I thought you might like to try this dish now that sorrel is back in season. It looks like a long recipe, but it may be prepared in stages and is really very simple. It is a perfect dish for Spring and Summertime entertaining. Serves 8 8 x 120g ocean trout fillet, sashimi grade, pin [...]
On the recommendation of some recent cooking school clients, we were looking forward to going to this lovely restaurant for dinner. Neville had said it was in the Realis et Châteaux group but did not mention it had a Michelin star. He did say it was just a short walk from the Canal de Bourgogne, [...]
I use a couple of recipes for this great dish; this one based on Anne Willan’s recipe, from La Varenne Cooking School in Paris and Burgundy, is made without the potato, although other recipes of hers do add potatoes; and the other recipe in my collection is based on Jacques Pepin’s, with potato and gratinéed. [...]
Servings: 8 - 10 This Provençal dish known as Brandade De Morue is a whipped salt cod gratin; it is a great example of how to elevate modest ingredients like salt cod and potatoes, by whipping them with milk, olive oil and garlic until luxuriously silky. This dish is usually served as an hors d’oeuvre [...]
There are a few variations on this classic salt cod dish from the south of France. Basically, it is a purée of salt cod, olive oil, milk, garlic and sometimes potato and cream. Some cooks omit the garlic, I like it included. The Basques like it with peppers, tomatoes and garlic, the Bretons prefer it [...]
Serves 4 - 6 Clafoutis is a rustic, country farm house, ‘batter style’, dessert, hailing from the Limousin region of France and is traditionally made with cherries. The original recipe calls for whole cherries with the pits in them, as the pits impart an almondy flavour; however, I always pit mine for more enjoyable eating. [...]
We arrived back at our winter base, always with sadness to finish the barging. Now it is the packing, cleaning, organising for the winterisation of the barge and our departures. We moored next to a lovely barge, Rysland, and met the delightful English, French, Swiss owner Sophie, who is the Captain and sometimes her own [...]
It is a challenge finding a ‘perfect’ restaurant when you are barging along the canals. For me, this means a charming, pretty restaurant with a pleasant ambience and décor, with good quality, flavoursome, well-presented food, with a focus on the region; a small, quality wine list with a variety of price ranges; if you are [...]
Autumn is chestnut time and they are now appearing in the fruit markets. Chestnuts, unlike other nuts and seeds, are relatively low in calories, carry less fat, but are rich sources of minerals, vitamins and phyto-nutrients that benefit your health. Chestnuts always remind of another old favourite sung by Nat ‘King’ Cole, Christmas song, 'Chestnuts [...]
I loved everything about this book! ‘A food lover’s pilgrimage to France: from the vineyards of Burgundy to the mountains of the Basque country food, wine, walking and history on the French pilgrim paths to Santiago de Compostella’ - it is one of the best books I have ever read. Remember, in my former life, [...]
