Balance best in all areas of life

Nov 30 2007 by Bill Oldfield, The Journal

HOW much attention do you pay to the detail of your daily life? As you clamber out of bed in the morning and make your way blearily to the bathroom, do you examine the water coming out of the tap closely for signs of contamination or do you trust the water company to get it right for one more day?

Do you examine the stitching of your underclothes or bank on it holding together, knowing that if it gives way at least it’s happening under your clothes?

Do you always check the oil in your car engine, fill up the windscreen washer water bottle and check for stone chips in the paintwork before leaving the house? Or do you, like the vast majority of the population, use a modicum of common sense and get through life without becoming completely obsessive?

Because if we’re to believe certain quarters, those often referred to as food fascists, we should be measuring and analysing and testing our food before even daring to put it anywhere near our mouths.

I happened to catch some daytime TV this week, and a programme about whether we knew what was in the food we were eating. Ironically, I was in a trendy coffee bar and was made to feel guilty until I started rationalising. On this programme they carried out an experiment by getting an extremely health conscious young lady, at the peak of her fitness, to eat nothing but junk food for nine days – including burgers, kebabs, pizza, a Chinese meal, coffee shop cakes – and then checked to see how she felt.

Surprise, surprise, it hadn’t done her much good. However, what they really missed was asking her about the state of her taste buds and the quality of her life due to missing out on so much variety. Somehow this seemed to be researching the blinking obvious. Eat nothing but beef burgers and it’s your life that’s not balanced, never mind your diet. You’re obviously missing out on some of the better, but readily available pleasures in life. You don’t need to read some patronising information on the side of the carton to know that you really could do with a little fruit and veg every now and then. But then again, if you do actually need to be told, you’re possibly past hope anyway.

Now I have a dilemma. We know exactly what goes into the food we serve at the restaurants. We even have a fair knowledge about what a lot of our food was raised on, by whom, what chemicals might have been near it and what the animal was called. But we couldn’t begin to tell you exactly how much salt or fat or fibre was in each dish we serve. Take salt for instance. The actual taste of the finished dish depends on a number of factors, not least the quality of the raw materials, and this can sometimes be enhanced by the addition of salt, or sugar or honey or lemon juice and so on. But it’s worth noting that fresh food has a natural level of salt within it already, and the only way you can be sure of getting the final taste right is by tasting.

But if the basic ingredients are not quite so top-notch – as is possibly the case with much so called junk food – salt, sugar and other flavour enhancers are all required in an attempt to make the dishes interesting. And, as a result, often that’s all I can taste. But that doesn’t mean I don’t like all of that type of food. Sometimes it’s all that will do.

Can you really be bothered going through life examining every bit of food you buy and adding its contents to the growing list that you’d obviously have to carry around with you? Somehow the real reason for eating prepared food – enjoyment – would completely disappear. And life wouldn’t be anywhere near so worth living, never mind balanced.

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Crème Fraîch Risotto with Smoked Haddock (Serves two)

THIS recipe makes a fantastic starter for a special dinner party or possibly a self-indulgent supper.

It has quite a few ingredients and is made in three parts – but it’s not difficult. However, it is different, and because it’s risotto, it takes a little care, attention and time.

30g walnuts – which you’ve roasted at 200°C for 10 minutes and then rubbed off the skins

Two tablespoons olive oil

One teaspoon grain mustard

25ml whisky

Four tablespoons double cream

One teaspoon of nut oil

150g Arborio rice

Half a red onion – peeled and diced

One tablespoon of crème fraîche

350ml of hot fish stock

60g butter

Eight basil leaves

One spring onion

200g un-dyed smoked haddock – skinned

One pint of milk

Salt and freshly-ground black pepper

First prepare the walnut shot by grating the walnuts on a fine grater. Mix the mustard, nut oil and whisky together and put to one side. Just before serving stir the grated walnuts into the mix.

Next, pour the milk into a large saucepan and put to one side. Heat a medium saucepan, add half the butter and gently fry the diced onion until tender. Add the rice and stir for a minute before adding a small ladle-full of stock. Continuously stir until the stock is absorbed before adding another similar amount and stirring again. Continue doing this until all the stock is gone. If the rice isn’t quite tender at the end, add a little hot water and stir until it is. Add the crème fraîche and adjust the seasoning as necessary. Remove from the heat.

Towards the end of the risotto cooking, heat the milk in the pan and as it comes to a simmer, season with a little salt and slide in the smoked haddock. Poach for three minutes, remove from the milk and flake it.

To serve, place a metal ring or pastry cutter on the warmed serving dish (we often use a 3in length of 4in diameter drain pipe – washed!) and fill it with alternate layers of risotto and flaked haddock. Pour the dressing into a shot glass or similar small glass and place alongside the risotto.

Recipes are taken from Oldfields Restaurants cookbook, Passion for Real Food, out now and available for Christmas. For discounted copies contact the restaurants or go to www.oldfieldsrestaurants.com

Oldfields Restaurants: 18 Claypath, Durham, (0191) 370-9595 and 9 Osborne Road, Jesmond, Newcastle, (0191) 212-1210.