Read The French Market Cookbook Online

Authors: Clotilde Dusoulier

The French Market Cookbook (7 page)

BOOK: The French Market Cookbook
11.15Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

It was a fine-looking tart, but at the first bite we started to tear up, fiery fumes burning up our sinuses. French mustard can be quite strong, especially when the jar is freshly opened, and the budding cook had been a little overenthusiastic spreading it on. Not wanting to upset our friend, we pretended it was quite all right and sniffled our way through it bravely, but I always think of her when I prepare a tomato tart; I make sure I go easy on the mustard, using it to enhance the tomatoes—not to induce tears.

My grown-up version calls for fresh tomatoes rather than canned and instead of store-bought pastry, I use my trusted Olive Oil Tart Dough, which does a better job of withstanding the juices seeping from the tomatoes.

Olive Oil Tart Dough

1 large organic egg, separated

1¾ pounds / 800 g plum tomatoes

Fine sea salt

1 tablespoon olive oil for cooking

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

2 tablespoons strong Dijon mustard

Handful of fresh basil leaves, purple if available, torn

Freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. / 160°C.

2. Prepare and blind-bake the crust in an 11-to 12-inch / 28 to 30 cm tart pan, brushing it with some of the egg white.

3. Halve the tomatoes, carve out the core, and remove the juice and seeds. (Save them for drinking later, with a bit of salt and olive oil.) Sprinkle the cut sides with salt and place the tomatoes cut-side down in a colander, so more juices will drain out.

4. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onions and ½ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring often to prevent coloring, until the onions are very soft, about 15 minutes. Let cool slightly.

5. Stir the egg yolk, any remaining egg white, and the mustard into the onions and spread over the crust. Arrange the halved tomatoes, cut-side down, over the onion layer. Bake until the tomatoes are cooked through and wrinkled, about 45 minutes.

6. Top with the basil and black pepper. Cut slices with a serrated knife and serve.

FRESH SHELL BEANS AND BARLEY WITH SAGE AND GARLIC

Haricots à écosser et orge à la sauge et à l’ ail

SERVES 4 TO 6

Most cooks are familiar with the humble yet glorious bean in its dried form, but few stop to ponder that it was once fresh. Labeled as cranberry beans, cannellini, or lima beans, these shell beans appear in market stalls in mid-to late summer, sheathed in pods that may be white, green, or streaked with pink. It’s worth seeking them out: they’re quick to shuck and the beans can be cooked without soaking, in much less time than their dried counterparts. They are also sweeter in flavor and their texture is creamy, without ever turning mealy or mushy.

Combined with pearl barley and flavored with fresh sage and garlic, they make a nutritious and satisfying dish that may be served warm or cool, with a little cheese on top if you like. If shell beans are unavailable, or out of season, dried beans can be substituted.

1 cup / 200 g pearl barley

2 cups
300 g shucked fresh shell beans (from about 1 pound
450 g shell beans in the pod) or 1 cup / 200 g dried white or flageolet beans

Olive oil for cooking

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

3 garlic cloves, minced

Fine sea salt

15 fresh sage leaves, minced

Extra-virgin olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper

Aged Parmesan or other hard cheese, cut into shavings with a vegetable peeler (optional)

1. Soak the barley overnight in a large bowl with water to cover by about 1 inch / 2.5 cm. (If using dried beans, soak them the same way in a separate bowl.)

2. The next day, drain and rinse the barley and cook according to package directions until tender but still retaining its shape. (Pearl barley usually needs to simmer in salted water for 25 to 45 minutes, or 15 to 25 minutes in a pressure cooker.)

3. In a separate pot, combine the shell beans and 4 cups / 1 liter cold water. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook, stirring from time to time, until tender, about 20 minutes. (If using dried beans, drain, rinse, and simmer for 45 minutes to 1½ hours, or 25 to 40 minutes in a pressure cooker.)

4. Heat 1 tablespoon cooking olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and a sprinkle of salt, and cook, stirring often, until softened and fragrant, about 4 minutes.

5. Drain the beans and barley and add to the skillet with the sage and 1½ teaspoons salt. Cook for a few minutes, allowing the sage to soften and the flavors to meld. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

6. Add a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, sprinkle with black pepper and cheese (if using), and serve warm, cold, or use as a filling for the Stuffed Vegetables.

pantry gem

DRIED BEANS

I can’t be more emphatic about the benefits of keeping a bag of dried beans in your pantry. They are cheap, tasty, and nutritious, and despite their reputation, they don’t take much effort to cook from scratch—just a little foresight to soak them overnight. If you are willing to invest in a pressure cooker, it will shorten the cooking time significantly; to save even more time, I always make a double batch and freeze the half I don’t need, still in its cooking broth, for later use.

Buy your beans from a source that has a good turnover: although beans have a virtually eternal shelf life, they get tougher over time and will take much longer to cook.

Stuffed Vegetables with Beans and Barley

STUFFED VEGETABLES WITH BEANS AND BARLEY

Petits farcis aux haricots et à l’ orge

SERVES 6

Petits farcis niçois are a traditional recipe from Provence: assorted summer vegetables—tomatoes, onions, zucchini, mini pattypans, and the like—are hollowed out, garnished with a meat-based stuffing, and roasted in the oven. I am quite smitten with the concept of stuffed vegetables; they make for a fun preparation process, and a good-looking dish. But I forgo the classic meat stuffing in favor of grains and legumes, which do a wonderful job of both satisfying the appetite and enhancing the flavors of the vegetable shells they fill.

You could dream up an infinity of worthy fillings; here, I use Fresh Shell Beans and Barley with Sage and Garlic.

6 small red onions (4¼ ounces / 120 g each)

6 small zucchini, round or elongated (4¼ ounces / 120 g each)

6 small round tomatoes (4¼ ounces / 120 g each)

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

5 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted

2 large organic eggs, lightly beaten

Fresh Shell Beans and Barley with Sage and Garlic

Olive oil for cooking

1. Peel the papery outer layer off the onions. Trim the root end by slicing off a thin layer of flesh, just enough to give the onions a flat base to sit on, but maintaining their round shape. Slice off a “hat” at the stem end, and use a melon baller to carve out the insides so they form little round cups to hold the stuffing. (Use the onion flesh you’ve carved out in the fresh shell beans recipe, or save for stock.)

2. If you’re using round zucchini, prepare them in the same fashion, slicing off a hat at the stem end and carving out the insides. If you’re using elongated zucchini, halve them lengthwise and carve to form slender canoes.

3. Slice off a hat from the tops of the tomatoes and carve out their insides. (Save the flesh and juices for eating later, with a bit of salt and olive oil.) Sprinkle the insides with salt and set them upside down on a plate for the excess juices to drain out.

4. Bring salted water to a boil in a large pot. Add the hollowed-out onions and simmer until just tender, about 8 minutes. Lift them out with a slotted spoon and set them upside down in a colander to drain. Add the zucchini hats and onion hats to the pot and simmer until just tender, about 3 minutes. Drain thoroughly.

5. Preheat the oven to 425°F. / 220°C.

6. Arrange the vegetables in a single layer, hollowed-side up, in 1 large or 2 medium baking dishes. Sprinkle with pepper.

7. Stir the pine nuts and eggs into the bean and barley mixture and pack into the vegetables. Place a matching hat on each of the vegetables (except for the elongated zucchini) and drizzle with oil.

8. Bake, basting the vegetables with their own juices (and switching the position of the baking dishes halfway through if you’re using two), until tender and lightly browned, about 40 minutes.

9. Serve hot or just slightly warm.

CORSICAN BELL PEPPER STEW

Pebronata

MAKES ABOUT 2 CUPS / 480 ML

Pebronata is a Corsican stew of bell peppers and tomatoes that is traditionally intended as a sauce for roasted meats but is flavorsome enough to stand on its own two feet. A simple but vibrant preparation, it fares beautifully when served hot over a bowl of rice or pasta, or cold, on a toasted slice of good sourdough bread, with a poached egg and a bit of shaved hard cheese on top. You can also use it as a filling for savory Pebronata Canelés.

Pebronata improves as it sits, so make it a day ahead if you can. If you have leftover red wine from the night before, the stew benefits from a good splash, but I wouldn’t open a bottle just for that purpose.

1 tablespoon olive oil for cooking

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

1 garlic clove, minced

Fine sea salt

3 medium / 540 g red bell peppers, diced

1 teaspoon chopped rosemary, preferably fresh

3 juniper berries, crushed with the side of a chef’s knife

2 plum tomatoes, diced

¼ cup / 60 ml red wine (optional)

Freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, and a pinch of salt, and cook, stirring often to avoid coloring, until softened, 4 minutes.

2. Add the bell peppers, rosemary, and juniper berries. Season with salt, stir, and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook, uncovered, stirring often, until very soft, 20 to 30 minutes.

3. Add the tomatoes along with their seeds and juices and the red wine (if using). Add a little more salt and cook until the tomatoes have melted into the sauce and the juices have reduced, another 10 to 20 minutes.

4. Season generously with black pepper, then taste and adjust the seasoning.

Ratatouille Tian

RATATOUILLE TIAN

Tian ratatouille

SERVES 6

Every French cook I know who went to see the animated film Ratatouille came out of the cinema saying, “Fun movie, but that ratatouille was really a tian,” referring to the sequence when the eponymous dish is served to Anton Ego, the restaurant critic.

The two dishes do have things in common: their region of origin (Provence) and some of the market-fresh produce they call for (tomatoes, zucchini, onions, eggplants). But while the vegetables are cooked in chunks and on the stovetop for a classic ratatouille, it is the tian that introduces those pretty overlapping rows of thinly sliced vegetables and the oven roasting that coaxes them into caramelization.

Named after the earthenware pan it is traditionally baked in, a tian is a gorgeous dish that melds the flavors of the vegetables into a warmly sweet ensemble, perfect for serving with a side of Blanch-Roasted New Potatoes. It tastes even better the next day, reheated or cold, over a bowl of long-grain rice or slipped inside a focaccia sandwich with fresh basil and pine nuts. Note that this dish looks best if the vegetable slices are all approximately the same diameter; so keep that in mind when you’re choosing them at the greenmarket.

Fine sea salt

1⅓ pounds / 600 g small eggplants

3 teaspoons herbes de Provence or a mix of dried thyme, rosemary, basil, and/or oregano

1⅓ pounds / 600 g medium zucchini

1¾ pounds / 800 g plum tomatoes

Olive oil for cooking

2 small yellow onions (4¼ ounces / 120 g each), finely sliced

8 fresh sage leaves, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1. An hour before you plan to cook, salt the eggplants to remove any trace of bitterness: using a mandoline slicer or very sharp knife, cut the eggplants crosswise into ⅛-inch / 3 mm rounds. Put them in a colander, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt, and toss to coat. Let rest for 1 hour to allow some of the moisture to be drawn out of the slices. Pat dry with a clean kitchen towel. Transfer to a bowl and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the herbes de Provence.

2. Cut the zucchini and tomatoes crosswise into ⅛-inch / 3 mm rounds. Place in two separate bowls and sprinkle each with ½ teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon of the herbes de Provence.

3. Preheat the oven to 350° F. / 175° C.

4. Lightly oil an 8 × 10-inch / 20 × 25 cm glass or ceramic baking dish. Scatter the sliced onions evenly over the bottom. Sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt and a touch of olive oil.

5. Arrange a row of overlapping zucchini slices along one side of the dish. Pack them in tightly so that they are almost upright. Sprinkle with a little sage and garlic. Follow with a row of overlapping tomato slices and then a row of eggplant slices, sprinkling each with a little sage and garlic as you go. Repeat the pattern until you’ve filled the dish and used up all the vegetables, packing the rows of vegetables together very tightly. If you have vegetables remaining at the end, slip them among their peers to flesh out the rows that seem to need it.

6. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons olive oil, cover loosely with foil, and bake for 30 minutes.

7. Increase the oven temperature to 425°F. / 220°C. and bake for another 30 minutes.

8. Remove the foil and bake until the vegetables are tender and the tips of the vegetable slices are appealingly browned, about another 30 minutes. Serve hot, at room temperature, or chilled.

PRESERVED LEMONS

Citrons confits

MAKES ONE 1-PINT / 480 ML JAR

Preserving lemons in salt and their own juices for a few weeks makes their rind soften and their flavor deepen. The acidity becomes much tamer and you’re left with a complex pickle, both lemony and sour, that is a popular ingredient in Moroccan cuisine and a fantastic condiment. With it you’ll jazz up vegetable stews and soups; rice, lentil, and couscous dishes; dips, spreads, marinades, and salads, such as Shaved Fennel Salad. You’ll be using the rind, so buy organic lemons.

BOOK: The French Market Cookbook
11.15Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

The Book of Heaven: A Novel by Patricia Storace
A Vampire's Christmas Carol by Karen McCullough
Le Lis et le Lion by Druon,Maurice
Tomorrow-Land by Joseph Tirella
Las Estrellas mi destino by Alfred Bester
Hunters in the Dark by Lawrence Osborne