La Cuisine Bertinet with Dhruv Baker (MasterChef 2010 Winner)

Posted on October 26, 2015 by julianrolfe

It has been a while since my last post, a combination of busy and tired has eaten up much of my spare time so it was really exciting to be joining a class at Richard Bertinets’ Cookery School in Bath, and spending a few hours with Dhruv Baker, who won Masterchef in 2010. The course was booked some time ago, just after I had suffered a seizure and woke up in an Ambulance so I though transport was going to be a problem, but in the end it was very easy and after an hour on the train and a short Taxi, there I was.

I usually arrive on cooking courses as the only ‘bloke’, which can be both enjoyable and frustrating (I really wish more men would have a go at cooking), this time there were 4 of us, equally balanced by 4 lovely ladies. As we arrived we were provided with Richards’ famous Bread, freshly toasted, with Butter and Jam, and Tea and Coffee and we started to introduce ourselves and get to know each other. Dhruv and Richards’ team of helpers were finalising the preparation and we were good to go.

The menu we were going to prepare was really interesting, Sweet Chilli Squid with Samphire, Chennai Spiced Poussin, Cumin & Chilli Potatoes with Curry Leaf and Coconut Cavalo Nero. As we looked through the menu Dhruv went about explaining the dishes and the order we would use to create each one. The Spiced Butter for the Poussin was going to take the longest so we set about toasting coconut and spices which would be ground into a paste (by hand) later on.

We were given many words of wisdom and encouragement by Dhruv, one of the participants said he could not cook (his wife also present agreed!), but comments like ‘T.V. Chefs like to make things look more complicated’ helped relax everyone as we all settled down to preparing each of the dishes. I won’t go though the detail of each dish, just book a course yourself and learn from a master and have some fun at the same time.

At the beginning of the day we were grouped together in ‘teams’, I was lucky enough to join Claire and Jin, who both had been on previous courses (Claire had been on 16), as we prepared each part of the recipe we laughed and joked as if we had known each other for years. It’s amazing how when individuals are thrown together with a common interest it seems to break down barriers in seconds. The other ‘students’ were from Belgium and there was a real friendship developing (call it a competitive bond if you will), this turned out to raise even more laughter towards the end of the day.

Because of time, there were a couple of ‘hiccups’ which in reality did not cause issue. The Spice Paste is made of hot ingredients, Tomatoes, Red Onions etc. and we could have done with a bit more time to let it cool, add cold Butter and…………It Melts! We ended up stuffing the Poussin with a semi Liquid mix but it worked fine in the end. We served up the starter as the Poussin roasted in the oven, the Sweet Chilli Squid with Samphire was a delight, tender, delicate and the slight saltiness of the Samphire negated the need for seasoning, amazing.Mid morning we had a quick break, Tea and Coffee and some delicious Almond Croissants, and the owner turned up to greet us, Richard Bertinet. Richard started the school about 9 years ago, and takes some of the Bread making courses as well as inviting guest Chef’s to come a teach their specialist skills. Richards Bread is VERY good, and if you are lucky enough to live West of Windsor, you maybe able to find some in your local Waitrose, I get mine in Newbury if I fancy a treat.We prepared all the dishes to the point where we could eat the starter whilst the main was cooking, finish off the Vegetables then serve the main etc. In between copious amounts of Red and White Wine flowed, the generosity and spirit was certainly in abundance, and I was glad it was a train home, and not the car!!

The potato dish seemed to cause a bit of competition, one of our Belgian colleagues was a bit heavy with the Chilli, and the double doors at the back of the school had to be opened to let the ‘hot’ steam out. We then realised during tasting that that team had also forgotten to season, and not quite par boiled long enough. It seems Team Claire, Jules and Jin had won the ‘best potato dish’ competition. Yay.The Poussin were smelling delicious as they rested whilst we finished of the Vegetables and put the desert on to cook. Ah yes, forgot to mention the Chocolate Brownie with Cassia Custard,and hints of Cardamom!All the dishes were very clever, you can find several of them in Dhruvs’ Book Spice: Layers Of Flavour I am very proud to have a signed copy. Dhruv carefully explained the reason behind each component, acidity, saltness, sweetness, etc. and the smells and aroma’s circulating the kitchen were amazing.It was One of our Belgian friends birthday so as the Chocolate Brownies were served complete with candles we all sang Happy Birthday. Richard treated us to some more ‘specials’ as we ate our fill, Prunes Steeped in Rum, perfect served in Coffee or just eaten on their own, and the ‘old’ bottle of Vanilla Vodka, which was so full of Vanilla pods there was not much room for Vodka!So after quite a few hours cooking, much laughter, a few glasses of Wine we had accomplished what one of our Belgians friends had not seemed possible, knocked up a pretty decent (I would probably say cooked a high quality!) 3 course dinner delicately spiced, packed full of flavour and learnt quite a few more cookery skills. Using Lemon as a ‘condiment’ featured quite a lot and worked REALLY well, even on the Potatoes which was quite a suprise.

Richards Cookery School website can be found HERE and Dhruvs’ Gastro Pub The Jolly Gardeners HERE,

Just to be clear, I paid full price for this course and have received no incentives etc. in order to write this review, its my own experience and one that I will not forget, a truly wonderful time. There is no doubt I will be returning to Richards School in the future to learn new skills and share a great time with new friends.

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..

NOT Panzanella – Making Bread the star ingredient

Posted on May 26, 2014 by julianrolfe

I have just started to get into a routine on Saturday mornings which goes like, get up, grab a cup of tea, head over to Waitrose as soon as possible, hit the Bread counter. Why, because Richard Bertinet Bread has come to Newbury and it sells quickly!

Richard is one of my food heroes, he seems to buck the industry when it comes to making bread, especially the kneading process which has to be seen, you can find some examples on YouTube but better still book one of his bread making courses, you can find them HERE. What I love about his products is that they are ‘aux naturelle’, the BEST Flour, Yeast, Salt and Water, that’s it, proper Bread. His Bread is now available in a number of shops including Waitrose, you can find a list of stockists HERE.

For this quick snack, you will need one of his Caramelised Onion, Cumin and Cheese Loaves, about 4 slices which you need to cube and fry in Butter/Olive Oil and Garlic. This Bread is rich and has LOADS of flavour and forms the basis for my take on a Tuscan dish called Panzanella. Where this version differs is I did not use old Sour Dough, I did not soak the bread, and instead, used flavoursome Bread and fried it adding even more flavour with the Garlic, its VERY good (quote from the Wife!). You can now see where the name from this dish came from!

Jules NOT Panzanella

4 Slices Richard Bertinet Caramelised Onion, Cumin and Cheese Bread
4 Slices of Red Onion, finely chopped
3 Tbls Rapeseed Oil
1 Tbls Moscatel Vinegar (available from Ottolenghi’s online store) Not cheap but lasts ages.
1 Chipotle Morito Chilli, soaked in hot water for 20 Mins (available HERE)
250 grms Heritage Tomatoes, such as Chocolate Plum, Yellow Cherry, Red Angelle
1 Baby Gem Lettuce
2 Cloves garlic
2 Spring Onions finely sliced
50g Anchovies in Olive Oil (drained), LIGHTLY drizzled with a few drops of Moscatel Vinegar and leave for 15 mins

Firstly the dressing, take 3 Tbls Rapeseed Oil and 1 Tbls Moscatel Vinegar and whisk in a bowl until thoroughly combined, then add the finely chopped Red Onion and mix well. Cut the Chipotle Morito Chilli and cut in half, scrape out the seeds and membrane and finely chop, add to the dressing and season with Salt and Pepper and put to one side. The acid in the Vinegar will start to ‘cook’ the Onion, removing its harshness. Set aside for at least 30 minutes.

Next fry the Bread in Butter, Olive Oil and towards the end, add a couple of cloves of finely chopped Garlic, if you add it too soon it will burn and turn bitter, lightly season with some Maldon Sea Salt. Drain on some kitchen paper, you can keep warm in a oven set to 100 or so degrees.

All we have to do now is construct, place some Baby Gem Lettuce on the bottom of your plate, drizzle some of the dressing over the top, then quarter your tomatoes and distribute evenly, finishing with some Anchovies and the rest of the Dressing. Finally, add you ‘Bertinet’ croutons, for me the star of the dish.

My ‘better’ half does not like Anchovies, but loved this dish INCLUDING the Anchovies, the Moscatel dressing is slightly sweeter than normal Vinegars and works really well with the Tomatoes.

A simple dish but stunning to eat with texture and BAGs of flavour, find a Bertinet stockist and have a go. My next blog will be a review of the cookery course I am going on next week.

Till next time, L8ers…………….

Foodie Memories of 2013, Puglia & The Pukka Pakistani

Posted on January 5, 2014 by julianrolfe

As the new year starts, some thoughts on what happened in my foodie life during 2013, and the culinary skills learnt and food eaten seems appropriate.

It all started in May, and my weeks ‘vacation’ to Masseria Montenapoleone in Puglia, Southern Italy. Learning to cook with a local traditional Mama, on an Organic Farm, loads of new skills and techniques were learnt, including how to create Orcchiette by hand, NO pasta machine in site.

This was followed by Strascinate, Braciole, Foccacia, Risotto & Polpettie di Carne, the week flew by but much was learnt about how to get the best from simple ingredients.

I have always been a bit of a foodie, but the week in Italy only encouraged me to be more adventurous and experiment with new tastes, flavours and recipes. You can find the start of the original posting here http://wp.me/p3LgUf-r

June, July and August was influenced by a number of chefs, the awesome Bethany Kehdy, Yotam Ottolenghi, Tomasina Miers and William Harcourt-Cooze to name a few! The direction of travel was mainly the Middle East and South America.

One of my favourite dishes was the one above, care of Bethany, Aubergine Veal and Yoghurt Crumble and was served with Bejewelled Rice.

The Middle Eastern Chicken on Flatbread with Fattoush was also a delicious venture into the Middle East, a truly delightful meal.

The next venture was Spain, care of Omar Allibhoy and his book, ‘The Tapas Revolution’. Various dished were prepared including Pinchos, Tortilla, Braised Pork Cheeks, Mackerel Escabeche and Padron Peppers.

During 2013 I started a new job and it became a bit of an excuse to try some baking, cakes at team meetings became quite popular! There were a couple of particular favourites, but the one that seemed to create the greatest impact was my variation on a Chocolate Brownie, but layered with Fresh Raspberries.

This is before the final layer of cake mix was put over the top. Despite it seeming to weigh quite heavy, it was extremely light, thanks to the Balloon Whisk attachment on the Kenwood Chef which was used to whip the cake mix to a frenzy.

On the dessert and pie front practise and guidance from Richard Bertinet’s book ‘Pastry’, enabled the delivery of some classic dishes such as the Frangipane and Apple Tart above, and the Chicken Pie below!

I have only made Rough Puff Pastry once, so the first attempt at proper Puff Pastry, whilst time consuming was well worth it, the results were awesome (even if I say so myself!). The Pie which was made from scratch was the best I have ever made, and I will be repeating the exercise sometime in 2014, but with a different filling.

After a fantastic meal in a Thai Restaurant on business, I was keen to recreate a particular favourite dish of mine, Massamam Curry. Having an Oriental Store no more than 45 minutes away enabled authentic and fresh ingredients to be sourced and the flavours were truly delicious.

Then we ventured to Pakistan, I was booked on a course with the amazing cook Sumayya Jamil and learnt some more skills around making Massala’s and got to cook a genuine Biryani from scratch (amongst other amazing dishes). I really recommend her courses, SJ has a breadth of knowledge passed down the family, and its a really great way to learn new skills, and get to better understand a lesser known cuisine.

So my whistle stop tour of the year is complete, food inspirations in no particular order from Bethany Kehdy, Ren Behan, Yotam Otolenghi, Richard Bertinet, Maria Elia, Rachel Khoo, Omar Allibhoy, Stephane Renaud, Sumayya Jamil and many others, with various visits to restaurants has inspired me to continue the adventure.

It goes without saying that my foodie adventure is only possible thanks to some fantastic suppliers, Caseys Farm Shop where the protein comes from, Riverfords for Organic Fruit & Veg, the BEST Spices and specialist products like Freekeh and Mograbieh, from Steenbergs and Ottolenghi’s online stores.

Here’s to more foodie life in 2014, thanks for following.

L8ers

Kookaburra Almonds & Tart! (Dessert Recipe Challenge No. 3)

Posted on December 17, 2013 by julianrolfe

One of the fantastic teams I support at work clubbed together and gave me £100 in John Lewis vouchers as a thank-you last week, they know I like cooking but were not sure what to get. I have now added some baking stuff to my cooking cupboard and was inspired to try some more recipes ready for the Christmas break over the weekend.

Richard Bertinet is one of my french food heroes, along with Stephane Renaud, the Roux’s, Daniel Galmiche and Raymond Blanc. A while back I got hold of Stephanes’ book ‘Pastry’, and thought it was about time I had a go at re-creating one of the recipes and attempting to improve my pastry skills, which are at best lacking in finesse. You can order the book HERE.

This fine volume has over 50 recipes, but more importantly some hints and tips on how to get the best from your pastry by resting, cooling etc. Thumbing through the pages I found several ideas to inspire an adaption, Sweet Pastry Amandine & Frangipane Mince Pies.

My version of this tart was to include Caramelised Apples, Sultanas, Ginger, Chopped Hazlenuts and Allspice as a base layer, with the ‘Frangipane’ as a topping.

When doing some research on Frangipane there is also a reference known as frangipani, a Plumeria tree as in John Vanderslice‘s song Kookaburra, hence the title of this post.

So onto the baking, the recipe list is quite simple with only a few ingredients needed to create a delicious and impressive dessert.

For the Pastry I used the following quantities;

125 grms unsalted Butter
100 grms icing Sugar
250 grms plain Flour
zest 1/2 Lemon
2 Eggs and 1 Egg Yolk
Pinch Salt

Following the process in the book, the pastry was prepared in stages, crumbing, bringing together gentle kneading and resting.

A fluted loose bottom tin was buttered and lined with the pastry once rested and blind baked at 165 deg (fan), I used my newly acquired oven thermometer to check the temperature and followed one of Richards tips, you will have to buy the book to find out what the tip is! It took approximately 25 mins to get the pastry to the dry stage, and a further 15 with the baking parchment and ceramic beans removed and brushing the base with egg wash to create a seal.

The first filling was going to be Caramelised Apples, for this I took 4 – 5 Braeburn’s, cored, peeled and put them in some Lemon juice to stop them going brown, and added about 2 Tbs Kirsch, a teaspoon each of Ginger and Allspice. They were then fried in unsalted butter and liberally sprinkled with Vanilla infused Castor Sugar, you can see the result above. I added a small amount of cracked Black Pepper to gives the Apples some ‘Edge’!

The Frangipane cream comprised the following Ingredients;

200 grms Castor Sugar
200 grms Ground Almonds
200 grms unsalted Butter
40 grms Plain Flour
2 Eggs
2 Tbs Almond Liquor

Soften the butter and cream with the sugar until pale, fold in the Almonds and Flour then add the Eggs and Liquor mixing well. Before adding this to the Apples, I added a further texture of chopped Hazlenuts and Sultanas, and then topped the Frangipane with flakes Almonds, you can see the Tart before cooking in the picture above.

After 20 – 25 minutes in a 165 deg (fan) this was the result, a lovely smell filled in the Kitchen. So there you have my dessert recipe challenge No. 3, with No.4 as work in progress but here is a sneak preview of my prototype home made Jaffa Cake Dessert!

#getcooking,

L8ers……..

Julian Rolfe

My Foodie Life

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