LUXEMBOURG

LUXEMBOURG- The Capital of Culture.

This month I am going to serve up a country to you that certainly meets the description of ‘Small and Beautiful’; Luxembourg! It has got it all! Sandwiched between Belgium, Germany and France in the true heart of Europe and blessed with ‘Fairy Tale’ Castles, thick green forest, enchanting Vineyards and a capital city that is over a thousand years old! In more modern times it is also the first city to be named European Capital of Culture twice in1995 and 2007, and voted to be one of world's best performers in protecting the environment, ranking 4th out of the 132 countries analyzed.

Not bad for a country ranked 170^th in size in the 194 independent countries of the world. Furthermore, according to the Chinese, Luxembourg   has two other ingredients to sum it all up, ‘Forest and Fortress’!  Well, that’s how the Chinese translated this little gem of a country when it presented itself at the World Expo in 2010.  

And really it is quite true, the capital ‘Luxembourg City’ is a fortress built on a promontory with a breath taking view of the deep valleys below, surrounded by thick forest. Mix into all the above ingredients, a glass of sparkling or fruity white Moselle wine and a countryside dotted with vineyards (established by the Romans), a very down to Earth Monarchy and some very tasty cuisine and you have, in my book, a perfect recipe for a Traveler or self proclaimed Chef Explorer!

This country is a travelers dream in that you could see it all in a week. I arrived from Germany  hitch hiking from Saarbrucken. We arrived late at night just over the border in a little village called Schengen. I remember it well, because it was so quiet yet picture perfect. Having no where to stay and having the resilience and carefree power of youth, we bedded down for the night in the back of a trailer in somebody’s barn! Since Schengen is a wine producing area in the now famous ‘Moselle Valley’, I am sure there were a few grapes left in the trailer to nibble on for supper!

This little village lies on the border of three countries with France just peeping from the left and the mighty Moselle river forming part of the border with Germany. The next morning we were up early and even managed to hitch right to the capital city, to spend a couple of days exploring it. Although Luxembourg City is not particularly large, it is set on several levels, straddling hills and dropping into the two 70 m gorges. The rivers are spanned by many bridges, including the amazing viaduct known as the famous Passerelle.

Of course, all this Hitching and Hiking gives one a hearty appetite! So we were soon ready to sample the national cuisine and had worked up a thirst that could only be quenched by the local Moselle Wine! So we settled in the village square which was so wonderful we ended up spending the whole afternoon there! For lunch we sampled the tasty smoked Oesling ham from the mountainous north of the country, then got talking to the locals in my school boy French well into the evening, whilst sampling the local ‘Henri Funck’ beer.

We discovered that Luxembourg’s national dish is called ‘Judd mat Gaardebounen’, which is a mouthful in more ways than one! They told us that it is associated with the village of Gostingen where they grow the best Broad Beans. So dinner was ordered, and a plate piled with copious slices of tasty pork, beans, sauce and lashings of creamy boiled potatoes were served up up with yet another glass of Moselle!

Try it yourself and raise a glass of Swan Valley wine to THE capital City of Culture!

Luxembourg Judd mat Gaardebounen        (Braised Collar of Pork with Broad Beans)

Ingredients

1.5 kg boned pork collar or shoulder

1liter of chicken stock

Mirepox=1 carrot, 1 small onion and half a leek

100g onion, diced

3 Bay leaves

50g butter

50 g flour

150g bacon cubes

1 glass of dry white wine (like Moselle)

50 ml cream

200g Cooked Broad Beans (* You can use frozen at the moment)

Chopped Parsley and Thyme

Method

1. I used approx 1.5 kg boned and rolled shoulder. which I more or less gently braised in a deep pan in 1 liter of chicken stock and 500ml of water for 1hour 10 mins approx.
2. Halfway through that braising/simmering time I added the mirepox. This means roughly cut veg to provide flavor to the broth, (but you can cut them into even chunks and serve with the dish if you like) and also add the bay leaves.
3. Add the *wine-dry = 1 glass for the pot and 1 for the chef!
4. When the pork is cooked, remove, cool and slice meat quite thickly, then put back in the pot with the broth & veg to keep moist.
5. Meanwhile, make a sauce from approx 500ml of the broth by lightly browning the bacon and diced onion in the butter in a separate saucepan, and make a lightly brown roux by adding the flour. Cook out a few minutes then cool a little before gradually adding the stock broth.
6. Simmer for 15 minutes then add  the cream and season.
7. Add pre cooked beans to the sauce. It will thicken slightly so you may need to add more broth. Add a handful of parsley and a good pinch of Thyme leaves (traditionally it is the herb Savoury but it hard to get here). Simmer another 10 minutes
8. Warm the pan of meat and veg. Then arrange it all on a big platter, pour over some of the sauce and serve with boiled potatoes.