The Far Away Fox Reviews....River Cottage Everyday - Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

Some people love Jamie, some people think Delia is the queen, some people f***ing love Gordon, me on the other hand, my heart lies with Hugh.  I've loved Fearnley-Whittingstall since I first accidently watched him eating a squirrel on his TV series 'River Cottage'.  (This isnt a euphemism - look it up!)  I still get a message from my university roommate every time he is on TV reminding me to watch whatever he is crusading for.

One thing that interests me greatly is his experimental and relaxed style of cooking.  Other than the squirrel, I have watched him eat placenta. An ACTUAL placenta;  Bull testicles no more than 5 minutes off the calf, straight into the frying pan; and some pretty revolting looking traditional dishes from the travelling-around programmes he has done .  No one, in my opinion, does it quite like Hugh. I admire his enthusiasm for trying everything, I try to do this as well - which has drawn some horrified faces from my table companions - but I think I draw the line at human byproducts.

Weird dining choices aside,  I agree with his principles as well.  In Britain, we are very reliant on supermarkets and are usually unaware of where or how our food is produced.  I've watched him fight for the rights of chickens, fight for fish, fight to get people interested in eating vegetables and do taste tests to get people excited and more aware of how the often ignored offcuts of meat our grandparents would happily snaffle down in the days of true austerity can be used nowadays to fight against the rising costs of our food.

He also promotes the idea of locally sourced ingredients which help support our local butchers, fishmongers, greengrocers, dairy farmers etc......  This philosophy can't be bad.

He achieves this by being creative. Mixing unliked or lesser used ingredients into more taste friendly formats to actually get the foods tried before being written off.  He even taught a vegetarian how to appreciate liver so she could enjoy meat on her wedding day.
This was at the request of the subject, I am pretty sure he doesn't regularly try to convert Veggies to Carnivores.

So, imagine my excitement when, as a gift a couple of years ago, I was given a copy of this book by my sister:


                                                                     

I leafed through, as I always do when I first get a cookbook, marking the pages as I go with things I want to try, I think in the picture you can even see some of my little markers.

Accompanying the recipes are beautiful photography and charming little doodles that for some reason made even the more complicated recipes seem easy. Overnight bread? yes please!! I was practically salivating to get going.

In the last couple of years I have tried (amoungst others):  Honey and Peanut Butter Booster Bars, Breakfast cheesecake (yep!) Trout Paté, Sourdough Bread, Spiced Fig Compote, Brown bread, Hemp oil and Parsley Pesto, Chicken with couscous, honey and cinnamon, Leek and Dorset Blue Vinny Tart, Shin of Beef with Soy and Ginger and Chocolate and Beetroot Brownies.  All were devoured with relish!

A few things which I like about the book, other than the food:

Included is an introduction to store cupboard essentials.  I lent this book to a friend who is not so excited about cooking and afterwards she told me she had rejigged her cupboards and had actually started to find a newfound passion for cooking due to just being able to recreate things at her will from a few basic ingredients.

Also included is an introduction to each chapter and even a short intro to each dish, giving credit where it is due to the other chefs who work alongside Fearnley-Whittingstall in his River Cottage HQ and have helped to create the dishes.  I find a lot of  'recipe contributors' are included in a tiny footnote at the back of a book, after the copyright information or in passing in the introduction or thanks section. Hugh is indeed the figure head but it is nice to see the rest of his team given credit in the main print.

Lastly, the simplicity of some of the recipes. Any time I have picked up this book, I know I will more or less have all the ingredients on hand or a quick shop away. So many times whilst trying to decide what to cook, I have poured through a recipe book, thought ooo that dish sounds delicious. Then looked at the ingredient list. Most people I know don't have the time, money or would even know where to go to get fermented bean curd, pomegranate molasses, dried rose petals or Bolivian loaf sugar, I am pretty sure the local Asda do not sell these so unless you live in a big city, have a Bolivian relative or live near a specific quirky food market (in which case, lucky you!!) these dishes are out the window for a quick, rainy Tuesday night dinner.

The recipes are so easy to follow, that when I have tried to recreate them for a second time, maybe not following the recipe quite so religiously, it has worked just as well.

Some of the dishes are so stripped down I remember thinking - why didn't I think of that! Thats amazing! For the more inexperience cook these recipes create confidence by taking familiar ingredients and adding a twist. For the more experienced cook it adds to your repetoire. Who doesn't love that. It appeals to everyone.

I wanted to include a few things I didn't like just for balance, but, honestly, I couldn't find any. Except maybe some of the recipes are a little time consuming - but in this case, just save them for the weekend or when you have time!

I recommend this book whole-heartedly for new cooks, people who are looking for something different, young, old, anyone. I believe that everyone can benefit from learning how to cook something healthy, using sustainable ingredients and most importantly, delicious every day of their lives. Food, its one of life's little pleasures!


Please find below a link to the book on amazon, its totally worth it!!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/River-Cottage-Every-Hugh-Fearnley-Whittingstall/dp/0747598401/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1440591167&sr=8-1&keywords=hugh+fearnley+whittingstall+everyday

Also, if you have time, watch the River Cottage TV Series, they are highly entertaining.

Hugh's Fish Fight and Hugh's Chicken Run are also worth watching as he tries to raise awareness of how our animals are treated in mass-production circumstances and fights for a better way of life for these animals. These are more disturbing and incredibly thought provoking.

The Far Away Fox Eats....Polish Food

 ‘La Polanesa’ Calle de Narciso Serra, 3, 28007 Madrid

I love trying new things.   A couple of years ago, a friend who had lived in Poland found this restaurant and we enjoyed some delicious smoked cheese (Oscypek) along with gołąbki, pierogi and a salad.  It was delicious but, as foreigners, I was going by what I  thought tasted good rather than whether it was authentic or not.

I was equally excited recently when my Polish friend Jakub said he was missing homestyle food, I jumped at the chance for him to introduce me to more food from a faraway place, and know if it was actually any good compared to 'proper' Polish food.  My own Polish roots have been diluted with time so my experience is limited to the Jewish peasant recipes that have been passed down to my generation, changed as time goes so now they are only Polish by name, if not by nature.

Traditional Polish Art

So, on a muggy Sunday we stepped into the restaurant and immediately I was, once again, transported from sunny Spain to Eastern Europe.  

Cosy like Grandma's house

With the pictures on the wall depicting scenes from a cliché in my mind, the furniture and ambience for some reason felt different to the atmosphere I usually get in restaurants - it was cosy, like stepping into my Grandma's house. I immediately felt a connection to my Eastern European roots and a little pang of long-cherished and sometimes forgotten memories of my childhood.

Another touch I liked that fate had arranged was that other than the Spanish woman buying food in the little shop that is attached to the restaurant, I was the only other non-Pole in the whole restaurant.

Jakub enjoying a Lech

After ordering some Polish beer (naturally) I left Jakub to  peruse the menu.  I am usually annoyed when someone else orders for me in a restaurant, but this time I left him in charge. Other than the allergy to Avocado and the odd hatred I have for bananas, he was given free reign.

He wanted me to try a traditional dish called Placek po zbojecku which is a potato pancake with a thick meat (usually beef) sauce with mushrooms generously spread over it. It felt a bit weird to be ordering what I would call proper winter comfort food in the middle of July but hey, I am up for anything!

He also ordered us a cucumber and yoghurt salad (Mizeria) to share.

                                                     

 Placek po zbojecku

Mizeria 

Whilst I enjoyed the food, I have a few observations.  These are based on my own previous experience with Eastern European food and Jakub's own preference and opinion.

Placek po Zbojecku: The pancake was incredibly thick - with such a rich sauce I felt it needed to be slightly thinner. (N.B. We checked the authenticity of this and  apparantly, this is the traditional way of serving it, Jakub, however, even as a native,  agreed with my opinion!)

Mizeria: Again, I enjoyed it, but, as a side dish the yoghurt was very thick.  Traditionally, it is served thinned out with lemon juice to make it more like a sour cream to cut the richness of the dish it is accompanying.  I could have eaten this version happily as a main dish with a chunk of crusty bread, but as it was, it was too rich and was left fighting for attention and eventually got lost on my palate.
As a  sidenote, it is worth mentioning that like in all cultures, variations appear from region to region and one persons preference changes depending on that. So in this case, I am willing to put my opinion aside, as choice of thicker sauce could be accredited to the chef's personal background.

Onto dessert.  As I have mentioned before, I am not really a sweet-toothed person, but for experimental purposes, of course, I like to try something.

Again, leaving Jakub in charge, he ordered us Szarlotka (Polish Apple Cake) and Sernik (My beloved cheesecake) along with coffee.

Sernik

Szarlotka

Sadly, my hard-to-please sweet tooth was not satiated.

The Szarlotka was bland, cold and served with what appeared to be squirty cream from a can.  A touch of cinnamon and a quick turn in a microwave would have made a world of difference. Sadly, the Sernik didn't fare much better.  Considering my preference for savoury, this was a little too savoury for me.  It didn't fulful my quest to find a cheesecake as good as my Aunty Judy's, (made from her mother's recipe, she also has Eastern European roots).  Maybe my standards are too high, its a pretty delicious cheesecake.

The coffee, although not Polish, was delicious.

So, in conclusion - try something different. I think experimenting with different dishes is a good idea (the ones I mention in the opening paragraph have all been verified as great by Jakub!) Come in on a cold day and warm your soul.

Another good point to mention is that this place is actually great value for money (in that, you get what you pay for) and in terms of atmosphere and ambience, I recommend it.

http://restaurantelapolonesa.es/