Cobbled Streets, Cider and Butter

Having recently returned from an enjoyable stay in Brittany, I was still ignited with enthusiasm for the local cuisine and wanted to create something at home. Aside from the ubiquitous moules frites, crêpes and galettes, Brittany has so much more to offer on the food front.

While I was cooking, I was taken back to the steep cobbled streets of Dinan or the rugged shores of Île-de-Bréhat...

Poulet au Cidre Breton

Brittany produces some very fine cider, everything from a good country style not unlike our Somerset or Herefordshire ciders to the more refined ‘Champagne’ varieties. Brittany, although in France is not a wine producing region and so it invests it’s time in using apples to make a pleasing array of brews.
This dish is fragrant with apples as the cider infuses the chicken making it tender and fall-off-the-bone succulent. The chicken is best cooked on the bone to give a robustness of flavour. After I removed the breasts and legs from the whole bird, I used the rest to make stock, picking off any remaining meat after it had cooked.
Although not the most photogenic of dishes, my husband did his photographic best to make it look appetising, but I can assure you it tastes very good, even if I do say so myself.
Sauté potatoes and french beans go very well with it, I think.

Ingredients
1 chicken, jointed, use the legs and breasts
2 apples, preferably Golden Delicious, cored and cut into 1cm dice
3 large onions, sliced
50g butter
500ml dry cider
4 tblsp crème fraîche
a good grating of nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

Method
In large heavy saucepan, melt half the butter and add the onions and apples and fry gently for about 5-7 minutes until golden.
Melt remaining butter in large frying pan and brown the chicken breasts on all sides for about 3 minutes. Transfer the chicken pieces to the onion and apple mixture and stir well to combine.
Pour in the cider, add nutmeg and season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and then turn down to a simmer and cover with a lid.
Allow to simmer for approximately 30-40 minutes.
When the chicken is cooked and tender remove from the cooking liquid and set aside, keep warm in a low oven.
Skim any excess fat from the liquid and reduce the liquid by half, cooking on a medium heat to allow it to evaporate.
Stir the crème fraîche into the cider sauce and allow to cook for a further few minutes until the sauce thickens.
Serve the chicken in bowls with the sauce spooned over.


Gateau Breton

This cake is wickedly rich and celebrates one of Brittany’s finest products, butter. Part way between a dense sponge and shortbread it has an irresistible flavour and texture.
I decided to add the extra filling of prunes after being inspired by one I bought in Brittany last year. The cake is often plain without the stripe of sticky fruit, but I love the extra dimension that the prunes give – it’s like the most decadent fig roll you’ll ever eat.
The cake is supposed to have diamond shapes scored into the top, but I don’t know what happened to mine – they filled in on cooking, however, that didn’t affect the taste.

Ingredients
250g soft ready to eat prunes
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 egg yolks
200g lightly salted butter, softened
175g caster sugar
250g plain flour
half teasoon baking powder

Method
Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/Gas 3.
Chopped the prunes, very finely and put into a bowl and mix in the vanilla extract.
Beat the egg yolks together in a bowl, then reserve a little of the egg in a small bowl to use as a the glaze.
Add the softened butter to the egg yolks and beat until soft and well blended.
Add the sugar and flour and work into a slightly sticky dough.
Lightly butter a 22.5cm/9inch loose-bottomed cake tin.
Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces.
Press one half of the dough into the tin, using your fingers. It does get very sticky to work with, so put a sheet of cling film over the top to stop your fingers getting too messy.
Spread over the prune mixture evenly over the dough.
Press on the second half of the dough, smoothing the top with a palette knife.
Using a knife,score into diamonds across the top, then brush with the reserved egg yolk.
Baked for 50 mins.
Cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack


Meringues
(or what to do with the 
left-over egg whites)

I did think about freezing the egg whites, but knowing my track record of remembering what’s in the freezer, I thought they would be exiled to a frozen doom and be wasted, so meringues were the answer.
Inspired by the stacks seen in patisserie windows (like the one in the quaint medieval town of Moncontour, pictured below) I set about making big crunchy-on-the-outside and chewy-in-the-middle confections. Not wanting anything plain to look at, I got arty with some food colouring.
The texture is achieved by folding in a little cornflour and vanilla extract is added for a more interesting flavour.

Food photos: ©childsdesign 2010




Now for a little favour…

If you’ve ever dreamed of owning your own home in France, this could be the perfect location for you. (I should know, I've stayed in it and it's lovely)
This 4 bedroomed very detached house, set in grounds covering almost an acre is located in the small town of Lanvollon in the heart of rural Brittany.
Picturesque, peaceful, quiet and in an area of natural beauty Lanvollon is within easy reach of both airports and ports.
See www.buyfrenchhouse.co.uk for more details

Spirit of The Age: Sipsmith

Never being one to pass up on a free tasting of Vodka, I stopped by the Sipsmith stand at the Real Food Festival, where I was amazed by their products.

Based in Hammersmith, London, tucked away in quiet street, Sipsmith's small distillery, was set up just a short while ago, in Spring 2009, by founders Sam and Fairfax who had always dreamt of creating a true artisan spirit.

LEFT: From left to right – The Sipsmiths, Fairfax, Jared and Sam

They make a Barley Vodka and a London Dry Gin which is gently delivered from their handmade copper-pot still, named "Prudence", the first in London for 189 years. This beautiful still, as well as functional, could also be considered a work of art with its graceful swan neck which has been taken as the inspiration for the attractive label designs.
Producing the spirit in small batches, no more than 500 bottles per batch, in fact, ensures exceptional quality and supreme flavour.

Being a vodka lover, I am quite fussy about what I drink. I wouldn't say I am an expert as such, but I know what I like. I prefer to drink vodka straight and slowly, no knocking back shots in a violent and greedy manner but in a more measured and considerate way so that I may enjoy the flavours.

Anyone who says that vodka has no taste and that it should always be mixed in with tonic and the like, has clearly never fully appreciated a decent spirit.

The Vodka is distinctly British, distilled from English barley spirit and then blended with water from the Lydwell Spring, one of the sources of the River Thames.

Most noticeable is that this spirit does not burn your mouth or throat and is exceedingly smooth, which makes it ideal for slow lingering sipping, Unlike some vodkas that need to be chilled in the freezer to make them tolerable, this is very agreeable even at room temperature.

With its nutiness, and growing sweetness, finally ending with a hint of pepper it is most enjoyable.

I haven't drunk gin in years, mainly because I've found it to have been a bad experience. Maybe it's because of the tonic that I had with it, made me believe it to be bitter. I couldn't have been more wrong.

ABOVE: Ten carefully selected botanicals are used including: Macedonian juniper berries, Bulgarian coriander seed, French angelica root, Spanish liquorice root, Italian orris root, Spanish ground almond, Chinese cassia bark, Madagascan cinnamon, Sevillian orange peel and Spanish lemon peel.

Sipsmith's version is a joy to drink, and the smell is like a breath of fresh summer meadows. Again, as with the vodka, it is mellow in the mouth, the juniper fragrant and refreshing accompanied by bright zesty notes of lemon and orange.
Shameful or not, I could happily drink this pure and unadulterated by mixers.

So impressed was I, that I bought both the vodka and gin to take home for further enjoyment, and all I can say is, that they're both slipping down rather nicely, if a little too quickly!

For further information and where to buy, visit their website: sipsmith.com
Photo source: Sipsmith website