Cooking for Ukraine, an act of culinary diplomacy
A new wine school, and prepping for uncertainty with elderberries
Hello, and welcome to this week's news and thoughts from The Lemon Grove and me, Bruce McMichael. In this issue we'll look at Ukrainian chef Yurii Kovryzhenko. He’s preparing an awareness and fundraising dinner later this month for guests at Slow Food's Terra Madre Salone del Gusto in Turin.
We’ll also set our TV reminders for the new Netflix series (spoiler alert, it's about pizza) and celebrate the opening of a new wine school by friend of The Lemon Grove, Scott Thomas.
Here is a little extra, a quote from Salman Rushdie about writing and creativity, which struck a chord with me. I hope it can resonate with you.
"Go for broke. Always try and do too much. Dispense with safety nets. Take a deep breath before you begin talking. Aim for the stars. Keep grinning. Be bloody-minded. Argue with the world. And never forget that writing is as close as we get to keeping a hold on the thousand and one things — childhood, certainties, cities, doubts, dreams, instants, phrases, parents, loves — that go slipping, like sand, through our own fingers".
This newsletter is published weekly and will, over time, include much more - from podcasts and videos to classes, lemon-themed merchandise, travel and recipe tips. As more content is added, some will only be available to founder members and subscribers. Thank you for reading, and welcome to the journey, especially to our founder members and subscribers.
'The Roots of Ukrainian Cuisine' at Terra Madre
Chef Yurii Kovryzhenko is an ambassador of Ukrainian cuisine who is lighting up the national gastronomy scene by reimagining traditional dishes from his home country.
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, Yurii has been raising awareness of the national cuisine and funds for his home country through cooking at popup events and supper clubs.
A strong supporter of Slow Food International and its ambitions for supporting good, clean and fair food and farming practices, Yurii will be cooking a special dinner at this month's Terra Madre Salone del Gusto in Turin. He is also a strong ambassador for Ukraine, cooking on behalf of the country around the world in embassies, food festivals and official occasions.
The chef specialises in using local, traditional products from vegetables and tubers to dairy products, giving dishes a strong personality through through culinary infusions of black pepper, horseradish, thyme, mustard and other spices.
At Terra Madre Yurii will prepare a dinner of tradition dishes, uniting the best practices of modern cuisine with typical Ukrainian ingredients revealing the history and traditions alongside contemporary techniques and flavours.
Proceeds of this Dinner Date will be donated to Slow Food's fundraising campaign to help small-scale farmers in Ukraine.
The menu is not yet published, but perhaps he might make a version of Chicken Kyiv, the country's most famous dish, with its earliest mention dated to around 1915.
The Ukrainian name Chicken Kyiv means 'Kyiv's Cutlet' or 'Cutlet Kyiv style.' This dish is based on a roll of chicken fillet stuffed with butter, greens, and a crust of breadcrumbs. Served with mashed potato, a great side dish which comfortably soaks up the melted butter which oozes from the chicken, this dish is a national treasure.
Tickets for Yurii's dinner in Turin on September 25 are available online until September 21, here.
Terra Madre Salone del Gusto is in Parco Dora, Turin from September 22-26, with over 600 exhibitors and a series of workshops, conferences and tastings that show how we can regenerate our planet through food.
Click here for more information about this year's event and other special dinners, events, and workshops.
#TERRAMADRE2022
THE MENU … FOOD, DRINK, INGREDIENTS, PLACES
Think you can catch a whiff of tangerine from your Chardonnay, grapefruit from your Riesling or lemon from a glass of Point Gris? Yes. Well, read on.
Pinot Gris often has layers of citrus, lemon and grapefruit flavours, while Germany's famous Rieslings often bring grapefruit notes to your nose.
When tasting wines, people are taught to look, smell, taste and then think about their observations to create a pattern in their mind of what they are drinking. Tasting combines science, art, memory, practice and enjoyment.
Now, my friend Scott Thomas has put these techniques together in his inimitable way and created the Grappolo Wine School. He and I are both Masters graduates (2019) and now lecture at our alma mater, the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, northern Italy. I fondly remember attending many after-school tasting classes he held to guide fellow students around the terroirs, aromas and tannins of the locally grown Barolo, Barbaresco and Gavi wines. There was also an occasional foray into Negroni, Aperol Spritz and Americanos, famous Italian cocktails.
Scott is now based in Denver, Colorado, US and created the Grappolo to bring the joy and thrill of wine tasting to the curious. He's doing this through custom-tailored wine experiences, cellar advice, industry training and professional development, restaurant consultations and staff training by, as the company tagline says;” Servicing all of Colorado and beyond’.
Check out Scott and Grappolo at www.grappolowineschool.com and on Instagram @grappolowineschool
Oh, and what does Grappolo mean? The word translates from the Italian to mean bunch as in 'grappolo d'uva', a bunch of grapes.
READ, WATCH, LISTEN … A RECOMMENDATION
You know the drill … beautifully filmed in lush light, with great music and snappy scene changes. And the script, what great scripts! An enthusiastic American voiceover gushes over a food or cooking style; 'You're going to look at pizza differently after hanging with Chris Bianco … (he) is the Coltrane of pizza. This guy remade the game.'
It can only mean one thing - a new Netflix Chef’s Table series is on the way, and this time it's pizza.
From Portland to Phoenix, Italy to Japan, this series will take us into the kitchens of chefs whose creativity elevates this very familiar dish to an art form through creating unique flavours and unleashing doughy passions. They seek the perfect slice. (Note, in the US, outlets selling cut portions of pizza are known as 'slice shops'. Who knew!)
The featured pizzaiolo for the show are Chris Bianco from Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix, Arizona; Sarah Minnick from Lovely's Fifty Fifty in Portland, Oregon; and Ann Kim from Minneapolis, Minnesota's Pizzeria Lola. From outside the US, you'll see Yoshihiro Imai of restaurant Monk in Kyoto, Japan; and representing the spiritual home of pizza Italy you’ll see Gabriele Bonci, who has restaurants in Rome and the US, and Franco Pepe from Pepe in Grani in Caiazzo, near Naples. Franco is known for stepping back from the pizza-making traditions in Naples and reimagining what the dish could be.
While studying for my MA in Food Culture at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in 2019, I was lucky enough to enjoy a meal cooked by chef Bonci in Rifugio Alpi Apuane in Careggine. However, we didn't have pizza! He was in Tuscany having a break from wood-fired ovens, tasting new cheeses for his Rome restaurants. I had wild boar ragu and tagliatelle. Outstanding.
Chef's Table: Pizza starts Wednesday, September 7, on Netflix.
RECIPE OF THE WEEK
THREE WAYS WITH ELDERBERRY … START PREPPING NOW!
News bulletins around the world constantly broadcast the worst of human nature and how people try and beat nature - always a ridiculous notion. Now, with energy prices rising to scary heights, tens of millions of Pakistanis being forced from homes by glacier-melt floods, food shortages around the world and a vicious war being waged in Ukraine, talk is turning to making preparations for the worst, or in American English – prepping.
That all sounds pretty grim, so to reboot your mood, here are three recipes that would fit nicely on a prepper's to do list. Elderberries are at their peak now from the hills of Styria, Austria to the American Midwest. Forage them for free. Make these recipes and bring a sweet taste into your kitchen and a power punch of vitamin C to boost your immune system and reduce that news-bulletin stress.
ELDERBERRY VINEGAR
Made in September, this vinegar is delicious drizzled on salads, with roast vegetables such as beetroot and baked fruit including strawberries, peaches or figs.
200g of elderberries, picked from the stalks
500ml of red wine vinegar
50g of caster sugar (optional)
Wash and drain the berries.
Place in a pan with a dribble of cold water. Lightly squash the berries with the fork or potato masher.
Pour over the vinegar.
Simmer for 10 minutes, do not boil. Transfer the liquid and berries into a sterilised jar.
Allow to cool before sealing the bottle. Place in a cool, dark space and allow to infuse for 30 days.
Then, strain the liquid (you can use the pickled berries in a stew or salad).
Taste the vinegar. Add a little sugar if the vinegar is too sour or tart. Return vinegar to a pan, add sugar and heat until it dissolves.
Transfer to a sterilised bottle. You can use it straight away.
ELDERBERRY CORDIAL
500g of elderberries, picked from the stalks
500g of water
350g of caster sugar
½ lemon peel and 1tbsp lemon juice
Wash and drain the berries and place in a pan together with the lemon. Cover with cold water. Simmer over a low heat for 30 minutes. Do not boil.
Spoon away any scum that floats to the surface.
Strain juice through muslin cloth set over a bowl. Gently squeeze the berries to extract as much juice as possible.
Return the juice to the pan and stir in the sugar and lemon juice. Gently heat and stir until the sugar dissolves.
Taste and add extra sugar or lemon juice to your taste
Decant into a sterilised bottle and seal.
ELDERBERRY CAPERS
This is a fun recipe for using elderberries that are on their way to ripening, but are not there just yet. Use them as you would regular capers, perhaps in a tuna mayonnaise mix, a salmon pasta or to pep up a salad with tartness.
100g unripe elderberries, picked from the stalks (gathered bright green and plump)
20g sea salt
100ml cider vinegar (white wine or other vinegars will also work)
20g granulated sugar
Sterilised 200ml preserving jar.
Mix salt with 100ml warm water in a bowl. Stir until the salt dissolves.
Add the berries.
Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and leave to stand in a cool, dark cupboard.
The berries should change colour from bright green to khaki.
After three days, drain and discard the brine. For less salty berries, gently rinse.
Pack into the sterilised jar.
Pour vinegar into a saucepan, add the sugar and over a medium heat bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Simmer for two minutes, then tip it over the berries in the preserving jar.
NOTE: use a proper pickling jar, as the liquid will be hot. Leave to cool before sealing with the lid. Store in the fridge for three weeks before eating.
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Bruce McMichael
Writer, Podcaster, Educator
Website: www.thelemongrove.net
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Disclosures: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org