Blanc-ity Blanc: A taste of Le Manoir aux Quat'Saison

Sometimes my job takes me to some pretty nice places. I'm not going to go on about it, so I'll just leave you with the photos of a trip to heaven and back, to Raymond Blanc's famous Le Manoir. If I die this is where I want to go... As we swept through the gate in my old Clio, me a bit hungover clutching an empty coffee cup and ham and cheese panini wrapper from the service station (it revived me), everything else melted away. It was like we were entering a different world where everything moved just a little more leisurely, everyone was just a little more polite and everything was just a little more perfect. The grass, the house, the staff; all had that soft, understated yet exclusive cashmere finish. And as soon as I stepped blinking out of the car (mid-tweeting), was greeted, handed over my car keys and whisked straight to our room (that's right no check-in) it was like I was being wrapped up in the softest, warmest, most fragrant cashmere blanket. And I never wanted to come out of this cocoon.

A sweet introduction....

And to kick off the main event: Garden beetroot terrine, dill cream and horseradish sauce (served with Pouilly-Fuisse Clos Varambon 2007 Chateau des Rontets) Fresh, light and palette clensing to set the scene.

Risotto of wild mushrooms, mascarpone, truffle cream. I must be dreaming, Rich, flavours on amplified, smooth, this is what heaven tastes like...

Braised fillet of wild gill-netted brill, cornish assured oyster, cucumber and wasabi beurre blanc (served with Riesling 2008 Domaine Trimbach). A hint of Asia wooshed through this dish with the wasabi bringing out the fresh flavours.

Roasted breast and confit of Goosnargh duck, turnip gratin, yuzu curd; jasmine tea and ginger sauce - continuing the Asian theme. Although I have to admit that I had trouble concentrating on this dish as the man himself had joined our journo table for a chat and was sitting right next to me. Oh why, oh why had I not cribbed up on his biography first... maybe I would have asked some sensible questions then.

Coeur de Guanaja chocolate gelee, star anis and pear sorbet. I have to admit I wasn't the hugest fan of this it tasted like watered down chocolate and the flavour of the sorbet was just lost in the wash-out. Sorry Raym..

But the dessert wine (Muscat de Lunel 2007 Cuvee Vieilles Vignes, Clos Bellevue) and make you melt petit fours more than made up for it. As well as grilling the editor of Restaurant magazine on his favourite restaurants... it was (unsurprisingly after their top 100 restaurants were announced) The Ledbury. Another reason to get myself there. So I went to bed to dream of food.

Althought there was still room the next morning for more. Oh it was a breakfast-buffet lovers dream. Cheese... Meats... Breads... Fruits... all of about ten varieties with little chalked on mini slate pieces name tags. I could have stayed all morning.

But there was just enough time to walk off breakfast and the food in the almost as famous gardens. My favourite: the Japanese tea garden.

And one hell of a vegetable patch...

Goodbye Le Manoir... Goodbye Raym. Thanks for the taste of the good life.

Rolling with the brunches

Sunshine + weekend = only one thing, lazy brunches. Well, before Pimms in the park. And thanks to the lovely people at Heaver magazine I was out and about in the depths of sunny south west London reviewing brunches... how very well timed. Reviews to come with their summer issue but for now, in pictures...

Friday - Eggs Benedict

The French Cafe

16-18 Rittherdon Road
Balham

SW17 8QD

020 8767 2660
http://www.the-french-cafe.co.uk/

Saturday - A Classic fry-up with a twist

Doukan

350 Old York Road

Wandsworth

SW18 1SS

020 8870 8280

http://www.doukan.co.uk/

 

Sunday - The Fishy One

Schmidt's

2 Rookery Road

Clapham Common

SW4 9DD

020 7720 7787

http://www.schmidtsrestaurant.co.uk/

Out of Africa

In this old cultural-melting pot that is London, even in this yummy mummy corner of South West London, you can eat the world without even leaving your postcode. I mean within walking distance on my flat you have French, Indian, Morrocan, Thai, Vietnamese, Spanish, Caribbean, Italian, er... Spur Native American Steak and Grill. Some world cuisines are always going to get the star billing (ol' Michelin fav French) or the mass vote (anything with batter or MSG) but what about the more obscure? Hello South Africa.

As I've mentioned before I love a trip I do. But usually it is my stomach that leads me. This time however the draw of animals, and not just the ones on my plate, was to strong to resist: safari.

Don't worry this isn't going to be a checklist of which animals I saw. I was quickly back to the game plan: food. South African and African food in general, sidestepping the North African tagine-fest, is oft overlooked, hitting the news more often for the lack of, rather than the quality of the produce. You might argue that there are bigger concerns. My hosts &Beyond at Phinda has a policy of conserving the people, the wildlife and the land. So during our time there we visited the work of the &Beyond Foundation - the school, where some children walk two hours each way to attend; the clinic treating a population where around a third of the population is infected with HIV - you can see how gastronomy isn't top of the list. But that doesn't mean there isn't a passion for food. Good, simple, local food. Pineapples sold at the side of the road by the people who picked them. Local game. Juicy avocados. There's nothing quite like eating fresh food outside.

Our lodge The Homestead was readily homely with its 'interactive kitchen' (aka walk in help yourself or nosy around) and chef, the lovely and local, Faith Gina.

The lodge itself was insanely beautiful.

However, the thing they don't tell you about safari is that you have to get up at 5.30 in the morning. After 12 hours on a full overnight flight from London with only THIS for company...

... I was going to need some convincing. First up perfect Faith steak for dinner (she told me it was marinated  for three hours in soy sauce, wholegrain mustard, worcester sauce and red wine) and me and my fellow journos were packed off to bed happy tummed. Mornings, if you can call 5.30am morning, started with African coffee, 'crunchies' (oaty flapjacky biscuits) and South African rusks. A few animals later and it was time for a bush breakfast picnic. Now this was almost worth the 5.30 start. Animals? Oh yeah those too...

 

Give that boy a pineapple.

But, you're thinking, what about the South African food? Apart from biltong (for those not familar - it's a dried meat snack kind of like beef jerky to Americans) I was after some local flavour and Faith agreed to rustle me up some things to try. Unfortunately this was the precise point I started to feel ill, very ill. Thank you Malarone (my not so friendly anti-malarials).

Now I'm not one to let a little vomiting to stand in the way of gastronomic discovery. I'm made of sterner, and greedier, stock than that. Oh no, throwing up in the bush behind a landrover, oh yes, that classy, was a mere temporary setback. However, my stomach had also shrunk to about the size of a crum of biltong... and it was a South African feast.

Morogo - a kind of South African spinach, fried with onion, chunky peanut butter and tomato

Pap - a starchy blend of cornmeal which is pretty tastless but served with everything and especially...

Tomato and onion sauce...

and roasted butternut squash

                             

Oh and meat, lots of meat...

                             

                              

                              

All together now... yum.

Plus the apparently ubiquitous South African dessert: malva pudding

                             

My biltong-crum tum wasn't quite up to pud but my keen tasters pinpointed it as kind of like sticky toffee pudding.

Biltong crum or no I couldn't leave without a market and, although I decided customs might not appreciate my efforts to transport a bag full of South African chillis back off a 12 hour flight into Heathrow, it was a feast... though just for the eyes this time. They were definitely bigger than my stomach still.

                            

                                                                                                                                             

So I had to make do with some salad tossers and my own &Beyond African recipe book... watch out Wandsworth.

                   

V (day) tasty...

Everyone who has ever started a new relationship knows you don’t want to reveal your hand to early on. The Boy and I went on our first date a week before Valentine’s Day and, well, we all know that ol’ V-day kind of forces the issue. Do you feign notcalance and not risk a date that night? Or go forth early on into the arena of competitive coupledom with restaurants set solely with tables for two, sloppy PDAs and opportunistic street vendors offering (will he or won’t he buy one?) single red roses. It’s a minefield – too romantic and it’s too much too soon, too little and does he give a shit?

So the Boy's tactic was to try and cram as many dates as possible between 6th and 14th February to see if I was worth a V-day date. Evidently I was as he invited me round to his for dinner. I took this as a good sign: a) he cooked and b) he cared enough to cook for me. The rest, as they say, is history – oh, and he cooked salmon, potatoes dauphanoise and tiramisu, I brought love hearts, and we even managed to finish the lot before his banished flatmates returned.

Since then Valentine’s Day for us have always revolved around cooking. And the Boy cooking. So this year in the spirit of equality we decided to split it. The Boy: brunch and starter. Moi: main and dessert. I even decided to throw in some canapés for good measure. I. Could. Not. Wait. Especially when the boy announced he was off to Borough Market on Saturday....

Brunch was Polenta and Wild Boar Prosciutto baked eggs, quite appropriately from Borough Market cookbook. Plus champagne. Of course.

1 tsp unsalted butter
4 slices of thin wild boar prosciutto (can use parma ham)
2 eggs
25g Gruyere
1 tbsp double cream
1 sprig tarragon
2tbsp polenta
1 spring onion
25g Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 170. Grease two ramekins with butter and line with prosciutto – make sure it complete covers the ramekin and make a wee lip over the edge. Crack an egg in each, sprinkle with grated Gruyere and drizzle with double cream. Scatter over tarragon leaves and season. Transfer to roasting tin and fill it with enough hot water to come up to halfway up the side of the ramekins. Bake until the egg whites are set – about 15min. While the eggs are baking, pour 90ml of water in a small saucepan, season and bring to the boil. Gradually whisk in the polenta. Reduce to simmer until thick and creamy, stirring occasionally – about 5-6min. Once at right consistency stir in butter, Parmesan and chopped spring onion (greens and whites). When eggs are set, remove from oven (carefully!) and divide polenta between two plates. Run sharp knife round edge of ramekin and slide out prosciutto wrapped eggs onto the polenta. Delicious. Of course even more so when you’re not cooking and reclining in bed sipping champagne...

Come afternoon and a trip to Sainsbury’s and Waitrose later, canapés are served. Always love a canap me. Blini’s with homemade guacamole and smoked salmon or crème fraiche and salmon caviar. Pretentious, moi?

The Boy’s work was done with escabèche of red mullet (courtesy of Gordon Ramsay's Passion for Seafood) washed down with a very easy-going Alsace Riesling.

Having agonised all Friday (good ol’ four day week) about what to cook, I finally settled on Cod, wrapped in thin slices of crispy potato, crab mash and lobster bisque sauce, served with sapphire, which in all the excitement I forgot to dish up. Ooops.

The cod was wrapped earlier on – potato slices (done with a veg peeler) were pan fried to just short of crisping then wrapped, a few to each fillet, around the fish before heading back into the fridge. The mash simply was fished up with a dressed crab, some cream and lemon juice. The lobster sauce was actually a bit of a cheat – a can of lobster bisque soup pouring in over a sautéd chopped onion and chilli, good slug of brandy, tbsp tomato puree simmered then add couple of diced tomatoes and some chive. Pan fried the potato wrapped cod and serve.

Dessert has never been my fortay so I went for presentation over expertise – Tia Maria and chocolate creams served in cocktail glasses. Which are pretty much just chocolate and cream, oh, and of course Tia Maria.

50g dark chocolate
150ml double cream (plus some more for whipping)
2 tbsp Tia Maria
Cocoa powder (I went for Green & Blacks all round on the chocolate)

Mix cream and Tia Maria in saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from heat and pour over chocolate (broken in a bowl)

Stir until chocolate melts

Divide between the glasses and cool slightly

Mix some more cream with Tia Maria until slightly thickened and spoon over chocolate mix. Put in the fridge to set (while you cook the main...)

To serve, appropriately, cut a heart in a card and dust with cocoa. Mine was more of a dollop than a dust. According to the boy I should have used a sieve...

Serve with amoretti biscuits... I should have made my own, oh well, maybe next year.