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Skiing in the Savoie, France and a recipe for cardoon gratin

January 9, 2016 3 Comments Filed Under: Christmas, Food, Gardens, Recipes, Uncategorized

samoens, Alps, France
Villa Rose hotel, samoens, Alps, France
samoens, Alps, France
villa rose hotel decor, samoens, Alps, France
samoens, Alps, France

This Christmas, I visited the small alpine village of Samoëns, near to the Grand Massif web of ski runs. French ski resorts tend to be more modern than Austrian or Swiss resorts and as a result are often somewhat ugly, blighted with high rise flats catering for the French for whom skiing is a national sport, almost a right. Most French school children go skiing in the winter holidays, if not with their parents then with the school.
Samoëns, by contrast, is small and romantically pretty; a jigsaw of low rise stone and wood buildings with chalet style balconies. This architecture is typical of the Savoy region, which is almost entirely mountainous, stretching south of Geneva down to Nice. Savoyard culture and food historically crosses national boundaries, girdling the alpine regions of France, Italy and Switzerland.

raclette, samoens, Alps, France
cheese fondue, samoens, Alps, France
tartiflette

Savoyard cuisine is perfect for the climate: hearty dishes such as Raclette, Tartiflette, Fondue Savoyarde; cheeses like Beaufort, Tomme, Gruyere, Reblochon; cured meat and sausages referred to as ‘Diot’, while polenta tended to be more popular than potatoes. For my tartiflette recipe go to my monthly column at the Ham & High. 

villa rose decor, samoens, Alps, France
villa rose decor, samoens, Alps, France

I stayed at a boutique hotel Villa Rose housed in a Belle Epoque circa 1900s villa, which only opened in May 2015. This is the dream project of Texan Kimberly Williamson, who supervised every aspect of the decoration using only local artisans, materials and products. It’s a far cry from the rustic chalets of the alps, all pine and checkered tablecloths; here the style is more elegant and contemporary with silvered bedheads, upcycled antiques, beautifully appointed bathrooms with claw foot bathtubs, flocked wallpaper, glinting chandeliers, whimsical paintings of cows and stags on doors, and a strict palette of pink, silver and black except for the kitchen where apple green is sported.

window seat, villa rose hotel, samoens, Alps, France

Downstairs has a different style: a comfortable living area with coloured stained wooden floors by local artist Gilles Giacomotti, and an enclosed veranda with a pink velvet sofa and cosy nook window seats overlooking the ski lifts and mountains.

What to do at a skiing resort when you can’t ski

The ski season starts on December 19th when the lifts open, but like everywhere in Europe, a warm winter has meant that snow was sparse. (I believe January has now had fresh snow so conditions are better.) Samoëns is also a summer resort. 

1) Ice Skating. There is usually a rink at every ski resort and Samoëns is no exception. You can also go tobogganing on a artificial slope in the village. At larger resorts you will find swimming pools, saunas and jacuzzis, which is a boon for après-ski. Villa Rose also has an on-call masseuse. 

2) Christmas activities: the main square of the village has concerts, games and other ‘animations’ during Christmas time: a jolly girl group harmonising in Santa outfits and old-fashioned wooden games for the public to play. The village is lit up with lights and Christmas music is piped through the pedestrian streets, it’s all charmingly Disney-like. (I love Disney.)

2) Shopping. Samoens has many small boutique shops selling handicrafts and local products. I particularly liked the interiors and kitchenware shop, the quincaillerie, where I bought a wooden radiator brush. (Longtime readers will know that I do like a well crafted brush).

3) Walking. You can walk in the hills, alongside the bubbling river or visit the local Botanical Gardens, which contains thousands of alpine plants. If you walk enough you will deserve to…

4) Eating. Even if you don’t do any exercise you will have a huge appetite and feel tired, especially if you come from a smoggy city like London where the merest whiff of fresh air is a jolt to an urbanite system.
Samoëns has some good local food shops, a boulangerie, places to buy cheese and cured meats, if you don’t have a car. 
There are nice places to eat (the raclette at Gourmandises de Marie was good, as was the friendly lunch at Les Tartines de Martine) but French service is a problem, I don’t know why. You expect rudeness in Paris but not in a small village. I had a terrible experience in one restaurant called La Tornalta, where the waitress said she wanted to hit me because I asked for a green salad with a dressing not out of a bottle.
Tourists should specify the size of the drink they are ordering as apparently it is a common trick to give the largest version and charge accordingly. This happened to me at a bar in the village, I ordered Gentian, an alpine bitter herbal liqueur made from the gentian root. It’s usually around three euros, but the grumpy bartender poured me out a huge glass (too much to drink) at six euros. 

gentian root, samoens, Alps, France

Perhaps this is why Villa Rose only employs Anglophone staff all of whom are delightful and bend over backwards to give good service. Selina the manageress will sort out ski gear for you and give you a lift to the cable car in Samoens, however there is also a shuttle. Talking to the staff at Villa Rose, many of whom lived in the village and had children in the local schools, they all raved about living there, the sense of community, the special vibe of the village. 

cake at villa rose, samoens, Alps, France

Villa Rose has a private chef, Daniel Bearcroft, who can prepare evening meals depending on the package you choose. He provides a cooked breakfast and charmingly, a cake every day for tea time. Find him @alpinechef on instagram for a look at his dishes.

alpine cheese, samoens, Alps, France
alpine cheese, samoens market, Alps, France
diot charcuterie, samoens market, Alps, France
samoens market, Alps, France

5) Going to the market, which is open on Wednesday mornings in Samoëns. The market sells great food, handicrafts, local products, alpine themed oil cloths and cheap clothes.
I was in my element here but to know which stalls to buy from, look at those that have queues of locals. One cheese stall tried to charge me 50 euros (£40 or over $50) for a Brillat Savarin cheese (500g) that would normally cost a maximum of 10 euros, so shop wisely.
I lined up at a brilliant stall selling raclette from the back of a farmer’s van and bought a quarter wheel for 10 euros. Bargain!

cardoons, samoens market, Alps, France
cardoon gratin
cardoon gratin

If you are self-catering in the winter, do look out for cardoons (cardons), which look like a spiky celery. They aren’t cheap but are a local delicacy: ‘l’épineux de Plainpalais’ in the Christmas season, tasting a bit like artichokes, for they belong to the same family of thistles. I considered squeezing an entire cactusy cardoon in my suitcase along with my ski boots but ended up buying them ready prepared, that is, freshly cut into sections. Cardoons are little known in the UK, which is a pity – they are delicious. Here is a typical recipe:

Cardoon Gratin Recipe

Serves 4 to 6

1-2 kilos of cardoons, stringy bits stripped off, cut into pieces 3 inches(5-7 cms)long.
Juice of half a lemon
1 tsp of salt

For the sauce:
20g of butter
250ml of double cream
500ml of cardoon cooking water or vegetable stock
A little nutmeg or mace
Salt and Pepper

To top:
300g of cheese, grated (use an alpine cheese such as Comté, Beaufort or Gruyere or, failing that, Cheddar)

If you are lucky enough to get a fresh cardoon plant, treat it a bit like rhubarb, removing the stringy bits, chopping it up then place it covered with water in a large saucepan acidulated with half a squeezed lemon and a teaspoon of salt. This prevents it from going brown. Once prepped, bring to the boil and simmer on a medium to low heat until the cardoon is soft enough to prick with a fork easily, about an hour. Cardoons taste rather bitter until they are cooked. 
Drain but reserve the cardoon water. Preheat the oven to 180ºc. Butter a baking dish 20cm x 10cm approximately.
In the meantime, make the sauce.
In a medium sized saucepan on a low heat, melt the butter. Immediately stir in the cream. You can then add the cardoon water or vegetable stock or a mix of both. Keep stirring the sauce for about ten minutes until it thickens, then add the nutmeg or mace. Taste then season with salt and pepper.
Lay the cardoons in the baking dish in a single layer then cover with the bechamel sauce.
Add the grated cheese (if you prefer it low fat, add breadcrumbs instead) and bake for 20 minutes. Another option, which a commenter on my Instagram mentioned, is adding roasted slivered almonds. Drool!

More info:

  • I stayed at Villa Rose, Samoëns, courtesy of Villa Rose. 
  • I flew with Easy Jet to Geneva. Flights are from £90 both ways. 
  • Transfers from Geneva airport to Samoens are available: a shuttle costs around £60 return while a private taxi is anything from £260 return to £316. Villa Rose has its own taxi service which you can arrange for a fee.
  • If hiring a car during winter, make sure you have the motorway ‘vignette’ (pass) for exiting Geneva or you will get a fine. 
  • Also make sure you ask for chains for the tires. To buy them in the Alps costs more than usual and the hire company should provide them for a small fee. 
  • Find out more at Samoëns.com

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Comments

  1. caramelnibbles

    January 12, 2016 at 6:44 pm

    That cake looks so yummy and the window seat seems very cosy. I adore a raclette!

    Reply
    • Kerstin Rodgers aka MsMarmiteLover

      January 12, 2016 at 10:54 pm

      I love window seats! a lovely place to read or work

      Reply
    • Anonymous

      January 14, 2016 at 7:42 pm

      Well done Villa Rose. Proud Mum of the man who provides the "daily Cakes".

      Reply

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MsMarmiteLover aka Kerstin Rodgers.

Chef, photographer, author, journalist, blogger. Pioneer of the supperclub movement.

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Kerstin Rodgers/MsMarmiteLover
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Galette des Rois, made yesterday in 12th night. Mi Galette des Rois, made yesterday in 12th night. Minus Crown and king as I cannot find either. This one is made with Tonka bean. Plus homemade puff pastry (well worth the effort). According to ike delorenzo at The Atlantic:  The tonka bean, a flat, wrinkled legume from South America with an outsize flavor that the US government has declared illegal. Nonetheless, it proliferates on elite American menus. The tiniest shavings erupt in a Broceliande of transporting, mystical aromas.
The taste of the tonka bean is linked strongly to its scent. "Scents," I should say, as the tonka bean has many at once. I register the aromas of vanilla, cherry, almond, and something spicy—a bit like cinnamon. When served cold—say, in tonka bean ice cream—the taste is like a vanilla caramel with dark honey. When warm, perhaps shaved over scallops, it moves toward spiced vanilla. Additionally, the aroma of the tonka bean shavings (it's almost always shaved) is so affecting that it seems like an actual taste in the way that opium, which has no taste in the traditional sense, "tastes" like its rich, flowery smoke.  Here is the recipe: 

Tonka bean galette des rois

Serves 8
Ingredients
* 140 g caster sugar
* 125 g salted butter, softened
* 100 g ground almonds
* 2 eggs, medium
* 1 tonka bean, grated
* 2 packs ready made butter puff pastry on a roll
* 1 yolk for brushing the pastry
Instructions
* Preheat your oven to 200c.

* Blend the butter with the sugar then add the almonds. Make sure it’s well mixed. Add in the 2 eggs one at a time, then add the tonka bean.

* If using a block: divide the puff pastry into two and roll out to 5mm thick. 
* Make two circles about 15 cm’s each in diameter. Lay one circle on a silicone mat/parchment paper on a baking tray and fill with the almond cream leaving a 3 cm border around the edge. 
* Paint the border with the egg yolk. Then lay the other circle on top, sealing the edges with a fork. 
* You could then carve designs into the top. Make a little slit in the middle to let steam escape then brush the top with the egg yolk
Mapo tofu is probably my favourite Sichuan dish. T Mapo tofu is probably my favourite Sichuan dish. This is a vegan version. ***

Ingredients:
- 400 g box of soft tofu not silken
- 5 soaked dried shiitake mushrooms, diced, keep water
- 1 red bell pepper, finely sliced
- 400 g fresh shiitake mushroom, sliced thinly
- 400 ml vegetable stock
- 1 thumb fresh ginger, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 4 tbsps groundnut or vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp fermented bean paste
- 1 or 2 small red chillies, minced or a spoonful of Chinese chilli paste
- 1 tsp heaped sichuan peppercorns, finely ground
- 2 tbsps soy or tamari sauce
- 2 tbsp cornflour in 3 tbsps water, mixed into a slurry
- 4 spring onions, finely sliced
- large pinch fresh coriander leaves

Prepare the tofu by cutting it into one inch cubes and soaking it in hot but not boiling salted water. Drain after 15 minutes.
Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms, covering them in boiling water. Leave until soft, then dice the mushrooms. Retain the mushroom soaking water and add to the vegetable stock water.
Prepare the other ingredients so they are ready to stir-fry: red bell pepper, fresh mushrooms, ginger, garlic.

Using a wok or deep frying pan, add the oil and heat to frying temperature. Add the bell peppers,fry for a couple of minutes, then add fermented bean paste, chilli paste or chillies, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sichuan pepper.
Add the mushroom/vegetable broth and simmer on high for a couple of minutes.
Carefully add the cubes of tofu, taking care not to break them too much.
Add the cornflour slurry, stirring for a couple of minutes.
Serve with rice or noodles, garnishing with spring onions or chives and or coriander leaves.  #veganuary #mapotofu #sichuanfood #tofu  #shitakemushrooms #supperclub #londonchef #msmarmitelover #ham&highcolumn #eatplants #lockdown3 #selfisolation #coronaloner #cooking #recipe #cookingfromscratch
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#happynewyear #happynewyear2021 #supperclub #hootenanny
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