The Walnut Tree

The Walnut Tree has been a part of my life for longer than I can remember. In the 1970s my parents came here to sit in the bar, eating what back then was considered exotica for such far flung boondocks. They recount overhearing neighbours send back a chilli con carne with the instruction to, "Tell Franco it needs more chilli powder, it's not hot enough".

As the clientele grew up so did Franco's cooking. By the time my brother and I made it through the door there was little sign of the chillis and spag bols that helped make the place. Lasagne had mutated into a dish of fresh porcini in bechamel, layered between fresh pasta with copious amounts of white truffel on top. God it was good. It was here that I got my first tastes of woodcock, porcetta, bresaola, samphire, laverbread and fresh cockles. The Walnut Tree was where we came for big birthdays and celebrations. When Franco sold up just after the millennium we were a family in mourning.

There have been several incarnations since then and the latest has Shaun Hill on board. I've been lucky enough to go three times in just over a year. The previous two visits were sublime- the food was knock out- so I was very excited as we arrived here to eat two days ahead of the Abergavenny Food Festival.

We had a kir in the bar. It's what we always do. And read the menu. It hadn't changed much since my last visit back in January. Still it made me hungry. The interior is perhaps best described as 'nouveau Presbyterian'....

More polished than in Francos day, but lacking the charm. The wine list wasn't quite as interesting as I remembered it, not bad, but pricey. We got a large 'little' something to go with our drinks.

A courgette flower stuffed with ricotta and this years fave cheffy ingredient, beetroot. Really good, light cripsy batter and almost sweet tasting centre. I'd happily scoff a plateful.

Our starters were smoked eel with brandade and horseradish cream and griddled squid with chickpeas.

The squid was over griddled and the chickpeas were chickpeas. The eel however was sublime, I've no idea if they smoked it themselves. The brandade appeared to be made with more smoked eel rather than salt cod. Good starter, really appetising, and worked brilliantly with the wine.

Delicious stuff. Minerally, not something I normally associate with Gewurztraminer, and with a lick of oiliness that complimented the fish. A really well balanced wine with nice acidity too. Will search this out again.

Main courses were venison, partridge, veal- escalope, kidneys and black pudding.

The venison was super. Perfectly cooked. Full of iron and tasting of the fields. The partridge was excellent too but I've had my fill of confited birds legs. And the veal.... well, it was nearly very good indeed.

The escalope was a bit overcooked and the crumb coating was dripping in fat. It may have been the kidneys dribbling theirs over it. The kidneys themselves were nice, but had a tad too much of a whiff of their original purpose. The sauce was a bit greasy. In fact the whole dish had a sheen, like it was varnished. It was off putting and underneath there was some lovely food struggling to get out. The black pudding was the exception. Utterly delicious.

Chose a bottle of Allegrini's 2005 to go with it. Apparently this has been on the list since Francos day. Fabulous wine. Plum, oak and polish. More Bordeaux than Italy.

Puddings were chocolate marquise, white chocolate and cherry pot, damson fool, Hungarian trifle.

All very good...

... except the damson fool, so sharp and acidic it could strip the enamel from your teeth. Can't believe this was tasted before sending out.

On the previous two visits Shaun seemed omnipresent. Like a reincarnation of Franco he'd pop up behind the bar for a quick slurp, then, on going outside to the loo I'd catch him through a window directing frenzied activity in the kitchen. A few minutes later I'd spot his bobbing head shed bound for ingredients. He was nowhere to be seen this time.

In an interesting interview with 'Silverbrow on Food' recently, Shaun Hill explained that it was necessary to be at The Walnut Tree much more than he'd originally anticipated. On tonight's evidence, I'd say he's right. There were some real highs on this visit but there were quite a few mistakes too....but without a doubt, I'll be back.

The Walnut Tree,

Llandewi Skirrid,

Abergavenny

Gwent

Lone Ranger

The Lone Ranger always annoyed me. They used to show it on Saturday morning TV. It was in black and white, seemed to last forever and even a child could tell Tonto was getting a bum deal. Well, here's a Lone Ranger that didn't disappoint. From the Gimblett Gravels district of Hawkes Bay in New Zealand.

It's a Bordeauxy blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon. Lot's of plum and licquorice with a deep smokey vanilla nose. It has that lovely sheen good wine gets from good oak. I think. It's a pretty sophisticated drop, far from perfect, but with £4 off, as Cilla might say, "A lorra lorra wine for five ninety-nine".

It screams out for a chargrilled steak. How the hell you char grill in most UK abodes is beyond me. But if you can, do it. Having said that, I drank it just looking at pictures of food. Worked a treat and saved a few calories.

Lone Ranger 2006

Gimblett Gravels Red

New Zealand

Marks and Spencer: just now down to £5.99: what a bargain!

Chanterelle Risotto

Apologies for not posting this sooner. It wasn't poisoning, just a bad dose of work, the curse of the blogging classes. These are all the ingredients other than chanterelles and Parmesan. And this is what I did.

Sauteed the chanterelles in a bit of butter and garlic over a fast heat for a couple of minutes and set aside. I reckon there was nearly a kilo. It's a big frying pan.

Next sautee a finely chopped shallot very gently with pancetta cubes in some butter and olive oil for 10 minutes without colouring the shallot.

Add the risotto rice, 300 g for 4 servings, and gently fry for a couple of minutes until the rice starts turning transparent. Add half a glass of white wine and keep stirring till it's all absorbed. Do the same with a ladle of hot stock and then keep repeating the process with hot stock until the rice is done.

I like it to retain a good bite. A couple of minutes before it's done stir in the chanterelles and their juices. Finally add some finely chopped parsley, Parmesan, a knob of butter then stick the lid on and leave it stand for 5 minutes.

I tasted for seasoning then had one of my 'ideas'. These can go either way, normally the wrong way.

Thankfully this one was right. A tablespoon of white balsamic vinegar over each portion. It added a gentle fruity acidity that cut through the richness and really complimented the chanterelles. The quantity of chanterlles made for a magical, enveloping scent. Apricoty yes, but so much more besides. It was ethereal. I would say that, but there was a witness, honest.

My plan to serve a viognier (apricot flavour like chanterelles) also went awry when I spotted this reduced in Tesco.

Bargain. And boy was it good. It went pretty well too. Lots of nougat on the the nose and palate and nice acidity too.

In a slight aside I've started realising that certain wines suit certain music. I'll develop that idea in later blogs, but for now, might I suggest a Mirwais 2000 to listen to while drinking Meursault. Not just because he's French with a similar name. It's a perfect combination. How could one listen to anything else while supping Meursault?

The Prelude

One of the great things about Glasgow is how quickly you can get out of it. After weeks in the rainy city, I was seized by a Wordsworthian urge to flee man's inhumanity and seek solace in a rural idyll. That's not true, but if asked I'd have come up with any old crap save the truth. It wasn't aeolian visitations I was after, but something far more elusive, and secrecy was paramount. In the car-park it seemed man's indelible mark was inescapable. Vandals.

Mr Pikey seems positively cheeky from this description. Perhaps they should add, " I like eating children's fingers too". Which they probably do. 'Edgy Woodland Walks', much more fun than 'Educational' ones. Still, there was a helpful map and guide.

Wow, that's a long way in a little time, well if the kids can do it, so can I.

Heading off, and just around the corner from the place where me and a pal once found 4 kg of fresh porcini, I spot a good omen.

Too far gone but smelling gorgeous and a sign they're about. Lucky slugs. Rounding the bend I get excited in anticipation, then...

Aaargh, what was the best porcini spot ever now looks like a WW1 battle ground. Bloody foresters. Nothing to do but carry on.

Although I've not been here for a few years I still recognise bits and spy a copse that always seemed perfect for mushrooms, yet I've never found anything edible there. I almost walked past this time too, while wondering what the squishy yellow things were...

wait a minute, bright egg yolk yellow squishy things...

Bingo! Lucky too because I've never seen chanterelles this submerged before. There were loads and they absolutely reeked of, as they should, apricot. Loaded up, I head off. Some time later I spy this. There are quite a few in this picture. See if you can spot them.

I pick a few more and leave the rest. Cycle of life and all that.

A little further on a sign suggests that I'm just two miles from the car-park. At this rate it'll take a lot more than two hours to cover ten miles. Oh well, it's a lovely day for a walk.

My feet are getting rather sore by the time another sign lets me know there's still some way to go. Kids must have more stamina these days.

I spot another porcini, what a cracker this would have been in it's prime.

It's possible to cut out the good stuff and dry it on racks. Perfect for cooking. I used to, before rashly admitting what the wriggly white things that fell out on to the kitchen worktop were. So that's not allowed anymore.

By now I'm no longer convinced walking is all it's cracked up to be. My feet are blistered and I'm starving. Eventually, after considerably more time than advertised, I'm back at the car-park. This time I take a closer look at the sign.

What a plonker. Anyway, back home my booty was washed and laid out to dry. As I mentioned, they have a pronounced apricot aroma. So my plan is to make a risotto and get a bottle of either viognier or albarino to drink with it. They're the only two wines I can think of with apricot tendencies, but other suggestions gratefully received. If I haven't made some dreadful 'Horse Whispering author'-like mistake, the results will get posted later this weekend.

Click here to find out what happened to the author of 'The Horse Whisperer'... as opposed to 'The Horsemushroom Whisperer'. Sorry, couldn't resist.

Oops I did it again.

"20% off 6", said a big cartoon poster as I strolled purposefully towards Oddbins for a bottle to go with dinner. 20 minutes later, and £48 lighter, I was heading home. Why do I always fall for it?



First out of the box is Perrin's 2007 Cotes Du Rhone Nature. An organic wine that appears to have been endorsed by the butterflies.
Made mainly from Grenache grapes. At first it's quite sultry with hints of childhood... Blackjacks, wood smoke and raspberry ripple.

But it grows up quick. Pretty soon there's eucalyptus masking the smoke, white pepper, powdered chocolate and the fruit seems more mature, bruised even. With a couple more swirls in the glass it transforms into a heady, herby, gobby wine. I love it. Probably best with grilled meats and vegetables but it's damn good on it's own.

Look, it even shed a tear for the polar bears. Not that innocent.

From Oddbins:

Normally £9.99 but about £7.99 if you buy any 6 bottles. Buy, buy, buy.