Le Tasting Room

A lovely recipe that takes advantage of fresh summer cucumbers that are in our gardens at the moment. The marinade can easily take more chicken so no need to increase the quantity if you want to feed more people.  It would be good on the bbq as well as cooked in the wok.

600g chicken breasts cut into fine strips

2 cloves garlic, shopped finely

125ml mirin (or dry sherry)

60ml orange juice

60 ml rice vinegar

1 tbs sesame oil

2 tbs grated ginger

2 cucumbers, peeled and cut into thin batons

6 spring onions sliced finely

bunch of coriander, chopped roughly

1 ripe mango, cut into thin strips

Dressing

60 ml soy sauce

2 tbs mirin or dry sherry

1 tbs rice wine vinegar

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp grated ginger

1 cup coarsely chopped peanuts

Combine chicken, garlic, mirin, honey, soy, orange juice, rice vinegar, sesame oil and ginger in a bowl and leave to marinate for 30 mins.

Mix cucumber, spring onion and coriander in a bowl and place in the fridge.

Preheat wok over moderate heat.  Add 1 tbs of the marinade mixture and stir-fry chicken until cooked through.

Serve warm or cold.  Place chicken on plate and top with mango slices, cucumber mix, spoon over dressing and sprinkle with chopped nuts.

Enjoy with a glass of something light and fruity - a Chinon rosé would work well as would a slightly off-dry Vouvray.

Here is the recipe for a new tart that I made recently.  Artichokes are in season at the moment and the gentle sweetness of them marries superbly with the smoky bacon and creamy marscapone.  Serve warm for lunch with a crisp green salad and a glass of rosé from Domaine de la Noblaie in Chinon.

The inspiration for the recipe comes from Tamasin Day-Lewis's book The Art of the Tart but in this case I have mixed two of the recipes as it suited my ingredients.

Ingredients

A 9 inch 22cm shortcrust pastry case chilled

180g Jerusalem artichokes cut into 3mm coins and steamed until tender

1 or 2 packets of smoked lardons cooked until they are slightly coloured (I used 2 packets but you could get away with one - depends how greedy you are)

250g Marscapone (the recipe said 200g but I can't cope with leaving tiny amounts)

150ml of double cream

1 egg and 3 egg yolks

black pepper

Line the chilled pastry case with the slices of steamed artichoke, spread the cooked smoky lardons over the top.  Whisk up the marscapone, cream, egg and egg yolks together and give a good grinding of black pepper.  Pour over the top and bake in the oven at 200 C for about 20 mins and then turn the oven down and cook for another 10 or 15 minutes at 180 C.

It's very rich and has a wonderful soft, smooth texture, studded with smoky and sweet flavours.