My Sicilian Food Diary

The Coast near Menfi, Sicily

I had the great fortune to be invited to visit Sicily by one of our wine suppliers, Enotria UK in March. The trip lasted a whirlwind 2 days and whilst there I kept a diary of the tastings and fabulous meals taken. You may not believe how much food was presented to us we we got through it all with great British stoicism, I promise!

The trip centred around 2 main wine producers in Sicily, Manderossa and Planeta.

The Manderossa Wine Company acts as a co-operative to over 2,000 small landowners, producing wines of character and quality.

By contrast the Planeta Estate is a family run yet global enterprise compromising of 5 vineyards on the island. The Planeta Family believe that to experience their wines is to embark on  'journey around Sicily' as their vineyards include many different terroir, altitude and climate. Planeta wines are now exported to over 75 countries and we list a selection at the Restaurant for your enjoyment.

Arriving late in the day, 10pm to be precise, our group of 8 was taken to locally and internationally acclaimed seafood restaurant 'Da Vittorio'. The restaurant was recently featured on the BBC programme 'Sicily Unpacked' and I was delighted to be able to sample for myself the delicious yet uncomplicated fresh seafood.

This is what we had:
2010 Sauvignon Blanc, Manderossa
Antipasti - Fried baby artichokes, marinated swordfish and peeled prawns, fried cuttlefish, red mullet brochettes
2010 Viognier, Manderossa
Pasta - spaghetti with sea urchins
Main course - Baked fillet of John Dory, potatoes, onions and capers
(now seriously full!)
Lemon sorbet
Fresh Sicilian strawberries, Sicilian pastries and cakes all washed down with my first taste of 'Amaro Siciliano' a Sicilian digestive.
WOW!

Manderossa's huge winery at Settesoli

The next day saw a fascinating trip around the massive Settesoli winery of the Manderossa Wine Company. It was interesting to learn about the brave decision to concentrate on quality over quantity taken in the 1970's. This decision has been followed by a 25 year process of methodical experimentation the results of which you can sample in our 'Costadune rose' from Mandreossa.

One of the highlights of the trip was lunch on the second day. This was produced by all 25 'Women of Menfi' who have co-operated with Chefs of the region to preserve traditional cooking methods and recipes least they get forgotten in today's globalised world.

It was the first time the ladies had cooked for a foreign group and the excitement was palpable. A staggering selection of platters were presented including the following:

Seasonal vegetables with artichokes, cauliflower and borage leaves all cooked in a light batter with fresh anchovies.
Homemade pasta and canneloni with various sauces
Fish soup with homemade cous cous
A collection of Sicilian pastries, various fresh ricotta cakes, some with almonds and chocolate, others with lemon and honey.
Little biscuits and crisp pastries sandwiched between sweet ricotta.
All washed down with the wonderful wines of Manderossa.

Some of the 25 'Women of Menfi'

We left replete with a big 3 cheers for the women of Menfi, quite sure we would never experience a lunch of the like ever again. A wonderful day so far yet dinner beckoned following the essential afternoon siesta!

Now was the turn of Franceso Planeta to host a sumptuous 5 course dinner, each course matched with a Planeta wine followed by coffee and grappa.

Forgive me at this point for neglecting to retain the details of this fabulous meal but my mind was overflowing with the delights of the Women of Menfi. Nuff said!

The next morning, a tour of one of the 5 Planata vineyards was followed by a wine tasting in a delightfully converted stables in the Ulmo vineyard. Francesco explained the inspiration behind each wine, the blend, grape varieties and continuing experiment in the pursuit of our pleasure.

For lunch we were served a knockout soup - small rigatoni loosely suspended in a stock made from wild fennel with mountain herbs and lentils.
I went back for seconds!
Lunch continued with little rissoles of pork, caramelised onion and creamed potato - the only meat we had served during the whole stay.
The pork was matched with Planeta Plumago and Sainta Celilia - two magnificent wines that had been held back from the tasting so that we could have them with our food.
Fresh fruit and almond and honey biscuits finished up our last extraordinary meal.

The food, wines and wonderful hospitality of the Island of Sicily has given me memories I will never forget. I could not recommend a trip to the Island more for a Mediterranean gastronomic extravaganza.

The 'Best' Chip

My 3 year old daughters favourite book of the moment is called 'The Best Chip'. It's a super rhyming book of great amusement for child and adult alike.

At home, I sometimes cook what I call Rustic Chips - large potatoes cut into wedges and boiled, drained, fluffed a little, drizzled with olive oil and roasted though a hot oven. My older son and daughter demolish these saying they are 'the best'!

A modern method is the 'thrice cooked chip' and we use this method often at the restaurant. It involves boiling and draining the chips then dropping them into the fryer at 130 degrees for just a few minutes. When an order comes on the chips are returned to the fryer at the hotter temperature of 180 degrees until crisp and golden. These are the chips served with ham and eggs on the 7lt and as a side order and we receive great compliments for them.

However I believe there is a chip that eclipses all other kinds. Unfortunately you the customer never gets to try them! This is because they are made from the left over roast potatoes from Sunday Lunch and we serve them with our staff meal on Mondays and Tuesdays. They are so delicious and moorish, crunchy around the edges, soft and fluffy on the inside and stay crisp for an eternity. So if you ever stumble accross 48 hour chips on a menu they could very well be left over roast potatoes - don't be dismayed, they're really quite delicious.

Parsnips and Pagentry - Thoughts on a bike

For me cycling is not only a great exercise and stress buster, I love the way I get lost in my thoughts.
Lately cycling has been a surreal experience with 80 degree temperatures along with falling leaves and the colours of Autumn. Twitchy pheasants fearfull of the imminent shooting season complete the picture and my mind strays to game dishes and onto parsnips - Prince of Autumn vegetables.

Hugely versatile with many different ways to prepare, I still feel roasted parsnips are the best.

We currently have honey roasted parsnips finished with grated Parmesan on our menu and they are delicious. My good friend Sara, a very fine cook, prefers a slightly different preparation to me. She boils hers first, drains them, fluffs them up and sprinkles them with flour before roasting in the oven. This develops a beautifully crunchy edge to the parsnips.

I think then of the splendid, plump pheasants and partridges soon to be available from the shoot at Fanham's Hall Estate. Wonderful with parsnips, I can't wait!

Thinking these thoughts I coast past a field of sunflowers, glorious in the sunshine. This sets my mind off again - 2012 is a monster year for the UK with Jubilee celebrations and the Olympics. Imagine if we could be creative with flowers of red, white and blue in fallow fields, what a display for incoming visitors to our airports. The French do it for the Tour de France - why can't we? And what about roundabouts, villages and towns as we drive through our magnificent countryside? Just a thought!

Hang on - junction ahead. Back to the real world.
Think about it though - Roast parsnips this Sunday?

Go on, give them a go.

15 Years On - Lemon Tree Classics Competition



Bread and butter pudding



What makes a classic dish?

Will what works for me work for my customers?

Over the years I have found I return to certain dishes again and again and never tire of serving them or adding a twist. Some drop in and out of the menu and some have lasted as nearly permanent fixtures.



Sticky Toffee Pudding



When I finish compiling dishes for a menu there often appears an overwhelming theme and I find mine to be - dare I say - rustic, wholesome food that takes me back to childhood. Examples include bread and butter pudding, daube of beef or confit of duck.

This October marks our 15th Birthday so we thought what a great opportunity this would be to use these Classic dishes to promote good quality, simple British food. As such I will be creating a different Nostalgic Menu every week through the month of October featuring 3 courses at £15 that will be available at lunch and dinner.



My aim is always to use as many local suppliers as possible and this menu will be no exception. We have forged superb relationships with many suppliers such as Telmara Farm in Henham for our duck, The White House Coffee Co. in Manuden for our coffee and Saffron Brewery for Beers. Rest assured wherever possible we will foster these relationships to ensure our customers alway enjoy the very best of local, seasonal British produce.



I would like to invite you all to submit your favourite Classic Lemon Tree Dish by following my Blog and adding a comment with your choice and why. My favourite comment will win a meal for 2 at The Lemon Tree.

Please keep the comments clean - however I'm always up for a good joke!!

Hope to see you soon,

Luke