This
was my final planned cookery course of the year. The most expensive by far, but
I do have to say- also one of the most enjoyable and informative by far!
Le
Manoir is owned by Raymond Blanc who is one of the worlds’ truly gifted and
exceptional Michelin stared chiefs. I have followed his television programmes
across the years and am currently reading his very interesting biography.
I
did enquire a few years ago about one of his cookery courses that appeared
vegetarian, but decided against it upon finding out that they were inexplicably
cooking a chicken dish it the middle of it-the lady I spoke to said if I
wouldn’t mind participating in preparation and the cooking, they could still
find me something else to eat...
I was therefore very pleased to hear about
this new course which was said to be absolutely vegetarian...
Though I do have to say some of the recipes
did contain fish i.e. fish stock, anchovies and non-vegetarian cheese e.g.
parmesan...On the actual day though, no fish products were used.
Le
Manoir is set in the beautiful Oxfordshire countryside, just south of the
actual City of Oxford. The nearby
village of Great Milton is very quaint and picturesque with thatched cottages
and old stone walls.
I
was very, very fortunate to be able to stay with a very old( but not in actual
years of course!) and very dear acquaintance the night before who lives just
outside Oxford and then travel the few miles then next day to the course
situated at the little village of Great Milton..
For
those of you that are thinking of staying at Le Manoir itself-and what a treat
that would be, may I just draw your attention to the tariff...for the cheapest
room and just breakfast it is £515...for one night...and I won’t even mention
the prices in the restaurant for lunch and dinner...
Back
to the Cookery Course...
The
actual course was not unfortunately being taught that day by the great man
himself as he was apparently away in the South of France filming for the BBC.
Instead we had the chief tutor of the Cookery school, Mark Peregrine. Mark, I
have to say was absolutely fantastic. He has been with Raymond from the
beginning. He is himself, a very talented chef and one of life’s natural
teachers. Right from the word go, he gently led us into the course and deftly
demonstrated and encouraged us to lift our game and learn new techniques-even
those of us that have been around the block one or two times!!
The
cookery school itself is situated in the middle of Le Manoirs’s professional
kitchen. On one side the windows open on to the glorious view of the gardens
and on the other the glass fronted wall overlook the busy kitchen. The cookery school
kitchen is based on a ‘normal’ kitchen and as such is not overly large and split
into compact section with a hob and oven and cupboards all of which are laid
out in pristine order. The very helpful kitchen staff took away our dirty
dishes during the day and replenished our cupboards. Mark demonstrated the
various dishes and then we cooked and ate our way through the day.
There
was just nine of us on the course and we started off with a very simple
‘breakfast’ dish to quickly satisfy us –plus I’m sure it gave Mark chance to
get to know us and our level (or not) of expertise! NB all recipes are taken
from the Cookery Course Notes and the photographs are of my attempts of the
dishes on the day.
Poached Eggs with Tomato Fondue
Introduction
A delicious breakfast or light lunch, which
utilizes two simple techniques; poaching and stewing. The success of this
recipe depends on the quality of the raw ingredients; the variety and ripeness
of your tomatoes and the freshness of your eggs.
Serves (Yield): 1 Difficulty: ●○○
Preparation time: 10
mins Cooking time:10 mins
Special equipment: Saucepan
with lid.
Planning ahead:
The tomato fondue can be prepared two days in
advance and the poached eggs can be cooked one day in advance if refreshed in
ice water to stop the cooking then covered in the fridge.
Ingredients:
For the tomato fondue:
15ml Oil,
olive
5g Garlic,
crushed
4g / 1 sprig Rosemary,
finely chopped
4g / 1 sprig Thyme
leaves, finely chopped
150g Roma
plum or cherry tomatoes, roughly chopped
1g / 1 pinch Sugar
5g Chives,
chopped
1g Sea
salt
1g Black
pepper, freshly ground
For poaching eggs:
1Litre Water
10g / 2 tsp Vinegar
5g / 1 tsp Sea
salt
55g / 1 medium Egg,
organic, free-range, fresh (*1)
Method:
In a small saucepan, on medium heat add the olive
oil, garlic, rosemary, thyme and the chopped tomatoes, season with two small
pinches of salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for two minutes, taste and correct
the seasoning if necessary.
Whilst the tomatoes are cooking bring the water,
salt and vinegar to the boil. Crack the egg into a small bowl. Stir the water
with a spoon to create a whirlpool. Tip the egg into the centre of the swirling
water. Cook for 3-4 minutes just on simmering point. (*2)
When the egg is cooked pour the tomato fondue into
a soup bowl, and with a slotted spoon, transfer the egg onto the fondue. Add
half a turn of pepper and sprinkle with the chopped chives. Serve while hot.
This was delicious! The aim had been to make a
flavour packed dish very quickly. It was deliberately served without any
carbohydrate to keep it light although we all agree it would be marvellous
served on top of toast or a bowl of pasta or simply with chunks of crusty bread
to mop up the very, very tasty sauce and runny egg yolk!
A small point though about cooking a perfect
poached egg. I hate to disagree with R.B. on this but personally I prefer
Heston Blumenthal’s technique-though I’ll say this very quietly in this Post...
Heston
suggests bringing to the boil, a shallow saucepan of salted water.
Using a slated spoon first thoroughly drain each egg
allowing the extra loose white to fall away and then gently slide into the
boiling water. Boil very gently for 3.5/4 minutes then again using the slated
spoon remove and dry on some kitchen paper to get rid of excess water before
placing on hot buttered toast or your choice of dish. This method ensues all
the excess white is removed and a perfectly cohesive poached egg is the result
and without the light ‘tang’ of any vinegar.
We made about 12 different dishes during the day so
it was very much full on and, thank goodness, we had the air conditioning up to
maximum as it was one of the hottest days on the Summer outside. Mark and our
little kitchen ‘brigade’ made sure we were well supplied with hot and cold
drinks and, if we were not eating enough already, the professional kitchen
would send little nibbles in for us too!!
We made three soups including Watercress, Puree of
Coco Beans and the amazing Pistou Soup. Pistou is what some may call the French
version of pesto.
However, never say that to a Frenchman...especially
to a certain M. Blanc.
The French claim to have had ‘their’ version
first...
Pistou as opposed to Pesto, does not have pine nuts
or parmesan cheese in it.
The quality of this soup relies on freshly picked
vegetables which should be used when at their best and in season. For M. Blanc,
seasonality is crucial and as such this soup is a boon to keen gardeners to
extol their vegetables. You also do not need much of any one kind so can pick
your way around your plot with what is looking good on the day...
The incredible flavour comes from the cooking
technique used. Mark taught us what he had been taught by Raymond. In order to
capture and intensify the wonderful flavour, the vegetables are steamed,
sweated and sweetened. This is achieved by using a large wide pan or skillet
with a lid, a little stock already hot in a nearby saucepan and a few knobs of
unsalted butter. The small amount of hot liquid together with the unsalted
butter and the chopped vegetables in the covered pan, creates a temporary
emulsion which cooks and seals in the flavour. I have to say this simple method
is extremely effective and I have since used this time and time again and my
‘testers’ have also remarked on the intense flavour this achieves.
Mark also demonstrated the difference blanching the
basil leaves first make to the final colour and attractiveness of the
dish-another tip I shall remember. He also said that blanched basil can be
stored in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Another tip when including tomato, was the part of
the tomato used should be depending on what was required for the dish. The pulp
is sweet, the seeds bitter and the skin is a combination of bitter and sweet and
also adds colour to the dish.
Onions should also be chosen according to their
known flavour. It was definitely a case of ‘knowing your onions’ i.e. Spanish will
add more of a ‘sweetness’ etc. He also talked about the various ‘tricks’ to
stop your eye watering...one person had heard of putting them temporarily into
the freezer which Mark strongly vetoed as this will change the texture and
resulting flavour. He simply suggested not cutting the root until the end as
that is where most of the irritant vapours are stored.
Finally, the Coco Bean Soup is simply all the items
in the ‘Ingredients for the coco beans section’ but with a few generous ladles
of vegetable stock to loosen it up. Absolutely incredibly delicious and we all
marvelled at the flavour, texture and taste and wanted more-and that saying
something when we were eating all day!
Just need to now find some coco beans...
Coco Beans are officially known as Le Coco de
Paimpol and have protected A.O. C. Status. Very similar to borlotti beans, they
have a wonderful melt in the mouth feel. They are traditionally grown in
Brittany and therefore traditionally used in French dishes but are less well
known and thus not so easily obtainable here in the UK.
I have though, found one supplier whose products
are in many UK Asian grocery stores and on line
And now on to this soup itself-which comes, as you
will have gathered by now, highly recommended!
Pistou Soup
Introduction
A truly wholesome and wonderfully delicious peasant
soup. It combines all the fresh
vegetables in a flavoursome broth providing many valuable nutrients.
Serves (Yield): 2 Difficulty: ●○○
Preparation time: 30 mins Cooking time: 15 mins
Special equipment: Blender
Planning ahead:
The pesto and the coco beans can be prepared 1 day
in advance and kept cling filmed in the fridge. The soup can be prepared a few
hours in advance and finished at the last moment with pesto.
Ingredients for the pistou sauce:
30g /1 handful Basil
leaves, blanched for 5 seconds and refreshed (*1)
5g /1 clove Garlic,
puréed
100ml Olive
oil, extra virgin
1g /1 pinch Sea
salt
1g / 2 pinches White
pepper
Ingredients for the coco beans:
200g Fresh coco beans (*2)
or haricot blanc (if
dried soak for 12 hours and discard water)
30g / 2tbsp Olive oil
50g / ¼ Onions,
roughly chopped
5g / 1 Garlic
clove, whole, peeled
1 Bouquet
Garni (1 bay leaf, 2 sprigs of thyme, a few stalks of parsley strung together)
400ml Water
4g / 4 pinch Sea
salt
1g / 2 pinches Black
pepper
Ingredients for the soup:
30g / 2tbsp Olive
oil (*3)
30g / ¼ small Onion,
chopped finely
45g / ½ medium Carrot,
peeled and chopped finely
25g / ½ stick Celery,
peeled and chopped finely
45g / 1/6 Fennel,
chopped finely
60g Turnip,
peeled and chopped finely
400ml Water,
boiling (*4)
30g / 2tbsp Peas,
fresh
25g Broad
beans
25g / ½ Courgette,
finely diced
30g / 2tbsp Fresh
cooked coco beans or soaked dried beans
50g / 1 Tomato,
vine ripened, diced
5g / 5 pinch Sea
salt
½ g /1 pinch Freshly
ground white pepper
To Finish:
50g Fresh
pesto sauce
20g Grated
parmesan
20g Croûtons
(optional)
Method:
Making the pesto sauce:
Purée all the ingredients in the liquidiser, taste
and season with salt and pepper, reserve. Keep in the fridge until required.
Cooking the beans:
Sweat the onions, garlic, and bouquet garni in
olive oil for 4 minutes.
Add the beans and continue to sweat for a further 2
minutes. Add the water, bring to the boil; season to taste and simmer gently
for between 40 minutes and 1 hour until the beans are tender. Allow the beans
to cool down in the cooking liquid.
Making the soup:
In a large pan sweat the vegetables (*5) except the peas, courgettes and
tomatoes in the olive oil, for 4 minutes.
Add the boiling water,
season with salt and pepper, and simmer (*6) for 10 minutes.
At the last moment add the peas, courgettes and the
cooked beans; cook for a further 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, taste and correct
seasoning if necessary.
Serving:
Serve in a large warmed tureen, pour in 50g of
pesto sauce and serve to your guests. Place parmesan and croûtons on the table
so guests may help themselves.
Chef’s Notes (*):
*1
Blanching the
basil retains its vivid green colour.
*2
This variety of
bean has a wonderful texture but can be replaced by haricot blanc beans,
flageolet, butter beans or borlotti beans.
*3
When you cook
olive oil most of the molecules of flavours go away, so use a good but
inexpensive oil. Only use extra virgin olive oil for dressings or added at the
last moment to finish your dish.
*4
I use boiling
water to shorten the cooking time, which preserves the vivid colours,
nutrients, clear flavours and textures of this soup.
*5
The sweating process will bring the sugar out of the
vegetables and enhance the flavour of the soup.
*6
Cooking too aggressively will destroy the texture of
the delicate beans; they will burst and be very powdery.
Variations:
Any summer vegetables such as broad beans, spinach,
or young cabbage could be added to this soup.
These beans would be lovely if used for a salad;
dressed still warm with shallots and a mustard dressing.
The addition of 20g parmesan & 5g pine nuts
would give you a pesto sauce.
Do give this soup a go-you will not be disappointed
and it is a great showcase for your veggies from the garden-just use what you
have available on the day-that way it is absolutely seasonal-just as Chef
requires!
Back to the
cookery course...
As I might have mentioned, we did not go hungry at
any point during the day...
As Mark demonstrated dishes, we were strongly
encouraged to taste, taste, taste...
We also had a very nice glass of white wine introduced
by one of the young Sommeliers when we sat down and ate at lunch time.
And a quick but highly enjoyable stroll around the
grounds...
Including the fabulous vegetable gardens...
I hope everyone has enjoyed this as much as I did
on the day. I do have some more recipes and glimpses of the day if anybody is
interested...
Until then, eat well and heartedly!
