Sucrine du Berry and Piranha: Fred's Newsletter: 24.11.20

"It’s a Beaujolais but also a Gamay, made with care and love by a one-man-band David Large, in limited numbers."

Good morning,

I hope you all had a good week and that you are managing to stay in a positive and happy mood. We had a good week last week. You all seem to enjoy l’escargot at home, and this is a very heartening. I would like to thank you all for your continued support and orders. Please keep sending emails and messages, they’re really appreciated.

This week I am cooking a cassoulet. Yes, I know I might upset a few chefs or those who pretend they “know it all” with the way I make it. For me, cassoulet is one of those dishes that you can tweak a little bit, using any meat that will work well with each other if cooked properly. On this occasion, I am using organic veal belly, Hebridean mutton and pork neck fillet. I’m also going to make Toulouse sausages. This will all be cooked with organic cannellini beans from Italy. There you go, tell me what you think next week.

I have welcomed some Sucrine du Berry into the kitchen. As a member of the Slow Food Chef Alliance I love to hear about ‘Ark of Taste’ produce, saved for future generations. Sucrine du Berry is a squash grown in France that started to make a come-back few years ago. In fact, it was almost ‘extinct’ in 1980. I will cook it with onions and the king of cheese – Beaufort! A fabulous combination that I know will be very tasty.

We missed the Beaujolais Nouveau last week. Yes, sadly we did. It’s normally celebrated on the third Thursday of November. I admit, it was a bit of a marketing ploy to put Beaujolais back on the map, but that was 40 years ago. Nowadays it’s mainly a mid-price wine hardly worth a detour, often accompanied by some tasteless supermarket cheese and rubbery charcuterie. Oops, I might receive a few disgruntled comments about that, but I’m not too bothered! Anyway, I tried a bottle of Piranha Gamay last week, brought in by my friend Philippe Larue of l’Art du Vin. It’s a Beaujolais but also a Gamay, made with care and love by a one-man-band David Large, in limited numbers. Basically everything I look for when choosing a product. I enjoyed it so much (with some cheese and saucisson of course), that I’ve added it to this week’s menu. I urge you to try this beautiful bottle of very tasty nectar with a selection of cheeses and charcuterie from my supermarket 🙂 Don’t be shy - enjoy Beaujolais in style and get those taste buds excited!

Moving on to this week’s starters. Eyemouth crab is back, and I plan to make enough portions to avoid disappointment. The terrine this week is a delicious wild duck and blueberry combination. A little gamey (not Gamay!). For a change, les escargots will be served with a bordelaise red wine sauce with lardons, and croutons. The velvet crab bisque remains as it’s our best-seller and I love it. So good with the grated cheese, rouille sauce and croutons just like our fish soup. Next week I am looking at buying lobsters and langoustines for a tasty soup too, and next week I'm aiming to have more seafood (and a tarte aux pommes 🤞).

This week’s casseroles include a cured pork shoulder blade rolled in Dijon mustard then cooked overnight in Riesling wine at a low temperature. It’s is an Alsatian dish called palette à la diable (diable meaning devil!). It’s tasty, and the flavour is subtle despite the name - definitely not fiery. The mustard helps to protect the meat from drying out.

There are two fish dishes to choose from this week. First, a rolled sole fillet cooked in a sauce made with fish stock, white wine, shallots and mushrooms. If I can't get hold of sole, I'll use plaice instead. I had to cook that dish to graduate as a chef in 1988, it was a challenge then, enjoyable now! And second, a salted cod brandade - a classic here at l’escargot bleu. We salt the cod ourselves then cook it with finely chopped onions, thyme and a good olive oil. It’s especially tasty when made with the finest and freshest fish (as this is). It’s an easy oven-baked dish at home, served with a green salad.

The beef, selected by Nigel at McCaskie Butchers, is feather blade of Longhorn reared at Gariongauth Farm. The paleron, a French cut from the centre of the shoulder, will be braised overnight at low temperature, like a Bourguignon, in a strong beef stock but without red wine. This will protect the natural beefy flavour. I think the sweet potatoes boulangère from the sides section of the menu will go very well with this dish.

For dessert this week we have some wonderful Concorde pears and the last of the Scottish blueberries married together again in a clafoutis. Rest assured, the crème caramel this week will feature vanilla. I am very sorry, and I apologise to everyone who got a crème caramel last week without vanilla. Mon dieu, that should never have happened, and it won't happen again.

I bought Spanish oranges as well to make a simple yet tasty orange salad in syrup, a lovely light dessert. Healthy and so full of flavour - simplicity at its best. And of course, our famous prunes à l’Armagnac are still there. Just to let you know that the ones we are serving now are one year old. The older the better.

I picked some creamy cheeses this week for a change: Coulomier, Brillat Savarin and Reblochon, all three at their peak.

The nemesis with Guayaquil chocolate is back, served with crème anglaise, it’s ideal for the gluten-free people. And this week, the brioche and butter pudding is with prâline and a few nibs of chocolate. Parfait!

This week, I’m writing all by myself, so no guest writer as I forgot to ask someone. Could it be you? If you feel you have a food-related message to share, please get in touch.

You may notice that I have refrained from mentioning the ongoing situation outside. It is heart-breaking and painful, but we have to remain vibrant. And on the plus side, Christmas is around the corner so it gives us something to look forward to.

À bientôt,

Fred and Betty