Tanjia

Tanjia is both the name of the dish as well as the dish it is cooked in. A tall clay urn that is filled with all sorts of goodies and baked slowly in coals. We had been told that traditionally this was a beggars dish, the beggar collecting whatever people would give, in the urn then leaving it in the coals of the fires used to heat the water of the traditional baths until it had all been cooked to a melting softness.

Nowadays it's also considered a bit of a bachelors dish as well, perhaps due to it's low maintenance and degree of skill required. Being a traditional dish of Marrakech we had been keeping and eye out for any sign of the tanjia. We finally find a small shop with a dozen urns of various sizes lined up out the front. Sealed with paper they must have been put into the coals in the early morning to be ready for midday.



We take a sit and order a tanjia for two, the proprietor reaches into his brick oven and pulls out a tanjia.



It's brought to the table before being unsealed and turned over into a clay plate. The billowing steams brings mouth watering smells, spices, herbs, and the lamb, so meltingly soft it's falling from the bone.



With another couple of the ubiquitous flat breads we're ready to go. The lamb fat has rendered out of the meat making it sticky soft and so rich. We scoop up the juices with the bread and suck the marrow from the bones. Leaving a clean plate and even cleaner bones when we've finished.



Next to us a Morrocan family have ordered the head. It's withdrawn from the urn before being split in two, revealing the creamy brain. We might need a few more people to tackle that one.
I recommend you keep an eye out for the tanjia as it makes a great change from the sometimes endless parade of tagine and cous cous.

Marrakech Tagine

So we were on our way to lunch. Meeting with I and H and they're LATE.... I guess It's understandable y'know being in a strange town in a strange country and all. On the plus side it gave us time to read the menu of our chosen dining venue and watch the type of clients who were dining there. In this case it was tourist groups and it dawned on us maybe this wasn't the type of place we wanted to be eating. So we started to scout around within minutes we found what we were looking for, an alley with a line of tagines up against the wall a steady steam of these were being picked up and carried off for delivery lunches.



Basic math; Busy with locals = good food. So when I and H arrive we veto our current plans and head down the alley. It's a simple affair, a dozen tagines sitting over glowing coals, a choice of chicken or lamb, with or without bread. You order a tagine it is whipped off the coals and placed in front of you. Another is then made by the hugely funny teen assistant (swimming in his butchers coat that he'll grow into in about twenty years) and replaced on the coals. The teen asks if we're American, to which we reply "no", his answer of "good" earns him a clip around the ears.



A lift of the lid reveals potatoes, carrots, peas, tomato and herbs plus your protein of choice it's fragrant and simple....simply delicious.



We have no trouble finishing our portions, but in case you can't you just save half of your bread and it's split open, stuffed with the remainder of your tagine and wrapped for a later snack.



We eat there several times in our stay, each time the various locals eating there greet us with a nod that seems to say "I see your not eating at the tourist trap next door....well done". If you seem to be coming back often enough you are invited to pre-order for the next day, with a seafood or special vegetable tagine on that menu. Maybe next time.

Casa Pascualillo, Zaragoza .... our last night in Aragon region

The regional food of Aragon was present all over Zaragoza. It was our last night before heading deep into the Basque country, so we were after some traditional fare. We head out in search of Casa Pascualillo. We stop by the bar firstly ... as we are way to early to sit down and eat - it's only 8pm.



We get 2 glasses of white wine and the house specialty of fried young garlic shoots.



We can see the one large kitchen that runs the back length of both the bar and restaurant are shared. The chef's definitely getting ready for the evening's meal service, but not appearing rushed or stressed. A condensed menu is offered at the bar, so Miga's are soon on the cards. Miga's are a dish of breadcrumbs, humble yet oh-so-satisfying. Traditionally eaten at breakfast using leftover bread, they have now turned into a gourmet addition to menu's no matter what time of day. The crumbs are fried in olive oil, seasoned generously with salt with sliced of fried chorizo and a soft cooked egg. We expected the crumbs to be crunchy, but they are disappointingly soft and kind of boring ..... A fantastic idea, although in these circumstance at least, executed badly.



There's a small door at the rear of the bar, and right on 9pm it's opened up and people start spilling over from the bar. We make our way over. Once we are seated, again getting a servers attention seemed to be quite difficult. As soon as we get someone's attention, a bottle of red was ordered along with the evenings food. First up, Habitas saltedas con jamon y virtuas de foie de canard. Baby broad beans with jamon & foie gras. A nice light starter ......



For the main event, we cannot resist an Aragon classic - Paletilla de Ternasco asado con patatas, roast suckling lamb with roast potatoes. The lamb is covered in a crackling crust, tender juicy meat caged inside. Simply served with home style roast potatoes and a light sauce of the cooking juices.



A plate of Parillada de huerta, or mix char grilled vegetables, is the perfect accompaniment. Thick slices of eggplant, zucchini, potato, aparagus, peppers & onions are grilled with a splash of herb oil.



Aragon is quite famous for the peaches it produces, coming from the fertile lower valleys of the region. When we spot a dessert simply peaches, ice-cream & red wine, we can't resist.



Farewell Aragon ... see you next time around !!

Casa Pascualillo
Calle Libertad 5 - 7
50003 Zaragoza
T: 976 397 203

Putting down a Hāngi at the Brick

Last night the community was treated to a traditional style Maori hangi at the Brick. People trickled in all afternoon, inspecting the coals and pile of mud in anticipation.

Games of frisbee and cricket were played on the street and many beers were drunk. Until there was movement ... shovels ... and the unveiling began.

This was my first experience of a Hangi ... I wasn't too sure what to expect as they were shoveling away the dirt, but then came sheets of cloth ...

Followed by layers of heshen sacks.

Then wire baskets were removed from the steaming pit. The top one containing potatoes and cabbage. As the next baskets were being removed, it was as if they were holding little treasures. Each one clearly containing something different, but everything was wrapped in Fuku leaves, which are a type of wild plant that has a stem like rhubarb and giant lilly like leaves.

The first basket to be attacked contained the potatoes and cabbage.

I did manage to take a plate and chopsticks from the pile, but somehow completely failed to get any salad at all ... must have consciously been saving more room for meat!

Oh, the meat. Whole chickens with stuffing, roast lamb with rosemary and roast pork with pumpkin, cinnamon, thyme & sugar.

Lucky I saved all that room with no salad, as the first plate disappeared in a flash, and seconds ... then thirds, soon followed.

The roast chicken was so moist, steamed under the earth with so much natural flavor. The pork and pumpkin combo just perfect. The roast lamb, ahhhh, reminds me of home. The potatoes, would have like to have some sour cream and chives to slather on top, they were just lacking any character - possibly due to the fact they are last seasons harvest ... We are eagerly awaiting delicious new season Kutchan potatoes. But the cabbage, oh ... my ... goodness. This humble little vegetable was the standout amongst the crowd for the whole night. The core was removed and filled with butter and Mae Ploy Thai Green Curry Paste. The cabbage was meltingly tender, oh-so-buttery and with a nice hint of spice. Genius!

When Waza - Niseko's resident Kiwi - is on point, he has some moments of sheer genius. Take his bagels for instance .... don't even get me started on the Jalapeno popper bagels.

Let's hope we can convince Waza to make this a regular thing during Summer.

the Brick

Open Tuesday nights in Summer for darts and burgers

Open late Winter, serving kebabs, burgers and 500yen drinks

& sporadically throughout the year for random dance parties and Hangi

Lunch at Bistrot le Cochon

Whenever we have the opportunity we are quick to jump at the chance of lunch at Bistrot le Cochon in Kutchan. Their 900¥ pasta set lunch and 1000¥ set lunch are extraordinarily good value.

We’ve been there so many times now as we don’t even get asked what we would like, we always go for one of each. There is one starter to start both sets. Today it’s a generous slice of set pork rillettes. It’s so full of flavor, a little bit salty and held together with all that delicious fat. The slice sits on a mountain of nicely dressed mixed leaves.



Then there's the bread. Warmed crusty baguette sitting in a little basket lined with a blue-and-white check towel, that is re-filled continuously throughout the meal.



The pasta today is spaghetti with tomato and chilli. So simple, but when done this well, it’s an outstanding dish. The spaghetti is cooked just so, a little on the tooth, and coated in a rich roast tomato sauce laced with chopped onions and plenty of garlic with just enough chilli to elevate it to sublime. It’s topped with freshly grated parmesan, cracked black pepper and a parsley pistou.



The other, a lamb braise.   Tender chunks of lamb that indeed taste like they’ve been cooked for hours in a rich meaty and tomato broth. There are tender chunks of broccoli and cauliflower underneath as well as some TAFE precision turned potatoes. There’s also a bit of parsley pistou water falling it’s way down through the pieces of meat.



We just love the little Ricard bottles of water placed on the table, everything about this place is superb.



As the mains are cleared there are two tea’s prepared for us (they also know this thanks to our numerous visits).



And today’s dessert, for a whopping 200¥, is a finger of banana tart. There’s a crumbly short crust base and then the soft banana’s encased in a frangipane like almond filling. Drizzled with a little chocolate, a very nice finish to another outstanding lunch enjoyed at Cochon.



Bistrot le Cochon, closed Tuesdays
1-9, nishi 1 cyo-me, kita 3jyo
Kutchan-cho
Abuta-Gun
Hokkaido
Ph: 050 3549 0034
Mob: 080 5494 0966

Hofe, Sapporo

We're in Sapporo on a mission to find some kitchen supplies and scope out some of the local Hokkaido produce on offer. It's an 8am departure from Hirafu and we're only on the road for about 20 minutes before we start passing these amazing little street-side fruit and vegetable vendors. We stop and browse their goods, with everything from Japanese mushrooms to wild Hokkaido walnuts. We get maybe half way there when we stop at a little roadside (it's actually on both sides of the road) fried potato place. The car park is packed with buses and weekend drivers, all stopping in for a hit of fried potato early on a Saturday morning .....



This carries us through the morning and we manage to look at a few places after arriving in Sapporo. But then, it's lunch time! We are with M1 & M2 today who are doing the deed of showing us around a bit... We pull up somewhere on the outskirts of the city and park the car. There's not too much around, I'm almost wondering what's planned. But then we arrive at a little shop front, writing on the windows with the recognizable words "Lunch" and "Drink" on the door, and what appears to be a list of wines on the window. Nice!



We walk in, there's a table of four downstairs and a minuscule open kitchen. We're lead up a small flight of stairs to a cosy little room with another 14 seats.



The table is set with a lunch set menu and the knife and fork resting on a very cool little 'hashi' rest.



We get some much needed help from M1 & M2 deciphering the Japanese menu as there's not a word of English. There is the option of 2 starters, pate or marinated saba (a Japanese mackerel). Kim, myself and M1 choose the pate. It arrives a very generous slice, wrapped in thin bacon with chunks meat, liver and nuts. We are all intrigued by the accompanying puree, it's a rich, intense but slightly sweet banana puree. I really like it! It has such an concentrated banana flavour, and seems to cut through the richness of the pork quite well. There's a couple of little cornichons, as well. Yum!



The M2 goes for the saba. It's so beautiful, 3 slices of the marinated saba nestled between pieces of roasted apple and a blush pink apple puree. We all manage a tiny taste, and it is just divine!



Then arrives the soup course. Hokkaido bean soup with chorizo. The soup is rich and nutty, with a touch of creaminess. There are a few pieces of sauteed chorizo floating in the bowl, a little virgin olive oil and some toasted cumin on top. A tremendous soup and a perfect size portion.



We're chatting away, sipping away at our glasses of wine for only a few moments when our cutlery is reset, with some very cool Laguiole cutlery, and our main courses arrive.



There were four options, so we chose one of each, with the idea of sharing and sampling each one. They are all so good, that whatever we ended up with in-front of us, aside from allowing the others a little taste, was polished up in no time. Kim had the Mulloway, arriving with crispy scored skin on a little bed of cabbage, what we think was salsify and a few mussels.



M2 has the chicken hot-pot, arriving in a pretty little Staub La cocotte. It is filled with bits of roast chicken, Hokkaido potatoes, cabbage and some clams. It smells divine! and taste fantastic! The juices in the bottom require some more bread, as four hands devour the lot...



M1 has the roast lamb rump. It's roasted MR with a very pink centre, served with a few mild but floral roasted green chilli's and a chunk of caramelised pear.



I definitely end up with the pick of the bunch. Roasted pork (Wow, have I mentioned how amazing the flavour of Hokkaido pork is?) that has a nice layer of crispy fat and a deliciously moist rosy flesh. There's a few pieces of roasted Hokkaido sweet potato, deep purple skin with a velvet yellow interior. Then there's a roasted pumpkin puree, with a nice little hint of sweetness and a piece of caramelised fruit, maybe apple? maybe pear? maybe apricot? A winning combination none-the-less, with Autumn written all over it.



This amazing ¥2200 lunch set, which also includes a glass of wine and coffee or tea, also includes dessert. It's another hard choice to make ... There are 6 options! Kim takes the salted hazelnut semi-freddo. Two little squares come piled high with a splash of Frangelico sauce underneath.



I go for pure simplicity, poached rhubarb with fromage frais. Delightful!



M has the chocolate. It's just that, a slice of a rich set chocolate, with a hint of chilli and a star anise ice-cream to accompany....



Then there's the tea brulee. It's a roasted green tea, so the brulee is a nice caramel colour. It's in a beautiful wide dish, so the crisp sugar topping is there for each mouthful. There's a scoop of vanilla ice cream slowly melting on the hot sugar....



As we're leaving, and offering our best thanks in Japanese, we get a chance to survey the tiny little kitchen from which this is all produced. There is 1 chef, a 4 burner and barley enough room to swing a tea-towel. And all of this spectacular food is being produced by this guy in this tiny little space, and he's cooking main courses as he sends desserts and plates pate's. Very impressive! Very delicious! Very much looking forward to visiting here again soon ......



Hofe
Tel: 011 272 1118
Lunch 11am - 3pm, last order 2pm
Dinner 6pm - 11pm, last order 10pm
(Sorry no address, it's written on the back of the card in Kanji :))