TV review: Rick Stein's Spain, Episode 4 of 4

This was the fourth and final episode of Rick Stein's travel-and-food-alogue of Spain. The food of Spain is often neglected in the attention it receives. It is never seen as matching the quality and refinement of French or Italian cuisine. Stein wanted very much to redress the balance with this series. I agree that Spanish food deserves much more recognition.

In my view, cooking and preparation techniques do not have to complex to result in good food. Some of the world's best dishes are simple. So why is the food of Spain not respected more? And, let's be honest, some Spanish dishes (most notably Paella) appear to be very simple but are actually quite difficult to get right! Believe me, after picking up a Paella pan (small size for 2) during my travels in Andalucia, and thinking it would be a doddle, it really is more tricky than the recipe books make out! I realise that Ferran Adria with his 3 Michelin Stars has proved that Spanish food can be sophisticated and on a par with the finest food anywhere in the world, but El Bulli was always far from the typical, and given that it is closed for good now, none of us mere mortals will get the chance to sample its fare.

During his series, Rick has travelled to Galicia, the Basque region, Catalunya, La Mancha, Extremadura and ending in Seville. The scenery has been stunning, the people he has met fascinating, and frankly, had me wanting to book a flight and retrace many of his steps, both in terms of travel and culinary discovery. In my mind, that has to be the measure of a travel and food show since the high-watermark was set by the late, great Keith Floyd. I would also praise this programme since it has been relatively gimmick free, too. Stein travels, interviews, watches others cook and attempts dishes without self-aggrandisement or artifice.

In this last programme, he toured the relatively unknown central Spanish region of Extremadura and ended his trip in Seville. As he pointed out, the name 'Extremadura' is not derived from an expression of extreme toughness of the terrain (as in “well 'ard!”), but because the region is at the extreme of the Douro river. I've never been to this particular part of Spain, but his enthusiastic presentation of it makes clear to me that this is yet another gap in my travel CV.

Other commentators appear to describe Stein as 'avuncular' (or even 'super-avuncular') and it seems to me to be somewhat patronising and more than a little bit ageist. He has travelled to Spain since he was a youth, and when you have done so and reach the age of 64, will have noticed changes in society, places etc. You are bound to comment on them, right? I am a long way from collecting my free bus pass and can notice how my home town has changed in the time I've been here. Does commenting on it make me an old Auntie? (Please don't answer yes to that question! I'm already having a mid-life crisis!)

What is to be admired is that after all these years and so many different series, Stein can still demonstrate sincere and real enthusiasm for food, cooking and imparting that passion to viewers. He doesn't go through the motions, or fake his enthusiasm for learning new techniques or discovering new ingredients or even imparting his knowledge of well known ingredients. His journey to the farms which grow Pimenton (that's Spanish paprika to the uninitiated) was a case in point. If you want to find some wonderful smoked paprika, I'd advise you head to the Brindisa shop in Borough Market, which is also a haven for all things Spanish. Round the corner is their lovely tapas bar where you can rest and enjoy a glass of wine and a nibble to get over your journey south of the river to London Bridge.

The recipes featured on this programme are generally authentic (he lets you know when he has done his own take on a classic) and are more importantly, achievable. None of the techniques are difficult (although some dishes are time consuming). None of the ingredients are impossible to get hold of or are unduly expensive. Having watched so many other cooking shows and then had the inevitable wild goose chase for “essence of unicorn” or “angel tears” or some other such nonsense, I was pleased that everything was available without a mission.

Although I have not yet made the leap to buying the book (my kitchen shelf is heaving already and I have to clear some of my beloved cookbooks out before I buy ANY more), it would appear that the book to accompany the series is accessible, helpful and easy to follow. I am tempted! For a review, have a look at this:

http://comfortbites.blogspot.com/2011/08/review-of-rick-steins-spain-and-some.html

I'll close with the words of the man himself, which I think sums up Spanish food and cookery:

"To me the underlying point of journeying to Spain would be to discover the ‘duende' in the cooking.  By that I mean a sense of soul, of authenticity. The word is normally used for the soul of flamenco but I think it could be equally applied to the art of Spanish cooking because to my mind, in really good food, there is a communication between the cook and diner that amounts to art."

TV review: Two Greedy Italians – Episode 3 – Piedmont (BBC)

The premise behind this programme is that two key figures in Italian gastronomy who have lived away from their homeland for many years return to rediscover their homeland, its cuisine and comment on how much or how little things have changed since their departure. It's a wonderful concept combining two real passions of mine; food and travel.

Our guides are Antonio Carluccio, one of the founding fathers of real Italian food in the UK and Gennaro Contaldo, one time mentor to a certain Jamie Oliver. These two were one-time colleagues and friends but have only recently made up after a major falling out which happened some time ago, a fact alluded to on the show.

The concept of the show is that our two heroes travel around both north and south Italy, usually in vintage automobiles, meeting foodies, shopping in markets, cooking and eating along the way. They bicker and tease each other and show a north v south rivalry which will strike a chord among many English who feel the north/south divide is alive and well. Carluccio is northern Italian whilst Contaldo hails from the south.

Episode 3 which aired the past Wednesday, dealt with the Piedmont district, the area where Carluccio grew up in. He was a an effusive and enthusiastic guide to the area, showing the market, the house he grew up in and spoke with great sincerity about his memories of growing up in the region, including the tragic death of his younger brother who drowned in a pond aged only 13.

The food they explored was of the northerly region they traversed. Influenced by Germany and France, it is a cuisine apart from the rest of Italy. Apple Strudel, that classic German dish was demonstrated by Carluccio as an example of the neighbourly influence of nearby Germany and in a cafe the patisseries of France and Franco-influenced dialect of Piedmont demonstrated the cultural impact of France.

Some of the banter between the two cooks was sometimes childish and felt put on for the cameras. Particularly when the two bait each other for being unable to cook, these scenes appear to be part of an act Carluccio and Contaldo feel obliged to present for the cameras. One wonders whether their reconciliation is a real and permanent one given the constancy they revert to the childish baiting of each other.

However, it is the food which takes centre stage. The truffles literally dealt for cash out of the back of cars as if they were drugs or other dodgy contraband, the risotto rice grown in the region (Carnaroli rice from the area has D.O.P. Protection under EU law), the home cooked dishes loved by the locals. The truffle dish demonstrated by Antonio Carluccio using fresh pasta with chicken livers and truffles was a lesson in how simple but good ingredients can make a stunning dish. By contrast, Gennaro Contaldo's eastern influenced slow cooked pork dish with ginger showed how cooking techniques can be used to make a simple ingredient amazing.

What made real impact on me was the examination of the situation that recent migrants to the north of Italy have found themselves in. Contaldo and Carluccio both made their names and gastronomic reputations in the UK. The UK has a global food scene which includes the foods of most of the nations on this planet. However, despite this, some Italian towns do not allow foreign restaurants to open within the city walls/city limits. Tuscany has banned foreigners from growing any fruit or vegetables which are not Italian in nature. Despite being successful and working within Italian legal requirements, Chinese farms in the Turin area growing Chinese produce are threatened with closure.

Apparently this is all being done to protect Italian culture and the Italian culinary heritage. It smacks to this viewer of out-and-out racism. This saddens me greatly. Multiculturalism has brought strength through diversity to the UK. As a result, London now has a restaurant scene that gives Paris, Tokyo and New York a run for their money. And I reckon we are winning. This Italian 'protectionist' attitude is retrograde and backward. If they are confident in their cuisine, allow it to be open to competition! I don't have any doubt that the strength of Italian cuisine and the depth of love shown to it by its own people means it does not have to feel in any way threatened by the food of its recent migrants. However, banning foreign food and foreign produce being grown shows a lack of tolerance no civilised nation should display.

Our hosts were quick to make the very sensible point that Italian food has successfully incorporated a number of ingredients which were not native to Italy to great effect. What would Italian food be like today without tomatoes, basil, potatoes and maize (for polenta)? The forefathers of the Italian cultural heritage welcomed those ingredients and made them their own without fear or reservations.

Contaldo himself described the protectionist policy as 'silly'. He was then admonished by Carluccio for saying so, but he then added the withering words 'no one said it was sensible.' Amen that these two champions of Italian food, ingredients and culture are with me that the Italian government's current policy is both distasteful and absurd.

Review of Gordon Ramsay’s Great Escape Part 1 – Cambodia

Cambodia is one of those countries that doesn’t figure on everybody’s radar. And much like Vietnam, its presence in the consciousness of the average Westerner is linked to tragedy. Cambodia will, for many years to come, be associated with ‘The Killing Fields’ and the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge.

Sadly this means that when writers and programme makers focus on the country, they enjoy the sensational aspects of Cambodia; the genocide and atrocities, and the stranger aspects of the cuisine. Channel 4’s programme last night therefore predictably featured fried tarantulas, duck eggs complete with embryo (baby duck eggs), and buffalo blood. This is so unfortunate when Cambodian food offers so much taste, colour and excitement and the people who make it are so full of vitality and cheer. In my travels to this wonderful country, I had amazing food several times a day, whether from restaurants, cafes, truck stops or humble street stalls. The food is spicy, fresh and contains influences from its neighbouring countries.

 Picture: Truck stop cuisine

Cambodian cuisine was badly affected by the Khmer Rouge. Food shortages were commonplace. People starved. Although Pol Pot wanted a Maoist agrarian society, his plan went badly wrong to the cost of the Cambodian people. How can you expect those with no farming know-how to grow enough to feed a country? And if you have eliminated the majority of the population who were literate, how do you preserve the culinary heritage?

Gordon explored the renaissance of Khmer food. His meetings with Khethana, Aunty Sovanna and Nina (at the Phnom Penh orphan’s cooking school) were inspiring. He was delighted with being taught how to make stuffed frog, showing his openness to new ingredients and tastes. Whole frogs stuffed with kroeng is a world away from mannered French frog's legs. Highly amusing was his attempt to make an authentic Cambodian curry, for which he was only given 8 out of 10 by Nina. Gordon stops dead for a few seconds in disbelief (his face is a picture) before he realises he isn’t an expert of Eastern cookery and tries the dish. He then agrees with the mark given and humbled, adds more palm sugar as instructed. TV gold! The young lad (Soubeg?) he meets at the cooking school shows how much he has learned in just 3 years when he helps Gordon cook on a barge for royalty and VIPs; a wonderful testament to the tenacity of the Cambodian people. The princess saying should would hire Ramsay ‘anytime’ because he is better than her cook was a wryly ironic moment.

However, there are some unforgivable problems with the show. Here are my thoughts:

Gordon talked about Siem Reap, site of the famous “Anger Wat”? WTF? Gordon, please! It’s ANGKOR WAT. It’s pretty much the 8^th wonder of the world, so do try to pronounce it correctly!

Picture: the amazing Angkor Wat (with scaffolding)

The tasting of fried tarantulas was stagey and lacked authenticity. I’ve seen fried tarantulas for sale in markets in Cambodia – they are nearly always presented legs flattened out and battered. Gordon’s were deep fried as they were. And the Khmers themselves never eat the abdomen (bottom end of the body) of the tarantula as it can be full of acid or eggs. Gordon ate the thing whole – not Khmer style! Perhaps the locals were having a bit of a laugh at his expense.

Picture: Lightly battered tarantulas

Gordon visited Kampot when trying the tarantulas, but amazingly did not seek out Kampot black pepper. It is the finest in the world. When the French ruled Cambodia as part of French Indochina, the tables of the best restaurants kept Kampot pepper. This was ignored in favour of the more television-friendly tarantula hunt which had too much of a feel of ‘let’s look at how strangely these foreign people live’.

There was no real exploration of the street food scene, which is a real omission. Street food in Cambodia goes beyond baby duck eggs and fried tarantulas. There are hot woks cooking up noodle and rice stir fries, curries of varied chilli levels (hot to incendiary), and noodle soups which are sustaining and delicious. The ordinary people, regardless of background all partake of the products of this gloriously makeshift industry.

Picture: Street food in Siem Reap

Gordon Ramsay is an acquired taste, much like some of the specialities featured on the programme. But his enthusiasm for food is undeniable. His response and interaction with the orphaned street children showed that he is a much deeper character than the ‘Big Sweary’ he is sometimes reduced to by the press. He could, however, have made more of a focus on the Khmer people who were re-establishing their culinary heritage rather than his efforts to cook for the Royal family. The ‘tough guy’ routines of jeep driving, tarantula hunting and buffalo slaughter/bleeding have all been done before. But I guess his viewers are all expecting these things, so the producers have to include them.

I’ll be interested to see what he makes of Vietnam next week, a country I have longed to visit for many years......

I’ll be making Khetana’s fish amok when I can get hold of the many varied ingredients, particularly banana leaves:

http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/tv-show-recipes/gordons-great-escape-recipes/kethana-s-fish-amok-recipe

A dish not included, but is a Khmer classic is Beef Lok Lak, another one to try!
http://miowmiow-beauty.blogspot.com/2007/12/khmer-cuisine-lok-lak.html