Mid September and second crop of Figs!

The figs this year have been amazing!. The first crop was over very quickly, but they were large and thousands of them appeared very quickly. So much so that we couldn't get rid of them all, however many we tried to give away!!! So I ended up making jelly! Yes.... jelly not jam. I'm not a great lover of the seeds in figs, so I wanted a jam with just the flavours of the fig! I looked up various recipes, and decided to use Constance Spry's recipe ... the method 1 where no water is used. 'This is more extravagant but results in a better and finer jelly', she says, and as we had so many figs we decided to do just that!!

Method 1. For this the fruit is put in to a vessel and this is then set in a pan of water. The surrounding water is allowed to boil and the warmth causes the fruit in the inner vessel to render its juice. The fruit should be mashed a little from time to time. It is turned in to a jelly bag and allowed to drain overnight.

We then discussed why we had to use sugar.... and again as we had so many figs we decided to experiment..... and amazingly made a great jelly (not overly firm) without using sugar. We left the figs over night in the jelly bag, and the juice that came out was actually solidifying before we did anything else to it. We heated the juice for a few minutes, and had varying degrees of success. Some became jelly, but the juice that didn't really set became a wonderful coulis to drizzle over ice-cream and various desserts. Yum!!

So we're just about to attack the second crop of figs, before Caline (the labrador) eats them all!! They are smaller, but still plenty of them, and then we'll be deciding what to do with the plethora of almonds, and then perhaps harvest the olives unless we decide to leave them for oil this year!! It's a busy life at Domaine La Veronique!!   

Well I'm still humming (see my last post!!) and I'm still talking about the weather....as are the majority of people!! The lady in the papeterie on Sunday was joking with me that it was like English weather, and the guy in the boulangerie was complaining it was too damp for his dough to rise!! That was probably just an excuse for his bread being under-cooked this week, but never mind!!We'd hoped that this last weekend our Diners Club guests could have eaten outside for a change. But no... we lit the fire to keep everything cosy and warm. We had some American agents for lunch on Saturday.... and it rained and rained!! They still seemed to like La Véronique, so hopefully will send many guests our way... so 'hey ho'!! Someday soon the sun will arrive and stay for a while. And in the meantime we'll think about food!!

We launched a 'members only' Diners Club at the end of January and it seems to have become very popular. We're fully booked for this weekend and we have several other bookings for future weeks. That's before we even publish the menu!! I don't know why I'm surprised really. Peter is such a good chef and Domaine La Véronique is such a special place people are bound to like it!! I hope it continues. Here's the menu we served this last weekend. Let's think about asparagus and Spring!!

Amuse Bouche

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Asparagus with Foaming Hollandaise, Quail Egg and Parmesan Crisp

OR

Smoked Trout & Beetroot ‘Trifle' with Avocado Custard

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Escalope of Veal with a Tagliatelle of Carrot and Courgette

With a Muscat and Veal Sauce

OR

Confit of Guinea Fowl on a bed of De Puy Lentils and Sautéed Potatoes

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A Selection of Three Cheeses

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Crème de Müre Jelly with Blackberry Ice-cream

OR

Bitter Chocolate Mousse with Ginger Crunch and Cappuccino Foam

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Coffee/Tea and Chocolates

I'm humming that the summer which is coming will be fun!!

For some reason I've been reminded of the poem (or hum!) called 'Noise' by Pooh. It has always conjured up Spring for me. Those early days when you realise winter has gone and everything is on the move towards Spring and Summer. But for some reason this year the Spring is not springing, and I haven't yet heard the Nightingale singing.... which he did in mid March last year. Wet weather here, and temperatures below zero in England!! What's happening? We had a lovely warm day yesterday, and then today it's turned wet and cold again. However much I love to sit in front of a cosy fire, I'm starting to feel the need for sunny days and fresh air! 

Spring might not have started but our season has. We've just finished our second week with two ladies from North Carolina who came for a six day cooking school. The weather was pretty awful for them, but with a lot of time in the kitchen it didn't really seem to matter, although we had a rather wet and windy trip to Carcassonne!! We did however manage to sit outside a café for a 'grande crème' at the street market in Pèzenas and in the main square at Narbonne... so not all bad!!

One of the recipes that always impresses our guests, and which is easy to do, is Peter's baked red peppers stuffed with feta and mint. It has a Moroccan influence and reminds me of summer lunches on the terrace with a chilled bottle of rosé!! So here's the recipe, and like Pooh, I'll carry on humming and hoping that 'the cuckoo will be cucking and ooing' very soon!! Enjoy!!

RED PEPPER WITH FETA AND MINT

Red Peppers halved horizontally

250g Feta

20g Mint

2 onions, finely sliced and chopped

50g pinenuts – toasted

Olive oil
Black pepper

1) Pour 3 tablespoons of olive oil in to a baking tin, and place the halved peppers so they sit on their skins.
2) In a food processor mix feta and mint.
3) In a frying pan sauté onions in a little olive oil until soft.
4) Allow onions to cool.
5) In a bowl mix the the cheese mixture with the onions and pine-nuts.

6) Fill the peppers with the mixture and bake for about 1 hour in a preheated oven 200ºC
7) Serve with the residue olive oil and mint sprigs.

Sunrise - looking towards St Christophe

It started snowing yesterday afternoon here at Domaine La Véronique! Not unusual for England at this time of year.... but for the South of France... pretty rare!!!! We've seen snow in the Languedoc perhaps three times in the 15 years we've been here. We woke up this morning to a winter wonderland... a wonderful sunrise... and now beautiful blue skies, and a temperature of  -4°.

Looking south from Veronique

So Peter has just lit the fire and is now in the middle of making his wonderful take on minestrone soup, which will keep us warm and full for a wintry walk this afternoon with our dog, Caline. Not the  'gourmet cooking' you'd expect at our cooking school, but extremely tasty and good winter fayre.

Sunrise over the boulodrome!

Not quite sunbathing weather at Domaine La Veronique!!

INGREDIENTS:-
Smoked lardons (chopped bacon)
Onions
Potatoes - diced
Garlic - finely chopped
Red Pepper - diced
Carrot - diced
Celery - diced
Tinned Haricot Blanc or Lingot beans
Pasta
Tinned plum tomatos
Tomato purée
Harissa
Homemade ham stock
Olive oil
Oregano
Salt and Pepper
Grated Parmesan Cheese
METHOD:-
Heat the olive oil. Cook the lardons until coloured but not crispy. Add all vegetables (except the tomatos and Haricot) and the oregano and stir for 15 minutes on a low heat. Add tomatos, purée, harissa and stock and bring to the boil. Stir and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the pasta and beans, and continue cooking until the pasta is cooked. Serve with a sprinkle of Parmesan.

A Happy New Year to everyone, from Domaine La Véronique!

Christmas is over, we’re in to 2013 and the cold weather has arrived. It is sunny here today, but the wind is whistling with that feel of snow off the mountains. We can’t complain though as only a week ago we were sitting out on the terrace having aperitifs before lunch The sun is forecast for the next week so we might manage it again if the wind dies down!! Just before Christmas, we were sitting outside, this time having a cup of tea and some homemade gingerbread, when suddenly a pheasant dropped from the sky!... literally dropped… and fell in to one of the fig trees! (No we don’t have any pear trees I’m afraid and it was a pheasant not a partridge!!). Obviously there was something wrong, so Caline, our dog, went to investigate, neatly bringing the pheasant to Peter’s feet and dropping it. She was very pleased with herself. Sadly she hadn’t quite finished the pheasant off, so Peter had to do the duties!! Peter decided to hang the bird for a couple of days, and then he plucked it etc. finding that it had in fact been shot. Strangely we hadn’t heard gunfire when the bird plummeted from the sky, but as it’s hunting season here in the Languedoc we presumed that's what had happened. So all that was then needed was for Peter to do his gourmet magic and to cook the pheasant! It was delicious, so maybe we'll add the recipe to the cooking school menus!! Anyway, we thought you might like the recipe just in case a pheasant suddenly falls at your feet!!

Ingredients

1 pheasant – plucked and drawn!

1 large red onion – finely sliced

1 carrot – diced

1 stick of celery - diced

100g finely diced smoked bacon

100g button mushrooms – quartered

50g unsalted butter

Large sprig of thyme

1 bay leaf

Salt and black pepper

200ml oz Red Wine

150fl concentrated chicken or game stock

Method

1) Heat the butter in a casserole dish and brown the pheasant on both sides

2) Season with salt and pepper

3) Remove the bird from the casserole and set to one side, placing a sprig of thyme and bay leaf in the cavity of the bird

4) Sauté bacon in the casserole until brown

5) Add onions, carrot, celery, and sauté for two minutes

6) Add red wine and reduce by a third

7) Add stock and reduce by a third

8) Place the pheasant back in to the casserole, cover with tin foil and a lid, and cook in the oven preheated at 170°. Baste with the juices every 10 minutes. It should take a 45 minutes to cook, but check by pricking the thigh of the pheasant with a fork. The juices should run clear.

9) Remove the pheasant from the casserole and place on a carving board. Cover with foil and allow to sit whilst you finish the sauce.

10) Add a dessertspoon of redcurrant jelly to the casserole and reduce sauce to a pouring consistency.

11) Adjust seasoning.

12) Carve the pheasant, and serve, dressing with the sauce and a small piece of thyme. Serve with fried matchstick potatoes and a green vegetable such as broccoli. 

ENJOY!