Red wine making in progress

Red wine making in progress

After 2 months maceration, extracting optimum colour and flavor from grape skin, it is time to work on the wine. 

Red wine making in progress

Grape seeds floated to the top and skin at the bottom, first is to siphon out the clear juice, then press out the last drop from the grape residue, into demijohn bottles, to wait for malolactic fermentation to further reduce acidity. 

Red wine making in progress

  

Red wine making in progress

The colour of the wine from Tannat grapes is deep dark ruby red, at the moment tasted slightly harsh but with rich body. 

Red wine making in progress

Apple fig pudding

Apple fig pudding

In Dave Goulson's new book The Garden Jungle, he started off each chapter with a recipe and this is one of them. Very similar to crumble but using frangipane (almond flour mixture) instead, and bake for a good 40 minutes. A simple difference and a long cooking normal to traditional English pudding, I am intrigued. I followed the recipe (adding dry figs) and notice that the long cooking helps to caramelise the sauce and give a richer flavor. 

Apple fig pudding

1. Peel and cut cooking green apple into chunks, cook with some figs (optional), a little water and honey until just soft.

2. Place in a shallow baking dish, top with frangipane mix (2 eggs, 100gm almond flour, 100gm butter and 30gm sugar).

3. Bake at 170˚C for 40 minutes.

Bergamot jam

bergamot ripe fruit

This is the first fruit harvested from my little bergamot tree, so happy to see the little green fruit grew big during summer and eventually turn yellow when cold weather arrived. 

bergamot flowers in spring

I have read so much about the fragrance of bergamot and that is being used in Earl Grey tea etc, it is great to have a first hand experience.

Well, my bergamot, when scratched releases a very pleasant citrus smell, that's all I would say. 

making bergamot jam

To make the jam in order to enjoy the bergamot longer, I first shaved off the zest in a thin strip then cut into fine strips. The thick white layer is quite bitter and I have to blanch it for a couple of minutes to reduce the bitterness. The flesh is like a grapefruit and taste similar too.

bergamot jam

1. Cut flesh and blanched white layer into small pieces, in a pan together with zest, add a little water to cover and sugar to sweeten.

2. Bring to boil, then cover with lid and let it cool down. Repeat 2 times, by then the skin should have released enough pectin to thicken, adjust sweetness.

Irish rack of lamb

baked rack of lamb

One of my favorite cut of lamb, and easily found in butcher shops in Ireland well prepared with the little bones scraped clean. There are so many sheep walking around in the field in Ireland, it must be the best meat to eat. In the 2 weeks stay in Ireland, I cooked 4 racks of lamb and find the size and flavor perfect.  The lamb is old enough to have rich red meat flavor and yet still tender even if slightly overcooked, very forgiving. 

 

raw rack of lamb

I simply rub salt and black pepper all over and season for half a day, bake at 180˚C for 30 minutes and rest for another 10 minutes, perfect pink.

Halibut, Ireland

Halibut fillet

This is a fish rarely seen in the French market, but common in the northern coasts, I had cooked them while traveling in Alaska, Iceland and now in Ireland.

It is a big fish, may be why rarely seen in local fish markets, this fillet is already 1kg. The fishmonger said that for him this is the best of white fish, with turbot being number 2. I have doubt about this as I like turbot very much, especially after tasting the excellent local one caught in Ireland.

baked halibut

I cook this halibut the same way, season with salt for half a day, bake at 180˚C for 15 minutes and rest for 5 minutes.  It is juicy, with jelly on the fin muscle and a thin layer of oil under the skin. However it lacks the waxy texture of turbot that is so unique.

Irish turbot

Irish turbot

Turbot is one of my favorite white fish, love the waxy texture and the juicy firm pieces of fin muscle along the 2 sides. I cook turbot regularly in France and Croatia whenever I see a wild one in the fish market, normally around 1kg size.   

While traveling in South Ireland, I saw turbot caught on the west coast of Ireland in the fish market, and sure have to buy it to taste it. 

Irish turbot fin muscles

It is an amazing experience, for a similar 1kg size turbot, it is thicker in the middle, the fin muscles are bigger and there is more jelly than what I used to have in France and Croatia. I need to investigate this more........

Naked bacon

An eye-catching slogan, back to how bacon used to be, real healthy food with meat and natural seasoning only. The same company also makes a series of naked sausages.

A super set lunch

Cherbourg ferry pier

Before boarding the ferry at Cherbourg, found a small restaurant Le Vauban nearby that opens on Sunday for lunch, great to consult the Michelin guide.

starter of mix shelfish

The set meal is only 24 euro, comes with amuse bouche, starter, main course and dessert, all are of decent size, good quality and well made. The chef is capable both in cuisine and pastry. 

main course with cod

main couse with slow braised belly pork

Starlings' migration

Starlings parked for the night

Right outside the hotel at Rennes is a small garden with many big  trees, in the evening millions of starlings perched on all the branches to stay the night. 

In the early morning when we open the window, the birds are waking up and obviously talking to each other to decide when to set off together. 

Starlings' migration

Eventually they all left together in one go, memorable scene.

Abalone

On the way north to Cherbourg, stayed a night at Rennes. Chosen to have dinner at Le Galopin, following Michelin guide advise and also it is right next to the hotel, handy when it is cold and wet outside. 

abalone

What a surprise to see abalone on the menu, the first time to have it in a French restaurant. It is simply deep fried for a short time, the edge is a bit tough but the centre tender, the chef knows what he is doing.

Cranes migration

For 2 weeks in end October to early November it was stormy, with strong wind and heavy downpour, uncommon in this period. Normally it is the cranes migration time and we could see them fly past above our house. This year because of the bad weather only manage to see one batch. 

cranes migration

However while driving north to the ferry port at Cherbourg, when weather clear up for a short period, we could see many groups of cranes flying past in front, what a scene. 

cranes migration

Pesto sauce for simple meal

Made pesto sauce during summer when there was a good crop of parsley. It is easy to use in making simple lunches, especially in cooler weather when there is the wish to eat hot carbohydrate food to keep warm.

Pesto with barley and cauliflower

Pesto with barley and cauliflower

Barley has a chewy texture and is my favorite grain.

1. Soak barley for an hour, bring to simmer in 2.5 times volume of water until soft, around 20 minutes, rest in the pot for another 15 minutes to fluff up.

2. Blanch cauliflower, cut into pieces, until soft.

3. Mix in pesto sauce, season with salt.

Pesto with parsnip and lamb's lettuce

Pesto with parsnip and lamb's lettuce

1. Cut parsnips into bite size pieces, blanch until soft.

2. Mix in pesto sauce and lamb's lettuce, season with salt.

Bake vegetable with lamb's lettuce

Bake vegetable with lamb's lettuce

An easy and filling winter dish, brightened with the colour of fresh lamb's lettuce and smoked paprika.

1. Cut vegetables into pieces, butternut squash, parsnip, cauliflower etc.

Bake vegetable before cooking

2. Season with salt, pepper, smoked paprika and olive oil, bake at 180˚C until soft, around 30 minutes.

3. Mix in lamb's lettuce just before serving.

Soybean starter

Soybean starter

Made this dish to serve to start off a dinner, presenting home grown soybean with ricotta.  Contrasting the texture and sweetness of soybean with the mild creaminess of ricotta, a little drizzle of olive oil and a semi-dried cherry tomato to brighten it up.

Baked cepes

 

After a few days of rain, cepes are popping up, not in my land, but in a distant neighbour's forest. 

cepes

Other then the usual cut into slices and sear in olive oil, I tried this baked method. Much easier to serve in a dinner gathering and less work. 

seared cepes

The result is actually better than seared method, the slightly browned outside and steam inside retains more cepes aroma when the dish is presented on the table. 

baked cepes

1. Cut away the bruised or eaten surfaces of the cepes, cut into similar size wedges.

2. Season with salt and oil, shake to cover well, bake at 190˚C until corners turn golden, around 30 minutes.

Baked nutty kale

baked nutty kale

I can still harvest some leaves from the kale plants in the garden regularly, they can withstand the cold wet weather.

kale

This dish is created in order to use up the left behind nut mix (frangipane) after making a pie, it is a different way to enjoy eating kale. 

nutty kale before bakine

1. Clean and tear kale into pieces, season with a little salt, mix to soften.

2. Mix with nut paste, equal volume of ground almond, butter, an egg and a big pinch of salt. Bake at 170˚C until golden, around 20 minutes.

Roast duck

Roast duck

As weather is cooling down fast, it is nice to stand in front of the barbecue to stay warm. 

duck

The spit roaster is turning a duck, seasoned with miso, soy sauce, brown sugar, 5 spices powder and dried mandarin peel inside, skin is rubbed with salt and picked with toothpick, dried on a rack in the fridge for 2 days. 

Roast duck

When duck is nearly cooked, brush diluted honey on the skin for flavor and faster browning.

Star vegetables of the year

pepper Lombardi

This year, pepper Lombardi, cherry tomato Pigeon's heart, black soybean and parsnip are the best performing vegetables. This judgment is based on being productive, not much work to look after, no pest and tasty.

parsnip

The bean of this late harvest black soybean from Japan is bigger  than green Edamame, and has more flavor and sweetness. 

black soybean

I have to harvest all as they are a bit over mature with the bean skin turning black. 

blanched black soybean

podded black soybean

I blanched them for 5 minutes, remove the pod and then the skin, naked beans are green. The beans are frozen for later use. 

naked black soybean

Oily mackerel

grilled mackerel

It is great to find big fat mackerel from northern Atlantic coast of France. Starting mid October to January is the best time to have it, being more oily because of the cooling down water temperature and not yet starting to bear eggs, as in early Spring.

I like to season it with salt a bit more than normal, keep in the fridge for at least a day to let the moisture out. Then grill on charcoal, fantastic flavor.