Leeks and Peas

Leeks are good just now so for Soup Monday we had this variation on leek & potato soup. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil & a knob of butter in a large saucepan & add 2 leeks, finely sliced; 500g floury (I usually use Agria) potatoes cut up small; 2 cloves garlic, crushed & some chopped thyme. Heat gently until the leeks are very soft but not browned. Patience is required. Then add 5 cups of chicken or vegetable stock and 1 cup milk. Season & bring to the boil, then simmer 30 minutes. Don't worry that it looks a bit curdly - you're going to blend the curdle out of it. Add 3 cups frozen peas & cook another 5 minutes. Blend until smooth. Drizzle with a little cream to serve. What a colour! You'll notice this makes quite a bit, so freeze the leftovers. It's always good to have soup in the freezer in the weather.

On Tuesday I had to bin the chicken I had planned & this is why you should always have pasta & pesto at the ready. Boil egg pasta ribbons according to the instructions on the packet. Gently warm a large pan & when the pasta is done use a slotted spoon or tongs to lift the pasta from it's saucepan into the clean one. Stir through a tbsp per person of creme fraiche, the same of pesto. Season and add a knob of butter. Grate over some Parmesan. Serve with a green salad that you've prepared beforehand because once you start cooking the pasta you are less than 6 minutes from the table. If you've got pasta in your cupboard you've always got a meal.

On Thursday we had pea & prawn risotto. This combination is beautiful. Just make a regular risotto base (see May 09). You could substitute fennel for the leek and use Pernod instead of wine. Remember to be patient when softening the leek. You don't want crunchy leek. When the risotto is done, stir through 1/2 cup frozen peas & 1/2 cup frozen cooked prawns with the juice of 1/2 a lemon. You could use raw prawns and just cook them through in the pan. Cook a little more until the peas & prawns are ready then season, drop in a knob of butter, cover & leave with the heat off for a few minutes to rest. Serve with Parmesan.

The next night, if you've got some left over, make risotto cakes. I recently learned a clever trick to make these. Butter some ramekins & put a circle of baking paper in the bottom. Lightly beat 2 or 3 eggs & mix with the risotto & some Parmesan. Tip the mixture into the ramekins & bake in a moderate oven about 15 minutes until the egg is set. This is much better than trying to fry them as I have done in the past. They turn out really well. You could make it in one large shallow dish & cut into wedges like a cake.

Chinese greens

Along with the new job we have got into a new routine in the kitchen. Now that we're walking both ways, there is less time to spend on dinner during the week & I need to accommodate study. Wednesdays & Saturdays, when Phoebe works, we try to do something with fish or something else she's not so keen on.

On Saturday night we had something I've been meaning to try again for ages. I saw something on a tv programme but being unable to remember what it was & never writing it down, it was probably nothing like the meal I am about to describe. The key ingredient is a Chinese green - the leafy one with thin stalks & yellow flowers - Choy Sum.

Finely chop the stalks from a bunch of choy sum & soften in a pan in a little peanut oil, with some grated ginger (the grating plate is good for this), sliced spring onion, garlic & a little celery if you like it. Add sliced mushrooms & cook down a little. Then add a splash of soy sauce & stir through the choy sum. Add some baby spinach leaves if you have some to use up. Serve with pork cooked your favourite way and rice or noodles. A chop is good. In this instance, we had pork fillets which had been marinated in a mixture of vegetable oil, soy sauce & honey in a roasting dish. (For 2 servings use about 2 tbsp oil, 1 tbsp soy, 1/2 tbsp honey) We roasted the pork at 180 about 15 mins, turning once, then rested about 10 minutes. I am not a huge fan of Chinese flavours or Chinese greens but I just love this.

We didn't eat it all, so for Sunday lunch fried up the left over rice, veg & meat with some shredded carrot, pumpkin from an earlier meal, some ham that needed to be eaten & a plain omlette sliced on top. This was delicious.

On Sunday we had a busy afternoon in the kitchen. Phoebe baked cup cakes for an SPCA fundraiser & I made tomato sauce (ketchup type).

Brionnais to Paris

The last leg of our French journey took us through Brionnais & the Auvergne to Poitiers and then on to Paris. We spent a night in a small village called Varennes at a wonderful chambre d'hote, a sort of hosted B&B. We were provided with a delicious regional dinner by our hosts. We started with a glass of Kir in the courtyard & then we went into the dining room for a magnificent French repast. First came Jambon Persille followed by a pave of Charolais beef served with a jardiniere of vegetables. Essentially a beautifully presented plate of seasonal vegetables fresh from the garden, in this instance the garden just outside. The beef came from a farm up the road and was possibly the best beef I have ever eaten. In fact, the view from the dining room window (the one to the left of the circular tower) encompassed the fields in which the cattle were grazing. This was followed by a selection of local cheeses from the surrounding farms, chevres (goat's cheese) and the three varieties all tasted quite different from one another, Fourme d'Ambert and La Fontaine. I thought we were done but no, out came a Pear Charlotte, cooked by the 18-year-old daughter of the family. All this was accompanied with a Beaujolais wine - Gamay. We dined with our hosts and their family and the conversation was conducted in a mix of French & English. This was a meal to remember. As a footnote, breakfast was also amazing and included dandelion jam!

We drove to a friend's house in a small village the Auvergne, stopping at the village of Noiretable for lunch. We went to the Hotel de la Gare for lunch, which turned out to be an inspired choice. This was, as it's name suggests, a hotel with accommodation and the diners appeared to be local workmen enjoying their three course set menu with a piquet of wine. On offer was a set menu or an a la carte menu which consisted of a starter, a main & a pudding. I had the starter of terrine & salad, which was amazing, followed by Fromage Blanc which is a French specialty you must try if you go there. Basically its a very fresh creamy cheese with a yoghurt consistency, which you sweeten with sugar to your taste and mix with a little cream. Unbelievable! In Poitiers it was served with berries & honey but I really loved the plain version. This was an outstanding meal and epitomised French country eating at its best. Another feature of the hotel was that your pet could stay for free - there is usually a charge for cats & dogs.

On to Bertignat, a small village near the small town of Ambert, whose claim to fame is a magnificent cheese - Fourme d'Ambert & a round Mairie (town hall). We enjoyed both the cheese and the town hall...in the form of cake.

In fact this region boasts 3 appellation controlee cheeses. Two of them, the Fourme d'Ambert and Cantal are available from Le Marche Francais in Wellington. Another experience I must mention was Denis, the travelling Bordeaux wine salesman. A very pleasant hour was whiled away tasting wine from Denis' case in the comfort of my friend's living room. Ask me about it sometime. Denis was quite a character.

Everywhere in France offered a new dining experience. Poitiers was the closest we got to the coast and so fish was on the menu. In addition, I had the best omelette ever - so good I had it three times!

In Paris, we went for North African - the area round Boulevard Saint Michel is teeming with cheap restaurants and we picked the one with the most interesting looking menu. An alluring waiter stands outside the restaurants enticing the diners in, reminiscent of the sex shops in Soho (not that we know much about them, of course). I had couscous which was served with a variety of meat & chicken. The couscous was divine - very fine.

The other dining experience worthy of note was Cafe de Flore - the haunt of Sartre & de Beauvoir, on Boulevard St Germain. I had one of those fabulous composed salads the French do so well. We were very bemused by a dish of eggs which sat on the unoccupied table next to us throughout our meal. And I discovered another one inside. If anyone can enlighten me I would love to know what that was about.

It was in Paris that Phoebe finally enjoyed her soupe a l'oignon and I have had great success with this at home.

Heat about 60g butter in your Le Creuset. Add a kilo of onions finely sliced, with 4 cloves of garlic finely chopped and 2 tsps caster sugar. Cook slowly for about 1/2 an hour untill the onions are really soft & caramelised. Don't rush this stage.

Add 300ml dry white wine & boil rapidly until it has reduced by half. Then add 1.5 litres good beef stock with a bouquet garni & leave to simmer at least 30 mins. Make your own beef stock or buy good quality fresh in a plastic pouch. Don't spoil this experience by using boxed stock or a stock cube. The stock is the essence of this soup. Discard the bouquet garni & season the soup.

While the soup is simmering prepare a slice of French bread for each bowl. Put slices of bread - about 2-3 cm thick - on a baking tray & bake at 150 about 30 mins. You want them dried out but not coloured at all. When you take them out turn the oven up to 220.

To serve, place a slice of bread on the bottom of each dish - you need ovenproof dishes. I have a beautiful set of stoneware soup bowls my mother bought at the old Courtyard Cafe in Wellington circa 1985. They are perfect. Ladle the soup over the bread, ensuring equal distribution of liquid & onions. Cover the soup with a thick layer of grated cheese - Gruyere or Comte if you can get it. Place the bowls on a sturdy baking tray & bake at 220 for 30 mins until the cheese is golden & bubbling. You can grill them for 5 minutes if you are short of time but the baking delivers a result that is worth waiting for. Don't skimp on time. The soup freezes well so if you make a large quantity freeze and then you only have to do the bread & cheese bit on a busy night. This is a soup Monday favourite.