A miracle in March

2018-03-09

Before one loses all courage amid the long, dark winter months in the Creuse, a miracle materializes in March. Spring releases the frozen landscape from its icy grip and everything comes to life. In the garden at La Creuzette we witness the early signs of awakening. Crocuses work their way through the cold earth and the chestnut trees carefully unfurl their first leaves. Squirrels scamper up and down the moss-covered oak trunks, at the wood stack the hedgehog family emerges from its winter hibernation, and the cuckoo sings its first song.

During the month of May, we have two exclusive holidays. The Iris Painting / Spring Gardens holiday and the Wellness Week holiday. On both occasions, the essence of the program encircles inner wellness and individual creative realization.

The Iris has been, since the beginning of time, a spellbinding object of veneration and inspiration to artists from ancient Greece to modern-day New York. During this course, where each student receives personal attention, we revisit this ancient beguiling bloom through a series of exciting mediums. This is Louis Jansen van Vuuren’s personal choice for the in-depth artistic process - join him on this extraordinary creative passage.

The Wellness week will have you lose any extra winter weight and start you on a path of healthy eating and living. There will be hands-on demonstrations of our delectable healthy menus. The produce is organic, homegrown and seasonal. Your inner wellbeing will be catered for by expert Yoga and Pilates instructors and you will participate in meditation and art therapy sessions.

Prepare to be transformed forever!

Click here for the full itinerary

Click here for the full itinerary

Serves 4

For the wild garlic emulsion

-200 g wild garlic leaves -2 cups (500 ml) fish stock -100 g butter

For the rolled sole

-1 large courgette -4 large sole fillets -freshly ground salt and pepper -100 g young carrots to serve with the fish -2 cups (500 ml) vegetable stock -150 ml orange juice -spring onions and basil leaves to garnish

Make the wild garlic emulsion

Blanch the garlic leaves for a few seconds in boiling salt water and drain. Heat the fish stock to boiling point and process it with the garlic leaves in a food processor. Return it to the saucepan and stir in the butter. Use a stick blender to pulse the mixture to create an emulsion.

Make the dish

Blanch the courgette in salted water for one minute, drain and refresh in ice water. Use a mandoline to slice the courgette into long thin ribbons. Season the sole with salt and pepper and roll each fillet into a “wheel”. Now roll one ribbon of courgette around each “wheel” of fish and fasten it with a piece of string (or keep the roll in place with a metal ring). Steam lightly for 7-10 minutes.

Peel the carrots and cook in the vegetable stock until just soft. Drain and continue to cook in the orange juice. Season the carrots with salt and pepper.

Dish the garlic emulsion into four deep plates and place the rolled sole fillets on top. Garnish with the orange carrots, basil leaves, and chives.

"Spring drew on... and a greenness grew over those brown beds, which, freshening daily, suggested the thought that Hope traversed them at night, and left each morning brighter traces of her steps." - Charlotte Bronte

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