Tipple

The Wild Culture Cocktail


Relax with a Wild Culture Cocktail, devised exclusively for us by Laurent Beley, bartender at L'Hotel Paris, where Oscar Wilde died on 30th November 1900.

- 4 parts Rittenhouse Rye Whiskey
- 1 part Extremely Dry Sherry
- Dash of dark angostura bitters
- Orange peel
- Based on The Manhattan concept

Wild Culture's founder, Whitney Smith, commented: “It tastes of the forest. I feel that I am healthy. I feel that I am being healed. My, my, that is very dry. There are many different things happening here.”
  
www.l-hotel.com

Photography: Lisa Wilson, 18th February 2013 at L’Hotel, 13 Rue des Beaux-Arts, 75006 Paris, France

Something light

Whitney’s Chicken Soup for the Soul
 

- Chicken carcass, 1
- Chopped celery, 1/2 cup
- Chopped onion, 2 cups
- Sliced carrots, 1 large
- Bouquet garni
- Salt, 1/2 tablespoon
- Ground pepper, 1teaspoon
- Bay leaves, 2
- Fresh parsley, finely chopped
- Water

Place the chicken in a large pot and pour cold water in to cover it. Boil the contents, add salt and vegetables, turn down heat until at a bubbling simmer, cook until nicely reduced. Season to taste. Strain, then throw in the nice parts of the boiled contents, just a few delectable pieces that you'll want all to yourself. Serve and sprinkle with parsley.

Ingredients: from the Sunday markets in the Bastille and the Marais
Crockery: found in his brother's kitchen


Photography: Whitney Smith, 23rd January 2013, on the road á Paris

Something Seasonal

Wild Salmon with Summer Vegetables


- Wild salmon, out of a river and caught by you would be especially good
- A mix of waxy new potatoes and purple potatoes, 3 per person
- Carrots, 1 per person
- Some celery (for that savoury flavour you often reach for a stock cube to give!)
- Courgettes, 1-2 per person
- Banana shallot (a small onion will do)
- Some single cream (better for your cholesterol @ 17% fat)
- Some creamed horseradish (it is possible to buy jars without stabilisers, thickeners and things Tracklements made in Easton Grey, Wiltshire, England meets these criteria)
- White pepper, salt, black pepper



Vegetables
Wash well. No need to peel as a lot of nutrients are just under the skin, it is a good source of fibre et al and it is quicker and easier! Cut all the vegetables into similar sized pieces. Boil some water in a pan, when boiling add a teaspoon of salt then add the potatoes, carrots, celery and shallot bring back to the boil, partially cover the pan if you don’t want to steam out your kitchen (and use more energy) and simmer for 10 minutes then add courgettes and cook for a further 5-10 minutes. Stick a fork in the courgettes and potatoes to see if they are ready or need a little longer.

Drain and return to the pan, add cream, peppers, salt and horseradish to taste. Depending on the potatoes they may absorb more or less cream so add it until the vegetables are nicely coated.



Salmon
Heat a non-stick fry pan on the hob (dry) then put in the salmon fillet, skin side down. Let it sit on a moderate heat until the flesh a couple of mm above the skin goes pink and it is happily bubbling around the skin. A sense of smell is one of the best tools for a cook – if it smells like it's burning, it probably will be! Gently shake the pan to stop the fish sticking and reduce the heat. The easiest thing now is to place the pan in a moderate oven for 10 minutes and then turn off the heat for the fish to rest. If you wish to just use the hob cook until about 4mm is pink then turn the fish over, place a lid or plate on the top and switch off the heat.

To serve: warm some nice plates or dishes, pile up the vegetables and place the fish delicately on top skin side up (this prevents the skin going soggy and allows fussy eaters to easily remove the skin if they choose). But warn them they're throwing away a really good and nutritional bit!



Vegetarian Varietal
After piling up the vegetables sprinkle grated cheese (maybe a nice goats cheese – St Helen’s Farm Goat’s Cheddar is a good choice) on top of the creamy vegetables and place in the oven or under the grill until the cheese is to your liking. If using the grill ensure your dishes can take the direct heat. When trying and photographing this idea, we'd actually used all the courgettes so substituted apple instead. It worked very well!


www.sthelensfarm.co.uk

Recipe and photographs by Lisa Wilson, 30th August 2013