While I am weeding in the back of the garden, I hear very loud classical music. The orchestra echoes past the large laurel tree in the apple field, down the path towards the garden gate. I follow it to the construction site, where builders are rebuilding stones and boulders into the old barn walls. They have been completely renovated from the bottom up for weeks. Each stone is carefully checked to see where it fits nicely. The men regularly step back, like painters do, to get a better look at their canvas. This way they can see where a large stone should be placed or a few small ones for the perfect rhythm.
Not the usual top 40 thump bursts from their boombox, but a piano concerto. The dog, normally busy and pounced on visitors, immediately calmed down and stretched out in the mound of sand ready to be mixed in the concrete mixer. I stared breathlessly at the quiet, friendly men, who created walls like paintings in the Friday morning sun.
It is always lunch at one o’clock. The men then come to our terrace. They set the table and unpack their cooler boxes and bags. No white rolls, ball, egg, or black pudding with ketchup are unwrapped on the table, but lunch boxes with salads appear, warm stews with lots of vegetables in steaming thermos and large drinking cups with healthy homemade green shakes.
If I offer them a piece of homemade chocolate cake after dinner, they politely decline. They prefer not to eat sugar, a few don’t even eat gluten.
They don’t pour milk into their freshly brewed strong quality coffee, sometimes just a drop of honey. I almost feel guilty when I open a bag of chips at the end of the day, because these construction workers would never eat that unhealthy.
When the floors are poured, everyone digs deep in their pockets for small change to press into the wet cement. According to good Irish custom for luck. Luck! Yes, it is, it would almost make you spiritual. So I baked a savory pie for the hard workers, with lots of vegetables in it. Maybe I’ll also hide a coin – wrapped in baking paper – in it, because you can never have enough luck.
Frangipane with asparagus
350 grams (about 7 sheets) butter puff pastry
1 bunch of green asparagus and bimi, blanched briefly
3 tbsp. whole almonds
for the frangipane
100 grams of butter, at room temperature
1 garlic clove, finely grated
2 eggs, plus 1 yolk
75 grams almond flour
25 grams flour, plus extra
50 grams finely grated Parmesan cheese
Grease a low pie pan with a diameter of 22-24 cm.
Stack the puff pastry sheets and roll them out on a lightly floured work surface into a piece that fits the mold. Press it in and trim the edges neatly. Prick the bottom all over with a fork. Place the mold in the fridge for 30 minutes to get ice cold. This keeps it in shape better during baking. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
Blind bake the cake for 20-25 minutes (= an extra sheet of baking paper pressed into the tin filled with a fake filling such as uncooked rice or dried beans), then remove the blind baking filling and bake the bottom for at least another 10 minutes so that the bottom is also cooked and light. browns. If necessary, cover the edges with aluminum foil.
Set aside. Leave the oven on. Make the frangipane while pre-baking.
Beat the butter with a mixer until light and fluffy, add the garlic and the eggs one at a time until everything is incorporated. Mix the almond flour with the flour and cheese and season with some salt and pepper. Spoon it into the pie crust and spread it evenly over the bottom. Divide the vegetables and the whole almonds on top. Brush the top with the beaten yolk mixed with a drop of water.
Bake for another 35 minutes or until the dough is crispy and the frangipane is golden brown. I served it with a tomato salad, with lots of fresh herbs.
make-up tip
Store in the refrigerator. Never heat puff pastry in the microwave the next day, as this will make the dough very limp and tough. Always serve in a preheated oven or cold. It will keep for a few days in the fridge, but it can also be frozen.