Game for game
It baffles me that many people will eat chicken but not rabbit. Perhaps if the cuteness factor of chicks remained into adulthood poor poultry would have more of a chance against bunny. As for me, I’m game for game.
A lot of invitations to dine out cross my desk these day (hope this doesn’t sound too self-important) and I refuse most of them. Unless they contain something that really excites me (and motivating to write about), for instance learning something about a new cooking method or cuisine, I can’t think that you will want to read about me sitting down for a nice meal. There are plenty of restaurant review sites that do a great job and it’s hard to be objective when you haven’t paid for your lunch or dinner with your own hard cash. When I do go out, I want to enjoy the experience without wielding my camera and making notes (although I do confess to meeting other criteria of food-nerdism).
However, an invitation to The Cavendish restaurant at Bonnington Tower for a game-themed set menu matched with wines twisted my arm. I’ll be honest, it was the wine and food matching that tempted me (still keeping my WSET 3 skills honed).
Feeling intrepid as we were braving the unknown depths of Jumeirah Lakes Towers, a newer area of Dubai which remains a bit of a mystery, the taxi driver took us in through a new road to a gleaming, but fairly characterless hotel. With the jaded gaze of a long-term resident in Dubai, my heart sank at acres of marble and fountains as we descended the stairs into The Cavendish. I thought I knew exactly what to expect from the food.
We were welcomed by Bernd Zeithen, (F & B Assistant Manager) who was attentive all evening, asking us for feedback on the food and the wine matches with genuine interest. He paid the same attention to the other tables of diners too. With a crisp, creamy glass of bubbles in the form of Graeme Beck Non Vintage Brut from the Western Cape, we were presented with a single tortellino containing confit of duck, truffle and herbs surrounded by a pool exquisitely balanced pheasant consommé. I sat up, swallowed every last drop of the deeply savoury liquid and silently digested my words and preconceptions.
A stained glass window of game bird and foie gras terrine (described as a mosaic) held together with silky jelly making a great foil for the paté was matched with 2005 Weingut Max Ferd. Richter Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett. Straw coloured with petrol and dried apricots on the nose, its oily mouthfeel and pleasant acidity adding another piece in the jigsaw of exciting textures and flavours.
Very few people can resist a pie and I’m certainly not one of them. I was totally seduced by the dome of golden pastry cloaking roast quail and wild mushroom. It was elegant enough to earn it’s title of pithivier but satisfying enough for any comfort food lover (raises hand) especially as served with a jug of jus (gravy). A robust 2006 Syrah Viognier from the Western Cape by Porcupine Ridge was perfect; floral aromas of the Viognier complementing the herbs of the dish as did the spice of the Syrah with the quail.
Pan-fried fillet of sea trout with braised baby gem lettuce, fresh peas, wild boar bacon and horseradish cream was an excellent dish but too subtle to be served after such a show-stopper. We also went backwards to a white wine match a Gewurtztraminer from Alsace by Hugel et Fils which although aromatic and fairly complex with tropical fruits such as lychee on the palate would have been more enjoyable before the beefy red.
Grouse offers rich, coarse meat but like many game birds has a tendency to dry out. Despite its bacon overcoat we struggled to free much tender flesh from the bones. A watercress salad, game chips and toast spread with grouse liver pate redeemed the dish however and got me wondering where the chef had learnt his trade. A 2004 Oakville Merlot by Swanson from the Napa Valley was starting to lose its fruit in my opinion; however I had initially been lured by the prospect of drinking some different wines and this certainly delivered. Interestingly, I couldn’t see these on the main wine list either meaning they were hand-picked for the evening by Bernd – it was a real treat to step outside the usual suspects on Dubai wine lists.
A jumble of mango, raspberries and mint in a lime foam was a lovely surprise and revived our flagging appetites for a trio of rhubarb desserts (served with – deep joy – a jug of custard); ice cream, a crumble and a pillow of soufflé, the latter being another triumph. A Chilean late harvest Gewurtztraminer by Montes was a lovely choice of dessert wine however we sneaked back to the GB bubbles, the fruity freshness getting on very well with the rhubarb.
The chef emerged from the kitchen and revealed he was British with stints in Dubai at Verre, The Ivy and Rivington Grill. His name eludes me, and that of the lovely server who joined in with our rather boisterous debates about the food and wine, as does the scrap of paper where I made notes of them. I was just enjoying myself too much.
Only pressure of work stopped me from writing this up immediately, in the meantime I have been telling everyone I know about The Cavendish monthly wine dinners with seasonal menus. Only the prospect of seeing my two daughters at the school concert (one on clarinet, one singing Rule Britannia) prevents me from returning on Tuesday 13th November 2012 for the Furred Game Wine Dinner (menu here). With 3 courses for 295 AED and 5 courses for 345 AED, which includes some really interesting wine matches, this is exceptional value.
We left via Healey’s Bar and Terrace where a lively jazz band was in full flow, and then onto McGettingan’s, a phenomenally popular Irish Pub still bustling even though it was almost midnight on a Tuesday evening. How the other half live in Dubai!.
For more flattering pics of the food check out Bonnington Tower Facebook page and my partner in crime for the night The Hedonista
Any food and wine matching highlights to share? And are you game for game? Or should we ban the bunny?
On moderation and militants
Moderation has gone out of fashion according to Giorgio Locatelli. “Nowadays people want lots of everything all year round whenever they want it” he says. He is aware of the irony of this statement; we are sitting on the terrace at Rondo Locatelli in Atlantis, The Palm which is in Dubai – a city that has become a by-word for bigger, greater, more extravagant i.e. excess.
Giorgio and his team had just flown in from Italy and he was cradling the purpose of his journey; a plate of new season white truffles from Umbria, knobbly and dust-coloured, nestled under a glass dome. He carefully lifted the lid and the heady, musky, irresistible aroma reached my end of the table.
I’d heard Giorgio’s memories of his annual truffle-buying trip with his father or grandfather before. They would all pile into a tiny Fiat and hand over a wad of notes to a shady looking man at a garage, “like we were buying drugs or something” (pronounced drags) he laughs. Atlantis had invited me to taste the new season truffle menu in 2010 and 2011, plus I had cooked with Giorgio at Taste of Dubai. However, his explanation of the sensitivity of truffles to environmental factors (they won’t grow in a flight path or near a road) led to an increasingly impassioned diatribe on seasonality, sustainability and why vegetable gardens are good. He hardly paused for breath, but when he did I managed to chip-in in agreement “and people believe the view peddled by the chemical companies that the only way of feeding the world is through intensive agriculture.” He had the ear of everyone at the table and was on a roll! We were ready to take up arms (well perhaps forks and hoes) and march.
While Giorgio was speaking, we were served little samples of the white truffle menu, all very simple and protein or carbohydrate rich to set off the flavour of the truffle. Fancy dishes should be avoided at all costs according to Giorgio. First white four cheese pizza topped with truffle, then an exquisite dish of fluffy scrambled egg with truffle and then the ambrosial risotto al tartufo, truly the food of the gods.
The sun was lowering and our visit came to an end. After posing for a few photographs we took our leave. Giorgio raised his fist with a shout and a grin “militante!”
The special white truffle menu is available at Ronda Locatelli from October 25th and continues as long as the season allows.
Disclosure: We were guests of Atlantis, The Palm as part of the Food Photography and Styling Workshop programme with Meeta K Wolff (more about that to follow).
In my kitchen October 2012
I’ve been asked on more than one occasion what it is like to blog for a living. Alas, I cannot give the answer as I don’t. My Custard Pie has brought lots of lovely opportunities my way but I don’t run ads, sponsored posts, sell e-books or anything like that so need to do something else to pay the bills. Dashing off to London last month to Food Blogger Connect (thank you Airmiles), pressure of work in October plus running the Food Photography and Styling Workshop at the Miele Gallery with Meeta has taken its toll on my time in the kitchen. It also made me a bit late in revealing the winners of the Antonio Carluccio book give-away (see below). Sincere apologies *blushes*. All this has brought some interesting things into my kitchen this month:
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- Steenbergs organic koekkruidden from my Food Blogger Connect goodie bag. Must Google what it is!
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- Fresh pistachios from Lebanon – KP can’t get enough of them
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- Organic coconut flour given to me by Claire of the International Fine Food Festival. Suggestions on how to use it welcome.
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- I was very sceptical about this tea – it sounds horrid. Now I’m a total convert to Numi Pu-erh especially this flavour. Thanks Claire.
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- Thanks to Karin from Yum and More for this week’s worth of Nutella for my teens. They loved them!
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- Another gift from Claire – this herb oil is fantastic; so fragrant. Lovely drizzled over fish. Find at the International Fine Food Festival, Dubai.
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- When you find really fresh spices the difference is astonishing. I now buy all mine from Down to Earth. They are organic too.
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- Utter fail for the Fresh From the Oven Challenge – spelt rolls which ended up like concrete. They are now blitzed into breadcrumbs and stored in the freezer.
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- We celebrated our wedding anniversary at Table 9 and had a most fantastic evening. At the end they bring round a home-made sweet trolley with gleaming jars so you can choose your own goodie bag. Nice.
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- I was given some of these lightly pasteurised smoothies from France to try. My teens said they were a bit too ‘banana-ry’ but they disappeared in a flash. You can buy them at the Ripe market in Dubai.
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- My daughter is called Beatrice – Bea for short – and I’m drawn to anything with a bee on it. There’s an excellent selection of real ales at MMI right now.
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- Dima Sharif, who cooked for us all at the Food Photography workshop gave us olive oil from her family’s farm and a special spice rub
The Numi tea, Tropicai organic coconut flour, Organic Herb Company products and Down to Earth will all be at the International Fine Food Festival in Dubai 30 Oct – 2 Nov. I’m moderating the Cookbook Club discussion with Ariana Bundy, Suzanne Husseini and Laila Al Khaja. I’m a bit nervous and excited; do come and say hello if you’re at the festival.
This video of cardamom panna cotta was taken in my kitchen by the very talented Reem for Dubai Media and aired during Ramadan on Noor TV.
In your kitchen
And the lucky winners of the Antonio Carluccio books are Abigail, Amrita, Rupal, Nina and Stuart – you’ll receive an email from me letting you know how to collect your book. Huge thanks to everyone who took the time to enter and left such interesting comments. Let me know what you cook from Antonio Carluccio – love to share recipes. As always you can see what’s in Celia’s kitchen (Fig Jam and Lime Cordial) here.
Let’s all stand together – Blog action day 2012
Blog Action Day 2012 – The power of We.
When I’m having a ‘glass half-full’ day I see a very bleak future for our world. It’s not the prospect of a nuclear apocalypse or a killer disease, it’s down to who is influencing the food chain. After all there are three fundamentals to life: air, water and food – control of one of these is pretty mind blowing. On a dark day, I reflect how carelessly we have entrusted the latter to a handful of big conglomerates, chemical companies, retailers and speculators (in the form of commodity trading). We’ve already reached a dystopia where farmers are prosecuted when GM seed lands in their crop and contaminates it, where cows, pigs and hens live and die their short existences without every seeing a field or day-light, where a innocuous crop like soy can be mechanically processed to such a degree that it is included in just about every food stuff, from animal feed to confectionery, so when there is a shortage prices rocket sky high. Pizza is classified as a vegetable because of political lobbying, health infrastructure is under huge strain due to diet-related illness, our landscapes are being reshaped, precious land is being built on and farmers put out of business due to ‘market-forces’. On these dark days I see mankind living from hand to mouth, our children malnourished and these halcyon days of freedom and choice (that we seem to have squandered) being looked on with incredulity and nostalgia.
At times like these I need to believe that it’s not all one way and there are people with integrity and common-sense who can temper the effects of those having a malign influence on our world. People who take the spark of an idea, however small, and make a real difference to one part of the food chain.
The Food Programme
The BBC Radio 4 Food Programme is one beacon of light. From light-hearted topics like gadgets, to honouring food heroes such as Major Patrick Rance and George Perry Smith to highlighting global food issues such as the price of coffee and cocoa. One recent episode about trans-fats, presented by Sheila Dillon, won an award at The Guild of Food Writers Awards 2012. The over-riding message that runs through the programming is that people care about food and are doing something about changing the food landscape.
The BBC Food and Farming awards highlight excellence in many areas, from best street food or takeaway to best dinner lady or public caterer and from now until 28th November the Food Programme will be relating stories of this year’s finalists. This shortlist has been compiled from hundreds of nomimations from the general public. I nominated Kilchoman Distillery and am delighted that they’ve made the final.
The most encouraging thing about the Food Programme is that it highlights not just passing fads (free-from diets, cupcakes etc) but issues, good and bad that affect our attitude to food locally and globally.
One Man, One Cow, One Planet
One of the most encouraging statistics I’ve heard recently is that there are 200,000 bio-dynamic compost heaps in India. Modern industrial agriculture promised a better way with a population of 1.2 billion mouths to feed. In fact it’s had a detrimental long-term effect, sapping the land of nutrients, depleting the water table and in recent years the biotech industry has forced many farmers into unmanageable debt leading to high rates of suicide. The film One Man, One Cow, One Planet shows the positive impact of biodynamic agriculture pioneer Peter Proctor, who is working with thousands of farmers in India, which offers an alternative sustainable blueprint to grow our food and to feed the world.
The theme to this year’s World Food Day (October 16th_ is “Agricultural cooperatives – key to feeding the world”. It has been chosen to highlight the role of cooperatives in improving food security and contributing to the eradication of hunger.
Hugh’s Fish Fight
Although there is still a lot more to achieve, since I wrote for Blog Action Day last year, Hughs’ Fish Fight has had a meaningful and lasting impact. I joined the campaign by sending dozens of emails to lobby MP’s – another example of the ‘power of we’.
Some of the areas of impact:
- UK Supermarket sales of sustainably-sourced fish have soared and people are now consistently buying new types of fish.
- McDonald’s announced that over 13 million customers every day across Europe will be able to buy Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified sustainable fish in McDonald’s restaurants from October this year.
- European Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki has pledged to end ‘the nightmare of discards’.
- More than 200 MPs signed an Early Day Motion to discuss discards as a result of us lobbying them.
- Over 60,000 emails were sent to MEPs from the UK.
- By 2014 all UK tuna suppliers will have changed their fishing methods to protect sharks and turtles.
- Now only sustainable fish will be served at Whitehall, prisons, civil servants, and parts of the armed forces (UK).
I hope that that some of these impacts will have a knock on effect on the success of the ‘Choose Wisely‘ campaign in the UAE.
Local, organic produce
And finally, while the arguments for local production of food in the UAE are by no means cut and dried (farming in a desert landscape) the growth in choice of fresh produce driven by the Baker & Spice Farmers’ Market on the Terrace, the Ripe market and shop, Greenheart veg boxes, Go Organic and Blue Planet Green People makes every day a brighter one for me. A real alternative to rows of sad-looking, tasteless, under-ripe supermarket fruit and veg flown in from as far as the US, Argentina and Australia.
Plus the majority of the vegetables for the up and coming International Fine Food Festival have been grown locally and organically by Organiliciouz demonstrating that old models can be broken where people have passion and vision.
‘The Power of We’ helps me remain optimistic for the future. To keep in touch with everything going on today on Blog Action Day use the #PowerOfWe, #BAD12 and #Blogactionday hashtags across social media.
I’ll leave you with this video from Irene Kharono from ActionAid Uganda who is participating in Blog Action Day. She talks about the land grabs that are affecting her country and many poor small-holder farmers around the world and why the Power of We is important in tackling this issue.
So what do you think we can do to change our food future for the better?
A recipe for life?
A book review, a recipe for ragout and an Antonio Carluccio cook book giveaway.
The title of Antonio Carluccio’s memoirs seems to be a little misplaced. Far from providing ‘A Recipe for Life‘ he seems to be searching for that elusive combination of ingredients to bring him happiness even at the age of seventy-five years old. This comes as a quite a surprise, having always viewed Antonio Carluccio as a charming, happy-go-lucky, cuddly bear of man; indeed it seems to have come as a shock to Raymond Blanc (cited as a close friend) who reveals in the introduction that he had little knowledge of Antonio’s repeated attempts at suicide, pattern of sinking into deep depression and serial relationship breakdowns.
Although Carluccio claims to have been candid in these memoirs and has revealed some highly personal details of his life previously camouflaged and buried away, there is still a feeling of distance in the narrative. The book gives a fascinating insight into life in Italy during the Second World War and living under fascism, the historical and geographical details are expounded upon and, of course, the food is described with great passion. But there is something missing in the voice of the man himself; I was left wondering why, after the break up of his third marriage after 27 years, his last wife Priscilla, the sister of Terence Conran, has not spoken to him since and neither have his many step-children. Perhaps he is also looking for the answer to this question. His deep love of nature, whittling hazel sticks, art, the countryside, food, wine and cooking is not in doubt. The book is peppered with simple recipes from ragout to pears poached in Vin Santo. He’s also a caring and ethical man about humanity in general and states that if he had been an academic, anthropology would have been his topic. Successful long-term relationships remain elusive.
The first cook book I ever bought was The Cook Book by Terence and Caroline Conran which I bought at Habitat and carted home on the bus with my chicken brick (the memories of its weight and subsequent three-day arm-ache are still with me). The recipes were exotic (chicken with 40 cloves of garlic), the contemporary middle-class lifestyle it portrayed an aspirational world away. Another early purchase in my culinary library was The Sunday Times Cook Book by Arabella Boxer. This introduced me to several cooks who I still admire to this day including Claudia Roden and Antonio himself. He is pictured standing behind party food for 25, chicken livers, arancini and stuffed vine leaves, with a formidable expression. His subsequent TV series and cookery books had me enthralled and I immediately identified with something he calls his ‘mof mof’ approach – ‘minimum of fuss, maximum of flavour’.
Perhaps he has concentrated all the personal feelings he finds difficult to express in relationships into his cookery books; and that warmth, integrity and vibrance is why I return to them again and again. I have two well-worn tomes on my shelf: A Passion for Pasta is the most used and ranges from the simplest pasta with peas to tortellini in a pastry case (in sarcofago) reminiscent of the luxurious dish served in Lampedussa’s The Leopard. The other accompanied his first TV series “Italian feast‘ which gives the regional context to the dishes.
He was in Dubai recently, on his way to Australia, and I met up with him in his eponymous restaurant in Dubai Mall. Although Antonio Carluccio himself plays only a nominal role these days, the menu remains one of simple, relevant Italian classics with seasonal variations. The only thing missing from the Dubai branch is the option to order a glass of wine (bringing back memories of dining with a dear friend at the Kingston branch), but it’s an informal place to eat unpretentious, well-prepared food, and the terrace has a great view of the Dubai fountains. Mr Carluccio was particularly attentive to the restaurant staff signing many books and posing for photographs. He looked quite tired and I felt sorry for him so I cut my planned questions down to a couple only (felling in one swoop any pretensions to be a hard-nosed journalist!) You can listen to his answers here:
Leaving Dubai Mall, clutching my copy of A Recipe for Life inscribed ‘with much love’, having returned on a night flight from London that morning, all I wanted was a soothing plate of restorative ragout. I suspect that Antonio Carluccio might have felt the same.
Antonio Carluccio cook book giveaway
Carluccio’s has, very kindly, provided FIVE COPIES of Antonio’s cookery books for me to give away to my blog readers. You can choose from Carluccio’s Complete Italian Food, Antonio Carluccio’s Italia and The Complete Mushroom Book: The Quiet Hunt. I’d like any one of them on my shelves myself (read more about them here). The only proviso is that the winners must collect them from Carluccio’s in Dubai Mall. There are three ways to enter:
Leave a comment on this post saying which cook book you’d like to win and why.
You can also get an extra entry if you Tweet about this competition with a link to this post and mentioning @mycustardpie – please add a comment to say that you’ve done this.
Another extra entry is to leave a comment on My Custard Pie Facebook page saying why you’d like to win (and please let me know in a comment here too).
You have until midnight (UAE time) on 23rd October 2012 to enter and I’ll announce the winner on Thursday 24th October (chosen by Random.org). Good luck to everyone. Sorry if you live outside the UAE and can’t participate – but I welcome your comments as always.
Tomato and meat ragu
– adapted from a recipe by Antonio Carluccio in A Passion for Pasta
The sauce serves 8 (you can reserve half and freeze it) and the meat 4
The method of cooking the meat in the sauce is traditional. Italian’s would eat the sauce with pasta as a prima course and then the meat as a main.
Ingredients
olive oil, approx 2 tablespoons
butter
2 large onions, chopped finely
600g of meat with bone – I used cubed stewing steak and a pork chop
300 ml red wine (about half a bottle)
4 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes (or about 2kg of ripe, fresh tomatoes, skinned and chopped)
a good handful of basil leaves
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Put a drizzle of olive oil in a pan with a generous knob of butter, heat gently and sauté the chopped onion until soft and slightly golden. Raise to a high heat, put the pieces of meat into the pan and fry for a few minutes until brown on all sides. Add the wine and simmer for a couple of minutes but there is no need to reduce it much. Then stir in the tomatoes and leave to simmer, with the lid on, very gently for 1 1/2 hours. Test the meat, if it is tender add the basil, if not simmer for a little longer. After adding the basil cook gently without the lid for a further 1/2 hour and check for seasoning. Serve with your favourite pasta – wide pappardelle are usual in Italy but my family like spaghetti.
Disclosure: My copy of A Recipe for Life was complimentary, however I paid for A Passion for Pasta and An Italian Feast myself (many years ago) and all views are my own.
Carluccio’s is on the Lower Ground Floor Boardwalk, Dubai Mall, United Arab Emirates | Tel: +971 (0) 4 4341320 Opening hours: Monday to Sunday, 9am – 11pm
STOP PRESS: A couple of places have become available on the Food Photography and Styling Workshop by Meeta Wolff of What’s For Lunch Honey? on 23rd and 24th October 2012. Located in the beautiful Miele Gallery, a hands-on, intensive guide to making better food images, plus live cooking by chefs Dima Sharif and Russell Impiazzi, a field trip to Atlantis The Palm for cocktail making and dinner, covetable props by Tavola and lots of goodies (including from Toffee Princess, Lindt and Lime & Tonic Dubai).
Looking behind the label
Choosing which wine to buy can be like negotiating your way through a maze of confusion. When I was studying for my Wines and Spirits Education Trust exams, the level 2 book was called Looking behind the label. The label, that slip of paper stuck to the front of the bottle, is our talisman to choosing wine but it’s far from straightforward. German wine labels can be the most obfuscatory; in some cases it’s impossible to tell whether the wine is sweet or dry. A knowledge of the regions of France and where the main grape varieties are grown is still necessary to understand French wine. Once you know that Chablis contains unoaked Chardonnay, white Sancerre predominantly Sauvignon Blanc and Vourvray Chenin Blanc, life starts to get a bit easier but unless you take a pocket wine guide into a French supermarket you may still be baffled by smaller communes.
New World wine makers stole a march on the Old World by understanding the need to make things more transparent. The US and Australia were pioneers of varietal labelling i.e. stating which grape varieties are contained in the wine. The urge to ape traditional Grand Cru appellations also went out the window and wines were given names that customers felt warm and friendly about (that were easy to pronounce). In fact labelling started to get radical; take the Ralph Steadman illustrations on Cardinal Zin from Bonny Doon (anyone remember The Catalyst made by Randall Grahm and sold by Oddbins?) the success of Fat Bastard and Pinot Evil in the US and the rise and rise of Goats do Roam from South Africa. I draw the line at wines marketed to women in the US including Mad Housewife, Mommy’s Time Out and Happy Bitch (see more here) and would rather be seen dead than carrying one of those out of the store. Which also demonstrates that fashion, style and trends can affect wine brands (and grape varieties) more than the contents of the bottle. In fact the marketing by varietal while neglecting terroir is now having an impact on a lot of New World wines particularly Australia, as certain grape varieties go out of fashion.
Testing taste-buds
Looking back on my wine exams, the most nerve-wracking part of WSET advanced level was the blind tasting session. Putting aside all preconceptions and prejudices and concentrating on what is in the glass, can be tricky.
And so it was when I agreed to participate in a blind tasting challenge, The Label Project, that was being held among bloggers all over the world. The stakes were high – get it right and I could win a trip to Australia. Could I clear my mind and trust my instincts enough to be successful?
Diary of a blind tasting:
No need to guess the country of origin. It was stated on a little label at the back – Made in Australia. The welcome video has an Australian voice over. A double-bluff? Not if the prize was a trip to down-under!
Wine one:
Region clues:
- It lies between two other major and much older wine regions
- Its macroclimate is cool but within the region there are many varied topographies, soils and mesoclimates
- It is famous for its fruit produce including cherries, pears and apples
Varietal Clues
- Hints of honeydew melon aromas
- A palate of lemon pith
- Underlying creamy texture
The clues made me think that it could be Chardonnay, the nose and the bottle shape confirmed it. Forget Aussie over-oaked though. This wine was crisp and with enough acidity to balance the creaminess.
Wine two:
Region clues:
- Altitude of the region ranges from around 250-400 metres (approx 800-1300 feet) above sea level
- In general, winters are cool and wet but summer days are warm, dry and sunny here
- It is very popular with wine tourists
Varietal clues:
- Spicy aroma of rich fruit cake
- Rich berry flavours with a hint of dark chocolate
- Velvety texture
I was certain from the clues that this was Shiraz. I was just filling in my answer when I though I’d better taste it. The colour was unexpected, I thought it would be more purple. It wasn’t the usual block-buster, deep, peppery Aussie Shiraz I’d expected. There was doubt in my mind. Where was the pepper? It was soft, velvety, with berry fruits on the palate and nose. I kept wavering. Merlot?
Wine three:
Region Clues:
- The terrain is completely flat
- Its subsoil is an ancient marine bed
- It has a maritime influenced climate
Varietal tasting note clues :
- Leafy aromas with a hint of mint
- Ripe cassis flavours
- A firm structure with good persistence on the palate
Another cert. Cabernet Sauvignon without a doubt. A hint of blackcurrant leaf and mint, firm tannins. Well balanced and very drinkable.
Waking up early in London on Friday morning I quickly filled in my answers while sitting in bed, sent them off and promptly forgot all about it. Returning to Dubai on Monday, I was greeted by the welcome and unexpected presence of yet another box. I’d had a sneaking suspicion that the wine was Jacob’s Creek Reserve and the contents confirmed it. But alas not Merlot – wine number two was a Shiraz – I’d completely over-analysed that one! Ah well, I could drink my consolation prize with pleasure getting five out of six correct.
Final answers:
Wine #1 – Chardonnay from the Adelaide Hills (South Australia)
Wine #2 – Shiraz from the Barossa Valley (South Australia)
Wine #3 – Cabernet Sauvignon from Coonawarra (South Australia)
Congratulations to the winner who will be announced today from among my fellow bloggers Life in the Food Lane, The Hedonista, Ginger and Scotch and Ishita Unblogged. They will join other bloggers from around the world at Jacob’s Creek where, no doubt, they’ll be learning all about terroir. That’s one party worth going to! Here is the destination:
How do you choose your wine and how much do you think the label affects your choices?
What to do with a veg box
Getting a veg box delivery can be just like receiving a present…
Organic fruit and vegetables from Greenheart
You delve in and explore the contents, revealing lots of surprises, planning in your head which flavours you are going to combine and the possibilities of delicious recipes. Or it can be like getting a gift of scent from a maiden aunt when you are child, the first warmth giving way to puzzlement about what on earth you are going to do with it (or in the case of a veg box, how on earth you are going to get your family to eat it!)
The feeling of excitement when the first organic farm shop opened in Dubai is still with me like it was yesterday. And it wasn’t just a scruffy shed with a few nobbly veg (although that would have done); it was light-filled and elegant with painted wooden troughs and woven bags. The scent of basil hit you as you walked through the door. It was elegant without losing sight of its roots i.e. the farm. People queued at the door every morning, eager to get the freshest and best pickings. By 3pm it often sold out of everything but herbs. And then suddenly it was gone; rumours abounded but there was silence. In that time the Baker & Spice market (which started around the same time) blossomed and became a permanent fixture during the growing season. Ripe stepped into the chasm left and took on veg box delivery and another thriving food market developed, followed by the Ripe shop (adjacent to the abandoned Nazwa store). Two years later we have choices of organic, fresh, local food that never seemed possible.
So what did happen to Elena of farm shop fame? In that time she has been quietly working with a farm and starting a veg box service. To date it has spread through word of mouth but a new website, under the name of Greenheart, is on the way. So I ordered a veg box as neither market has opened yet…and waited. There was little mix up with delivery but these are early days. It was evident that the vegetables and fruit had been picked that morning (although I received them at the end of the day).
So here’s what I did with my veg box.
I made:
- a rocket and lemon salad (cut lemon segments and add to the leaves with any juice, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt)
- roasted aubergine on the barbecue dressed with laban, finely chopped chilli, spring onions and mint
- a salad with mixed leaves, herbs, radish, spring onions and grilled courgette
- tabbouleh with parsley and mint
- roasted tomatoes (in foil on the barbecue) stirred into pasta
- grilled peppers marinated with garlic and olive oil (I pack into a jar and keep in the fridge; perfect on bruschetta)
- beetroot and walnut hummus (I added dill to the recipe and prefer to call it beetroot muhammara as it is more like the Syrian red pepper dip)
- a Christmas cake and added the few dates I had not eaten already
- melon juice
…and I gave the okra to a friend.
So over all, not enough to feed our family for a week, but lots to contribute to our five a day (the box cost 100 AED).
Organic veg options in Dubai:
Greenheart Organic Farms – weekly veg boxes from collection points and some home delivery. Tel: +971 (0)56 6407060 Email elena@greenheartuae.com www.greenheartuae.com
Ripe Farm Shop, food and craft markets, online ordering, home delivery of veg boxes.
Email: info@ripeme.com Ripe Office: 04 380 7602 Ripe Shop: 04 370 0441 www.ripeme.com
NB The Ripe market starts again this Saturday 6th October at the Courtyard, Al Quoz 9am – 1pm Map here
The Famers’ Market on the Terrace – outside Baker & Spice at Souk Al Bahar and Dubai Marina. Season usually starts in November and the market runs every Friday from about 9.30 am. Organic, local vegetables are on sale at Baker & Spice, Al Manzil at other times. Baker & Spice – Dukkan Al Manzil
Tel: +971 4 4279856 http://bakerandspiceme.com/index.html
Blue Planet, Green People – BS4, Al Seef 2, Cluster U, Jumeirah Lake Towers Tel: 04 369 5209 http://www.blueplanetgreenpeople.com Website claims online order and home delivery of customisable veg boxes and organic meat. I have not tried them out – let me know if you have.
Organic Foods and Cafe at two locations in Dubai (plus Abu Dhabi and Bahrain). Range of imported, organic fruit and vegetables plus a little local produce. Tel: + 971 4 4340577 http://www.organicfoodsandcafe.com/
Union Coop – reasonably priced, local, organic vegetables in limited supply (usually sold out by midday). Ten branches in Dubai http://www.ucs.ae/home.aspx
Unifrutti at Lafayette Gourmet – expanding range of imported, organic fruit and vegetables, more reasonably priced than you might imagine in Galleries Lafayette, Dubai Mall.
Spinneys and Choitram stock varying items too.
P.S. Only a few weeks to go until the Food Photography and Styling Workshop with Meeta at the gorgeous Miele Gallery. The workshop will include lots of hands-on assignments and one-to-one tuition with Meeta, a field trip to Atlantis,The Palm including some lovely treats. Our photos will be given an extra finesse as props are provided by Tavola plus there are lots of goodies including Toffee Princess and Lindt.
Whether you live in Dubai or not, what do you like/dislike about veg boxes and do you have any tips on managing your meals from them?
Blueberry and apple salted caramel focaccia
Weighing the soft flour, measuring the warm water, stirring in the little pearls of yeast, folding the smooth dough, peeping under the cloth to see a mushroom of billowing dough, shooting my spray bottle of water into the oven and hearing the hiss of steam, clearing the counter with my dough scraper, the aroma that permeates the whole house, smearing butter onto a slice with the memory of warmth; I like everything about bread-making except for one thing. Sticky hands. The cloying paste clinging to my fingers in little gooey clumps makes me run for the tap. If I’m making a wet dough (which seems to give superior results) I will usually reach for the dough hook and let a machine transform the icky stuff into a silky ball.
The Bertinet Bakery in Bath
Richard Bertinet is stalking me. OK, I might be exaggerating but his name kept cropping up in connection with bread, then a friend brought round his book and DVD, Dough, as she thought I’d like to borrow it, then when I was in Bath I just happened upon his bread shop, shelves laden with the most tempting loaves and pastries, and finally this month’s Fresh From the Oven challenge is set by Bertinet-fan and ace baker Euan (aka Signor Biscotti) who advocates the Bertinet kneading method. I watched RB’s DVD and a video online (with one of my food heroes Tim Hayward). The dough looked sticky and they were getting their hands right in there. It was time to overcome sticky-hand-phobia and get right in.
And although the dough was a bit unwieldy to work with at first, it soon transformed into smooth, silky, dough which rose with beautiful pockets of air. The stickiness seemed to vanish very quickly and it was easy to clean my hands by rubbing them together (as advised by RB). I might be cured of my mani appiccicose phobia!
Bread making takes a while – not the bits where you are actively involved, but the proving times in-between. We think of keeping dough in a nice warm place but I find that the fridge is often my friend. When my day took an unexpected turn (“Mum are you going to stay for my band audition semi-finals?”) I put the half-proved dough in the fridge to carry on rising very slowly through the afternoon, spread it out in on the tray with the topping on and left in overnight and brought it out into the warm kitchen for just over an hour in the morning before baking.
My family are dried fruit haters and I wanted something fresh to counteract the sweetness. I followed the original recipe with the following changes:
- Dissolving the dried yeast in the water (blood-temperature) before adding it to the flour. We get dried active yeast here in Dubai and it’s not as forgiving as easy-blend.
- Using all white, strong bread flour (hard to get 00 here).
- I added a bit more water (shock horror, even stickier) as the dough looked quite dry. It could have been down to the type of flour.
- Instead of raisins I used 75g of fresh blueberries, folded into the dough.
- The candied peel was omitted.
- My topping was 50g of cold, unsalted butter (in wafer thin slices), 50g of light brown sugar, a scant sprinkling of coarse sea salt (half a teaspoon-ish) and a whole apple, sliced and layered over the lot.
- Don’t expect a hard or sticky layer on top, it’s more a caramel taste as you bite into this soft bread, the fruit bursting through the doughy sweetness. Some of the caramel seeped underneath and reminded me of a dripping cake (or dripper) – anyone in Gloucestershire remember these?
Teen approval (we celebrated the band making the final) and even KP gave it the thumbs up (not a breadaholic like me). This is a truly terrific recipe and it’s got me thinking of all sorts of other combinations of ingredients to try out. Thank you Signor Biscotti for finding and translating it from the original Italian (and converting me to the RB way!).
As always you can admire everyone else’s version of this recipe at the end of the month here.
P.S. I’ve just got the L-plates off and I’m shooting in RAW which means I’ve had to grapple with post-production. Can’t wait for the Lightroom and post-production part of the Food Photography and Styling Workshop with Meeta in October.
Waka waka – this time for Africa
Recipe for piri piri prawns (on the barbecue), Tribes restaurant Dubai, South Africa heritage day, and my first taste of tripe!
If I say ‘Chinese food’, what do you think of? Spring rolls, sweet and sour, chow mein, chop suey, dim sum… How about American food? Hamburgers, hot-dogs, clam chowder, apple pie…. Now African food?
Drawing a blank? Me too. All three are vast continents with a diverse range of cuisines but somehow Africa remains elusive and hard to define.
The distances, the multiple tribes, the different languages (11 official in South Africa alone) a chequered history of colonisation and migrants, huge ranges in climate and fortunes. Perhaps it’s the misconceptions and assumptions about recording African history (interesting article here). My travels have taken me to three African countries and three completely different experiences of food. Libyan cuisine was a wonderful mix of North African and Arabic with Italian influences – some of the most delicious meals I have ever eaten. The Egyptian diaspora has helped to forge what we think of as Middle Eastern cuisine in particular falafel, foul, and kosheri.
My visit to South Africa was in 1997 and we ate fantastic fresh food served impeccably in great locations but most was Western-style. The exception was an ‘African’ restaurant in Cape Town which presented a series of plates throughout the evening resembling a game safari commentary. Zebra was followed by warthog, antelope and then springbok. We thought it was a bit bizarre to be eating their national emblem! I didn’t leave with a sense of local dishes though. Our trip was barely a year after South African Heritage Day was created by President Mandela as head of the first democratically-elected government on 24th September 1996. In fact the great man himself passed by just a few feet away from us while we were strolling round the Victoria and Alfred waterfront; we only caught a glimpse as he was surrounded by a throng of people desperate to see ‘madiba’.
Tribes
So how strange more than a decade later, to be sitting in a restaurant situated inside a shopping mall in Dubai, being spoken to in Zulu and offered the favourite home cooking dishes from a tribe. I am in Tribes, a casual dining restaurant in the Fashion Dome of Mall of the Emirates. The menu is described as a fusion of exotic flavours taken from the African continent since the Tribal era, influenced by the Spice Islands of the East, the French in the West, the Malay & Dutch in the South and the Arabic flavours of the North. The waiting staff all originate from African tribes including Xosa, Nguni, Tawareq, Shona, Luhyia and Kikuyu. The interior is unexpectedly cavernous, some areas a bit sterile due to harsh lighting but others really cosy (the nook behind the open kitchen with a stunning fire-pit).
The ‘hakuna mattata’ plate has a range of interesting things, some familiar like peri peri prawns, others less so like chicken giblets. But we are here to taste a special traditional menu including tripe stew with beans and tomato served with ‘pap’ and pan-fried calf’s liver served with yam mash. Manager Sipho assured us that this was exactly what his mother made for special gatherings and encouraged us to eat with our hands (we didn’t!). I took my first ever bite of tripe, the texture was soft, not chewy like I’d expected and the sauce tasty. The calves liver was made African-style, I’m more used to thinly-sliced and lightly cooked, this was strongly flavoured. The pap is made from finely ground maize and is a sort of porridge eaten daily by many people in Africa. The yam mash was very creamy (similar in texture to Turkish mashed potatoes), both were a good foil for the intense tastes of the meat.
My camera battery died – many thanks to generous Arva of I live in a frying pan for most of these lovely images:
Tribes have put these items on the menu from 21-27th September and hope to encourage as many people from Africa who live or are visiting Dubai to come and celebrate Heritage day with them, as well as other nationalities. On the day itself, the 24th, you can have your face painted with traditional designs and your photograph taken with authentic African shields and armour. Look out for the traditional drumming and singing too – it’ll put a smile on your face (this is more a family restaurant than a romantic meal for two venue). You don’t have to eat tripe or liver, by the way, lots of more approachable dishes were coming out of the kitchen while I was there and the puddings we had were excellent. Read more about Tribes by Ishita Debbie (GA) and Debbie.
Braai – the beloved country and a sleepover
Anyway, back to those peri-peri prawns – a recipe from Mozambique. I expected tasty (they were) and very hot and spicy (they weren’t). So I rustled up a batch of piri piri sauce at home and lit up the barbecue. Smeared over chicken Portuguese-stye was good and the sweet prawns were really fiery (which is good in our house!). The weather is cooling down here in Dubai and barbecue season will start soon and carry on for month, after glorious month. My South African neighbours seem to be permanently in the garden as they fire up a ‘braai’ and it’s the third year that I’m cooking something for Jeanne at Cook Sister’s Braai, the beloved country event. Alliterative by accident – pears last year, pineapple the year before and now prawns.
I’ve booked my flight (with Airmiles ME) and I’m off to Food Blogger Connect at the end of this week. Guess who I’m staying with on Thursday? Jeanne from Cook Sister; who, despite never having met me before, has invited me to her home for a braai.
Food Photography and Styling Workshop
I feel I know Jeanne already through her blog, on Twitter and as she is a dear friend of Meeta from What’s For Lunch Honey? who is returning back to Dubai in October to host another Food Photography and Styling Workshop, this time at the beautiful Miele Gallery plus we’ve got a fabulous field trip to Atlantis, The Palm.
And back to those prawns….
Hot peri-peri sauce, Mozambique-style
Makes enough for about 24 prawns or 1 kilo chicken pieces
Ingredients
10 red birds-eye chillies
90ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
a few strips of thinly pared lemon rind
a thumb-sized piece of ginger, chopped finely
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 1/2 tablespoons of dark brown sugar or molasses
1/2 teaspoon of paprika
1 tablespoon olive oil
dash of white wine vinegar
sea salt
flat leaf parsley or coriander to garnish
Method
Put all the ingredients in a blender and blitz until smooth. Store in a jar in the fridge until ready to use. Put raw, cleaned, tail-on tiger prawns into a bowl and pour over enough sauce to coat. Leave for 2-3 minutes only. Thread onto pre-soaked wooden skewers or put straight on the bars of the barbecue (high direct heat). Grill for about 2 minutes and turn over for about 1 more minute. When the prawns are opaque they are done. Serve immediately with a little more dipping sauce if you like mega-spicy! For chicken, marinate the pieces for at least 30 minutes (or longer) before barbecuing.
Good with a yoghurt, lime and coriander dip.
Wondering about the link with Africa, Portugal, America and peri peri? An interesting Wikipedia piece here.
Disclosure: I was a guest of Tribes, Mall of the Emirates, Dubai, UAE.
African food – what does it mean to you? Tripe – love it, hate it or would never touch it with a barge pole? I’d love to know what you think…
Meeta is back – Food photography and styling workshop news
Meeta Wolff, author of What’s for Lunch Honey? blog and e-cook book, photographer, food stylist and co-hostess of Plate to Page workshops, is coming back to Dubai this October. When she touched down in Dubai this March we had never met in real life before and as I waited for her to come down from the apartment to do last-minute prop shopping I had a few unexpected, last-minute nerves; however the second she stepped out of the door with a huge smile on her face I knew everything would be more than all right.
There were other first time meetings as we welcomed our workshop participants at the stunning Nasimi Beach, Atlantis The Palm, Dubai. But after two days of intensive food photography and styling tuition, hands-on practical sessions, a fantastic field trip to Lafayette Gourmet where we had to tear ourselves away, and lots and lots of eating, we were a like a group of old friends.
We had so much great feedback and many enquiries to repeat the course so when Miele said we could use their beautiful gallery equipped with the latest, awesome equipment and bathed in lots of lovely natural light (the food photographers’ friend) Meeta booked her flight.
Since Meeta made the announcement on Thursday registrations have been hitting my in-box. It’s first come, first served and once again a very small group so Meeta can give as much one-to-one advice as possible. Read more about the course here, plus we’ve got a few more announcements to make about who is cooking for us and what we’ll be eating! The most touching thing has been the lovely messages we’ve received from attendees of the inaugural workshop. It’s been great to catch up with everyone’s news and find out how the course helped with their ambitions.
P.S. Testing the theory once again that you can get a good judge of someone’s character from their blog, I’m meeting up for the first time with another food blogger this Autumn. Jeanne from Cook Sister, another of the Plate to Page gang, has (recklessly!) offered me a bed for the night when I fly to London for Food Blogger Connect! She’s promised me a braai.
My Custard Pie 