The Week - UK (2021-02-13)

39

13 February 2021 THE WEEK

Food & Drink

LEISURE

Ifyou’reaBurgundydrinker,then

thenewlyreleased 2019 vintage

isverydefinitelyonetobuy,says

JaneMacQuittyinTheTimes.

It’sbafflinghowayearwith

suchcrazyweather–regular

frostsinwinterandheatspikes

insummer–producedsuch

vibrantwines.Butwithits

“sparky spine of acidity”, this

is aseriously refreshing vintage–and one

withthe“wherewithal foralonglife”.

For reds, my tipped appellations include

Morey-St-Denis and Gevrey-Chambertin,

both in the Côte de Nuits. Aldi’s lively,

tobacco-leaf scented2019 Jean Lefort

Gevrey-Chambertincosts £24.99, and

is well worth snapping up. From the

Côte d’Or,Benjamin Leroux’s 2019

Bourgogne(£18.95; bbr.com) is delicious,

silky and red-fruited.

For the 2019 whites, chablis has come

up trumps. Those with big budgets will

plump for some majestic wines from the

Puligny-Montrachet appellation. But there

are brilliant-value-for money whites from

Rully–such as the buttery, hazelnut-biscuit-

styled2019 Rully Thivauxfrom Jean

Chartron (£18; Co-op). It’sacracker.

What the experts recommend

Why cookingisall in thefinishing

It may not bepossible to copyeveryaspect

of aprofessionally cooked meal at home–

but there’s one thing home cooks can easily

work on–their“finishingtouches”, said

Tony TurnbullinThe Times.Chefs know

that “impressiveresults” canbeachieved

by simplyscatteringtoasted seedsand nuts

overadishbefore serving–or addinga

“soothing dollop” ofharissa-flavoured

yoghurt.And such additions are nothard

to prepare. One of thebest to have in your

arsenal ispangrattato:crunchy bread-

crumbsthatcan be added topasta dishes

as an alternative to parmesan. Tomakeit,

mix stalebreadcrumbs withcrushed garlic,

alittlechoppedrosemaryor thyme and

apinch of chilli flakes, andfry inalittle

oliveoiluntilcrisp andgolden.Ifyou’re

grilling fish,try topping it with lemon

salsa: mix the chopped fleshoftwo peeled

lemons with two tablespoonsof capers,

some choppedparsley andapinchof sugar

to taste.Orthere’scrispy shallots,used in

Vietnamesecookingtoadd crunchto

noodles, soups andveg dishes. Thinly slice

shallots(oronions),dust in seasonedflou r,

then deep-fryin oiluntilgolden.Drainon

kitchenpaper andsprinkle with salt–and

keepat room temperaturein asealed

containerforfive days.

Michelingetsbehin dUKresta urants

Michelin pressedahead with itsawards

this year–despiteall UK restaurants

currentlybeing closed.The company said

that,byawarding its stars, ithopedto

provide support to theindustry, at a

criticaljuncture.Seventeenrestaurants

receivedastar forthe firsttime (including

Cail Bruich in Glasgow, which means

Scotland’s secondcity hasaMichelin

starred restaurantforthe first time in 18

years); three went from one star to two;

andtwo were elevated to three stars–Core

by Clare Smyth,and HélèneDarroze at

TheConnaught.The guide also handed 23

restaurants itsnewgreen star–recognising

their“sustainable practices”.Perhaps the

“mostsurprising”restaurantto be

ga rlanded wasBehind, in east London,

said Tomé Morrissy-Swan in TheDaily

Telegraph.Itwas handedastar–despite

only having beenopen foratotal of 18

days.Itlaunchedlast October,nine days

before thesecondnational lockdown, and

thenbrieflyreopened in December, before

beingforcedtoshut again. Withroomfor

just18diners, whoallsit at ahorseshoe-

shaped chef’stabl e, this fish- focused

rest aurantwaspraisedbyMichelin’s

inspectors for its“striking”interior and

“delicate, balancedandskilful”creat ions.

Savecream ,makebutter

Ifyou find youhaveslightlyoutofdate

(butnotfoul- smelling)cream in your

fridge, don’tthrow it away,says Tom

Huntin TheGuardian:use it to make

themost wonderfulbutter. Itissimply

done. Pouraminimum of200mlof

room-temperaturecream (doubleor

whipping) intoablend er or mixer,and

whizz ituntilclumpsof butter f orm.

Pouroff the buttermilk(whichcan

be used to makesodabread orfluffy

pancakes) andgatherthe solidsinto

aball. A dd somesaltifyou like. The

buttercan nowbeeaten. In this form,

it willkee pfor acoupleofdays. Ifyou

wanttoexte nd itsshelflife,put it in a

bowl ofice-co ld water and knead it into a

tigh tball, whichwillturnthe water milky.

Repeat thisuntilthe waterstay sclear.

Now patyour butter intoablock with

awet spatulaandwrapitin parchment.

Behind:aswift elevation to Michelin status

• Preheat the oven to
  180°C. Put the butter
  and spring onions in a
  microwave-safe bowl and
  microwave for3minutes
  or until soft. Tip out into a
  20cmx28cm baking dish.


• Toss the fish pie mix
  with the cornflour and
  add to the dish with the
  onions. Combine the
  mustard, cream, fish
  stock, prawns, peas, most of the
  parsley and plenty of seasoning, then

add the mixture to the

pie dish and gently stir

to combine.

• Spoon the mashed
  potato on top of the fish
  mixture and rough up
  the surface withafork.
  Sprinkle over the cheese.


• Bake for 30 minutes
  until the pie is hot through
  and golden on top.
  Scatter with the crushed
  garlic croutons, if using, and the
  remaining parsley. Serve immediately.

Recipe of the week

Serves 42 tbsp butter 6spring onions, chopped 2x400g packets of fish pie mix

2tsp cornflour 1tbsp Dijon mustard 300ml double cream 200ml fish stock

150g cooked prawns 150g frozen peas, defrosted (optional) bunch of flat-leaf

parsley, roughly chopped 800g pre-cooked mashed potato (if mashing your own,

you’ll need about 1kg potatoes to yield this amount of mash) 50g parmesan cheese,

grated handful of garlic croutons, bashed to uneven crumbs (optional) sea salt and

freshly ground black pepper

Fish pie is the ultimate comfort food, says Rosie Reynolds. To make life simple,

Iuse afishpie mix from the shop.Ialsodust the fish in cornflour, which

helps thicken the sauce–saving the hassle of makingabéchamel.

Burgundy 2019

Easiestfishpie

Taken fromThe Shortcut Cookby Rosie Reynolds, published by
Hardie Grant at £15. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £11.99,
call 020-3176 3835 or visit theweekbookshop.co.uk.
©J

OHN CAREY; LOUISE HAGGER