Za'atar Cacio e Pepe

Restauranteur Yottam Ottolenghi has given the Italian classic, Cacio e Pepe, a magical touch by adding za'atar into the mix. The technique for making Cacio e Pepe correctly isn't complicated, but it is important to follow the instructions exactly in order to ensure a rich smooth sauce.  Use a wide pan without too much water for the pasta to enable enough starch from the pasta to emulsify the sauce. Grate the cheeses as finely as possible (if you have a Microplane grater that is ideal), the cheese will then melt happily into the sauce. This tasty dish was cooked for us by our grandson following our recent stay with him. 

Ingredients for 4

400g dried bucatini (this is a thick spaghetti with a hole running through the center commonly used throughout Lazio and Rome.

Bucatini

Spaghetti

50g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature.

10g Za'atar, plus 1 ½ tsp extra to serve. (Za'atar is a Middle Eastern blend of sesame seeds, sumac, cumin seeds, thyme, oregano, & marjoram)

2tsp freshly cracked black pepper

130g Parmesan, very finely grated

30g Pecorino Romano, very finely grated

2½ tbsp olive oil

2 tsp fresh marjoram leaves (optional)

sprinkle of sea salt. 

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Method

1. In a wide pan on a medium-high heat, bring 1.3 litres of water to the boil, then season with ¾tspn of salt. Add the bucatini and cook for nine minutes, until al dente, stirring every now and then so the pasta doesn't stick together or to the bottom of the pan, and to ensure it remains fully submerged. Drain the pasta, but reserve all the cooking water - you should have about 520ml left; if not, top up with a little hot water.

2. In a large, high-sided, non-stick pan on a high heat, melt the butter until bubbling, then add the Za'atar and pepper then cook stirring for a minute until fragrant. Add the reserved cooking water, bring to a rapid boil and cook for 5 minutes, until it reduces a little and turns silky. Stir the pasta vigorously into the sauce, then add the parmesan in two batches, continuing to stir vigorously as you go but wait until the first half has melted in before adding the next. Once all of the parmesan has melted, add the pecorino, continuing to stir until it has also melted and the sauce is smooth and silky. Transfer to serving dishes and finish with the oil, fresh marjoram (if using), the remaining za'atar and a small pinch of salt. 

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Family Tales

We have both been staying with our grandson in his lovely new home in an area very familiar to me - it was once my childhood home. He and his girlfriend both work in London but their spare time is spent climbing, riding their bikes through the dales, and what looks alarming to me, rock bouldering. When he purchased the property he hadn't realised that he was buying in an area so familiar to both of us.

They are both continuing with their London careers, but remotely, all of which appears to work well.

Our grandson has been looking into all of our family trees, and has discovered some interesting data about my side of the family.

Many families have unsubstantiated stories or generational tales regarding their ancestry with elements of truth, but often no firm foundations. 

My maternal grandmother's maiden surname was Jacques, and the story told is that her father could have been descended from Huguenot immigrants. The Huguenots were Protestants who fled France and Wallonia (southern Belgium) from the 16th C to the 18th C due to religious persecution during the European Wars of Religion. After the English Reformation, England was seen as a safe place for refugees. Importantly, however, they also brought their skills and expertise as silk-weavers, silversmiths, merchants, vine-growers, wig makers, and hat-makers which helped the country to expand its global horizons.

The ancient market town where our grandson has bought his home is 30 miles away from where I lived, but it was a very important town re: silk weaving. There are still several Heritage silk mills and many terraces of silk weavers cottages, all of which brought wealth to the town. This knowledge re: the silk weaving helps to bring  more relevance to the Jacques family story. My grandson has discovered that a young women born in his town, married a man called John Jacques and that they were the parents of my maternal grandmother. They are my great grandparents, and my grandson's great great great grandparents. 

Importantly he has also traced our Jacques family name back to three more generations, and is very hopeful that he will find more information by subscribing to the Ancestry website.

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Quiz Answer

Thank you to all of you who tried to deduce the use of the preserved in situ Victorian piece of street furniture used for the quiz.

The kiosk was an electrical transformer box, which was manufactured in Glasgow by Walter MacFarlane & Company of the Saracen Foundry. It was part of the city of Derby's original electrical lighting scheme which was installed in 1893.   

There were two correct answers:- 

Janneke, who doesn't appear to have a blog, and blogger Margaret. 

Both Janneke and Margaret read my clues and took them to the internet where they found the answers.

However blogger Lorrie whose answer arrived just after Janneke, used her intuition and came remarkably close to the correct answer.

Well done 1. Janneke 2. Lorrie and 3. Margaret.

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Street Furniture Quiz

Do you know what this street furniture was once used for?

This kiosk is somewhat of a mystery item for many passers-by who wonder what purpose it served.

The kiosk has a "Buck in the Park" emblem on the side being the town's coat of arms, which first appeared on a medieval seal in 1446.

If you answer correctly I will not publish your comment until next week.

"The Fox" by Robert Louis Stevenson............

.............Look, there he comes again, the Fox,

Stealing softly through the gorse and rocks,

With silent padding tread.

His nose to the ground, his brush held low,

He moves with a stealthy, graceful flow,

As though he were hardly there.

His eyes, like amber, gleam and shine,

As he weaves through the undergrowth's

entwine,

A vision of nature's art.

With every step, he marks his trail,

Leaving behind a secret, untold tale,

Of his wild and cunning heart.

This week we have enjoyed a visit from a handsome juvenile fox who made us smile. Our gardener had emptied a wooden trough that resides on a low stone wall filled with summer bedding plants. Through the window I spotted him happily sitting in it and peering over the top.

Unlike the visiting deer he doesn't eat the garden flowers, nor dig holes in the lawn seeking worms like the Badgers.

Today he found a cosy warm sunny corner in which to sleep, but his eyes remained slightly open, and his ears continued to twitch. Even when resting his senses continue to remain on full alert.

We do hope he continues to visit, and that he enjoys a good life.

The Final Chapter from Kenilworth Castle....

The Great Hall

Having climbed halfway up an adjacent Tower, suddenly the top half of John of Gaunt's Great Hall came into view.

Although pillaged and ransacked many times during its 654 year existence, the hall still exudes a sense of power and wealth.

The opposite exit leads out into what was once the Castle's vast hunting grounds.

The Great Hall undertaken from 1370 by John of Gaunt, Edward lll's fourth son, counts as one of the most significant and ambitious building campaigns of the 14th century. He created the hall and a suite of apartments conceived according to a coherent architectural programme. His father first achieved such unified treatment at Windsor Castle in the 1350s, and Gaunt's work here represented the start of its transmission elsewhere. 

The vertical lines are characteristic of the perpendicular style.

Leaving behind the Great Hall and the mighty 900 year old Norman Keep, we cross over the castles inner court to the building that Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, built for his queen - now known as Leicester's building.

Leicester's building

Although the building is virtually a shell it is possible to climb the remains courtesy a stairway built by English Heritage. The accommodation housed large kitchens and scullery in the basement area, and enough accommodation for all of the queen's staff. One of the upper floors provided a luxurious suite of rooms for the queen including her private bedchamber. 

The queen arrived at Kenilworth Castle with an entourage of 31 barons together with a large number of staff for her royal visit in 1557, a visit that lasted, exceptionally, for 19 days; Twenty horsemen journeyed every day to Kenilworth from London in order to bring royal messages to the queen.

The Great Hall seen via the queen's building.

A view from one of the queen's suite of rooms

Kenilworth town would not have been visible in 1557. The houses seen today were probably built during the late Georgian/early Victorian era. However, the Gatehouse had been newly built, being part of Dudley's grand plan to woo the queen.

The attractive Tudor stable block was built for Robert Dudley's father, the Duke of Northumberland, in 1553.  

It still retains its magnificent timber-framed structure supporting its tiled roof.

Come into the garden, Elizabeth.....

A marble statue fountain of Atlas stands at the centre of the garden behind which is an ornate Aviary

The exact recreation of the Elizabethan garden at Kenilworth Castle was made possible through a detailed eyewitness account written by Robert Langham, an official in Leicester's household. Langham was allowed into the garden during the queen's absence on a hunt. The accuracy of his account has been borne out by the archaeological evidence.

He also wrote about a great pageant and a magnificent firework display laid on for the queen's delight during her 19 day stay in 1575. 

The Earl of Leicester's emblem - a bear with a ragged staff. 

Apple trees laden with fruit

The building seen from the garden is Leicester's Gate House which he had built in 1571 - 2. Following the Civil War it is one of the few buildings that remained intact.

There are countless steps remaining to be climbed and ruins waiting to be explored. Next time we visit the stables built in 1553, John of Gaunt's Great Hall, and the building that the Earl of Leicester built for his Queen.

Kenilworth Castle, Warwickshire........

.......was a medieval fortress which later became an Elizabethan palace.

Built in 1120 the building seen on the right is the mighty Norman keep, a defensive powerhouse, three stories high, with walls 14ft wide. It was strengthened by King John a century later, and modified by Robert Dudley for entertaining in 1570. 

The central building is what remains of John of Gaunt's Great Hall. He used some of the masons and surveyors that had worked on the rebuilding of Windsor Castle instigated by Edward 111. The hall was one of the finest of its kind, and at the cutting edge of 14th C architectural design. It played host to medieval monarchs and Tudor kings. 

The final four-storey tower block building seen on the left was commissioned by Robert Dudley - 1st Earl of Leicester. He had it designed especially for Queen Elizabeth 1's use when she visited Kenilworth during one of her royal progresses through her realm in 1572. He then had it improved for her next visit in 1575. The building is now known as Leicester's Tower. 

Robert Dudley - 1st Earl of Leicester

His careful staging of the queen's visit in 1575 was clearly intended to impress his importance on the queen, and it is thought that it was his last attempt to win her hand in marriage.

The Queens arrival at Kenilworth Castle in 1575. 

Along with improvements to the Queen's building, Leicester also had a fine Elizabethan garden laid out for her visit, a garden designed to seduce and beguile her. The garden although lost for 400 years has recently been recreated using advances in garden archaeology along with an extraordinary eye-witness description from 1575. 

On entering the 900 year old Keep it is the many splendid Norman arches that immediately catch the eye. We are taking the same route that Queen Elizabeth l would  have taken to visit her new garden. 

Join me next time in Elizabeth's garden

In the pretty Village of Fownhope, Herefordshire......

.....sitting beside what was once the main highway from Gloucester to Hereford is The Green Man Inn. Built during the first year of the reign of Henry Vll in 1485, this ancient hostelry has now been an important part of village life for almost 550 years

We loved staying in this characterful building which still retains much of its original architectural features - narrow stairways, beamed ceilings, inglenook fireplaces, and beautifully carved doors.

Following an enjoyable evening meal, and a good nights sleep, we set off in search of the ruins of Goodrich Castle, a castle that is considered to be one of the finest examples of British military architecture.

Having climbed up the tree lined hillside, and walked past this stately tree, we suddenly caught our first glimpse of the impressive castle ruins.

The central tower, the Keep, seen above, was built using limestone around 1148. It is unlike the rest of the castle which was built later and used red sandstone.

The keep still retains its original Norman arched windows, which are now home to families of House Martins - Delichon urbicum. If you look carefully you can spot one of their neatly made mud nests. The whole castle was home to a very large colony of them, all busily catching insects and feeding their young.

The Castle commands scenic views over the surrounding countryside across the River Wye. Its position here controlled a key location between Monmouth and Ross-on-Wye. 

This is an early indoor latrine systems constructed around 1250. It was used by everyone living in or visiting the castle, apart from the Lord and Lady, who had their own private facilities. Three latrines for what could be up to 100 people dwelling within the castle. I looked through the windows, and the latrines did have some splendid views! 

The tiny archway at the bottom of the latrines required a small unfortunate boy, tasked with the job of cleaning them out!!!

The ruined interior of the Solar with its great arches and column. Solars were the private living and sleeping quarters for family members only.