New Salt Cellar

Not so rustic but a welcomed addition. The weekly antiques market in Gloucester Green has plenty of dealers with solid silver or silver-plated tableware. This little gem (which required some serious polishing) was only £5.

Madeleines

At this point, one should probably eschew that well-worn, tea-soaked reference to Proust when talking about the fantastic fusion of cookie and cake that is the madeleine. For him, it may have brought back visions of the past, but for me, it's quite the opposite. There are moments, simple and innocent ones, that remind me of the buttery, citrusy madeleine.

A few years ago I bought a silicon madeleine pan from the culinary mecca that is E. Dehillerin. It, unlike my copy of Larousse Gastronomique (which provided the recipe), has never been used.


Ingredients

• 100g melted butter, not hot
• juice from half a lemon
• pinch of salt
• 125g caster sugar
• 3 eggs and 1 egg yolk
• 125g self-raising flour

1. Without a silicon pan, one should butter the moulds.
2. Combine the lemon juice, salt, sugar and eggs. Mix well.
3. Sprinkle in the flour and combine until smooth.
4. Add the melted butter and combine.
5. Fill the moulds about two-thirds of the way up.
6. Bake in a pre-heated over at 180ºC for 25 minutes.
7. Turn them out on a rack and allow to cool. 

With my fan-assisted oven, it took 22 mins at 165ºC to get the results you see in the photo above. The texture was just as I had remembered it.

Rice & Peas: A Teetotaler's Liquor

There is absolutely no reason to post a recipe for such a simple concoction.

My grandfather was a consummate Teetotaler. From time to time however, he would sit back in his chair and wax eloquent about the joys of 'pot liquor.' Although I am told that in traditional parlance this refers to the liquid in the pot after cooking a mess of greens (collard or otherwise), for my grandfather, it invariably referred to the broth after cooking black-eyed peas or fresh field peas (frequently flavoured with a strip of bacon or part of a ham bone.) Served over rice or with cornbread, it wouldn't last very long.

In keeping with his Depression-era outlook on food costs, it's extremely economical. Tesco sells a convenient package of chopped lardons for £1. Dried black-eyed peas and rice are dirt cheap. Contrary to the cooking instructions, I like to let these beans cook for a couple of hours even after soaking all night. Bring to the boil and simmer on low. My grandmother used to leave them on the stove almost all day; she'd turn off the heat until someone came in the back door and then put them on low again to offer them something to eat. For an extra kick, I like to add a little chopped pickled jalapeño or a few dashes of habañero Tabasco® sauce and a freshly chopped tomato.

Yassa Poulet

A Senegalese mainstay--Yassa au Poulet Classique is African simplicity at its best: chicken, onions, and spices. The recipe was passed down from a friend of mine who was a frequent traveller in Africa. At her lavishly supplied African banquets, this dish was constant favourite.

I've modified her recipe only slightly (reduced the amount of oil) and also consulted Jessica Harris' The Africa Cookbook.




Ingredients

• 4 Tbs vinegar
• 1/2 c. lemon juice
• 2 Maggi cubes (or equivalent)
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 Tbs Dijon Mustard
• 1/2 c. peanut oil
• 4-6 chopped onions
• salt
• pepper
• cayenne pepper
• 1 habanero chile
• 1 frying chicken (cut into serving pieces) or 3-4 chicken breasts, cubed

1. Combine the ingredients in a large bowl. Prick the chile with the tines of a fork and add it to the marinade. Add the chicken and marinate, covered and refrigerated overnight.
   
2. Remove the chicken from the marinade and broil until lightly brown on both sides.
   
3. Remove the onions from the marinade and sauté in a large cast iron pot.
   
4. Add the marinade and heat until heated through.
5. Add the chicken pieces, lower the heat and simmer for at least 30 minutes.
6. Serve over white rice.
   

Homemade Sourdough

Fondant à la châtaigne (Chestnut Fondant) Nº1

The location: A square off the Cours Napoleon in the late afternoon, Porto Vecchio, Corsica.

The actors: Two weary, famished hikers coming off two weeks on the GR20, sitting in the shade of Église St. Jean-Baptiste.

The discovery: le fondant à la châtaigne

Here's our first attempt at recreating the experience...


Ingredients:

• 1 can (435g) chestnut purée, unsweetened
• 200g caster sugar
• 3 eggs, separated yolks and whites
• 30g butter, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC (170ºC fan-assisted)
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the chestnut purée with the caster sugar until well blended. Then add in the butter and vanilla extract, and finally the yolks. Mix until smooth.
3. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks.
4. Combine egg whites with chestnut mixture until fully incorporated.
5. Pour into baking tins either with baking cups or well-floured.
6. Bake for approximately 25 mins until a skewer comes out almost clean but not entirely.
7. When cooled, remove from tin and place in refrigerator or leave to reach room temperature.

So Michel Roux jr may not like the air bubbles or some of the colours. But he hasn't tasted it. Just as decadent and delicious as the original of Corse. The texture was quite as sticky as the first one, and I don't think that the purée was as smooth. Any suggestions on tweaking the recipe are much appreciated.

Larousse Gastronomique

For those bibliophiles out there, Hamlyn has printed a new handsome UK edition of Larousse Gastronomique. Beautiful copper-coloured hardback with a slipcover. Well done.

(Blackwell)