Beef Wellington

Having successfully achieved a long-term cooking goal I decided to attempt another.  I have only ever eaten Beef Wellington once.  That was about twenty-eight years ago, made by my cousin Mary.  I recall being impressed that she had attempted such a feat.  I have often thought about it but never gone any further.  Buoyed by the success of the minimum effort tartare, I decided to go for the complex and have a go at the Wellington.  The first step was to find a recipe and Eat your Books again came to the rescue.  I searched the entire EYB  collection where I located a classic beef Wellington by Sophie Grigson.  There is even a helpful video which I recommend you watch if you are planning to make this.
The recipe was for eight and I halved it.  I think any less won't work so well.  We froze the remaining portion for another occasion.  I pretty much followed the recipe as it was written.  I don't often do this but because I had no idea what I was doing, sticking to the blueprint seemed like the best approach.  It was actually very simple, especially because you could prepare so much ahead and there was no real time pressure.  I used ready-bought pastry and pate and homemade beef stock, which I always keep in the freezer.  Although the recipe suggests you do a lot of the prep the day before, I started at 11.00 a.m. on the day of eating and had no time issues.
I was very anxious about the crepes as I felt this was the part that might not work.  They were fine.  Just remember that when you are making crepes the first one out of the pan is always a dud.  Ensure you have enough mixture for one to discard - and roll up with sugar and lemon as a cook's treat.  The ones you are going to use cannot have any holes.
I followed the cooking instructions and I bought a meat thermometer.  This was invaluable as there is no way you can see or feel what is going on inside the pastry case.  In case you don't have a temperature equivalents guide - preheat the oven to 245.  Turn it straight down to 215 when you put the Wellington in and reduce to 200 after ten minutes.  My meat thermometer said 140 was rare so we went for that rather then the 135 suggested in this recipe.  It was closer to 35 minutes than 25 but watch at the end as the temperature increases quickly - 30 mins may be sufficient. Do invest in the meat thermometer if you don't already have one.  It was inexpensive and easy to use and really helpful.  I used the rest time to finish the sauce and steam the asparagus.  I just served this with asparagus and watercress, and would suggest any simple seasonal green or a salad. It all went very well but the meat did bleed a little into the crepes which were intended to prevent the pastry becoming soggy.  This meant the pastry was a little soggy at the bottom.  I did some further research and found a recipe that suggested to prevent this, substitute the crepe by a single sheet of filo pastry which may do the job better. 
I felt a meal of this splendour deserved a pudding  but I didn't want to go to any effort.  I had some cream in the fridge and syllabub came to mind.  I've never made this before either.  This time Sophie Grigson's mother, Jane, came to the rescue with a recipe called Elizabeth David's Everlasting Syllabub.  This was in Jane Grigson's English Food and apparently stems from Elizabeth David's An Omelette and a Glass of Wine, which surprisingly I don't have.  This is supposed to be started the night before but as I didn't think about it until mid-morning on the day of Wellington that didn't happen and it didn't seem to matter.  As soon as you can, steep the pared rind of a lemon in 100mls of white wine or sherry, 2 tbsp brandy and the juice of the lemon. Leave at least two hours and then strain the liquid into a bowl and dissolve 50g sugar.  Slowly pour in 300 ml cream and add a grating of nutmeg.  Beat the cream until it holds its shape and no longer.  It will curdle easily.  Spoon into serving glasses and store in a cool place but do not refrigerate.  Jane says this will keep for two days or more.  The alcohol may keep it fresh, but can you imagine leaving a delicious pudding sitting around for two days and not being tempted to eat it?  Serve with sponge fingers.  This was the perfect ending to the meal and I am now a syllabub convert.

Un soir a Paris

I am between jobs.  Really.  I start the new one on Monday.  I had planned a week of walking, gardening and cooking some of those meals I have been meaning to make at the end of a long day but there isn't the time.  But things don't always turn out.  Peter had a week of evening events at work and I ate a little more simply.  Thursday night he was in and I decided to make something I have wanted to make since I first encountered it at the Hofbrauhaus in Auckland when I was seventeen. My seventh form German class took our teacher there for dinner because we loved her and wanted to thank her for being such a great teacher.  Because of this experience I believed for many years that this classic French dish was German.  And for some reason I have never eaten it in Paris.
Often when I get an idea in my head it grows.  This was the case here.  A search on Eat your Books revealed that I have two recipes for steak tartare.  For those who don't know, Eat your Books is a recipe site that has indexed thousands of cooking books.  You add all your books and magazines then when you are looking for a recipie you type in a couple of ingredients and it tells you which book it is in.  Do investigate.  It is wonderful.  Was slightly scary to discover how many cook books I have. Does anyone care to guess?
Anyway back to my steak.  Rick Stein's French Odyssey and Sarah Woodward's The Food of France gave me the general idea.  I then thought we would start our evening with an aperitif and was thinking about accompanying this with buttered radishes, however I think this is best with freshly picked and I don't have any ready right now.  I was flicking thrrough the books and came up with seared scallops with puy lentils.  It's the scallop season so this seemed perfect.
First make a dressing for the scallops.  For a dozen scallops, heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a small saucepan and add four finely chopped cloves of garlic then four chopped tomatoes, skinned and deseeded and some finely chopped rosemary and thyme.  Simmer 10 minues or so until until it is pulpy.  In another small saucepan heat two tbsp red wine vinegar with one tsp caster sugar and reduce to about 2 tsp.  Add to the tomato sauce and season.  Set aside.  For two, cook about 1/4 cup puy lentils, season and dress with olive oil then keep warm while you enjoy your aperitif.  We had kir, which if you recall from an earlier post is creme de cassis with white wine.  When you are ready to eat finish off the tomato sauce with a tbsp of lemon juice and a tsp of chopped basil and parsley. Season and heat gently while you cook the scallops.  Heat the pan then add a litle olive oil and sear the scallops a minute or two on each side.  I don't remove the roe and I can't understand why people do that.  Serve with the lentils and pour the sauce over the scallops.
For the steak you want about 100-120g of fillet steak per person.  Trim off any fat or sinew then chop very finely. Season well with salt and pepper  This took quite a while so allow time.  You want to serve it well chilled so chop it first then put in a covered bowl in the fridge while you prepare the rest.
Accompany with with finely chopped shallots, parsley, cornichons, capers and Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, tabasco and olive oil.  You could serve it ready mixed but we did ours at the table because we wanted to do them slightly differently.  Shape the beef into neatish rounds on a plate and make an indent in the centre.  Top each round with an egg yolk and serve with shoestring fries. 
We had macarons with coffee.  Not home made, I am almost (but not quite) too ashamed to say, but locally made nonetheless.  Finish the meal with a good brandy.  To transport yourselves completely to France accompany with Django Reinhardt and Edith Piaf.

Home and abroad

It's been a while but I find myself with a moment to spare and I thought I'd catch up with you.  We've been away.  This isn't an excuse but I thought I'd start by sharing some of the delights we ate while we were away.  We travelled to England and Scotland and I made a side trip to Rogat in the Netherlands.  We ate some amazing food and I am not going to mention the not so great - best forgotten.
There are some wonderful places to eat in London.  We made a day trip to Hampstead Heath and I wanted to eat at the Spaniard's Inn.  The food wasn't this good last time I was there.  We sat in the sun and enjoyed a leisurely lunch and a pint.  From the June menu, I had the Scotch egg and Peter had the terrine. We then shared the salad of bulgar wheat, quinoa, lentils, soy flakes, radish, pomegranate & asparagus.  There was one surprise with the salad - no asparagus.  And a slightly odd response to its absence.  The waitress had no idea what asparagus was and peered at the plate uncertain what was actually missing.  The chef and the duty manager were surprised that I had thought fit to mention its non-appearance.  That said, this was the best Scotch egg ever and  a wonderful salad sans asparagus.
I was keen to try out Ottolenghi's Soho offering, Nopi.  We couldn't get a table in the main restaurant but there was space at the downstairs bar.  It was a great atmosphere and great food.  We had a selection of dishes to share.  I was browsing in the Time Out and I found a review for another Middle Eastern restaurant in Soho, the Palomar.  If you only eat at one Middle Eastern restaurant in your life, make it this one.  Again we couldn't get a table but we did secure a perch at the bar where we could observe the food being prepared and the chefs having fun while they cooked.  
We had two great meals in Glasgow.   We were taken by friends to Two Fat Ladies at the Buttery.  This was a five-star restaurant specialising in fish.  We don't often eat out like this.  At the other end of the scale we went to a family run Italian restaurant, Sarti, which is definitely worth a visit. 
Phoebe searched out another amazing find in Canterbury.  Next to the railway station is the Goods Shed where produce was once stored before being transported by train.  This is now a Farmer's Market and restaurant serving locally sourced seasonal food.  I can't describe the meal - you'll have to try it out for yourself.
I also enjoyed home cooking in the village of Rogat in the Netherlands province of Drenthe.  I enjoyed traditional Dutch cooking including Stamppot, made with endive as a summer substitute for kale, and chervil soup.  Most of what I ate was produced from the back yard including eggs and honey.   
Since we've been back we have been enjoying some of the coldest weather Wellington can throw at us, so we thinking slow cooking and lots of winter greens.  Luckily the kale, cavalo nero and rainbow chard in the garden is keeping us going.  We have a new eatery in Wellington, Loretta, sister restaurant to Floriditas.  They have the ultimate comfort rice dish  - warm rice with broken sausage and thyme.  I am making a basic risotto with a sprinkle of chilli flakes and a handful of thyme leaves in with the very finely chopped onions.  I used pork & fennel sausages, skin removed and broken up.  Cook these lightly before adding the rice.  Add extra stock so the resulting dish is quite sloppy.  Add extra thyme at the end and omit cheese.  Truly.   I served with  leeks and winter greens from the garden.
You should also try a potato tagine-style stew which has become a staple at our table.  For four to six, soften a finely sliced onion and two roughly chopped carrots with a pinch of salt, in a heavy bottomed pan.   Add a teaspoon each of ground coriander, cumin, ginger, turmeric and paprika and a pinch of chilli flakes along with three crushed garlic cloves, zest of a lemon, tbsp clear honey, a couple of bay leaves and three long green chillis left whole.  Cook for a couple of minutes.  Add scrubbed red skinned waxy potatoes cut into chunks and turn in the spices. Add a tin of tomatoes, a tin of chickpeas, two cups chicken or vegetable stock and bring to the boil.  Cover and simmer fotry minutes.  Add a handful of green olives at the end and serve with dollops of Greek yoghurt (I use Zany Zeus) and scatter with toasted pumpkin seeds, a tsp of paprika and some finely chopped parsley (or coriander).  You will make this again and again.