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

Published by Friday, December 21, 2012 Permalink 0

A Geneva Christmas: White Wine Potatoes Recipe

by Jonell Galloway

From the archives

English: Jet d'Eau, Geneva

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. 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.
  2. Chop potatoes into large cubes. Put potatoes in a large saucepan. Coat lightly with olive oil and mix well.
  3. Sautée for 2 or 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
  4. 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.
  5. Cook until potatoes are soft, about 15 or 20 minutes, depending on the kind of potato and the kind of pan.
  6. 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.
  7. Add paste to potatoes, and beat gently with a wire whip. When smooth, add white wine.
  8. Continue cooking, stirring often so that it doesn’t stick, and gently boiling until the sauce starts to thicken.
  9. Taste. Add salt and pepper if required.
  10. 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.

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A French Cook in Venice: Sea Bass and Potatoes

Published by Wednesday, March 23, 2016 Permalink 0

Venetian Hours: A French Cook in Venice: Sea Bass and Potatoes

by Jonell Galloway

In France, many a festive occasion is highlighted with sea bass. And since France and Venice are first cousins once removed, it turns out to be rather the same in Venice. A big fat bass is considered a treat.

Both places make sea bass in a salt crust, which is perhaps the cooking method that best preserves the juices, but when you have a nice wild one, which is rare enough these days, it will stand up to roasting.

jonell galloway holding wild sea bass venice italy photo by Alexandra Korey http://www.arttrav.com/

I got inspiration for this recipe from a traditional Venetian recipe called branzino con patate et olive, or sea bass with potatoes and olives, in which they cook the bass on a bed of thinly sliced potatoes. One finds it in the better restaurants, but rarely in the touristy ones, perhaps because it’s time-consuming, although not difficult.

I’m wild about vegetables, so I added the sun-dried tomatoes, which add not only color, but a deeper flavor and more texture, an idea I got from Hosteria Al Vecio Bragosso near San Apostoli in our neighborhood of Cannaregio. The baby Swiss chard is also my addition.

bietola baby swiss chard venice, italy, French cook in Venice

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes I add olives, sometimes not. Other times, I add capers, and other times both. This partially depends on whether the bass is wild or farmed. The farmed ones lack full flavor and these additions add some life as well as contrast to the dish. Onions can also add spark, especially to a farm-raised bass.

As always, my French touch means that I add a bit more wine than the Venetians. I do like my sauce. After all, that’s what life is all about, isn’t it?

 

Wild Sea Bass, Venetian Hours, The Rambling Epicure, French cook in Venice

Recipe

Serves 4

Whole sea bass, wild if possible, cleaned and scaled, about 3 lbs. or 1.5 kg
4 large potatoes, scrubbed but not peeled

10 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped finely
1 large onion, thinly sliced
Parsley, chopped coarsely
2-3 cups white wine
4-5 branches of fresh rosemary
Olive oil
One bunch of young Swiss chard or 
bietola
Salted capers
Black olives (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
Heavy metal roasting pan

Click here for a conversion chart.

  1. Preheat oven to 425°F / 220°C.
  2. Thinly slice the potatoes.
  3. Pour 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil into the roasting pan. A broiler pan or heavy roasting pan is perfect.
  4. Place the potatoes and sun-dried tomatoes in the pan, in a single layer, turning them to evenly coat them in the olive oil.
  5. Salt and pepper to taste.
  6. Place in oven, turning every 5 minutes and adding oil if they start drying out. Cook until the potatoes start to feel soft, but firm, when pricked with a knife or 15-20 minutes.
  7. Remove the vegetables from the oven. Turn carefully in the pan juices.
  8. Evenly distribute the onions, parsley and branches of rosemary, setting one branch aside.
  9. Place the sea bass on the bed of potatoes. Insert one branch of rosemary in the cavity.
  10. Salt and pepper to taste.
  11. Add one cup of white wine to the bottom of the pan.
  12. Place in the oven and lower the temperature to 400°F / 200°C, adding more white wine every time it evaporates and turning the potatoes each time. This prevents the potatoes from sticking and rehumidifies the sun-dried tomatoes.
  13. After 15-20 minutes, use a metal spatula and check whether the top of the fish is cooked by carefully trying to lift it off the bone. It is important to use a metal spatula because it “cuts through” the fish; a rubber one is thicker and might mangle the flesh. If it can barely be lifted away from the bone, the top is nearly cooked, so remove the pan from the oven and carefully turn it. You may need two heavy-duty spatulas or utensils to do so because of the weight.
  14. Return it to the oven for another 15-20 minutes, checking it in the same manner using a metal spatula to see if it is cooked, and adding white wine as necessary.
  15. When the fish is fully cooked — just enough to lift it off the bone — lay the leaves of chard over the fish and vegetables and return to the oven for 1 minute, just enough to wilt it.
  16. Remove the baking pan from the oven and turn the chard in the rendered juices. Filet the fish; it will usually be possible to simply lift it off with a metal spatula.
  17. Serve immediately.
  18. Serve salted capers as a garnish.
  19. Serve any white wine left in the pan as sauce.

Tip: If you hesitate about adding this much white wine, you can substitute half of it with freshly squeezed orange juice. The exact cooking time of the sea bass varies depending on the thickness of the fish, thus the importance of using the spatula technique. There is no need to add lemon when serving, since the white wine gives an acidic edge. You can also use turbot for this dish; follow the same steps, but because it is not as thick as bass, the cooking time will be less.

 

 

 

 

 

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

Published by 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.

 

Lacquered Pork Tenderloin, Roast Potatoes & Ramson Recipe, Spontaneous Cuisine. Recipe by Jonell Galloway, editor of The Rambling Epicure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 
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Wine and Food Pairing: Trofie alle Castagne Pasta with Pesto, Potatoes and Green Beans

Published by Monday, July 15, 2013 Permalink 0


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Wine and Food Pairing with James Flewellen: Trofie alle Castagne Pasta with Pesto, Potatoes and Green Beans

Trofie alle Castagne with Pesto, Potatoes and Green Bean recipe

Trofie alle Castagne with Pesto, Potatoes and Green Bean

Try a Verdicchio wine from central Italy with this dish. This white wine has a complex, subtle, more vegetal flavour profile, as opposed to bright fruit and floral notes. This herbaceous quality will go very well with the similar flavours found in the green beans, while the acid in the wine will cut through the fats in the cheese and the oil in the pesto leaving your palate refreshed.

English: Bottle of Verdicchio dei Castelli di ...

 

If you like your fruity wines, try a decent Pinot Grigio, whose acid will play a similar role to the Verdicchio. But be warned – many of the mass market Pinot Grigios out there have an overly fruity flavour profile and a touch of sweetness, which won’t complement the pesto as well.

On the red side and staying true to the Italian theme, a lighter red will do the job. You want something savoury on the whole and not overly tannic or alcoholic – which can be hard to find in Italy! A lighter-bodied Chianti Classico could work well, but you may want to have extra Parmesan on hand to round out the tannins!

 

Join James Flewellen and Jonell Galloway at “Celebrate the Chartres Festival of Lights & Autumnal Equinox with a Food & Wine Tasting Masterclass” in France from September 19 to 22, 2013.

 

___________________________

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.

 

 

 

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Recipe: Trofie alle Castagne: Chestnut Pasta with Pesto, Potatoes and Green Beans

Published by Monday, July 15, 2013 Permalink 0

by Rosario Indelicato

Recipe: Trofie alle Castagne: Chestnut Pasta with Pesto, Potatoes and Green Beans

Serves 4 people

Ingredients

2 jars of Genoese pesto for 500 g of chestnut Trofie pasta
3 potatoes, peeled and cut into thin Julienne strips
75 g of French-style green beans, ends cut off and cut in half
Fresh Parmesan cheese to taste

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Spontaneous Cuisine: Lacquered Pork Tenderloin, Roast Potatoes, Ramp/Ramson Recipe

Published by Tuesday, April 17, 2012 Permalink 0

From the archives

Lacquered Pork Tenderloin, Roast Potatoes & Ramson Recipe

by Jonell Galloway

Ramson and wild garlic leaves, as we call them in Switzerland, are in season, so now is the perfect time to make this recipe. The season doesn’t last long, so don’t tarry. If you don’t have ramson, or Allium ursinum,  in your area, try ramps or Allium tricoccum, which will produce a similar taste.

The sweetness of the lacquer and the tart acidity of the ramps give this recipe a lovely balance of opposing flavors. The roast potatoes serve as a neutral taste that makes the contrasts less shocking.

 

Spontaneous Cuisine: Lacquered Pork Tenderloin, Roast potatoes & Ramps Recipe

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The Many Faces of Swiss Fondue and Chasselas wine

Published by Friday, October 14, 2011 Permalink 0

by Jonell Galloway

The word “fondue” means literally “melted” in French. In Switzerland, fondue is made by melting cheese with white wine, pepper, garlic and kirsch (cherry schnapps).

Photo courtesy of Fribourg Tourist Bureau.

Different regions use different cheeses and have different recipes however. In the canton of Valais, no starch, butter, or eggs are added, while in many other regions they are used for thickening. Today, many people use corn starch.

Fribourg fondue is different from other cantons in that it uses Fribourg Vacherin cheese. Both Gruyère and Fribourg make what is referred to as “half and half”, meaning they use half Gruyère and half Fribourg Vacherin cheese.In central Switzerland, it is common to use Gruyère, Emmental and Sbrinz, a hard cheese from central Switzerland that is claimed to be the oldest cheese in Europe.

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What to Eat in Switzerland: A Geneva Christmas: Cardoon Gratin Recipe

Published by Wednesday, December 19, 2012 Permalink 0

by Jonell Galloway

From the archives

 

Cardoon gratin is a classic Geneva Christmas dish, but only brave souls should try to prepare them because they are prickly, and the preparation can be long and tedious. Many farmers markets in Switzerland now sell them prepared sous vide, in plastic vacuum-packed packages, which is probably the best option for those who don’t get a thrill out of getting a few pricks. In any case, it is important to schedule it carefully into your meal preparations, because it is time-consuming any way you go about it.

Cardoon Gratin Recipe

Preparation of Cardoons for Gratin

  1. Throw out any hard stems and any that are wilted.
  2. Peel the cardoons by removing leaves, spines and stringy parts. The exterior will then be covered with a fuzzy layer. Use a cloth to rub stalks gently to remove fuzz.
  3. Cut stems into 8 cm (3 cm) slices. Rub with lemon, or if you intend to use them later, put slices into lemon water so they won’t turn dark.
  4. You now have two choices: you can either cook them in a white vegetable broth you’ve made ahead of time, or you can cook them in the lemon water you soaked them in.
  5. Bring to a boil and boil until tender. It should take about 30 minutes for them to become tender, but if they are larger in diameter it can take up to 2 hours, so allow plenty of time.

Recipe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All these steps can be carried out while the cardoons are cooking. There are actually several ways of doing this. You can either make a Béchamel (white) sauce and sprinkle cheese on the cardoons before you put them in the oven, or you can make a Mornay (cheese) sauce and pour it on the cooked cardoons before putting in the oven to brown. I think it’s tastier to make a Mornay sauce, and then sprinkle a bit of cheese on the top before putting it in the oven. Here’s my recipe.

Ingredients

Click here for British/American/metric recipe converter

Approximately 1 kg of cardoons
30 g of butter
1 tablespoon of flour
2.5 dl of whole milk
1 dl of cream
50 g of cheese, type Gruyère or Swiss (see photo below), grated
Lemon juice, freshly squeezed
Salt and pepper to taste
 

Emmentaler (also known as Swiss Cheese), while...

 

DIRECTIONS

  1. Make a Béchamel sauce, using the proportions of ingredients above.
  2. When finished and seasoned, add cream and cheese, setting aside a tablespoon of cheese. Set aside.
  3. Preheat oven to 250° C.
  4. Once cardoons are tender, drain, making sure all water is drained off.
  5. In a large bowl, mix cooked cardoons and Mornay sauce.
  6. Pour into a baking dish of the appropriate size, so that there is a layer of about 3 cm high.
  7. Sprinkle evenly with remaining grated cheese and a few knobs of butter.
  8. Put in hot oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Notes: It is important to use a hard, Swiss-type cheese. Cheddar cheese would have too strong of a taste. If you can’t find cardoons, the same recipe can be made with Swiss chard, thus eliminating the long, meticulous preparation. Simply cut them as for the cardoons and cook in chicken broth until tender, then follow the other steps in the recipe for making the gratin. Its texture is quite similar to that of cardoons.

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My Favorite Hanukkah Foods: Grandma’s Latke Recipe

Published by Saturday, December 8, 2012 Permalink 0

by Warren Bobrow

From the archives

Hanukkah recipes are passed down from generation to generation. There are hundreds of recipes floating around on the Internet, but I thought it best to consult a friend with trained taste buds. Here is what Warren Bobrow has to say.–Jonell Galloway, Editor

My Favorite Hanukkah Foods

Of all the holiday foods I look forward to, there are two dishes that clearly connect my stomach to the past. The first is a rousing bowl of matzo ball soup. The other, specifically a Hanukkah dish, is a plate of crispy potato latkes, cooked in a heavy cast iron pan.

Ur-Bubby’s Latkes

I forewarn you. This is a Jewish story, so it is repetitive and sometimes fahklumpt (a confused story, for those who are not in the know), told by a kvetch (a complainer) who secretly loves life and food and words and work, and tells a story full of fond memories.

My great-grandmother Yetta made excellent latkes. During these eight days of Hanukkah (eight chances to get it right . . . to be exact), we celebrate the past by reliving these flavors and the stories that go with them each time we bite into a steaming morsel of grated potato, egg, onion and a bit of vegetable oil, made straight from her recipe.

Generations of cooks have grated potatoes for latkes in celebration of Hanukkah. You will not be the first or the last. And every family has their own special recipe, their own special stories.

Bubby Yetta was particularly interested in not scraping her knuckles. Even so, she used to say that if you don’t catch your knuckle on the potato grater, the latkes couldn’t possibly taste good. Something about the physical act of grating potatoes already connects me to the old days when Bubby made the latkes every evening during Hanukkah.

Onions also resonate in my memory:  the tears that ran down her cheeks as she grated the onions were not tears of joy. We heard the same kvetching every year, and carry on as we make our own history.

Every day of Hanukkah, Ur-Bubby Yetta would scrape and grate until the job was done. Much hushed conversation would follow. Were the latkes going to be good?  If not, what would we do, there was no place in those days to buy frozen latkes in the supermarket!

And with each potato and onion grated, each tear fallen, each latke fried, another memory was made. Years of latke conversation would follow . . . How about the ones we made twenty years ago? Did potatoes taste differently then, or was it a specific taste that stuck in our memories?

So careful with the grater, and accept that you’ll invariably catch your knuckle at least once, and that you may well have the battle scars to prove that you made them from scratch. And stories to tell.

Recipe

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Switzerland: Looking for a Farmers Market in Geneva?

Published by Saturday, July 14, 2012 Permalink 0

Click here for Geneva Tourism’s list. Take a look at this photo documentary of what’s on offer at Swiss farmers markets.

 

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