Oysters, truffles, chili peppers, tomatoes, garlic, ginger, chocolate, oh – cinnamon, mint and almonds – the list of notorious aphrodisiacs is long. Is it the zinc in oysters (and pine nuts as well) that lends credence to their legendary powers? How much of the allure rests in nutrition, for garlic’s medicinal heat as one case, has stirred research into the pungent bulb’s properties.  Certainly each ingredient’s sensual qualities, the color and aromas come into play when preparing a menu with a hint of seduction. Fragrance is on almond’s side, as Samson knew when he courted Delilah with sweet almonds. Did cinnamon do the trick when the Queen of Sheba set her cap (or crown?) for King Solomon?  Spices are legendary, as Romans knew when they munched on anise seeds to stimulate their libido. There appear to be several winning combinations on the list, depending on the setting and mood, the season and personalities involved in the plot…..and seduction is a plot, non?

The plot… er the menu: in truffle season, pull out a paring knife, trim a small truffle and dice it, slice a log or a round of fresh chèvre cheese horizontally. Sprinkle truffle dice between the layers and wrap this appetizer in baking paper or a small brown paper bag (NOT in plastic) and tuck it in a cool place for a day or three before your dinner.  Garnish it with arugula/roquette (also on the list…). Stir up a hearty soup based on garlic, ginger, tomatoes, with basil and even a little fresh mint (to add at the end of cooking). Use chopped chicken or lamb for texture and protein, and toss in a touch of chili pepper, let it rest to mellow overnight. A fresh baguette or crusty roll is perfect on the side.  All of this can be ready well before dinner time, to allow maximum time for “conversation”.  The wine, a fresh white Vouvray with the chèvre truffé, and later a subtle and complex Bordeaux Supérieur or the dark fruit of a Gigondas would be my choice – but possibilities abound. Now, what’s for dessert? A gooey chocolate-almond-nutmeg fondant cake would be superb (with or without a dusting of chili).  Stay tuned, the Valentine recipe is being tested…and tasted.

Fondant Chocolate, a cake that is almost done retains a molten middle if not baked too long – but is not bad as a cake….if you get distracted before dessert.  Stir it  up ahead of time, it can be popped into the oven and bakes at 350°f for 8 to 10 minutes in individual ramekins (1/2 cup+1 tablespoon/150 ml) or baking cups. Melt 3 packages of 70% chocolate (each package 100g, broken into little pieces – half milk chocolate is milder) in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water; let cool while mixing 1/3 cup light brown sugar with 6 tablespoons butter cut into bits and 5 medium-sized eggs.  When blended, add 1/2 cup ground almonds (or 1/2 cup flour, sifted), 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg. Orange zest or cinnamon could also be added at this point if you wish. Blend in the chocolate – it will be grainy at first, but blend steadily – and then add 2 tablespoons dark rum. Pour batter into 5 or 6 buttered ramekins, each 2/3 full, place them on a baking sheet, dust with a little sugar, and bake until edges firm up, begin to rise but middle remains soft, about 9 minutes. Serve warm in the cup or turn out (carefully, to retain the soft center) onto a dessert plate and garnish with sour cream or whipping cream sprinkled with crimson pomegranate seeds.  If desired, dust with cocoa mixed with chili powder for an extra zing. To cut the recipe in half, use 2 large eggs to make 3 servings.

Marmande

Late summer, these sun-washed afternoons of l’arrière saison in the Périgord, could otherwise be known as le temps des tomates: tomatoes are rolling in from all directions. The phone rings, a friend in the valley calls: …”lots of tomatoes -bring a box!”…. and every other day Madame L, my petite neighbor calls “ooh hoo” with another sack of tomatoes for our lunch. I’m not quite ready to shout: “enough/assez”, for there are more ideas to explore for baking, stewing and preserving these globes of summertime goodness.

Actually, it all begins in July with the Marmande, a mid-season French heirloom – probably the best known of our patrimoine des potagers – whose convoluted bulges only add more tangy flavor to salads and sauces.  Another favorite rather lumpy heirloom is the Costralee, followed by the popular Coeur de Boeuf (big, but not as large as a beef heart, about the size of a beefsteak tomato). For color variety, I look for the mid-season La Carotina, a small, juicy orange tomato and later, the pinkish red Grosse Cotelee. In every region, you’ll find other heirloom varieties alongside the dependable sauce tomatoes such as Roma and San Marzano. Heirloom seeds are dried, kept through generations for each summer’s open-air pollinated fruit, no genetic modification, nor hybrid-crosses, all dependent on bees and other buzzing pollinators.

But what can I do with a heap of tomatoes, besides hauling out the preserving kettle and stirring up a batch of chutney? Faced with a shortage of time in the kitchen, I recently roasted a batch and froze them to add some zing to a winter soup or ragout. This is the simplest drill: line a clean roasting pan with fresh herbs – bay and sage leaves, branch-tops of celery, thyme, whatever you have. Choose large and firm tomatoes, wash and dry each tomato, trim the stem-tops and core, sprinkle with olive oil and more thyme. Roast in a medium/ 350°f oven for about 2 hours. Remove from the oven, let cool, scoop out tomato pulp into freezer cartons, cool, cap, label and freeze. Add salt and pepper to taste when you thaw them; the roasted tomatoes taste richer than when cooked on top of the stove. Fast-forward to the winter soup: drizzle a little basil bud oil over all…

Basil bud oil’

Basil buds, those perfect center leaves so easy to pinch when you don’t want the basil stem to flower (which they will do anyway…another story), come into full-tilt production at the same time as the plethora of tomatoes hits. So, pack small clean jars with basil leaves, then pour in some light olive oil – greener and fruity, not yellow and heavy – before sealing the jar and storing it in a cool, dark cabinet. Imagine a rainy December night, long past these bright September days, when you can top a provençal tomato soup with a dash of fragrant oil that brings it (almost) all back: l’arrière-saison revisitée!

Notes on seeds and tomato festivities:

Sources for heirloom varieties include: www.chileseeds.co.uk/organic-heirloom-tomato and www.heirloomtomatoes.bizland.com

Tomato Festivities in France are many, but one noteworthy event occurs near Tours in mid-September, when an exceptional potager (vegetable garden) featuring over 550 varieties of tomatoes opens its doors to visitors. Prince Louis-Albert de Broglie has filled his Loire valley, 16th century château gardens with tomatoes (and stunning dahlias). The remarkable Château de Bourdaisière in Montlouis-sur-Loire lies west of Amboise. For directions, dates and (they host B&B in the château) details, see: www.chateaulabourdaisiere.com

Gigot! Festive and easy is the best description for this variation on simply roasting a lamb leg for a special occasion dinner. An herb-crumb crust made with ground almonds seals in the juices as the gigot roasts.

Ingredients:

1 small leg of lamb, about 4 1/2 lbs/2 kg. (to serve 5 or 6)
1/4 c./56 ml olive oil, sea salt & freshly ground pepper.

For the crust: 1 egg beaten with 2 T. Dijon mustard (do not use a sweet mustard)
8 T./160 ml cream mixed with 1/2 cup crushed or ground almonds
5 T./90 grams fine breadcrumbs mixed with chopped thyme & sage

Preparation: Preheat oven to 426°f/210°c. Heat the oil in a heavy frying pan, rub the leg with seasoning and brown the lamb on all sides. Transfer it to a roasting pan. Make the crust by mixing the ingredients together. Then spread this paste over the lamb. Insert a meat thermometer and roast for 45 to 60 minutes, depending on how rare you prefer the lamb. Before serving, allow 10 minutes for the meat to rest before carving. Serve with your choice of seasonal vegetables, steamed or creamed, and a light rice pilaf. With each serving, include a strip of crust on top or beside the lamb. Garnish with flowering thyme, sage leaves or sprigs of lavender.

This recipe is adapted from La France Gourmande, the May Fête de l’Agneau in Pauillac, Gironde. A fine Médoc red, a Pauillac or St. Julien, is always a good wine choice for gigot.