Our first birthday is still in full flourish and we continue our dive into the gastronomy archives of some of my favourite Recipes, Travel Destinations & Spectacles:
As a family we descended upon Rye last February to take part in the annual Rye Bay Scallop Festival. The Rye scallops are fat, juicy and much sought after. The Rye fleet catch King scallops and are only allowed to harvest scallops from the 1st November until 30th April using small (under 10m length) boats. The scallop shells are imprinted with growth rings (like tree rings) with each band denoting one year’s growth. Typically, they are caught at around 5-6 years old and any younger ones (sized 90mm or less) are returned to the sea.
As a little respite from Northamptonshire we headed en masse to Mürren in Switzeland to celebrate my Dad’s 7oth birthday. Mürren is a small, historic village, surrounded by the three imposing peaks of the Eiger (3,970m), Mönch (4,107m) and the Jungfrau (4,158). The village is very quaint and quiet as it doesn’t permit cars; only the odd van used to taxi skiers or to haul goods are allowed. Mürren holds a very important place in the history and development of Alpine skiing thanks to the enthusiastic efforts of Sir Arnold Lunn (1888-1974), son of Sir Henry Lunn of Lunn Poly fame. Through his initiative and drive, the first English Ski Championships were held in Wengen in 1921. Sir Arnold was also one of the founding members of the Kandahar Ski Club which established the famous Inferno race in 1928. There were 18 competitors including 4 women who took place in the first Inferno race. Firstly, all competitors had to climb for five hours in order to reach the start point at the Schilthorn. Sir Arnold began the race with the rather prosaic call of “Come on, we’re off.” The winner that day was Harold Mitchell who completed the course in 1hr 12mins. Peter Lunn, Sir Arnold’s son can still be found pounding the pistes of Mürren at the tender age of 96 although, Peter has now gracefully retired from downhill racing after completing his last Inferno race at the age of 90! The indomitable spirit of the Lunn family is still alive and well!
I have to say I’m rather partial to a bit of beetroot and speaking as a veg box recipient one has to be during the Winter months when it arrives almost weekly! My mother discovered this Madhur Jaffrey spiced beetroot recipe many years ago and I have enjoyed it countless times since. It’s amazingly simple to prepare and a great accompaniment to cold meats or, as a side dish with a curry.
It was time to enjoy some sun, sea and local French food as we descended upon the Camargue region of South West France. A key delicacy of the Camargue is the production of sea salt. I decided to drag the family around the Aigues-Mortes, Le Saunier de Camargue salt marsh. The kids were quite happy as we had to board a small train which whizzed us around. When we visited, the pools had an amazing pinky/red hue which looks very odd as you expect them to be white. The salt marshes are extensive, covering around 27k acres and have been in production since before the Roman occupation. At the beginning of Spring when natural evaporation exceeds the amount of rainfall, the marshes are flooded with seawater by means of a system of canals and dyke’s. The brine then concentrates with 9/10 of the water evaporating through the effects of the wind and sun. The salt content changes dramatically from sea water at 29g/litre, to 260g/litre at the crystallisation phase. The 50 rectangular salt pools house the brine which slowly evaporates between April and September leaving a 9cm thick salt cake.
Living as I do, in the idyll of Weston, South Northamptonshire, you may be forgiven for thinking that it’s a sleepy little village – not so, for behind closed doors the community galvanises and punches above their weight. One such example would be the spectacular Weston & Weedon Horticultural Society which was originally founded by the gardener and broadcaster, Cecil Henry Middleton, in 1940.
I was lucky enough to be invited to Holdenby House, a splendid Elizabethan manor house nestled in the Northamptonshire Countryside to attend the Northamptonshire Food & Drink Awards 2010/11.
We had a trusted team of food supremos looking after us, from Adam Gray, Michelin starred head chef of Rhodes 24 who was in charge of cooking dinner. Sophie Grigson, author and TV cookery presenter, presided over the award ceremony ably supported by Jason Atherton, ex Michelin starred chef from Maze and now in the process of launching his own flagship restaurant, Pollen Street Social in Mayfair. The scene was set for a rather enjoyable evening eating and drinking all that is glorious about our wonderful County. Northamptonshire may not be viewed as a regional food hot spot but all I would say is, watch this space, times are-a-changing!
After my recent foray to Windmill Orchards I came away with numerous delectable goodies, including a few choice quince. The quince is a rather awkward, old fashioned looking fruit with bumps and lumps protruding from all the wrong places. If it were a fruit model it would be airbrushed within an inch of its life. Whilst looks aren’t everything (they certainly help), it’s what’s inside that really counts and, let me tell you, the quince’s insides are rather pleasing when transformed into membrillo.
So we end a rather eclectic mix of culinary journeys to mark the first anniversary of Graze and Guzzle. From now on I”ll be concentrating on what future culinary travels I can titillate you with!
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Lorne,
Great post, looks like you had a very interesting year. Noticed you mentioned a love of beetroot; you should come over and try our baked beetroot and goat’s cheese salad with hazelnut breadcrumbs.
Nick, thanks – a trip to the Red Lion is definately in my sights!!