Eh, a jam made from meat?

So a few months ago I became aware of the existance of something called Bacon Jam, via twitter. Lots of Irish food fans were tweeting about some kind of new product they’d come across and about how great it was. Made by an artisan sausage producer called Ed Hicks, Bacon Jam was making some waves amongst hardcore foodies with one person going as far as describing it as a unique taste, a kind of Irish fois gras. I looked up Hick’s website and it turns out that his factory shop where he produces a wide range of flavoured gourmet sausages is quite close to where I live, so I thought I’d call in and see what the fuss was about.

Ed is a really nice guy – I’d never met him, but he went out of his way to accomodate me. When I called to his ‘shop’ – it’s not really a shop, more the backdoor of a small industrial unit – it was closed but his van was parked outside. I rang the number on the van and the man himself came down to let me in. He showed me around, charged me less than he should have for a bag of products and I left with some free freshly smoked sausage that he took out of the smoker to hand to me – the freshest smoked sausage you could ever get! (And it was lovely. I ate it in the car on the way to a business meeting. I’m sure I probably smelled vaguely of wood smoke for the rest of the day!)

So back to the jam. First of all, there is precedant for the idea – it’s been made in the US for several years, but I’d never come across it and certainly never seen it for sale. Ed explained that it’s a rare enough food product, in that it hits all five taste senses – sweet, sour, salty, hot and umami.

As you can see from the pic of the back of the jar, it has some interesting ingredients, and while the idea seems and sounds strange, it tastes amazing. Spread over toast with a poached egg on top and some strong coffee, it’s a real weekend treat. You can get it directly from Ed, or from any of the farmers markets he sells at. In addition, he told me that he’s currently working on a distribution deal to get it more widely stocked so if you see it, grab it. It’s a winner.

What makes a fantastic menu?

I won’t be making a habit of this, but a recent conversation with a chef reminded me of these menus, and to my surprise, I still have them. I thought people might be interested in seeing them. Apologies for the crappy photography, but if you’re interested you can click the images to enlarge and read them.

And particularly impressive, this is the vegetarian tasting menu. Not many three michelin starred restaurants will offer choice like this, and it’s a real shame. This is the mark of a really smart chef and a flexible kitchen. It takes a lot of creativity to be able to offer menus like this – it’s easier to stick to the old reliables. Interestingly, this isn’t a true vegetarian menu – although it’s easy to adapt it. It says something about Keller that he is willing to make vegetables the star of one half of his tasting menu.

Myself and my wife visited The French Laundy in 2007 – it’s amazing how time flies, four years ago already! – and it was a sublime experience. If you can get there, do. Anyone interested in food owes it to themselves to try to get there at least once in their life. It is pricey, but hey, if you can save up why not. For the record, I was able to go because of a lucky day at the bookies on the result of the General Election in 2007.

Creativity in the kitchen

I’m very lucky, and I know it. As part of my job, I get to visit the kind of restaurants where motivated, interested and creative chefs are doing more than just cooking for a pay check. I also get to travel a fair bit, and enjoy saving up and visiting restaurants that have a reputation for doing interesting things.

Despite this, I don’t write restaurant reviews and won’t be posting reviews of that kind on this blog, for the simple reason that I’m not a restaurant critic and prefer writing about food rather than commenting on it.

(I also have an idea of what goes into preparing food commercially at a high quality level, and know the soul destroying amount of work that goes into it. There are very few good restaurant critics out there – anyone can say “I like that” or “I don’t like that” but saying why is a different matter. Popular critics are often those that write well, but you need a lot more knowledge to be able to judge high level cooking against its goals. Anyway, that’s probably a good topic for another blog entry.)

It’s always interesting to see a good chef challenge themselves to do something interesting. I’ve had lots of interesting meals lately, cooked by lots of very talented chefs, but just wanted to take a second to highlight a few of the really interesting and different dishes I’ve come across. I’ve heard it said that to truly invent a new dish, a chef would need to invent new ingredients – it’s possible that these are not new ideas and are well known somewhere on the planet, but they’re new to me, which is why I’m blogging about them.

First up is Kwanghi Chan’s scallop with pea and chili puree and pickled Kohlrabi. A really nice summery way to present a scallop. Really interesting, really tasty and the kind of dish that leaves you wanting more. So an ideal starter or amuse bouche. Kwanghi is cooking out of the Ice House in Ballina, County Mayo.

Second up is Gary O’Hanlon’s Beef Cheek Burger.

A kind of amuse bouche, it’s made with freshly baked bread, slow cooked aged beef cheek, green heritage tomato, some green leaves and wasabi flavoured home-made mayonnaise. Absolutely stunning dish. Small but perfectly formed, it has two good bites in it, but leaves you wanting more. Gary served this recently at his restaurant in Viewmount House in Longford, and if you can get him to cook it, it’s worth travelling for.

Next up is Fred Cordonnier’s cauliflower and caviar.

Again, maybe it’s a classic somewhere else, but this is a new one on me. A layer of caviar served on top of some absolutely stunning cauliflower puree, with some gold leaf on top. A kind of high class crème brulee. Very decadant. Served in a small portion as a canapé, this is a really impressive dish. Served by Fred at Ballyfin House in Laois.

Fourth is Sunil Ghai’s spiced scallop served with egg yolk tempura.

Refined Indian food is hard to find in Ireland, and Sunil is really pushing things at Ananda. This amuse bouche is really interesting and works really well. A real treat, and it’s impressive that he’s figured out how to tempura an egg yolk without cooking it hard. Served by Sunil at Ananda in Dundrum, Dublin.

Recipe: Pomme fondant/ fondant potatoes

So this is something I’ve only really started making quite recently, but it turned out so spectacularly well that I’ve been unable to resist telling people about it. Many of them (Hi Matt!) have subsequently asked me to post up a recipe, so here we go.

Pomme fondant is, put plainly, the nicest way that exists to eat potatoes.

I know these are brave words – particuarly for an Irishman, as this is after all the spiritual home of the potato – but like all good Irishmen I love spuds and have tried them pretty much every way they come – chipped, thrice-fried, baked, roast, polenta-ed, mashed, with truffle, duchessed and finally, in a fondant. This is, hands down, the winning method.

You start with a decent quality firm-fleshed potato – you can’t use floury breeds here as they will just disintegrate in cooking – which should be peeled, topped and tailed and then cut into cylinders of equal size. This is important, as they won’t cook evenly otherwise. Melt plenty of butter in a good nonstick frying pan and fry your raw potatoes for around three minutes each side at a medium heat. You’re not trying to cook them here, just get a nice colour going on the flat surfaces. When they’re nicely golden, add a decent sprig of thyme a large clove of garlic, halved but left in the skin, and get the heat right up.

Next, get the heat really high and add enough chicken stock to just cover the potatoes. It should bubble and foam, and start to emit the most amazing smells.

From here, keep the heat high and reduce the stock right down to a glaze. This should take around 15 minutes, maybe a bit longer depending on the potato, and as it happens, the potatoes should be cooked throughout.

Ideally, you time things so that when your potatoes are perfectly cooked, the stock is reduced to just the right consistency to serve.

That’s it, they’re done.The taste is phenomenal. Really. They don’t taste particularly of the stock, instead you should have incredibly savoury potatoes that just taste unctious. You have to try it. One word of caution – use the best stock you can get – remember, the quality of the finished dish will be directly related to the quality of the raw ingredients you start with.

Obviously this isn’t a very healthy recipe, but it is a great method to have up your sleeve that goes well with maybe a steak and some wilted spinach, or with any other hearty wintery formal dish. It uses a lot of butter, but that’s not a problem as long as you’re not eating it every day. This is one for a special occasion.

Strictly speaking, my method for pomme fondant is slightly different to the recognised ‘classic’ method, but it works really well, and is close enough that I think it’s okay to call it by the same name. The bible on such matters is undoubtedly the Larousse Gastronique, by Prosper Montane and he gives two methods for pomme fondant, including one very close to mine. It suggests the following:

“Peel some potatoes and trim them to the shape of small eggs. Fry gently in butter for 5 minutes, then drain. Add more butter, cover and finish cooking in a preheated oven, add 4 tablespoons of white stock and leave until they have absorbed the stock.”

So, close enough. Try it out and see what you think. Meanwhile, while writing this blog up, I googled the term ‘pomme fondant’ to see what’s out there on the net, and came across the following entertaining clip.

Does the name refer to something different in America? Certainly it seems to – here’s one that uses mashed seasoned potato, baked in an oven. It actually sounds good, but it’s not pomme fondant in my opinion.

Upcoming El Bulli documentary

Got sent a link to this yesterday – it looks very interesting.

El Bulli is set to close this year, to be reinvented as a culinary academy. It’s an interesting move, and consistent with the type of thinking that Ferran Adria has displayed over the years at his restaurant. It will be very interesting to see how this development pans out.

The French Laundry

While having my lunch today and on a whim, I put the words ‘French Laundry’ into youtube to see what would come up. To my delight, someone has posted clips from an episode of Tony Bourdain’s Cook’s Tour featuring a visit to this restaurant.

For those that don’t know (and unless you’re a shameless foodie, there’s no reason why you would know) the French Laundry is a restaurant located in the town of Yountville in Napa Valley, California. Run by Thomas Keller, it’s renowned for being one of if not actually the best restaurant in the world. There are contenders to that title, but at the level these kind of places operate, the criteria for deciding pole position are kind of meaningless – we’re talking about degrees of opulence and luxury rather than what’s on the actual plate.

Thomas Keller is the head chef and genius behind the place, and I’ve had the privilege to eat in a couple of his restaurants over the years (as well as Tony Bourdain’s Les Halles in New York – hey Chris, how’s it going? – which was really good in a different way ) as well as a number of other restaurants that hold one, two and three Michelin stars.

Any restaurant that holds a star is working at a serious level of professionalism and creativity, but for my money, Thomas Keller is the most exciting chef I’ve ever come across. Not only are his restaurants really special places, but his cook books are also head and shoulders above the competition.

To eat in the French Laundry is to experience the elevation of food and the sensory experience of eating to a true art form. I was lucky enough to go for dinner there a few years ago and the memory is a defining one for me. It was simply stunning, and going back there one day is quite high on my list of ambitions. But at the same time, I can’t help but feel that a repeat experience might disappoint, compared to how amazing the first time was. Maybe it’s better left as a perfect memory?

Anyway, Bourdain has captured pretty accurately my experience of eating in this establishment, the sense of wonder and playfulness and sheer impressiveness of the whole exercise. Give his show a watch, to get an insight into how things work at this level of artistic expression.

Often there is an element of smoke and mirrors about fine dining at this level (and at this price tag) but my opinion is that Keller on a good day is worth every dollar and cent he charges and more. I left his establishment feeling that the experience offered the most astonishing value – it cost a fortune but was worth every cent to me. Out of interest, just a minute ago I had a look on trip advisor to see if there were any recent reviews, and there are hundreds. One caught my eye – the person who wrote it said that the experience was very impressive, but he also suggested that The French Laundry could lose one of its Michelin stars, based on his experience of dining there. In particular, he levels the following accusations at the staff:

“In general all courses tended to be a little too cold when served. There seemed to be something going wrong between the kitchen and the waiters – their relation was not super sharp. For one course in particular we even had to wait, for which the headwaiter apologized – and when it finally arrived it was too cold.”

Fair enough. Temperature is something of a subjective issue – too hot to some people is just right to others. This is probably fair comment.

“We asked for sparkling water but got regular water instead.”

Okay . . . hardly a crime against humanity, but then people expect a lot at a three star restaurant.

“We asked for a list of the wines that we had tasted – we never got it in the end and had to ask for it again.”

Again, is this really an issue? Hmm.

“In the restroom there was a nick in the toilet seat.”

There you have it – that’s the kind of standard chefs running restaurants at this level are held to.

There will be a certain type of person who will look at the whole idea of Michelin star cooking and rightly feel a sense of outrage that people spend so much money on what is essentially just food. And of course, they’re right. But when you experience the senses played with the way these guys can do it, then you’re eyes can be opened. Is it worth the money? I think so, and eating in these kinds of restaurants isn’t something I do very often – once or twice a year if I’m lucky and can save up to be able to afford it.

(I have had disappointments – The Waterside Inn in the UK is another three star establishment and that was a complete letdown, but perhaps that’s a subject for another blog entry.)

In other art forms, people don’t bat an eyelid at the prices pieces of sculpture or paintings command, and to me, it’s obvious that food at this level is an art form as well, and guys like Keller who are at the top of their game have much more in common with artists than they do with cooks. I suspect they might argue with that comparison, but that’s the way it seems to me.

Recipe: Salsiccia e Lenticchie (Sausage and lentils)

So here’s the first of my recipes – a variation of the Italian class Salsiccia e Lenticchie, otherwise known as Sausage and lentils.

The first thing to say about this is that it tastes much better than it looks! This is a recipe that is traditionally served on New Year’s Eve at midnight as the New Year is rung in. I first had it in Rome on New Year’s Eve in maybe 2002 or 2003. Can’t quite remember now, but that’s not important. Myself and my wife enjoyed a nine or ten course meal in a low key restaurant, complete with wines and champagne. At the end of the night, as the count down to midnight was sounded around Trastevere, and long after desert was served, the kitchen produced steaming bowls of Salsiccia e Lenticchie.

This recipe is my adaption for the original. It’s pretty authentic, but the big differentiator will be the quality of sausage you use, whether it’s Italian or not – I don’t think it matters massively as long as they are good quality properly made sausages. The dish will be as good as the sausages you use. It’s well worth a try- it’s one of those recipes that’s extremely simple and yet tastes absolutely amazing. It doesn’t look terribly pretty in the bowl, but you have to taste it to get it. It’s cheap as chips and makes a great mid-week treat. Enjoy!

First off, the ingredients.

Mise in Place

I don’t have measurements for this, as I don’t use any. You sort of have to judge quanities as you go. Above, you can see all the ingredients laid out. I use a basic Italian soffrito, or equal parts celery, onion and carrot diced relatively finely. In addition, I use garlic, sage, pork and leek sausages, and finally equal parts brown and puy lentils.

I’ve mentioned the importance of the quality of the sausages, so now a word on lentils. Some lentils require pre-soaking but neither puy nor brown lentils do, so you can make this straight away, pretty much from store cupboard ingredients. Brown lentils cook right down to give a lovely gravy-like, thickened consistency to the finished dish but puy lentils retain their shape as they’re cooked so that’s why I’m combining them.

With both kinds of lentils, it’s really important to sort through them to try to find any small stones – I’ve nearly chipped my teeth in the past, but it’s just part of the peril of using a natural ingredient. It’s a pain, but you have to do it. Should only take five minutes really.

Method

We’ll start with the sausages. You don’t have to fry them first, but it does give them better colour and flavour, so start by adding some decent quality extra virgin olive oil to a good sized pot and then add your finely chopped sage leaves. Leave these to sizzle and crackle for two or three seconds while you chop your sausages into chunks and then add them to the pot. They’ll cook out properly later on, so now you just want to give them some colour. After a minute or two, add your garlic – you don’t want it to burn but you do want to flavour the oil the sausages and sage are in. Toss the sausage chunks in the flavoured oil and don’t worry too much if it starts to stick. It’s fine as long as it doesn’t burn so you just need to keep the mixture moving.

I use a classic soffrito to make the flavour base for this dish, so next, I add carrot, celery and onion to the pot and give it a good mix around.

You should have something like this.

Next, add some neat stock – I use Knorr vegetable stock pots – and then then your lentils. Mix this thoroughly to combine all the flavours with the undiluted stock.

(You could also add alcohol here in the form of some white wine if you wanted, but I tend not to, and it’s not traditional to the best of my knowledge.)

All you need to do now is bring this up to a simmer and cook it for around 40 minutes. Keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t cook dry. If it gets too thick, just add more water and give it a good stir. You’re looking for a finished consistency which is a bit like a risotto in texture. Be careful to taste the liquid before you season it during cooking – some stocks are very salty and some sausages are also quite salty – it’s easy to ruin it by adding seasoning without tasting it first.

To serve

To finish, dress with some good quality extra virgin olive oil, some Maldon salt and and several twists of fresh cracked black pepper.