As my springtime travel plans have disappeared in a puff of Covid 19, and I'm going to spending a lot more time with my family, I am truly grateful for television streaming services. If one can't actually voyage and experience different cultures and cuisines in person then the next best thing is watching someone else do it.
My 'go to' chef / traveller is Rick Stein who brings a worldly je ne sais quoi to proceedings and wears his accrued knowledge lightly. His 'Long Weekends' make for great viewing as, although he's a seasoned traveller, he retains a questing enthusiasm.
A more recent discovery is Samin Nosrat's 'Salt Fat Acid Heat' that is currently streaming on Netflix. Everything about this series has been well-executed from the locations, guest speakers, artwork, sound-track and (not least) the recipes themselves. It is an absolute gem fuelled by Samin's irrepressible enthusiasm for her métier and I commend it to you.
In the 'Heat' episode she returns to her erstwhile employer at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California where they discuss at length how best to select and cook various cuts of beef, which was inspirational; but boy do they use a lot of salt.
Happily, when all her advice was still fresh in my mind, I managed to procure a thick cut, well-aged, nicely marbled sirloin steak that I cooked on a (very) hot griddle and served with roast potatoes, steamed chilli sprouts and chimichurri. I made the chimichurri from garlic, parsley, olive oil, red wine vinegar, a fresh red chilli and seasoning that I blitzed in a blender.
Was it as good as Samin's? Of course it wasn't but it was well received by my dining companion and went down a treat with a bottle of this month's Côtes du Rhône.
April Wines of the Month: £57.00 per case (of six bottles) delivered, saving £15.90 on list prices.
