A Long and Messy Business. Rowley Leigh
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Название: A Long and Messy Business

Автор: Rowley Leigh

Издательство: Ingram

Жанр: Кулинария

Серия:

isbn: 9781783525188

isbn:

СКАЧАТЬ was probably another ten years before I returned. Even

      then, I did not quite feel comfortable for a day or two: if

      you go to the wrong restaurants, queue interminably for

      the Louvre and look to the Parisians for a friendly word

      of advice, you can have a pretty rough time of it in Paris.

      The second time I was still on a tight budget and things

      weren’t going too well, until we happened upon the

      Brasserie de l’Isle St-Louis.

      It is a place that has little right to be any good. Just

      over the small bridge that links the Île de la Cité (and

      Notre Dame) and the more sedate and civilised Île

      St-Louis, there are tourists everywhere and many of the

      cheap geegaws that bedevil any such destination. And yet

      countless visitors to Paris have christened their stay in the

      city with a modest meal at this brasserie and not regretted

      it. The food is remarkably consistent and the menu today

      reads almost exactly as it did in 1978. I suspect that it has

      not changed ownership, and therefore no one has felt the

      need to ‘improve’ upon it.

      Resistance to change can, of course, be as dangerous as

      an excessive enthusiasm for progress. Just across the river

      from the Île St-Louis, Bofinger has a menu that would have

      been largely unrecognisable thirty years ago. True, the

      oysters and coquillages are still there, as is the choucroute,

      and the desserts are a symphony of sugar and cream, with

      a rum baba the size of a football and containing enough

      rum to inebriate the first team of Paris St-Germain.

      However, the main courses are no longer brasserie fare

      but positively gastronomic, and my veal with salsify, black

      truffles and creamed potatoes was expertly done.

      Meanwhile, across the river, I am happy to say that

      the jarret de porc aux lentilles is still on the menu at the

      Brasserie de l’Isle. It costs a bit more than the six francs

      I paid in 1978 but it is still a huge chunk of meat adorned

      by nothing more than a thin gravy, some firm green lentils

      and a pot of mustard.

      30

      HAM HOCK WITH LENTILS

      The dark, moss-green puy lentils are traditional, but on this

      occasion I used the slightly browner Castelluccio lentils.

      They hold up just as well when cooked and have the

      requisite rich and earthy flavour.

      Serves at least eight.

      2 ham hocks, weighing about

      1.25kg (2lb 12oz) each

      2 onions, both peeled, 1 sliced

      1 large carrot

      4 celery sticks

      1 garlic bulb

      3 bay leaves

      a few sprigs of thyme

      a handful of parsley stalks

      250g (9oz) green or brown

      lentils

      12 cloves

      1 red chilli

      25g (1oz) butter

      1 shallot, peeled and finely

      chopped

      ½ glass of dry white wine

      (say about 75ml/23⁄4fl oz)

      100ml (3½fl oz) double cream

      2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

      2 teaspoons grain mustard

      a little squeeze of lemon juice

      salt and black pepper

      Soak the hocks in a large pan of cold water overnight.

      The next day, change the water, bring to the boil, then

      discard the water and cover with fresh cold water. Add

      the sliced onion, the carrot, celery, garlic, bay leaves and

      thyme. Bring to a simmer, skimming carefully, and cook

      over a gentle heat for 21⁄2 hours, replenishing the water so

      it always covers the hocks.

      Rinse the lentils in a sieve with cold water before

      covering with fresh water in another saucepan. Add the

      second onion, studded with the cloves and the chilli, and

      bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and simmer gently

      for 40 minutes, or until the lentils are perfectly tender.

      Drain, if necessary, and season with salt only now that the

      lentils are cooked.

      Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan, add the

      shallot and sweat gently. Add the wine and cook for about

      5 minutes, or until it is reduced by half, before adding

      two large ladlesful of the stock from the ham. Reduce this

      quite vigorously by two-thirds, then whisk in the cream.

      Boil briefly, then whisk in both mustards. Season this

      sauce СКАЧАТЬ