Cooking, Recipes, Wine............ and Ethical Foie Gras - At Last!

Yotam Ottolenghi has been writing a series in the Guardian called The New Vegetarian and almost every recipe strikes a chord with me.  Original, fresh combinations of ingredients taking inspiration from the Med and the Middle East as well as a truly global palette....  I thought the following looked particularly good:

Yogurt flatbreads with mushroom ragout

This recipe is from The Olive Garden.

Well the science is there alright and it's quite interesting to see..... But what an unfair comparison - asparagus fried in butter and oil with truffles compared to stems boiled in water. If you're going to do them in water, then steaming is best because the asparagus is in less physical contact with the water.......

What happens when a powercut leaves ten million homes in Europe without electricity? If you're lucky, your Belgian neighbour turns up the next day with a box of thawing, unprepared foie gras that need immediate attention. And whatever your ethical objections*, you end up making foie gras. This is how it's done:

Firstly you need good livers - fresh, quite firm, with consistent texture and colour. If a liver smells even slightly suspect, reject it. The livers should have very few veins and you should prise out the larger remaining ones carefully with a small paring knife. You're going to need the special preserving pots designed for the purpose. These pots are in glass and have a two part lid - they are reusable except for the inner part of the lid. Clean and sterilise the pots in boiling water, then arrange a saucepan to hold all of your pots and fill with water just below the level of the threads on the preserving jars. You will want to place a teatowel or two between the pots to prevent damage and stop them rattling.