Red Wine Poached Pears

I love this time of year - with all the fabulous Autumnal fruit and veg, you are spoilt for choice.  In this week's Riverford delivery were 8 perfect baby Williams pears, just crying out to be peeled and poached, so how could I resist?  I use Alice Waters' recipe from the Chez Panisse Fruit book - a source of constant inspiration and reliable classics.  Prepare the poaching base which is an entire bottle of good red wine - nothing vintage but it must be drinkable - with the pared zest and juice of a lemon and a cinnamon stick, with a cup of caster sugar.  Bring to a simmer in a non-reactive pot (i.e. not aluminium or copper), whilst you wash and peel your pears, keeping the stalk on if you can.  Using the tip of your paring knife, dig out a little of the core on the bottom.  Immerse the pears in the simmering wine, cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the pears are tender - this will depend on the size and ripeness of your pears so keep testing after 20 minutes.  Turn off the heat and leave the pears to cool in the liquid.  An hour later, they will be buttery-tender and the most amazing colour.  Carefully remove them with a slotted spoon and put in a bowl.  Now, return the poaching liquor to a high heat and boil and reduce to about a cup/250ml, until thick and syrupy.  Your house will smell amazing!  Resist the temptation to drink this straight away and spoon carefully over the pears, leaving them glossy and glorious.  When cool, cover and refrigerate and serve just as they are or with creme fraiche, whipped cream, ice cream, Greek yoghurt, or - in our case - with some chilled creamy vanilla egg custard and sprinkled with toasted slivered almonds.

Italian Potroast Brisket

Or Stracotto di Manzo, to give it the full Italian glory.  This is never going to win prizes for looks, but it tastes wonderful, and leftovers make the best ragu for pasta the next day.  This takes the cheap and lean cut of rolled brisket and turns it into a melting, tender treat.  Simply brown a boned, rolled joint of brisket in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and a knob of butter - do this gently, on all sides, until well-coloured.  Add a large chopped onion, and 4 or 5 chopped celery stalks, along with a couple of sliced carrots and 3 cloves of garlic - I used a whole head of 'wet' garlic.  Add a jar of passata or a tin of good tomatoes, pureed in a blender, along with half a bottle of good Italian red wine - if you wouldn't drink it, please don't cook with it!  A couple of bayleaves and some sprigs of thyme, along with some salt and pepper, and there you have it.  Cover the casserole tightly and braise in a lowish oven (130C fan) for three to four hours.  Carve and serve with the sauce, which I like to blend beforehand.  For the ragu, simply shred or chop the meat and mix with remaining sauce, reheat and stir through chunky rigatoni pasta.  It also makes a great lasagne.

'Crimean' Cocktail

Tonight's cocktail is worthy of a separate entry, as it was so delicious - quite light and relatively low in alcohol - take 4 measures of dry white wine, 1.5 measures of Cointreau or triple sec, and the finely grated zest of a lemon. Stir with plenty of ice then strain into 2 Martini glasses. Top each glass up with a little chilled soda water and drop in 2 Maraschino cherries per glass. This was so delicious, light and refreshing, and incredibly lemony. I have no idea what its association with the Crimea might be - one would expect vodka. Perhaps someone can enlighten me. Anyway, do try it.

Vin d'Orange Part 2

Back at the end of January, I blogged about making Vin d'Orange, which has been sitting quietly in the fridge, waiting to be bottled. We probably should have done this a while ago, but forgot, frankly! Anyway, we got 3 x 75cl bottles out of the batch today, all safely stashed in sterilised bottles. It is pretty potent stuff. You can smell the vanilla and cinnamon, and it is the most glorious dark rosy colour. We shall crack open a bottle this weekend, will take another one on holiday in June and save the third for later in the summer for a comparative tasting. Hic!

Vin d'Orange [off challenge]

We are in full swing with the Seville Orange season. I shall make marmalade next weekend, but in the meantime, we have knocked up a batch of Vin d'Orange to sit and mature in the fridge. If you have never had this delectable drink, you really haven't lived. It is so easy - the hardest part is getting a big enough container in which to steep the ingredients. The recipe we used, adapted from Sally Clarke's eponymous book (and served in her wonderful restaurant as an aperitif) is as follows:
2 seville oranges, washed and sliced
1/2 lemon, washed and sliced
200g caster sugar
vanilla pod, split
cinnamon stick, broken
1 litre good rose wine, preferably a Provencal one
200ml cognac
50ml white rum

Wash a large kilner jar or similar - probably a 2-litre or 2x1 litre container and sterilise in an oven - or put through a hot dishwasher cycle.

Put everything in the jar, or divide equally between two jars. Stir well with a clean metal spoon and then seal with the lid. Store in the fridge for 6-8 weeks, shaking from time to time (the jars, not you, although feel free to shake yourself if wanted).

Then, strain through a coffee filter or muslin-lined funnel into sterilised bottles (we have been saving suitable screw-top wine bottles and liqueur bottles with corks for a while), seal and keep in a dark place. It can be drunk straight after bottling, or will just keep getting better in the bottle. Serve chilled, over ice, with an orange twist. Total heaven, but quite alcoholic!

I shall post a picture of it when it is all nice and filtered and ready to drink.