The ingredients in this recipe marry together with the addition of sherry vinegar and chilli sauce. A healthy, hearty all-in-one meal.
First published in the Guardian, Photographed by Colin Campbell for the Guardian
The Ottolenghi croissant is something rather rare:
how can so much flour and butter taste like fresh spring air?
Leaf-light layers with a crust light and crisper
“what is the secret?” we often hear our lovely customers whisper
the butter, the kneading, the hand which bakes,
what is the magic ingredient which makes
our puff-pastry parcels the best in town?
(though we say so ourselves, they’ve become quite renowned).
The list of ingredients is no mystery in the least:
flour, butter, milk, sugar, salt and egg and yeast,
the process of their making follows traditions known and old:
knead the dough, let it rise and deflate before it’s rolled;
more rising, chilling, butter and rolling and, as one soon learns,
the all-important layer-producing repeated folds and turns,
repeat again, add more butter, fold and say your prayers
and hope that the resulting croissant has the requisite 36 layers!
The magic’s worked, they’re left to freeze in the bakery overnight
before fresh cooking in our shops, to our customer’s delight.
Served with coffee, spread with jam,
taken home to fill with ham. . .
But the real secret, the one that lies behind this finest treat
is the person who our customers don’t often get to meet
the one whose kneading, the dough’s friend and clock:
our very own and very special Mister Irek Krok:
here from Poland for the past six years,
he’s 36 layers above his baking peers;
for all that one can know the croissant-making drill
it’s years of practise that results in the skill
to make and bake and know the dough,
when it’s rising too quickly and needs to slow
to mix and measure, roll and fold
to feel when the butter’s too hot or cold
to make batch after batch and get it so right
that heaven is thought of in every bite
batons and patterns on tray after tray
we’d like to take a moment to proudly say
that it’s Irek and all those behind the scenes
who make the Ottolenghi food the stuff of dreams. . .
Gonzalo Gonzalo's love story with wine started like so many others have done so before. Born in Logroño, Spain, he grew up among his parents vineyards' in Fuenmayor, Rioja Alta. Following the family tradition, he studied oenology at the university of Rioja before completing his oenologist training in a big industrial winery. The first turning point for Gonzalo came, however, when he went off travelling through France and Italy where he met small vine-growers and winemakers whose natural winemaking practices were about to change his life. Returning from his travels he left a commercial winemaking career behind to set up his own estate. Respect to the land and natural winemaking were at the heart of the estate's philosophy from day one.
The second major turning point in Gonzalo’s journey towards sustainable viticulture and winemaking was the illness of his father, caused by years of daily exposure to chemical fertilizers and herbicides while tending their vineyards in the 1970s. This influenced him profoundly and spurred him on to fight the battle his father had lost. His first objective was to restore the biodiversity in the vineyard lost due to chemical treatment. Rejecting modern chemical treatment, Gonzalo has instead sought out his own methods with respect for the land, his vineyards, and the traditions of his forefathers.
In the weeks prior to the bottling of Gran Cerdo's first vintage, young Gonzalo naively approached the local bank for some financial help to launch the new wine. To his surprise the application was declined on the basis that “wine is not a seizable asset”. Gonzalo eventually managed to launch the wine without the bank's support but did not forget. Ironicallynamed Gran Cerdo (‘big pig’ in Spanish) the wine's back label tells his amusing take on the matter (see below).
And the wine? Made from younger Tempranillo vines, this declassified Rioja is packed with crushed cherries, strawberries and a pleasant softness. This vibrant and juicy little natural wine is phenomenal value and turned out to be an international success. But Gonzallo just can't sit still. Seen by many as Rioja's "Bad Boy", Gonzalo keeps on pushing winemaking limits and is nowadays busy forging relationships with other artistic forms such as painting, music, fashion or architecture, in order to stimulate joint creative talent.
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Just some of the team who made it another wonderful Christmas at Ottolenghi
