Grits and Gingkos

There is a major crisis currently playing out on the streets of Washington DC. It is something that none of us, citizens or visitors alike are immune from. I caught my first whiff that there was a problem a few days when walking through the very cool neighbourhood of Adams-Morgan. No matter where I went, I could smell dog pooh. Needless to say I was getting completely paranoid. There were no traces of anything on my shoe, so was it me that was smelling? This went on every time I left the flat until eventually, this morning, over grits and a western omlette, I picked up the Washington Post. I was not alone. There have been record reports this year of the effect of the fruit from a Gingko tree that when dropped and crushed by passers by, smells like rancid butter. The district government even tried injecting the trees with 'massive hyperdermic needles' (imagine the scene) to prevent this - but it seems to have had the opposite effect. The trees have been bearing record levels of fruit. So we've got a few more weeks of flaring nostrils and quizzical looks at the soles of our shoes to endure yet.

As I said, I was eating brunch at the time when I was able to breath a huge sigh of relief. I didn't need to change my shower gel. Anyway, why can't people cook omlettes properly? This one wasn't bad, per say, in fact it was quite tasty. The smoked ham - cheddar cheese - green peppers - onions combination was quite satisfying. But it wasn't cooked properly. And by properly I mean slightly under-set in the centre. While I was at Ballymaloe, we learned that an omlette should take less than a minute to make once it hits the pan. Any longer and you know it's probably going to be too set, as was this. The grits however, were a revelation. A strange texture, somewhere between polenta and cous-cous, served very wet. They need seasoning and I can quite imagine serving them with shedloads of Parmesan stirred through, but these ones were plain. Somehow though, they were delicious piled on some toasted rye bread. I'll post a recipe once I find one.

Advanced warning of some upcoming posts: look out for reviews of Ben's Chilli Bowl, Julia's Empanandas and Five Guys - all legendary DC food joints!

Kobenhavn, city chic

This is my second visit to Kobenhavn, the first occurred twelve months ago. It was a three day visit as part of a 'grand tour of Scandinavian capitals' that only got as far as Denmark and Sweden, due to a lack of money. But although short on time, it left a lingering impression of an opportunity missed, like watching a film and faling asleep for the last twenty minutes. It's an incredibly 'cool' place - there are hundreds of tall Aryan looking boys and girls strutting around with an almost innate sense of style and grace, the reputation for design is not a myth with the clean lines of mimimalism occasionnally giving way to eighteenth century granduer. The pace of life is sunny afternoon on a beach and so it should be, with Denmark consistenly being ranked as one of the happiest places to live on this little planet of ours.

I spent most of the last trip jaw-dropping with amazement that every person we ran into spoke English. And by 'speak' English I mean perfect fluency. This time I thought I'd be clever by trying to find someone who couldn't. Complete failure and major case of egg on face. My main tactic was to trawl the numerous Pølser Stands (popular with both Danes and tourists alike) and quiz the vagabonds running them. Not a hint of a difficulty and as a result, no need to reign in my near obsessive enthusiasm for the humble Pølser due to linguistic embarresment. For the uninitiated, the Pølser is a national variation on the common hot dog, but is so much more than those dodgy boiled Frankfurters we get in the UK. Pølser with bacon. Pølser with cheese. Pølser with pickled cucumber and little, teenee-weenee bits of onion. Pølser with mustard. Pølser with remoulade! Big ones, small ones. The list is endless. Yes they are mass-produced and yes, they're not organic or even local. But by God they're good and sometimes you have to hold your hands up and admit you're occasionally wrong. If you want, take a look at the website of the company that produces them - but it doesn't really do them justice. A slightly more refined lunchtime snack that the Danes enjoy is the more well-known Smørrebrød - an open sandwich with a rye bread base. You can enjoy these at any number of eateries throughout the city. They have a myriad of toppings including smoked salmon, roast beef, pickled herring, eel - the list is essentially endless. My personal favourite was 'Leverpostej' - warm liver pate serves with sauteed mushrooms.

Danish cuisine has a tradition akin to many northern European countries featuring products well suited to it's climate such as barley, potatoes, berries, mushrooms and locally produced dairy products. Although famously liberal in relation to social values, it seems the Danes are staunchly conservative in relation to their food. There appears a pleasing rejection of health fads. For example, a lack of refrigeration would have meant few fresh fruits and vegetables in main meals. Those things that could be preserved were either pickled or smoked, hence pickled cucumbers or fruits with fish dishes. Food is hearty in Denmark - such as the national dish 'Frikadeller' - a type of meatball with potatoes and brown sauce. Whatever that is. But of course there are now refrigeration processes in Denmark. Consequently, there has been a boom in 'top-end' restaurants in Kobenhavn that demand refinement and a light hand. Diners no longer want to be rolled out of the restaurant. Two of the most famous are Søren K which can be found in the 'Black Diamond' on the city's canals; and Noma whose head chef is Rene Redzepi, formerly of El Bulli. The picture above was taken at Pastis (no website). It can be found at Gothersgade 52. You can see a 'juledessert' that consisted of a rich fruit cake, rice pudding, clementine sorbet and vanilla syrup, garnished with hazelnuts and cherries.

It.

Was.

Deadly Good.

I can't reccommend Kobenhavn highly enough. When I'm there it feels like coming home. The Danes go all out to try and create 'hygge', what in Wales we would call 'cwtch' or in English we'd call cosy. But it's not something that just happens. It's an ideology, a lifestyle, a being.

And from what I've experienced of this great city, they succeed.

Århus, the city of smiles

First off, apologies for not having posted in some time. I know regular readers will have been losing eons of sleep over this, but I have been slightly nomadic recently. Initially intending to re-locate to Scotland, I've found myself in Denmark - one of my most favourite countries - re-booting my relationship with the girl from the Hazelnut Tart post.

We've been based in København - a future post will come on that - but for now I'm in Denmark's second city, Århus. Known as the city of smiles and as the cultural capital of the country, the place has an energetic beat largely due to its student population of 40,000. Out of a total of 300,000. Bet the locals are happy! The atmospheric old town ("Den Gamle By") is a living museum of houses, shops, gardens and kitchens and well worth a visit for a feeling of Danish life in centuries past, and the pedestrianised centre nods a head to it's students with it's array of shops, bars and clubs. It feels like a city pulling in two seperate directions, with one half storming toward the future and another clinging to it's proud tradition as a major port and centre of artistic prowess, making the future all the more fascinating.

It's fair to say that Denmark is not renowned for it's culinary tradition, save Pork, Cabbage and Smoked Fish. However, as I happen to adore Roast Pork, Red Cabbage and Smoked Fish all is well in my stomach. Last night we ate at a lovely little French bistro called "Sct. Oluf" with only four things on the menu. I've often wondered about this as a concept - a no choice restaurant where you sit down and 'get what you're given' - perhaps the diner, abdicated of all control, would enjoy simply being fed. As an indicator the place was rammed, cheap and good. And you'll soon learn that cheap, good food in Denmark is like gold dust. I ate Potato Soup, a braised Veal stew (achingly tender) and some Christmas pudding that consisted of an Amaretti biscuit base, stewed apples and a vanilla cream. All for 149Kr or just under 20 pounds (no pound sign on this keyboard!). Bargin. Note that the ingredients involved in those three dishes are not expensive. Yet another example that simple food, cooked well is all most people really want. If you want to go there it's on Mejlgade, number 33. No website, of course.

I also managed to steal a recipe for Red Cabbage, Danish style and in my opinion, the best there is to be had. It's bang in season at the moment and very 'Christmassy':

Klassisk Rødkal - Classic Red Cabbage
Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 Red Cabbage
2 Oranges, Skin and Juice
1 Cinnamon Stick
3 Star Anise
4 Bay Leaves
2 Cardamom Pods
200g Soft Brown Sugar
300ml Pear Juice or Blackcurrant Juice
200ml Cherry Vinegar
400ml Red Wine
Sea Salt, to season

Method:
(NB: As this recipe is translated by me from the Danish, I'm giving you my method for cooking. I only just mananged to work out the ingredients! It's quite time intensive, but not labour intensive. You just need to keep an eye on it.)

1. Remove the core and slice the Cabbage into fine shreds. Set Aside.
2. Quarter your Oranges and then slice lengthways so you have little triangles. Set Aside.
3. Find a large, heavy dish with a lid. Add your Cabbage and Oranges and a splash of water. Place on a medium heat for ten minutes to get it started.
4. Now add all your other ingredients (except the salt) together. Stir well and return to the heat. Make sure the lid is well sealed - use a tin foil seal under the lid to help if necessary. It's really important to keep the heat in. Stir every now and again. If the liquids are boiling off too quickly, reduce the heat. We want the cabbage to braise. Pre-heat an oven to 200 degrees centigrade.
5. After 20 mins transfer to the oven for roughly an hour. Stir every 20 mins or so. The end product should be soft and juicy.

This is one of those dishes that tends to taste better the day after, so the longer you leave it after cooking the better: it allows the flavours to infuse further. If you're re-heating, do so on the hob on a gentle heat and keep it moving. Don't let it stick!

"Wood Fired Oven" Bread

If anyone can help me answer this, I'd appreciate it. There was a cooking programme for kids on the BBC - must have been around 1989 - and it had a blonde lady presenting it. What was it? Anyway, she showed us all the wonder of toast, with butter - and that was my first ever solo cooking moment. Since then, I can safely say i have munched my way through more toast than anything else! Try it with Avocado and Marmite: sounds gross, tastes amazing!

There was a debate between Peter, Orlando and I regarding bread: was it the first foodstuff created by man? It was certainly one of the oldest - the ancient Egyptians used to buy a bread called 'ta' from stalls on dusty streets, and history even has a loaf of bread from the first century AD that survived the wrath of Mount Vesuvius. It looks a bit highly baked mind you.

All cultures have their own version of bread. The basic componants - water and grain flour - can be found in different forms all over the planet and these have given rise to Mexican Tortilla, Indian Chapati, Middle-Eastern Pita and Irish Soda Bread among others. It can be leavened or unleavened, toasted or eaten freshly baked, served with sweet or savoury and at any point during a meal. It's also a great leveller - all stratas of society enjoy bread be it a cheaper supermarket white slice job or an artisan, hand made sourdough. For what it's worth, my preference is for those achingly delicious Italian breads such as Foccacia and Ciabatta that are at their best (in my opinion) when stale and tossed through an amazng tomato salad.

Anyway, the reason for my ramblings is Orlando. He showed me a great technique where you bake a loaf of bread inside a casserole pot - giving it a wood fired oven finish. It really worked, and here is the (it's his not mine) recipe for you to try:

Raynaudes 'Wood-Fired Oven' Loaf
Makes 1 Loaf

Ingredients:

Walnut-sized piece of fresh yeast
300ml luke-warm water
450g strong flour
50g cornmeal
A heavy, oval casserole dish.

Method:

1. Dissolve the water in the yeast. Put the flour plus a touch of salt into a food processor, turn on. Gradually add your yeast mixture. Once it's all combined, mix for a minute or so, then stop. Remove and knead by hand for a minute.
2. Put the dough into a greased bowl, cover and let it rise until it has doubled in size.
3. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, shape it into a rectangle. Roll up and fold under the edges - you should have a shape like a rugby ball.
4. Cut a piece of greaseproof paper about twice the size of the casserole pot, sprinkle with the cornmeal. Put your loaf onto it, then cover and leave to rise until it's one and a half times it's original size.
5. Put the empty casserole dish into an oven to heat - about 230 degrees centigrade.
6. Remove when the loaf has risen, quickly transfer the loaf, still on the paper, into the hot dish. Cover with the lid.
7. Bake for 30 mins, then remove the lid for a further 10 minutes.
8. Cool on a cooling rack. Do not eat until it's cold!

Grasshoppers and the Pyrenees (or Saturday at Raynaudes)

Returned from Orlando and Peter's place the other day to an interrogation from friends and family. Simple, thoughtful questions like: "Well, did you get the job or what?". Nothing about the sweeping French countryside, the 12th century bridges, the picture postcard hamlets dotted around any high ground people could lay their hands on, the 20 degree sunshine, lunches with the Pyrenees or the tyre-slashing dog owned by the neighbours that attacked me on Peter's bike! And nothing about the wonderful food. No, just "When are you going to pay some rent, poor boy?"

Arrival in Toulouse went as well as could be expected. After managing to locate the taxi desk, and mumbling my name in French, I was escorted (briskly) to a waiting bus along with the driver, and four other travellers - three office workers from Paris and a dark-haired, cigarette smoking girl from Marseilles. Very Betty Blue she was. They were all dropped off in Albi at which point the driver then checked where I was going. This was swiftly followed by much "mon dieu-ing" and huffing and puffing and fiddling of Tom-Tom. No, I didn't want to be dropped in Monesties, I needed to go to Raynaudes. Yes, Raynaudes. RAYNAUDES.

Decades later I was greeted by Peter - tall, slim and understated. Orlando bounced in and fed me (I was STARVING by this point, so hungry I was shaking) a lovely pan-roasted chicken breast and wild mushrooms. Apparently in France, all pharmacists are trained in the art of mushroom foraging, so you can turn up with a bag you've picked yourself and they'll separate them into a 'Oui' and a 'Non' pile. How great is that???? There then followed a brief discussion about what I'd be doing over the weekend, but essentially this involved assisting wherever possible. Breakfast for the next three mornings, and the evening meal on Sunday, the last service of the season. And I'd be cooking lunch for them tomorrow.

7:30am, Saturday. Breakfasts were relatively straight-forward. Freshly baked croissants alongside a fruit salad and home made yogurts, cereals etc. Once again I was reminded that simplicity doesn't mean boring. Just make it the BEST fruit salad you possibly can - make sure the fruit is at room temperature, the grapefruit segmented properly, the pears ripe - and people will remember it. Just think of all the times you've stayed at a B&B and been given that grim, pappy excuse for bread. That's boring, not bread itself!

Lunch was a relaxed affair and deliberately so. I chose to concentrate on flavour combinations and a well planned menu, rather than anything technically NASA-esque in it's difficulty rating:

Spaghetti with Tomatoes, Capers and Mint
Lamb Cutlets with a Sherry Vinegar sauce and Wilted Greens
Warm Orange Salad with a Honey, Rosemary and Chilli Dressing

One major issue was the cooker. Orlando has a fancy hob with no discernible 'knobs' to twiddle or 'buttons' to press. Just a Star-Trek style panel that you apparently need to glide your finger over to achieve the desired effect. Needless to say I was prodding, fiddling, poking (swearing), and starting to look a bit frantic before Orlando showed me the way. Lesson 1: ensure you understand technology before trying to use it. All in all though, the food came out as I expected and I was happy with the end result. The weather was fantastic, the Pyrenees were standing proud representing the physical barrier with Spain, there were Grasshoppers jumping onto bone dry leaves, making a little 'thud' noise as they landed. Silence allows you to hear so much more. Maybe that's why we Brits love and hate France so much. We may mock their 35-hour weeks and general laziness, but how many of us wouldn't die for such a lifestyle?

Here is the pasta I cooked - fast, easy and utterly brilliant.

Spaghetti with Capers and Mint
Serves 4

Ingredients:
500g Dried Spaghetti
400g Fresh Tomatoes, skinned and de-seeded
200g Shallots, finely chopped
Olive Oil
Garlic Glove, lightly crushed
A small Handfull of Capers
A large handfull of Mint, shredded
Sea Salt, Cracked Black Pepper and Sugar

Method:
1. First skin your tomatoes. Put a little cross on the bottom of each one. Place them in a bowl of boiling water, leave for a minute or so and then remove. The skin should now rub off easily. The remove the eye and seeds. Roughly chop and set aside.
2. Heat your oil. Then add your garlic clove. Once it starts to brown, remove and discard. You'll now have a lovely Garlic Oil.
3. Add your shallots, soften. Then add your tomatoes. Taste and season. Don't be scared of adding sugar, it'll bring out the flavour of the tomatoes.
4. Let this simmer gently for 15-20 minutes. This will intensify the flavour.
5. When it's ready, cook your spaghetti, in a large pot of boiling, salted water.
6. As soon as the pasta is cooked, add the capers and mint to the sauce.
7. Drain your pasta and add to the sauce.
8. Eat straight away, serve with Parmesan or some other hard cheese such as Pecorino.

Le Manoir de Raynaudes

Yesterday, the journey began properly. I'm off for three days to visit my good friend Orlando at his wonderful and award-winning Manoir de Raynaudes in the wild, spartan region of south west France about an hour north-east of Toulouse. Ostensibly I'm there for a job interview - Orlando needs a cook for six months next summer - but I'm also looking forward to spending more time with him and to meet his partner, Peter, of whom he spoke whilst we were tucked away in Devon recently on a food writing course. Orlando was undoubtedly one of the stars of the show. As a tutor he gave us concrete, sometimes brutal ("...you may find at the end of this course you really DON'T want to be a writer!") feedback and he otherwise entertained us with his pianistic expertise and stories of his time as editor of the BBC Good Food magazine.

But the main reason I'm going there is to try and work with him next year. It would be a huge honour. Orlando has transformed himself from an amateur cook to passionate professional and in the Manoir has created a table widely considered one of the best in the south of France. He sources many of his ingredients from the fruit, vegetable and herb gardens he has established in the grounds of the Manoir and cooks them with love and attention. His intention, always, is to give people the "best meal of their lives." Not much to emulate then. Gulp.

I sit on a packed train from west Wales to Bristol, where I'll transfer onto a plane that'll whisk me to Toulouse. I feel very jet-set, if a little disorganised. I wonder if this is the future? An endless meandering from kitchen to kitchen, and if I will eventually settle on my own version of a gastronomic getaway? Or I am living a pipe-dream? I know I can cook, and cook well. I know I have a good palette and that I can season. But I can also get carried away, and probably need to learn a little control! I've been reading huge amounts of Skye Gyngell's work recently. She exemplifies what I see as a complete cook: respect for her ingredients, seasonal where possible, taste above presentation and simplicity over complication. She appears, at least, the embodiment of confidence, but I also wonder if all cooks are fundamentally insecure? They have an innate desire to please, to titillate and to satisfy, but do they ever really indulge in self-congratulation? After all, the day you stand still as a cook is the day you lose your edge. You can't hang around and marvel at your achievements. This is their adrenaline rush - that you are only as good as your last service, and that one bad meal can destroy a reputation.

So it's an exciting but terrifying world I am entering. First things first though, get myself to Toulouse, then scramble my way onto a bus that'll whisk me to the middle of nowhere, France. And all with no French. Did I tell you I only speak Welsh and English? No? Then let the adventure begin.

Hazelnut Tarts (and the French)

As usual, there's a story attached to this. A few years ago, in the early days of meeting an amazing woman, she presented a Hazelnut Tart for us to munch on as a mid-afternoon snack on a freaky October afternoon in Edinburgh. It was the "most wonderful" Hazelnut tart she had EVER TASTED, she said. Even though it was a pre-packaged job, I have to admit that the pastry was great, the filling moist and the result sumptuous. And then the killer. The tart had been acquired whilst on a trip to see a Frenchman. Pathetic, I know, but then the distance between food and sex, as far as I can see, is about the width of my little toe. I was most perturbed.

Since then, I've been on a mission to bake the ultimate Hazelnut Tart so that I may no longer be defeated by some suspicious, foreign effort. I would parade my creation down the Champs-Elysees shouting "la vie longue la tarte Galloise" in triumph. This would then go down in the annuls of history as the most important victory over the French since the Duke of Wellington spanked Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

If only it were that simple, however. Baking, I would admit, is not my first love. I'm certainly a highly competent pastry chef, but it doesn't come naturally to me in the way that say, a brothel is natural to a Parisian. But my time at Ballymaloe certainly provided me with some excellent ground rules, like ensuring all of your ingredients are chilled before making pastry, or the importance of blind baking. Baking, and dessert-making in general, is much more technically challenging than putting a stew or soup together. When a bread recipe calls for half a teaspoon of baking soda - that's what you use - any more and you'll end up with soapy yellow blotches through your end product. Such precision can feel stifling but it's further evidence that cooking is not all about "passion" or an innate "feel" for what flavour combinations work well. You must also have a level of technical skill to be a complete cook.

It's also important to be humble. You can't re-invent the wheel. And it seems to me that a confident cook will do very little to the ingredients that he is given, and let the ingredients speak for themselves. One such cook, whom I hugely admire is Skye Gyngell, head chef at Petersham Nurseries and this is her recipe (re-written by me) for a lovely Hazelnut Tart.

Hazlenut Tart
Serves 8-10

Ingredients (for the pastry):

250g Plain Flour
125g Unsalted Butter, grated
30g Caster Sugar
1 free-range Egg
1 free-range Egg Yolk
Zest of a Lemon
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Ingredients (for the filling):

300g Shelled Hazelnuts
300g Caster Sugar
3 Whole Eggs
Zest of a Lemon
300g Unsalted Butter

Method (NB: this is my method):

1. Pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees centigrade, then toast your hazelnuts.
2. While they're toasting, make your pastry. Put all the WELL CHILLED ingredients into a food processor. Pulse, and eventually everything will come together to form a ball. If not add some ice-cold water, very sparingly. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge.
3. Meanwhile, make the filling. Put the nuts in a blender and pulse - keep them coarse, you want your end result to have some texture. Then add all your other ingredients and pulse until combined.
4. Now remove your pastry and roll on a lightly floured surface. Look for a thickness of about 3-4 mm.
5. Roll onto your pin and drape it over a ten-inch tin. Gently press into the sides. I leave pastry draping over the edge as it will shrink during cooking and you can trim it up afterwards.
6. Blind-bake for 15 minutes, or until almost cooked through. Remove and cool.
7. Finally, add your hazelnut filling, spreading it evenly. Bake for about 35 minutes, until golden and just firm to the touch.
8. Allow to cool and serve with fresh cream and raspberries.