‘Amazing Grace’

I’m in a complete dilemma. I turned on the TV on Saturday evening after a long shift in the kitchen, to watch the movie, a kind of documentary, about the recording of Aretha Franklin’s album, ‘Amazing Grace’. It was possibly the most electrifying experience I’ve had for quite some time and served to remind us all what a beautiful instrument the human voice is when it’s serving, in this instance, God. It’s a collection of wonderful gospel songs, delivered in the inauspicious New Temple Missionary Baptist church in Los Angeles in 1973. I came away demolished, the trailer says ‘don’t bother with the tissues, bring a towel’, having witnessed what I thought to be the greatest singer ever to have walked the face of the earth. Trust me, midnight mass in Nunton church, it was not.

The next morning, I’m back in the kitchen getting lunch organised for the family, flicked through a few albums and alighted on an ancient recording of Kathleen Ferrier on the Decca label, blimey it was even recorded in mono, ‘The World of Kathleen Ferrier’. ‘Art Thou Troubled’ on side two, I’ve had earmarked for my funeral for about twenty years, I like to be organised. The sleeve notes say it all, ‘Genius was hers, burning like a torch into swift and dazzling glory’. So now I can’t decide where my devotion lies.

I’m sure you’ve all got your favourites, I was a huge Janet Baker fan until I was introduced to Kathleen Ferrier in 1989. Some would go with Maria Callas, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Dusty Springfield, Amy Winehouse?

One thing I do need to decide is what to cook for everyone this week, Hare, or rabbit ragu is where my heart lies, with a bit of fresh tagliatelle for you to finish off at home. Although logic tells me I should keep it a bit more ‘commercial’, so I’m going with beef cheek ragu, equally delicious and still, ever so slightly off piste. It’s cooked slowly over eight hours, bottom right in the AGA, with pancetta, cinnamon, mixed herbs, a few key vegetables and some good red wine.

Alongside this and with the vegan and vegetarians in mind, I thought a mushroom & lentil Bolognese would do the trick, with lashings of fresh basil and reassuringly expensive Portobello mushrooms. The grated parmesan you can choose to sprinkle on at the end depending on your persuasion. We had it last night, obviously we need to sample before we send it out and it received high praise from the vegan and super high praise from me.

As we’re clearly on a pasta tip this week, I really love the simplicity of Chalke steam trout in bight sizes pieces, cooked with shallots, capers, Dijon mustard, chilli flakes and double cream. It tastes divine and sticks to the pasta really well.

When it comes to the pasta, which you have to cook at home, six minutes in boiling water, not exactly stressful, you have choices, there are always choices. There’s this; Pasta di Aldo pappardelle, 250gm box for £8.00, which we are supplying for you to pick up with whichever sauces you choose. “Italy’s Best Pasta”, The Gambero Rosso – perhaps the most important food organisation in Italy – voted La Pasta di Aldo as Italy’s best pasta. “1st place. Aristocratic egg pasta, for large soirées, in which craftsmanship meets perfection and refinement ... Wonderful, sweet, full yet delicate taste, with great balance and acidity… There are beautiful artisan companies that in some cases can also boast an exemplary quality-price ratio.”

Or you could pop along to Waitrose and pick up a 350gm pack of pappardelle for £2.50.

We’ve done a cheeky little winter salad this week, a lovely combination of beetroot, celeriac and apple with a lively mayonnaise dressing and we’ve tossed in a few walnuts for the crunch factor. Hope you enjoy it, it’s yummy.

Finally the killer combination of mangoes and rhubarb in a crumble to finish everything off.
Here’s how the menu is looking this week then.

CREAMY TRAFALGAR TROUT & BROCCOLI, PASTA SAUCE - £7.50
BEEF CHEEK RAGU - £7.50
MUSHROOM & LENTIL BOLOGNESE SAUCE - £5.50
PASTA DI ALDO PAPPARDELLE, 250gm, 4 servings - £8.00
BEETROOT, CELERIAC, APPLE, WALNUT SALAD - £3.00
MANGO & RHUBARB CRUMBLE- £5.00