Dinner for Under £10 – Pressure Cooking, Chicken and White Wine

Pressure cooking is not only economical as cooking times are reduced by around 75% but is also one of the greenest cooking methods imaginable. Pressure Cookers have been around for some time and are coming back into fashion as people discover their benefits. Did you know that the chain Kentucky Fried Chicken uses a combination of pressure cooking and frying? Pressure Cookers are sealed vessels that do not permit air or liquids to escape below a pre set pressure. Because the boiling point of water increases as the pressure increases, the pressure built up inside the cooker allows the liquid in the pot to rise to a higher temperature before boiling. The higher temperature causes the food to cook faster and Pressure Cooking is often used to simulate the effects of long braising or simmering in shorter periods of time.

Not only is food cooked in a fraction of the time but as it is cooked at a temperature above the normal boiling point of water, it kills bacteria and viruses. The pressure cooker can also be used as an effective sterilizer, for jam pots and glass baby bottles for example, or for water while camping. Pressure Cooking also keeps the vitamins and minerals in the food as it is not necessary to immerse food in water: enough water to keep the pressure cooker filled with steam is sufficient. Because of this, vitamins are not leached away by water. Since steam surrounds the food, foods are not oxidized by air exposure at heat, so sprouts, asparagus, broccoli etc retain their bright green colours and phytochemicals.

I have a great recipe for Pressure Cooking chicken - Chicken Cacciatore is a classic Italian dish, also referred to as hunter’s stew. Early recipes may have been made with rabbit or chicken, and each recipe was adapted for those who might be travelling or hunting for several days and would require an easy to prepare recipe for outside cooking. In a Pressure Cooker this dish only takes 12 minutes!

Chicken Cacciatore

3 tbsp olive oil
2 lb boneless chicken, cut into cubes
1 ¼ cups chicken broth
14 oz sliced mushrooms
1 large onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 small bunch fresh basil
1 small can tomato purée
pinch of thyme

In the Pressure Cooker, add olive oil and brown chicken for approximately 5 minutes, then add rest of ingredients. Close the lid and bring to high pressure; lower heat and cook for 12 minutes. Release the pressure and remove the lid. Serve with pasta, preferably spaghetti.

I would recommend a couple of white wines to go with your Chicken Cacciatore – the white Brissonet (£3.08) which is full of good ripe fruit. It has a bouquet of exotic fruit such as melon and pineapple and is a super wine at a great price. You should also consider the Montagnac Sauvignon Blanc (£5.37) which has aromas of honey, peach, apple and orange peel with smoky and floral hints. In the mouth it has flavours of zesty lemon, herbs and spice, and a touch of caramel and crystallised fruit. It's soft but certainly not creamy, with superb balance and a very decent length and will be lovely with your meal!

Dinner for Under £10 - Slow Cookers, Lamb and Wine

The popularity of some of the old fashioned cheap cuts of meat has meant that prices have gone up on certain joints – Lamb Shank being one of them. However a shank is still cheaper than a Leg of Lamb and if you ask your butcher you can normally pick up 2 for under £6. Lamb shanks come from either the forelegs or the lower hind legs of a lamb, which get a lot of exercise, and therefore are great cuts for stews and slow-cooked braises. The long cooking time is needed to break down the tough connective tissue in the muscles. At the end of cooking the meat should just fall off the bone.

Cheap imported lamb from New Zealand may be available all year round, but in season British lamb is hard to beat. In May and June lamb is at its most tender but as the season progresses the flavour develops. Spring lamb is fantastic for roasting simply with garlic and herbs, but Autumn lamb is great when given a spicier, more adventurous treatment .

This recipe comes from Abruzzo in Italy where lamb is the traditional dish. Abruzzo lies at the centre the Italian peninsula facing the Adriatic, and is bordered on the east by the Adriatic and on the west by the Apennines, making it is one of the most mountainous regions in Italy. In the past, the region of Abruzzo was well known for the transumanza, the migratory movement of sheep principally south to the region of Puglia during the cold winter months. It's made using a Slow Cooker and is delicious!


Abruzzi Lamb


1 tbsp olive oil
2 lamb shanks
3 oz smoked bacon
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tbsp plain flour
½ pint lamb or chicken stock
1 tbsp tomato puree
2 tsp brown sugar
2 – 3 sprigs rosemary
8 oz cherry tomatoes
salt and pepper

Set the Slow Cooker to Low. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the lamb until browned. Remove the lamb and set aside. Add the bacon and onion to the pan and fry until browned. Add the garlic and cook for 2 mins. Stir in the flour and mix in the stock. Add the tomato puree, sugar, rosemary, salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Spoon the lamb into the Slow Cooker, pour over the hot stock mixture and then add the whole tomatoes. Cover with the lid and cook on Low for 8 – 10 hours. Serve with pasta.

Try a bottle with Marquis de Perissac (£5.62) with your Lamb Shank – it's a typical Haut Medoc and is a nice bright colour with a good fruity aroma. It has good soft tannins which gives a nice soft fruity release in the mouth with a hint of cherries and blackberries. Marquis de Perissac 2004 is made from a great year that typically suits the British palate It's a versatile wine and as it is medium bodied and a lot of people will enjoy it – provided it is served at the right temperature. Being a medium weighted wine Marquis de Perissac is great with food – especially with Lamb!

Dinner for Under £10 - Slow Cookers, Braising Steak and Wine

Home cooking does not necessarily mean slaving away over a stove – with 15 or 20 minutes preparation you can create a tasty meal that is left to simmer in a slow cooker. Food that has been slowly cooked is packed with flavour and once a Slow Cooker is turned on the food can be left to gently bubble unattended. Slow Cookers were first introduced in the 1970s, but due to the recession they are now shedding their retro image and have come back into fashion. Slow Cookers only use the same amount of electricity as a light bulb and are perfect for transforming cheaper cuts of meat into tender dishes. Tesco alone is seeing 12,000 of the appliances fly of its shelves every week, while John Lewis and Morphy Richards have seen sales grow 64% and 16.4% respectively since last year.

Cheaper cuts of meat with connective tissue and lean muscle fibre are suitable for stewing, and make better stews than expensive cuts as slow cooking softens the connective tissue and gelatinises it. Apart from making melt in the mouth casseroles Slow Cookers can be used to steam puddings and fish.

A good tip with Slow Cooking is to use herbs and spices that release their flavour slowly so that it doesn't disappear over the long cooking time ie instead of grinding peppercorns, crush them in a mortar so they release their flavour slowly as the dish cooks. So too with, seeds such as cumin, fennel, coriander. With rosemary and thyme, use the fresh version but toss the whole stem in, along with the leaves. The stem cooks slowly, releasing flavour and keeping the dish seasoned. You can add spices such as fresh chillies at the end of the cooking time, and just cook them long enough for the flavours to meld.

Curries are lovely when slow cooked and here is a great recipe:

Malaysian Beef Curry

1 lb braising steak, diced
1 onion
4 garlic cloves
2 tbsp olive oil
1 aubergine, cut into chunks
2 tbsp Thai curry paste
2 star anise
1 tbsp fish sauce
1can coconut milk

Set the temperature on the Slow Cooker to Low. Finely chop the onion and garlic, heat the oil in a frying pan, add the onion and garlic and fry till soft. Add the beef and aubergine and fry until browned. Stir in the curry paste, fish sauce, star anise and coconut milk and bring to the boil. Transfer to the Slow Cooker. Cover with the lid and cook on Low for 8 – 9 hours until the meat is tender.

Recommended wines to go with your curry are the red Brissonet (£3.08) which always pairs beautifully with spicy Indian, Thai and Chinese dishes due to its lightness and fruitiness and the award winning Clairet de Chateau des Lisennes (£5.87). The Clairet (Bordeaux's own Rosé) is a fragrant, deep raspberry pink wine with violet reflections with raspberry, peach and spice overtones and being a medium to fuller bodied drink it lends itself very nicely to accompany many tropical and oriental dishes.

Dinner for Under £10 – Breast of Lamb and a Bottle of Rosé Wine

Breast of Lamb is another of those cuts that people don't seem to use these days but it does make some lovely meals. Breast of lamb is a bargain cut, generally costing £3 or less. Ask for it well trimmed and boned, then stuff the thin sheet of marbled flesh and cook it slowly so that the fat bastes the flesh as it melts into the roasting tin. You can be as inventive as you like with the stuffing – it all depends on what you have in your larder or herb garden. The oldest cookbook, Apicius de re Coquinaria, is by Apicius, a Roman gourmet who lived some time around the 2nd century BC to the 1st century AD. He includes recipes for stuffed chicken, hare, pig, and even stuffed dormouse. Most of these early stuffings were of vegetables, herbs, nuts, spelt (an old cereal) and frequently, chopped liver and brains. In the Middle Ages, stuffing was known as farce (from the French); the root of the word 'forcemeat'.

You can make your own stuffing by using stale bread, onions, garlic and sage – but shop bought is easy to use and you can always augment it with other ingredients of your choice. To stuff the Breast of Lamb lay it out on a board, and cover it with the stuffing pushing it into every available crevice. Roll the joint up from the thin end so the fat is on the outside. You can truss it up with string but you can secure it with just one or two skewers through it . If you want, at this stage you can make little stabs with the knife and push rosemary leaves into them under the skin for extra flavour.

Norfolk Lamb Parcel

1 large boned breast of lamb cut into 4 equal pieces
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter

Stuffing

2 onions, chopped
2 tbsp lard
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup sausage meat
2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
seasoning to taste
1 tbsp fresh sage, finely chopped
1 tbsp chutney

Trim any excess fat from the meat. Preheat the oven to 200ºC / 400ºF/ gas mark 6. To make the stuffing, fry the onion gently in the fat until soft but not browned. Add the stock and boil for 5 minutes, until the liquid is well reduced. Remove from the heat and stir in the sausage meat, breadcrumbs, seasoning to taste, the sage and the chutney. Blend well to make a thick paste. Divide the stuffing into 4 and spread it over the pieces of meat.

Place the pieces of meat on top of each other to make a sandwich and tie them together neatly with fine string. Season with salt and pepper and brush the oil and butter over the top and sides. Roast the meat parcel in the oven for 20 minutes. Then turn down the temperature to 180ºC / 350º F / gas mark 4 for 1 ½ - 2 hours, basting the meat frequently. Place the meat on a heated serving dish.

Rosé wines are very versatile and a lovely one to pair with your Breast of Lamb is the Domaine de Ricaud Bordeaux Clairet (£5.62). It has gone down a storm with the wine press and comes from an estate which has been owned by the same family for many generations, situated not far from the Dordogne at the far-end of the Entre Deux Mers region. It is a bright intense pink colour, is full on the nose with generous red fruits aromas including strawberries, spice, plums, cherries, rose petals and redcurrants. In the mouth it is fresh with a medium structure, smooth tannins with a lot of fruit and a very slight hint of sweetness. It really is a beautiful presentation of a Clairet produced in Bordeaux and will be lovely with your Norfolk Parcels.

Dinner for Under £10 – Oxtail and a Bottle of Red Wine

Oxtail is one of those forgotten meats that makes a brilliant velvety stew that is full of goodness. You can ask your local butcher for it and its inexpensive. It is usually cut into short lengths. Oxtail is a bony, gelatinous meat, and is best slow-cooked in stews or braised. Oxtail is the main ingredient of the Italian dish Coda Alla Vaccinara and is a popular traditional dish in both the American South, China, and Indonesia. Stewed oxtail with butter beans is popular in Jamaica and Trinidad and it is also used to make many Philippine dishes.

There is a story that oxtail soup had its origin during the Reign of Terror in Paris in 1793 during the French Revolution, when many of the nobility were reduced to starvation and absolute beggary. The abattoirs sent their hides fresh to the tanners without removing the tails, and in cleaning them the tails were thrown away. One day one of the noble beggars, while happening to pass a tannery, noticed a pile of discarded tails, and asking for one it was willingly given to him. He took it to his lodging and made what is now famous - the first dish of oxtail soup!

Oxtail Stew

2 oxtails, jointed
seasoned flour for dusting
3 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, sliced
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 lb carrots, thickly sliced
pinch cinnamon
a few cloves
pinch of thyme
2 bay leaves
sprig rosemary
salt and black pepper
pint beef stock

Coat the oxtail in seasoned flour and brown in the oil in a casserole dish. Lift out the oxtail and set aside. Reduce the heat and add the onions and garlic. Fry until tender. Return the oxtail to the pan with all the remaining ingredients and cover with the stock. Bring to the boil and then cover and simmer for 3 hours. Uncover and continue simmering for a further 1 – 2 hours until the meat falls easily from the bone and the sauce has thickened. Skim the fat from the surface, adjust seasoning and serve with potatoes or noodles.

A great wine to accompany your oxtail soup is Chateau Chadeuil (£4.75) – it's a traditional Bordeaux which is well-rounded and fleshy on the mouth with well balanced tannins and a long silky finish. This is a wine that has been produced with good food in mind. It's a good dark ruby colour and reveals beautiful aromas of blackberries with a hint of vanilla and a smooth finish.

This wine had a great write up in the Telegraph by Jonathan Ray and is an absolute bargain!

"I've no idea why this is so cheap, but cheap it is and well worth snapping up. A blend of 60 per cent Merlot, 20 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon and 20 per cent Cabernet Franc from a fine vintage, this AC Bordeaux could give far better-known clarets a run for their money. Serve with confidence at dinner parties; nobody need know how little you paid."

Dinner for Under £10 – Shin of Beef and a Bottle of Red Wine

Shin of Beef is cut of beef from the lower leg of the cow and it is also known as shank. The shin is a cheap, bony cut and contains a large quantity of connective tissue and costs around £4.25 a pound. It's cooked slowly to tenderize the meat and the fat melts during the cooking process adding to the richness of the gravy. Shin of Beef is also delicious when it is braised or roasted. It's an excellent choice for all stews and casseroles, delivering bags of flavour and a superb texture after several hours' slow cooking.

My favourite recipe using Shin of Beef is a casserole made with brown ale and dumplings. Dumplings are an ancient food – the Ancient Romans enjoyed them and they appear in many cuisines across the globe from: Czech knedliky, Hungarian tesztak, Jewish matzo balls, Russian pel'meni, Chinese wontons and Italian ravioli and gnocchi.

Beef Casserole with Dumplings

2 lbs shin of beef, chopped into chunks
3 tbsp flour
olive oil
3 red onions, peeled, halved and roughly sliced
1 oz bacon, chopped
3 sticks of celery, chopped
1 small handful of rosemary, leaves picked from stem
5 cups Newcastle Brown ale or other dark ale
2 parsnips, peeled and roughly chopped
2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
4 potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

I normally use a dumpling mix but if you want to make your own then here is the recipe for them:

1 cup self-rising flour
½ cup butter
A good pinch of salt and pepper
2 sprigs of rosemary, chopped

Season the beef, sprinkle with the flour and toss around until well coated. Heat up a frying pan until it is good and hot, add a little olive oil and fry the beef in 2 batches until nice and brown. Transfer the meat to a big casserole - one that can be used on the top of the oven - mixing in the flour that was left on the plate after coating it. Put the casserole on a medium heat, add the red onions and bacon, and cook until the onions are translucent. Add the celery and rosemary. Pour in the ale and 1 cup of water, adding your parsnips, carrots, and potatoes. Bring to the boil, put a lid on, turn down the heat and leave it to simmer while you make the dumplings.

Rub the ingredients for the dumplings between your fingers till you have a breadcrumb consistency, then add just enough water to make a dough that is not sticky. Divide it into ping-pong-ball-sized dumplings and put these into the stew, dunking them under. Put the lid back on and leave it to cook for 2 hours.

Montagnac Merlot (£5.37) is a lovely wine to enjoy with your casserole – it's a fruity and intense wine from the Languedoc which is famous for its garagiste wines with dense and complex aromas reflecting the diversity of the terrain. With the mountains on one side and the Mediterranean on the other this is becoming a popular wine growing region. Produced by a small co-operative dating back to the 1930s the vineyards stretch from the banks of Thau Lagoon to the foothills of the mountains on the right bank of the River Hérault. The vines are grown in small parcels on old terraces on limestone and clay slopes.

Montagnac Merlot is a dark garnet colour with lovely perfumed cherry aromas and a hint of dark chocolate. A whiff of grassy flavours mingles well with the ripe black fruit. It's well balanced and not complex – and is outstanding value for money!

Dinner for Under £10 – Liver and a Bottle of Red Wine

Liver and liver products, such as liver pâté and liver sausage, are a good source of iron and they are also a rich source of vitamin A. They make a cheap and tasty treat every so often (it's not good for you to eat too much liver on a regular basis as they are so rich in vitamin A). Liver can be baked, boiled, broiled, fried or even eaten raw. It can be used in making sausages such as Braunschweiger and liverwurst, or as a filler in terrines. Jewish delis are famous for their chopped chicken liver, delicious between two slices of rye bread. And of course the infamous pan-fried calves' liver and onions which is increasingly making a comeback in restaurants, right along with all the other comfort foods.

Faggots are a traditional dish made from pig heart, liver and fatty belly meat or bacon minced together, with herbs added for flavouring and sometimes breadcrumbs. The first mention of this dish in print was in 1851 but Faggots popularity with the rationing during the Second World War. Faggots and Peas is a speciality of the Black Country area of the West Midlands, especially so since the 18th century industrialisation onwards. It is still common to see small butchers shops in the area selling Faggots to their own (sometimes secret) recipe for a cheap price. Faggots are also known as "ducks" in the Midlands, Yorkshire and Lancashire, often as "savoury ducks".

The traditional Scottish Haggis is another dish that uses liver – it contains sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock. The Haggis is popularly assumed to be of Scottish origin, but there are other claimants to its invention - the first known written recipe for a dish of the name (as 'hagese'), made with offal and herbs, is in the verse cookbook Liber Cure Cocorum dating from around 1430 in Lancashire. It's thought that the Ancient Greeks and Romans were the first people known to have made products of the haggis type. Popular folklore has it that the dish originates from the days of the old Scottish cattle drovers. When the men left the highlands to drive their cattle to market in Edinburgh the women would prepare rations for them to eat during the long journey down through the glens. They used the ingredients that were most readily available in their homes and conveniently packaged them in a sheep's stomach allowing for easy transportation during the journey.

Chicken liver is very cheap and I have found a different recipe to try rather than the usual Chicken Liver Pate.

Cajun Chicken Liver Rice

4 cups chicken stock
1 onion
1 stick celery
1 red pepper
handful of mushrooms
½ tsp ground black pepper
pinch cayenne pepper
½ lb chicken livers
3 cloves garlic
2 cups rice.

Heat bacon drippings and 2 tbsp of butter in a heavy casserole dish. Sauté the pork mince. Lower heat; add vegetables and seasoning and cook until vegetables are tender. Add rice and chicken stock; bring rapidly to a boil, stir once, cover, and lower heat. Simmer for 15 mins, until rice is tender. Sauté minced chicken livers in remaining butter for 3 mins. Toss with the rice, taste for seasoning, and add salt and pepper if necessary. Cover and let rice fluff in a 225° oven for 10 mins.

I would recommend the Brissonet Rouge (£3.08) to go with your Cajun Chicken Livers – it's a versatile fruity wine, concentrated with no acidity, and is cherry red in colour with violet bloom It's made with the Grenache grape which has aromas and flavours of black pepper, rich black olive, dark chocolate, roasted game and sweet red fruits and will accompany this dish really well.

Dinner for Under £10 – Smoked Mackerel and a Bottle of White Wine

Smoked Mackerel is one of the cheapest fish you can buy and it's an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, selenium, and vitamin B12. Mackerel has been a consistently popular fish throughout European history. The Romans used Mackerel to make garum, a fermented fish sauce similar to those essential to Thai and Vietnamese cooking today. Records show that the Mackerel has been widely eaten in the UK for hundreds of years. According to his diary, Samuel Pepys breakfasted on Mackerel in the 1660s and Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management (1861) features the recipe Fennel Sauce for Mackerel.

The phrase "Holy Mackerel" is a 19th century expression that relates to the Roman Catholic practice of only eating fish on Fridays, a holy day for believers. It could also possibly be a euphemism for Holy Mary and another suggested explanation is the practice of selling Mackerel on Sundays in the 17th century, so it was known as a holy fish. The term “a Mackerel sky” comes from the dark wavy bars on the back of the fish and its silvery belly which resemble the clouds.

Smoked Mackerel goes back hundreds of years and could even go back to Neolithic times. Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of what was evidently a substantial fish-smoking "factory" in Poland, dating back to the 7th century and in the Medieval period dedicated smoke houses were in common use in England. Smoking the fish preserved them and people relied upon them to carry them over the lean times of late winter and into spring.

Smoked Mackerel Fish Cakes

225g smoked mackerel
340g potatoes, peeled and quartered
30g butter
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
salt and freshly-ground black pepper
beaten egg, to bind
1 egg, beaten, to coat
dry breadcrumbs
fat for frying


Cut the Mackerel into large pieces then place in a pan and cover with milk or water. Bring to a simmer and poach gently for about 20 minutes, or until the fish is tender. Drain then remove the skins before flaking the fish and removing any bones.

In the meantime, boil the potatoes in lightly salted water for about 20 minutes, or until tender. Mash the potatoes with the butter then mix in the fish along with the parsley and 1 egg. Season to taste then bring together as a dough and turn out onto a floured board. Shape into a roll then slice into 8 pieces and shape into cakes. Beat the remaining egg then dip the fish cakes into this before covering in the breadcrumbs. Heat shallow fat in a pan then add the fish cakes and fry on both sides until crisp and golden.

Smoked Mackerel has a strong flavour and I would recommend a Bordeaux white such as Chateau Saint Thibeaud (£5.19) to go with your fish cakes. It's a lovely crisp wine predominantly made from the Sauvignon Blanc grape. It has plenty of body and is a pale golden colour with dominant and very refreshing hints of pear and citrus fruits. On the palate it reveals a rounded, clean attack on the mouth with a good balance of fruit and dryness and the finish has gorgeous touches of lemon – which would suit the oiliness of the Mackerel to a tee.

Dinner for Under £10 – Chicken Pie and a Bottle of Rosé Wine

Have you ever wondered what to do with your left over meat from the roast chicken? I use it make Chicken Pie. The British have been making pies since the 12th century but the origins of pies can loosely be traced back to the ancient Egyptians. The bakers to the Pharaohs incorporated nuts, honey, and fruits in bread dough making a primitive form of pastry. Drawings of this can be found etched on the tomb walls of Ramses II in the Valley of the Kings. Historians believe that the Greeks actually originated pie pastry. The pies during this period were made by a flour-water paste wrapped around meat; this served to cook the meat and seal in the juices. The Romans carried home recipes for making it after they had conquered Greece. The wealthy and educated Romans used various types of meat in every course of the meal, including the dessert course (secundae mensea). Pie making spread throughout Europe, via the Roman roads, where every country adapted the recipes to their customs and foods.

In the 14th Century pies were popular at royal banquets and the Duke of Burgundy's chef made an immense pie which opened to the strains of 28 musicians playing from within the pie. Out of the pie came a captive girl representing the "captive" Church in the Middle East. In 1626 Jeffrey Hudson, a famous 17th century dwarf, was served up in a cold pie as a child, dressed in a suit of miniature armour. Hudson was later dubbed Lord Minimus and remained with the queen for the next 18 years where he became a trusted companion and court favourite.

Chicken and Mushroom Pie

120g shortcrust pastry
cooked chicken meat
350g mushrooms
600ml Béchamel sauce
1 sprig sage
pinch of chopped tarragon

Béchamel sauce is the traditional French white sauce that forms the basis for all white sauces (including those containing cheese).

425ml milk
2 sticks of celery
1 bay leaf
1 blade of mace
10 while black peppercorns
1 shallot
40g butter
20g plain flour
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

To make the Béchamel sauce place the milk in a small pan along with the celery, bay leaf, mace, peppercorns and onion. Cook on low heat until it comes just to a simmer (about 5 minutes) then remove from the heat and strain into a jug or bowl (discard the flavourings). Add the butter to the pan and melt gently then add the flour and stir-in vigorously to make a smooth paste. Add the milk a little at a time, whisking all the while (incorporate each slug of liquid completely before you add the next) and continue until all the liquid is incorporated. Turn the heat to its lowest setting and allow to sauce to cook slowly for 5 minutes, whisking occasionally. Season with salt and black pepper and use immediately.

Chop the meat and slice the mushrooms. Add a layer of the white sauce to the base of a deep pie dish then add a layer of chicken and a layer of mushrooms. Continue the layering process until all the ingredients are used up, finishing with a layer of the white sauce. Set an egg cup in the centre of the pie then roll out the dough so it's large enough to fit over the pie. Place the pastry on top and secure the edges by crimping with a fork before trimming away any excess. Cut a few steam holes in the pie and decorate the top (if desired) then transfer to an oven pre-heated to 180°C and bake for about 45 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown.

I would recommend a Bordeaux Clairet to go with your Chicken Pie – Clairet is a fuller bodied wine than most rosés. The grape varieties used in Bordeaux Clairet are the same as those in Red Bordeaux: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec. Bordeaux Clairets have great aromatic power and the bouquet is of ripe strawberries, blackberries and blackcurrants. Depending on the style of the wine they can also have the zest of pomegranate, cranberry or raspberry – even plum. The scents can be floral and are likened to peonies or roses. In the mouth they are voluptuous, velvety, rich, round, smooth and silky and the colours are luminous like jewels.

Clairet de Chateau des Lisennes (£5.87) is one of the best that Bordeaux offers and won the gold medal in Brussels in 2006. Situated near Bordeaux this Chateau is family run and has been in the Soubie family for 4 generations. The fragrant wine is a deep raspberry pink with violet reflections. The aroma is complex; it has raspberry, peach and spice overtones. It is soft and full, and the fruity taste of blackberries, redcurrants and raspberries explodes in the mouth giving intense round flavours. If you haven't tried this popular Bordelaise drink before you will not be disappointed!

Dinner for Under £10 – Beef Skirt and A Bottle of Red Wine

Beef Skirt is an old fashioned cut of meat and is cheap here in the UK whereas in the USA it is considered to be a steak cut and is the principal meat used in fajitas – making it more expensive over there. The skirt is a cut of beef steak from the plate (belly) and is a tasty, long, flat cut. In the UK it is traditionally used for making Cornish Pasties.

Pasties were originally made as lunch ('croust' or 'crib' in the Cornish language) for Cornish tin miners who were unable to return to the surface to eat. The story goes that, covered in dirt from head to foot (including some arsenic often found with tin), they could hold the pasty by the folded crust and eat the rest without touching it, discarding the dirty pastry. The pastry they threw away was supposed to appease the knockers, mischievous spirits in the mines who might otherwise lead the miners into danger. A related tradition holds that it is bad luck for fishermen to take pasties to sea. Pasties were also popular with farmers and labourers, particularly in the North East of England, which was also a mining region.

The pasty's dense, folded pastry could stay warm for 8 to 10 hours and, when carried close to the body, could help the miners stay warm. The meat and each vegetable in each pasty would each have its own pastry "compartment," separated by a pastry partition. Traditional bakers in former mining towns will still bake pasties with fillings to order, marking the customer's initials with raised pastry. This practice was started because the miners used to eat part of their pasty for breakfast and leave the remainder for lunch; the initials enabled them to find their own pasties. Some mines kept large ovens to keep the pasties warm until mealtime. It is said that a good pasty should be strong enough to endure being dropped down a mine shaft!

Cornish Pasty


A tip is to try white pepper instead of black and top with a small dollop of butter before crimping.
Pastry
1 ½ cups plain flour
lard
pinch of salt
water

Filling
Beef skirt
2 potatoes
½ large swede
1 onion
salt and pepper to taste
water

To make the pastry place flour and salt in a bowl, rub in the fat, until the mixture is so fine that it falls through the fingers. Make a well in the centre of the mixture. Add water a little at a time until it forms a pliable but stiff dough.

To make the filling finely chop the steak. Dice the potato, swede and onion. Add seasoning and mix all in a bowl.

Using a floured table top roll out half the dough to a circle the size of a plate. Make a mound of the filling in the centre of the dough. Dampen round the edge of the dough with either water, or milk. Fold over the dough, to make a half moon shape, crimping the edges. Make a slit to let out steam. Brush with beaten egg to glaze. Cook on a lightly greased metal baking tray in the middle of a preheated oven, for around 40 minutes at 450 F. The pasty is cooked when their undersides turn brown and crisp.

I love a good wholesome pasty and I can understand why they were so popular with minors and labourers in a gone by age. They are cheap to make and filling, providing a good lunch during a hard working day. With the disappearance of the mines pasties still remain a firm favourite for feeding a family. They are nutritious, encourage children to eat vegetables and satisfies hungry tummies as well as a cost effective way of feeding a them should your budget be limited. Most importantly if they are made properly absolutely delicious!

Therefore if you are going to serve up a pasty meal and you are looking for a wine to compliment it I would recommend Montagnac Cabernet Sauvignon (£5.37) to go with your pasty – it's a rich and velvety easy drinking wine produced from the Languedoc which is well known for its cult wines and petit châteaux. Montagnac Cabernet Sauvignon is made by a small co-operative dating back to the 1930s. The vineyards stretch from the banks of Thau Lagoon to the foothills of the mountains on the right bank of the River Hérault where the ancient river bed stones are similar to those of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. It's a rich ruby red with a superb intensity of ripe, blackberries and a touch of prune and cedar wood. It has a fruity aroma with a hint of green peppers and has soft, smooth tannins.

Another great idea for feeding a family of four (if you make the pasties yourself) including a bottle of wine for under a tenner. Pasties are meals in themselves and provides a nutritious wholesome dinner or supper for all the family. When serving up your pasties you could add a tossed salad or extra vegetables to make more appealing and appetising on the plate.

Enjoy!

Dinner for Under £10 – Neck of Lamb and A Bottle of Red Wine

You don't seem to see old favourites like Scrag End of Neck in the supermarkets these days – you are better off talking to your local butcher. Neck of Lamb is one of the tougher cuts and is generally sold as Stewing lamb or made into mince. When sold in pieces it is only suitable for very long, slow, moist cooking. And generally costs about £3.00. Although tough the flavour is very good so it's well worth the extra cooking. Fillets from the neck were not a traditional British butcher’s cut but recently some supermarkets and enterprising independents have started to prepare de-boned versions of this meat – however they are more expensive and I like to use the bones for extra flavour.

There are 3 cuts that you can get from Neck of Lamb - Scrag End of Neck, Middle Neck – which comes from between the best end of neck and the scrag end and is suitable for braising and Best End of Neck – which comes from between the middle neck and loin and is great for braising or roasting on the bone. Two famous roasts come from the best end of neck: the crown roast and the guard of honour. The best end of neck also gives you lamb cutlets – the long thin boned chop with a slight layer of fat. It has a very sweet small piece of lean meat. They are quite small, so allow a couple per person.

Scrag End of neck is traditionally used in Hot Pots and this recipe is really tasty.

Lamb Hot Pot

1 kg neck of lamb, chopped into large pieces
2 tbsp flour
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 oz dripping or lard
3 - 4 lambs' kidneys, thickly sliced
4 oz mushrooms, quartered
1 onion, sliced
15 fl oz beef stock, home-made or from a cube
1 ½ lb potatoes, thinly sliced

Heat the oven to 170°C (325°F) gas 3. Season the flour with salt and pepper, then coat meat in the flour. Reserve left-over flour. Heat the fat in a large saucepan and fry the meat, in batches, until browned. Transfer to a hotpot and scatter over the kidneys and mushrooms. Fry the sliced onion gently in the fat left in the saucepan for a few minutes, then transfer to the hotpot. Add the remaining flour to the pan and stir until browned. Stir in the stock and bring to the boil.

Check the seasoning and simmer for a few minutes, until slightly thickened. Cover the meat with overlapping potato slices. Pour the sauce over the potatoes, cover the hotpot and cook in the oven for 1 ½ hours. Uncover the pot and cook for a further 30 minutes until the meat is tender and the potatoes are browned, then serve the hot pot at once.

If you fancy a bottle of red wine to go with your Hot Pot why not try Marquis de Perissac (£5.62) – it comes from the famous Haut Medoc and has good soft tannins which gives a nice soft fruity release in the mouth with a hint of cherries and blackberries. The main grape variety used for this wine is Merlot which becomes very apparent when drinking. Combine this grape with the Cabernet Sauvignon and the Cabernet Franc grapes and you get a wine which is well presented being a fresh crispy red in colour with lots of fruit on the nose as well as on the palate. Marquis de Perissac is made by a small, traditional co-operative of wine makers in Perissac itself. There is a little museum of wine making in the hamlet which records their centuries old techniques. I thought it was rather fitting to have a traditionally made wine to accompany a traditional recipe!

Dinner for Under £10 – Belly Pork and A Bottle of Wine

Researchers have found that the cuts of meat our grandparents regularly ate are ignored by today's under-35s which is a shame. I partly blame the supermarkets as neck of lamb, pigs trotters and shin of beef are not commonly found amongst the cuts of topside, silverside and legs of lamb. These old fashioned cuts may be unfamiliar but they are cheap and once you know how to treat them in the kitchen they make some super dishes.

Butchers say the cheaper meats provide much better value for money and our mothers and grandmothers were experts at making what little they had go a long way. I think we ought to revive some of these thrifty techniques and revise our popular cooking methods. Did you know that many under-35s rarely make stews - and are more likely to grill meat on the barbecue. Two-thirds never boil meat or poultry bones to make stock and only half make their own gravy and just one in ten had cooked with mutton or brisket and 3% used feather steak. More than half said they wouldn't contemplate buying offal.

Belly Pork has long been demonised as it is considered to be too fatty but Belly Pork is where we get streaky bacon or pancetta from. You can usually buy it for around £5 a kg (2.2lbs). If you slow roast the cut then a lot of the fat melts away and it can also be used to make great oriental dishes too. Belly Pork is also very nice simply grilled and served with potatoes and a verity of veg. One of the traditional recipes for Belly Pork uses apples – they really go well together and make a mouth watering dish.

Belly Pork and Apple

6 slices of belly pork
4 cooking apples, peeled, cored and quartered
2 tbsp plain flour
½ pint milk
salt and pepper

Fry the pork in a frying pan until crisp on both sides. Remove from the pan and arrange in a baking dish. Surround with the apple quarters. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from the frying pan. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Gradually stir in the milk and bring to the boil. Add salt and pepper, then pour this sauce over the pork and apples. Bake in a preheated moderate oven 180°C (350°F) Gas Mark 4 for 35 to 45 minutes. Serve with mashed potatoes.

If you fancy a bottle of wine to go with the meal then you don't have to break the bank either – the Brissonet Blanc comes in at £3.08 a bottle and is a fruity wine with aromas of melon and pineapple. It has a good balance between acidity and alcohol and is 11.5%. Its made from the Maccabeau grape which is widely used in the making of White Rioja and Cava.

Another great wine at £4.94 is the Chateau Lamothe Vincent Rosé – it's a fabulous deep, dark pomegranate pink wine that is simply bursting with fruit. It's an award winning wine and was one of the 3 best Bordeaux Rosés in 2006 TOP VINS, silver medal winner both at the Challenge International du Vin 2006 and Concours des Vins d'Aquitaine 2006.

It is made with two grapes - Cabernet Sauvignon which gives tannic backbone and structure. This grape is very aromatic in young wines with heady aromas of blackcurrant. Cabernet Franc is the other grape used and this provides acidity, fragrance and strawberry-like fruit qualities. It's ideal for sipping on a summer's evening or drinking with white meats.

Dinner for Under £10 - Brisket and a Bottle of Red Wine

Everyone is tightening their belts at the moment but you don't have to give up having a glass of wine with your meal. There are lots of old recipes which use cheaper cuts of meat that our grandparents took for granted which are not only delicious but are easy to make. I thought it would be useful to share some of these old favourites with you . Brisket is a great cut of beef to use for all slow cooking methods and is a traditional cut to use for Beef Casserole Dishes, Beef Stews, Beef Crockpot Recipes and is also very good when Smoked. You can pick up Brisket for around £5 a kg (2.2lbs) and you can also pick up a bottle of wine from as little as £3.08 from Bordeaux-Undiscovered – that's a meal plus a bottle to enjoy it with for under £10!

Brisket takes its name from the Middle English "brusket" which comes from the earlier Old Norse "brjōsk", meaning cartilage and it needs to be cooked slowly and gently to make it tender. It comes from the breast of the cow and the cut is actually made up of two different muscles on the chest of the cow and these will sometimes be separated for retail. The first cut is lean and is usually referred to as the "flat cut". The second has a layer of lard and is called the "fat end", "deckel", or "point" cut. Beef Brisket is tough because the muscles get used a lot in this part of the cows body - By cooking it gently for a couple of hours or more the heat will slowly breakdown the tough fibres in the meat and make it very tasty and palatable.

It's best to pick up your Brisket from your local butcher – the beef is often grass fed which means that the animal's diet results in a healthier, more nutritious meat than beef that have been treated with antibiotics. Grass fed beef usually results in a leaner animal, due to the increased exercise and better diet. This means leaner meat with less fat content. Scientific studies have also shown that beef that is fed grass will have higher levels of Omega 3 fatty acids and Conjugated Linoleic Acid - both of these have been shown to be beneficial in preventing heart disease and cancer.

Pot Roast

Cut of Brisket
4 onions
4 carrots
4 sticks celery, chopped
4 potatoes cut into thick slices
sprig fresh thyme
bay leaf
half pint (275ml) hot stock
2 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
salt
black pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 140C (275 F). Cut the brisket into thick pieces and roll it in 1 tbsp flour, black pepper and sea salt. Heat the oil, add the brisket and sear it on all sides until browned all over. Remove the brisket from the pan and add the vegetables to brown them two. Place the brisket in a heavy cooking pot or flame proof casserole and surround it with the vegetables, thyme and bay leaf. Add the hot stock and bring to a simmer. Cover the pot with foil and a heavy tightly fitting lid for a good seal and place in the middle of the oven for about 3 hours. When ready remove the beef and vegetables from the pot and set aside to keep warm. Bring the stock to the boil and reduce slightly. Mix the butter and remaining flour together and then whisk this into the stock to thicken it, simmer for a little while and then serve with the meat and vegetables.

This is just one idea where you can feed a family of 4-6 including a bottle of wine for under £10. It’s easy to cook tasty, nutritious and filling. Brisket as a cut of meat is overlooked because people think it’s a tough joint. Which of course it is but when cooked over a long period of time on a relatively low heat you can turn a tough piece of meat into a tender tasty meal. Recommended wines are the Brissonet £3.08, Prince de Prieur £3.18 and two clarets at under £5 Chateau Les Graves de Barrau and Chateau Chadeuil Enjoy!

I will be bringing you other ideas for meals over the coming weeks for you to try where your budget for feeding your family is important which I hope you will find useful.

Château Cheval Blanc and Henry IV

Château Cheval Blanc is the legendary First Growth (Premier Grand Cru Classé A) and along with Château Ausone, Cheval Blanc is Saint Emilion's only other First Growth. Cheval Blanc began life as part of the Figeac estate and in 1832 this portion of land was acquired by the Ducasse family. The 100 acre vineyard of Château Cheval Blanc is unusual in that it borders the stony plateau of Pomerol and takes on some of those qualities, it spans the gravel ridge which travels across to Château Figeac and also covers terroir typical of Saint Emilion.

In 1852 Henriette Ducasse married Jean Laussac-Fourcaud who acquired more land, renovated the vineyard and began construction of the château. He also installed a network of field drains, preventing the flooding which up until that point had plagued the vines; this was the first St Emilion estate to be blessed with such a system. According to tradition the château was built on an old inn which was named Cheval Blanc. The story behind the name is that Henry IV once stayed at the inn, having ridden there on his famous white steed. The French still have a joke which goes De quelle couleur est le cheval blanc de Henri Quatre? (What colour was Henry IV's white horse?)

Henry (1553 1610) ruled as Henry III, King of Navarre and as Henry IV, King of France. He was one of the most popular French kings, both during and after his reign, Henry showed great care for the welfare of his subjects and displayed an unusual religious tolerance for the time. He was assassinated by a fanatical Catholic, François Ravaillac. Henry was nicknamed Henry the Great (Henri le Grand), and in France is sometimes called le bon roi Henri (Good King Henry). Henry had a penchant for grey and white, they were colours that he often wore – when he entered Paris in 1594 he was dressed in grey velvet laced with gold, a grey hat and white plume and announced “I am grey without but inside all gold”.

The wines under the new label of Cheval Blanc won medals at the International London and Paris Exhibitions in 1862 and 1867 and the château remained in the family until 1998 when it was sold to Bernard Arnault, chairman of luxury goods group LVMH, and Belgian businessman Albert Frère (also owners of Château d'Yquem), with Pierre Lurton installed as estate manager.

The grapes grown at Chateau Cheval Blanc are unusual as they are not the atypical Saint Emilion Merlot dominated vines. They are 57% Cabernet Franc, 40% Merlot and small parcels of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon. The wines of Château Cheval Blanc are mythical in their ageing potential and can last for 50 years or more. The wines are opulent, luscious and full of finesse. They are approachable whilst young and have notes of blackcurrant, smoke, raspberry, mocha, cherry and leather. The wines are elegantly structured, well layered and due to their ageing potential should be cellared correctly.

One of the most famous vintages is the 1947 Cheval Blanc which was featured in the Disney animated film Ratatouille . . . the feared critic Anton Ego visits Gusteau's, the restaurant in which the movie is set, and orders a bottle of 1947 Château Cheval Blanc to go with his meal. In a film full of delicious insider moments for foodies, this is a wink to the wine lovers. Parker scored it at 100 points.

Not all of Parker's experiences at Cheval Blanc were so fortuitous – there is another story concerning the then manager of Château Cheval Blanc, Jacques Hebrard, and the famous wine critic. Hebrard was outraged at the evaluation of his 1981 vintage barrel samples made by Parker, and asked him to re-taste. Apparently upon arriving, Parker was attacked by Hebrard's dog as the manager stood idly by and watched. When Parker asked for a bandage to stop the bleeding from his leg, Parker says Hebrard instead gave him a copy of the offending newsletter. Hebrard denies that Parker was bleeding. However, Parker did retaste the wine and found it significantly changed from his previous evaluation, and therefore gave the wine an updated evaluation in a later issue of his publication The Wine Advocate. How true this story is I do not know but Cheval Blanc continues to cast its spell and given that Henry IV was baptised in the traditional way of Navarre, with a spoon of wine, I would have thought he would approve of the contribution he unwittingly played all the those years ago.

Sauternes Gets Trendy

The sweet white wine appellation of Sauternes has been going through somewhat of a makeover recently with several bodies becoming more proactive in promoting these lovely wines. This spring all the sweet appellations, including Sauternes, rebranded from Vins d'Or de Bordeaux to the trendier Sweet Bordeaux - the new website http://www.sweetbordeaux.com/ advertises sweet themed cocktails, parties and evenings out, music and functions as well as the more traditional châteaux open days, harvests and tastings. The Sweet Bordeaux association has also grouped together its wine tourism offers for the rest of 2009 – you can find details on Jane Anson's blog The New Bordeaux as well as Sweet Bordeaux's website.

In July Berenice Lurton, owner of Château Climens embarked on a mission to change the publics view of Sauternes being paired with the “same old” favourites and worked with the chef Michel Gautier from Bordeaux to alter the people's perceptions. Berenice found that along with seafood such as lobster, all white meats and lamb, Sauternes wines match with all kinds of vegetables, herbs and spices such as ginger and saffron.

"The complexity of both the cuisine and the wine are enhanced in harmony. They are also wonderful with cheeses and light desserts with seasonal or dry fruits.”

Berenice Lurton has organized dinners that are entirely devoted to Climens wines and says:

"People are baffled, and they feel like trying at home with their own recipes I don't intend everybody to have Sauternes for a whole meal, but I wish to show how versatile these wines are."

She is the president of the classified wines of Sauternes and Barsac and they have organized several dinners in Hong Kong, Shanghai and New York as well as promoting Sauternes served by the glass in restaurants and trendy bars in Bordeaux.

Decanter.com is reporting that the Grand Cru Classé Château d'Arche has taken the plunge – quite bravely I thought – of bottling its wines in a 100ml test-tube shaped bottle aimed at young drinkers in nightclubs. D'Arche will launch its second wine, La Perle d'Arche, in nightclubs in Bordeaux and Singapore in September. The 2005 vintage will be the first released under the new packaging. The product is primarily aimed at the Australian and Far Eastern markets but they are also looking for UK and US importers. Managing director Jérôme Cosson told Decanter.com:

“Lots of young people don't know what Sauternes is or think it's too expensive but when they try it they think it's very drinkable.

We want to work with nightclubs to give customers the choice between vodka for the man and Sauternes for the lady. The idea is to put lots of them in a big ice bucket on the bar.”

The little bottles are sealed under screwcap and can also be carried in hand luggage on flights and the château intends to create a five vintage box-set for tourists.

Château d'Arche is one of the 3 Deuxièmes Crus Classés (Second Growths) and is named for the Comte d'Arche, owner of the estate from 1727 to 1789 and Bordeaux parliamentarian. The 18th century chartreuse style château overlooks the village of Sauternes and stands on a hill in the heart of the vineyard and was formerly known as Château Braneyre. Under Comte d'Arche the estate held a high reputation, and its placement in the 1855 classification's second tier is considered due to the divisions of the estate that followed the French Revolution, and the subsequent drop in quality from the level of the 1780s. After the Revolution the estate was divided into 3 sections. One of these, d'Arche Vimeney was sold to the Cordiers of Château Lafaurie Peyraguey in 1980, the other two were not reunited until 1960. Since 1981 Château d'Arche has been managed by INAO president Pierre Perromat, who has successfully improved both the quality of the wine and the standard of production.

I think that Château d'Arche's innovative strategy should be applauded – I am well aware that some purists amongst you may be horrified but in changing times you either move with them or get forgotten and Sauternes – as well as the lesser known appellations of Bordeaux – need to start waving the flag to attract attention to their fabulous wines.

If you have never tried the sweet wines from Sauternes try a chilled glass as an aperitif or with fois gras. Both experiences are wonderful and I think you will be surprised. Personally I would rather have a glass of Sauternes before a meal than a glass of champagne and fois gras I think is made for the wines of Sauternes . . . enjoy!

Sauternes and Banana Desserts – Food and Wine Pairing

Did you know that the banana plant is not a tree at all but is a giant herb from the same family as lilies, orchids and palms? Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colours when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red. The Plantain is from the same species but is not sweet and is used widely in Eastern cuisine. Recent archaeological and palaeoenvironmental evidence in Papua New Guinea suggests that banana cultivation there goes back to at least 5000 BC which would make the New Guinean highlands the place where bananas were first domesticated. Alexander the Great is credited with discovering the banana plant in India in 327 BC and carrying it back to the Western World. Early Arab traders also carried roots of the banana plant to the east coast of Africa. The bananas that were being traded then were not the the large ones of today - they were small, about as long as a man's finger – which gave them their name: banan is the Arabic for finger. The Spaniards gave Plantain its name – it was similar to the plane tree that grows in Spain so they called it platano.

By 1402 Portuguese sailors discovered the luscious tropical fruit in their travels to the African continent and populated the Canary lslands with their first banana plantations. Continuing the banana's travels westward, the rootstocks were packed onto a ship under the charge of Tomas de Berlanga, a Portuguese Franciscan monk who brought them to the Caribbean island of Santo Domingo from the Canary Islands in the year 1516. It wasn't long before the banana became popular throughout the Caribbean as well as Central America.

In the 1870's American and European business men saw the potential for exporting bananas from the lands where they grew in abundance. They formed companies and established banana plantations, known as Fincas. E.W. Fyffe Son & Co were the first to import bananas to London in 1888 from the Canary Islands. The import of bananas to the UK was halted during the Second World War and the first delivery of bananas after the end the war arrived in 1945 with ten million on board the Fyffes ship ‘SS Tilapa’. Pathe News carried the story in thousands of cinemas all over the world. Children eating the first fruits on arrival had to be shown how to peel a banana and that you did not eat the skin!

Bananas have some interesting properties: according to a survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin - known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier. One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system. Bananas also have a natural antacid effect in the body so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

There is a lovely French recipe that uses bananas: Banana Tarte Tatin. The story behind it is that the Tarte Tatin was first created by accident at the Hotel Tatin in Lamotte-Beuvron, France in 1898. The hotel was run by two sisters, Stéphanie and Caroline Tatin. During the hunting season Stéphanie placed her tart in the oven the wrong way round. The pastry and apples were upside-down but, nevertheless, she served this strange dessert without giving it time to cool. The French call this dessert Tarte des Demoiselles Tatin. The Tarte became a signature dish at the Hotel Tatin and the recipe spread through the Sologne region. Its lasting fame is probably due to the restaurateur Louis Vaudable, who tasted the tart on a visit to Sologne and made the dessert a permanent fixture on the menu at his restaurant Maxim's of Paris.

Sauternes would be the ideal wine to pair with this dessert and Château de Sainte Hélène (£15.16) is a good choice. It is the second wine of the Second Growth (2ème Cru) Château de Malle, owned by the Comtes de Bournazel who have 400 years of wine making experience. Sainte Hélène has flavours of honeysuckle, orange peel, apricots, cinnamon and honey. It is made by the same team as the first wine and the cultivation of the vineyard is carried out with the same measure of rigorous attention and meticulous care. The wine is made following the same classical tradition as for great Sauternes and is the result of a draconian selection process.

Château de Sainte Hélène is produced from vines that are 10 to 15 years old and the grapes are 68% Semillon, 29% Sauvignon Blanc and 3% Muscadelle. However the variations in proportion used in the final blend may fluctuate between 10% and 15 %, depending upon the vintage, in order to benefit from the various characteristics desirable in the wine: youthfulness, freshness and finesse. Only grapes fully infected by Noble Rot, botrytis cinerea, are vintaged by successive selective pickings.

Banana Tarte Tatin

50g butter
100g demerara sugar
puff pastry (you can use shop bought pastry)
6 bananas

Preheat the oven 220C/gas 7. Lay the pastry on the work top and cut a disc using your round baking tray, make sure you allow inch more than the mould. Cut the bananas into pieces and melt the butter in a pan, add the sugar, keep stirring until you get a golden caramel. Take off the heat. Place the bananas in the tart mould, pour the caramel over and cover with the pastry, tuck the edges down the side and bake for 20-25 minutes. To turn the tarte out, put an upturned, large plate on top of the pastry. Quickly flip the pan upside down and then carefully lift it off. The caramelised bananas should now be facing up.

Enjoy!

Martin Isark Sues Majestic

The renowned wine writer Martin Isark is suing Majestic Wine over the alleged misuse of a tasting note according to Decanter.com. Martin Isark, the author of The Supermarket Own Brand Guide, claims the note was used on the wrong vintage and without his permission. This is the third time he has taken legal action over the alleged misuse of his tasting notes. In 2005, he sued Concha y Toro for using one of his tasting notes on the wrong vintages and without permission. This case, as well as a case involving Direct Wines Ltd, was settled out of court. It is believed both settlements, including legal costs, ran into six figures.

It seems common sense to me that when – as a wine merchant – you send a sample of one of the wines you have discovered to a wine critic or writer that you ask permission to use their words if they review the wine. I sent Martin a bottle of Marquis de Perissac and chatted with him over the phone about the wine and he seemed a thoroughly nice chap. He liked the wine but thought it could do with a little more filtering and wanted to taste the 2005 vintage – which unfortunately I did not have.

On Martin's website he clearly states that he holds the copyright for all his articles and tasting notes and that permission should be sought before using his work. There is an article that he recommends marketeers and retailers unfamiliar with the copyright laws to read: Pulling The Cork On Tasting Notes in which he raises some interesting points.

I must admit that people do seem to think that once tasting notes reach the public domain that they are free to quote and copy. However tasting notes and reviews of wines are powerful tools as they give the consumer the confidence to buy the recommended wine. I have a mix of reviews on my wine site, some from wine writers – all with permission granted - and hundreds from consumers themselves. The people who drink the wine and enjoy it are free to write their own reviews and those who email me their comments are happy to give testimonials which I ask if we can publish on the site. After all – if you have discovered a wine that you think looks good it is helpful to know that someone else has enjoyed it and recommends it as a purchase.

I do write copyrighted material for books and magazines on various topics, including wine investment and permission to use any of this work must be sought from the organisation which published it. Both my wife Sue and I write blogs on the wines we find, recipes to go with them and the regions that they come from. We often find that our blogs are used by other people but our attitude is that wine knowledge is something that should be shared so we take it as a compliment.

Of course, if we discover that our work is used in a defamatory way or blatantly plagiarized then we would take action against the offending party but fortunately so far this has not happened. All in all the bloggers out there are a great bunch of people and they come in for a lot of stick on occasion. It doesn't matter to me whether they are professionals or enthusiastic amateurs, they all have a voice that is educational in one way or another and provide a useful service to the wine industry and to wine lovers alike.