A Temporary (Unexpected) Hiatus

Dear readers - thanks for your support over the past few months. Indeed, maintaining this blog has been a delightful learning experience. Unfortunately my internet connection at home seems to be temporarily out of service as deal with a horrendous bureaucracy to switch providers. This means I will be able to post few, if any, updates during this time. Hopefully it will sort itself out by early September. In the meantime, review those past recipes and find a new blog or two, but please come back! All the best for the end of your summer holidays.

Meat Free Thursdays, Part Deux

When promising a regular post on a particular theme, you suddenly realise the weight of such an obligation. Nevertheless, helping us all to reduce our environmental impact while enjoying delicious food is a worthy cause. Today’s meat free recipe features lentils in a British/French manner.

Lentils are perhaps the most delicious pulse this lovely earth brings forth. I am particularly fond of the green Puy lentils from the Southwest of France. If you are reading this in the UK, they are relatively sustainable (as far as lentils go) and are not trucked in from halfway across the globe. In fact, because the Southwest is near the coast and transport by shipping container is more efficient than by lorry Puy lentils by delivered by sea may in fact be better than any such lentil grown in the UK and sent around by lorry. Once again this depends on where you are in the UK (and the same for North America or anywhere else in the world), but I digress.

Puy lentils have an earthy richness combined with a sharp peppery bite that make them an ideal match with something unctuous, creamy, or equally sharp. I find watercress an indispensable companion to lentils cooked in the manner below. In the winter, watercress can be substituted with kale or winter-greens. The base is relatively simple – a minced mirepoix of sorts sautéed in olive oil with a splash of wine and the lentils. I must give deference to both Fergus Henderson and Joël Robuchon for inspiration of this base. Like a stock, or even pizza, this is a base that welcomes a variety of ‘toppings’ so to speak. The key is to match flavours that melt with the bite of the lentils or perhaps outmatch it, while keeping an earth richness in harmony. I love goats curd, soft cows curd (almost a mix of crème fraiche/sour cream with cottage cheese), Jerusalem artichokes, globe artichokes, or even beetroot with this base. Then top with greens accordingly. I will commit a cardinal sin and admit that I love Puy lentils with lambs kidneys and breast of duck. In fact all offal suits this base well. This being a vegetarian column, however, I will give a vegan base and leave any embellishment to you:

Puy Lentil Base for 1:

1 can/carton of Puy lentils (green lentils suffice as a substitute)
1 small onion or 2-3 shallots, minced
1 stick of celery, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
1 glass dry white wine
Chopped parsley (I prefer curly leaf for this recipe, but either will do) to taste
Salt and pepper

Toppings (Optional)

Greens of some sort to just cover, but not smother: Watercress, kale, collards, winter greens, spring greens, mustard greens, chard, nettles, even spinach

Method:

1. Heat a bit of olive oil in a plan and add the minced vegetables, cook until soft.

2. Add the lentils with their liquid, stir for 1 minute.

3. Add the wine, continuing to stir, then let this elixir simmer until much of the liquid has cooked off

4. Add the salt and pepper (salt too early toughens the lentils into cardboard).

5. Top with an unctuous combination (the cheeses mentioned above work wonderfully), something earthy (Jerusalem artichokes cooked ‘al dente’, roasted beetroot or parsnips perhaps), or something with bite (kohlrabi).

6. Add the greens and enjoy.

A Clarification

A dear friend of mine sent me a message on the wine and cheese post below. While he was tickled with the idea, he said it was a bit of an elitist post despite the initial disclaimer. I am here to say he has a point and that the spirit of the evening was perhaps not emphasised. The wine prices I mentioned (£5.50 to £21.95) reflect all price points on the spectrum. The format of the evening was as follows: 6 guests contributing £15 each (roughly the price of a full meal in London at an inexpensive restaurant). About £60 was allocated to wine, the remaining to cheese, salad, and bread. This was more than enough to fill us and provide a lovely state of enhancement thanks to the wine. By all means, such an evening can be devised at any budget. The idea, of course, is balance - this is not an exercise in inebriation, thus you do not need a bottle per person. With six people we could have gotten away with even three bottles and still enjoyed ourselves. So, feel free to set your own budget according to your means. There are countless numbers of delicious wines at £5-10 a bottle that offer stunning good quality. Likewise, many cheeses considered 'paysanne' offer excellent value for money. I think it is the perception of wine and cheese as elitist that reinforces this reputation. I am convinced that such an evening is just as enjoyable at £5 a person as it is at £30. At the end of the day, it is about enjoying delicious wine and cheese and, most importantly, great company (which does not have a price), so forget what people think. Enjoy yourself!

Say Cheese Please

There is probably no other food and beverage pairing that is as renowned as wine and cheese. It is the ultimate cliché, and these days it seems to be the insult of choice by certain political activists wishing to accuse their opponents of elitism. Never mind that many of those throwing accusations of ‘wine and cheese eating elitists’ are themselves from a similar social class. Wine and cheese need not be elitist, but it must be delicious. Here is a rundown of such a tasting held last week in the company of great friends, but first a disclaimer.

I do not profess to be an expert on cheese, though admittedly I am learning and have come a long way. My dear friend Caroline is usually entrusted as our in-house ‘cheesemonger’ for such affairs and I have her to thank for introducing me to a procession of delicious cheeses. Unfortunately I was a terrible student, perhaps due to the influence of the wine, and do not remember the specific names of three cheeses. The important thing to remember, however, is that wine and cheese pairing is about matching flavours and textures, both of which are still keenly in my head.

The cheese included a very mature Cheddar, a Brie de Meaux, a raw soft goats cheese, a washed rind cheese akin to a Stinking Bishop, and a deliciously sharp blue cheese. All cheeses were purchased from Neal’s Yard Dairy and were from the UK (except for the brie), and while not all were organic, all are produced humanely using traditional techniques.

Being in charge of selecting wine for such an affair may sound envious, but the endless choice and the pressure to find a creative theme is rather challenging. A previous tasting was entitled the ‘Franco-Prussian Empire’ due to a pairing of German wines with French cheeses. Feeling no such frivolity this time around, I stuck to grapes and producers I knew to be reliable and delicious, hitting on all price points. For the whites, I selected two Rieslings of decidedly different characters: one, a 2005 MGP from Marlborough, NZ (£5.50 – discounted due to bankrupt stock), the other a 2005 Dönnhoff Nordheimer Kirschheck Spätlese from the Nahe in Germany (£21.95). The reds included a 2005 Merlot from Ventisquero’s ‘Grey’ line from the Maipo Valley in Chile (£11.75), and a 2004 Chateau Teyssier, St Emillion Grand Cru from the Bordeaux region of France (£21.95). Both reds were decanted for three hours and all wines were purchased from the City Beverage Company.

One might think powerful cheeses need powerful wines and to an extent that is true, but sometimes contrasts are equally important. I found the Cheddar, with all its rustic gusto, paired well with both the Ventisquero and the Teyssier (which is 55% Merlot and 45% Cabernet Franc), but preferred the Teyssier. Its sharply structured edge caught the bite of the Cheddar beautifully, while the Ventisquero accentuated the earthier and more sensual side of the cheese.

The washed rind cheese was pungent and nutty and paired best with the Ventisquero, but that stinky quality was nicely complimented by the Dönnhoff, the acid and rich fruit creating somewhat of a harmony.

Likewise, I prefer a rich and fruity wine with a sweet edge when eating blue cheese. The classic pairing of Stilton/Port and Roquefort/Sauternes is an excellent demonstration. The Dönnhoff was superb with the blue cheese, but the MGP was also lovely despite the lack of rich gusto the late harvested grapes of the spätlese had. I found the red wines both accentuated a bitter quality with the cheese. Salty and sweet flavour combinations seem self evident, but savoury and sweet also tango. This is why sweet wines works so well with foie gras.

The rich butteryness of the Brie worked well with the Dönnhoff as well, but I preferred the Ventisquero. It seemed that the rind content affected the pairing and the more rind (which I love), the more those earthy flavours of coffee, chocolate, and stewed fruits grounded it. The notes of blackcurrant were particularly pungent on the Ventisquero, with momentary pulses of Ribena, but nonetheless it worked.

Lastly, the gentle quality of the goats cheese (not something usually associated with goats cheese) was stunning with the MGP. This is more of an Alsatian style Riesling, pleasant fruit, but an underlying minerality that offers structure. It also lacks the unctuousness of the Dönnhof, which in the case of the goats cheese was perfect as it was the least fatty of the cheeses. The acidic grip of the goats cheese was well matched by the acid of the MGP. I found the Dönnhof a bit too overpowering for this one.

And so you have it – 5 cheeses, 4 wines, and an evening of much mirth. Hopefully this provides some inspiration for similar events of you own. I would like to say that I think white wine is underappreciated by many when pairing wine with cheese. Aromatic white wines with a hit of concentrated fruit (sometimes mistaken as sweetness) work wonderfully with many cheeses – Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Blanc, Muscat, and some Pinot Gris. Surely there are others so go and explore and remember to say cheese.

Plastic or Paper?

This is a blog focused on food and its relationship with the environment. Whether or not the merits of a tax on plastic bags should be posted here is dubious. Nonetheless, I found this Leo Hickman piece rather good. I don't have much more to add really, except to say that bags are indicative of your consumption patterns. Over-consumption is certainly not sustainable, one only need to open Jared Diamond's Collapse for more on this. Sure taxes change our behaviour, but it would be brilliant if we could put a bit more effort into changing it ourselves. Taking a reusable bag should be an automatic impulse anytime we leave the house. With so many lovely decorations out there, they can be the ultimate accessory. I seem to throw my sunglasses and umbrella (you never know either way in London) in there and it happens to hold my food purchases too. So buy (or make) a canvas bag and make sure you take it with you. Because there really are more important environmental issues out there and this should be one habit that is easy for us to kick.

Food for Thought - A Monday Opener

I intended to post my wine and cheese review from last Monday's marathon tasting, but alas I cannot seem to find the exact names of each cheese. Nonetheless, it will go up shortly, names or no names.

In the meantime, it is well worth reading this piece on the current tomato blight in the New York Times from noted chef Dan Barber. I largely agree that in each instance we move to something more sustainable (growing our own food in this case), there is often the risk of an unpleasant and unexpected side-effect. This shouldn't discourage us, however, from doing our own part. It just reinforces the need for further research and education in the realm of food and sustainability. At the very least such initiatives could provide employment to counteract the effect of human redundancy as a result of technology - social sustainability at work?

Meat Free Thursdays (Volume 1)

As previously reported on Veni Vidi Victuals, the city of Ghent is encouraging its citizens to give up meat once a week. Thursdays seemed to be the day of choice for this dietary switch, perhaps to avoid the memories of asceticism from a similar Catholic practice on Fridays (though fish was permitted). If anyone doubts the impact giving up meat a few times a week has on the environment, check out this piece in the Washington Post. Perhaps environmental organisations aren’t the best to pitch this idea to the public (certainly health authorities could be more persuasive), but if they had a trove of recipes that were vegetarian and delicious they might peak some interest. In the spirit of this effort, I will endeavour to include a meat/fish free recipe every Thursday.

I have made it clear that I am against the idea of substituting meat from some processed protein alternative. Such ‘foods’ only reinforce the unpleasant reputation of vegetarian and vegan foods. Of course countless families have pasta dishes that are vegetarian and they don’t gristle at the appearance of penne with peppers and tomatoes. Aside from pasta, however, Middle Eastern food is the sceptic’s vegetarian saviour, a redivivus for a misunderstood culinary approach. Fresh vegetables, herbs, and liberal use of olive oil and lemon juice make the cuisine of the Middle East simple, healthy, flavourful, and environmentally friendly.

Let us turn to the ingredients currently in season. Courgettes (zucchinis) still seem to be overflowing at farmer’s markets and locally grown specimens can be found easily at supermarkets as well. This basic recipe combines onions, courgettes, chickpeas, garlic, tumeric, and sultanas for a sweet/savoury dish that is satisfying, yet healthy. If you wish for a vegan option, stop there, though a few dollops of yogurt topped with friend onions and flaked almonds seals this dish for me. It is a chickpea Casanova of sorts. Perhaps it will tempt you to dabble more in vegetarian cooking.

Chickpea Casanova (for one)

1 to 1 and ½ courgette(s), chopped
1 yellow onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 carton/tin of chickpeas (around 250g in drained weight)
Turmeric
Sultanas
Salt and Pepper
Parsley

Optional:

1 small yellow onion, sliced
3-4 dollops of yogurt
Paprika
Flaked almonds

Method:

1. Cut the courgette in half, and then slice finely across. Follow by slicing the onion

2. Add a splash of olive oil to a skillet over medium heat, throw in the courgette, then the onion. Stir vigorously for 1-2 minutes.

3. Lower the heat to low/medium and let the vegetables cook slowly for 15-20 min, stirring occasionally.

4. Meanwhile, chop the garlic and parsley and open the carton/tin of chickpeas, draining about half to two-thirds of the liquid.

5. Add the garlic, and then add the chickpeas, stirring well. Finish with a tablespoon or so of turmeric to give a lovely xanthous hue.

6. Let this simmer until most of the water has been steamed off. Add salt to taste.

7. Throw in two(ish) handfuls of sultanas, top with parsley and pepper to taste.


For the non-vegan option:

1. Decant your finished dish (as above) into a serving bowl and let cool slightly (it will take some time).

2. Mean while, slice a small onion and gentle fry it in some olive oil, making sure if browns and caramelises a bit.

3. When the onions are fried to a sweet and savoury state, dollop some yogurt over the chickpea dish, dash a bit of paprika on this, follow with some flaked almonds, and top with the fried onions.