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A French Cook in Venice: Fegato alla Veneziana

Published by Jonell Galloway + Sunday, March 6, 2016 Permalink 1

fegato alla veneziana, venetian calf's liver and onions, What to Eat in Venice, Venetian cooking

Franco-Venetian Cuisine

What to Eat in Venice: Fegato alla Veneziana, or Venetian-style Calf’s Liver with Caramelized Onions

Many say this is the ultimate Venetian specialty, but considering that Venetians eat mainly fish, one could easily argue that point. A good fegato can be the highlight of a day or weekend, however.

Everyone loves caramelized onions, but some people dislike even the idea of eating liver. Calf’s liver is finer than beef or chicken, and when it’s topped with sweet onions, it is indeed a highly refined dish.

You’ll see the influence of my background in French cuisine; I went a bit heavy on the white wine when deglazing the pan, but it renders a succulent sauce.

One of the crucial elements to the success of this dish is that the liver be of exceptional quality and thinly sliced. Thick slabs simply don’t work and take away from the refined aspect of this dish.

Another secret is to slow cook the onions and to just seize the liver, no more. If you cook it more and on slow heat, it will become leathery.

Recipe

Ingredients

400 g onions
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
400 g calf’s liver cut in extra-thin slices
1-2 cups white wine
Salt and pepper to taste
Italian parsley, chopped
Skillet large enough to spread liver in a single layer
White polenta

What to Eat in France: Bourride à la Sétoise

Published by Jonell Galloway + Thursday, August 13, 2015 Permalink 0

What to Eat in France: Bourride, or Provençal Fish Soup with Aioli in the Style of Sète

by Jonell Galloway

Bourride is the specialty of Sète, a town on the coast of the Languedoc in Provence. Sète is one of the largest fishing ports in the region. Native poet Paul Valéry called it l’île singulaire, the singular island, because it is nestled in between two salt water lakes and the sea.

Bourride is said to date back to the Phocaeans, the ancient inhabitants of Marseilles, then called Massilia.

In Provençal, it is called boulido, meaning “boiled.” It is not unlike bouillabaisse, a specialty of nearby Marseilles, the difference being that bourride is made with only white fish — monkfish tails in particular, and that it is accompanied by aioli instead of the traditional rouille served with bouillabaisse. Shellfish are never added.

My recipe is very traditional. There are many variants, but the aim of this series of articles “What to Eat in France” is to seek original or traditional recipes for traditional, regional dishes.

This dish is a sure pleaser for parties and is easy enough to cook ahead, doing everything but poaching the fish, which should be done before serving.

In the region, many locals drink rosé wine such as Coteaux-d’Aix-en-Provence with bourride, but one might just as easily pair it with a perfumed Languedoc white. There are a world of them to be discovered, but since they are not, for the most part. A.O.C., it’s difficult to recommend one in particular. It’s a matter of producer as much as place.

Wine and Food Pairing: Lacquered Pork Tenderloin, Roast Potatoes & Ramson Recipe

Published by Jonell Galloway + Thursday, July 25, 2013 Permalink 0

Wine and Food Pairing: Lacquered Pork Tenderloin, Roast Potatoes & Ramson Recipe

by James Flewellen

Pork is a great meat to play with for wine pairing. Depending on the cut of the animal, how it is cooked and the sauce accompanying the dish you have a whole wealth of wines from which to choose. Red wine, white wine, dry and savoury, off-dry and fruity; there are many options.

One of my favourite choices and one I think works very well with this recipe is an Alsatian or New Zealand Pinot Gris. These are full-bodied, rich white wines with a pear and honey bouquet that is the perfect foil for pork in such a sauce. The honey and fruit notes in the wine echo the honey and vanilla flavours in the sauce; the richness of the palate counteracts the piquant mustard and coriander seeds; the body carries enough weight to handle the meatiness of the dish; and the wine brings forth enough acidity to cut through the fat in the fillet and the sauce. Try for a wine with at least 5 years age and you’ll notice truffle and mushroom notes developing to add an additional level of complexity.

Kim Crawford 2006 Pinot Gris

About James Flewellen

Dr James Flewellen is a biophysicist at the University of Oxford. James learned his trade in taste through the Oxford Blind Wine Tasting Society, of which he was the President from 2010-2012. During his term, he represented Oxford at many international blind tasting competitions – twice winning the prestigious ‘Top Taster’ Award in the annual Varsity blind tasting match against Cambridge University and captaining winning teams in competitions throughout Europe.

One of James’s goals is to clarify the complex and hard-to-navigate world of wine for both novice and experienced tasters. He applies his scientific training to wine education, illuminating concepts of taste, tannin and terroir in an approachable, entertaining manner. James runs wine education courses in Oxford through the Oxford Wine Academy and is completing the WSET Professional Diploma in Wine and Spirits. He is the regular wine writer for The Rambling Epicure and is the founder of The Oxford Wine Blog. He is also currently co-authoring The Concise Guide to Wine and Blind Tasting – a book surveying the wine regions of the world and how to blind taste.

The Art of Tasting Wine with James Flewellen: Spotlight on Chardonnay Grapes

Published by James Flewellen + Monday, June 24, 2013 Permalink 0

The Art of Tasting Wine with James Flewellen: Spotlight on Chardonnay Grapes

by James Flewellen

Just as Pinot Noir is Burgundy’s queen of red grapes, so Chardonnay is Burgundy’s king of whites. Although originating from Burgundy, Chardonnay is so widely grown around the world it is now considered to be an ‘international variety’.

Chardonnay is often described as a ‘winemaker’s grape’ in that the primary qualities of the grape are overwhelmed by the winemaking procedure, meaning the winemaker has an essentially blank canvas upon which to work. I take exception to this somewhat in that there is certainly something about Chardonnay that makes it ‘Chardonnay’, it’s just that this quality may vary depending on location and climate.

: Close-up view of Chardonnay grapes

The typical flavour profile of the grape is green apple and lemon if grown in cool places like Chablis in France, moving through to ripe red apple, peach and melon in warmer climes and eventually to tropical pineapple, mango and even banana notes in hot climates such as California and parts of Australia. Wines from hotter places tend to have a fatter, heavier texture, lower acidity and higher alcohol, whereas those from cold climates can be lean, austere and steely.

Chardonnay and oak go together like a hand in glove. Although there are many ways of integrating oak flavours with those of the grape, some winemakers in the past have chosen to overwhelm the natural expression of the grape with an unsubtle whack of oak. This has led to the association in many people’s minds that Chardonnay “tastes like wood.” Judicious use of new French oak adds butter, toast, nutty aromas and flavours to the wine, while new American oak brings a slightly ‘sweeter’ coconut or white chocolate profile. While some very fine wines can be profoundly ‘oaky’, to my mind this should always work with the available fruit flavours rather than overwhelm them. There is a recent movement in new world countries such as Australia and New Zealand to produce leaner, more mineral Chardonnays with very little new oak influence, while this has been practised as the norm in Chablis, in particular, for decades.

What to Eat in Switzerland: A Geneva Christmas: White Wine Potatoes

Published by Jonell Galloway + Friday, December 21, 2012 Permalink 0

A Geneva Christmas: White Wine Potatoes Recipe

by Jonell Galloway

From the archives

In A Geneva Christmas: Longeole sausage, I think I got your mouth watering talking about longeole, or fennel seed sausage. But did you see the potatoes in the photo? That’s THE essential side dish: potatoes cooked in broth and white wine.

I translated and adapted this recipe from A la mode de chez nous, Plaisirs de la table romande, a book on cooking in French-speaking Switzerland, by M. Vidoudez and J. Grangier.

Recipe

A Geneva Christmas-white wine potatoes-Longeole-recipe-Switzerland-the rambling epicure-jonell galloway-genevalunch-traditional dish

Longeole sausage served with
potatoes cooked in white wine and broth

Ingredients

1 kg / 2.2 lbs type 2 all-purpose potatoes

Olive oil, just enough to lightly coat potatoes

1 tablespoon spelt flour (farine d’épeautre), or otherwise whole wheat

240 ml / 1 cup chicken broth

1 onion, diced

1 laurel leaf

3 whole cloves

300 ml / 1 1/4 cup dry white wine

1 bouquet garni

Fresh parsley, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Fennel-flavored Longeole sausages for Christmas, made by Jacky Bula butcher in Geneva

Scrub potatoes. If you really don’t like potato peels, or your potatoes have lots of black spots on them, peel them. Just remember: all the fiber and vitamins are in the peel.
Chop potatoes into large cubes. Put potatoes in a large saucepan. Coat lightly with olive oil and mix well.
Sautée for 2 or 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
Heat broth. Pour hot broth over potatoes. Add chopped onion, laurel, cloves, salt, pepper and bouquet garni. Bring to a boil. Cover, then lower heat and let it boil gently.
Cook until potatoes are soft, about 15 or 20 minutes, depending on the kind of potato and the kind of pan.
While the potatoes are cooking, mix flour and olive oil in a small utility bowl, until it becomes a smooth paste. Add a couple tablespoons of the hot broth from the potatoes to paste, and beat with wire whip until smooth.
Add paste to potatoes, and beat gently with a wire whip. When smooth, add white wine.
Continue cooking, stirring often so that it doesn’t stick, and gently boiling until the sauce starts to thicken.
Taste. Add salt and pepper if required.
Sprinkle with chopped parsley when serving. Traditionally, in Geneva this is served with longeole sausage at Christmas, but it goes well with many dishes, for example a smoked cooking sausage from the canton of Vaud.

Cooking notes: I use a Kuhn Rikon Durotherm to maintain the vitamins and decrease cooking time. This also allows you to use less liquid, which gives a more intense flavor. In this case, you would use just enough broth to cover the potatoes.

Switzerland: Filet of Perch with Parsley/chive Sauce Recipe

Published by Jonell Galloway + Thursday, August 25, 2011 Permalink 1

Filet de perche / perch filet, Switzerland, Swiss food and cuisine, recipe

Spontaneous Cuisine, by Jonell Galloway

Traditional dish in Lake Geneva region: filet of perch with parsley, chives and butter: a recipe with a twist

Recipe

Ingredients

1 kg / 2.2 lbs of filet of perch

1.2 dl / 1/2 cup of white wine

125 g / 1 stick butter

1 large clove of garlic, finely chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons of strong mustard

2 egg yolks

Parsley, 1 large bunch

Chives, 1 large bunch

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 220°C / 425°F.
Butter a baking dish that can also be used on stovetop. Add wine and garlic.
Arrange filets in a baking dish. Salt and pepper.
Bake for about 8 minutes or until fish is cooked but still firm. Carefully remove fish and set it aside.
Use cooking juices in baking dish to make sauce. Add butter, mustard and egg yolk.
Cook over very low heat, stirring constantly with a wire whip. Add parsley. Warning: If you turn the heat too high and quite stirring, you will end up with scrambled eggs instead of sauce!
Arrange perch on serving plates, preferably warm. Pour sauce over fish and serve immediately.