Around My French Table (70 page)

MAKES ABOUT 10 SIDE-DISH SERVINGS OR 5 MAIN-COURSE SERVINGS

SERVING
The gratin is best just from the oven or warm, but like a quiche, it can be enjoyed at room temperature. Serve it alongside anything roasted—it's nice with something a little rich like a roast—or have it with a salad and call it supper.

STORING
You really should eat the gratin the day it is made, but if you've got leftovers, cover and refrigerate them, then let them come to room temperature or warm them briefly and gently in the oven or microwave.

BONNE IDÉE
You can replace the bacon with cubes of ham. You can certainly add herbs or spices to the mix—thyme is good, but so is curry. And you can add a companion vegetable—quickly sautéed onions come to mind, but there's no reason not to have the cauliflower share the stage with its more colorful cousin, broccoli.

S
HORTLY AFTER I WAS GIVEN THIS RECIPE,
I started keeping a list of whom I'd made it for—because I loved it so much, I was sure that if I didn't keep track, I'd end up serving the dish to the same people over and over. The idea for it came from my friend Hélène Samuel's sister, Catherine, whose husband grows pumpkins on his farm just outside Lyon. Catherine sent me a charming outline of the recipe, and as soon as I'd baked my first pumpkin, I realized that an outline is about the best you can do with this dish. It's a hollowed-out pumpkin stuffed with bread, cheese, garlic, and cream, and since pumpkins come in unpredictable sizes, cheeses and breads differ, and baking times depend on how long it takes for the pumpkin to get soft enough to pierce with a knife, being precise is impossible.

As Catherine said when she turned this family favorite over to me, "I hope you will put the recipe to good use, knowing that it's destined to evolve . . . and maybe even be improved."

Well, I've certainly been putting it to good use, and it has evolved, although I'm not sure that it's been improved, since every time I make it, it's different, but still wonderful. My guess is that you'll have the same feeling once you start playing around with this "outline." See Bonne Idée for some hints on variations.

And speaking of playing around, you might consider serving this alongside the Thanksgiving turkey or even instead of it—omit the bacon, and you've got a great vegetarian main course.

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment, or find a Dutch oven with a diameter that's just a tiny bit larger than your pumpkin. If you bake the pumpkin in a casserole, it will keep its shape, but it might stick to the casserole, so you'll
have to serve it from the pot—which is an appealingly homey way to serve it. If you bake it on a baking sheet, you can present it freestanding, but maneuvering a heavy stuffed pumpkin with a softened shell isn't so easy. However, since I love the way the unencumbered pumpkin looks in the center of the table, I've always taken my chances with the baked-on-a-sheet method, and so far, I've been lucky.

Using a very sturdy knife—and caution—cut a cap out of the top of the pumpkin (think Halloween jack-o'-lantern). It's easiest to work your knife around the top of the pumpkin at a 45-degree angle. You want to cut off enough of the top to make it easy for you to work inside the pumpkin. Clear away the seeds and strings from the cap and from inside the pumpkin. Season the inside of the pumpkin generously with salt and pepper, and put it on the baking sheet or in the pot.

Toss the bread, cheese, garlic, bacon, and herbs together in a bowl. Season with pepper—you probably have enough salt from the bacon and cheese, but taste to be sure—and pack the mix into the pumpkin. The pumpkin should be well filled—you might have a little too much filling, or you might need to add to it. Stir the cream with the nutmeg and some salt and pepper and pour it into the pumpkin. Again, you might have too much or too little—you don't want the ingredients to swim in cream, but you do want them nicely moistened. (But it's hard to go wrong here.)

Put the cap in place and bake the pumpkin for about 2 hours—check after 90 minutes—or until everything inside the pumpkin is bubbling and the flesh of the pumpkin is tender enough to be pierced easily with the tip of a knife. Because the pumpkin will have exuded liquid, I like to remove the cap during the last 20 minutes or so, so that the liquid can bake away and the top of the stuffing can brown a little.

When the pumpkin is ready, carefully, very carefully—it's heavy, hot, and wobbly—bring it to the table or transfer it to a platter that you'll bring to the table.

MAKES 2 VERY GENEROUS SERVINGS OR 4 MORE GENTEEL SERVINGS

SERVING
You have choices: you can cut wedges of the pumpkin and filling; you can spoon out portions of the filling, making sure to get a generous amount of pumpkin into the spoonful; or you can dig into the pumpkin with a big spoon, pull the pumpkin meat into the filling, and then mix everything up. I'm a fan of the pull-and-mix option. Served in hearty portions followed by a salad, the pumpkin is a perfect cold-weather main course; served in generous spoonfuls or wedges, it's just right alongside the Thanksgiving turkey.

STORING
It's really best to eat this as soon as it's ready. However, if you've got leftovers, you can scoop them out of the pumpkin, mix them up, cover, and chill them; reheat them the next day.

BONNE IDÉE
There are many ways to vary this arts-and-crafts project. Instead of bread, I've filled the pumpkin with cooked rice—when it's baked, it's almost risotto-like. And, with either bread or rice, on different occasions I've added cooked spinach, kale, chard, or peas (the peas came straight from the freezer). I've made it without bacon, and I've also made and loved, loved, loved it with cooked sausage meat; cubes of ham are another good idea. Nuts are a great addition, as are chunks of apple or pear or pieces of chestnut.

T
HE BEST FRENCH LENTILS,
called
lentilles du Puy,
look like members of an entirely different branch of the family that gives us the colorful pale green, yellow, and orange lentils so vital to Indian cooking. In fact, they've been granted A.O.C. (
appellation d'origine contrôlée
) status, the French government's assurance that the product is unique to the area in which it's grown, in this case a section of the Auvergne in central France. The lentils are small, slightly oval, beautifully thin around the edges, elegantly rounded in the center, smooth like river stones, and, depending on how you look at them, dark green or slate gray.

The lentils cook quickly and become tender, not mushy. They don't need to be soaked, but I've found that you get the cleanest flavor when you boil them for a couple of minutes and then give them a rinse before cooking them for real. And although the lentils can be simmered in water, they develop an even deeper flavor when they're cooked in broth.

This is a basic recipe. Once the lentils are tender, you can serve them as a side dish straight from the pot, maybe with just a drizzle of oil—olive oil is a good choice, but nut oils, like walnut or hazelnut, accentuate the lentils' earthiness—and perhaps a splash of vinegar or lemon juice. (Because lentils have such a deep, tied-to-the-earth flavor, they pair perfectly with brighter, zestier, more acidic ingredients.) Or you can season them with a vinaigrette and serve them as a side dish or a salad. Lentil salads are good warm or at room temperature, but no matter the temperature, you should dress them when they're hot, because that's when they absorb a vinaigrette best. For lentil salad recipes, see Bonne Idée and
[>]
.

Put the lentils in a strainer and pick through them, discarding any bits of stone that might have escaped the packers; rinse under cold running water.

Turn the lentils into a medium saucepan, cover them with cold water, bring to a boil, and cook for 2 minutes; spill the lentils out into the strainer. Drain, rinse the lentils again, and rinse out the saucepan.

Press the clove into the onion and toss the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, and bay leaf into the pan. Pour in the broth or water, stir in the lentils, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a steady simmer and cook for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the lentils are almost tender. As the lentils cook, skim off the solids that rise to the top and stir as needed. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the lentils are tender, another 5 to 10 minutes, then pour in the Cognac, if you're using it. Give everything a good stir and another minute over the heat.

Drain the lentils, reserving the cooking liquid if you're going to want to reheat them. Remove the vegetables and either discard them all or discard the clove and bay leaf and finely chop the vegetables, which will be soft but tasty; stir the vegetables back into the lentils if you're using them. Stir in the shallot, if you'd like (I think it adds a lot to the mix).

The lentils are ready to be served now, or set aside and reheated over low heat in the liquid you've reserved, or used in other recipes.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

SERVING
Warm lentils make a terrific side dish—they're particularly good with salmon or simply sautéed or grilled chicken breasts (see Bonne Idée,
[>]
). Cooled and tossed with vinaigrette, they make a very good salad (see Bonne Idée).

STORING
Once cooled, the lentils and their liquid can be packed airtight and kept chilled for up to 3 days. Warm in a covered saucepan over gentle heat.

BONNE IDÉE
Classic Lentil Salad.
While the lentils are cooking, make a vinaigrette by shaking or whisking together 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar, 2 tablespoons walnut or hazelnut oil, 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, and salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Stir into the lentils while they are still warm. If you'd like, finish the salad with a generous amount of chopped fresh parsley. Other good additions include bacon bits; finely diced vegetables—raw, lightly steamed, or quickly sautéed; cheese—goat cheese, soft or crumbly, is particularly good; and yogurt, especially a thick Greek yogurt.