Pickled Cucumber

We are all deluged with cucumbers this time of year and there is a limit to the number one can consume in a salad! There is nothing worse than finding a limp member in your fridge! You can’t even throw it at somebody! Time to get smart and start pickling. Pickled cucumbers are just amazing and are such a good compliment to all sorts of dishes from pâtes to cold meats as well as in roast dinners and sandwiches. They can last for months in the fridge so it’s a great way to keep your cucumbers ( and other vegetables) through the winter months. What’s more it is so easy to do and they make great gifts for neighbours and friends.

Ingredients 

 2 kg cucumbers 

 2 tsp.  salt

 1 l Apple cider vinegar

 500-600 g cane sugar

 2 tbsp.  yellow mustard seeds

 8 pcs.  star anise

 16-20 pcs.  black peppercorns

 

Method:

 First peel the cucumbers. 

Cut in half and deseed using a spoon. 

Cut the cucumbers into small strips. Cover thoroughly in salt using your hands and place in the refrigerator until next day. 



Next day make the apple cider vinegar mixture. All the ingredients for the vinegar  are boiled up in a pan. 

The cucumbers are rinsed in ice-cold water and put in a scalded sterilised  top glass jar. 



The vinegar is poured over the cucumbers boiling hot so take care. Then close and seal the jars for storage in a dark cool place.

 If sealed jars are used, the cucumbers  can be kept for a minimum of ½-1 year; otherwise they should preferably be left in the fridge and eaten within a few months.

Don’t forget to date and label your pickled cucumbers. You might also like to pickle walnuts and any vegetable that takes your fancy! 

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! 

Gourmet Plum Sorbet

If you have made the poached plum sauce as in the previous blog, one of the exciting things you can now do is make a gourmet plum sorbet. 

Ingredients 

I litre plum sauce

Three tablespoons plum brandy or plum snaps

Leaf of fresh mint

Method 

Pour the cold plum sauce (poached plum) into the ice cream machine and turn on for 20/25 minutes or until the sorbet goes a nice pink colour. Remove into a serving glass. Add a tablespoon of plum brandy and decorate with a mint leaf. Serve immediately. 

Poached Plums

Now we are in mid summer the gardens of Brittany are deluged with plums. Lots of plums hanging on the trees and as windfalls. The problem is what to do with them?! Well first I recommend you simply make some poached plum! It is so easy and simple but has a devine  taste especially when served chilled with fresh cream. 

Recipe 

400g sugar

450ml water

900g fresh plums

Method

First clean the plums and remove the stone. Put the sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the plums, cover and allow to simmer until the plums are soft (about 10 minutes). Place in a bowl and allow to cool. Serve chilled as a wonderful dessert served with cream or use as a base for a whole multitude of desserts and cocktails. 

Online Cooking Classes

The next online cooking class from Kerrouet House will show you how to make the best ever Salmon fish cakes along with a delicious tartar sauce as well as that essential mouthwatering home made mayonnaise. 

The class starts on Wednesday 3 June at 4pm French time.  

That is 3pm London/Dublin time. 

The class costs £15 per link! Here is the link:

https://www.larks.live/en/listings/999139-salmon-fishcakes-and-tartar-sauce-wed-3rd-jun-at-3pm