After a wet, wet Spring the warm sun came out and ripened a bumper crop of cherries. There were easy pickings from Irene's tree which the birds had not spotted. She had an unusual method which involves sawing off large branches: pruning and harvesting in one.
Donning fine latex gloves to avoid hands like Lady Macbeth, I sat on the diving board to stone the haul. This made a tedious, mindless task more agreeable. When I'd finished I weighed the stoned fruit and made the mistake of following another foodie blogger's assertion that you could use just 75% equivalent weight in sugar. I had to reboil with the extra 25% to get even a soft French set (and that was with cracked stones and 2 lemons for added pectin). However after the second boiling, the resulting jam was superb.
Flushed with success I then made a batch of apricot which is rich, deep coloured and full-flavoured. Instead of lemons I used oranges and added a few apricot kernels. No messing this time - I added equal weights of sugar and fruit. I didn't precook the fruit as it is ripe, soft and sweet. An excellent set after 4 minutes boiling at temperature ("jam" on the sugar themometre).
I don't skim as I think it a waste and I don't add any butter. I tend to cook manageable batches of 1 - 2 kilos at a time. It's a lot less trouble, makes less mess and allows you to have a real variety of jams in the larder - next week I'll be making nectarine, peach and greengage! The recipe stays the same - equal weights of prepared fruit and sugar, layered in a big bowl, covered with a cloth and left a few hours, then cooked slowly together until the sugar has completely dissolved, the fruit is soft and a full rolling boil is reached. Boil 4 minutes and test for a set on cool dry saucer. Allow to stand a few minutes before potting in scrupulously clean, warm, dry jars (I stand mine on a newspaper-lined roasting tray in a slow oven - but if you time it right you can whip them directly from the dishwasher, still hot from the drying cycle!)
Or Mirande market mushrooms...ok, enough aliteration. Except I should add mmmmmmmm......they were delicious. Mirande market is wonderful from inside halles where people can have just half a table to flog a few herbs or jars of honey to the enormous cheese caravans or the groaning vegetables stalls. We spotted the man with the mousserons inside. He had lined his baskets with leaves and moss and carefully cleaned and trimmed each mushroom. Whilst he was weighing our 200g (at 30 euros a kilo I was being careful) an old lady came up to sniff. She held a mushroom to her nose and inhaled deeply. A wide satisfied smile told us she was impressed.
We had them for dinner, cooked simply in a little butter, green garlic and parsley. I added creme fraiche at the last minute and spooned them into choux puffs. We ate them on the terrace in the last of the warm sun with a glass of Rivesaltes.
The house is sold, we are packing up, it's time to go. We are off to the gourmet epicentre of France - Gascony. I will, next year, be running residential cooking classes - so watch this space. In the meantime there will be loads to do to get the place ready and a kitchen garden started. I'm sure we will find time to laze in the pool and gaze at the mountains too.
I hope for lots of fresh ideas for new recipes and am looking forward to the markets.
Amost Valentine's Day, when food of pink, red and purple comes centre stage. You could always go one further and make it heart shaped too. I did the heart shaped ravioli (above) as this month's recipe on the Soil Association's website http://www.whyorganic.org/healthy_recipeMonth.asp If you follow the link you'll see the gorgeous colour of the cooked ravioli hearts. In my book, Table of Content, I have another "cheesy" Valentine's Day recipe. This time it's red onions that give the colour on a heart-shaped tart.
Red Onion Flamiche
250g / 8oz plain flour
pinch salt
125g / 4oz soft butter
3 egg yolks (you can use the whites to make heart shaped meringues!?!)
50ml / 2fl oz milk
3 whole eggs
350g / 12oz cottage cheese
150ml / 5 fl oz creme fraiche
nutmeg
white pepper
2 large red onions
sesame oil
icing sugar
Sift the flour with the salt. Make a well in the centre. Cut the butter into small pieces. Place in the well with the yolks and milk. Mix well with the fingertips, drawing in the flour.Knead lightly then roll out to line a large heart-shaped tin or 25cm / 10in flan ring or dish. Chill well.
Preheat the oven to 220C / 425F / gas mk 7. Blitz the eggs, cottage cheese and creme fraiche in a food processor or liquidiser. Season well with plenty of nutmeg and white pepper. Pour into the pastry case. Bake until firm (about 20 - 30 minutes - it depends on the dimensions of your tin /dish).
Meanwhile, peel and slice the onions thinly. Arrange over the surface of the tart - You can make them look like Thirties end papers, by overlapping them. Drizzle with the sesame and dredge with icing sugar. Place under a hot grill to caramelise (or blow torch the surface). Serve.
(c) Sarah Beattie 2008
