Kroeung (រឿង) – A quick trip to Cambodia (Again)!

Posted on September 22, 2014 by julianrolfe

This blog maybe becoming a ‘sorry’ site, with probably too many apologies for staying in particular regions of the world. So far we have been to Lebanon and the Middle East a fair bit, interspersed with Spain, Mexico and more recently the lands in Asia, which are particularly fragrant.

In my last post I promised to move away, but just could not resist one last recipe, and another tasty curry from the land of the Khmer.

Khmer, or Cambodian, is the language of the Khmer people and the official language of Cambodia. With approximately 16 million speakers, it is the second most widely spoken Austroasiatic language (afterVietnamese). This dish can be found in Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey and as is usual, for me at least is an excuse to visit the local Asian Supermarket for fresh and unusual ingredients.

The 1st task is to create the Khmer ‘Kroeung’, or spice paste. The main components of this amazing mix are Lemongrass, Shallots, Garlic, Chilli’s, Kaffir Lime Leaves, Galangal, FRESH Turmeric and Shrimp paste. The Turmeric was a new one for me, fresh, is more earthy and less vibrant to look at before cooking, compared to the powder form.

Purists might opt for a pestle and mortar and pound each element to a smooth paste, I cheated and whizzed it in a small food processor designed for these type of tasks. A little water and sunflower oil helped the paste on its way, you can see the finished results above.

The protein for this dish was boneless pork shoulder, from our favourite Casey Fields Farm shop, those lads do an awesome job with their meat. Also needed will be Thai Aubergines (the little green beasties above, about the size of a golfball), a fresh Coconut, Tamarind, Fish Sauce, Palm Sugar, Coconut Milk and Thai Basil.Once browned in some oil, the Pork needs slowly simmering in the spicy mix with some water to slacken it a little, about 1 hour should do it. The mix then needs reducing a bit and the rest of the ingredients are added. The smell filling the kitchen was amazing.

The finishing touches include the freshly grated Coconut, I used the water from the Coconut to help slacken the mixture and add more flavour, the Fresh Pineapple which is cut into 1 inch chunks and Red Kampot Pepper (from Cambodia)!. The dish was served with some wilted Pak Choi, and plain Rice (and a delicious Riesling)!

I will try and keep my promise this time, this is the last Far Eastern dish for a while. It’s worth hunting out the ingredients as the taste is stunning, creamy, rich, hot and very tasty. If you google Khmer Pork Curry with Pineapple & Coconut you will find a variety of recipes, better still, buy Rick’s book as there are loads of other delights to try, it’s a worthwhile investment if you like this kind of food.

Until next time…………….L8ers…………

An Evening in Cambodia, Kampot to be Precise! Loc Lac Beef ឡុកឡាក់សាច់គោ

Posted on August 31, 2014 by julianrolfe

Just about to go back to work after a few days chilling and I decided that some more kitchen time was needed, albeit minimalist by comparison to some of my recent ventures. There is sill one more dish I plan to prepare after this one, and then the geography will change and more closer to home!

The tastes of the Far East continue to surprise, along with many of the ingredients. In researching this dish I stumbled across a couple of variations, one in ‘Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey’ the other on a website that Google found on my behalf!

The ‘special’ ingredient is Kampot Pepper, you can get Red Kampot Pepper HERE, along with many other different varieties. Its used in the dressing on the bottom right hand side, along with Fresh Lime Juice and Salt, it has an amazing flavour.

This is a simple recipe, making a sauce to marinade the Rump Steak in before cooking briefly and serving with sliced Tomato, Red Onion, Lettuce and Roasted Peanuts, kind of a Cambodian ‘Wrap’! I put the Galangal, Garlic, Chilli’s and wizzed in a small blender adding the wet ingredients and repeating to form a rich aromatic paste. The Rump Steak was added and well combined, leaving for an hour to marinate.

I did make one minor change to the recipe, well probably two. The first was the Red Onion, I find raw Onion a bit harsh so I decided to make a sousing liquid. If you Google ‘Sousing’ you will find Wikipedia will show ‘Head cheese’, a terrine of an animals head pickled in Vinegar! Mine is a mixture of Rice Wine Vinegar Salt and Palm Sugar, so still using local regional ingredients, but applying a european slant to the dish. Add it to the thinly sliced Onion and steep for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

The 2nd change was adding a small amount of MSG, a naturally occurring non-essential amino acid ,in the form of MAGGI liquid seasoning. You can buy MSG from Oriental Supermarkets, or use a few drops of the Maggi Seasoning which is generally available. Its adds an extra ‘savoury’ or ‘Umami’ flavour giving s boost to the richness of the dish, this detail was in the page google found.

The Rump Steak only took about 3-4 minutes cooking on a high heat, followed by resting for a couple of minutes in a warm dish to relax. The Peanuts were dry roasted in a frying pan, and sprinkled with some sea salt.

The Lettuce (Iceberg or baby Gem), replaces the Tortilla wrap and forms the container for some Steak, Onion, Tomato and Peanuts, dipping into the Lime and Pepper dressing once rolled up. Its a delicious light, zingy dish, quick to make but amazingly tasty and moorish.

The picture does not do this dish justice, its VERY VERY good so thank-you Cambodia and thank-you Kampot, for your pepper, and this tasty dish.

Till next time……L8ers…..

Back to Belgium, Memories of my 40th Birthday – Carbonade Flamande

Posted on August 27, 2014 by julianrolfe

About a week before my 40th Birthday (nearly 10 years ago!), nothing was planned so anything organised was most definitely last minute dot com! I had been to Belgium quite a few times on Business many years before but never had a chance to sightsee. Minutes later, the Eurostar was booked, along with a room at the Metropole Hotel in Place De Brouckere, a 5 minute walk from the famous Grand Place and some interesting restaurants.

Carbonade Flamande is a traditional Belgian dish, a variation on a Beef Stew and quite delicious. Made with Onions, Bacon Lardons & Belgian Beer, its a nice slow cooking winter dish, or one when the weather turns such as the gap in the summer we seem to be having at the moment. I used St. Stefanus Blonde an interesting brew dating back to the year 1295, and followed the recipe in David Lebovitz’s excellent Book ‘My Paris Kitchen’.

To get both colour and flavour, the Chuck Stuck is coated with seasoned flour and fried until deep brown and removed from the pan. Then the Onions and Bacon Lardons get a similar treatment, but without the flower!! All the ingredients then go in together and the Beer is added, time to relax.

The next stage, after things have been bubbling for a while is to add the Pain D’Épice (details in previous post), which has one side coated with Dijon Mustard, this adds some subtle spice and background heat to the dish. The mixture is stirred a couple of times during the 2nd stage of cooking to break up the Pain D’Épice and let it meld into the mixture.

The completed dish was served with a very rich, very Buttery Mash Potato, and some Green Beans, that had been cooked with some Garlic and finished with Tomato Concasse and Butter.

Quite delicious, a very nice meal on our Silver Anniversary, and fond memories of an amazing weekend in Belgium nearly 10 years ago, where our son Justin was conceived and made in Brussels, (and we had some amazing food)!

Till next time……..L8ers…..

Celebrating 25 Years, Pain D’Épice, Babi kecap & Foie Gras

Posted on August 26, 2014 by julianrolfe

25 Years ago today I got married to a wonderful lady, 25 years later I am proud to say we are still together and everything is fantastic. We had planned a few days on the south coast, but cancelled at the last minute when we saw the weather forecast!! Instead, we have booked a trip to Tunisia in October, where I celebrated by 21st birthday MANY years ago!

My better half has recently had an operation and is still suffering with back pains so when I offered to book a nice place to eat, the answer I got was ‘please can YOU cook me something nice, I would prefer it’! Its a double celebration this week as it’s her birthday so I sat surrounded with cookbooks and my trusty Mac, and scoured for something nice to prepare.

David Lebovitz is well known in the food blogging world, an accomplished Chef and writer, I recently got hold of his latest book, My Paris Kitchen. Its a brilliant piece of work and contains some really good recipes, two of which caught my eye.

As previously blogged, I spent a week in Gascony earlier this year and learned some new skills and recipes. One was preparing Foie Gras using something called Pain D’Épice, a spicy bread like cake and very tasty. The one we used was purchased, I had found a recipe to make it myself In David’s book, you can see the end result above.

The reason I picked this was that it is also a component of Carbonnade Flamande, a delicious Beef dish from Belgium which I am cooking on our anniversary today, I will be posting the results later this week. You may wonder why I picked a dish that does not seem s0 special, a beef stew! Well our son Justin was conceived in Brussels on my 40th Birthday, and so the trip holds MANY fond memories for both of us including trying my first Carbonnade Flamande.

The big Red bag of Spice above is something quite special, Piment d’Espelette. It has AOC status, the origins of AOC date to the year 1411, when Roquefort was regulated by a parliamentary decree. In practise this means its production, marketing and sales are tightly controlled. You CAN get it mail order from ‘The Spicery”, I ordered it Friday last week and it arrived Saturday!!!!

Piment d’Espelette is a component of preparing a particular style of Foie Gras, hence my purchase. i also plan to experiment with some Basque cooking, I have just ordered a new cookery book which focusses on this particular cuisine, more on that later.

So for the Birthday treat I turned to Rick Steins Far Eastern Odyssey and Babi Kecap, you can see the ingredients above, along with those for Som Tum (Green Papaya Salad), which I have described before. Both were to be served with Coconut Rice to balance and join the flavours and textures.

To Start Babi kecap you need an ‘Asian Chicken Broth’, essentially a spiced Chicken Stock. Mine was made with a whole Organic Chicken, the flavour enhancers included Star Anise, Spring Onions, loads of Garlic and Galangal and Red Kampot Pepper from Cambodia, (I had recently re-stocked my spice cupboard using Steenbergs mail order and added this to the list as something new to try). You can find the recipe at the back for Rick Steins book, its needs bringing to the boil, skimming to remove the sludge and gently simmering for 1 1/2 hours, job done!

The next stage is to fry loads of shallots until golden brown, then add more Garlic and Ginger, some pork shoulder and colour. Then add the stock and all the other ingredients including the Kecap Manis, a sweet Soy Sauce from Indonesia. After 1 1/2 hours I removed the meat to a warm covered dish, sieved the remaining sauce and hard reduced until shiny, sticky and unctuous!

Served with the Som Tum salad and Coconut Rice it was absolutely stunning, well worth the effort in finding the Sweet Soy Sauce which is available mail order, (just google the name) or, from Asian Supermarkets. I got mine from See Woo in Reading who seem to have all the unusual and difficult to get ingredients including Fresh Turmeric and Green Papaya.

The missus had a great birthday, some food cooked with love, and very tasty too. Watch out for the followup later this week as I have more cooking to do.

Until next time…. L8ers……

Quick & Dirty, because I had too – North West Carolina Pork Shoulder My Way

Posted on August 8, 2014 by julianrolfe

My Wife (of 25 years this August), had to go into hospital recently for a minor operation, just before last weekend in fact. My weekends are typically spent watching, reading relaxing and cooking in between playing with my 8 year old and trips out. I had been ordered by the Romanian nurse that that weekend had to be spent making sure the boss did nothing whilst recovering, so no time in the kitchen was to be!

On the Saturday evening we decided to have Roast Chicken on Sunday, but forgot to take it out the freezer! DOH. Sunday morning came and after some inspiration from Sunday Bruch care of Rebecca Seal, we headed off to Waitrose as my mind started to construct a dish, this had to be a speedy one as I was not allowed to leave the Boss for too Long.

As I wander around, I am mentally constructing a dish, getting inspiration from ingredients such as North West Carolina Pork Shoulder (only needed to be shoved in the oven as it was already marinated etc.). Chicory, Coleslaw, Chilli Bacon Jam! Wait a minute Chilli Bacon Jam, never had that before so in the basket it went.

All the ingredients are in the above two pictures (White Sweet Onions have just appeared on the shelves as have Heirloom Tomatoes which you will need), the result was absolutely awesome, even though it was merely a construction job. The Coleslaw had added ingredients, Lime Zest and Juice, and some chopped Coriander and additional Black Pepper. The Chicory was partnered with a Dressing, 3 Parts Oil (Rapeseed) 1 part Vinegar (2 1/3d’s Moscatel to 1 1/3d Aged Balsamic). a Teaspoon of Dijon Mustard, Maldon Sea Salt and Pepper and well mixed and chilled.

Dress the Chicory at the very last minute, I bought some Italian Flat Breads, they are much nicer than wraps, enriched with Olive Oil and a bit more robust. Place some leaves of Dressed Chicory as a bed for the next ingredients. The Carolina Pork only needs 30 minutes in the Oven, which gives you plenty of time to quickly prepare everything, this is a really quick dish to make.

Next, spread a thin layer of the Bacon Chilli Jam alongside the Chicory, and add some thinly sliced White Onion and Tomato on top of the Chicory as above.

Finally, add the pork, then layer some of the Zesty Lime Coleslaw and finish with a decent drizzle of Sriracha sauce which is available in supermarkets or online at Ottolenghi’s.

I had achieved a couple of objectives, spending as much time with the boss as possible, but also creating another tasty meal, but really quickly. The Chicory with Dijon Mustard Dressing was awesome, and could be a meal In its own right as part of an unusual Tapas, it was really delish..

So if you loved one has to go into hospital, you can still create really tasty food in no time at all.

Until next time. L8ers…………..

Thơm Orange om vịt với đu đủ Salad – Fragrant Orange Braised Duck with Papaya Salad

Posted on July 8, 2014 by julianrolfe

No apologies for taking you back to Vietnam this post, the fresh vibrant and light punchy flavours seem to work during the hot and steamy weather we are experiencing at the moment. If you have been following, and trying the far eastern posts you should have most of the ingredients for this recipe to hand.

On the cookery course I attended in France recently we made Crepe Suzette, which was delicious, we also had, and did lots with Duck. I remember Duck a l’orange in the 70’s and thought that there must be a way to combine the memories into something a bit more vibrant. In Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey there is a recipe similar to this, but this is my interpretation of Vietnamese flavours with some decent heat, its just great!

You will need the following ingredients to make this sing for 2 people!

Dressing

5 Tbls Fish Sauce
1 Tbls Rice Wine Vinegar
2 Limes (Juiced)
2 Tbls Water
2 Tbls Palm Sugar
1 – 2 Red Chilli (finely sliced)
1 Clove Garlic (finely minced)
4 – 5 Drops Sesame Oil

Braised Duck

4 Duck Legs
1 Litre Orange Juice
3 Cloves garlic
4 Red Thai Chilli’s (whole)
1 Red Thai Chilli’s (finely sliced)
2 Shallots (finely sliced)
1 Lemongrass Stalk (roughly chopped)
4 Star Anise
4cm Length Cinnamon
1 Tbsp Tamarind
1 Tsp Shrimp paste
1 1/2 Inches Galangal (sliced)
10 Black Peppercorns
4 Spring Onions (roughly sliced)
Maldon Sea Salt for seasoning

Papaya Salad

1 Papaya (sknned and cut into 1 c.m. cubed)
2 Spring Onions, Sliced
1 Red pepper (Julienned)
1 Handful Green Beans (blanched and cut into 1 inch lengths)
1 Handful Bean Sprouts
1 Handful Cashew Nuts (Freshly Toasted & Salted)
5 – 10 Mint Leaves (Chiffonade)
5 – 10 Holy Basil Leaves (Chiffonade)
Bunch Coriander, chopped

First thing to do is render some of the fat of the Duck Legs, take a Dutch Oven and place on a COLD hob, season the Duck and place in the pan, turning the heat to medium. This stage takes about 15 – 20 minutes depending on their size. Once you have done one side, repeat and you should have a reasonable amount of fat in the pan. Put the legs to one side and drain most of the fat off to use for roasties or whatever takes your fancy! Watch the Duck as mine had a tendency to stick to the pan. Stick your oven on about 150 degrees (fan) 160 deg (convection).

Next, take all the spices for the braising liquor and fry in the remaining Duck fat until they release their aroma, then add the Orange Juice and shrimp paste and then the Duck Legs, making sure they are covered in the liquor. The whole lot goes covered, in the oven for about 1.5 – 2.0 hours.

As with many of the recent posts, a lot of the tasks in hand are more assembly than cooking, in this case, whilst the Duck is slowly braising you can prepare some of the other ingredients.

For the salad there are a few things to do, roast the Cashews in a frying pan, and lightly season with Maldon Sea Salt whilst they are still hot. Blanch the Green Beans in boiling water for 3 -4 minutes (removing the squeaky nature!), and refresh in cold water. Make the dressing, I usually start with the Fish Sauce and Water, add the Palm Sugar and stick in the microwave oven on full for 30 seconds or so. This helps the Palm Sugar dissolve. Grate in the Garlic and add the Lime Juice, and chopped Thai Chilli. The Sesame Oil is very strong so only use a few drops and then taste, it should be a background flavor.

We are nearly done. next stage is to remove the Duck Legs carefully from the pan, and reduce the remaining sauce until ‘gloopy’ and thick enough to stick to, and coat the back of a spoon. Its worth passing the sauce through a sieve first, but retain the pieces of Spring Onion as they can go onto the dish with the sauce. The Salad can be prepared whilst the sauce is reducing, but don’t add the dressing until the last minute. When the sauce has thickened pour boiling water over the noodles as per the instructions (mine needed 3 minutes) to cook.

Drain your Noodles and place them on the plate, lay the Duck legs on top and add the sauce with cooked Spring Onion, its deep, rich and comforting (with some heat!). The Salad adds a cold, but HOT element from a spicing perspective, the Cashews add crunch and there is some bitter as well so back to the old Yin Yang so beloved of Vietnam.

This is a cracking dish, the Duck is meltingly soft, the Orange sauce, Tangy, Spicy and inviting, the contrast with the Salad which is even hotter, but with Sweet elements from the Papaya with Salt and crunch from the Cashew Nuts.

I may drift around the world next time and see what I can find that’s new and different to cook.

Till next time……………………….L8ers…………….

Gà nướng sả, Gỏi đu đủ & nước chấm – Lemongrass Chicken, Papaya Salad and an awesome dressing!

Posted on June 29, 2014 by julianrolfe

So the conversation went, “Hun”, yep, “I fancy a Salad”, ok, “not ANY old Salad though”, uh huh, what sort of Salad, “One of your punchy, spicy, healthy ones”, OK………

In the car and of to my favourite Oriental Store to buy the ingredients, I had spent some time researching recipes and flavour combinations and come up with a couple of interesting dishes. I have covered Yin & Yang in previous posts so won’t repeat again suffice to say this was going to be spicy, sweet etc. There are some ‘specialist’ ingredients in this recipe including Green Papaya (NOT the orange flesh version in supermarkets), Dried Shrimp, Thai Sweet Basil and Galangal. The Papaya is Long, rather than round. You will also need 1 Chicken Breast per person, 1 serving of Vermicelli Rice Noodles per person, Shallots, Lime, Lemongrass, Garlic, Thai Red Chilli, Beansprouts, Carrot, Cucumber, Palm Sugar, Thai Fish Sauce, Coriander Seeds, fresh Coriander and Mint, Salt and Pepper.

There are loads of recipes on the internet for Vietnamese Cuisine, click to the left you can find details about popular recipes, then just pick one, stick the name in your favourite search engine and away you go! I decided to try and take the best bits of a number of ideas and incorporate them in the final dish. You will need some shallots, they need shallow frying until crisp, DON’T throw away the oil, as its going to be used once you have also THINLY sliced some Garlic, and also fried until crisp. Drain both on kitchen paper and set aside. The remaining Oil is jam packed with flavour which we will use with the following marinade, (this element doesn’t appear in the recipes I found whilst researching but it would be a shame not to include such a flavour enhancement!).

For two people I used 2 stalks of Lemongrass thinly sliced, 2 cloves of Garlic, 3 Red Thai Chilli’s, some slices of Galangal and a tablespoon of freshly roasted Coriander Seeds (Steenbergs are my favourite), season with Salt and Pepper. You can pound with a pestle and mortar or use a grinder/blender to blitz as finely as possible, which is a lot quicker. Add some of the oil you used to fry the Shallots and Garlic to loosen the marinade, which should end up looking something like this.

The Chicken Breasts need marinating for at least 30 minutes at room temperature, I went for about 2 hours. The nước chấm sauce is served with many Vietnamese dishes and adds punch and depth of flavour.

The general rule of thumb is 1 part Fish Sauce (Nam Pla), 1 part Sugar (Palm Sugar is preferred), 2 parts Water and Lime Juice (I used 1 whole Lime). You can then add some extra flavours to enhance, in my case 1 thinly sliced Red Thai Chilli, 4 Slices of Galangal, 1 sliced Garlic Clove, and 1 tablespoon of Tamarind concentrate. You can put the fish sauce and palm sugar in the microwave for a few seconds to help it dissolve. Set aside in the fridge once made to enable the flavours to develop. Before you serve it run it through a strainer to remove the bits.

The Green Papaya Salad is mainly a construction job, the Papaya is quite long, you can just see it at the top of the post, on the top left hand side of the picture, its not the same as many of the Papaya you get in supermarkets that have orange flesh. I used one for two people along with a 5 inch length of Cucumber, seeds removed and julienned, 1/2 a carrot, a handful of Beansprouts, 3 thinly sliced Shallots, a couple of Spring Onions, again thinly sliced, and about 10 cherry tomatoes, halved. Herbs were chiffonade of Mint, Thai Sweet Basil and Coriander, a good handful of each. Using a mandolin with Julienne setting speeds up the chopping!

I Baked the Chicken in the oven for 30 Minutes, and rested for 5 minutes. Whilst the Chicken is resting, take two servings of Vermicelli Rice Noodles, place in a bowl and cover with boiling water, follow the instructions on the packet, mine said 3 minutes. Slice the Chicken, place the Noodles on the plate, and the sliced Chicken on top, sprinkle some more chiffonade of Thai Sweet Basil on top. Take your prepared salad and GENTLY bruise with a rolling pin, releasing some of the tomato juices, add some of the nước chấm dressing and sprinkle some crispy Shallots, Garlic, Roasted Peanuts and if you can get them, some Dried Shrimp that has been fried and crushed.

Delicious; understatement, the boss was well chuffed (as was I). The Chicken (proper from our local supplier Casey Fields), was so juicy and tender, and punchy flavours of Lemongrass, Chilli and Garlic, the Salad refreshing, crunchy and stunning. You can add some more nước chấm dressing to lift it even more.

This dish took a while to prepare, but done in stages its easy. Fry the Shallots and Garlic first as using the Oil in the Marinade adds more flavour. The Salad can be made in advance, but crush and add the dressing at the LAST minute.

Have a go at this one, it will leave you feeling fantastic.

Till next time…………….L8ers…

Sardine or Pilchard, I don’t really mind!

Posted on June 22, 2014 by julianrolfe

I usually have a couple of tins of Sardines in the larder just for emergencies, or when I am not sure what I fancy to eat. Coupled with a Bertinet Caramelised Onion, Cumin and Cheese Bread, you have the makings of one hell of a delicious snack, brunch or light tea at any time of the day, month or year!

I adore Bread, but cannot eat the usual stuff in the Supermarkets, half the ingredients are un-recognisable (and un-necessary), and the speed of production, thanks to the Chorleywood Bread process makes for something my stomach cannot stand. The same goes for the Burger Buns used in well known chains, can’t stand them either, within 30 minutes of consumption I feel ill, bilious and erghh so it was a real treat when a well known Artisan Bread Genius, Richard Bertinet, struck a deal with Waitrose and I can now get PROPER Bread again.

This recipe/construction job is dead easy to do, but relies on the best ingredients. A Marmande Tomato (available from Waitrose), Aleppo Chilli flakes (available from Ottolenghi online), Ras al-Hanut (available from Steenbergs), GOOD tinned Sardines such as Parmentier (Waitrose again), Garlic, Olive Oil, Tomato Puree and Sea Salt.

The Sardines need to be gently drained, halved lengthways and their central bone and any Roe removed. If you can’t get a Bertinet loaf, any good quality Artisan Bread will do (for me, decent Bread only has Flour, Yeast, Salt and Water, plus any flavours such as Onions, Cheese, Cumin etc). Before you start, set the oven to 200 degrees and put the kettle on (for a cup of tea!).

Take 2 – 3 slices of Bread (depending on size!) and liberally coat both side with Olive Oil, place on a baking tray and put in the oven until lightly crisp and brown on both sides. This will depend on the Bread so just check it after 5 Minutes and then every 1-2 minutes until done (drink some tea in-between!).

Once the Bread is nicely toasted, take a clove of Garlic cut in half and rub on the Bread, it will impart a subtle flavour. Then lightly spread some tomato paste on top, you can see this above. Its job is to give the Tomato an even more rich and punchy flavour.

Thinly slice the Marmande Tomato and place on top of the Bread, then sprinkle with Aleppo Chilli Flakes, Ras al-Hanut and Sea Salt, then some more Olive Oil. Place the Sardine fillets on top and put back into the oven for about 10 minutes. Again, you will need to check as the cooking speed will depend on the size of your Sardine’s and oven.

To finish you can add something acidic, I took some more of the Marmande Tomato, some Red Onion, White Wine Vinegar and Olive Oil, as you can see on the finished dish above.

Delish……..

Until next time…………..L8ers..

Making Good Taste Better – Welcome to Steenbergs!

Posted on June 12, 2014 by julianrolfe

As many of you already know, I am quite fussy about sourcing ingredients from artisan, ethical and small businesses rather than the usual brands that have taken over the UK like a rabid pestilence (you know who I mean!). With the recent (and historic) food scandals around meat, my 1st port of call for protein is always Casey Fields Farm Shop, part of Vicar’s Game who can supply almost anything (and knows exactly from where, and what it comes from!). But in order to enhance ANY recipe then you need Herbs and Spices, this maybe just Salt or Pepper but even the most basic of additions to a meal need some consideration to get the best flavor.

So for Herbs, Spices and other flavor enhancers my 1st port of call is STEENBERGS, in fact it probably is my ONLY place of call, unless I forget to order something when my current stock is depleted!

Steenbergs Organic is a family-run, friendly firm committed to Fairtrade, the environment and people. It was set up in 2003 by Axel and Sophie Steenberg in North Yorkshire and this week I had the privilege of popping in on my way to a meeting in Darlington. Just to be clear, I was not asked to do a review, received no gifts or favours (other than sharing a nice cup of tea with Axel), but from a personally perspective wanted to understand more about a supplier I use on a regular basis, and pass on my own view of the experience.

Sourcing Herbs and Spice’s is not easy, as I was to find out from Axel as we went from room to room. It was a 3 1/2 drive to Melmerby, near Ripon in North Yorkshire where Steenbergs are located, after I arrived, I completed the mandatory health/sickness declaration, donned a cloak and hair net, and we started the tour. Sophie, Axel’s partner (in both marriage and business), was busy applying the finishing touches to a box of the distinctive glass jars that are used to store the various products, the final blue seal. Legislation has an interesting impact on importing food products. You would imagine that Cardamom, Pepper, Sumac etc. would arrive in ‘romantic’ hessian sacks, but no, thanks to the EU and other legislative bodies, vacuum packing is the order of the day and the 1st task as soon as a shipment arrives, is to remove the plastic to prevent the product from sweating and going off!

Steenbergs have in excess of 200 items, I mentioned Salt and Pepper earlier and you are spoilt for choice (and flavor). Kala Namak – Indian Black Salt, Pyramid Finger Salt From Pakistan, Murray River Pink Salt from Australia, Lava Red Hawaiian Sea Salt enriched with A natural mineral called “Alaea” (baked volcanic red clay), they all have different flavor profiles and searching on Steenbergs VERY comprehensive website you can find details and descriptions on how to match the product with food, and importantly details about the sourcing. On the Pepper front you can choose from Tasmanian Mountain Pepper Leaf ( a new one for me!), Southern Sumatran Lampung Black Pepper, Madagascan Wild Pepper, Tasmanian Mountain Pepper (Very Hot), Piper retrofactum (Long Pepper from Indonesia) as well as ‘normal’ varieties.

Steenbergs, because of the size and family nature of the business are VERY flexible about obtaining new Herbs and Spices. Because they are not buying bulk anonymous products by the Ton, but locating ingredients at source in smaller quantities, they are keen to try and locate unusual and difficult to get ingredients for their customers, a really personal touch.

Whilst we were touring the facility I asked a question about Saffron, the most expensive Spice in the world. Steenbergs have several on offer including one from AFGHANISTAN, please click and find out how they are helping change a village and impacting on the illegal drug trade, its a truly amazing story.

The aromas as we walked around the factory were intoxicating, the machine above delivers precise amounts of Herbs or Spices into the jars before labeling, the picture was taken as a Madras Curry Powder mix was going through the process, mmmmmm.

Steenbergs sell Herbs, Spices and their own blends, which introduced another really interesting (and artisan) feature. If you look at the majority of Spice blends in the shops, the powder is the same size (with a very few exceptions), Steenbergs blends are personal to them, so the Ras al-Hanut (one of my favourites), has over 20 different ingredients AND they are texturally different, making for a better eating experience.

Whilst on the subject of Ras al-Hanut, if you take some butter puff pastry, preferable home-made but quality shop bought is OK, some decent Sausage Meat from a Butcher (NOT the pink stuff that fills cheap Sausages), add a tablespoon of Steenbergs Ras al-Hanut and mix well you are on your way to the BEST SAUSAGE ROLLS EVER, please try them they are just fantastic.When I made the sausage rolls above as an experiment, and gave one to the ‘boss’ to try, the look on her face said it all, expletives excused bl@@dy delicious!!

So, some of the values that drive the Steenbergs business include ensuring there is personality in the Spice Mixes, Family Village sourcing and having an impact on local communities, flexibility, connecting to real people in remote places, not driven by price….

Steenbergs have some very large well known brands as their customers, and some famous people and chefs too. I won’t say who due to client confidentiality but unfortunately I had to depart and get to Darlington, so said farewell to Axel and his family of workers. If you want to impart and enhance flavour in your cooking then I know what I do, please give them a go, thanks Axel and Sophie for allowing me behind the scenes (and for the tea!).

Till next time……L8ers

Reflecting the past 5 days – The Gascony Cookery School, Gramont.

Posted on June 7, 2014 by julianrolfe

Amazing ‘proper’ Cassoulet, outstanding (and very filling!)

OMG………….

I am slowly coming back to reality, the last five days have been a whirlwind culinary experience, with some history and culture thrown in for good measure. To use an Australianism (and please excuse the minor expletive), when you bugger off on your own for a week in the middle of nowhere, there will always be a certain nervousness, not knowing who you are going to be sharing your experience with, not having complete control of what will happen, being aware of your lack of cooking skills etc…….

Firstly a few thanks, big ones to be honest. Helen & Di from Australia (you FIGJAMS!), Jo and Sally (ABC), and the lovely Claire (Ms Leith!) all made my lonesome trip so much better. Friendly innocent banter (yeah right!), some of the conversations had us all in hysterics (don’t ask me about skippy!, like teenagers growing up together on a week’s road trip.

Wheres the bloody Pizza?

I think I only got one picture of our amazing host Vikki, the smiley happy type standing in the background always making tea or pointing us towards the chilled rosé in the fridge, and the frozen bottles in the freezer to make sure it was always cold, and stayed cold. Vikki was a delight to be around, and worked like a ‘Trogan’, ensuring our rooms were clean and tidy, and preparing delicious breakfast every day as well as making sure we were happy, nothing was too much trouble, thanks Vikki.

This isn’t just as Pizza, it’s my Pizza Gersoise!

David is an amazing Chef and fantastic Tutor, the patience of a saint (he would need it with our bunch!), we were taken through the process of preparing some quite sophisticated dishes, some of which I never expected to be able to do. His knowledge of all things Gascogne, we all came away with so much more knowledge about the amazing location we were lucky enough to be enjoying, and the history, culture and cuisine of this hidden gem in the south west corner of France. Thanks David, your a Gem.

Julian, are you ready to Flambé, OUI CHEF!

Smiley happy Bernard, the kind gentle Chef Patron of Le petit Feuillant, the restaurant in Gramont and teacher of all things Crème, oh and Cassoulet, and Foie Gras (his was just OUTSTANDING)…what a Chef, MasterChef. Merci Bernard.

If you are looking for a different experience, and like cooking, give The Gascony Cookery School a visit, you won’t be disappointed.

Watch those fingers Sally!

P.S. I would advise going on a diet before attending this course, we ate LOADS but everything was just delicious.

À bientôt

Julian Rolfe

My Foodie Life

Category Archives: All recipes