One of the highlights of life in the Dordogne is the lunches eaten outside. My last al fresco meal of 2010 took place in late November, while the first of 2011 was in early February. Supper is still eaten inside by the fire, but at midday the sun is warm enough to sit outside in a teeshirt, so lunch happens in the courtyard. There's nothing better than a simple lunch of bread, homemade rilettes, and cornichons to cut through the richness of the coarse meat.

This recipe comes from Nigel Slater, whose no-nonsense instructions always work, and usually with less fuss than you'd think possible.

The recipe

Put 1kg of skinned and boned belly pork in a roasting tin, rub a 1 tbsp of salt over, drop in 3 bay leaves, 3 sprigs of thyme, 3 whole garlic cloves and 250ml of water. Cover, then leave in the oven at 160C/gas mark 1 for 3 hours or until the pork is tender. Lift the meat from its juices then tear into very fine shreds with a couple of forks. Pack tightly into a china or earthenware bowl. Pour the liquid in the roasting tin through a sieve over the rillettes and mix lightly. Leave to cool, then refrigerate until the fat has set. Serve with toast and cornichon, or perhaps a few pickled green chillies. Serves 8.

Tips

Choose pork with plenty of fat. Long, slow cooking is vital. Removing the meat from the bone with a fork will help keep the fibres separate. Don't use a food processor, as the texture will end up too smooth.

Recipe from The Observer.

While the rest of the world sits under a picturesque blanket of snow, life in the Perigord is somewhat damp. Brief flurries of snow have been sighted, but nothing has fallen and stuck. Fifty miles north, it's a very different story - the train lines south from Paris are dusted with white, and the fields stretch out under their blanket, reflecting a shimmering pastel of blue and pink under the rising sun.

But despite the cold and seemingly endless rains, life goes on in St Denis. The market traders are a hardy sort, and can be found hawking their wares whatever the forecast.

One of the most popular stalls in St Denis market is that of the Vietnamese nem sellers. What the rest of the world knows as spring rolls, southwest France calls nem.

450 g (1 lb.) ground pork
125 g (4 oz.) chopped peeled shrimp
1 carrot, peeled and grated
250 ml (1 cup) bean sprouts
75 g (3 oz.) glass noodles (bean thread)
2 wood-ears (black tree fungus)
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 egg
1 tbsp. nuoc mam (fish sauce)
1/2 tsp. each salt, pepper and sugar
oil for deep frying
rice paper wrappers for spring rolls
Nem Sauce
180 ml (3/4 cup) water
60 ml (1/4 cup) nuoc mam (fish sauce)
2 tbsp. lime juice
2 tbsp. sugar
thinly sliced red chili to taste

1. Soak the glass noodles in hot water until softened. Rinse them in cold water and cut into short lengths with scissors.
2. In another bowl, soak the wood-ears in hot water until softened. Rinse in cold water and cut into very thin slices.
3. In a bowl, thoroughly combine the first 12 ingredients to make the filling.
4. Dip a sheet of rice paper into warm water just until softened and lay it flat on your work surface. Place a line of filling near the edge facing you. Fold in the two sides and roll up into a tight roll.
5. Continue until the filling is used up.
6. Deep fry the rolls in hot oil until golden and crispy.
7. Combine the ingredients for the dipping sauce, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Serve the spring rolls hot, with the dipping sauce.


Recipe via www.theworldwidegourmet.com