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Brittany Break

I've recently returned from a trip to Brittany in France, and what an eye opener it has been. Seeing how the locals live has made me think about what is sadly lacking from our everyday lives here in the UK.

We stayed in in the small town of Lanvollon which is in the department of Côtes d'Armor. It's a lovely quiet place away from the hustle and bustle of the tourist towns, but for somewhere so seemingly laid back it has all the amenities including a fantastic supermarket. Considering the fact that Super U is a chain supermarket, which could be compared to our very own Sainsbury's or Tesco, it far supercedes our British counterparts. The quality and range of produce is astounding. I found myself almost giddy with excitement when I saw the fresh fish counter, and as Brittany is fringed by such a beautiful and bountiful coastline, it should have been no surprise really. We bought some locally caught moules (that's mussels to you and me) which we ate that evening, just simply done with some shallots, parsley, white wine and butter. They were deliciously sweet and tender.

Butter is big in Brittany and features heavily in many regional baked goods. I'm even thinking that if I can't buy the best croissants at home then I'm not going to bother with them again. Proper French croissants are flaky on the outside, soft in the middle and so buttery, you don't need anything else with them. As for the Breton cake, well that was melt-in-the-mouth heaven. I knew of the local cake and I even have a recipe for it, torn from a magazine, tucked away somewhere, but I had never tried it until now. We bought one that had some prune purée in between its shortcake-like layers – very nice.

Something I discovered about traditional Brittany butter is that there is never an unsalted variety. The Bretons like their butter salted and probably more so than we do, but there is a half-salted version for the more health conscious! Some types even contain little crunchy sea salt crystals.

Despite Brittany having a large dairy farming industry it doesn't make any cheese, which I find rather odd, but being in France there's no shortage from other regions. We found some delicious Comte, not just one type as you you'd maybe see in your local deli, but several, each having been differently aged.

Cheese of course, needs some bread to accompany it and a rich-tasting crusty baguette was in order. I like bread, but I love real French bread - it's just so tasty. Bread is an obvious daily requirement in the Breton home as it's not uncommon to see someone go out every day just to pick up a loaf. On a Sunday too, as the boulangerie is open well into the afternoon.

Baking seems to be an integral part of French life as there seems to be a boulangerie, patisserie or biscuiterie at every turn. Why isn't everyone fat in France with such a rich diet? That'll be the French Paradox then. I'm betting that all those fresh fruit and vegetables help negate the bad effects... oh and the wine is reputably beneficial of course.

Brittany is certainly a very picturesque part of France and is strangely reminiscent of Cornwall and Devon with its craggy coves, fishing villages and sandy beaches. The open countryside is grazed by cows and there are fields of maize and globe artichokes. The artichokes make for an interesting and attractive crop, I think.

I definitely fell in love with the area, especially the coast, so its marked for a revisit in the not so distant future.

For more pictures click here

Elderflower and Apple Jelly

I couldn't help noticing how the elderflowers are now filling the air with their heady scent and this inspired me to use them in cooking again. Last year I made some delicious fritters, but this time I wanted to make something more long lasting.

Elderflowers have such a gorgeous flavour and here I have used them to make an apple jelly preserve which could work well as either an accompaniment to pork, maybe even cheese or simply spread on some bread.

At first it seems like there's a lot involved in making the jelly, but I can assure you, it is well worth it.
The  cooked fruit and flower pulp has to be placed in a cloth bag overnight to allow the juice to drain through. Not having a jelly bag or brand new piece of muslin to hand, I found an old muslin curtain and used that, obviously after I had washed it very well!
The bag has to be suspended above the bowl so that the weight of its contents pushes through the liquid. My husband kindly rigged up a pole across a couple of stands, I suppose a broom handle over two chairs would work just as well.

Ingredients

1 kg bramley apples

20-30 heads of elderflowers
3 lemons juiced
preserving sugar (75g of sugar for every 100ml of juice)

Equipment

a large piece of muslin cloth

a long pole and something to rest it across

sterilised jars to store it in (mine filled two Bonne Maman jam jars each containing 370g)

Method
Check your freshly picked elderflowers for any creepy crawlies. Do not wash them, but give them a good shake to dislodge any insects.

Chop the apples, leaving on the skin and put into a  large pan, cores and all, with the flowers.

Add some water so that it just covers the fruit and flowers and bring the ingredients to the boil and cook them until the apples are very soft and mushy.

Now for the 'fun' part:
Take a large bowl and place a colander in it. Next line the colander with the muslin cloth and carefully pour in the apple mush. You now need to gather the corners of the cloth and tie them over a pole (see photo below). Be careful not to squeeze the muslin bag.

Leave your 'contraption' overnight to allow all the juice to drip through.
Next day discard the contents of the bag. Check the quantity of juice and measure out 75g of sugar for every 100ml of liquid.

Put the liquid in to a heavy pan  and add the lemon juice.
Bring the juice to the boil and then add the sugar, letting it dissolve into the liquid.
Bring it up to a rapid boil for at least 15 minutes.

Check the setting point (see How To guide) and when it is ready, pour into sterilsed jars.

Onion Tart with Baked Goat's Cheese

I think we must have a thing for goat's cheese as this is the second recipe I have published here.

I know a lot of people that do not like goat's cheese because it tastes too farm-yardy for them. Indeed, it does have rather a goaty note to it, but that's the appeal for me.

I had two little rounds of Gevrik Goat's Cheese in the fridge and they were edging ever nearer to their use by date. Our local supermarket sells this creamy and nutty flavoured Cornish cheese so on occasion we like to indulge, and one day we had the impulse to drop them into the trolley. Somehow we never got around to eating them soon after buying them, so there they sat in the fridge, nestling next to the cheddar in the cheese box for a good couple of weeks.

Wanting to make something substantial for an evening meal, I decided to make some individual onion tarts to go with the cheese. A sweet onion marmalade is usually a good accompaniment and I thought, why not use that idea but bake the onions in a light puff pastry.

I decided to serve the cheese baked as it's texture becomes so gooey and delicious.

You need lots of thinly sliced onions which you cook slowly and gently in olive oil and butter with a little sugar until they are soft and slightly caramelised. Then add some chopped fresh thyme leaves, a dash of balsamic vinegar and salt and black pepper to taste.

Then cut 2 rounds of puff pastry (I used ready-made) which I placed on to a baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Then make 2 rings of pastry to fit on top of the rounds, stick them on using some a little milk.

Pile the onion mixture into the centre of each and place them in a hot oven until the pastry is risen and golden brown. You'll see that the once flat pastry has now risen up to create a wall around the edges to encase the onions.

You'll need to warm the goat's cheese in the oven. Just pop them on some baking parchment on a tray and cook them until they puff out slightly, but be careful that they're not in the oven too long otherwise they might burst!

You can serve the tarts and cheese with some salad.