Summer's End - Clams

How dare the End of Summer creep up on us  sooo quickly?  

We have been playing on the beach, riding our bikes and swimming in the sea, but every time I listen to the radio or read a newspaper I am told that autumn is here.  

It officially starts tomorrow...…

Not here, it doesn't!

We may have got the lobster pots in from the sea, and brought the boat ashore, for a clean and tidy, but we are still in summer mode.

Yesterday, my husband went on a clam dig, as there was a very low tide.  Look at all the beauties he returned with (I didn't join him as I had my taxi driver hat on, and was taking our elder son to the airport!)

The first time we had fresh clams I wasn't sure what to do with them, fortunately I had been inspired (by Amazon!!!) To buy "The Martha's Vineyard Cookbook" which is full of useful seaside recipes.  (I often think that the East Coast of the USA is a reflection of the West Coast of Europe....Mirrors on the Atlantic!)

Our local French neighbours seem to prefer  stuffing the clams with butter, garlic and parsley, and freezing them, making delicious snacks for visitors in the forth coming winter  months.  I however, only have 5 days of holiday remaining, so prefer to use the clams in an "instant" meal.  

Steamer Clams is the answer.  I use the recipe found in "The Martha's Vineyard Cookbook," though I substitute white wine for vermouth.  I also add a little extra garlic, and a squeeze of lemon juice, rather then the lemon butter. (Which is really not to European tastes!)

The whole meal is wonderful, reminiscent of Moules Mariners! (Particularly wonderful for me as I am allergic to mussels and really miss them every summer in Brittany!) 

The most delicious clams

I soak them two or three times in sea water, to remove the grit.

Simple but perfect ingredients

The clams are the most stunning colours

Rince in cold running water,
to wash away any remaining grit

Aren't these beautiful?

Making the herb and wine 'soup'

Warm the clams and add the 'soup'

Serve,  (with bread, if you really need it....)

WOW!  These are fantastic!!!!

I do hope you get a chance to cook these wonderful fish!  Superb!  MMMMmmmm!

Two More Super Seafood Feasts!

Gosh! I do hate going on about it ... but we do have some really splendid Seafood here in Brittany!

We had some friends staying last week, so of course we had a lobster/crab lunch on the Sunday.  I cooked three lobsters and three crabs, they were simply perfect with home made Soda Bread and some home made mayonnaise.

A table laden with Seafood

Three wonderful crabs

Perfect

The three lobsters

The men, (my husband, my  elder son and our friend P) managed a morning's sailing, and returned triumphant with Mackerel.

They (the fish, not the men) were duly prepared and cooked on the barbeque!  And we managed to eat outside, pretty unusual for this rather overcast summer!

  Wonderful, with a very  simple Potato Salad,  some Go-go Pirate Sauce and, of course, some really yummy:-  homemade Tartare Sauce.

The table laden with more food
(and in the garden!)

The delicious fish

Potato Salad

Tartare Sauce and Go-go Pirate Sauce

The makings of Tartare Sauce!

Potato Salad *

Scrub some delicious potatoes and boil.
Allow to cool.
Mix with some Mayonnaise (organic, free range if not home made)
(if you are using shop bought , you could stir in a spoonful or two of creme fraiche, this cuts the mass produced stuff and makes it taste sooo much better!)
Add a small, chopped Roscoff onion (or shallot)
A good handful of garden mint.
Serve with freshly caught fish!

Tartare Sauce *


Mix all these things together, so much tastier then a jar of sauce:
Several tablespoonfuls of Mayonnaise (If not homemade do try to buy an organic free range one!)
Add 1 goodish teaspoon of Dijon mustard
Then add 1 large teaspoon of cornichons
And 1 reasonable teaspoonful of capers
Finally chop some fresh chives and parsley and add to the sauce

* I haven't specified quantities in too much detail, as I really believe ingredients for these sort of dishes should be to your taste, which may not coincide with mine!

I have just realised that I haven't yet written a post for making mayonnaise, so I will need to write that soon....

French Onion Soup

I feel a little like the Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe (Ferragamo of course!), the difference being ...I have so many Roscoff  onions I don't know what to do!

 So  I have been trying several new recipes.  Jennifer kindly suggested a French Onion Soup.  I had a look through my recipes books, and found that most recipes called for a beef stock, something I don't have here in the summer.

However, I found a recipe that would suit vegetarians in Raymond Blanc's Foolproof French Cookery  and I decided to try making the soup.

The soup was good, (NB you do need to like the taste of onions!) But,  I do think that I should have allowed the onions to caramelise more, which would have  produced a darker colour!

I do have a tendency to rush through things!

The ingredients for the soup

Beautiful pink Roscoff onions

Start of a slow cooking process

Lightly caramelised ( I should have cooked them further)

The finished dish, complete with croutons!

It was super to be able  to use some of my beautiful onions in this recipe, especially as Roscoff onions were specified by Raymond Blanc, as ideal for French Onion Soup.

Fete de l'Oignon de Roscoff

On the third weekend of August the town of Roscoff has an onion festival.  What great fun!

I mentioned, when I wrote about Pissaladerie, the wonder that is a Roscoff onion.  They are really  delicious and very versatile.  Lovely raw in a tomato salad, but  equally good cooked in a huge variety of dishes.

In 2009 the Roscoff onion  was awarded an AOC (appellation d'origine controlee).  This guarantees that Roscoff onions are grown only in a certain area around the town and under particular conditions which promise a perfect onion.

Although they are expensive back in England I do recommend that you seek out Roscoff onions... You may even be able to find an 'Onion Johnnie' selling some at your local farmer's market. (Or you could book a holiday in Brittany next summer and attend the market yourself!)

A 'Johnnie's' laden with onions and garlic

All the family help at a busy fete such as this

Wonderful onions, shallots and garlic

Lots of chaps in berets

More beautiful vegetables

And another wonderfully adorned bike!

A multi-national custom base

Just to remind you what you are here for!

Another great sale

Don't forget the other great local speciality, the artichoke!

A big thanks to our lovely friends P and F, who were staying with us and ventured into Roscoff to visit the market and who kindly took these super photographs.  I just find at the moment that my five year old and large crowds don't really work!  So we stayed at home and had a swim in the sea instead.

I'm posting some photos of the local market on my other blog so do pop across for a look!

Summer Salads

I love making really simple meals, as I'm sure you know.  This summer I have made some delicious salads, including some old favourites, such as Tabbouleh and Salade Nicoise.

The other day for lunch I made  a very simple tomato and onion salad with a Spanish omelette.  The two dishes looked lovely on large, round, blue rimmed plates I have, and the whole thing was perfect for a day when we had just swum before lunch.

Most of our days here in Brittany are dictated by the tide.  It's essential for my husband to safely get his boat in and out of the harbour and for all our beach activity.  So mealtimes, lunch particulary, have to fit in between sailing, fishing, swimming and body boarding.  Salads are often the perfect answer.

My second salad was a fancy Mozzerrella and Tomato Salad.  To the basic sliced tomatos and cheese, I added a few slices of Jambon de Bayone (which is similar to a Parma or Serrano ham) and some sliced peaches.  A decent drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkle of black pepper and a few basil leafs - perfection!

Breton tomatoes, Roscoff onions and basil from the garden

A Spanish omelette with local potatoes and onions

Perfect combination!

Some of my summer ingredients

A delightful, light and summery salad

A touch of black pepper - really super!

I do hope I can make a few more summer salads, but if this weather continues I think I might just have to start planning some Autumnal  meals!

Blackberry Liqueur

Last year I made three batches of Blackberry and Apple Jam, but I  still had some blackberries left.

I've been making Sloe Gin for years (my Mother-in-Law's wonderful recipe - more in October!) and I'd drunk a Kir made with Mure (blackberry) before.  

So I thought, umm!  Blackberry liqueur, it can't be that difficult.

I sat down with my iPad and searched.

There were lots of recipes out there and I also found this  wonderful post from Nina at Tabiboo. 

So I decided to have a go.  I made my liqueur with vodka, adapting advice from various sites.  It was good, but not fantastic.

So back in June I contacted Nina, she was so kind and helpful and although she couldn't find her original recipe she pinpointed this one as the most similar. So this the recipe I have used this year.

I will give you several updates during the next few weeks... One when I decant the liqueur into bottles, and a further when we taste it.  It will need to mature for a while, but how lovely to have a delectable tipple  to look forward to in the Autumn!

A kir made with last year's blackberry liqueur

Last bottle, supplies are running low

Sugar syrup

Syrup in the jars!

Now the blackberries

And the vodka

Leave for several weeks.....

I just checked it today, a week after making the liqueur and it already has a beautiful, deep purplish colour!

And thank you Nina, 

(if you have not discovered Nina's blog, do have a look, it's wonderful, and I do envy her the seaside life she and her family have!)

A Delicious Potato Bake

This delicious bake is one   of those things I have been making for years.  The original recipe came from Delia Smith's Summer Collection and is called Sliced Potatoes Baked with Tomatoes and Basil.

As with many things one cooks regularly I don't usually check the recipe in the book.  However, I thought that I would just have a quick look before I wrote this post  and I  found that I do pretty much as Delia suggests.

My two variations on her recipe  are;   I mix my tomatoes, onions, garlic and basil, before I layer with the potatoes and I tend to make the bake  in a rectangular dish, rather then the round one she suggests.  This  just demonstrates what a flexible and easy dish this is.

It is super with all sorts of fish and chicken, but also as a stand alone supper dish, perfect for a vegetarian meal.  As you can prepare it ahead of time , it is easy to double quantities, and it bakes slowly in the oven, it's also great for a dinner or lunch party.

A crunchy, crispy top

Ingredients

I pre-mix the tomatoes, onion, garlic and basil

a layer of potatoes

The tomato mixture

Out of the oven

The gorgeous layers

I always think that this a healthier, low-fat version of Boulanger potatoes, and really recommend you try it, if it's not already part of your summer cooking.