The French Market Cookbook (11 page)

3. Add the potatoes, carrots, turnips, celery, and 1 teaspoon salt. Pour in the stock, cover, and bring to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes at a low simmer.

4. Add the winter squash and zucchini and cook until all the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in two-thirds of the chickpeas and 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil. (The dish may be prepared a day ahead up to this point. Cool completely, transfer to an airtight container, and refrigerate. The next day, reheat to just below simmering.)

5. Shortly before serving, place the couscous in a large heatproof bowl. Stir in 1½ teaspoons salt and 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil. Pour the boiling water over the couscous, cover, and let stand for 10 minutes. Fluff the grains with a fork and transfer to a heated serving dish.

6. Combine the parsley and cilantro in a small serving bowl and place it on the table along with a bowl of the drained raisins, a bowl of the remaining chickpeas, and a ramekin of harissa. Ladle the vegetables and some of the broth onto plates of couscous and let your guests help themselves to the condiments.

RAS EL HANOUT

Ras el hanout is a complex mix of spices that enters into the preparation of many traditional North African dishes. It can include dozens of spices, but its composition depends on where you buy it; the name translates to “head of the shop,” illustrating the pride that is taken in the secret formula that governs the making of this flagship item.

Bottled mixes sold outside of North Africa are often made with just a handful of spices, but an authentic ras el hanout will boast at least two dozen and up to fifty. If you’re unable to find it, prepare a simplified version by grinding together equal amounts of cumin, cinnamon, coriander, ginger, nutmeg, black pepper, and turmeric.

ROLLED BARLEY AND CARROT STIR-FRY

Poêlée de flocons d’ arge et carotte

SERVES 4

An effortless way to increase the variety of grains you eat is to call upon the rolled grain, a multifaceted ingredient and all-around trouper: cheap, nutritious, and versatile. I am never without a bag or two or four of assorted flocons de céréales, as they’re called in French, and I use them in many preparations, from granola to cookies, bread dough to fruit crumbles, and gratins to savory tarts.

I also like to make quick vegetable and grain stir-fries—poêlées in French—such as this one, where carrots and rolled barley are sautéed in a skillet until the barley becomes crisp and golden, with a satisfying chew. Garnished with fresh herbs and chopped walnuts, it is a tasty one-bowl meal that travels well if you want to take it to work for lunch. You can adapt the idea to any grain and vegetable you like: grated root vegetables or winter squash, minced winter greens, chopped mushrooms, or, come warmer days, peas, zucchini, or tomatoes.

2 medium / 250 g carrots, peeled and grated

2 cups / 200 g rolled barley, or other rolled grain

½ medium yellow onion (3 ounces / 85 g), finely chopped

1 teaspoon curry powder (substitute any spice mix you prefer)

2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted

1 cup / 20 g chopped fresh chervil or cilantro leaves

¾ cup / 75 g walnut halves, roughly chopped

1. In a medium bowl, combine the carrots, barley, onion, salt, curry powder, and sesame seeds. Stir in 1 cup / 240 ml water, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour to allow the barley to plump.

2. Heat the 2 teaspoons cooking oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the barley mixture and cook, stirring from time to time, until the barley is golden and crisp in places, about 10 minutes.

3. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil, stir in the chervil and walnuts, and serve.

Mushrooms Stuffed with Plums and Hazelnuts

MUSHROOMS STUFFED WITH PLUMS AND HAZELNUTS

Champignons farcis aux prunes et aux noisettes

SERVES 6

There is something uniquely satisfying about mushrooms, something almost meaty about the potency of their flavor and the juiciness of their chewy texture. I am rather fond of stuffed mushrooms and for that I use either brown mushrooms that are on the bigger side or burger-size portobello mushrooms. This fall filling is a satisfying mix of mushrooms, subtly sweet plums, aromatic lemon zest, crunchy hazelnuts, and verdant parsley. It is the kind of easy yet elegant dish that I’ll serve to friends coming over for dinner, with a side of Blanch-Roasted New Potatoes, and no one ever asks where the meat is.

Plum season tapers out as we get deeper into the fall; if local plums are no longer available when you make this, use cooking apples instead.

6 burger-size portobello mushroom caps (3½ ounces / 100 g each)

1¼ pounds / 560 g brown mushrooms

Olive oil for cooking

Grated zest of 1 organic lemon

Fine sea salt

2 small red onions (4¼ ounces / 120 g each), minced

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

10 ounces / 280 g plums, pitted and chopped

⅔ cup / 65 g hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped

1 cup / 20 g fresh chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves

Freshly ground black pepper

1. Brush all the mushrooms gently with a damp towel to remove any trace of dirt; trim their stems as needed. Arrange the portobello mushroom caps, gill-side up, on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the lemon zest and a little salt.

2. Cut the brown mushrooms into ½-inch / 1 cm dice.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, and ½ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring often to avoid coloring, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the diced mushrooms and ½ teaspoon salt, stir, and cook for 5 minutes. Add the chopped plums and cook until the mushrooms are cooked through and the plums are very soft, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the hazelnuts and half of the parsley. (The filling can be made several hours ahead. Refrigerate in an airtight container.)

4. Preheat the oven to 400°F. / 200°C.

5. Divide the filling among the portobello caps and bake until heated through and slightly browned, 20 minutes.

6. Sprinkle the remaining parsley and some black pepper over the mushrooms and serve.

POITEVIN CABBAGE PARCELS

Farci poitevin

SERVES 4 AS A MAIN DISH OR 6 TO 8 AS A SIDE

Farci poitevin is a traditional dish from the Poitou, a swampy, beautiful, and underexplored region in the West of France. It comprises cabbage leaves stuffed with an egg-and-cream batter made green by an abundance of edible leaves: sorrel, spinach, chard, parsley, but also radish tops, turnip leaves, lettuce, or any other green that’s been growing increasingly impatient in the fridge.

Every Poitou family has its own recipe that it swears is the one and only true farci poitevin, but in all of them the cabbage leaves are held together by a special cloth netting and plunged into simmering stock to cook for a few hours. The finished dish is then sliced into wedges to be served warm or cold. As that netting is hard to find and not much easier to handle, I’ve transformed the process slightly: I either fold the cabbage leaves into individual stuffed parcels to be steamed, or assemble the dish in a loaf pan (or individual ramekins) lined with cabbage leaves to be baked in the oven.

Serve with the sharpest Dijon mustard you can find and a side of Potato and Celery Root Gratin.

8 large Savoy cabbage leaves, with no holes or tears

2 ounces / 55 g sorrel

4½ ounces / 130 g spinach

4½ ounces / 130 g Swiss chard

7 ounces / 200 g leeks, white part only, thinly sliced

1 cup / 20 g chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

3 tablespoons crème fraîche or sour cream

⅔ cup / 85 g all-purpose flour

1½ teaspoons fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1. Bring salted water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Working in batches, add the cabbage leaves and cook to soften, about 4 minutes. Rinse in cold water to stop the cooking, drain carefully and spread out on a kitchen towel to dry. Cut away the hard base of the center ribs so the leaves are pliable, but still offer enough surface area to hold the stuffing.

2. Remove the stems and center ribs of the sorrel, spinach, and Swiss chard and save for the stock box or other use. Make sure the leaves are dry. Gather them into a pile, slice into ½-inch
1 cm strips, and then slice the strips crosswise to form ½-inch
1 cm squares.

3. In a large bowl, combine the chopped greens with the leeks and parsley. Add the eggs and crème fraîche and mix vigorously for a minute or two; the leaves will reduce in volume slightly. Add the flour and salt, season with pepper, and mix again.

TO MAKE INDIVIDUAL CABBAGE PARCELS

Take each cabbage leaf in turn and place it flat on your work surface. Spoon about one-eighth of the stuffing onto the center of the leaf. Gather the sides and ends of the leaf up and over it and secure the leaf into a parcel with one or two toothpicks.

Set up a large steamer. Arrange the filled parcels in the basket of the steamer and steam, tightly covered, for 1 hour (checking the water level from time to time). Serve warm.

TO BAKE INTO A LOAF (OR INDIVIDUAL RAMEKINS)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. / 175°C. and grease a small loaf pan or 6 ramekins.

Line the loaf pan or ramekins with the cabbage leaves in an overlapping pattern, leaving overhang at the top. Pour in the filling and fold the tops of the cabbage leaves back over it. Cover with foil and place the loaf pan (or ramekins) in a baking dish, and pour warm water into the dish so that it is half-full. Bake for 1½ hours. Cut the loaf into slices (or unmold the ramekins) and serve warm. Leftover slices can be sautéed in a skillet to reheat.

Roasted Roots with Gribiche Sauce

ROASTED ROOTS WITH GRIBICHE SAUCE

Racines rôties, sauce gribiche

SERVES 4 TO 6

With the advent of fall comes the gorgeous family of root vegetables: carrots and potatoes, yes, but also beets, parsnips, rutabaga, parsley root, Jerusalem artichokes, celery root—all of them sweet and complex, their flavors subtle, and their flesh oh-so-satisfying.

A good roasting in the oven is the most efficient—and effortless—way to bring out the above qualities. All that’s required is a nice colorful medley of varieties, cut into even-size pieces, and tossed together with oil and spices. In a little under an hour, the chunks are appetizingly browned and caramelized around the edges and they’re ready to be enjoyed like the fall treat that they are, with or without a sauce. Herbed Tahini Sauce makes a nice alternative to the gribiche sauce.

4 teaspoons olive oil for cooking, plus more for the pan

4½ pounds / 2 kg mixed root vegetables

1½ teaspoons fine sea salt

1½ teaspoons cumin seeds

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more to taste

Freshly ground black pepper

Gribiche Sauce

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. / 200°C. and oil a rimmed baking sheet.

2. Trim and peel the root vegetables as needed; I usually leave the skin on potatoes (but brush them well) and young carrots. Cut the vegetables into sticks, about ¾ inch / 2 cm thick and 3 inches / 8 cm long. Depending on the initial shape of the vegetables, you won’t get perfect sticks; just make the pieces uniform in thickness, so they’ll cook at the same rate.

3. Transfer to the baking sheet, drizzle with the olive oil, and sprinkle with the salt, cumin, cayenne, and black pepper. Flip and stir the vegetables until evenly coated. Spread the vegetables on the baking sheet so they’re more or less in a single layer; they shouldn’t be too crowded, or they will steam in their collective moisture and won’t roast properly. Bake, flipping once or twice, until cooked through and appetizingly browned, 40 to 50 minutes.

4. Serve immediately with the gribiche sauce on the side.

BROCCOLI PARMENTIER

Parmentier de brocoli

SERVES 4 TO 6

Hachis parmentier is a traditional French dish of cooked ground meat, usually beef, baked under a thick blanket of mashed potatoes. (While elsewhere it may be known as “shepherd’s pie,” here it is named after Mr. Parmentier, the eighteenth-century French agronomist who popularized spuds for human consumption.) It is a thrifty preparation created to make use of leftovers; at the school cafeteria when I was growing up, roast beef day was unfailingly followed by hachis parmentier day.

Evolving from this classic recipe, parmentier has become a generic term for baked dishes topped with a layer of mashed vegetables. My favorite version is this one, with a mix of rice and lentils at the bottom and mashed broccoli on top. It makes for a comforting weeknight meal and all the ingredients but the cream can be kept on hand in the pantry or freezer.

½ cup / 100 g brown rice

½ cup / 115 g French green lentils

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1⅔ pounds / 760 g broccoli florets (from a 2½-pound / 1 kg head)

⅓ cup / 80 ml heavy cream or unsweetened nondairy cream

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

Freshly grated nutmeg

Hot sauce, for serving (optional)

1. Cook the brown rice and lentils in a large amount of unsalted boiling water, according to package directions. (Brown rice usually cooks in 30 to 45 minutes; lentils in 15 to 30 minutes.) Drain if needed. Add ¾ teaspoon salt, sprinkle with black pepper, and stir to combine. Taste and adjust the seasoning. (This can be prepared up to a day ahead; cool, cover, and refrigerate.) Spread evenly in an 8-inch / 20 cm square baking dish.

2. Preheat the oven to 400°F. / 200°C.

3. Bring salted water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the broccoli without crowding; you may have to work in two batches. Cover, return to a simmer, and cook until soft, 5 to 6 minutes.

4. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Add the cream, garlic, and ¾ teaspoon salt and sprinkle with black pepper and nutmeg. Put the mixture through a potato ricer or food mill to get a smooth purée. Taste and adjust the seasoning.