What I learned at Le Manoir

Just under a year ago, I was treated to a fabulous ‘Garden to Plate’ cookery course at Raymond Blanc’s country house restaurant,  Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, in Oxfordshire as part of my extended 60th birthday celebrations. I’m not quite sure why it’s taken me so long to write up my impressions (life, I suppose), but it’s about time I did. I use at least two of the tips we were taught on a regular basis – and am thrilled how well they work each time.

As a keen gardener cook myself, this course was tailormade for me: not only did we get to tour the fabulous kitchen gardens at Le Manoir (and pass through the famous kitchens), we also picked up top tips from the chefs in the specially designed cookery school kitchen as we prepared a delightful late-summer lunch menu with fresh produce straight from the garden. Bliss. There were just eight of us on the course, the perfect number not to feel intimidated, but not too many that we didn’t feel we could ask questions and learn at close quarters.

We made (and ate!) heritage tomato salad served on fresh pesto with burrata and olive crumb, assiette de crudités (celeriac remoulade, beetroot and green beans with a mustard vinaigrette, globe artichokes), essence of tomato risotto, summer fruits infused in wine with a sugarwork crisp, and an apricot & almond tart (one to share and one each to take away!). It was a wonderful day with lots of tips; nothing complicated but with the emphasis on capturing the maximum flavour – heavenly! And just the way I like to cook.

I’m not going to go through the whole day in meticulous detail, but I did want to share a couple of the tricks I learned from my day at Le Manoir. Little things that are obvious when you think about them, but hadn’t necessarily occurred to me before.

First things first, the olive crumb that accompanied the tomato salad. I already make and love a chopped homegrown cherry tomato salad (Sungold are my favourite) infused in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, crushed garlic, a pinch of sugar, basil and seasoning, preferably served with goat’s cheese on lightly toasted sourdough bread, but the addition of an olive crumb elevated this simple lunch dish to another level – genius! Simply place some pitted black Kalamata olives in a cool oven (100 deg C) for 2 hours or so until dry. Then chop finely and sprinkle over the tomatoes. Leftover olive crumb can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. They add a real umami flavour to any dish.

The tomato essence we used in the risotto was an intensely flavoured extract of tomato juice made using a jelly bag – again, simple enough to do, but who would have thought of it? I make plenty of jellies using fruit, but had never tried tomatoes. Sadly, I don’t think I’ll ever have enough of my own homegrown tomatoes to do this in bulk as the weight of the fruit helps the process, but if you are ever given large quantities of good, flavoursome tomatoes, do try this! It can also be used as the base for an iced soup or even a tomato granita. Somewhat surprisingly, it’s also virtually clear as the colour stays in the skins and pulp – you can use this to make soups or sauces.

Tomato Essence – makes 700-800g essence

2.3 kg tomatoes
1/2 stick celery, finely chopped
1 small shallot, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 medium fennel bulb, chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
2 sprigs thyme leaves, chopped
Handful basil leaves, chopped
1 leaf of tarragon (if you have it)
1 tbsp sea salt
1 tbsp sugar (or omit if using very ripe fruit later in the season)
1 pinch cayenne pepper
4 drops Tabasco sauce
4 drops Worcester sauce

You will need to process the resulting mix in batches if using a domestic food processor. Blitz together using the pulse button, then leave to macerate in the bowl for at least three hours to allow the flavours to combine. Then transfer to a strong jelly bag and suspend over a glass bowl for at least 3 hours to collect the essence. Le Manoir make up to 20kg at a time and use bedsheets to hang for 24 hours! Wow… I have a jelly bag stand at home, but if you happen to live in a house with beams, that would be ideal – or a very strong ceiling hook/stepladder/upturned chair.

Another tip that came to light when we were preparing the tomato salad (the simplest of things…) was about preparing the basil for the pesto. You can, of course,  make a perfectly decent pesto using raw basil leaves, blitzed with pine nuts, olive oil, parmesan, garlic and seasoning, but chances are that any left over will oxidise and change colour if left in the fridge, even in a sealed jar, for any amount of time. It doesn’t affect the taste, but doesn’t look quite as appealing. The simple act of blanching the basil in a pan of boiling water for barely a minute, then quickly immersing in cold water and squeezing out the excess liquid before blitzing, preserves that bright green colour, making a pesto that stays green – brilliant!

Last but not least was the pastry for the apricot and almond tart. I’m going to reproduce the entire recipe here as this gave a really professional, pâtisserie-standard tart, but I’ve already adapted the pastry technique in other recipes on my blog where a sweet shortcrust pastry is required, such as my gooseberry tart. It works a treat, every time. This week I experimented with a redcurrant tart, made using the gooseberry tart recipe and this technique, and it came up trumps again.

The secret lies in turning established cooking methods on their heads – not chilling the dough before rolling, for example, and using clingfilm when rolling out the pastry! I know, I know, I’ve stopped using clingfilm in the kitchen too for environmental reasons, preferring to use those washable ‘shower caps’ you can buy from Lakeland to cover food, or fabric/silicone covers, although I find those slightly less convenient as they aren’t as stretchy. Worth using what clingfilm you have left for this method though. A friend of mine says she’s been using the clingfilm method for years, but it’s not how I was taught, so this was revolutionary news to me. We didn’t even bake blind for this tart, as the almond filling isn’t wet, but if you’re making a custard-based filling, you will still need to bake the case first to avoid the dreaded ‘soggy bottom’….

You can double up the quantities if that’s easier (saves using half an egg!) and freeze one, or the spare should keep in an airtight container for up to a week. Alternatively, you can freeze the unbaked tart case and cook from frozen, but of course that ties up your tart case. At Le Manoir, they use tart rings (no base) on trays lined with greaseproof paper, which might be an option to consider if you’re in the market for buying equipment from scratch.

Apricot  & Almond Tart – serves 6

Sweet pastry:
125g plain flour (spelt flour works well too)
2 tsp vanilla sugar
pinch salt
62.5 g butter, at room temperature
1/2 large egg, beaten

Sift flour and salt into a bowl. Stir in sugar, then rub in the butter (you can grate it from cold or even frozen if you prefer) using your fingers. Stir in the egg, then work together lightly to form a smooth dough.

Take two large pieces of clingfilm, place the pastry on the bottom one, then place the other piece of clingfilm on top. Roll out between the clingfilm – no added flour means you can get the pastry really thin and its consistency doesn’t change. Once it’s the size you require, remove the top piece of clingfilm but leave the bottom piece in place. Slide your hand under the pastry and clingfilm and flip over into the greased tart tin – easier than it sounds, just be confident! Gently ease the pastry down into the tin through the clingfilm and only when it’s pressed right down the sides, remove the clingfilm. You can then run a rolling pin over the top to neaten off the edges.

Use any leftover pastry to make mini tartlet cases – you can fill these with the almond mix and fruit the same way or fill with lemon curd/cream and fresh fruit after baking blind – you can lightly prick small cases with a fork rather than filling with paper and baking beans.

Place the pastry case/s into the fridge, covered with foil or clingfilm, and chill for at least an hour.

Almond frangipane filling:
50g butter
50g caster (or vanilla) sugar
50g ground almonds (or you can use 40g almonds + 10g cocoa for a chocolate filling)
1 medium egg, whisked
4 tsp liqueur of your choice (Amaretto or Grand Marnier work well)
(Add 1 tsp sifted flour if using particularly juicy fruit)

250g apricots, plums or cherries, halved and stoned
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 tbsp orange or lemon juice
1 tbsp flaked almonds

Add 1 tbsp sugar and orange or lemon juice to the halved and stoned fruit and allow to macerate for at least 30 minutes while you prepare the filling.

Combine the remaining filling ingredients in a bowl and mix well until blended. Spread the filling gently into the bottom of the unbaked, chilled pastry case. Arrange the fruit attractively on top and sprinkle with any remaining sugar/juice and the flaked almonds.

Bake the tart for 40-45 minutes at 180 deg C (Gas 5) or until both pastry and filling are golden brown. Leave to cool, then devour with glee.