The French Market Cookbook (6 page)

Red rice is a whole, or partially hulled, rice whose outer husk is dark red rather than the more common brown. It is very nutritious and I enjoy its nutty flavor as much as the color it brings to the plate. I use an organic red rice from the Camargue, a region in the southeast of France that’s wedged between the two arms of the Rhône river as it flows into the Mediterranean, an exceptionally rich and beautiful marshland, popular with flamingos, mosquitoes, and horses that roam around semi-freely.

2 pounds / 900 g haricots verts or thin green beans, trimmed

3 cups
450 g cooked red rice or brown rice, cooled (from about 1 cup
200 g uncooked rice)

⅔ cup / 85 g almonds, toasted and roughly chopped

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

Freshly ground black pepper

1. Set up a steamer. Steam the green beans, tightly covered, until just cooked through but not limp, 7 to 8 minutes. Set aside to cool. The beans can be cooked the day before.

2. In a large salad bowl, whisk together the almond butter, olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, and salt.

3. Add the cooked beans and turn them gently in the dressing to coat. Stir in the rice. Taste and adjust the seasoning. The salad may be made a few hours in advance up to this point. Cover and refrigerate.

4. Just before serving, add the chopped almonds and parsley, sprinkle with black pepper, and toss to combine.

HARICOTS VERTS

Look for slender haricots verts that feel firm to the touch and have no dark or discolored spots. The wispy little tail can be left on; only the stem end needs trimming and it should break off with a snap. Once trimmed, rinsed, and thoroughly dried, green beans can be packed in an airtight bag and placed in the freezer for later use. They can then be boiled or steamed directly, without thawing.

TOASTING NUTS and seeds

The flavor of nuts and seeds is significantly bolstered when they’re toasted. Preheat your oven to 350°F. / 175°C. Spread the nuts (shelled, but whole) or seeds on a baking sheet in a single layer. Roast in the oven, keeping a close eye on them, until golden and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Exact timing depends on the size and moisture content of the nuts or seeds. Alternatively, nuts and seeds can be toasted in a dry skillet over medium heat, shaking the pan regularly; this is more convenient for a small amount, but the result is less even than oven toasting.

Eggplant and Fresh Herb Tabbouleh

EGGPLANT AND FRESH HERB TABBOULEH

Taboulé d’ aubergine aux herbes fraîches

SERVES 8

I have a great fondness for the North African style of making tabbouleh, which calls for couscous rather than the Middle Eastern bulgur wheat, and uses a greater proportion of grain to herb for a more filling salad. The classic taboulé revolves around tomatoes, cucumbers, and mint, but I prefer this eggplant version, spiked with a mix of herbs and a sesame dressing.

Throughout the summer I’ll make salads like this one to serve as my workday lunches, taking advantage of how effortless it is to prepare couscous: I’ll make a big bowl early in the week, and eat my way through it on subsequent days. But this particular tabbouleh is fit for a crowd, too; I always serve it at the party I throw for my birthday every July.

1½ pounds / 680 g small eggplants

Fine sea salt

2 cups (12 ounces / 340 g) whole wheat couscous

1 small red onion (4¼ ounces / 120 g), finely diced

2 cups / 480 ml boiling water

1 tablespoon harissa, homemade or store-bought, or more to taste

¼ cup / 60 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 cup / 30 g sliced fresh mint leaves

1 cup / 30 g sliced fresh basil leaves

1 cup / 30 g chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1. Cut the eggplants into ⅓-inch / 8 mm dice. Put in a colander, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt, toss to coat, and let rest for 1 hour. This will help remove any bitterness. Turn out onto a clean kitchen towel and squeeze gently to absorb the juices.

2. Set up a steamer. Steam the eggplant, tightly covered, until very tender but still holding their shape, about 12 minutes. Set aside to cool. This can be done a day ahead and the eggplants refrigerated.

3. In a large heatproof salad bowl, combine the couscous and onion. Stir in the olive oil and 1 teaspoon salt. Pour the boiling water over the couscous. Cover and let stand until the water is absorbed, about 10 minutes (or according to package directions). Fluff with a fork and set aside to cool.

4. In a small bowl, combine the tahini, harissa, and ½ teaspoon salt. Stir in the lemon juice, 1 teaspoon at a time, making sure it is incorporated before adding the next to prevent curdling. Add 2 tablespoons water and stir until smooth. You want a dressing that’s pourable, but not too thin; add a little more water as necessary. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

5. Pour the dressing over the couscous and toss to combine. Fold in the eggplant and mint, basil, and cilantro. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. The salad will keep for a few days.

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TAHINI

Tahini is made by grinding hulled sesame seeds until they release their oils and turn into an off-white, creamy paste with a nutty flavor and a delicate hint of bitterness. It is used extensively all around the Mediterranean and is the perfect ingredient for thickening sauces and dressings or jazzing up dips and soups. It goes well with apple slices for a snack, too.

You’ll find it in natural foods stores and Middle Eastern markets. All tahinis are not created equal, so it may be worth trying different brands until you find the one you prefer; it should be nutty and delicately sweet, with no harsh bitter notes. Get one that’s all-natural, containing just sesame seeds, and don’t be tempted by “whole” sesame butter made from unhulled seeds; it is more nutritious, but significantly more bitter, too.

Tomato and Tarragon Bread Soup

TOMATO AND TARRAGON BREAD SOUP

Panade de tomate à l’ estragon

SERVES 4 TO 6

We consume a fair amount of bread in my house, and yet I feel I am invariably left with staling end slices no one will eat. It would be unthinkable to throw them out, so I freeze them instead until I have enough to make bread pudding in the winter or this chunky tomato soup in the summer.

Panade is the French word for any peasant-style stew or soup made substantial by the addition of bread (pain and panade share the same root). This one is a rustic preparation of chopped tomatoes cooked in broth with onions and sage. I serve it for dinner in the summer; if there is a slight chill in the night air, it’s especially restorative.

This recipe can only sing as beautifully as the tomatoes you put in it, so use the tastiest field tomatoes possible, in season and ripe, preferably from the farmers’ market. Bonus points if you can mix and match different varieties. I garnish this soup with fresh tarragon, an herb with long, thin leaves whose subtly aniseed-like notes lift the overall flavor by a few notches.

Olive oil for cooking

1 small yellow onion (4¼ ounces / 120 g), finely sliced

2 garlic cloves, 1 minced, 1 halved

10 fresh sage leaves, midveins removed, finely sliced

Fine sea salt

2½ pounds / 1 kg tomatoes, roughly chopped

10 ounces / 280 g stale country or sourdough bread

4 cups / 1 liter Vegetable Stock

Hot sauce

Freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup / 10 g fresh tarragon or basil leaves

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a soup pot over medium heat and add the onion, minced garlic, sage, and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often to avoid coloring, until the onion has softened, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, with their juices and seeds, and 1 teaspoon salt.

2. Cut one-third of the bread into slices about ⅓ inch / 8 mm thick and set aside; you’ll be making croutons with those in a moment. Cut the remaining bread into rough cubes and add them to the pot.

3. Pour in the stock, bring to a simmer, cover, and cook until the tomatoes and bread are very soft, about 30 minutes.

4. Add a few dashes of hot sauce, then taste and adjust the seasoning.

5. Toast the reserved slices of bread and, while still warm, rub both sides with the cut side of the halved garlic clove. Dice into croutons.

6. Ladle the soup into bowls. Sprinkle with black pepper, top with croutons, and sprinkle with tarragon. Serve immediately.

CHICKPEA GALETTE

Socca

SERVES 4

A staple of Nice’s culinary heritage, socca is a thin crêpe made with chickpea flour and baked on giant copper pans in wood-fired ovens. The large round is sliced into smaller pieces that receive a drizzle of olive oil and a shower of black pepper before they’re eaten, hot, with one’s fingers. It would be sacrilegious to use cutlery.

Though the wood-fire smokiness does a lot to contribute to socca’s addictive flavor, those of us who don’t have such an oven can nonetheless make it—or one of its relations—at home. Socca has various siblings around the Mediterranean, such as the Italian cecina and farinata, or the cumin-flavored calentita that Spanish Jews brought with them to North Africa. And although cumin is untraditional in socca, I tried adding some to a batch recently and have never looked back.

Aside from baking socca to serve with a predinner drink, I also make a slightly thicker version to use as a tart base, topped with summertime vegetables, as for the Zucchini and Apricot Socca Tart.

1⅓ cups / 140 g chickpea flour

Freshly ground black pepper

1. In a medium bowl, combine the chickpea flour, salt, cumin, and 3 tablespoons oil. Pour in 1 cup / 240 ml cold water in a slow stream, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. The mixture will be thinner than pancake batter. Cover and let rest for 2 hours at room temperature, or overnight in the fridge.

2. Place a well-seasoned 10-inch
25 cm cast-iron pan in the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F.
200°C.

3. Whisk the batter again. Remove the pan from the oven cautiously (it will be hot) and pour in a good glug of oil, swirling the pan around to coat. Add half of the batter to the pan and swirl to cover the entire surface. Return to the oven and bake until set, 10 to 15 minutes. Switch the oven to the broiler setting and leave the pan in, keeping a close eye on it, until golden brown and crisp at the top, a few minutes more.

4. Turn the socca out onto a plate—you may have to help it out with a thin spatula—and then flip it back onto a cutting board, browned side up. Cut into square servings with a knife or pizza wheel, drizzle with a little more olive oil, sprinkle with black pepper, and serve hot.

5. Repeat with the remaining batter.

TO USE AS A TART BASE

Prepare the batter as instructed above, but add only ¾ cup / 180 ml water. Pour the entire amount of batter into the pan at once and bake until set, 25 to 30 minutes, before switching to the broiler setting for another 10 minutes.

Turn the socca out onto a plate, then flip it back onto a serving dish, and garnish with cooked or raw vegetables.

Variation Sprinkle thinly sliced scallions (white and green parts) on the batter just after pouring into the hot pan.

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CHICKPEA FLOUR

Chickpeas are the poor man’s protein all around the Mediterranean rim, and chickpea flour—also called garbanzo flour, gram flour, or besan—is the key ingredient for making socca in Nice. In Marseille, it is combined with water and cooked like polenta, then cooled and cut into fingers that are fried and sold as panisses from street carts by the old port. Chickpea flour can be added in small quantities to breads and cakes, and it is a component of some gluten-free flour mixes.

Zucchini and Apricot Socca Tart

ZUCCHINI AND APRICOT SOCCA TART

Tarte socca courgette et abricot

SERVES 4 TO 6

When I am able to find young, tender zucchini, be they green or yellow, I like to cut them into slices with my trusty mandoline and use them raw to garnish savory tarts, scattering the paper-thin rounds over it with as little direction as possible, as if I’d dropped a deck of cards. The effect is fresh and pretty.

I build this zucchini tart on a crust inspired by socca, the delicious chickpea flour galette from Nice. On the tart base I spread a layer of fresh apricot compote, whose acidity bolsters the bright sweetness of the raw zucchini slices. It’s an unusual combination but a successful one.

You can serve this in wedges as a first or main course, but it’s just as well received cut into nibble-size pieces and paired with a glass of rosé from Provence.

9 ounces / 250 g apricots or yellow peaches, pitted and diced

1 small / 120 g zucchini

Socca tart base

Flaky sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1. Cook the diced apricots in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, uncovered, until very soft, about 10 minutes. Increase the heat, bring to a simmer, and cook for another 5 minutes to thicken slightly. Set aside to cool completely. You should have about 6 tablespoons of the apricot compote.

2. Using a mandoline slicer or very sharp knife, cut the zucchini into paper-thin slices.

3. Place the socca browned side up on a serving dish and spread with the apricot compote. Scatter the zucchini slices on top and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and the thyme.

4. Cut with a serrated knife and serve.

TOMATO MUSTARD TART

Tarte tomate et moutarde

SERVES 4 TO 6

In my late teens, none of my friends knew much about cooking, but we each had a simple dish or two that we could be trusted to make, mostly savory tarts we baked with prerolled puff pastry from the supermarket. One day, for a birthday dinner, a friend decided to serve a tomato tart. We bought canned tomatoes and a jar of mustard to spread over the crust, as the classic French recipe goes.