In the Northern Hemisphere we are enjoying the sunshine and heat of summer. With the better weather we are out in our gardens or balconies and enjoying time with family and friends sharing in good food. For our Southern Hemisphere friends, we hope this blog tides you through to warmer months ahead.

At Luxury Gold you’ll know we are passionate about delicious authentic and local food. But did you also know that we are committed to bringing vegetarian options to the fore on our tours? As part of The Travel Corporation’s 5-year sustainability strategy we have committed to reducing not only our carbon impact but also food waste. As such this blog shares only vegetarian and vegan recipes. It also features recipes with vegetables that are seasonal and that you just might have growing in your outside space. We hope that you will try them and have a meat free barbeque!

Watermelon and Feta Skewers Recipe Here  

Photo by watermelon.org

These skewers are not just beautiful with the contrasting colors of the watermelon and feta but will also cool you down during a warm summer’s day. We love them with a touch of mint added but you can also quickly grill them on the BBQ if you want. The variations are endless!

Beetroot Hummus Recipe Here 

Photo by pretty simple sweet

Can you see a color theme appearing? Once you’ve tried this bright hummus you will never go back to the plain original! The flavors are balanced beautifully in this recipe and what is even better is that you can make it ahead for easy prep. Cut up some vegetables to dip into it or use it as a spread in your burger bun.

Vegan Burgers Recipe Here  

Photo by Jamie Oliver

Speaking of burgers we love Jamie Oliver’s recipe. This easy recipe is vegan, healthy and satisfying. Meat lovers will have nothing to complain about. If you aren’t too keen on some of the spices the base can easily be modified to suit all tastes.

Tomato and Zucchini Tart Recipe Here 

Photo by A beautiful Kitchen

Do you have tomatoes and zucchini growing in your vegetable patch? Have so much produce you’re not sure what to do with it? Well this is the recipe for you! Not only is this tart delicious it looks beautiful and will impress guests. It reminds us of the flavors of France. Feeling inspired to go on vacation? We’re ready for you.

Strawberry shortcake Recipe Here 

Photo by Ricciardo Cuisine

The Luxury Gold team have lots of strawberries ripening and look forward to making this strawberry shortcake. Sometimes less is in fact more and this recipe is just that, a perfectly fresh combination of strawberries, cream and sweet shortcake. This dessert will round off a perfect BBQ!

Pimm’s Cup Recipe Here  

Photo by Pimm’s

We know that any BBQ isn’t complete without a drink and we are sharing our favorite from the UK. Pimm’s was originally blended by James Pimm as an aid to digesting oysters in 1840. It is a gin-based spirit with a fruity flavor. Now it is a signpost of British summertime. Start perfecting your cocktail now in time for Wimbledon!

Watermelon Lemonade Recipe Here  

Photo by BBC Good Food

Remember the introduction of this blog where we spoke about Luxury Gold’s commitment to reducing food waste? This is a recipe that does just that. It reuses the watermelon you’ve used in the skewers to make this fun non-alcoholic cocktail that is simple to make but is a showstopper.

At Luxury Gold our love of food runs deep. On every one of our luxury guided-tours guests are able to enjoy a meal at a critically acclaimed restaurant. Whether it be a meal at Michelin-starred Mamma restaurant in Capri on our Ultimate Italy vacation or Hoshinonaruki in Tokyo on our Majestic Japan guided-tour. Our love and passion for desserts is as formidable as their savory counterparts and in this blog we will be focused on all things pastry!

Origins of Pastry

Pastry as we know it today – in all its crumbly, flaky, buttery glory – is a far cry from where it all began in ancient and classical times. It is believed that the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans all used a filo-type pastry (a simple mix of flour and oil) to create honey cakes, fruit pastries, sweet tarts and dumplings stuffed with dates and nuts. They even added natural sweeteners available to make these delicacies.

The Romans also created a plain paste made up of flour, oil and water which wasn’t created for consumption but to protect meat whilst cooking and as such was discarded.

Medieval masterpieces

In the late Medieval period fuller pastry recipes that resemble the shortcrust and puff versions we are more familiar with today started to appear. In the 14th century, what is believed to be the earliest English language cookbook, refers to chastletes and coffins – early pies and tart cases. To add color to the dough, egg yolk and saffron were commonly used in the 15th century. At a similar time chefs became more daring with their creations and developed the hot water crust pastry and hand-formed game pies that were usually the star of banquets and galas.

Decorated Pies

‘Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie’

Do you remember the nursery rhyme where birds fly out of a pie and sing for guests? You might ask yourself how they did this? In medieval times the crust was thick, and could be baked first, and would rise forming a pot, hence the term “pot pie.” The lid would be removed from the pie, and the birds would then be set inside, the lid put back on, and then this wildly entertaining dish placed before the host of the party.

Enter French Fancies

In the 17th century, pastry-making became increasingly fashionable – British bakers prided themselves on the techniques and elaborate decorations used for their creations and were inspired further by the culinary developments happening across the Channel in France. Puff pastry was supposedly created by French painter and apprentice cook, Claude Gelée, in about 1645, when he accidently created a laminated dough when trying to make a form of rolled butter cake. The addition of butter or lard to pastry led to rich buttery confections that helped grow the popularity of French pastry desserts to the epitome of fine dining. French pastry master, Marie-Antoine Carême (1784–1833), is widely considered to be the first ‘celebrity chef’, bringing pastry into the world of grande cuisine. His creations were elaborate and queues would form to see the windows of his Paris patisserie shop where they would be on display. He later went on to cook for European leaders including Royalty. It was Carême who developed the layered Mille-Feuille, a pastry with a ‘thousand leaves’ which is often filled with cream and fruits.

Modern Day Deliciousness

French Fancies. Photo by Sebastian Coman Photography

Fast forward a couple centuries and ‘French Patisserie’ is still as revered but the trend has truly gone global with thousands of regional variations. Pasty can be found in Michelin-starred restaurants in elaborate and delicate desserts or on picnic blankets in the form of pies or quiches. You can eat pastry for every meal, whether it be a pain au chocolat in the morning, a Cornish pasty for lunch or a fruit cobbler topped with American style drop biscuits after dinner. What the team at Luxury Gold are sure of is that the versatility of pastry needs to be explored with many a taste test!

To whet your appetite, we share some of our favorite ‘French Patisserie’

• Paris Brest Recipe Here

Paris Brest by Serious Eats

The Paris Brest patisserie is a wonderful combination of crisp choux pastry and a praline mousse. It was created upon request from the organizer of the Paris to Brest bicycle race in the early 20th century. Its circular shape represents the wheels of the bicycles racing.

• Mille-Feuille Recipe Here 

Mille Feuille. Photo by Dilyara Garifullina on Unsplash

Mille-Feuille or ‘a thousand leaves’ in French where this delicious dessert comes from is composed of three layers of light as air puff pastry (hence the thousand sheets) filled with a vanilla custard. The modern version has been elevated in lots of different ways including the addition of fruit and chocolate marbling by chefs worldwide.

• Opera Recipe Here  

Opera Cake. Photo by Meilleur du chef

These are easily identifiable next to other French delicacies by their thin and oh-so-pretty layers of almond and coffee soaked sponge, ganache, coffee, buttercream, and topped off in a very glossy chocolate glaze. The Luxury Gold team’s favorites are adorned with gold leaf. 

• Palmiers Recipe Here 

Palmiers. Photo by The Little Epicurian

These will have you thinking of a holiday in no time! Shaped like a palm leaf these cookies are a melt in your mouth treat that combines lots of butter and sugar. Even better they are easy to make at home.

• Tarte Tatin Recipe Here  

Tarte Tartin. Photo by Meilleur du chef

We couldn’t finish a blog about pastry without a nod to the famous Tarte Tatin. This tarte where the fruit is caramelized in butter and sugar prior to baking the pastry was first invented in the Hotel Tatin in the 1880s close to Paris. Legend has it that it was baked upside-down by mistake but still served to guests. Regardless of the origins of this tarte its popularity has spread and you can find different versions in many restaurants and homes.

Fondue

Photo by angela pham on Unsplash

Fondue is Switzerland’s national dish, its name comes from the French word fondre, meaning to melt, and that is exactly what it is! Melted cheese combined with flavorful additions. Fondue was invented out of necessity, when the locals and herders relied only on cheese, wine, and bread to get them through the cold alpine winter. When the cheese made in the summer started to dry out and the bread became hard and stale during the winter months the ingenious locals melted the hard cheese with wine and dipped the stale bread into it.

Now Fondue comes in many different guises and varies from region to region. In Fribourg they use Vacherin cheese, in Neuchatel they use Gruyére and Emmental. You can even get gourmet versions that combine truffles and champagne with the cheese.

Dig into a Fondue on our Majestic Switzerland tour, just don’t drop your bread in the cheese or the drinks round is on you!

Paella

Photo by Kaitlin Dowis on Unsplash

Originally created in Valencia paella is a combination of saffron-flavored rice with a wide array of additional ingredients, such as seafood, vegetables, or meat. Its name is derived from a traditional shallow pan; a paellera or paella. Always served in the pan, this Spanish classic can be found everywhere in the country, in an endless number of combinations.

Why not try to sample different paellas on our Spain and Portugal in Style tour?

Ceviche

Photo by Goya foods

Ceviche is the national dish of Peru consisting of slices of freshly caught raw fish or shellfish that is spiced with salt, onions, and chili peppers, then marinated in lime juice. Due to the acidity of the marinade the meat is ‘cooked’ without any heat and the texture of the fish changes. Traditionally served in specialized ceviche restaurants called cevicherias, ceviche has an aroma of the sea with a slightly spicy and acid flavour. It can be served The flavors of ceviche are slightly acidic and spicy, with an intense aroma of the sea.

Eat authentic ceviche in Peru with us on our Treasures of the Incas Journey!

Tandoori Chicken

Photo by Maunika Gowardhan

Its name derived from the Persian word tannur, meaning fire, Tandoori chicken is one of the most popular dishes in Indian cuisine. This unique dish which is traditionally cooked at high temperatures in a clay over called a tandoor consists of chicken meat that is marinated in yogurt, seasoned with tandoori masala, nutmeg, and cumin, then placed on skewers. The clay oven results in a succulent meat that is crispy on the outside with a smokey flavour.

Eat Tandoori chicken or a dish derived from it Chicken Tikka Masala on our Spirit of North and South India Tour

Ramen

Photo by GoodEats YQR on Unsplash

Ramen is a noodle soup that first appeared in Japan in the early 20th century. Chinese cooks mixed the curly noodles that are bright yellow and more elastic than the noodles prepared at the time in Japan with a salty broth. The dish can be either kotteri (rich) or assari/paitan (light), depending on the opaqueness and the heaviness of the broth. Ramen should be cooked al dente and eaten quickly so that the noodles don’t become too soft and mushy from sitting in the broth. Ramen is now one of the most popular dishes in the world but the original expansion out of Japan was made by Nissin Foods when it produced the first-ever instant version of the noodles.

Enjoy fresh Ramen on our Majestic Japan Journey!