French Classics Made Easy (38 page)

1 kielbasa or other flavorful sausage, about 2 pounds

Assortment of mustards for serving

1.
In a large stockpot, combine the pork shoulder (or beef tongue), 1 whole carrot, the whole onion, the cloves, head of garlic, celery, bouquet garni, peppercorns, and water and bring to a boil. Simmer uncovered for 1 hour.

2.
Remove the meat and set aside. Strain the broth and discard the solids. Return the broth to the stockpot and add the chicken, pork (or tongue), the cut carrots, quartered onions, turnips, and cabbage. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.

3.
Add the potatoes and sausage and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes more. (The recipe can be prepared to this point in advance. Cool to room temperature, cover, and refrigerate. If making ahead, shorten the cooking time in this step by about 15 minutes. The vegetables will finish cooking when you bring this to a boil before serving.)

4.
To serve: Serve the broth first, followed by platters of carved meats and vegetables accompanied by an assortment of strong, mild, and sweet mustards.

NOTE

You can replace the 4 quartered onions with 32 pearl onions to be added in step 3. Peel the pearl onions, leaving their root ends trimmed but intact so they will not fall apart.

IN ADDITION

Potée
is normally served in large soup plates. The soup or broThis served first, often poured over stale or toasted French bread. The meat and vegetables follow, usually piled high on a single platter, and are eaten on the same soup plates. This is a very informal way of serving, and ideal for friends and family.

CHAPTER THREE
VEGETABLES & OTHER ACCOMPANIMENTS

There is a tradition in classic French cooking, that is still alive today, in which the vegetables served with a main course were an integral part of it. In fact, the name of a dish indicated what those vegetables would be. For example, a dish with Richelieu in its title always contained stuffed tomatoes and mushrooms, braised lettuces, and roast potatoes.

On the home-cooking level this is not necessarily the case. The French do not share the American belief that a main course should be served with a vegetable. The recipes in this section are designed as American-style side dishes, although several are suggested as first courses—which is how the French would treat them.

APPLESAUCE

[COMPOTE DE POMMES]

Although some might wonder what applesauce is doing in a section on vegetables, I have included it here because I use it as an accompaniment to pork, veal, ham, goose, duck, and chicken. I serve the applesauce both warm, as the French do, and cold.

Applesauce is traditionally made by quartering unpeeled apples, cooking them with water to cover, and then pushing the cooked apples through a fine-mesh sieve or food mill, leaving the skins and seeds behind. I prefer to peel and core the apples before cooking them, thus also eliminating the need for a food mill or sieve. Instead of cooking the apples in water, I cook them
à l’étuvée,
simply in their own moisture, until they are soft enough to whisk into a smooth sauce.

I still find myself making applesauce with Golden Delicious apples, but I expect this is simply from my many years of using this variety. Actually any apple you like the taste of will make a good applesauce (see what you can find at your local farmers’ market). But start by making a batch with Goldens, then try the applesauce using other varieties and see what becomes your favorite.

The quantities given here are merely to give you an idea as to how much applesauce you will get from 3 pounds of apples. Obviously, you can make as much or as little as you like. Be sure you use a saucepan with a heavy bottom and tight-fitting lid.

MAKES ABOUT 3½ CUPS

E
ASY
W
AY TO
“Q
UARTER
”
AND
C
ORE
A
PPLES

To “quarter” and core apples for any recipe (for example, Alsatian Fruit Tart,
page 216
), stand the apple on end and cut off two thick slices from either side of the stem. Cut off the remaining two sections from the core. You will be left with a square-cut core and four pieces of apple.

3 pounds apples, peeled, cored, and cut into chunks

Sugar, to taste

1.
Place the apples in a saucepan, cover tightly, and set over very low heat. Within 5 to 10 minutes steam will appear when the lid is lifted. Continue to cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until the apples are soft enough to whisk into a smooth sauce, 15 to 20 minutes.

2.
Taste and add a little sugar, if necessary.

ARTICHOKES BARIGOULE

[ARTICHAUTS BARIGOULE]

Classically, artichokes were most often presented in French restaurants as cooked artichoke bottoms (
fonds d’artichaut
), filled with many different ingredients, such as cooked peas, mushrooms, chicken livers, and even poached eggs. They were then topped with sauce Mornay, hollandaise, or béarnaise. The filled and sauced bottoms were usually used as a garnish to accompany a main course.

Because of the time involved, I rarely serve artichoke bottoms. Instead, my favorite way of serving artichokes is to braise them.

The following recipe is an adaptation of a traditional one from the south of France called
artichauts à la Barigoule,
in which the artichokes are stuffed with ground and seasoned pork before braising.

I have omitted the stuffing because I find eating the artichokes together with the diced braising vegetables and ham much more enjoyable. Serve the artichokes in large, flat soup plates surrounded by the diced ham-vegetable mixture and braising liquid. Place a large bowl on the table for everyone to use to discard their leaves. Pluck the leaves, then dip them into the braising liquid before eating. When all the leaves are gone, eat the delectable bottom with the remaining broth, ham, and vegetable combination.

SERVES 4

4 medium to large artichokes

½ lemon

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 onions, diced

2 carrots, diced

2 ribs celery, diced

¼ pound ham (boiled, baked, or smoked) in one slice (about ¼ inch thick), diced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 small bay leaf

½ teaspoon fresh or dried thyme leaves

⅛ teaspoon salt

⅛ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 cup dry white wine

2 cups beef stock, homemade or canned (see chart,
page 305
)

1.
Wash the artichokes in cold water. Cut off the stems and top third of the leaves. (A serrated knife works best.) Rub the cut areas with the lemon to prevent discoloration. With scissors, trim the thorns from the uncut leaves.

2.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the artichokes and blanch for 10 to 15 minutes to make the choke easy to remove. With a slotted spoon, lift the artichokes out and place them upside down on a plate to cool. When cool, spread the leaves apart and, using a spoon, remove the small center leaves and choke.

3.
In a large Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the diced vegetables and ham and sauté until lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Stir in the garlic, herbs, salt, pepper, wine, and stock.

4.
Place the artichokes bottom side down on the mixture of vegetables and ham and bring the liquid to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until a knife enters the bottom of an artichoke without resistance and the leaves pull off easily, 40 to 50 minutes. (The artichokes can be cooked ahead of time. Allow to cool uncovered, then cover and refrigerate. When ready to serve, heat to a simmer, covered, and serve.)

5.
To serve: Place each artichoke in a large soup plate with some of the vegetables and braising liquid surrounding it. Serve hot.

IN ADDITION

For anyone who has never encountered an artichoke, it is helpful to know a bit about its construction. The edible portion of the artichoke is the fleshy bottom to which all the leaves are attached (each leaf, too, has a small tender and edible portion at its base). Also attached to the artichoke bottom, in its center, is a mass of hairlike fibers called the “choke,” which must be removed (except in baby artichokes). If eaten, the fibers can get caught in the throat. The choke of a cooked artichoke can be easily scooped out with a spoon, although for some more elegant presentations, the choke should be removed before serving so your guests won’t have to worry about it.

SERVING SUGGESTION

To round out a light meal of braised artichokes, just serve a warm baguette, a piece of cheese, and fruit.

ASPARAGUS

[ASPERGES]

The luscious white asparagus of France and Belgium are grown under mounds of earth to prevent them turning green (in much the same way Belgian endive is grown). I can remember in the late ’60s tasting this delicately flavored vegetable for the first time and wondering why we didn’t grow it in the United States. Ten years later Paris restaurants were proudly offering green asparagus on their menus in March. Heralded in the press as the first asparagus of the year, they were arriving from California by air.

Green asparagus, fresh from the garden or farm, are sweet, tender, and delicious. The season is short, so when you find locally grown asparagus in the spring, eat them as often as possible. Although imported asparagus is now available in most areas year-round, always check the label for the country of origin. Out-of-season fresh asparagus may look good on your plate, but if it has taken a long time to get there, the flavor may be disappointing.

SERVES 8

3 pounds asparagus, washed

1.
Cut or break off any dry ends from the asparagus. If the asparagus are larger than pencil thickness, peel the spears to ensure even cooking. To do this, lay them flat on a cutting board to avoid breakage, and, with a vegetable peeler, peel the entire spear from just below the tip. Tie them in eight bundles (this makes it easier to transfer a serving of asparagus from the cooking pot to the plate). If the asparagus are not to be cooked immediately, hold them in cold water.

2.
Bring 5 to 6 quarts of water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the asparagus and cook until the point of a knife penetrates the spear without resistance, 3 to 7 minutes depending on their freshness. (If you are serving the asparagus cold, refresh them in cold water to stop their cooking and to set their color.)

3.
Drain the asparagus on paper towels before placing them on individual plates or a serving platter. If tied, use the string to help lift the asparagus from the water to the towels, and then to the plates where the string should be cut and removed.

IN ADDITION

Asparagus are best when freshly picked from the garden. They are sweet and tender and can be eaten raw. After a few days, however, they lose their natural sweetness, and their outer skin becomes bitter and tough. For this reason I peel all asparagus unless they are pencil thin or come freshly picked from the garden. The cooking time, as for most green vegetables, will depend on their freshness. Taste a piece of the raw asparagus; if it is sweet it will take only a few minutes to cook. If it is bitter, it may take three times as long.

SERVING SUGGESTION

At home I serve asparagus hot as a first course topped with melted butter and a little salt and pepper. On more formal occasions, I serve asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce (
page 326
) or
à la milanaise
(with melted butter and freshly grated Parmesan cheese). Asparagus can also be served warm or chilled with a Vinaigrette (
page 336
) and are good with a mayonnaise or Green Mayonnaise (
page 334
) when accompanying a cold poached fish.

BAKED BEETS

[BETTERAVES AU FOUR]

You can live in France and never know that beets grow in the ground, or have leafy tops, or require long cooking. French markets sell beets fully cooked, ready to peel and eat. In this country, however, this convenience is not afforded the home cook.

Although most cooks boil beets, causing a good deal of the color and flavor of the
vegetable to be lost, I prefer to bake them in the oven. Baking beets enhances both their color and flavor. Once cooked, they can be refrigerated for up to one week and kept for quick use—cold in salads or reheated and served as a hot side dish.

SERVES 6

6 large beets