A gourmet treat!

I recently saw a review from Trip Adviser informing us of a restaurant in Brittany which had won the extraordinary accolade of being the second best restaurant in the world! I had to investigate further and on checking the restaurant called La Ville Blanche discovered that it was only ninety minutes drive away. It also held a Michelin star with its young chef Yvann Guglielmetti. 

So last Thursday we dined for lunch. The restaurant itself was bright and neutral. Our tables were well placed for social distancing and the front of house team were polite, courteous and informative.

We went for the Plaisir Menu dégustation with four glasses of paired wines for the price of €121 each.

Our appetiser was a sensational  original dish of lightly pickled  tomato with cucumber. It was one of the best dishes in fact! 

This was followed by a delicious seafood selection of langoustine, oysters and crab. One  oyster was cooked in buttermilk and served with crunchy roasted onions which slightly overwhelmed the oyster itself but I enjoyed the buttermilk combination with the warm oyster. 

Our next dish was turbot with stuffed (ratatouille) courgette flower along with smoked aubergine with tomato purée and turbot sauce reduction. A Loire Sauvignon from Quincy was paired which worked well. 

This was followed by a tasty foie gras and Camus artichoke served with polenta. It tasted great and surprisingly paired with an unsweetened Bourgogne Chardonnay which was delicious. 

Our main dish was a menunière fried sweetbread in a deluge of carrot. Unfortunately the carrot overwhelmed the flavours of this dish completely disguising the ginger, rhubarb and veal stock reduction contained within. 

This was followed by a nice cheeseboard. 

A delicious combination of garden fruits were served for dessert with a fromage blanc sorbet and crispy Breton gavotte. 

A refreshing Jurançon was paired which was great. 

Our second dessert was an almond soufflé with a lime and limoncello sorbet. It was, as it should be, light fluffy and absolutely delicious. 

We had our coffees in the garden. Appropriately served with a wonderful crispy Breton kouign-amann and a symphony of melon infused with lemon verbena tea. 

Our verdict 8 out of 10. We enjoyed our lunch but felt some of the dishes were lacking that wow factor. The addition of salt and pepper shakers on the tables would have helped. 

A summer cocktail- elderberry

Elderberry has many culinary uses ( my favorite is elderberry panna cotta) but can also be used to make delicious cocktails too. So it is well worth collecting the berries which come into season around August. Take care when collecting as they can make an indelible stain on your clothes and don’t eat them raw as they apparently contain a sugar producing cyanide which is made inactive once boiled!

Collecting the berries

Simply break the stems and remove the whole branch with berries into your large shopping bag. I find that 20 stems will make a litre of elderberry juice. Once home, use a fork to remove the berries into a bowl. Discard the stems. Wash with cold water. 

To make 1 litre of plain elderberry juice:

Ingredients 

Fresh elderberries from 20 stems washed.

Method

Add the elderberries to a large pan of water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes then allow to cool.

Using a muslin bag and pasta colander, carefully drain the juice from the boiled berries into another pan. Allow to cool and keep refrigerated. This is your elderberry gold juice which can be added to cocktails or used to enhance the colour and flavour of many culinary delights.

For the G&T elderberry cocktail you simply measure out in your glass as follows:

1 shot of gin

1 shot of elderberry juice

1 measure of tonic to fill the glass 

1 slice of lemon or two

3 Ice cubes 

Enjoy!! 

Ps To make elderberry cordial you follow the same method as above but when boiling the berries you add the same weight in sugar as well as 1 lemon. Then once cool you store in a sterilised bottle for up to six months. The cordial can be used for cocktails and culinary dishes too. 

To see the elderberry panna cotta recipe just check a previous blog below:

Gazpacho

It’s a mid summer morning here and the temperature has already hit 22 degrees. Given we are on top of the second highest hill in Brittany that is unusually warm for us. With two hardworking builders busy installing our new dining room roof, I have decided to offer them a gazpacho soup to cool their jets over lunch. 

The gardens and markets are deluged with beautiful ripe tomatoes at the moment and it is a delicious soup served cold. 

You will need (serves 8)

8-10 ripe large tomatoes deseeded and chopped 

1 clove garlic

1 onion chopped

1 cucumber chopped

1 sweet red pepper deseeded and chopped

2 stalks celery chopped 

2 Tbsps fresh chives to serve

Balsamic vinegar to taste 

Lemon juice to taste

Salt & pepper to taste

6 drops of Tabasco

METHOD

Combine all ingredients. Blend to desired consistency. Place in a non metal, non reactive storage container. Cover tightly and refrigerate allowing flavours to blend and develop. Can be made the day before. 

Serve the soup ice cold with chopped chives and a few drops of olive oil on top. 



This has also got to be one of the healthiest and easiest recipes for the summer! Enjoy!