Food in Provence (and elsewhere)

My section was allocated ravioli, duck legs with onion & thyme, a tomato & freekeh salad and a gâteau pithivier for today. As my partner has ravioli on her exam menu and made puff pastry yesterday she wanted the ravioli and the pithivier (a domed gâteau with two puff pastry disks containing an almond filling with a distinctive curved decoration). This left me the duck (season, fry, brown onions and cook in an oven for an hour) and the salad (cook freekeh, quarter tomatoes, scatter over za’atar, dressing and petals). As the freekeh only takes around 10 minutes to cook, there wasn’t a lot of work there and plenty of time waiting around for me to warm up my chocolate sauce from yesterday then ready and plate my caramel ice cream with caramel popcorn.

Which all meant I presented my dishes by 11:15 leaving me plenty of time to pack for my weekend with J at the Ballymaloe House Hotel. What’s more, Julia, who anyway liked all of my dishes, changed her mind about the portion size of the desert after tasting it.

The duck and onions made an enjoyable lunch with some of my first focaccia. As it was my first one, it was plain with just an oil and maldon salt topping. Many people are trying exotic toppings but I’m not convinced about these. Nor was someone next to me when we heard tell of a pistachio topped focaccia. I have vaguely wondered about adding olives to the one I’ll present with my final exam but plain is probably best.

It’s my first Ballymaloe focaccia, not my first focaccia, as I made focaccia last year at Gastronomicom. I’m not sure if it’s the different recipe or my greater experience with handling high hydration doughs but I found this one much easier. J. enjoyed her taste and is keen for me to try at home. Is this a win?