Overnight Chef

Pork, Apricot and Pistachio Terrine

2013-03-24T11:05:00.000+01:00

Here is a really fancy looking dish that is pretty simple to make. I took this recipe from the BBC Good Food website. Terrines are one of those dishes that look really impressive and are perfect as a dinner party starter as you should make them the day before to let it set, meaning you have one less course to worry about on the night. When your guests arrive and see this at the table, they'll immediately start to salivate and know that they're in for a good meal. Also, any left-overs will keep for a few days and make a versatile, mouth-watering snack for any time of the day. I like to cut up a few slices and serve on toasted bread after a night out, it also goes down well with a nice pint of ale.

It's the first time I've ever made a terrine and I was a bit nervous but I can confirm that it is way easier than it looks.

Ingredients:
- 300g tenderloin pork
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- a handful of thyme
- 2 tbsp brandy
- 300g rindless streaky bacon
- 1 kg sausage meat
- a handful of fresh parsley
- a handful of fresh chives
- 100g shelled pistachios
- 1 dozen apricots
- cornichons and baguette to serve

Dice up the pork into a mixing bowl with the garlic, brandy and a few sprigs of thyme and leave that to marinate overnight in the fridge.

The next day, add the sausage meat, pistachios, parsley and chives. Season with salt and pepper and mix well. Don't overdo the salt though as the sausage meat will likely have been salted already and the bacon from the lining will also add flavour. If you want to check the seasoning, fry off a teaspoon in a pan to check it - unless you like to eat raw sausage meat.

Take a 1kg terrine mould and butter it. At the bottom, add a sprig of thyme, a few apricots and have a dozen pistachios. Remember that this will be the top of your terrine as it gets turned over at the end so try to keep it looking nice.
Layer the strips of bacon along the inside of the dish and ensure there is about half of each strip hanging over the edge.

Add about half the terrine mixture into the mould and the add a layer of apricots. Fill with the rest of the mixture and pack in it firmly. Wrap the overhanging strips of bacon around the mixture tightly. Wrap the mould tightly with silver foil twice and put it into a baking dish half-filled with water and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180C for an hour.
Let this cool down and then chill it in a fridge overnight, with something flat and heavy on top of it to pack it down even more for a firm texture. As a tip, I took a plastic container that was slightly larger than the mould and put a lot of jam and sauce jars inside to weigh it down. If you don't do this, not only will the texture not be right, the terrine won't have a flat base to sit properly on when you turn it over!

When you take the terrine out of the fridge and unwrap it, you'll see a layer of lard that has built up around the edge. The easiest way to release it is to put the mould in a container of warm water for about a minute. You can then turn the entire thing over onto the serving board. Slice up a baguette and toast lightly, garnish with cornichons.

Oeufs en Cocotte

2012-10-28T21:18:00.002+01:00

Anyone who is a regular viewer of Saturday Kitchen on BBC 1, would have seen Rachel Khoo knock this up a few weeks ago. It's a great brunch dish and is something different to your standard fried eggs on toast or Sunday morning scrambled eggs. Oeufs en Cocotte is typical Parisian fare and can be served up with any combination of herbs, toppings, side dishes and sauces. The dish is basically eggs baked in the oven. Simple to prepare and cooked in less than 15 minutes.

Rachel's version which is also available on the BBC food website (http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/eggs_in_pots_93154) is garnished with lumpfish roe and dill. She also uses creme fraiche instead of double cream, which also works well. You can pretty much use anything you fancy in this: as an alternative, try grilling a large slice of portabello mushroom and tomato and adding to the bottom of the ramekin, or just a few thin slices of salmon.

I decided to serve mine with crispy bacon and pan fried asparagus, and garnish with tarragon. The crispy bacon gives a different texture and natural saltiness to the soft, runny eggs and is well balanced to the fresh sweetness of the asparagus. Tarragon is a herb that goes very well with eggs but you don't need too much of it. Like Rachel, I also used creme fraiche - simply because I'd bought some for a chilli con carne I was planning to make for dinner as well. Don't forget the soldiers!

This is for two.
Ingredients:
- 2 medium sized eggs (obviously the larger they are, the longer they'll take to cook)
- Creme fraiche
- Nutmeg
- Salt and pepper
- A few leaves of tarragon
- 6 slices of streaky bacon
- a dozen baby asparagus
- half a dozen slices of baguette

Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 180C and boil about a litre of water. Put one tablespoon of creme fraiche in a ramekin and season with salt, pepper, some tarragon leaves (torn) and a pinch of nutmeg.

Crack open the egg into the ramekin, be careful not to break the yolk. Add another dollop of creme fraiche and repeat the seasoning. Do the same for the second ramekin.

Put both ramekins in the centre of the baking dish and pour the boiled water into the baking dish so it is covering the ramekins about halfway up. Pop that into the oven for 12-15 minutes. Check on the consistency towards the end by pressing the back of a teaspoon gently against the surface. Slice up the bread and lay on another level for the last few minutes.

Once you've put the eggs in, you can get started on the bacon and asparagus. In a dry pan, fry the streaky bacon on both sides over a high heat until it is nice and crispy.

A few minutes from the end, add the asparagus to fry briefly - only for a minute or so otherwise they will lose their crunch.

Remove from the pan and allow to drain on paper towels before arranging everything as you like it and serve hot.

Mushroom Picking in the New Forest

2012-10-25T23:03:00.000+02:00

Tell someone in the UK that you're going mushroom picking and they think of Super Mario, being poisoned and Amsterdam. Now I think about it, it sounds a bit like my student days. It's ironic that the UK is such an abundant source of mushrooms since most people in here don't even think about picking them. I remember when we went to the Lake District a few years ago, there were so many porcini everywhere and people didn't even notice them.

In Europe mushroom picking is just as common as fishing and so it's handy that my wife is Polish. We went to The New Forest over the weekend with another couple and the girlfriend is Swedish so between them, they were able to guide us to the right terrain and ensure we didn't pick anything that would have us climbing up the walls, or worse still in A&E getting our stomachs pumped. The New Forest is really easy to get to from London: Waterloo to Ashurst direct in 1hr 30 minutes. Rent a cottage with a nice open fireplace, pack your wellies and a map, and you're in business. The New Forest is a really nice part of the world. Typically English villages with thatched cottages and old-man pubs serving local ales. We came across this phone box that had been converted to an information booth.

And there are lots of wild ponies just wondering around too. Quite a site for city slickers like us.

Most people stick to the button mushroom variety - and there's nothing wrong with those, but why confine yourself - especially when you can pick your own food for free. It's actually quite a addictive thing to do as well. But you have to know what you're picking, or go with someone who does.

After going back to the cottage on first day completely empty handed, we weren't too optimistic on the second day but after a 5 mile hike, we found mainly bay boletes clustered in a mossy forest covered with pine trees.

On the way home we also got lucky and came across some chantrelles. On the last day we had a few hours to kill and found the king of mushrooms: the porcini. These are fantastic dried or fresh, and can be pretty hard to find. Here are a few of the poisonous ones to be careful of.

You can do so much with mushrooms. In Monika's holiday home in Poland they have a cellar with jars upon jars of preserved porcini. You can dry them for a more intense flavour in stews, soups or sauces. Or you can just pan fry them.

While we were there, we had the second day's gathering as a bruschetta. The best way to clean wild mushrooms are with a damp cloth or brush rather than washing them under water. There were nice and fresh. Just slice them up and pan fry them with butter and a little onion. Season to taste and serve on crispy warm bread.

When we got home the next day, we had about a kilo and a half of porcini. Bear in mind that they shrink a lot when you cook them as well so our collection was enough for a meal for two, plus my packed lunch the next day.

Monika again pan fried these with salt and pepper mixed them into fresh pasta and sprinkled some fresh parsley on top. Fresh porcini in the UK sells for around 45GBP - 60GBP per kilo at the market so I can't imagine how much this meal would have cost in a restaurant - plus you wouldn't get nearly as much porcini as we had. Probably the most expensive packed lunch in my office. Ever.

Fish Boutique - Portabello

2012-10-22T23:57:00.001+02:00

While wandering around Portabello Market a few weekends ago, we came across a really cool little Italian fish restaurant on Blenheim Crescent. This place really caught our eye from the outside with the big barrels and the interesting window seating.

Fish Boutique is much more than just a fish restaurant. It is an offshoot of a fishmongers in Napoli which gets all it's catch on the line and ships it over directly form the Mediterranean within 12 hours of catching. They get 3 shipments a week so it's guaranteed to be nice and fresh. Catching fish on the line is much better for the environment as it doesn't involve catching in a big trawler net, which ends up with tonnes of bycatch which is thrown back into the water dead, thereby depleting stocks. So do the planet a favour by buying line-caught fish, and do yourself a favour and get down to Fish Boutique for some nice fresh seafood!

When we were there there was a small selection of razor clams, scallops, mussels, sea bass, anchovies, white bait and sardines - amongst others. They had actually cleared most of it away by the time I got round to taking this picture unfortunately. Each day will vary depending on what they catch - which is all part of the fun. You can pick up a nice whole fish, and have it cleaned for you while you pop round the corner to pick up a lemon and some fresh rosemary or parsley from Portabello market and pan fry it. Or grab a dozen razor clams and steam them with some ginger, coriander and garlic, with a side dip of chillies chopped finely into soy sauce. Works just as well with scallops of clams too.

The interior was great with a real mix-up of styles that seemed to fit together really well - a bit like a big pot of bouillabaisse: everything thrown together but works in harmony.

I particularly liked this old-school drinks cabinet:

Since we had just stuffed ourselves with street food, we couldn't manage much but the beauty of having a 14 month old baby who sleeps out of hours is that when he wakes up hungry, it gives you an excuse to eat with him out of hours. We ordered red mullet fillets with red peppers and tomatoes which became a three-way battle:

We also sampled half a dozen oysters fresh from Scotland:

This is a fun, relaxed place to visit where the staff are all friendly and you'll be sure to get some good quality seafood either to eat in or to take home.

Fish Boutique is at 8 Blenheim Crescent, London W11 1NN.
Tel: 0207 229 3400
Check out the website which also has a link to the fishmongers and restaurants in Italy: http://www.pescheriamattiucci.com/index.html

Michel Roux's Poussin Scented with Ginger and Lemongrass

2012-10-16T22:59:00.001+02:00

Anyone who saw BBC1's Saturday Kitchen last week would have savoured the mouth-watering experience of watching Michel Roux cook this delicious dish. The co-founder of Le Gavroche mentioned that he is a huge fan of Vietnamese food - for which this was the inspiration - and has just opened a new restaurant called La Maison 1888 at the Intercontinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort.
My version is a twist on his - not that I presume to be a better chef than the man who's restaurant The Waterside Inn became in 2010 the first restaurant outside France to hold three Michelin stars for more than 25 years. Not yet anyway.

I love using poussins instead of chicken - whether it is for roasting, pan-frying or making broth because they are so much sweeter and more tender. In fact the first meal I ever cooked for my wife was quick-roasted poussins stuffed with spinach, baby carrots and potatoes, with a creamy chantrelle sauce. As I said: sweet and tender.

I added coriander and chillies to spice up Michel Roux's lighter version, put carrots and celery to the steaming water to give the stock more flavour and used baby stem broccoli because it happened to be in the fridge. This is a meal for two.

Ingredients:
- 2 poussins, washed, trimmed and wishbone removed
- 4 sticks of lemongrass, sliced finely
- a large piece of ginger, sliced finely
- 2 red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
- a large handful of coriander, finely chopped
- a few dashes of sesame oil
- a carrot chopped in half
- a stick of celery, chopped in half
- 2 tbsp cornflour
- 500g broccoli or baby stem broccoli
- 100g rocket leaves
- rice for 2 (steamed as per packet instructions)

Method:

Deep fry the rocket and drain on kitchen paper. Set to one side. I had to pop out to Tesco for this at the last minute but all they had was a pre-packed mix of rocket, spinach and watercress. It worked just as well though. Also I don't have a deep fryer so shallow frying works just as well although you need to do this in batches.

Stuff the cavities of the poussins with the lemongrass, ginger, chillies and half of the coriander. As I was also cooking for my baby boy, I just added the chillie as a garnish at the end. Boil a litre of water in the bottom section of a steamer with the carrots, celery, the rest of the coriander and a little bit of salt.

Place the poussins in the steamer dish on top of the water and steam on a moderate to high heat for 15 - 20 minutes.

When cooked, remove the poussins and carve off the legs and breasts, and set to a side. I put the breasts in the oven on low heat just to keep them warm. Cut where the leg joins the body to see whether the meat is cooked through or not.

Put the carcass back in the stock and simmer for another 10 minutes to give it a bit more flavour. For the last few minutes steam the broccoli on top, then remove.

Pour the stock through a strainer into another pot and thicken with the cornflour. To avoid getting lumps, mix the cornflour in a small bowl of water to get a paste and pour this into the stock over heat slowly, stirring as you do. Add the sesame oil.

Heat a little oil in a pan and fry the legs of the poussins, skin side down for a couple of minutes just to get them a bit crispy.

Pile the steamed rice in the middle of a large plate and arrange the poussin and broccoli over it.

Spoon the sauce over the breasts of the poussin and be sure not to pour any on the legs and you want them to remain crispy.

Scatter the rocket loosely over the top and garnish with any chillie and coriander you may have left over. If you have any, toast some sesame seeds and sprinkle on top. Serve with the rest of the sauce on the side.

Portabello Market

2012-10-14T11:02:00.001+02:00

After our trip to Borough Market last weekend, we thought we'd keep the trend up and go to Portabello. In fairness, it was Monika who dragged me down there so she could look at antiques and to buy a side table for the lounge. Personally, it's not really my type of market, full of people selling the type of crap I'm often desperately trying to get rid of. Thankfully we spent more time at the food section, found a nice Italian fish restaurant and I avoided having to carry a side table home.

Here's a great stand serving loads of different types of olives and tapenades:

Some cracking paella that I was really tempted by:

Fish and chips in a different way:

Here's the butchers where I bought a few poussin to cook - really good value at £1.50 each. I'll post another entry later this week with my version of Michel Roux's Poussin with Scented Lemongrass and Ginger.

A few other places that caught the eye:

I decided to go for the piri-piri chicken with grilled haloumi and chorizo on a bed of patatas bravas. Served with spicy mayo. It might not look very appetising but I can assure you that it was every bit as delicious as it sounds. Not exactly ideal preparation for the 10km assault course around Battersea Power Station that I have to do in little over a month but at least my tastebuds had a good work-out!

Don't miss Blenheim Crescent, a road off Portabello Road which has a fantastic little spice shop where they blend and mix their own spices on site. It boasts more than 2,500 products, and apparently is popular with celebrity chefs. Well, it's now also popular with The Overnight Chef.

Blenheim Crescent also has this great cookbook store and they were serving a delicious soup of Sausage, Kidney bean and Red Chili outside, which was a nice touch:

We also stumbled upon this great little Italian fish restaurant with very cool interiors:

Finally, I'll leave you with the enduring image of a man in a dinner jacket playing a flaming tuba. Yes, those are real flames.

Pan-fried Monkfish with Palourdes, Chorizo, and fennel served on pea and parsley risotto

2012-10-13T12:04:00.000+02:00

This is a really easy dish to make, sounds fancy and looks impressive too. Chorizo goes great with so many types of dishes and especially so with meaty white fish such as monkfish. It gives a great colour to this particular dish as well. I like using fennel with this as it's strong and aniseedy so goes well with all the other strong flavours from the chorizo, palourdes and parsley.

Palourdes are great. They remind me of a camping holiday we had a few years ago on Ile De Re off the West Coast of France where I spent the low tide one day digging these little clams from the beach and then after giving them a good clean, I cooked them off over an open fire with some shallots, garlic, white wine and parsley then tossed them up with some linguine. You can't beat that while you sit on the beach on a warm evening!

During our trip to Borough Market on Saturday, I picked up some nice monkfish tails that were de-boned and trimmed by the fishmonger (about 500g) plus 2 dozen palourdes. Cut the monkfish into largish cubes.

Slice up a medium sized bulb of fennel and two good handfuls of chorizo.

Add butter to a hot pan then throw in the monkfish and chorizo for a few minutes. Then add a small glass of white wine.

Throw in the fennel and after a few minutes the palourdes. These will steam off the wine and the dish is ready once these open up. Remember to discard any unopened shells. You might not need to add too much salt but give a good turn of black pepper.

The risotto is also very easy:

Pan fry half a white onion and then add the rice. Gradually add about 500ml of vegetable stock, stirring as you go.

When this is about half cooked, add two tins of garden peas, or four handfuls of the frozen variety.

Cook for another five minutes, adding another 500ml of stock as required, then finish off with a few large handfuls of parsley

Make sure you cook the risotto first as it can take about 20 minutes to cook whereas once the monkfish can be ready in less than 5.

Borough Market

2012-10-10T00:08:00.000+02:00

Overnight Chef is back!

After months of hibernation, I am back with more restaurant reviews, recipes and posts to make your mouths water.

Apologies firstly for the long absence. As some of you may know, we have recently relocated back from Paris to London and the shock of having to leave the culinary capital of the world has, quite frankly, made me lose my appetite.

There probably is not a more appropriate way to get back into the food blogging than with a trip to one of the capital's finest food markets: Borough Market.

We came down here on on Saturday and it was absolutely packed. The first stand to catch my eye was this fantastic mushroom stand. My wife Monika and I are massive shroom fans although they are so expensive in the UK and so few people go to pick their own wild mushrooms.

The rest of the veg section is great and you can really find anything you're looking for here that's in season. It's probably also getting people to cook stuff that is actually in season instead of buying the stuff from supermarkets that are grown year-round in giant Dutch greenhouses.

For lunch we went for roasted topside in a bun and a Borough Burger. So good I forgot to take pictures. Afterwards I found a stand that serves exotic game - kangaroo burgers, ostrich steaks etc - must try it next time!

There's a really good selection of great food to check out here - fresh seafood, large dishes of paella, good butchers, cheese stands and wine collections too

So I picked up some fresh monkfish tails and palourdes from the fishmongers, and cooked it up with fennel and chorizo from a Spanish deli. While I was there I got some Spanish risotto rice as well and cooked it with peas and parsley to serve on the side. Check it out in my next post!

PS: No rabbits were hurt in the production of my latest dish

Akki Roti

2012-01-24T20:00:00.001+01:00

Akki roti is a savoury rice bread and my first ever attempt to make bread. Of any sort whatsoever. Yeah, I know what you're thinking: "what kind of chef has never made bread before?"

Anyway for a first attempt it didn't quite go to plan but then again it wasn't disastrous. I basically ended up putting too much water in and the mix was really liquidy for which I had to compensate with adding more flour.

This is a very typical dish for the South since it uses rice flour whereas you will typically find wheat flour based breads int he north such as naans. Great to serve as a starter with some dips and sauces or on the side with some curry main dishes.

Ingredients:
- 300g rice flour
- 50g grated coconut (I used dessicated coconut)
- small handful of chopped coriander leaves
- a dozen curry leaves chopped
- 2 green chillies finely chopped
- 75g shallots, finely sliced
- a dozen cashew nuts, roasted
- 500ml water
- salt to season

Method:
Now bear in mind that it didn't quite go to plan so the quantities went out the window as I tried to just find a mix that was more or less of the consistency I wanted!

- Heat the cashew nuts over a low heat til they brown. Then crush them up liberally.

- Add all the ingredients except the water to a mixing bowl and mix well.
- Make a well in the centre of the mix and gradually pour in the water, mixing as you go to make a soft dough. This is probably where I went wrong and was forced thereafter to keep adding flour and coconut to try and thicken the mix.

- Dust your hands with some flour to avoid sticking.
- Take a small ball of dough and roll it in your hands. Then place them on the table and flatten gently with a rolling pin. I found this quite difficult to do without breaking it so I ended up just flattening them in my hands. I couldn't get them as flat as they should have been so they ended up being a bit thick and chewy. I think they're supposed to be crispier.
- Heat some oil in a pan and then fry the discs for a few minutes on each side.
- Serve hot.

So therein concludes the beginning of my quest to become a curry master. Last Saturday, I also cooked a pork vindaloo (http://overnightchef.blogspot.com/2012/01/pork-vindaloo.html), a prawn and pumpkin curry (http://overnightchef.blogspot.com/2012/01/prawn-and-pumpkin-curry.html), shallow fried masala sardines (http://overnightchef.blogspot.com/2012/01/shallow-fried-masala-sardines.html) and lentils with tomatoes and spinach (http://overnightchef.blogspot.com/2012/01/lentils-with-tomatoes-and-spinach.html). All to differing degrees of success but on a balance of things, I was pretty happy with that.

Next stop of the world tour, I think I may try Burmese curries...

Lentils with Tomatoes and Spinach

2012-01-23T22:21:00.000+01:00

A dish which is very easy to prepare in almost no time at all. I know that I've said that about all the other dishes but this really is the case.

Since large parts of India are vegetarian, this is a very typical dish and each region will probably have some similar dish with a local variant in terms of ingredient or way it is prepared.

In fact, this wasn't even the dish I had set out to cook. It was supposed to be a thakkali payaru curry with black eyed peas but I couldn't find them so I went with lentils instead. I reckon it's a pretty good substitute though.

Because it's a vegetarian dish, there's no time-consuming marinating with this dish.

Ingredients:
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
- a dozen curry leaves
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 green chillies, sliced lengthways
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp ground tumeric
- 200g of fresh tomatoes, diced
- 100g spinach, chopped loosely
- 100g tin of lentils
- 300g plain yoghurt

Method:
- Heat some oil in a large pan and add the mustard seeds, frying them until they start to pop
- Add the garlic, curry leaves, onion, chilli and fry for a few more minutes
- Add the chilli powder, tumeric, tomatoes, spinach and lentils. Mix well and cook for a few more minutes
- Season with salt and then turn off the heat before mixing in the yoghurt
- Serve while hot

So, as promised, a really quick and simple dish and actually one of the most popular on the night - although that may just be a tragic indictment of the other dishes!

Last up, my effort to make flatbreads which didn't quite go to plan...

Shallow Fried Masala Sardines

2012-01-21T20:00:00.001+01:00

Sardines are a great source of Omega 3 oils and they're cheap too. At the local fresh market (Marche St Germain in the 6th arrondisement of Paris) there are 2 fishmongers and I picked up a dozen decent sized sardines for just over 5 Euros. A real bargain and they taste fantastic too. Generally speaking you don't really need to add much to sardines. You could just as easily chuck a load on the grill with some olive oil and salt and then mop it all up with a loaf of crusty bread.

Nonetheless, this recipe is equally delicious, although I found it difficult to not break the skin while cooking. Also you have to handle them quite delicately which de-scaling and gutting as well. If you buy them already prepared, it's pretty straight-forward and quick to make as most of the preparation time is in making the spice paste.

Spice paste. Blend these ingredients in a food mixer for a few minutes until it is a fine paste:
- 1 onion
- 2 green chillies
- an inch of ginger
- a dozen curry leaves
- a dozen black peppercorns
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp tumeric
- 2 tbsp white vinegar
- juice of half a lemon
- salt to season

Slice the sardines a few times on each side and rub the spice paste all over the fish, making sure to rub it inside the cavities and between the slits. Leave to marinade for about half an hour.

Pan fry a small onion sliced on high heat in a pan with hot oil until they brown and even crisp. set these aside and fry the sardines in the same pan.

Be careful not to move them too much or the skin will break (as I found out). Turn them once after about 5 minutes and do the other side for the same amount of time.

This is a great dish to serve up as a starter with some bread and chutney or as a side dish to a main course. Stay tuned for the next dish, a lentil stew with spinach and tomato.

Prawn and Pumpkin Curry

2012-01-19T20:00:00.004+01:00

Here's a dish that is typical of the South of India. It combines seafood with pumpkin, a vegetable grown in abundance, and finished off with coconut for a sweet creaminess. It doesn't rely too heavily on spices but instead balances the flavours well with the acidity of the vinegar balancing the sweetness of the coconut.

This dish is best if you can get some nice big king prawns, and preferably fresh. Even though I was able to get some good sardines at the fresh market at a very good price, I wasn't able to find any nice big king prawns which were uncooked. I have to settle for some medium sized frozen ones and you can really tell the difference. The fresh prawns have a certain crunch to them whereas the frozen ones seem a bit more mushy. They just don't taste the same either. Anyhow, I made the most of what I had and the diners were happy with this.

Ingredients:
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- a dozen curry leaves
- an inch of ginger sliced into strips
- 2 green chillis sliced open lengthways
- 2 onions sliced
- 200g pumpkin flesh sliced
- 1 tsp ground tumeric
- 400ml coconut milk
- 500g raw prawns peeled
- 1tsp white vinegar
- salt to taste

Pan fry the mustard seeds and cumin seeds in hot oil until they start to pop. Then throw in the ginger, onion, chillies and curry leaves and fry on a medium heat until the onion browns.

Next, add the pumpkin and tumeric and fry for a few minutes, stirring occasionally

Then add the coconut milk and bring gently to a boil. At this point, the cookbook I was using suggests that I should add 250ml of water. Actually I think this is not needed as my curry ended up being too watery and I think next time I'll skip it. Don't boil for too long though as you don't want the sauce to split.

Add theprawns, cover with a lid and turn off the heat. This way, the prawns are cooking off the heat in the sauce rather than being boiled away. They will come out more tender this way.

Finally, just before serving, add the vinegar and salt to taste. I personally think a little bit of sugar may be needed if you find the coconut milk hasn't sweetened it enough.

Stay tuned for my next dish later in the week: shallow fried masala sardines!

Pork Vindaloo

2012-01-17T20:00:00.000+01:00

Most people in Britain know vindaloo as the super hot curry reserved for those with guts of steel, the brave or the drunk. The dish actually has far less spicy origins though. Portuguese sailors landing in Goa brought with them a pork stew in garlic and wine called carne de vinha d'alhos and the locals duly added chillies and spices, and substituted the wine in the dish for vinegar.

The recipe I have used isn't all that spicy and I were to make this again, I would probably add more chillis both to the marinade and when cooking. Here's the recipe I used though (serves 4):

Spice mix: blend this into a fine powder and mix in a blender with the marinade ingredients until you have a paste.
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 4 cardamom pods
- 4 cloves
- 1 stick of cinnamon
- 5 pepper corns

Marinade:
- 2 green chillis
- 1 inch cube of ginger
- 4 garlic cloves
- juice of half a lemon

Ingredients:
- 1 kg of pork cubed
- oil for frying
- 5 cloves of garlic sliced
- 2 onions diced
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp tomato purée
- 3 tomatoes chopped
- 3 tbsp white vinegar
- a small handful of coriander leaves
- salt and pepper to taste

Wash and pat dry the pork before mixing in the marinade. Leave for at least a few hours in the fridge. I prepared this the night before to let the flavours soak in. The acidity of the lemon also helps to tenderise the meat.

Heat some cooking oil in a hot pan and pan fry the garlic and onion until brown.

Add the turmeric, chilli powder, purée, tomatoes, salt and vinegar.

Mix well and add the pork. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally and then add 250ml of water.

When it comes to a boil, allow it to simmer for about 30 minutes so the sauce reduces and the meat starts to soften. Season with black pepper and more salt if necessary. Serve with the coriander for garnish.

Serve on basmati rice.

As I mentioned above, I would certainly make this much spicier for myself next time. You can do this with adding more green chillis to the marinade or using the small red birds eye chillis which are much more powerful. Equally, you can add chillis when pan frying the onions or just use more chilli powder. I also found the a bit sour and so you can add sugar to balance the flavour. Adding the pork after the tomatoes means you end up boiling the meat. I would prefer to pan fry the meat first to brown it as this helps the meat retain the juices in flavours.

Stay tuned for another recipe from this feast in the coming days...

Curry Nights #1 - South India

2012-01-16T22:37:00.003+01:00

And so my quest for curry greatness begins. This weekend, we invited two couples over to act as guinea pigs while I tried a few new recipes: shallow-fried masala sardines, pork vindaloo, prawn and pumpkin curry, and a vegetarian dish with lentils, spinach and tomato. I even tried making my own roti but this kind of evolved into something else...

Like most of India, the South is primarily Hindu although it has a strong Muslim influence courtesy of Medieval Arab invaders. From the 17th Century, European powers fought for control of this region, not only for it's strategic importance as a stopping point along the trade route between Asia and Europe, but also for the rich domestic abundance of spices, teas and even opium. These influences have been significant both on local cuisine and on how European food -especially in Britain - has evolved.

The South is largely costal and the indigenous ingredients differ somewhat from the North. Naturally, seafood is abundant; Coconut is often added to dishes for sweetness or to make sauces creamy; strong smelling curry leaves are used liberally in most of the dishes; fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds and coriander seeds are commonplace in South Indian cuisine; cashew nuts are cultivated in the South and black pepper is thought to have originated from the State of Kerala.

I'll write up the recipes over the next few days. I made sure to cook according to the cook book, which is something I don't tend to do, but I thought it was important the first time round to try the dishes as instructed and then try to modify them to my own preferences afterwards. They didn't all go to plan, mind you. I've never ever made bread of any sort before so trying to make savory rice breads called akki roti was an interesting challenge.

I think the dough was too damp and I couldn't roll them as flat as they should have been. Nonetheless, they seemed to be popular with my guinea pigs! http://overnightchef.blogspot.com/2012/01/akki-roti.html

Similarly, the prawn and pumpkin curry recipe instructed adding water which basically made the sauce too watery. http://overnightchef.blogspot.com/2012/01/prawn-and-pumpkin-curry.html

The sardines were pretty tricky to grill without breaking the skin so they don't look as nice as they should. http://overnightchef.blogspot.com/2012/01/shallow-fried-masala-sardines.html

I couldn't find black eyed peas so I used lentils instead for the vegetarian dish, but it still tasted pretty good. http://overnightchef.blogspot.com/2012/01/lentils-with-tomatoes-and-spinach.html

The pork vindaloo was great but I would personally have it much spicer. Not knowing the palates of my guests though, I decided to play it safe. http://overnightchef.blogspot.com/2012/01/pork-vindaloo.html

So all in all I was pretty happy with that as a first attempt and I already know how I'd modify some of the dishes in the future. Stay tuned for the recipes this week!

Curry nights - Introduction

2012-01-16T22:34:00.003+01:00

I absolutely love curry of all sorts and could happily eat it a few time a week, no trouble.

I have been cooking it for years but if I'm completely honest, I've always cooked the same lamb curry that I've devised from various different recipes (http://overnightchef.blogspot.com/2010/11/lamb-and-veg-curry.html). It works well and I can do it with my eyes closed by now.

However "curry" is such a generic term encompassing the staple diet of so many cultures and geographies that it's a bit of a misnomer. It's most often associated with India or Thailand since these a the most commonly popularized cuisines in the West. However, every group of people spanning the entire sub-continent, right throughout the whole of South-East Asia have claim over traditional curry dishes.

Conquests of entire civilizations since as long ago as Medieval times, and 20th Century migration patterns, have influenced the evolution of cuisine in those geographies as well as in places such as Britain, South Africa, The Carribean, and Australia.

The mixing of indigenous ingredients with imported spices, legacy cooking techniques with newly learned methods, and adapting traditional flavours to local tastebuds, has culminated in a diverse range of dishes globally, known collectively as "curry".

So I decided recently to really learn about each different region's dishes and to understand the ingredients and methods they all use to make their local cuisine so unique and delicious. Over the next few months, I'm going to cook a few dishes, each time focusing on a particular region - notably: India (which for now I've just divided rather crudely into North and South), Pakistan, Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, and The Carribean (hopefully amongst others). I'll try to source the traditional ingredients they use and stay true to their techniques as best as possible so I can test the authentic. Thereafter, I may try them again and incorporate the methods and flavours I prefer - not to bastardise their cuisine, but to evolve these fantastic dishes just as people have been doing for hundreds of years.

Curry Nights #1 - South India...
http://overnightchef.blogspot.com/2012/01/curry-nights-1-south-india.html

King For a Day

2012-01-14T00:22:00.000+01:00

Around the Epiphany (the 12th day of Christmas), there is the tradition of a "King's cake" which is prevalant throughout the Christian world. In France this is referred to as La Gallete De Rois.

La Galette is a flat, circular puff-pastry filled with an almond flavoured paste called frangipane. They sell them in literally every single boulangerie in France around the beginning of the year and can be served cold as I've always had it in the office with colleagues, but it's best when warmed slightly in the oven to make the pastry extra-crisp.

There is a small figurine inside which traditionally represents Baby Jesus (in this case, erm... Tintin) and the person who finds it in their slice is King for the day!

To keep the surprise the youngest person is supposed to stand in the corner or get under the table and call the name of the next person to be served.

And the person who gets the figurine of course has to wear the paper hat that comes with the galette.

Best served with a chilled glass of cider.

3-foot Tall Salad Tower

2012-01-08T22:06:00.001+01:00

Courtesy of the Sunday Times (08/01/2012)

This is by far my favourite story of the weekend. So an engineer in China was so fed up of being told by his local Pizza Hut that the salad bar "buffet" had a one-bowl restriction, that he developed an ingenious way to get maximum value for money. After all, the restriction didn't specify how high the salad pile could be.

Putting that hard-earned engineering degree into good use, he set about devising a structure with a solid potato base and a sturdy, cylindrical outer wall of cucumber and fruit, in order to house 3-foot worth of the good stuff inside. Who needs new roads, bridges, schools or hospitals? In one simple stroke of engineering genius which Leonardo Da Vinci would be proud of, he was able to beat both the oppressive regime's "one-bowl policy" and also those Western capitalist bastards at their own game of erm....mass over-consumption.

http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/Science/article853279.ece
(Requires subscription)

Posh crepes

2012-01-03T21:48:00.000+01:00

Crepes are as much a mainstay of French cuisine as Boeuf Bourguignon, Quiche Lorraine or Creme Brûlée. Although they originated from Brittany, you can find crepe stalls on street corners across every city in France, selling a variety of flavours from as little as a few Euros. By basically mixing together a wheat-based batter (a galette from Brittany is traditionally made from buckwheat) and frying a thin layer on a hot stove, you have the base for a versatile savory or sweet snack. More traditional fillings include ham, cheese and egg, or strawberries with chantilly cream, or nutella or just a squeeze of lemon and icing sugar.

Given that you can find such a wide variety at such affordable prices, on pretty much every street corner in Paris, it's quite surprising that "high-end creperies" such as La Compagnie de Bretagne on Rue de l'ecole de medicine in the 6th arrondissement of Paris can run a sustainable business.

With no specific plans on New Years Eve, we decided to join some friends at the last minute to try this place and on entering, I was very impressed by the homely decor and open kitchen. The menu is limited to galettes, which I guess is the whole point of the place. Aside from the traditional ones, they had some interesting ones such as scallops in a cream of cauliflower with coral emulsion (whatever that is) and vanilla, which all three of my fellow diners plumped for. The scallops were decent enough although they lacked a flambée which tend to give scallops the finishing touch.

I chose the sardines on a duxelle of mushrooms, served with a lemon confit. As you can see from the picture, this clearly was not sardine. I think it was possibly sea bream but I couldn't be bothered to argue with our waitress who I couldn't help noticing was swigging copious amounts of wine behind the curtain in between serving guests. Presumably this was to compensate for the fact that all her friends were probably drinking legitimately elsewhere while she had to work, and this only added to her moodiness.

I could see she was already getting short-tempered when I dared show surprise that my first choice (pollock fillets) was not available. This was later compounded by the fact that half the dessert menu was apaprently only at lunchtimes (not marked on the menu anywhere) and the one thing I wanted - roasted figs pan fried in cider with cumin ice cream - was also not availale. The restaurant was, after all, only half full at 8pm on a Saturday night - how could I expect them to have anything more than 30% of the menu available?

I did finally go for the apple tart crepe which was so delicious that I forgot to take a picture and had to take one of my friend's half-eaten one instead.

The mains were around 13 Euros and the desserts 8 Euros. There is also a good selection of ciders, which are apparently what Bretons wash their galettes down with. All in all, pretty over-priced for what it was especially given the service was average and half the menu was unavailable. I guess we were paying for the decor which is fairness was great.

To top it all off, the sea bream-masquerading-as-sardines, which I'm sure was probably cooked from frozen, gave me a mild bout of food poisoning that evening. I guess you could say that I spent the night having non-stop crepes. Happy new year!

La Compagnie de Bretagne: 9 Rue De L'ecole de Medecine, 75006 Paris.

Paris Winter Market

2011-12-11T20:23:00.000+01:00

Chestnuts roasted on an open fire

Overnight Chef is back! Sorry for the prolonged absence. As some of you may know, I'm now the proud father of a baby boy so the past few months have been a major life-changer. As a result, I haven't had the opportunity to dedicate any time to updating the blog.

Fear not though, I'm back, and just in time for the Paris winter market. It's probably not anything special compared to the famous Strasbourg market but running along both sides of the bottom-half of the Champs Elysees, it nonetheless draws a decent crowd.

Aside form the typical festive trinket stalls, there is a nice range of food as well - which is what this blog is all about. Sweet, savory, hot, cold, alcoholic and not, here's a few snaps from today's visit to the Paris winter market.

Hot wine stand

Crepes

Hot wine

Iberian sausages and other cured meats

Wood-smoked salmon

smoked salmon sarnie

Smoked salmon sandwich...soooo good

Ham

Great winter warmer for tee-totalers

Cheese!

Restaurant about halfway down the Champs Elysees on the right hand side

Chocolates

Chocolate-coated fresh fruits

Mushrooms in creme sauce and corn on the cob

Fresh soup

Tartiflette

Grilled sausages

Pralines

Churros

Chili con carne - the most authentic of French dishes....

Canelles from Bordeaux

Making canelles

Giant grill

Gingerbread men and other sweets

Churros in the making

Candy floss

Fancy a spitroast?

2011-08-07T19:38:00.000+02:00

I’ll do anything to get more hits to this blog. Even give away my secret to making the most tender and tasty roast chicken. This is really quick and easy to make and you’ll get a disproportional amount of kudos for using the spit function in your oven which most people don’t even know that they have.

Ingredients:

- A medium sized chicken

- Rock salt

- Freshly cracked peppercorns

- 1 fresh lemon

- 50g of butter

- Several cloves of garlic

- Dried herbs (rosemary, thyme)

- Fresh herbs (sage, bay leaves, rosemary, thyme)

- Vegetables of your choice

- Potatoes cooked your way

The benefit of spitroasting the chicken is that the bird rotates and cooks evenly. After you’ve washed and trimmed the chicken, pat dry with paper towels and rub inside a mix of rock salt and cracked peppercorns all over the skin and the inside of the cavity.

Mix the zest of a lemon in a bowl with butter, garlic and some dried herbs (thyme and rosemary both go well). Part the skin from the breast and stuff the space with the buttery mixture. A good trick is to put the mixture in the freezer for a few minutes so it is easier to insert. It may have softened up a bit too much during mixing and the gooey substance will be tricky to handle.

Next, stuff the cavity with a bunch of fresh herbs (sage, bay leaves, rosemary, thyme for example), some chunks of garlic cracked but in their skins still and some lemon chunks. This will infuse the chicken with flavours and moisture from the inside.

The tricky part is making sure you tie the chicken up tightly otherwise the wings or legs will flap around when rotating and eventually break off (no more kudos for you). Fix to your spit as per the oven instructional manual and roast at around 180C for 90 minutes above an oven dish. This will catch all the good juices which you can then boil down with some white wine and cream to make a nice sauce.

Carve and serve with mash potatoes and your favourite veggies.

La Madeleine - Verneuil-Sur-Avre

2011-07-22T20:00:00.000+02:00

On the way back from Normandy, we found a small picturesque village called Verneuil sur Avre which had an outdoor market and a very nice little restaurant called La Madeleine. It was a typically quaint French village, although the restaurant owner insisted it should be called a town, not a village. Here we were pleasantly surprised to find a fantastic restaurant in a quiet little place. It was decorated in a rustic style and the family of four ran the place - mum taking orders, father cooking and the son helping out in the kitchen.

For the amuse bouche we were offered a slice of smoked duck on a bed of shredded apples. Tender, succulent meat, apples from the local region, and a home made dressing: peach vinagrette, oil, and creme de cerise, topped with a scattering of chives. Absolutely delicious and full of flavours.

For the main, my wife took a free range chicken leg in cider juice. This was served with a mix of vegetables and a white wine sauce. A very good and hearty dish, not too dissimilar to a coq au vin blanc.

I had butcher's cut of beef on a bed of potatoes dauphinoise and spinach. The meat was slightly over-cooked but tasty nonetheless, and the sauce was made from Sichaun pepper - slightly unexpected in a small Normandy village but they made it really flavoursome.

Although we didn't really have space, we finished off with an assiette gourmand: 5 little desserts consisting of peach sorbet, mirabelle plums flambeed, red fruit mix, dark chocolate mousse and white chocolate ice cream. Great way to finish off a fantastic meal.

As my wife remarked, it's amazing that wherever you go in France, you will always find outstanding little restaurants in every provincial village, as if the chef had trained in the finest Parisian establishments. Well it turns out that this particular chef did indeed have quite the training, which includes Le Tour D'Argent and Le Gavroche in Paris, and The Mayfair in London.

Total bill came to 65eur total. A must-visit if you are in the area.

http://www.lemadeleine.fr/
206, rue de la Madeleine
27130 Verneuil sur Avre
Tél. : 02.32.37.91.81

La Tete au Loup

2011-07-20T20:00:00.002+02:00

A very good name for a very good restaurant. During our week-long stay in Normandy, we decided to venture out from our hotel a few times to try the local eateries. And we weren't disappointed.

La Tete Au Loup is a typical French auberge, with a warm welcome in peaceful surroundings, and caricature fat chef (never trust a skinny chef). The three-course Menu Terroir was good value at 29Euros. We started with a home-smoked plate of salmon which was fresh and delicious, and a small pot of snails cooked in a creamy garlic sauce. The latter was fantastic, the thick rich sauce perfect for dipping a warm crusty loaf of bread.

For the main course, my wife had a stuffed chicken breast braised in cider. The meat was moist and tender, and the sauce was excellent.

I had a simple cod fillet grilled with a butter sauce. Sounds bland but was very well made.

For desserts, we shared a creme brulee with a hint of calvados (a local spirit made from apples) and a nougat ice cream served with raspberry coulis. While the creme brulee was pretty standard, the nougat ice cream was outstanding and a refreshing way to end the meal.

A highly recommended restaurant if you ever happen to pass through the area.

http://www.lateteauloup.fr/
61310 LE PIN AU HARAS
Tél. : 02 33 35 57 69
Fax : 02 33 12 61 02

Le Pavillion de Gouffern

2011-07-16T23:55:00.001+02:00

The French Revolution is one of the most important events in the country's history as it redressed the balance of power away from the greedy, ruling elite, fed the hungry masses, and has today given us yet another public holiday in the French calendar. Perhaps if Marie Antoinette had proclaimed "let them have a day off" rather than the infamous "let them eat cake" she would have kept her head.

Being in France then, it would be simply rude of us not to abide by the 14th July Bastille Day, so we decided to head out to Normandy for a week-long break. Silly-en-Gouffren is a ridiculously named village 2 1/2 hours west of Paris - far enough to be a peaceful distance away from the city, and close enough to rush back if my 8-month pregnant wife decided for once in her life to be early for something.

We booked into an old mansion which had a modest 3 stars but for the most part was very well appointed (although our room was pretty disappointing - see my travel review at http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g319744-d321070-Reviews-Le_Pavillon_de_Gouffern-Silly_en_Gouffern_Orne_Basse_Normandie_Normandy.html)

The restaurant sits in a modern extension towards the back of the mansion overlooking the lawn and a small driving range. It's very nicely decorated although too dimly lit to enjoy breakfast or lunch.

The choice is fairly limited with 5 or 6 of each course. The lunch menu was exactly the same as the dinner menu and it didn't change for the whole of our stay. Despite this though, the food itself was excellent. Each dinner started with an amuse bouche or two. Not overly complicated but always well prepared:

Gaspacho

Salmon ceviche with mango

a simple chacuterie and salmon spread on breads

tuna pate


fois gras

Some of the starters we enjoyed throughout our stay were:

- Seared Red Tuna with balsamic vinegar and Red Peppers. Firm and moist.

- Boudin Noir Spring Roll with cider sauce and dried apples. A bit too sweet but the filo pastry was light and crispy and the filling tasty.

Mains
- Roasted pork loan with potato daupine. Tender meat in a rich sauce.

- Thinly sliced duck breast with green been samosa and red fruit sauce. Absolutely delicious. Samosa was really well made: crispy filo pastry with creamy, green bean filling and a touch of garlic. Sauce gave a nice balance to the meat without being too sweet.

- Lamb chops in thyme with vegetables. Tender chops with an interesting coating of vegetables.

- Cod with green vegetables. Slightly plain but light and well put together.

- Brill braised with french peas. Side of vegetables were great as they were pan fried with pancetta and served on a cabbage leaf.

- Monkfish with a langoustine gratin and a duo of mushrooms. A powerful and meaty dish, with strong aromas from the mushrooms and firm but juicy seafood.

Desserts

large macaroon with raspberries and seasonal red fruits.

apple and banana crumble with sorbet

Creme Catalan

cherry sponge cake

Good to wash it all down with the local tipple: Calvados, an apple brandy which is first fermented into cider and then distilled and aged. Personally I don't like it as much as a brandy but still, it helps with the digestion!

Overall the choice was fairly limited but what they did have was absolutely fantastic. Due to the lack of variety though, we did venture out to visit a local restaurant with the interesting name "La Tete au Loup".

http://www.pavillondegouffern.com/uk/index.php
SILLY EN GOUFFERN - 61310 SILLY EN GOUFFERN
Tel. : +33 (0) 2 33 36 64 26
Fax : +33 (0) 2 33 36 53 81

La Petite Cour

2011-06-13T00:54:00.000+02:00

On a warm evening, there's nothing better than a nice glass of wine and outstanding French food on a Parisian terrace. La Petite Cour just off the marché St Germain came highly recommended from several sources and it certainly did not disappoint us. We had a couple of friends in town, one of whom had just run the Paris Marathon in 25 degrees heat that day, so after sharing a bottle of champagne at the fantastic Point Bulles, we headed off to dinner in good spirits, light heads and empty stomachs.

La Petite Cour is situated on a lively street and the courtyard itself is actually below ground level. In the daytime it can benefit from the sunlight but by evening time it is shaded by the building so make sure you go on a warm night! The restaurant and courtyard are both beautifully decorated and give an air of tranquility in a busy area of revellers.

Starters:

A foie gras terrine with roasted pineapple, as a foie gras should be. Rich and velvety and well balanced with the sweet and acidic pineapple. Simple but effective.

Pan sauteed razor clams with meat juice and Italian bacon. The razor clams were absolutely delicious. The sauce was a touch salty, given that the razor clams and bacon both had a natural saltiness but this was a meaty dish to start with and went really well with the Bourgogne we chose.

Slices of smoked duck breast with pineapple tartare. Another great French starter made to seem completely effortless but excellent in its execution. I guess they had a job-lot of pineapple that day, but it did go well together.

Main course:

Roasted shoulder of milk-fed lamb in rosemary juice. As mouth-wateringly tender as it sounds.

Veal rib steak with green asparagus and pureed peas. I didn't try this but I am assured that the veal was moist and tasty, and the vegetables refreshing.

Roasted milk pig with trotters and black pudding potato. A curious dish. The meat was again excellent. The potato seemd to have been sliced several times and smeared with black pudding before being put back together again. It worked! The crispy little round thing in the background held the soft meat of the trotters in a light emulsion. Absolutely delicious.

After all that, we really didn't have space for dessert but from the look of what was being served, it's well worth a try next time. All the French classics like Baba au rhum, creme brulee, white chocolate mousse, ice creams and sorbets.

The service was also excellent, which is sometimes a rare thing in Paris. The waiter was polite and friendly, the service efficient. All in all, a very good meal which I can highly recommend. In terms of price, not the cheapest but reasonable: 200Euros for 4 people.

I may not have run a marathon that day but that dinner was worth a gold medal.

http://www.lapetitecour.fr/
8, rue Mabillon - 75006 PARIS
Tel: 01 43 26 52 26

Franschhoek

2011-05-29T12:26:00.000+02:00

Franschhoek was one of the most beautiful places we visited in South Africa but it is often overlooked in favour of it's much more famous neighbour Stellenbosch. It sits just 80km from Cape Town and is a fertile valley surrounded by snow capped mountains.

It benefits from a Mediterranean micro-climate and rich soil which makes it a perfect area for the local wine industry. Indeed the 17th Century French Hugenots who fled Catholic persecution back home, settled here and brought with them European agricultural practices including farming grapes and producing fine quality wines. This has been passed down through the generations and the region now produces some of the finest new world wines. I'm not going to pretend to be a wine expert but instead here are some interesting links to reviews of the local wine industry:
http://www.franschhoek.org.za/food_and_wine_route
http://www.places.co.za/html/franschhoek_wine_route.html
http://www.winemag.co.za/article/franschoek-2008-09-11

The people of Franschhoek take their wine and food very seriously and whilst the adoption of French names everywhere appears at firsthand pretentious, it must be remembered that this is an integral part of their history and so the locals are proud of this heritage.

During our honeymoon we actually stayed in Stellenbosch but took a day trip to Franschhoek and our only regret is not having spent longer in this quaint little town. As you drive along the main road into town, there are many vineyards within close proximity and just as you reach the town centre, there are several fabulous looking restaurants. We had lunch at The French Connection, on a sunny terrace looking onto the mountains. The food was as excellent as the view.

We started with a few Saldanha Bay oysters which were beautifully fresh and rich; and a Mussel & corn chowder which was incredibly tasty and generous - although like much of the food we sampled in South Africa, a bit heavy on the salt.

This was followed by a roasted quail and exotic mushroom salad which was creatively dressed with saffron, spiced pear and sweet wasabi. This was a great blend of flavours that matched really well with the robust yet tender quail.

We also had a grilled filet of Kingklip with a roasted pepper and black olive dressing. A good choice of accompaniment as the Kingklip is a local fish which is white and meaty, lending itself to strong flavours and spices. This was really excellent and I'd love to be able to find this fish again in Europe.

A really reasonable meal at under 300 Rand (about 30 Euros) - which is considered expensive locally but coming from Europe was a real bargain for the quality. We spent the rest of the day enjoying the local boutiques and driving around the fabulous countryside, before stumbling across the fantastic Grand Provence vineyard which turned out to be a real find...

The French Connection
http://www.frenchconnection.co.za/
48 Huguenot Rd, Franschhoek, Western Cape, South Africa, 7690