Gill Meller - Time
I am, as usual, staggered by the simplicity, beauty, and something I can’t even describe, of Gill’s recipes and his approach to life, time, space, place and all things zen.
For this month’s piece in Wiltshire Living, I would like to feature the ‘roast cauliflower with buckwheat, thyme and truffle oil’. Maybe not a big hitter, but honestly, what every pub, restaurant, bistro and café lacks the length and breadth of England. All of whom are expansive on the main event of meat or fish and then serve a bowl of plain boiled veg as a side to accompany it.
What message does this give out from the establishment, often blamed on the chef, but not really, he’s there to achieve their margins after all. It tells me, ‘sorry, on this occasion I can’t be bothered, I spent the money on the double cream in your ‘steak Diane’ and you’ll have to make do with the blanched, frozen peas, green beans, carrots and broccoli spears from Booker Cash and Carry.
Left to me I would serve Gill’s exquisite vegetable and salad dishes as the stars, with a smattering of lamb breast, fire planked fish or slow roast goat as the sides. In fact I would serve them as individual tasting dishes, Japanese style, so you could savour every delicate combination of spice and herb, vegetable, love and passion.
I worked with Gill a few years ago, and he came over to Bread and Flowers as a guest chef last year. His charm, collected sense of being, grace, talent and skill are a blessing to the culinary world. Something you need to indulge in, something you need to share. It’s not really about the vegetable dish, or the ‘whole beef shin with carrots and little onions’ or the ‘grilled oysters with salsify and ham’. It’s about you, stupid. So next time you go shopping, don’t sell yourself short with the baby veg medley from Waitrose (Tesco/Aldi/Lidl for political correctness), grab a Cauli and sort it out.
I just cooked it……indescribably delicious.
Serves two
• 1 cauliflower (about 500g/ 1lb 2oz), trimmed
and broken into florets
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin
• Olive oil
• 3 or 4 thyme sprigs
• 2 tablespoons buckwheat groats
• 25g (1oz) butter
• ½ small onion, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
• about 200ml (7fl oz) chicken stock (or vegetable
stock)
• 2 tablespoons best-quality truffle oil
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. Heat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 7.
2. Scatter half the florets out over a medium
roasting tray.
3. Trickle over half the olive oil and season well
with salt and pepper.
4. Scatter over the thyme sprigs, then place the
whole tray in the hot oven for 15 to 20 minutes,
or until the cauliflower is tender and charred
around the edges.
5. Remove from the oven and set aside to keep warm.
6. While the cauliflower is roasting, toast the
buckwheat and scatter over a small baking tray
and place it in the oven for 6 to 8 minutes.
7. Remove and set aside to allow to cool.
8. Place a medium pan over a low to medium heat.
9. Add half the butter and the remaining olive oil
and, when bubbling, add the sliced onion and garlic.
10. Cook gently for 5 to 6 minutes, or until the
onion is soft and beginning to caramelise.
11. Add the remaining cauliflower florets and
season with a little salt and pepper.
12. Pour over the chicken stock and place a lid
on the pan.
13. Bring the stock to a simmer and allow to
bubble away gently for 6 to 8 minutes, or until
the cauliflower is tender.
14. Drain the cauliflower, reserving a little of the
cooking stock, and put the florets into a jug blender
with the remaining butter.
15. Whiz to a smooth purée consistency, adding
some of the reserved stock if necessary.
16. Stir in half the truffle oil and adjust the
seasoning to taste.
17. To serve, spread the warm purée over a warm
serving plate or platter. Scatter the roasted cauliflower
florets and thyme sprigs, add a sprinkling of crispy
buckwheat and finish with the remaining truffle
oil. Serve at once