Pot au Feu

One of my ma's favorites. And I made it for everyone tonight, but especially for her. The important step to remember is to put the meat into stock that has already reached a simmer as it seals in the flavor.

3 kg piece of brisket on the bone

1 knuckle of veal containing bone marrow

2 halved carrots

2 leeks, sliced into large pieces

2 large onions, peeled and halved

2 heads of garlic

bouquet garni

maldon sea salt

white peppercorns

recommended root vegetables

parsnips and turnips, peeled and cut into chunks

chervil root

parsley root

2 handfuls of small white potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

1. half fill a large saucepan with cold water and add everything but the meat and root vegetables
2. bring to a simmer, then place beef and veal into pot
3. cook for 3-4 hours or until brisket comes easily away from the bone
4. skim off scum occasionally (but not all the fat!)
5. when meat is cooked, turn off the heat and let cool completely
6. lift out meat and vegetables and reserve
7. drain the stock, discarding bouquet garni and peppercorns
8. return to the heat and add mixed root vegetables, cook until soft (but not too soft)
9. discard the bones, scoop out marrow and stir into the stock
10. slice brisket, put into a heated serving bowl and ladle broth and vegetables over the meat
11. serve with Dijon mustard or horseradish fromage blanc

Foie Gras & Apricot

Much enjoyed by all. Eschewing the usual toasted brioche in favor of a more rugged, artisan raisin bread made the dish, as did the piment d'espelette.

dried apricot preserve

foie gras

maldon sea salt

piment d'espelette

gelee de champagne

raisin bread (or brioche)

1. toast raisin bread or brioche
2. slice foie gras and put on toast
3. sprinkle with salt and piment
4. spoon over the gelee
5. serve with apricot on the side

Dried Apricot Heaven

Needed something quick to serve with a terrine de foie gras. Easy on the cinnamon, just want a hint of it. Was lovely.

24 dried organic apricot (no preservatives)

2 tblsp honey

4 tblsp sugar

1 tblsp rum

1 bay leaf

half stick of cinnamon

water

2 tblsp white balsamic vinegar

1. put dried apricots in a small pot with enough water to cover half of the apricots
2. add other ingredients and bring to a slow simmer

Osaka Beef Fillet

My best attempt at preparing a Japanese-style steak with ingredients available from my suitcase and the local German supermarket. Serve with some lovely caramelized sweet potatoes.

wasabi powder

butter

anti cucho sauce

marinade

soy sauce

rice vinegar

fish sauce

balsamic glaze

yuzu juice

lime juice

grated fresh ginger

sliced red banana chile

yuzu coriander paste

garlic

truffle oil

anti cucho sauce

8 tblsp aji amarillo paste

5 tblsp rice wine vinegar

2 tblsp soy sauce

1 tblsp yuzu juice

1 tblsp lemon juice

4 tblsp grapeseed oil

1. make wasabi butter: mix wasabi powder with water to make paste; mix into butter with some salt; mix and put into seram wrap to make a big bonbon
2. make anti cucho sauce
3. marinate fillet steaks 2 hours
4. grill until medium or medium-rare
5. take off grill, put some wasabi butter on steaks, let melt
6. serve with some anti cucho sauce

Tomato & Onion Salad

The simple things are always the best things. Key here is to remove the skin from the tomatoes.

best quality tomatoes
best quality sweet onions
best quality EVOO
best quality sherry vinegar
parsley
chives
maldon sea salt
ground pepper

1. pierce tomatoes with a cross at stem point; flash boil tomatoes for 15 seconds so that skin can be removed
2. slice tomatoes in uneven chunks and assemble salad

Ceps & Lardon

This is merely a reminder to include fatty bacon with butter and EVOO when sauteeing mushrooms.

ceps, or any other quality mushroom
EVOO
butter
herbs
slab of fatty pancetta

1. saute mushrooms as you would normally
2. key is to include a slab of pancetta for extra taste

Bagna Cauda Light

Always welcoming in the cold weather when there are multiple guests around the table. The very friendly sous-chef at The River Cafe kindly provided this recipe, although not the same as that in the most recent cookbook. If I heard correctly, this recipe incorporates a combination of butter and EVOO (rather than just butter), which is why I enjoyed it so much. Key is to serve with some in-season, poached veggies.

2 whole heads of garlic

200 ml EVOO

150 gr unsalted butter

10 salted anchovies

red wine

Vegetable suggestions

artichokes

fennel, quartered

baby carrots

baby turnip

baby fennel

pumpkin

sturdy spinach

swiss chard

1. put garlic, red wine and anchovies in a pan and reduce for 45 minutes
2. slowly add EVOO and butter until you get an emulsified sauce
3. pour over vegetables and serve

Beet-Cured Gravadlax

Join the fun! Beet your salmon. Serve this with toasted pumpernickel, a cucumber salad and a sour cream & dill sauce.

800 gr side of salmon, skin-0n

3 tsp coriander seeds

2 tsp white peppercorns

2 tsp black peppercorns

3 tblsp sea salt

2 tblsp sugar

large bunch of dill

a grated beet

gin

1. dry-toast coriander and peppercorns in a frying pan over medium heat until fragrant; grind in a mortar and pestle until a powder
2. put the salmon skin side-up in a wide, shallow dish; scatter with a third of the spice mix and half the grated beets; press a third of the dill on the skin; turn the fish over and scatter with the rest of the spice, grated beets and the remaining dill
3. cover the fish tightly with clingfilm and weigh down with a baking tray & heavy tins
4. keep in fridge 2-3 days, turning every 12 hours
5. unwrap fish, brush the dill & other condiments off fish; place salmon skin-side down on a chopping board and carefully remove skin
6. slice diagnally, serve with pumpernickel bread and dill sour cream

Creamy Spinach

One of my favorite side dishes from St John, paraphrased from the second cook book.

a big bag of spinach

a healthy spoonful of Dijon mustard

a handful of grated parmesan

a dollop of creme fraiche

sea salt and black pepper

1. remove stalks from spinach, cook down in butter
2. whizz all ingredients down in a mixer

Maple-Glazed Gammon

What a generous chunk of meat. Perfect for slicing away over the holidays. Thank you Gordon.

whole leg of gammon/ham, smoked or unsmoked (around 5 kg)

1 cinnamon stick

1 tsp peppercorns

1 tsp coriander seeds

2 bay leaves

about 25 cloves

glaze

200 ml maple syrup

2 tblsp coarse-grain mustard

2 tblsp worcestershire sauce

2 tblsp soy sauce

1. put the gammon in a very large pot and cover with cold water; add the spices and bay
2. bring to a boil, turn down and let simmer for 1 hr 50 mins, topping up with boiling water when necessary; scoop off any scum
3. pour the liquid away (can keep for making soup), then let the ham cool a little while you heat the over to 190 c/170 c with fan
4. lift the ham into a roasting tin, score the fat in a criss-cross pattern and stud each diamond with a clove (at this point can be chilled up to two days)
5. mix the glaze in a jug; pour half over the fat, roast for 15 mins, basting with pan juices 3-4 times as it bakes
6. turn the pan around a few times during the cooking so that the fat colors evenly; remove from oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes before carving
7. can be roasted on the day or up to two days ahead and served cold

Tonight's Dinner

A lovely evening with the Letondots and Hartigs. The first time I make a ham.

• marmite cashews
• black radish & olive oil
• beet-cured gravadlax, St John cucumbers, dill & lemon sour cream
• bagna cauda with braised squash, baby fennel, baby carrots, baby cauliflower, baby turnip, swiss chard
• hot vacherin, maple-soy glazed gammon, herb salad
• affogato

Gravadlax Sauce

A nice diversion from the usual nordic honey-based sauce.

1.5 cups sour cream

zest and juice of a lemon

1 tblsp whole grain mustard

lots of chopped dill

S&P

1. put ingredients in a bowl and mix
2. let set a while so the flavors develop

Creamy Mushrooms

This could come in useful if I need mushrooms with a creamy, braised consistency perhaps over some cooled polenta. I would be tempted to use just the garlic.

mixed mushrooms

chopped onions and/or minced garlic

butter

EVOO

S&P

parsley

single cream

lemon juice

1. put butter in pan, when it begins to melt add the EVOO
2. when bubbling, add the mushrooms, onion/garlic and S&P
3. coat mushrooms in the butter/EVOO and let saute for 6-8 minutes
4. don't stir around too much, let mushrooms take on golden brown color
5. when mushrooms look good, add cream and parsley, cook another minute
6. add some lemon juice to taste, mix and serve

Rosemary Tisane

The first I hear of a tisane from rosemary, but certainly makes sense.

a few rosemary sprigs

honey

boiling water

1. put rosemary and honey to taste in a tea pot
2. let seep in boiling water for a few minutes until the tisane reaches the desired strength

Notable Meals

Certainly not my first time at the River Cafe, but I think one of my favorite meals there. Thanks to Toby for some nice Tuscan wine selections!

• bagna cauda
• gnocchi romana and white truffle
• veal shin slow cooked in valpolicella, spinach and polenta
• lemon tart
• mint tea
• wine: Brancaia Tre 08 and Selvapiana Petrognano Pomino 07

Jerusalem Artichoke & Greens

The nutty roasted flavor of jerusalem artichoke with a clean, green salad works very well indeed.

jerusalem artichoke

mizuna leaves

rucola

frisee

parsley

chives

chervil

sherry vinegar

EVOO

walnut oil

garlic

shallots

S&P

1. grate garlic very finely, put half a thumbnail of it in a bowl with vinegar and S&P; let set for an hour
2. cut and peel jerusalem artichoke; toss in bowl with EVOO, S&P; roast until golden
3. finish vinaigrette by emulsifying EVOO into the vinegar and garlic mixture
4. dress salad leaves and herbs with vinaigrette
5. put some salad on a plate with a few chunks of jerusalem artichoke, sprinkle more herbs and season to taste

Paris Restaurant Picks

This posting will complement a previous posting--Paris Bistro Picks--which I update regularly. Some of these I will have been to, others I'd like to go to (with asterisk).

• Frederic Simonin (17th): ex-Atelier Joel Rebouchon in London
• l'Astrance* (8th): I've no idea why I haven't made it here yet, but I never cease to hear good things.

Konro Bakar

Javanese BBQ beef ribs & peanut sauce from Jakarta's Bunga Rampai. The very kind waitress and only good English speaker on the staff was able to extract this information from the chef. This was accompanied by a perfectly balanced sour fish soup.

beef short ribs

onion, chopped

garlic, minced

hazelnut, chopped

katsup manis

regular soy sauce

ginger, slices

lemongrass

peanut sauce

onion

garlic

hazelnuts

soy sauce

coriander roots and leaves

butter

lemon

salt

1. put peanut sauce ingredients in a blender and mix
2. sear the ribs in a little oil, remove from the pot
3. saute chopped onions, garlic, hazelnut; return the meat with soy sauce sauce and a bit of katsup manis so that meat is covered; add ginger and lemongrass stalks which have been banged up a little; simmer for 3 hours
4. when done, remove short ribs, pat dry and grill
5. brush with peanut sauce as the ribs grill; wait until caramelized
6. serve with additional sauce on the side

Bistrot Ari & David Christmas Menu

Another fine success this year. My favorites in order of appearance were Ari's salmon and beetroot, my octopus and vitello, Ari's eggs and soldiers, my salsify and Ari's hake.

• Scallop Sashimi & Yuzu Buttermilk
• Smoked Icelandic Salmon & Braised Beets
• Cured Duck & Celeri Remoulade
• Octopussy Yeah Baby
• Vitello Tonnato to Go
• Eel, Pickled Carrot & Horseradish
• Truffled Eggs & Soldiers
• Salsify, Trompettes & Polenta
• Foie Gras, Pear, Prosciutto Powder
• Snails, Girolles & Mash
• Risotto & Roe Deer
• Cotechino, Lentils & Mostarda
• Sgroppino Venezia
• Hake & Aniseed Beurre Blanc
• Deconstructed Boeuf Bourgignon
• Vacherin & Herb Salad
• Affogato
• Digestivo
  
  

Lentils & Burrata

An absolutely tasty little number from Polpetto.

lentils

carrot

celery

onion

bay leaf

thyme

shallots

home-made broth

burrata (buffalo mozarella ok too)

home-made pesto

EVOO

red wine vinegar

maldon sea salt

fresh ground pepper

1. make lentils al dente using above ingredients except pesto, EVOO and vinegar
2. when done, add a couple small splashes of vinegar and a drizzle of best quality EVOO; spoon some burrata and pesto over the lentils and serve