Sunday Lunch at La Durantie – Part II

In Part I of this post, I focused on the baked figs that I prepared as part of Sunday lunch with friends at la Durantie. Not surprisingly, there was more, prepared by the Good Doctor.

Our original plan was for Kristoph and the Good Doctor to embark on a Sunday “chicken stuff-off,” using some local chickens. Kristoph’s recent thumb injury however, precluded his active participation, and the Good Doctor was left to stuff his chicken alone.

I should add here that I’m a pretty committed pescatarian. I’ve been eating fish for around three years, and for the 15 years before that, I was fully vegetarian. I stopped eating meat when I was around 13 years old, questioning its necessity in our diet. My youthful self summised that if I lived with a tribe and hunted for my own food, I’d probably be okay with it, but until then, I’d stick with vegetables.

My move to include fish in my diet was encouraged by Kristoph. I was hesitant, due to the alarming state of some fish stocks and my need to feel confident and comfortable with the source of my food. So now I eat fish including local farmed trout, mackerel, anything in abundant supply, fished from not too distant seas. In honour of my 13 year old self’s ideals; I’m also comfortable with catching and killing fish by my own hand.        

Alas, I digress. Back to the Good Doctor’s chicken. South-west France is a land of rolling hills, sprawling and tangled woodlands, limousine beef cattle and ducks, “cul noir” pigs, among other animals. Most live comfortable and happy lives. And while I personally choose not to eat these animals, I recognise their importance to both the economy and culture of this region.

The Good Doctor knows his chicken (098684 to be precise) and its provenance.

The stuffing was prepared by mashing together, with a mortar and pestle, handfuls of onion, garlic, rosemary, sage, a generous amount of black pepper. This mix was then stuffed inside the chicken, and rubbed over its outside.  

Once prepared the chicken was roasted for around two hours, together with potatoes, onions and carrots, also mixed with rosemary and sage. 

 

We also boiled up some leaks from the farm shop down the road. These were simply chopped and boiled for a few minutes in butter.

All in all, a long, lazy, slow-cooked and very enjoyable Sunday lunch, ended with four full and satisfied bellys, and a game of pool.   

Sunday Lunch at la Durantie – Part 1

Kristoph and I enjoyed Sunday lunch this weekend with the Comtesse de la Tour and the visiting Good Doctor. They’re taking care of Chateau la Durantie this week, the home of some close friends of ours, and their three dogs.

There are plenty of vegetables and herbs growing in the grounds of Durantie, and literally thousands of apples, pears and quinces falling from the trees in the orchard.

The Good Doctor and Kirstoph agreed some time ago to a competitive “chicken stuff-off,” however Kristoph’s recent thumb injury, means his thumb is encased in plastic and not at its best for chicken stuffing. Consequently, the Good Doctor took the lead in chicken stuffing, with Kristoph offering comments, commentary and general moral support.

I prepared a fig and chevre starter, with figs foraged from a neighbour’s tree, and an apple and raspberry crumble using fruits from Durantie, for dessert. I’ve blogged about crumbles quite extensively, and so in this post have focused on the fig and goats cheese starter. Part 2 of this post focuses on the Good Doctor’s stuffed chicken and roasted autumn vegetables.  

It’s hard to beat the silky sweet taste of figs picked directly from the tree. Figs are extremely perishable, because the best tasting figs are plump and mushy. So if you have a fig tree near you, I suggest keeping a close eye on it. When the fruit are ripe, spend a few minutes enjoying figs directly from the tree. Perhaps ponder the words of "each man under his own vine and fig tree" (1 Kings 4:25), which have been used to denote peace and prosperity.   

Baked figs are simple to prepare. Here’s my version of baked fig and goats cheese.

Recipe

10 figs

1 small disc of full flavoured medium-hard goats cheese

Honey

Ground black pepper

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 180C. Slice the figs in half and arrange on a baking tray.

Step 2: Chop the goats cheese in small cubes. Place one cube in the small hole inside the small depression in each fig.

Step 3: Drizzle the honey over each fig, and then grind pepper over the figs.

Step 4: Bake for 15 minutes until the figs begin to caramelize and the goats cheese is melted.

If you are lucky enough to have an open fire, I recommend eating these as finger food in front of the fire with a glass of Cote du Rhone.Enjoy!!