The French Market Cookbook (17 page)

1. Sort through your dried fruits and separate the moist and sticky ones (prunes, figs, dates) from the leathery ones (pears, apples, mangoes). Place the second group in a heatproof bowl and pour in hot water just to cover. Set aside for 10 minutes to soften and then drain, keeping the soaking water.

2. Chop all the dried fruits into small dice; some may be easier to chop using kitchen shears as opposed to a knife. Combine in a medium bowl with the candied citrus and kirsch. Set aside to soak.

3. Set the 12 almonds aside in a small bowl with just enough water to cover (this prevents them from burning in the oven). Chop the rest of the nuts roughly.

4. Measure the soaking water saved from the dried fruits and add or remove water as needed to get ⅓ cup / 80 ml. In a small saucepan, heat the soaking water to lukewarm (when you dip your finger in, you shouldn’t feel any temperature difference). Add the yeast, and let rest for 10 minutes. After that time, active yeast will form a slightly foamy layer at the surface; if it doesn’t, get a fresh package and try again.

5. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups/260 g of the flour with the salt. Add the yeast and water and stir with a fork or a dough whisk until the dough comes together; add a little more water as needed to get a shaggy but not too tacky dough. Cover and let rest until doubled in volume, 1½ hours.

6. Preheat the oven to 350°F. / 175°C. and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

7. Add the spices and cocoa powder to the fruits and stir to combine. Add the fruit mixture, along with the chopped nuts, chocolate, and remaining flour, to the bread dough. Stir vigorously until completely combined, using a dough whisk or your hands as preferred and adding a little water if necessary. You’ll get a rather messy, sticky dough.

8. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and transfer to the prepared sheet with a spatula, coaxing each into the shape of a football.

9. Gently press 3 soaked almonds along the spine of each loaf. Bake for 20 minutes. Cover loosely with foil and bake until the loaves are slightly puffy and completely set, 30 to 40 minutes more.

10. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

DRIED FRUITS

Despite their name, dried fruits should not be dry, leathery little pucks. They should be wrinkled, yes, but they should feel plump and fleshy when you squeeze them gently. Buy them from a grower who produces the fresh fruit and dries the excess crop, if you can, or from the bulk section of a natural foods store. If you buy them in a package, make sure they contain no additives or preservatives. Buy in small amounts and use within a few months of purchase. If they seem too dry, soak in hot water or tea for a few hours to plump them back up.

ESSENTIALS

Les essentiels

VEGETABLE STOCK

Bouillon de légumes

MAKES 2 QUARTS / 2 LITERS

In my early years as a cook, I resisted the notion of homemade stock with all my might. But so many sources recommended it that I felt I should at least try, and I had to admit it did take my dishes to a whole new level.

It is now my duty to pass on that life lesson; homemade vegetable stock is plenty worth your time. And the effort is, in truth, minimal. Feel free to play with this formula, depending on what you have in the fridge and in the stock box you should keep in your freezer.

1 medium yellow onion (6 ounces / 170 g), roughly chopped (not peeled)

2 medium / 250 g carrots, sliced (not peeled)

2 stalks / 250 g celery, sliced

2 garlic cloves, smashed with the flat of a knife blade

6 black peppercorns, crushed with the flat of a knife blade

1 prune or 1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 bay leaf, fresh or dried

A few sprigs of thyme, fresh or dried

1 sprig of rosemary, fresh or dried

A splash of dry white wine (optional)

1. Heat the oil in a stockpot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, and salt, and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until lightly colored. Add the rest of the ingredients and 2 quarts / 2 liters cold water.

2. Cover, bring to a simmer, and cook for 30 minutes. Set a fine-mesh sieve over a large bowl and use a ladle to transfer the vegetables and stock into the sieve. Drain completely without pressing. Use the stock right away or let cool completely before refrigerating or freezing in airtight containers.

KEEPING A STOCK BOX

Stock can also be flavored with mushrooms and mushroom trimmings, leek greens, fennel and fennel trimmings, onion peels, pea pods, and herb stems, all of which you can collect in a dedicated “stock box” in the freezer whenever you use these vegetables.

YOGURT TART DOUGH

Pâte à tarte au yaourt

MAKES ENOUGH FOR ONE 11-INCH / 28 CM TART

Using a mix of yogurt and butter produces a particularly crisp and flaky crust that makes vegetable tarts feel as rewarding as dessert. It can be made with just all-purpose flour, but sometimes I like to use some buckwheat flour for a malty variation.

1½ cups / 195 g all-purpose flour

½ cup plus 1 tablespoon / 130 g plain all-natural yogurt (not nonfat) or silken tofu

5 tablespoons / 65 g cold high-quality unsalted butter, diced, or ⅓ cup / 80 ml olive oil

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

1. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour to remove any lumps. Form a well in the center and spoon in the yogurt. Add the butter and salt and use a pastry blender, a sturdy fork, or the tips of your fingers to rub the yogurt and butter into the flour. (Alternatively, mix the dough in short pulses in a food processor.)

2. When most of the flour is incorporated and you can no longer see pieces of butter in the dough, turn out onto a clean work surface and knead the dough lightly until it comes together into a ball. Add a little flour or a few drops of water to reach a workable consistency. Flatten it into a thick disk or square, to match the shape of the tart you plan to make. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes or overnight (return to just below room temperature before using).

Buckwheat Variation Use 1 cup / 130 g all-purpose flour plus ½ cup / 65 g buckwheat flour.

OLIVE OIL TART DOUGH

Pâte à tarte à l’ huile d’ olive

MAKES ENOUGH FOR ONE 11-TO 12-INCH / 28 TO 30 CM TART PAN

As much as I love a good short-crust pastry, in recent years I have adopted another way of making savory tart crusts, using olive oil instead of butter.

This dough is even easier to work with than one made with butter; it comes together by hand in minutes, calls for ingredients I always have available, and lets itself be rolled out amenably, thanks to its flexible yet cohesive consistency. It bakes into a lightly crunchy, flavorsome crust that is much less susceptible to sogginess if your filling is on the wet side. It also keeps well—improves, even—from the first day to the next.

I sometimes mix in sesame and poppy seeds for looks and crunch, but dried herbs work well, too, or you can omit these adornments altogether.

¼ cup / 60 ml olive oil for cooking, plus more for the pan

2 cups / 260 g all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted (optional)

1 tablespoon poppy seeds (optional)

1 large organic egg white (optional)

1. Have ready an 11-to 12-inch / 28 to 30 cm tart pan and oil it lightly.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, and seeds (if using). Add the oil, egg, and ¼ cup / 60 ml cold water and mix them in with a fork or dough whisk until absorbed. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead lightly until it comes together into a ball. Add a little more water or flour as necessary.

3. Dust the ball of dough and a rolling pin with flour and roll the dough out into a round large enough to fit the tart pan. Give the dough a quarter turn every time you roll the pin and back, and add a little more flour under and on top of the dough when it seems on the verge of becoming sticky. The trick is to roll it out in quick, assertive gestures to avoid overworking the dough.

4. Transfer the dough to the prepared pan and line it neatly. Trim the excess dough (see Note) and place the pan in the fridge for 30 minutes or up to a day.

5. For use with juicy fillings, brush the crust with egg white, prick with a fork, and bake on its own for 30 minutes in a preheated 325°F. / 160°C. oven before filling. For dryer fillings, you can top the uncooked dough with no prior baking.

note Arrange the trimmings on a greased baking sheet, brush with oil, sprinkle with salt, and bake for 10 minutes at 400°F. / 200°C. for a cook’s snack.

BUCKWHEAT PASTA DOUGH

Pâte à pâtes au sarrasin

SERVES 4 AS A MAIN DISH

As kids, when my sister and I would announce we were bored, my mother would make us a batch of salt dough for modeling. We would sit at the small fold-out table in the kitchen and squeeze and roll and pinch to our hearts’ content.

The memory of these childhood episodes was awakened when I first tried my hand at homemade pasta; pasta dough is a most pleasant dough to handle, silky smooth and wonderfully cooperative, and working with it truly feels like child’s play.

I’ve adopted the formula Michael Ruhlman shares in his seminal book about ratios; two parts egg to three parts flour (by weight) creates the perfect consistency and allows you to try different flours, provided they have enough gluten for the dough to remain pliable. I like to use two-thirds all-purpose flour and one-third buckwheat flour, for a nice flavor complexity.

1¼ cups / 160 g all-purpose flour, plus more as needed

⅔ cup / 80 g buckwheat flour

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

3 large organic eggs (about 5¾ ounces / 160 g weighed without the shell)

1. In a medium bowl, combine the flours and salt. Make a well in the center and break the eggs into it. Using a fork or dough whisk, stir in the eggs.

2. When the dough comes together, turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until soft and smooth, about 8 minutes. (Alternatively, this can be done in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.) The dough should not be tacky; add a little more flour if necessary. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rest for 30 minutes. (You can also prepare it a day in advance, wrap it in plastic, and refrigerate.)

3. Have ready four wooden clothes hangers, horizontal bar wiped clean, dried, and lightly dusted with flour.

4. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Take one piece of dough (keep the others covered) and flatten into an oval disk. Dust lightly with flour.

5. Set the roller of a pasta machine on the widest setting, slip in the disk of dough, and run it through. Fold in half so the two short sides meet and slip it into the roller fold-side first, and run it through again. Repeat until the dough feels supple—this step essentially kneads the dough again—and is a fairly even rectangular shape. If it gets sticky at any point, dust with a little flour.

6. Switch the pasta roller to the next narrower setting and run the dough through to thin it out, just once this time. Repeat with the subsequent settings until you reach the thickness of your choice. (If the dough tears at any point, the kneading step may have been too short; fold the dough back into a small rectangle, and start again from the widest setting.)

7. Dust the sheet of dough lightly with flour, slip onto the bar of one of the prepared hangers, and hang to dry at least 15 minutes, while you work on the remaining pieces of dough.

8. The pasta dough is now ready to be cut, using the blades of the pasta roller to make fettuccine or spaghetti, or by hand to make ravioli and all sorts of hand-cut pasta shapes. You can also use the sheets of dough to make lasagna or cannelloni. Let the cut pasta dry for another 15 minutes before cooking or freezing.

9. To cook fresh pasta, plunge it into a large pot of boiling salted water; if your pot is too small, the pasta may clump up. Stir gently during the first moments of cooking so the pieces don’t stick to the bottom of the pan, then cook for a minute after the pasta rises to the surface. Taste for doneness, drain, and serve. Cook frozen pasta in the same manner, without thawing.

note If buckwheat flour is unavailable, use a scant 2 cups / 240 g all-purpose flour total instead.

pantry gem

BUCKWHEAT FLOUR

Buckwheat flour is traditionally used to make savory crêpes in Brittany, but also blini in Russia and soba noodles in Japan. Its flavor is rather assertive in a nutty kind of way, so it is best used in partnership with a milder flour.

Buckwheat pairs well with carrots, mushrooms, asparagus, berries, and plums, and I love to slip the flour into breads, pasta, cookies, and pancakes. In this book, look for it in Asparagus Buckwheat Tart and Buckwheat and Brussels Sprouts Open Ravioli.

SPELT TART DOUGH

Pâte à tarte à l’ épeautre

MAKES ENOUGH FOR ONE DOUBLE-CRUST 11-INCH / 28 CM PIE

A yeast-raised crust gives vegetable tarts a slightly rustic feel that I find very appealing. Such crusts hold up better to the juices of moist fillings, too, and make tarts easy to transport and eat out of hand for a picnic. This version calls for spelt flour, which I like to use in place of wheat flour for a change of pace.

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons / 280 g spelt flour or all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon active dry yeast

1. In a medium bowl, combine the flour with ½ cup / 120 ml cold water using a dough whisk or fork. Let rest for 30 minutes to allow the flour to absorb the water.

2. In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in 2 tablespoons lukewarm water (when you dip your finger in, you shouldn’t feel any temperature difference) and let rest for 10 minutes. After that time, active yeast will form a slightly foamy layer at the surface; if it doesn’t, get a fresh package and try again. Add to the dough along with the salt and olive oil, and stir to combine.