit to being somewhat apprehensive about this particular speciality. It isn't the sauerkraut itself that bothers me (I love cabbage). Instead it is the array of anaemic pork products that 'garnishes' the choucroute that strikes fear in me. One look at the slightly white 'wurst' and I'm rapidly loosing my appetite. In fact, I have to confess that last time I visited the region, I gave the whole experience a miss (a bit like going to Scotland and not trying haggis).


The offending dish arrived, with great ceremony, a half bottle of fizz nestled in the centre of the soggy cabbage (Cremant d'Alsace, Dopff au Moulin, bien sur). Choucroute Royale, no less. One flick with the waiter's knife and the fizz shot in the air, soaking one side of the table (and the ceiling). All very jolly, but I still wasn't convinced...


How wrong I was. Ok, so it may not look attractive, but it was surprisingly delicious. The cabbage is cooked over a long period in white wine (rather than vinegar, as in Germany). It was surprisingly moreish. And most of the cuts of pork were good too in a very baconny sort of way. Even the boiled potatoes (one of my pet hates) were good. Still not convinced by the palid sausages, but I did manage two helpings of the rest. Most impressive was a colleague who managed a whopping FOUR helpings. All that wine tasting makes you hungry, don't you know?


Accompanied by the requisite glass of Riesling (dry, of course), it all went down a treat. It was followed by an equally necessary Alsace delicacy - Munster cheese with Gewurztraminer. The aromatic exoticness of the Gewurz works wonderfully well with the pungent cheese. Munster is usually accompanied by cumin seeds. Apparently these aid digestion. We needed all the help we could get after the choucroute!


That evening we headed to Restaurant Brendal'Stub in Riquewihr. This modern, minimalist place is a new addition to the town and a good one at that. Local specialities were again the order of the day. We started with Tarte Flambees (grrr, how do I get accents?!). These have a very thin base (like a very thin pizza crust) and are topped with creme fraiche and various toppings (onion and bacon usually feature). They must be tried as descriptions are futile. They are delicious and I defy you to stop at one slice! Afterwards, we enjoyed some perfectly cooked ham with an array of salads (I have never had so much pork in one day!).



Pudding was a pretty dish of rhubarb with raspberry ice cream. When coffee arrived, the restaurant owner arrived with sticks of candy floss for us all. A taste of childhood that got everyone smiling - very original!



More on Alsace in my next post...

Taste of London

Just returned from a gastronomic trip to Alsace. More on choucroute and other such joys later, but for now a few words on a tremendous event that takes place annually in London and which I was lucky enough to attend last Thursday. Taste of London is (according to the blurb) 'a stunning celebration of the best cuisine the city has to offer'. Dozens of foodie stalls line a large section of Regents Park, with producers touting their wares. Everything from tasty chutneys and spicy nibbles to flavoursome English cheeses and Isle of Wight garlic...

But the main attraction are the restaurant pavilions. Dozens of London's best restaurants are represented with top chefs cooking up their signature dishes for the punters to sample. All this comes at a price, of course. After a handsome entry fee, you then have to buy 'crowns' at 50p each in order to exchange for mini-portions of food cooked on the spot for you by world-famous chefs. Dishes cost from four to ten crowns and cover all corners of the world with restaurants as diverse as Boxwood Cafe, Fino, Tamarind, Le Gavroche and Nahm all making their presence felt.

On arrival we decided the best course of action was to get a drink and then make a battle plan. With 41 restaurants each offering 3 dishes, deciding was certainly a challenge. Some choices were easy (Wagyu Beef on hot rocks from Cocoon), others were more tricky (Signature Crisp Pork Belly from Fino or Scallop shumai from Yauatcha?). The evening resulted in many a treat for the taste-buds. First stop for me was Fino for the Pork Belly. The fact that Sam (or Eddie - not sure which is which) Hart actually carved this off with his own fair hands gave an added frisson of excitement as the meltingly tender meat and contrasting crisp skin hit my tongue. Divine - totally lived up to expectations!

Meanwhile, back at base-camp, friends were tucking into the first of three scallop based dishes - Griddled scallops with pea puree and mint vinaigrette from Kensington Place...

Next up was a spot of fish from Gavin at Windows. Seabream served with soupe au pistou was divine. Never mind the fish (which was cooked to perfection - a miracle when considering how many were being dished out), the soupe au pistou was the thing dreams are made of. Oh to re-create that soupe au pistou - all vegetabley, life-giving, comforting and wonderful. Here's to Galvin.

Whist we made short work of the fish (we decided sharing dishes was a cunning way to make the crowns go further), another friend sampled an intriguing dish of Papdi Channa Chaat - whole wheat crisps and spiced chickpeas with sweetened yoghurt, mint chutney, tamarind chutney and a sprinkling of blueberries a pomegranate. It was... interesting (and very pretty).

From the same stall (Tamarind), I tried the Malabar kingfish curry - a winning concoction incorporating onions, tomatoes and ground spices tempered with mustard, fenugreek and curry leaves. All served with steamed rice, haricot beans with lentils, red chillies and coconut. A superb mouthful.

After a breather (aka a wine re-fuel), I headed to Cocoon for one of the night's favourite dishes - the Wagyu beef. Served simply on hot rocks so you could cook it to your liking, it was unbelievably tender and hugely flavoursome. It was so good that when I was unable to offer any to my friends and when I ate the last mouthful, I was so upset that I even considered eating the rocks!


You'd think by now that we might have eaten enough. Oh no. You are under-estimating my stamina! Having brushed shoulders with Angela Hartnett and Aldo Zilli, I carried on. A tasty Tandoori guinea foul with peanuts and mango from the Cinnamon Club was fairly good, a very fiery lamb curry from Zaika was spot on too. Puddings were a little disappointing, unless you like panna cotta (which I don't). In most cases these were 'make in advance' creations that were slightly predictable (lemon tart, chocolate brownies, strawberry and champagne jellies etc). I was too late for the scrummy Boxwood Cafe chocolate fondue but luckily had a tiny taste from a friend...

It would have been nice to see a few more ambitious puddings in line with the ambitious savoury offerings, but maybe I'm just being picky!

At the end of the evening, feeling rather full but still buzzing from the party atmosphere we set off on a quick mine-sweep of any leftovers. With all the food cooked fresh to order, some kindly chefs took pity on our now crownless state and off-loaded some of their leftover wares. A true highlight came at the Theo Randall stand, where Theo himself whipped up a great scallop dish from scratch for my friends and hunted out a rather good chocolate pud for yours truly. He was so obliging, he even posed for a photo...

One Champagne jelly later and it was time to hit the road. A superb way to spend an evening - I was so impressed to find so many of the chefs on site, actually doing the cooking and talking with the dreaded GP (general public). And tremendous that they stick it out for a whole four days. A great opportunity to sample foods from restaurants you might not otherwise afford too. I, for one, shall be back with bells on next year.

Lamb chops with coriander pesto and griddled courgettes

A super speedy weeknight supper which is also rather tasty from the excellent BBC Good Food (http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/). Great for the summer when you fancy something meaty but also crave fresh flavours. The coriander and lemony marinade for the courgettes work really well with the lamb. The courgettes make a great side for lots of other meat dishes too. Or great with other griddled veg as the base of a pasta sauce.

Ingredients (serves 4)

4-6 lamb chops (depending on size though I find most people will eat two)

50g roasted peanuts

20g pack of coriander

4 tbsp olive oil

1 clove garlic

Courgettes

Juice of one lemon

1 clove chopped garlic

More Olive oil

Mixed dried herbs

1. Whizz together the peanuts, coriander, oil and garlic to make your pesto.

2. Cut the courgettes into long strips and place in bowl with marinade ingredients (lemon, good glugs of olive oil, chopped garlic, lots of dried herbs, salt and pepper).

3. Rub chops in a little oil and season to taste. I added a few more dried herbs here too, just for good measure.

4. Grill the chops for 5 minutes each side. Meanwhile heat a griddle pan until very hot and griddle the courgettes, resisting the temptation to turn too early so that you ensure the nice blackened stripes on each side of the strips.

5. Serve the chops with the pesto drizzled over.

The Old Queen's Head, Penn, Buckinghamshire

One day I plan to move out of London. In fact, I look forward to that day. I am a country bumpkin at heart and the hustle and bustle of city life will only excite me for so long. But I have a concern. I am so spoilt in London. I open the door, turn right and then left and...bingo! A whole street full of great neighbourhood restaurants where I can eat out to my heart's content. So much choice. So much great food on my doorstep. Move to the country and it is all a bit of a gamble. Good food may well mean getting in the car and trekking to the nearest town several miles away.

So, perhaps I should move to Penn in Buckinghamshire. Best not tell my brother-in-law - he might not be too thrilled by the notion of me moving in next door. Though he would save a packet on baby-sitting. The great thing about Penn is The Old Queens Head. A fantastic pub with a great restaurant upstairs, just sitting there, in the middle of the village. Gastro-pub this is not (really). It is more of a proper restaurant within a pub. A jolly nice pub it is too - the dining room apparently dates from 1666, so the website tells me. A pub with a website. A good sign, I think. All very nice, but what about the food?

Delicious. Impressive. Smiles of joy all round. The menu is fairly extensive with a mix of traditional classics and some more... unusual combinations. Some a little off-putting, to be fair. None of us were tempted to order the Roast Amersham Rare-Breed Pork Belly with Crispy Squid on Feta, Pea and Mint Salad. But maybe we were just chicken? Pork, squid and mint is perhaps the new beef and Yorkshire pudding? However, lots of things did tempt. And lots of local ingredients - the goats cheese was froma nearby farm, the wild boar was from up the road. It was hard to decide. I started with ham hock and leek terrine with a caper and mustard sauce and a roast red onion muffin. It was first class. The flavours worked beautifully well together although the muffin was ever-so-slightly superfluous. I think I would have preferred a hunk of crusty bread. Others thoroughly enjoyed a rather good goats cheese and roasted beetroot salad.

The rib-eye steak came highly recommended - it would have been churlish to have chosen otherwise. It was tasty and perfectly cooked and came with crispy onions and a special spicy tomato relish that was quite interesting. Roast lamb rump with pine nut crust on tomato polenta cake with artichoke puree was also deemed delicious.

By this stage I was fit to burst. But the arrival of the pudding menu heralded new-found joy. Would it be the Tarte Tatin?

Or the chocolate brownie with marmalade ice-cream?

The chocolate brownie won! Less brownie, more slightly over-cooked chocolate fondant (in a good way) this was hot, sticky, deeply chocolatey and I wish I had one with me right now. The marmalade ice cream was an excellent partner - lovely bitter-sweet flavour to it.

Perhaps the thing that impressed me most about The Old Queens Head was the selection of pudding wines by the glass. At most restaurants you are lucky to have one of two offered by the glass. Here there were 10 (to say nothing of Port or Sherry). This meant we could select three to match our individual desserts. With the appley Tarte Tatin, we opted for the Vendimia Tardia Riesling, 2003 from Chile (£2.35 per glass) with the two chocolate brownies we had Banyuls Cuvee Parce Freres 2004 (£3.25 per glass) and Stanton and Kileen Rutherglen Muscat (£2.25 per glass). Chocolate matches best with fortified wines - the Banyuls is a sweet red and the Rutherglen Muscat a deeply dark and sticky deliciousness - great with the ice cream too. I was in heaven.

I can't wait to go back!

www.oldqueensheadpenn.co.uk

Hammersley Lane, Penn, Buckinghamshire

01494 813371

Sticky Gingerbread

I loathe the impending doom that comes with Sunday night. The first few bars of Antiques Roadshow and thoughts reluctantly return to work-related matters (usually, do I have any clean clothes to wear for the office tomorrow?). Recently I have been trying to end my weekend on a positive note of achievement and comfort - a spot of baking fits the bill perfectly and is now becoming something of a Sunday night ritual. The fruits of my labours are taken proudly to work the next morning and usually devoured by 11am by hungry colleagues.

I am always amazed how many competent cooks come unstuck when it comes to baking. Many profess that they 'can't do it' despite being accomplished in other culinary matters. Whilst it is entirely acceptable to buy a cake, a homemade one is always so much better and really takes so little effort. Follow a recipe and you simply can't go wrong. Perhaps this is the problem? Many good cooks are not recipe followers and instead are of the 'throw it all together' school. I am in admiration, certainly, but baking is scientific. Ignore the quantities and measurements at your peril. Once you have a basic recipe, by all means fiddle as much as you like, but to start with you need to have the right ratios of ingredients to guarantee success every time.

This very grown-up loaf cake is a great place to start. It is super speedy - the preparations took me just 10 minutes. Honestly. And the kitchen smelt wonderful - all heady and spicy. I urge you to try it!

The origins of the recipe are unknown. I was given it on a cookery course at The Edinburgh School of Food and Wine (see favoured foodie links).

Ingredients

4oz soft margarine

4oz soft dark brown sugar

4oz black treacle

1 egg - lightly beaten

1/4 pint milk

6oz plain flour

2 level tsp ground ginger

2 level tsp ground cinnamon

1 level tsp bicarbonate of soda

For optional icing -

Icing sugar

Lemon juice

1. Pre-heat oven to 150C.

2. Grease and line a 1lb loaf tin.

3. Melt sugar, margarine and treacle in a small pan, very gently.

4. Sift flour, spices and bicarb into a large bowl.

5. Add melted contents of pan into dry ingredients - mix well to combine.

6. Add milk to pan, warm gently and then add to mix.

7. Add the beaten egg. Stir to combine until completely smooth.

8. Pour into prepared tin.

9. Bake for 45 minutes on lowest shelf of oven (DO NOT OPEN OVEN).

10. When cool, top with lemon icing, if wished.

Notes -

It is almost impossible to weigh the treacle! The best method is to weigh sugar, marg and treacle in the saucepan as per this picture...

The gingerbread improves well with keeping and freezes very well.

I had run out of cinnamon and so substituted mixed spice which worked fine, but next time I'd probably revert to the cinnamon.

The icing is suggested by Nigella Lawson - the cake is delicious without, but I agree with her that it provides a nice contrast to the musky spices of the cake.

The Thomas Cubitt

Elizabeth Street, Belgravia. 7pm. Any weeknight. Walking past the dozens or boutiques, foodie shops and cafes on Elizabeth Street, you hear it first. A gentle buzz that gets louder and louder as you draw near. Then you see it. A crowd of people gathered on the pavement, gin and tonics in hand, laughing, joking and generally having a jolly good time.

Closer inspection reveals an attractive bunch of young professionals. Estate agents possibly. Rather up-market ones. They probably work for Savills. You look closer and see that they are gathered outside a pub. Nothing odd about that. But it is a rather smart pub. And the crowd is rather neatly stowed behind a plush velvet rope swinging merrily between some rather shiny new posts.

Something about it the orderly manner in which the punters are positioned behind the barrier (along with the way they politely adhere to the notice asking them not to stray into the neighbouring Mews) made me want to go in. I was fairly sure that the food would be overpriced and rather poncey, but I was prepared to take a risk (possibly the attractive clientele were an added incentive). So, on Thursday night, I did just that.

I arrived before my dining companion and was immediately disappointed on seeing the usual swathe of bodies - was there no room at the inn? Fortunately, whilst the pavement was heaving with post work banter, there were plenty of free tables at the rear of the pub, reserved for those eating. I studied the wine list. Pretty good. 11 different Champagnes for starters. A decent selection of offerings by the glass. Perhaps a little 'safe' for my liking, but there are a few more adventurous choices such as a favourite of mine - Limoux Toques et Clochers at £20 and Craggy Range Te Kahu Cabernet Merlot from Hawkes Bay, New Zealand at £32 . Some gaps too though. In a selection of 11 whites there were 4 sauvignon blancs and 4 chardonnays and not a riesling to be seen. Boo hiss. And no vintages - always an irritation. Was feeling a little disappointed by this but then spotted that there is a larger selection on the main wine list for the (more swanky) restaurant upstairs. Good. Nice glass of Prosecco cheered me up too as I surveyed the clean, comfortable surroundings (think cream walls, scrubbed pine tables, flattering lighting).

My friend arrived with her (admittedly small) dog in toe. No one batted an eyelid and said dog was even given a small ramekin of water to drink from when requested. The menu. Excellent. Nothing poncey here. Good gastropub fare. All boxes ticked. Fish and chips. Pie of the day with potato and pea puree (it looked superb). Bangers and mash with red onion gravy. Steak and chips. Fish of day (sea bream). Smoked haddock fish cakes with watercress, fennel and Champagne cream. Salt pork with colcannon. Plus some other more imaginative but correctly 'pubby' dishes that sounded equally tempting. Lighter dishes included traditional ploughmans, wonderfully tempting sandwiches (river trout with horseradish cream and cucumber).

I plumped for the perhaps predictable burger. It was excellent - really good organic flavoursome beef with just the right level of herbs and seasoning, a good seeded bun, homemade tomato and horseradish relish. Hit the spot in a big way though the chips were slightly disappointing - not quite crispy enough. They obviously were not too bad though as my plate was very clean. Rib-eye steak with Bearnaise was equally delicious. Puds were weaker, though partly because we ordered badly. The chocolate and orange cheesecake was mainly white chocolate (a pet hate) but the treacle tart was good though I think I make a better one (!).

All in all, I was impressed. Good proper pub food with a gastro edge. Attractive customers (and waiters) to pass the time whilst your companion is in the loo. A good wine list. And fairly reasonably priced. I say, 'go'!

The Thomas Cubitt, 44 Elizabeth Street, Belgravia, London, SW1W 9PA

http://www.thethomascubitt.co.uk/

The supermarket - foodie friend or foe?

I would dearly love to write here and tell you that I do all my food shopping at quaint little markets and small quality local shops. I have a lovely image in my mind of me wafting down the Northcote Road dressed in linen carrying a wicker basket filled with goodies: bread from the Lighthouse Bakery, organic meat from Dove and fresh veg from the market. It is true that I like nothing better than a food-orientated stroll down the aforementioned road in London's Battersea. In fact, it is one of my favoured weekend activities. But, alas, life is not just one long weekend. During the week most of these wonderful shops are closed by the time I get home from the daily grind and (unless I have been super organised and 'planned ahead'), if I want to eat I find myself heading to the dreaded supermercado.

Whilst supporting local businesses is something I wholeheartedly encourage, it is sadly not always practical. Who can honestly say that the convenience factor of having everything 'under one roof' is not a godsend to the ever-busy consumer? Whilst hitting a certain large branch Sainsburys earlier today, I felt a curious melange of irritation and wonder at the retail experience I was encountering...

You may have noticed that my initial reference to the supermarket incorporated the word 'dreaded'. This is because I approach one with a certain level of dread running through my veins. The whole idea of aisles upon aisles of stuff I don't want - jumbo packs of crisps, microwavable chicken tikka, bars of chocolate the size of my head (actually, I wouldn't mind one of those!), freezers full of frozen roast dinners for one and microwavable pizzas - is enough to make me race back to the comparative safety of my car. And all the other people with their trolleys bashing into yours - ugghh. And all the marketing - glorious multi-coloured displays of things 'not on the list' that almost throw themselves into your trolley. Shelf-stickers duping you with their 'Buy one get one free' messages (read:buy one, take another home which won't fit in your fridge and will almost certainly have gone mouldy by the time you get around to eating it). Tasting samples of wine served in ridiculous plastic shot glasses. Completely and totally awful.

Despite all this, I enjoyed today's trip to Sainsburys. Sure there were too many people. Yes there were a lot of things I didn't want. But there were also an impressive number of things that I really did want. Great variety, plenty of specialist ingredients and lots of seasonal British produce. I have, in fact, just eaten a bowl of organic strawberries (from Kent) and raspberries (from Scotland). They were most delicious. Amongst the items in my trolley today were unwaxed lemons, creme de marrons, a selection of green teas, shampoo, smoked rainbow trout, sweet potatoes, a Hydrangea plant cress and sun-blush tomatoes. I still find it fairly impressive to find all these things under one roof even if the experience is rather impersonal.

Perhaps my biggest gripe on the subject of supermarkets is that they do not cater well for the single person. As a twenty-something singleton living solo I find that I produce an embarrassing amount of food waste. You simply can't buy things in portions for one - I might like a salmon fillet but I have to buy two, or one chicken breast. Perhaps I have a craving for sugar snap peas - sorry! You have buy a pack that will feed a family of four. Did I not mention that I my craving is unlikely to last for four days in a row? Apparently, over 40% of the UK population now live in single-person households - why do the supermarkets not cater for them? No doubt they would answer that they do. One only need to look at the raft of individual person ready-meals that line the aisles to see that this is where they believe they meet the needs of the busy singleton. What they have failed to realise is that they are some busy singletons that actually like to cook!