Au revoir Summer & hello Spring

/

I only hosted two gastronomic tours this year but they were both wowzers. I have just returned from picturesque, passionate, proud Puglia in the heel of Italy. It was sentimental for me because I hadn't seen my friends and colleagues for a few years and it ended up being sentimental for the gastronomads as well because they knew nothing about Puglia and fell hopelessly in love with it. Once you've experienced the good simple food and hung out with the witty, relaxed Puglians, it sort of goes into your heart forever. The men are handsome and charming, the pasta is al dente and the passeggiatas (evening stroll) go on till 11pm. Nobody thought they would eat raw langoustines (like a small pink crayfish) and raw gambero rosso (red prawns) but they did what the locals do – wolfed it down. The seafood is so fresh in Puglia that it jumps into your mouth. We made pasta from freshly ground organic wheat, pulled mozzarella and burrata, danced the pizzica with traditional musicians and jumped in the drink from our luxury yacht. The gastronomads grabbed every experience with respect, hilarity and enthusiasm. I'll be doing it all again next September... and the tour's nearly full. Full details for 2023 are HERE.

Tours 2023

Gastronomic tours will be all-go for next year – so book your flights NOW. Airlines are already releasing their 2023 specials, so don't miss the boat (or perhaps the plane). Flights are already filling up and demand is expected to exceed supply for NZ departures.

Marrakech – 7 – 14 May 2023 – half full
Basque – 3 – 10 June 2023 – nearly full... 3 places left!
Uzès – 7 – 13 July 2023 – half full
Puglia – 3 – 10 September 2023 – nearly full... 3 places left!
Portugal – 17 – 23 September 2023 – half full

Auckland Spring Summer Supper Club

I'm returning to Auckland at the beginning of October, ready for a summer of supper clubs in my central city apartment. I host Supper Club every Wednesday and Saturday I am in town, the dishes come from my tours and I can take 8 people in each class. The Supper Club is designed to be social and I teach recipes that are suitable to cook in an apartment – small on work, big on information and high on pizazz. More info on my Supper Club is HERE.

Lemon and Almond Tart

The South of France is covered in almonds and lemons. Normally I make this in a round tart tin but I came home from Puglia with pastichiotto (custard tart) moulds so made this recipe in them for a change.
For the pastry:

  • 250g flour

  • 1 egg yoke

  • 1/2 tsp salt

  • 30g sugar

  • few drops of vanilla

  • 125g room temp butter, cubed

For the filling:

  • 2 large eggs

  • 120g sugar

  • grated rind and juice of two lemons

  • 125g melted butter

  • 100g ground almonds

  • 1 tbsp limoncello (optional)

  • 25cm tart tin with removable base

  • crême fraiche

To make the pastry:

  1. Pile the flour on the bench or marble and make a well in the centre.

  2. Into this place the egg yoke, salt, sugar, vanilla, butter and 1 tbsp cold water.

  3. Using your fingertips gradually work the flour into the centre. Work quickly and methodically till all the flour is incorporated. Add more water if necessary and form into a ball. 

  4. Wrap in glad wrap and refrigerate for half an hour.

  5. Preheat the oven to 180oC.

  6. Roll out the pastry, line the tart tin with it and bake blind with paper and beans for 15 mins.

  7. Place a baking sheet in the oven to heat.

To make the filling:

  1. Beat eggs and sugar together till light and thick (about 5 mins).

  2. Stir in lemon rind and juice, followed by melted butter, almonds and limoncello.

  3. Pour mixture into pastry shell and place in the oven on the heated baking sheet.

  4. Bake for half an hour or until filling is golden and set.

  5. Serve at room temperature with crême fraiche.

In case you missed it, you can catch my August interview with Australian Women's Weekly NZ Edition HERE.

As I will be in NZ for the whole summer I will also be indulging in public speaking – so if you need to inject some fabulosity into your event get in touch HERE. And that's the news from hot and sunny Uzès – where the red wine is chilled, the espadrilles are worn out by the end of summer and the olives will be pressed next month releasing liquid gold reminiscent of artichoke, apple and almond.

See you soon, Peta