Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 2 (73 page)

4 to 5 Tb strong, Dijon-type prepared mustard

2 or 3 large cloves of garlic, mashed or minced

1 egg, lightly beaten

Salt and pepper

Cook the onions and herbs with 3 tablespoons of the oil in the frying pan for 8 to 10 minutes over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until tender and starting to brown. Stir in the diced peppers and cook, stirring, 4 to 5 minutes more, until peppers are almost tender. Scoop into mixing bowl. Spread both sides of the bread with mustard, film frying pan with ⅛ inch more oil, and brown bread lightly on both sides. Dice the bread and add to the bowl; stir in the garlic, egg, and salt and pepper to taste.

3)
Stuffing the paupiettes

The seasoned beef slices

The stuffing

Toothpicks

Strips of fresh pork fat, blanched bacon, or suet

Assuming that the beef slices are roughly rectangular in shape, choose the neatest of the small sides to be the exposed end of the roll. Divide stuffing in four, spread one part over each slice, leaving an inch of clear meat for the exposed end and ½ inch at the sides. Roll the meat up to enclose the stuffing and secure with 2 or 3 toothpicks.

4)
Browning, braising, and serving the paupiettes

Follow the ingredients and method in the Master Recipe,
Steps 4 through 6
.

OTHER STUFFINGS FOR PAUPIETTES

Farce Niçoise

[Olive and Pimento Stuffing with Garlic and Herbs]

For 4 paupiettes—2 cups

¼ cup stale, not-too-fine crumbs from non-sweetened, homemade-type white bread

2 to 3 Tb wine vinegar

⅔ to ¾ cup (two 2¼-ounce cans) chopped ripe black olives

½ cup (about 3 ounces) canned red pimentos, diced

2 large cloves of garlic, mashed or minced

½ tsp sage

⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Drops of Tabasco sauce

¼ cup (2 ounces) finely minced fresh pork fat or blanched bacon

4 Tb strong, Dijon-type prepared mustard (to spread on
paupiettes
)

Stir the bread crumbs in a small bowl with enough vinegar barely to moisten them; let sit for a few minutes. Stir the olives, pimentos, garlic, sage, and cheese in a mixing bowl. Blend in the moistened crumbs, and season strongly with salt, pepper, and Tabasco. Blend in the minced pork fat or bacon. Just before you are ready to stuff the
paupiettes
, spread topside of meat with mustard, then with the stuffing.

La Farce à l’Ail de Mme. Cassiot

[Rice and Garlic Stuffing with Herbs]

This fine and very simple stuffing for garlic lovers may have either rice or rather coarse stale bread crumbs for a base. If it is bread crumbs, however, they must come from the type of bread that has texture and body, like your own
French bread
. Because the typical store-bought, white, squashy bread disintegrates into mush, we have confined our recipe to rice. If you want crumbs and have the right sort, stir ½ cup beef stock or bouillon into 1½ cups of stale crumbs; let sit 5 minutes, then squeeze crumbs as dry as possible in the corner of a towel.

For 4 paupiettes—2 cups

¾ cup cooked rice

¾ cup fresh pork fat or blanched bacon (6 ounces)

6 to 8 large cloves of garlic, very finely minced

½ tsp thyme or oregano

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

½ tsp salt

⅛ tsp pepper

4 Tb strong Dijon-type prepared mustard

Either put the rice and pork fat or bacon through the coarse blade of a meat grinder, or put rice through a food mill and finely mince the fat or bacon. Stir together in a bowl with the garlic, herbs, salt and pepper. Just before you are ready to stuff
paupiettes
, spread topside of each slice with mustard, then with the stuffing.

  
BOEUF EN DAUBE À LA PROVENÇALE

[Braised Pot Roast of Beef with Wine, Tomatoes, and Provençal Flavorings]

This is a large, whole piece of braising beef larded with strips of ham, marinated in red wine and herbs, and slowly simmered in a lightly thickened mixture of the marinade liquid, beef stock, and tomatoes, which turns into a rich ready-made sauce at the end of the cooking. It is a splendid braising method, and one you can adapt to stews as well as pot roasts, and to duck, goose, lamb, livers, and hearts as well as to beef. Rather than the usual potatoes or pasta and buttered peas or beans, or glazed carrots and onions, and sautéed mushrooms, you could serve the
little white turnips sautéed in butter
, or the
onions stuffed with rice
, and either
the broccoli braised in butter
or one of the
sautéed zucchinis
. A full-bodied red wine is definitely called for here—a Burgundy, a Côtes-du-Rhône, or a Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

TIMING NOTES

Braised beef may be made ready for cooking a day ahead or may be fully cooked a day or two in advance, if need be. Allow yourself enough leeway for the actual braising, however, if you wish to serve soon after it has cooked. Unless you are sure of your meat quality, allow 5 hours from the moment you put it into the oven to the moment you wish to serve. This will give you extra time for tough meat, and leisure for the details of trimming and sauce making.

BEEF CUTS FOR BRAISING WHOLE