Terrine Beaujolais

My favourite cookery book so far this year is the delightfully idiosyncratic Pork & Sons by Stephane Reynaud (25 Phaidon) the grandson of a butcher and the owner of Village 9 Trois in Paris. It's an unabashed homage to all things porcine but written and illustrated with a great deal of humour. (Don't miss the butchery lesson on p. 44-45 which shows one pig marking out where to make the cuts, cosmetic surgery-style, on another.)

It's full of good simple recipes, some classic, some contemporary and all beautifully photographed. Even if you don't need it you'll have to buy it.

Terrine Beaujolais

PREPARATION TIME: 30 MINUTES
COOKING TIME: 2 HOURS
STANDING TIME: 3 HOURS, PLUS 48 HOURS

MAKES 1.5 kg ( 3 1/4 lb)

500 g (1 lb 2 oz) pig’s liver
80 g ( 3 oz) smoked bacon
130 g (45 oz) pork fat
250 g (9 oz) pork shoulder
250 g (9 oz) boneless pork blade
6 garlic cloves, chopped
2 onions, chopped
500 ml (18 fl oz) Beaujolais wine
50 ml (2 fl oz) cognac or brandy
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
100 g ( 35 oz) pig’s caul fat
salt and pepper

Mince all the meat with the coarse blade of a mincer or in a food processor and place in a bowl. Add the garlic, onions, wine, cognac or brandy and nutmeg, season with salt and pepper and mix well until thoroughly combined.

Fill a terrine with this mixture and cover with caul fat. Leave in the refrigerator for 3 hours.

Preheat the oven to 180°C ( 350°F/Gas Mark 4).

Place the terrine in a roasting tin. Add boiling water to the tin to come about halfway up the sides of the terrine. Bake for 2 hours, until the top is well browned.

Leave the terrine to stand for 48 hours before serving.

 

How to make the perfect Caipirinha

A smart new Brazilian restaurant and cocktail bar, Mocoto, has opened in Knightsbridge, so I thought I’d go down and check out their Caipirinhas, which is to Brazil what the Margarita is to Mexico. And one of my very favourite cocktails.

I got the barman, Hindaugas, (Lithunian not Brazilian!) to take me through how he made them. The ingredients are dead simple: cachaa (pronounced ka-sharsa) a rum-like spirit made from sugar cane, limes and caster sugar. Cachaa can be a bit rough but theirs was the much-hyped Sagatiba (pronounced sagga-cheeba, which apparently means ‘never-ending story’. Hmmm). The limes they use are also special, very juicy and much more fragrant than the ones you find in supermarkets. (It would be worth sourcing them from a specialist fruit and vegetable shop)

First he halved the lime and made several vertical incisions through the skin without cutting right through the lime. He put both halves in a tumbler and added 2 good teaspoons of sugar then pounded it with a muddler ‘Not too much otherwise you’ll get too much bitterness from the skin’. He filled the tumbler with cracked ice (‘not crushed ice which melts too quickly’), poured in 2 shots of cachaa and stirred.

The crucial tip though was not to drink the Caipirinha straight away but to let it rest, stirring it a couple of times to melt the sugar and let the spirit pick up the flavour of the lime. The last bit of the drink is the best’ said Hindaugas. (Personally I thought it was pretty good all the way through.)

You can drink Caipirinhas with the same sort of snacks you’d eat with a Margarita, Daquiri or a Mojito - salsa fresca and tortilla chips, guacamole and empanadas (of which there is a Brazilian version at Mocoto) but I enjoyed the Pasteles de Palmito, little deep-fried pastries stuffed with palm hearts and cheese.

There’s also a rather swanky restaurant downstairs. A bit corporate but the food is really good. We shared a terrific crab gratin served with hot chilli-flavoured oil and a wedge of lime and then each had one of Brazil’s famous seafood stews, a Moqueca and a Vatapa, both based on shellfish and coconut though the Vatapa also contains dried shrimp and peanuts. They were spicy but not hot and went stunningly well with an exotically floral Torrontes, from a producer called Colom in Salta. I’ve always been at a bit at a loss as to what to pair with Torrontes, which I confess is not one of my favourite wines, but this was a good example and a great match.

A cassoulet lunch

After the frantic cooking of the holiday period I tend to go on strike at this time of year. I don’t want to do formal. I don’t want to do complicated. I just want to have friends round and enjoy a good glass of wine and a simple, relaxed meal with them - which I will have prepared in advance.

Cassoulet, the famous south-west French bean, duck and sausage casserole, fits the bill perfectly. True, it takes a bit of time to put together but that leaves you nothing to do on the day but put it in the oven. It’s also so substantial that no-one will want much to eat after it so you can get away with a cheeseboard and a generous bowl of fresh fruit (Most of my friends are on diets anyway at this time of year)

If you like you could hand round some slices of saucisson or salami and air dried ham such as Jambon de Bayonne, a few cornichons (gherkins) and some fresh radishes to nibble beforehand.

The time you save you can devote to sourcing some interesting wines. Being a classic dish from south-west France there are plenty of quirky, characterful reds to choose from (see What to Drink below)

Cassoulet

Serves 6-8
There are many different ways of making a cassoulet and this doesn’t claim to be authentic but it does contain the crucial components of duck, lamb, Toulouse sausages and outrageous amounts of garlic. And - very important - good fresh dried beans (by which I mean dried beans which are fresh . . .)

For the beans
750g dried haricot beans, soaked overnight in cold water
2 tbsp olive oil
125g (4 1/2 oz) lardons, pancetta cubetti or bacon bits
1 medium onion (about 150g/5 oz) peeled and roughly chopped
4 large or 6 smaller cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
2 bayleaves

For the lamb
1 kg (2.2lb) boned shoulder of lamb
2 medium sized onions (250-275g) peeled and roughly chopped
5 large or 7/8 smaller cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
2 x 200g tins Chair de Tomate (a rather superior chopped tomato product you can find at Sainsbury’s) or 3 tbsp of tomato puree and a 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
1 level tsp herbes de Provence or oregano
570ml (1 pint) light stock made with Marigold vegetable bouillon powder
4 heaped tbsp finely chopped flat leaf or curly parsley
Salt and pepper

6-8 duck legs
450g (1lb) Toulouse sausages
2 tbsp olive oil
75g (3 oz) fresh breadcrumbs, made from a French country loaf or a traditional white loaf

You will need a very large saucepan for cooking the beans and an even larger casserole or earthenware dish for assembling the cassoulet (Or divide it between two dishes)

If you’ve forgotten to pre-soak the beans, put them in a large pan, cover them with boiling water bring them back to the boil, cook for a couple of minutes then turn off the heat, cover the pan and leave them for at least an hour. Drain them and set aside.

Heat 2 tbsp of oil in the same pan and cook the lardons and chopped onion for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onions begin to brown. Add the chopped garlic, stir, then tip in the beans. Pour in boiling water to cover the beans, add the bayleaves, stir and cook at a brisk simmer for about an hour until the beans are tender but not disintegrating (Start testing them after 45 minutes). Turn the heat off and leave the pan on the stove.

Meanwhile make the lamb stew. Cut the lamb shoulder into big chunks. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan or casserole and brown the pieces quickly on both sides (you may have to do this in two batches). Remove the lamb from the pan and fry the onions for 5 minutes till soft. Stir in the chopped garlic and the Chair de Tomate or the tomato puree and cook for a minute then add the chopped tomatoes if using and the herbes de Provence or oregano. Stir in the stock and season with salt and pepper then return the lamb pieces to the pan. Cover and cook slowly for about 45/50 minutes until the lamb is just tender. Stir in the chopped parsley.

Now cook the duck and the sausages. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6. Smear a roasting tin with a little oil to stop the duck sticking. Remove any excess fat from the legs then arrange them skin side down in a single layer. Season generously with seasalt and roast for 20 minutes. Pour off any excess fat into a bowl (hold onto this), turn the duck pieces over, salt again and cook for another 20 minutes until the skin is crisp, pouring more fat off if necessary. Set aside.

Finally brown the sausages in a little oil over a moderate heat in a frying pan. Do this quite slowly so that you accumulate a sticky residue. Put the sausages on a plate and cut each into 3 pieces. Deglaze the pan with a little hot water and reserve.

Now for the final assembly. Lightly grease a very large casserole or earthenware dish (or two smaller ones) Using a slotted spoon put a third of the beans in the bottom of the dish, picking out any bayleaves. Arrange 3-4 of the duck legs and half the sausage pieces and lamb over the beans and spoon over half the liquid in the lamb stew. Season with pepper then repeat with another third of the beans and the remaining meats and most of the rest of the liquid, including the ‘stock’ from the sausages. Finish with a layer of beans and the rest of the liquid from the lamb stew. (You should still have some water left over from cooking the beans. Hang onto this) Cool the cassoulet, cover with clingfilm and refrigerate overnight.

Bring it to room temperature before you reheat it. Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas 5. Sprinkle the top of the cassoulet with two thirds of the breadcrumbs and trickle over some of the cooking juices from the beans and - if you’re feeling especially indulgent - a little melted duck fat. Bake for 1 1/2 - 2 hours, breaking the crust down into the beans a couple of times. Add more bean liquid or duck fat if it looks dry, more breadcrumbs if it seems a bit soggy - the objective should be a lovely crisp golden crust.

Cos lettuce and chive salad

The only accompaniment this needs is a crisp, full-flavoured French green salad with a sharp, mustardy vinaigrette.
Serves 6-8

2 medium to large cos lettuces or 4 sweet romaine hearts
2 level tsp Dijon mustard
3 tbsp red or white wine vinegar
150ml (5 fl oz) extra virgin olive oil
Salt, pepper and a pinch of caster sugar (optional)
A small handful of chives

Cut through the base of the lettuces and tear off the coarser outer leaves. Wash the remaining leaves in cold water, tear them in two or three pieces then dry them in a salad spinner or a couple of clean tea towels.

Whisk the mustard with salt, pepper red wine vinegar and gradually add the olive oil, whisking until you have a thick emulsion. (Or shake the ingredients together in a jam jar) Add 1-2 tablespoons of warm water to thin the dressing to a light coating consistency and whisk or shake again. Check the seasoning, adding a little sugar if you find it too sharp. Just before serving divide the dressing and lettuce between two salad bowls and toss them well together.

Cut the chives across 3 or 4 times with scissors and scatter them over the top of the salad. Toss the leaves again and serve.

Notes on a cheeseboard

As you’re probably going to have lots of excellent red wine still on the table I suggest you don’t overload your cheeseboard with too many cheeses. I’d probably stick to 3 - a goats cheese, a cows cheese like Cantal or Laguiole and a sheeps cheese such as Ossau-Iraty (which I’d serve with a cherry compote to pick up on the berry flavours in the wines). If you want to serve a blue pick a mellow Bleu d’Auvergne or Bleu des Causses rather than the very strong salty Roquefort which is better on its own with a sweet wine. Some sourdough bread would be a good accompaniment.

What to drink

I’d pick a crisp dry white or ros as an aperitif. Again you could stick to your south-western French theme and serve a Bergerac or Gaillac - or any other refreshing crisp white (or rosé) that you enjoy.

With the reds I suggest you experiment with an appellation you haven’t tried before such as Iroulguy or Marcillac (both rustic reds that would be good with cassoulet) or compare old and new world treatments of the same grape variety - say Tannat from Madiran and Uruguay or Malbec from Cahors (where it is called Cot) and Argentina. You could also serve any of the rustic reds I recommend for meaty stews.

Have you ever made a cassoulet before? If so what recipe did you use and what wine did you drink with it?

Brasato al Barolo (braised beef in Barolo)

Marc Millon is a polymath. A food writer, a wine importer and a web designer. He patiently steered me into getting my first website www.foodandwinematching.co.uk up and running 5 years ago and has no less than four himself including www.vino.co.uk the wine side of his activities.

It includes some splendid recipes from his winemaker friends including this fabulous slow cooked stew from the mother of Mario Fontana of Cascina Fontana which he recommends making with good Barolo. Here's how Marc justifies the extravagance!

"I have long maintained that, yes, it really is worthwhile using good - and even great - wine to cook with. The same elements that make a wine great to drink - concentration, complexity, structure - most definitely can come through in the finished dish. And of course, drinking the same wine alongside that dish inevitably results in the best food and wine match you can produce (provided that you start out with good or great wine in the first place).

When our Club Vino group visited Barolo, we had the rare treat to enjoy Mario's mother Elda's classic Brasato al Barolo, beef braised in Barolo. This is something that you usually only sample in a winemaker's home, where the 'vino della casa' just happens to be that king of wines.

Would I open a bottle of Barolo to cook with? Yes, I would, and I have. Given that many keen home cooks go to great effort to source the finest and best ingredients to cook with, there is really no reason why not. And as we know from Mario's meal, the result really is superlative.

Brasato al Barolo

2 kg piece of best topside beef
1 bottle of Barolo
4 carrots, sliced
2 onions, chopped
3 legs of celery, chopped
2 bay leaves
Small bunch of fresh rosemary
1 red pepper, cored and cut into chunks
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
Meat broth
Olive oil
Butter
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Method
Put the meat in a large bowl with half bottle Barolo wine, garlic, bay leaf, rosemary, a splash of good olive oil, and salt and pepper. Allow to marinate overnight. *see note below

Remove the meat, and pat dry with kitchen towel. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Heat olive oil and butter in a large casserole, and brown the meat all over. Add the chopped vegetables and cook until soft. Add the Barolo wine marinade, bring to the boil, then reduce flame to very low, cover and gently braise for around 2 hours. Check from time to time, and add the remaining Barolo wine (less the obligatory glass or two that is the cook's perk), topping up with a little meat broth if necessary.

Once cooked - the meat should be tender, but not falling apart- remove the meat and allow to cool. Defat the cooking liquid, and liquidize to incorporate the vegetables. Reduce to a sauce consistency and adjust seasoning. Meanwhile, cut the beef into thickish slices. Before serving, add the sliced meat into the casserole, cover with wine cooking sauce, and gently reheat. Serve a slice of meat, bathed in the delicious Barolo sauce.

Brasato al Barolo should be accompanied by carrots cooked in butter, mashed potato, or polenta.

Wine suggestion: what else but Barolo? Nothing else will do.

* My friend Nello's trick, when cooking Brasato al Barolo, was to insert a long carving knife all the way through the middle of the joint of beef. Into this slot, he'd push a carrot or two and possibly a leg of celery. The vegetables not only flavour the meat from inside, but the slot also allows the wine marinade to penetrate more fully. When you serve the beef, the vegetables are in the middle of each slice.