The Little Paris Kitchen (29 page)

Preparation time: 5 minutes Cooking time: 30 minutes

Unlike the tartlets on
page 245
, these use a traditional Breton biscuit recipe for the base
*
. It's a great alternative to classic pastry as there's no need to chill or roll out the dough. I like to add some freshly ground black pepper to my meringue. It may sound odd, but the little spicy kick works really well with the acidity of the grapefruit curd.

MAKES 6

For the grapefruit curd:
1 grapefruit • ½ cup sugar • a pinch of salt • 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk • 1 heaped tbsp cornstarch • 4 tbsp soft butter, cubed

For the biscuit base:
5½ tbsp butter, very soft but not melted • 6 tbsp sugar • a generous pinch of salt • finely grated zest of ½ lemon • 2 egg yolks • ¾ cup all-purpose flour • 2 tsp baking powder

For the Italian meringue:
**
½ cup sugar • 2½ tbsp water • 2 egg whites • a pinch of salt • ½ tsp pepper

TO MAKE THE GRAPEFRUIT CURD:
Finely grate the zest of the grapefruit and squeeze the juice. Measure 6 tablespoons juice into a pan and whisk together with the zest, sugar, salt, and eggs over a gentle heat. Sift in the cornstarch and continue to whisk. Don't stop whisking at any point, otherwise the eggs will curdle. Once the curd is as thick as puréed tomatoes and has released a bubble or two, take it off the heat and whisk in the butter a cube at a time. Pour into a bowl and place plastic wrap in direct contact with the curd. Refrigerate for at least an hour (best overnight).

TO MAKE THE BISCUIT BASE:
Preheat the oven to 350°F and butter six 3¼-by-2-inch metal dessert rings. Cream together the butter and sugar with the salt and lemon zest until fluffy and pale in color. Add the egg yolks and continue to beat. Sift the flour and baking powder together, add to the creamed mixture, and continue beating until the dough comes together as a smooth paste. Put the dough into a piping bag fitted with a
⅜
-inch round nozzle.

Pipe the dough into the rings to come about
⅛
inch high, then use a spoon dipped in hot water to level out the pastry. Bake for 12–15 minutes or until golden (but not too dark).
***
Leave to cool for a couple of minutes before running a small sharp knife around the inside of each ring to release the biscuit. Transfer the biscuits to a wire rack (be careful as they're fragile) and leave to cool.

TO MAKE THE ITALIAN MERINGUE:
Put the sugar into a pan with the water and place on a high heat. Bring to the soft-ball stage (245°F on a sugar thermometer), which will take about 10 minutes. To test without a thermometer, drop a tiny bit of sugar syrup into a bowl of very cold water. If it forms a soft sticky ball right away, it is ready.

While waiting for the sugar syrup, start whisking the egg whites with the salt and pepper in a glass or metal bowl. Do not whisk to soft peaks, just a light froth. Once the sugar syrup has reached the soft-ball stage, beat the egg whites on high speed at the same time as pouring the syrup onto them in a thin stream. (Don't pour the syrup over the whisk, but down the side of the bowl.) Continue to whisk for 10 minutes or until the egg whites are glossy and stiff.

Spread the grapefruit curd on top of the biscuits followed by the meringue. Either place under a very hot broiler for a couple of minutes or use a blowtorch to brown. Serve immediately.

*
The bases can be eaten on their own as Breton biscuits. They will keep in an airtight container for up to a week.

**
Pourquoi?
In French
pâtisserie
there are three types of meringue:

French—
The best-known meringue, for which egg whites are simply whisked with sugar. It is also the least stable as the egg whites are not cooked while being whisked. Best baked immediately or the egg whites begin to deflate. Used in desserts like vacherin and Mont Blanc, and eaten on their own (like the ones you see in
pâtisserie
windows).

Swiss—
Egg whites are whisked with sugar over a bain-marie, then taken off and whisked until cool and stiff. This technique ensures that the sugar is completely dissolved and makes a very firm meringue. Used for icing and baked decorations (piped into different shapes such as mushrooms or flowers).

Italian—
Egg whites are whisked while a hot sugar syrup is poured onto them. This cooks the egg whites, making a stable and stiff meringue. Used for topping cakes and desserts and for making macarons. It is best made using a stand mixer or a powerful handheld mixer.

***
Instead of six tartlets you can make one large tart in a 10-inch tart pan. The baking time will be 30–40 minutes.

Preparation time: 1 hour
Resting time: 1 hour
–
overnight
Cooking time: 30 minutes

For me, cheese, wine, and a crusty baguette are the perfect
ménage à trois
. But which cheese? There are more than two hundred different French cheeses to choose from, and it's no wonder that Charles de Gaulle said, “How can anyone govern a nation that has 246 different kinds of cheese?”

It can be quite daunting to know what to choose, but nowadays there are no set rules. You can get away with serving just one excellent cheese rather than three mediocre ones.

In France many cheeses have the AOC
(appellation d'origine contrôlée)
label. This means that the product's origin is protected and strict guidelines are enforced. (Probably the most commonly known AOC is that of Champagne—sparkling wine produced in the Champagne region is the only one to be allowed the name.)

If you are serving more than one cheese, it's best to start with the mildest so that its flavor is not overpowered by a stronger cheese—i.e., on a cheese board, a mild goat's cheese would be the first and a blue cheese the last.

There's an art to everything in France and this applies to cutting cheese as much as anything else. Without getting too technical, a general rule of thumb is that every portion of cheese should include some of the rind (the flavor gets stronger closer to the rind).

When trying to match wine with cheese, it can help to choose a wine produced in the same region as the cheese, e.g., a glass of Calvados (apple liqueur) is a good match with Camembert as they both come from Normandy.

As a general guideline, go by the texture and taste of the cheese rather than the smell. A soft and creamy cheese is equally good with a sweet, soft wine as it is with a tangy acidic wine, whereas strong or salty cheeses normally go best with an acidic wine. Remember, the more mature and salty the cheese, the more aggressive the taste when it is eaten with wine.

The wines listed with the cheeses on the following pages are only suggestions, so don't feel that they are the only ones you can drink with that cheese. At the end of the day, it's all a matter of personal taste.

It's impossible to mention every French cheese, so I've just listed some of the classics that I like and that are easy to find. Should you be lucky enough to have a local
fromagerie
, do try out some of the cheeses that are less well known.

A goat's cheese that is covered with a layer of charcoal. The rind is meant to be eaten and contributes to the overall flavor, which is slightly acidic and salty with a melt-in-the-mouth mildness. It has a delicate hazelnut aftertaste.

Wine:
Sancerre, Pouilly Fumé

This goat's cheese is best eaten after it has matured for a minimum of 2 weeks, when it gets a fine layer of blue and white mold and loses some of its moisture. (Otherwise, according to the French, it's not a real
crottin
.) The older it gets, the more crumbly, hard, and salty it becomes. When slightly warmed, it is delicious with a simple green salad.

Wine:
Sancerre

Produced about 30 miles east of Paris, this cow's milk cheese is a popular choice on Parisian cheese boards. It has a light, straw-colored, and velvety soft rind and is slightly creamier and milder than its Normandy cousin, Camembert. There's also
Brie noir
that is matured for up to a year, making it a lot denser and drier than the regular brie, which is usually matured for 4–6 weeks. The traditional way of eating
Brie noir
is to dip it into your coffee at breakfast.

Wine:
Saint-Julien, Champagne

What Cheddar is for the English, Comté is for the French—probably the most popular hard cheese. The best Comté is sold according to its maturing age of 12 months, 18 months, or 36 months. The 36-month version often develops salt crystals and is similar in strength to Parmesan. Comté is a cheese that can be used for most things, from sandwiches and soufflés to gratins.

Wine:
Côtes du Jura

This cow's milk cheese has a thin blue line running through the middle. It was developed by farmers who had morning milk left over from making Comté and sprinkled it with a layer of ash to protect it. The leftover evening milk was then poured on top, and during the maturing process the charcoal developed into a blue mold, giving the cheese its characteristic look and taste.

Wine:
Crépy (Savoie)

The little village of Camembert in Normandy gives this famous quite pungent, soft cheese its name. The cheese is ripe when it is soft to touch (it shouldn't be firm), has a creamy yellow color, and a light “moldy” smell. There are some Camembert varieties that have their rinds brushed with cider or Calvados.

Wine:
Saint-Émilion (or Calvados)

After Comté, Roquefort comes in second as the most popular cheese for the French. In 1411, the French king Charles VI granted the inhabitants of the village of Roquefort a monopoly on the production of the famous blue cheese. Roquefort can be extremely strong (eat it last if it is on a cheese board with other cheeses), which means a little goes a long way. Due to the slight aggressiveness of the cheese, it is best matched with a sweet wine or one without acidic notes.

Wine:
Sauternes

Marie is the only French friend I know who makes her own jam, sourdough bread, and yogurt. So what better person to ask for a little something to go with cheese? She recommends eating this compote with an aged goat's cheese like
crottin de Chavignol
or a fresh goat's cheese.