An Irish Chef in France

Euro-Toques chef Martin Dwyer, is much missed in Ireland since he and his wife Sile sold their eponymous restaurant in Waterford and moved to France. They now live in the Languedoc, where they take guests - and feed them very well.

This month: Martin shares his love of a good al fresco meal and shows us How To Do A Proper Picnic

I am, let me confess it now, a nerd when it comes to picnics. I do enjoy them immensely but only when they are properly done.

The first thing I will require are a table and chairs, these can be provided by the local council in the form of a wooden table with integral benches, or a camping table and chairs brought by yourself but I insist on being able to eat comfortably, and to be able to balance my plate on a level surface while balancing my bottom on another.

The next essential on the Dwyer picnic is a tablecloth; this applies to either using the council table or your own. This does not have to be starched white linen (unless this is your desire) but a clean piece of cotton; we use an old bedspread very successfully. Napkins of some sort or other are even more essential outdoors than in and here (and here only) will I concede to the use of paper napkins or even (sotto voce) a torn off strip of kitchen roll.

Now we come to the thorniest problem, what food to provide and here I have to come down very firmly against sandwiches. Sandwiches, convenience food at its most convenient, should be eaten only when you haven’t got time or space for anything else, stuck in the car or office over lunch for instance. While enjoying a Déjeuner sur l’herbe, al fresco, the ultimate in leisurely feasts, these morsels of convenience should be taboo.

Instead my choice would be for a salade composée, one where all the pieces were sufficiently finely chopped that they could be eaten easily with a fork with only occasional help from a knife.

You will have realised that therefore plates, knives, and forks must be provided for each guest. If you cannot think of an appropriate salad here, fear not because I am going to provide you with my Great Aunt Agnes’s Salad, perfect for these and other occasions, at the end of this piece.

With the salad composée I would add a good starchy salad, potato, rice or couscous, and something fresh and refreshing like crisp lettuce or sweet tomatoes cut and ready to serve but do not dress them until just before serving.

Vinaigrette can be carried in a well-sealed bottle. (Another trick which the French use for al fresco dinners is to put some vinaigrette in the bottom of a sealed box, cover this with dry lettuce and then mix all together just before eating.)

The rest of the meal should be simplicity itself. Little morsels of a firm cheese like Comte or Gubbeen can be handed around and finally some fresh fruit (nothing too messy) can be served.

Coffee is optional, only if you own a good thermos flask and some CHINA cups which you will be forgiven for breaking. Otherwise to drink during the meal I would recommend some cold apple juice diluted with sparkling water unless of course you have the services of a chauffeur in which case a good chilled sparkling wine would be satisfying.

Bon Appetit !

Great Aunt Agnes’s Salad

1 large chicken (or 1kg of turkey meat, leg for preference)
1 head of celery
225g/8oz grapes (seedless for convenience, red for appearance)
175g/6 oz streaky rashers

Mayonnaise:

3 egg yolks
280ml/10 oz. sunflower oil
1 tbs. lemon juice
salt and pepper

Cover the chicken or turkey with cold water in a large pot and bring it to a rolling boil. Gently simmer for an hour then cut into the thigh to test that it is cooked through. Once satisfied that it's cooked take it off the heat and let it cool in the water. (This method of cooking keeps the chicken beautifully moist.)

When cool, drain the chicken of the stock (keep this in the freezer for soup) and then take the chicken off the bone and discard the bones and the skin.

Chop this meat up roughly. Cut the rashers into little pieces and fry in a hot pan until brown and crispy, drain well on kitchen paper and add to the chicken.

Cut the celery into small pieces and add to the chicken.

Halve the grapes and discard the seeds and add them in.

Beat the yolks up well with the lemon and seasoning and then dribble in the oil (an electric beater is a great help at this stage) continue dribbling in the oil until it is gone and the mayonnaise is "a thick and yellow ointment"

Fold this into the chicken mixture. (If you push it into a bowl lined with cling film it can be unmoulded successfully and makes a great centrepiece for a picnic).

Et voilà!
 

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Martin Dwyer started cooking professionally over 40 years ago in the legendary “Snaffles Restaurant” in Dublin. After a time in a Relais Chateau in Anjou and in “The Wife of Bath” in Kent he opened his own much acclaimed restaurant, “Dwyers”, in Waterford in 1989. In 2004 he sold this and moved south to France where he and his wife Síle bought and restored an old presbytery in a village in the Languedoc. They now run Le Presbytère as a French style Chambre d’Hôte. Martin however is far too passionate about food to give up cooking so they now enjoy serving dinner to their customers on the terrace of Le Presbytère on warm summer evenings. Martin runs occasional cookery courses in Le Presbytère and Síle’s brother Colm does week long Nature Strolls discovering the Flora and Fauna of the Languedoc. 

Le Presbytère can be seen at: www.lepresbytere.net; 
email: martin@lepresbytere.net

Twitter: www.twitter.com/DwyerThezan