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| French Cooking in Ten Minutes |
I have to admit to being a disciple of Edouard de Pomiane who wrote books about cooking 5 course French meals in ten minutes back in the 1930s. Some of you may remember a great BBC2 Series from 1995 entitled French Cooking in Ten Minutes, which was dramatized from his work. If so you may be interested in the following links.
The BBC2 series can be seen on You Tube. I would highly recommend watching them, as they are both entertaining and inspirational. Click here to watch the first of the series.
Edouard’s book is available from Amazon. Click here for a link to their site.
I thought it might be an idea to take some inspiration from Edouard and write a few blog posts on easy and quick wine tasting menus. They will use the techniques of Edouard but bought up to date with the use of modern frozen food and microwaves etc. My intention is also to keep the meals balanced and relatively healthy from a modern perspective. The ten-minute rule is just a guide and I won’t stress myself with keeping exactly to this rule, even our hero broke it on occasions.
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| A nice bottle of Burgundy Pinot Noir |
My first menu is one for tasting with a bottle of Pinot Noir, which is probably one of the easiest wines to pair food with; it even goes well with some fish. If there are just two of you have just one bottle of wine and see how it goes with each course. If there are four of you have 2 different bottles of wine, if six then three bottles etc. Choose any Pinot Noir within your price range, but just remember that buying Pinot Noir under £9 is risky. There are good Pinot Noirs available from Burgundy, Oregon, California, New Zealand, South Africa, Chile and even from Germany and Austria, so there is a good choice to choose from.
For this menu I have particularly emphasized the healthy aspect of the meal, as January is a time of the year when we all make New Year’s resolutions about eating or drinking more healthily. This meal will certainly help you towards your five-a-day and there is a considerable amount of raw food in this recipe that can be also be very good for you. With a really good bottle of Pinot Noir you might also wish to consider this as a Valentine’s meal that in any case should never be too heavy. It is assumed that you will serve some water as well as wine with the meal as this means that you will slake your thirst with the water and the wine will be for appreciation and pairing with the food. You will probably also want to serve some nice crusty bread with the meal so that you can clean your palate between courses and fill up as necessary.
The Menu:
Amouse Bouche – Peppered Strawberries
Starter – Beetroot and Blueberry salad
Main Course – Seared Tuna with Pak Choi and Oyster Sauce
Cheese Course – Shavings of Manchego, Double Gloucester and Red Leicester served with a salad of young leaves.
Dessert – Fresh Cherries and Raspberries (or seasonal fruit)
As you can see, there is nothing time consuming or complicated about this menu but there are some elements that will perhaps surprise and delight your partner or guests, particularly if served with a nice bottle of wine. The Beetroot and Blueberry salad will be something new to most people but it is a great combination and the recipe below really pairs well with a Pinot Noir. Having shavings of cheese is also different and it may surprise you how it enhances the taste and reduces your calorie and dairy intake.
Each dish is described below and the ingredient lists are for a cosy dinner for two but can be easily multiplied up for more. Prepare everything but the main course before the meal, it shouldn’t take you long at all. The Tuna should be cooked in between courses but you should be away from your guests for less than 10 minutes.
Peppered Strawberries
6 fresh ripe Strawberries
Black Pepper
Bring the strawberries to room temperature and then cut them each into two lengthways. Arrange in a small bowl or plate and season with freshly ground black pepper. Serve just before the meal and before your first glass of wine to liven up your jaded palate. Remember what the strawberries smell and taste like as many Pinot Noirs have that characteristic.
Beetroot and Blueberry Salad
3 Medium sized cooked (but not pickled in vinegar) beetroots
A good handful of blueberries
A handful of rocket leaves
2 Chestnut mushrooms
Very Good Quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Very Good Quality Balsamic Vinegar (go easy on this)
Salt and Black Pepper
Dijon Mustard (very small amount)
Put the olive oil, vinegar, seasoning and mustard into a large salad bowl and stir together. Dice the beetroot and mushrooms into centimeter squares and add to the salad bowl along with the blueberries and rocket leaves (chop the rocket only if the leaves are on the large side). Mix all together and plate up just before serving.
The earthiness of the beetroot and mushroom, the fruitiness of the blueberries and the pepperiness of the rocket mimic the flavours of a Pinot Noir and thus pair well with one.
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| Beetroot and Blueberry Salad |
Seared Tuna with Pak Choi and Oyster Sauce
2 Fresh Tuna steaks
A head of Pak Choi
A bottle of Chinese Oyster Sauce
Sunflower or Groundnut Oil
Half a lime
Salt and Black Pepper
Pat the two tuna steaks dry, wipe with a little oil and season well with salt and black pepper. Wash and slice the Pak Choi ready for stir-frying. Heat a grill pan to it is very hot and at the same time heat the oil in a wok or similar type pan to a high temperature. Get the oyster sauce out of the cupboard, ready for use. First put the Pak Choi in the wok or pan and stir-fry for about two minutes before adding a few good dollops of oyster sauce and a squeeze of lime and stirring in. Turn the heat off the wok and cover. Then sear your two tuna steaks for about 30 seconds to two minutes maximum on each side (frankly the smaller the amount of time the better but I appreciate that not everyone likes their steaks very rare). Serve by putting the pak choi on the plate with the steaks on top.
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| The Cheese Course |
Shavings of Manchego, Double Gloucester and Red Leicester
A small portion of Spanish Manchego or other hard sheep’s cheese
A small portion of good quality Double Gloucester or other medium cow’s cheese
A small portion of good quality mature Red Leicester or perhaps Cheddar or Wensleydale & cranberries
A handful of young salad leaves
Put a small amount of salad leaves in the middle of each plate. I prefer not to dress this salad and then you can just pick up the leaves by hand and enjoy their true unadulterated taste. Use a vegetable peeler to shave thin slices of each cheese onto the plate on and around the salad leaves. I prefer to keep each cheese to one region of the plate so that one can appreciate each one separately. You should finish the wine with this course, or of course if being very good leave some for another night!
Fresh Cherries and Raspberries
A handful of fresh cherries
A handful of fresh raspberries
Wash the fruit and arrange in a bowl for serving. You can eat on their own for a really healthy end to the meal or serve with a little sugar or cream or perhaps a chocolate dipping sauce.
Enjoy and be surprised what a nice healthy wine tasting meal you created with so little effort.
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