5 - Asparagus and Mozzarella Bake

http://www.stayinpiedmont.com/pages/new/Food/Primi.html#asparagus_bake

After travelling through France, Phileas Fogg continued his journey by train through Italy.  The main train route through Italy to Bari can be seen in this photo which is going to form the basis of the next few recipes.  Italy is divided into 20 regions, each having a capital.  Our first stop is Turin, in the Piedmont region.  Italians traditionally eat their meals over 3 or 4 courses.  It's a time for family and friends, meaning that the experience of eating together is extended and enjoyed.

Meal stage	Composition
Aperitivo	apéritif usually enjoyed as an appetizer before a large meal, may be: Campari, Cinzano,Prosecco, Aperol, Spritz, Vermouth.
Antipasto	literally "before (the) meal", hot or cold appetizers
Primo	"first course", usually consists of a hot dish like pasta, risotto, gnocchi, or soup.
Secondo	"second course", the main dish, usually fish or meat. Traditionally veal, pork and chicken are most commonly used, at least in the North, though beef has become more popular since World War II and wild game is found, particularly in Tuscany. Fish are generally caught locally.
Contorno	"side dish", may be a salad or cooked vegetables. A traditional menu features salad along with the main course.
Formaggio e frutta	"cheese and fruits", the first dessert. Local cheeses may be part of the Antipasto or Contornoas well.
Dolce	"sweet", such as cakes and cookies
Caffè	coffee
Digestivo	"digestives", liquors/liqueurs (grappa, amaro, limoncello, sambuca, nocino, sometimes referred to as ammazzacaffè, "coffee killer")

    (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_cuisine#Meal_structure)

Within each region that we visit I will cook a primo and a secondo course to experience more closely the tradition of food there.

Our primo course from the Piedmont region is an asparagus and mozzarella bake.  Very cheesy and vegetarian.  This recipes makes quite a lot.  To serve as a true primo, I would recommend serving it in individual tapas-style dishes for individuals at the table.

Let's start with the ingredients.  I bought two bundles of asparagus because I love it.  Having more of it in the recipes supports the layers better.  I used tinned tomatoes but, as you will read later, these were too watery and I would consider using fresh ones next time.

To prepare the asparagus I use a trick my mum taught me.  If you bend the asparagus it will naturally break at the point where the stalk gets too tough (this is the bit we don't want to eat).

I cooked the asparagus in unsalted water and sprinkled a very small amount of olive oil over them once drained.  You could use spray oil if you prefer.    Instead of buttering the tray, I sprayed with my low-cal spray oil and then laid the asparagus in so they were in lines next to each other.

When layering the ingredients, I tore the basil over the mozzarella and seasoned with pepper but no salt.  I chopped the tomatoes and poured these over but on reflection, I wish I'd drained them first as the finished dish was too watery.  If cooking this again I would definitely use fresh tomatoes instead.  To reduce the amount of fat in this dish I didn't add any parmesan in the middle as suggested. The second layer of asparagus lay the other way, 90 degrees from the bottom layer to add support to the dish and make is easier to cut later.  I finished the dish with a sprinkling of parmesan, no where near the amount the recipe suggested and popped into the oven.

I cooked mine for 30 minutes instead of 20 as the cheese wasn't as browned as I like.  This dish has the most wonderfully rich smell.  Really mouth-watering, especially if you like cheese.  Great served with bread for dipping into the melted cheese.  Serve piping hot at the table, a real dinner party treat for starters.

Buon appetito!

4 - French onion soup with homemade french bread

http://www.cookinfrance.com/recipe-french-onion-soup.html

http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/1488/french-bread.aspx

Our last French dish: traditional french onion soup with homemade french bread - yummy and warming. 

The messiest and most painful recipe so far (sunglasses a must unless you wear normal glasses!)


I cooked the soup in a large soup pot but if you don't have one of these just use a large saucepan.  You may need to reduce the amount of onions to 4 though as I struggled to get the onions into my large pot as is was.  I warmed the butter in the pot before adding the onions.  They went translucent within 5 minutes but for some reason they didn't brown as they caramelised.  I think that the amount of onions prevented this process and when I make this again I will fry the onions in batches before adding them to the large pot.  A quick taste test, however, confirmed that they were caramelising; the harshness of the onions had been replaced by sweetness.  I added chicken stock and let the soup simmer for 30 minutes as suggested in the recipe.  

While the soup was simmering I began making the bread.  This was my first time making bread and I have to say that I was a bit nervous about it.  I followed the instructions exactly and was pleasantly surprised by the way the dough transformed as I kneaded it.  I worked on the dining table as it is much lower than my kitchen work surface and this meant that I could put more of my weight into the kneading process which made it much easier.  

My house isn't particularly warm so I rested the dough at both stages in front of the fire which pleased my cat immensely!  

I couldn't buy dried polenta so simply brushed the bread with the egg mixture twice as recommended.  I can understand totally how baking bread sells houses - what a delicious smell!


Returning to the soup now, I needed to research making the beurre manier or manie as I didn't have a clue.  The following website has easy to follow steps and mine looked exactly the same - a success.
http://frenchfood.about.com/od/frenchcookingtechniques/ss/beurremanie_4.htm


I added the beurre manier in small pieces whilst stirring constantly.  As the link above suggested the butter melted evenly and prevented lumps of flour forming in the soup.  I will definitely use the technique in future soups I make.  I seasoned well with black pepper.


I broke off a chunk of bread and topped with generous amounts of grated gruyere cheese before grilling and serving in these pretty le creuset dishes.  

Bon appétit!

   

3 - Bouillabaisse fish stew

http://www.letscookfrench.com/recettes/recette.cfm?num_recette=53

So, we're still in France and this is a really French classic, bouillabaisse fish stew.  I've adapted the recipe  slightly to accommodate those without a pressure cooker so I did this in a casserole dish in the oven.  

To begin with let me go through some of the ingredients I bought for this dish.  I selected frozen basa fish fillets as they're low in fat and reasonably priced.  In my local supermarket there's always an offer on king prawns so I was able to buy two packs of jumbo king prawns for £5 which is a bargain, although I only used half a packet for this recipe and froze the rest.  The mussels were jarred.  I used red onions for sweetness and colour in addition to the leeks.

The base of the stew is a series of layers: potatoes, leeks/onions and tomatoes.  I'd recommend being consistent with the thickness of the vegetables to ensure they cook evenly.  I added 2/3 bottle of dry white wine and a pinch of saffron - very expensive and has a strong flavour so I think a pinch is enough.  The stew is supposed to have a soup-like consistency so I also added two cups of water along with some garlic and a chicken stock cube for added flavour.

I laid the basa fillets on top of the vegetables and sprinkled the rinsed mussels and prawns over the top.  The stock cube already added saltiness to the dish, so I added lots of freshly ground black pepper before putting a lid on the dish and putting it in my preheated oven (180 degrees) for 45 minutes.  After, I took the lid off and added a teaspoon of cornflour liquid to the dish and gave it a light stir.  I then returned the dish to the oven for a further 20 minutes.

I served the bouillabaisse on plates but it would work equally as well in soup bowls with some fresh french bread for dunking!


Bon appétit!

         

2 - Coq au Vin

http://raymondblanc.com/Portals/14/docs/Coq_au_Vin.pdf

http://palinstravels.co.uk/static-7

Phileas Fogg travels through France by rail on his way to Suez.  The map above shows the first part of the route taken by Michael Palin in his take on the famous journey in 1988.

After crossing the channel we are now in France.  My research takes on traditional French cuisine and, through my own knowledge of French food, I begin by looking up Coq au Vin which I have cooked before but never to a recipe.  My version is a regular chicken casserole with red wine so not really authentic at all rather a lazy take on the classic.  I decided to have a go at cooking Raymond Blanc's recipe on the recommendation of my friend whose fiancee is French and often tries out Raymond's food both from cook books and at our local Brasserie Blanc in Milton Keynes.  I've eaten here as well and enjoyed the experience and rich yet delicate flavours very much.

The dish is a fairly simple one but the chicken needs to be marinated for 24hours for the meat to take on the richness of flavour recommended by Raymond.  For this recipe I have used free-range chicken; I always do when cooking chicken and don't understand why people buy free-range eggs but not free-range chicken.  I appreciate that it's more expensive but the size and flavour of the chicken is excellent and well worth the extra pound or two.  I bought 'be good to yourself' smoked bacon to reduce the amount of fat in the recipe and didn't add any of the butter, oil or salt suggested.

I decided to use red onions to add sweetness and colour to the dish and chantenay baby carrots for looks more than anything.  I had some leftover large mushrooms which I sliced instead of using the baby ones.

Getting the marinade ready the night before cooking was a bit of pain as the kitchen smelt lovely and I knew that I wouldn't be enjoying the meal until the following evening.  I prepared the dish as per the recipe and added a free-range chicken stock cube for enhanced flavour as I was concerned that the dish may lack some depth without the butter and lardons.

The sauce needed to be thickened a little so I added some cornflour to create the rich gravy and served it with chunky fresh bread.  The result:  A hearty, warming Coq au Vin with incredibly rich flavours and depth.  Yummy and great for cosy evenings in when it's cold outside.

Bon appétit!

1 - Salmon Wellington

http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/641590#comments 

For those unfamiliar with the story of Phileas Fogg I will, dare I admit, paste synopses of the novel from wikipedia.  The story begins like this:

The story starts in London on October 2, 1872. Phileas Fogg is a rich English gentleman and bachelor living in solitude at Number 7 Savile Row, Burlington Gardens. Despite his wealth, which is £40,000 (equal to £2,648,577 today), Mr Fogg, whose countenance is described as "repose in action", lives a modest life with habits carried out with mathematical precision. Very little can be said about Mr. Fogg's social life other than that he is a member of the Reform Club. Having dismissed his former valet, James Forster, for bringing him shaving water at 84 °F (29 °C) instead of 86 °F (30 °C), Mr Fogg hires a Frenchman by the name of Jean Passepartout, who is about 30 years old, as a replacement.

Later, on that day, in the Reform Club, Fogg gets involved in an argument over an article in The Morning Chronicle, stating that with the opening of a new railway section in India, it is now possible to travel around the world in 80 days. He accepts a wager for £20,000 from his fellow club members, which he will receive if he makes it around the world in 80 days. Accompanied by Monsieur Passepartout, he leaves London by train at 8:45 P.M. on October 2, 1872, and thus is due back at the Reform Club at the same time 80 days later, on December 21.

So, we're in London.  I started surfing for traditional English recipes but was uninspired by many.  I had recently had a very good beef wellington at the Living Room in Milton Keynes and I wondered about the origins of the recipe.  Having researched this mighty dish I discovered that there are many stories about it and no hard evidence about it's name and origin however, many claim its' links to the Duke of Wellington and the following website links the dish to it being of English tradition:  http://recipewise.co.uk/beef-wellington-recipe  

I decided to use the wellington technique and came upon the following recipe for a filo salmon wellington: http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/641590#comments  which is fat conscious, attractive and relatively quick.  Please use the above hyperlink for the recipe and instructions.  

The supermarket had run out of watercress so I got lambs lettuce instead.  I couldn't get any fresh tarragon either so I bought the dried variety.  On reflection, I didn't need a whole bottle of white wine for the recipe, just a dash, but it certainly went well and I would recommend a crisp Italian white with this salmon dish.  

I bought Weightwatchers crème fraîche as it has 76 calories and 1.8g saturated fat compared with the reduced fat own brand version which has 169 calories and a massive 10.5g of saturated fat per 100ml - quite a difference!

I started by making the mushroom bit which was simple and smelt lovely while it was cooking.  I put the pan outside to speed up the cooling process before mixing in the crème fraîche.  I then unrolled the filo sheets and cut them in half giving me the 12 sheets that the recipes suggested.  One tip:  use spray oil to oil your work top before laying out the pastry or it will stick!  Mine stuck but I was able to use the broken sheet in-between two complete layers so it wasn't wasted.  I used fry-light olive oil spray throughout to cut down on calories plus it was easier and quicker than using oil and brush.  I left out the salt when seasoning the salmon.

I found that the film sheets didn't bunch together as I wanted so I used cocktail sticks to secure the parcels and these came out fine after baking and the parcels kept their shape perfectly.

The dressing required far too much oil for my liking so I added one teaspoon of oil and mixed in a tablespoon of the crème fraîche instead, adding a good squeeze of lemon juice as well and leftover mushroom sauce from the frying pan.

I did have to cover the parcels with foil as suggested after 15 minutes as they started to brown quickly. 

While the parcels were resting I cooked some peas and baby broad beans to serve with the dish and heated the plates.

The parcels looked so pretty when they came out; I would definitely serve this dish at a dinner party as they have the wow factor and taste delicious.  

I was surprised by the tarragon as the aniseed flavour was quite strong when I tasted the mushroom filling and the dressing during the process but it worked really well with the pastry and salmon in the end dish.  They were quite filling and the dish doesn't need any carbs although a hungry person might like some new pots with these or a chunk of bread.  I'm taking the two remaining parcels to work tomorrow but only have a microwave so not sure how their texture will bear up but the flavours will be the same and will surely be better than my usual lunch of soup-in-a-mug.

Well, that's my first recipe researched, cooked and discussed!  I hope you find the recipe yummy and my tips useful - let me know what you think.  I'll see you soon (assuming someone's actually reading this).

Enjoy your meal!  

  

   

First post...

So this is my first post on my first blog - scary, exciting...

I first watched Julie and Julia, a film adapted from a book about Julie Powell's food blog which details her experience of cooking her way through the cook book - Mastering the Art of French Cooking, a couple of years ago and loved it instantly.  The adventure and challenge of cooking for a blog interested me and I started to think about doing my own.  At the time I was in the middle of Masters in Education and knew that it might take over my life if I started it then but, nevertheless, started to consider recipe books and ideas that I might use as inspiration for my forthcoming project.

Last Summer I came across Jamie's Italian book in a charity shop in Ulverston, Cumbria and had planned to cook my way through it, blogging about it as I went.  However, having visited the restaurant recently in Milton Keynes and not liking the crunchy spag bol I have since decided against this idea.  More recently, I considered 1 year - 100 recipes but it's been done before.  So I had to think up something new.

I have decided on this idea as it enables me to explore and cook recipes that I haven't cooked before, it has a structure, this being the route around the world taken by Phileas Fogg, it will include flavours from a variety of countries and finally it allows me to adapt and share ideas and photos.

Where possible I aim to use recipes that have healthy choices.  I'm not guaranteeing that they'll be low-fat but I will cook them with my waist-line in mind so will use healthy alternatives if available and will limit quantities of salt and added fat as I go along.  I also aim to use online recipes so that hyperlinks can be included in my posts.  This will also give me an opportunity to explore the vast array of recipes out there instead of printed recipes books.

Saying that, I would like to add that I love inventing recipes and generally use my kitchen as a ready, steady, cook experience whereby I make something up using whatever I have in the kitchen.  For inspiration, I use, love and would highly recommend the following two books: How to cook without recipes and The flavour thesaurus.  Both of these books detail tried and trusted flavour combinations to support recipe-free cooking.

Having cooked without recipes for so long I have become used to cooking the same flavour combinations for over a decade and want to discover new ones.  The best way to do this seems to be to use recipes and hence this blog.

I haven't decided how many recipes i'll use from each country and don't want to dictate how everything will go here as this will restrict the exploration and excitement of it all so will just see how it works out.  I will, however, state that I will make this journey over the year and aim to return to the UK by the end of December 2012.  So with that in mind I better get exploring, cooking and eating...