There's nothing like mountain air to give you an appetite
This season's skiers have to go a long way up the French mountains to find snow, but they will find some great artisan food up there, too. The Haute Savoy in France doesn't really seem to do light food. We ate cheese there every day; either deep, nutty Beaufort or Comte, or the deliciously fruity Abondance.The local speciality shop had great wheels of these cheeses sitting out on the table.
Then there were the dozens of salamis - you could have them with nuts, with cheese, with fennel, or just plain. They came in every size: short and stubby, pencil-sized, (grouped and tied with ribbon), truncheon proportions and beyond.When we tired of these we turned to the pâtés and terrines: foie gras, rabbit, chicken liver with mushrooms, and a straight-up country pate. For main courses we feasted on rabbit, veal, some of the best beef I've had in a while, and delicious mountain lamb. For afters, pears and apples were all that were available, so we baked them, poached them and then ate them sliced with a little goat's cheese and honey.
Recipes serve 4
CASSEROLE OF PORK WITH WHITE WINE AND CREAM
1kg boned leg of pork cut into 2cm cubes
a bottle of light white wine
small bunch thyme
seasoned flour
2 onions, peeled and cut into half-moon slices
100g pigs liver
50ml double cream
Combine the pork with the white wine, a seasoning of pepper and the thyme. Toss well and set aside in the fridge for a day. Drain the meat from the marinade, toss it in seasoned flour and brown it in a hot pan with a little oil. Do this in batches, and cook until the pork is nicely coloured on the outside.
Transfer the marinade to a small pan, bring to the boil and reduce by half. This will take about 30 minutes.
Gently saute the onions in the same pan you have browned the meat in (you may need a little more oil) over a gentle heat for 10 minutes. Return all the meat to the casserole, along with the reduced marinade. Season with salt and pepper, bring to the boil, lower the heat and simmer gently, uncovered, for an hour, or until the meat is tender; it may take up to 20 minutes longer.
Whizz the liver and cream in a blender, pour this into the pork and simmer for 10 minutes. Check the seasoning and serve with plain potatoes.
SALAD OF BITTER LEAVES, BEETROOT AND WALNUTS
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp creme fraiche
2 tbsp walnut oil
1kg spinach, stems removed
1 head lettuce
1 head chicory, broken into leaves
2 cooked beetroot, roughly chopped
100g shaved Beaufort or Comte cheese (or similar strong, hard cheese)
8 slices cured ham (such as Parma)
small bunch chives, finely snipped
12 walnuts, broken and split
Combine the Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, creme fraiche and walnut oil and whisk to form a dressing.Blanch the spinach in boiling salted water for two minutes. Drain it, refresh it under cold water and gently squeeze the liquid out. Gently separate out the leaves.
Lay the lettuce and chicory in the bottom of a shallow bowl, seasoning as you go. Scatter the blanched spinach over the top and then the beetroot. Season again. Drizzle the dressing over the top, then scatter the cheese and ham on top of this. Add the chives, and crumble the walnuts over the top.