Apricot-Lavender Pork

                 A while back, we hosted a wine tasting for the Alliance Française, featuring wines and dishes from the South of France.  One of the dishes I made was a pork tenderloin with an apricot-lavender compote.  It was adapted from the cookbook “Chocolate and Zucchini,” from Clotilde Dusoulier.  The book, her first cookbook, was named after her very entertaining blogof the same name, posted in both French and English.

                She presented it as a dessert dish, intended to be served over pound cake, or with crisp cookies.  It is delicious that way, but I wanted a sauce for pork tenderloin, so I made a few changes. It was such a hit that when we hosted our monthly dinner club the next weekend, I made it again.  Once again it was deemed delicious.

                Lavender is a very versatile herb but one rarely used in the US, partly, I’m sure, because it’s not easy to find. The only place I know to buy food-grade lavender in Memphis is at Penzeys, on Poplar near Kirby Parkway.  It is sometimes available in hobby stores to be used in sachets or other crafts. You must not cook with that.

                If you are planning an herb garden for this summer, you might consider adding a couple of lavender plants. For culinary purposes, I like the English lavender variety.  It grows well in full sun, and once established, tolerates drought well.  If the winter isn’t too harsh, it will probably even come back next year.  As a bonus, the plants are very attractive. 

You can use the blossoms fresh or dried in a variety of dishes—it is particularly tasty with lamb or pork. Dried blossoms are lovely finely ground and mixed with sugar to be used in butter cookies, cakes or as a sweetener for lemonade.

I served the pork dish with rice pilaf and asparagus that I roasted after drizzling with herbes de Provence infused olive oil that I got from Bazaar, an olive oil and balsamic vinegar shop in Collierville’s Carriage Crossing. I used the same oil to coat the pork.  It gave a subtle herbal flavor that was the perfect complement to the apricot sauce.

 Pork with Provençal Apricot-Lavender Compote

 3 1/2 to 4 pounds pork tenderloin

3 tablespoons herbes de Provence olive oil (or plain olive oil)
Kosher or sea salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small shallot, finely minced (about a heaping tablespoon)
1 tablespoon each white and dark brown sugar
1 pinch kosher or sea salt
1 pound dried apricots
1 cup dry white wine
2 cups water
2 teaspoons dried lavender blossoms. 

               With a small sharp knife, remove the silver skin from the pork tenderloins. Rub with oil and sprinkle lightly with salt.  Allow to rest until ready to roast.  Preheat oven to 450^o.  About 30 minutes before serving, place the pork on a rack in a baking pan.  Roast for 20 minutes, or until the internal temperature is 145^o-150^o.  Remove from the oven and let rest, tented with foil, for five minutes before slicing.

                In a deep skillet, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the shallots and cook until starting to get tender, about 5 minutes.  Add the sugar and let it melt, without stirring, for five minutes.  Add the apricots and stir to coat.  Add the salt, wine and water. Bring to a simmer and cook until the apricots are tender, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the apricots to a bowl. Add the lavender to the liquid and simmer for 5 minutes, until the liquid is slightly reduced.  Return the apricots to the liquid, let simmer another minute or two. 

                To serve, place the pork on warmed plates, top with the apricots and drizzle with the hot liquid. Serve immediately.  Serves 8 to 10. 

 

Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic

We are fortunate to be members of a wine-oriented dinner club with four other couples. We’ve been going for five years now and every dinner seems to out-shine the last. The host couple picks the theme and the others fill in the other courses, each matched to a wine.

Last week we were at the home of Larry and Mimmye Goode, and the theme was wines from the Rhone Valley in France. They told the story of having gone to a small restaurant in Lyon in search of a dish recommended to them, Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic. They were happily surprised later to find mention of the restaurant, Chez Tante Paulette, in a book by Patricia Wells, Food Lovers Guide to France, with the recipe.

This is a classic French dish. I’ve always had it with the garlic stuffed inside a whole chicken that was then roasted, but this was a cut-up chicken, done on top of the stove. It was delicious that way, and quite impressive as Larry brought out the skillet with the flaming cognac.

The garlic turns out meltingly soft and is perfect squeezed out and spread onto the baguette toasts. They served roasted potatoes, but this is such a hearty dish that just a simple green salad would be enough to make a great dinner.

CHICKEN WITH FORTY CLOVES OF GARLIC
3 tbps. olive oil
1 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 chicken (3 to 4 lbs.) cut into serving size pieces
Salt and pepper
About 40 cloves garlic, separated from the head but unpeeled
1 cup dry white wine
8 baguette slices
1 clove garlic, peeled
2 tbsp. cognac or brandy
Chopped parsley for garnish

Heat the oil and butter over high heat, in a skillet large enough to hold the chicken in one layer. Season the chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Brown the chicken well on both sides. Reduce the heat a little. Add the unpeeled garlic, pushing them under the chicken so they will brown. Continue to sauté until the garlic skins are lightly browned, about 10 minutes longer. Add the wine and reduce by about half.

While the chicken is cooking, toast the bread on both sides in a hot oven. Cut the peeled garlic clove in half and rub over both sides of the toasts.

Heat the cognac in a small pan for about 20 seconds. Ignite with a match and pour over the chicken. Cook for an additional few minutes, shaking the pan gently a couple of times.

To serve, put the toasts around the edge of a warmed serving platter. Put the chicken on top and scrape the contents of the skillet over it. Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately. Serves 4.

NOTE: If you don’t have a skillet big enough to hold all the chicken in one layer, divide all ingredients equally between two smaller skillets.

Golden Beet-Avocado Salad

 

A few weeks ago I wrote about Montmartre, a great little French restaurant I found in D.C. It was the sort of neighborhood bistro that you might find in France, with several tables of folks speaking French (always a good sign).

I ordered gazpacho and a salad. The gazpacho was delicious but I really loved the salad. I spoke to the server, Anne, who gave me a little hint as to how it was prepared. It was composed of roasted yellow beets, grape tomatoes, red onion and avocado. It was a very felicitous combination, and I couldn’t wait to make it at home.

Anne said they rubbed the beets with olive oil and roasted them. I’ve always wrapped beets in foil to roast, but found that this method sort of concentrated the natural sweetness of the golden beets.

They sprinkled it with a mixture of chopped fresh herbs; I used cilantro with equal success. And they used grape tomatoes, but in this season, good farmers’ market or home-grown tomatoes would be perfect.

Because of the lemon juice in the dressing, you can keep this for a day or two without having khaki colored avocado. This will make a great side dish to any of your grilled dinners this summer.

MONTMARTRE SALAD

Juice and finely grated zest of 2 lemons
¼ cup good fruity olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
2 ripe but still firm avocados, peeled and cubed
3 golden beets, roasted, peeled and cubed (see note)
¼ cup slivered red onion
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved (or 2 cups diced tomato)
½ cup feta cheese, crumbled
¼ cup minced cilantro, plus a couple of sprigs to garnish

Whisk the lemon juice and zest with the olive oil in a large bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the remaining ingredients and toss just until combined. Let rest for an hour or so for flavors to meld. Serve garnished with additional cilantro sprigs. Serves 6 or so as a side dish.

NOTE: Golden beets are available at Fresh Market. Cut off tops, leaving 1" of stems. Rub with olive oil, put on a baking sheet and roast at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Check to see if a small pointy knife can penetrate easily. If not, roast until it can. Let rest until cool enough to handle, then peel and cube.

A trip down Memory Lane

One of the best parts of owning a food market was going to the Fancy Food Show in New York every summer. It was an opportunity to see new trends, sample new products and find new lines to carry. And to eat meals in restaurants offering cuisines not available in Memphis.

One of my favorites was Chez Jacqueline, just north of Houston (in New York pronounced "how-ston"), above the fashionable area known as Soho (South of Houston). Jacqueline was a charming and extremely outgoing French woman from Provence. I made a point of eating there each trip.

Last spring I went back to New York. It was my first time in several years, and Chez Jacqueline was on my must-do list. Unfortunately, Jacqueline had sold her restaurant, and it seemed to lack the warmth, charm and especially the crowded tables of the one I remembered.

One dish I loved in the old days there was a scallop dish, and I was able to come very close to reproducing it. Recently I had friends coming for dinner and I decided to make it again. It was just as good as I remembered. I used "U-10 dry" sea scallops, which you should be able to order from your market seafood department. Any size sea scallops will do but make sure they are dry, in other words, not processed, injected with a liquid preservative.

The smoky flavor of the chipotle Tabasco is important. Don’t use regular Tabasco. It won’t have that flavor, and is much much hotter than the chipotle variety.

I keep prepared pesto, either purchased or home-made, in the fridge all the time, but you can use 1/4 cup tightly packed fresh basil, pureed with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, to replace it.

I served it with rice pilaf and roasted asparagus. If you make the sauce and rice dish ahead, you can roast the asparagus while finishing the scalllops, so it’s a perfect dish for entertaining. Just don’t forget plenty of crusty bread to soak up the last of the sauce.

SCALLOPS JACQUELINE

Sauce:
¼ cup olive oil
1 large onion, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced
2 tbsp. garlic, finely minced
1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes, with juices
1 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lime juice
2 tbsp. chipotle Tabasco sauce
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 cup basil pesto
1/4 cup golden raisins

To finish:
1 lb. sea scallops
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
Chopped parsley for garnish

Make the sauce: in a large skillet, heat the oil and add the garlic, stirring for about 30 seconds. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until just starting to turn golden. Stir in the tomato and cook another minute or two. Add the orange and lime juices, chipotle Tabasco, cinnamon, basil pesto and raisins. Simmer for about 20 minutes.

When ready to serve, heat a skillet large enough to hold the scallops in one layer. Brush lightly with vegetable oil and add the scallops. Brown quickly, being careful not to overcook.

Reheat the sauce gently and put a pool of it on the plate. Top wit scallops and sprinkle with minced parsley.

Basque Shrimp: A Swimming Success!

A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I went to visit his mother in Philadelphia, PA.  When we are up there, we try to find restaurants with cuisines not available in Memphis.  One evening we googled "tapas restaurant Philadelphia," and at random picked the closest to our hotel, Tinto.  As it turns out, it is owned by the newest American Iron Chef, Jose Garces.  What luck!

We had a wonderful meal of Spanish Basque area small plates.  One of the dishes we most enjoyed was "Lobster with Grapefruit-Vanilla Nage."   Garnished with Spanish smoked paprika croutons (called, in Spanish, "migas"),  it was delicious.

The French culinary term à la nage means "in the swim."  It refers to food, usually seafood, poached in a quickly simmered vegetable broth. called court bouillon, which means "short boil."   It is usually acidulated with vinegar, but at Tinto, grapefruit juice was used instead.  I didn’t think we’d all want to cook up a lobster, but I was pretty sure it would work with shrimp.

 Often in French cuisine the vegetables are served with the broth.  Although it wasn’t done at Tinto, when I served up my third and most successful attempt to my wine dinner group, I did serve the vegetables.

At the wine dinner we had it as a seated first course, but with addition of side dishes of rice pilaf and a salad it would make a light but tasty dinner.

Although it doesn’t take long to do, you can make the broth ahead of time and refrigerate for several days.  Bring up to a simmer for a few minutes before you poach the shrimp.

SHRIMP IN GRAPEFRUIT-VANILLA NAGE

Stock:
2 quarts vegetable stock (see note)
½ head of celery, including leafy greens, cut into 1" pieces, about 2 cups
1 bulb fennel, white and light green parts, sliced ¼" thick, reserving green lacy top for garnish
8 oz baby carrots (half a 1 lb. bag)
2 cups fresh grapefruit juice (must be fresh, not frozen or canned—trust me on this)
1 cup dry white wine
1 tsp. fennel seed, crushed
4 or 5 sprigs fresh thyme
4 bay leaves
1 tbsp. mixed whole peppercorns

To finish:

½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
1-1/2 lb. peeled and deveined shrimp (I used 16-20 per pound size)
4 oz. butter, at room temperature
2 tbsp. heavy cream
1 cup ready made large garlic croutons
1 tbsp. Spanish smoked paprika

Place all the stock ingredients in a non-reactive pan and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes.  Remove bay leaves and thyme stems.
    When ready to serve, add the vanilla and bring to a simmer.  Add the shrimp and simmer until just barely done, depending on the size of the shrimp.
    With a slotted spoon divide the shrimp and vegetables among 8 warm flat soup plates.  To the broth, add the butter and cream.  For best results, use an immersion blender to emulsify the broth with the butter and cream.  If you don’t have an immersion blender, whisk vigorously until well blended.  Even if it doesn’t emulsify totally, it will still be delicious.
In a small bowl, toss the croutons with the smoked paprika.  Ladle hot broth over the shrimp and vegetables, garnish with the croutons and reserved fennel fronds and serve immediately. Serves 8 as a first course, or 4 to 6 as a main course with side dishes.

NOTE:  I use Better Than Bouillon stock pastes, available at most supermarkets, for my vegetable stock.  You can use vegetable bouillon cubes or packaged vegetable stock.  But the BTB will be far better!

A really good, tasty and economical soup!

When someone says "bouillabaisse," what come to most folks’ minds is the traditional fish soup of Marseilles with lots of fish and shellfish involved. But in traditional Provençal (Southern French) cooking, there are several varieties: eel, cod, snail, even chicken, or as in today’s recipe, poached egg.

This is a delicious, fast, easy and economical recipe. This is often known as "poor man’s bouillabaisse." According to Cuisine et Vins de France, a French culinary magazine, it is also known familiarly as "one-eyed bouillabaisse."

You shouldn’t be afraid of poaching the eggs in the soup as long as they are very fresh and you've kept the liquid to a bare simmer. If you are, use oven-proof bowls, put the hot soup in them on a baking sheet. Heat in a 350-degree oven for about 15 minutes, or until the soup has tiny bubbles around the edges. Break the eggs in the soup and by the time you get it to the table, the eggs will be poached to a soft-yolk stage. If you like your egg yolks firm, just leave the bowls in the oven until they’re done to your liking.

In the summer, you would use red-ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced. But this time of year, I use a can of diced tomatoes, well drained, for an excellent result. Keep the juices and add to another soup or to pasta sauce

You can make the soup ahead of time and reheat before adding the eggs, so it would be a perfect dish for a winter brunch or supper.

POACHED EGG BOUILLABAISSE

2 leeks (or one small onion)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 bulb fennel, quartered, cored and very thinly sliced
1 can (14-ounce) diced tomatoes, well drained
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
½ tsp. (loosely packed) saffron (optional)
1 lb waxy potatoes, preferable Yukon gold, peeled and diced
Finely grated zest and juice of one small orange
6 eggs
Fennel fronds, for garnish

Cut off the upper dark green leaves of the leeks and discard. Cut the bulb (including the light green) in half lengthwise, then slice about ¼" thick. (Or peel and dice the onion). Cook with the garlic in the olive oil, in a heavy Dutch oven over medium heat, about 5 minutes. Add the fennel and cook until the onion is soft and translucent, but not browned.
Add the tomatoes, stock, saffron, potatoes, and orange zest and juice. Simmer about 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are done. Reduce the heat so the soup is just barely simmering. One by one, break an egg into a cup and slide into the soup. Cook another 4-5 minutes, or until yolks are done to your liking. Serve immediately, garnished with some of the fennel fronda. Serves 6.

I stopped in Fresh Market the other day for one of those "Berry Mascarpone Coffee Cake" things that I really like, and on the way through the produce department, found these "Easter Egg Radishes." Aren't they pretty?

I had to have them, and took them home to share with a friend. In the classic French style of serving, I had some crusty bread, excellent French butter and a little pot of sea salt. What a nice little mini-feast it was!

Game Day Cassoulet

I have a friend who makes cassoulet (pronounced cass-oo-lay) at least once every winter. I love it and always look forward to it. Native to the southwest part of France, there are many versions. It’s a wonderful dish but very labor intensive, and for a rustic dish, pretty expensive.

It requires duck confit, leg quarters cooked in duck fat for a long time on very low heat. In addition, lamb shanks and French garlic sausages are included in most recipes.

And it’s a lot of work. Anthony Bourdain’s recipe in the “Les Halles Cookbook” gives directions broken down into “Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3” segments.

Well, when I recently wanted to do a similar dish for a brunch with neighbors, Anthony Bourdain wasn’t there (more’s the pity!) and I came up with a much less labor intensive version of my own. If not at all authentic, it sure was good!

I used chicken thighs with the bone in and the skin on. Even if you don’t like to eat the skin, I advise that you leave it on during cooking to keep the meat from drying out. For the sausage I used smoked sausage from the supermarket. A good lamb sausage would make a felicitous substitute; if it isn’t precooked, broil or roast it first, then cut into slices.

This would make a wonderful dish for you NCAA tournament game-watching friends. You can make everything the day before, then assemble in the morning, and bake when you’re ready for it. I made a salad with sliced winter fruit: oranges, pears and apples, with toasted walnuts on a bed of butter lettuce with a black currant vinaigrette dressing. It was the perfect companion to the cassoulet.

 

GAME DAY CASSOULET

1 lb great northern beans

2 tbsp olive oil

8 chicken thighs, bone-in, skin on (about 2 lbs)

12 oz smoked sausage, cut into 1/2" slices

1 large onion, chopped

4 large cloves garlic, minced

3 medium carrots, sliced

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 cup red wine

5 or 6 sprigs fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

6 cups chicken broth

Salt to taste

1 cup fresh breadcrumbs from firm bread

In a large bowl or pan, soak the beans overnight (or at least 8 hours) in water to cover by 2".

In a heavy Dutch oven, heat the olive oil. Add the chicken thighs, skin side down and brown on both sides in two batches. You want them a nice dark golden brown. Remove to a plate. Add the sliced sausage and brown on both sides. Remove and add to the plate with the chicken. Reserve.

Add the onion, garlic and carrot to the pan and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the onion starts to soften and is translucent. Add the tomato paste and stir until all the vegetables are coated with it. Add the wine, thyme and bay leaf and simmer until reduced by about half.

Drain the beans, discarding the soaking liquid. Add them to the vegetable mixture, along with the chicken stock. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and cook at a low simmer until the beans are just tender, about 45 minutes. After 30 minutes, taste the stock and salt if you think it needs it. If you are preparing it in advance, cover and refrigerate the beans in the pot, and the plate with the chicken and sausage.

Preheat the oven to 350. Drain the cooking liquid from the beans and reserve. Pick the thyme stems and bay leaf out of the beans. Put half the beans in a large casserole. Top with the sausage, then the rest of the beans. Nestle the thighs down in the beans, skin side up and exposed. Pour enough of the reserved cooking broth to just cover the beans.

Place the casserole in the oven and lightly rest a sheet of foil on the top. Bake for an hour, adding more of the cooking broth as needed to keep the beans just covered. Remove the foil. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the beans and chicken. Bake for an additional 30 minutes. Serves 8 very generously.

Super scallops!

I am originally from Louisville, KY, and recently have been making frequent trips back on family business. My sister lives in Knoxville, so we try to plan our trips home so that at least one evening we can go out to dinner and catch up with each other.

Louisville is a fabulous restaurant town, and we’ve had our favorite restaurants that we sort of rotate among.

It took Memphis friends Kelly Robinson and Michael Hughes to turn me on to L & N Wine Bar and Bistro. A few weeks ago, my sister and I tracked it down and went for dinner.

We had a wonderful meal, composed of several “small plates.” We accompanied it with wines well chosen by our server from their list of over 100 wines by the glass.

My favorite dish was the scallops. The menu description was “seared diver scallops, basil gnocchi, tomato butter sauce, balsamic reduction.” I liked it so much that I went back alone a few days later to have it again.

You probably know the next part of the story: I had to try to do it myself. My first effort was quite felicitous. I made a sort of beurre rouge sauce with red wine, shallots and diced fresh tomatoes, made the gnocchi myself, and put it all together. It was delicious. But it was a whole lot of cooking time.

I knew that if I wanted to share it with you, I was going to have to make some revisions. So I gave it another shot, and this time it was still quite tasty, with a lot less work. And most of it can be done ahead.

I used purchased plain gnocchi and added a drizzle of basil oil to compensate. I used canned tomatoes, but there is no reason you couldn’t use really good, red ripe tomatoes from the farmers’ market this time of year. Peeled, seeded and diced, they would only take a few minutes of extra cooking for the sauce.

If you remember from earlier scallop recipes I’ve shared, “dry” (unprocessed) scallops are essential to any recipe that calls for browning them. I used U-10 sized (under 10 to a pound).
With a green salad, this has everything you need for a wonderful, but quick and easy, dinner for friends.

ALMOST L & N SCALLOPS

Sauce:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 can (16 ounces) diced tomatoes

Basil Oil:
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup (packed) fresh basil leaves

Balsamic reduction:
1 cup balsamic vinegar, simmered to reduce by half

To finish:
1 1/2 lbs U-10 dry scallops
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 package (16 ounces) potato gnocchi
Fresh basil or parsley, for garnish

Make the sauce: In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic, stir a couple of times, then add the onion. Cook until soft and translucent, stirring occasionally. Dissolve the tomato paste in the red wine and add to the onion. Add the tomatoes and their juices, bring to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring a few times. Salt to taste. Set aside.

For the oil: In a blender or food processor, puree the basil in the oil. Set aside.

When ready to serve, bring a big pot of well-salted water to a brisk boil. Drop in the gnocchi. Cook for about 1 minute after they rise to the top of the water, usually about 3 to 4 minutes in all.

Pat the scallops dry. In a heavy skillet heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the scallops and brown well, 2 to 3 minutes per side, turning once.

Divide the gnocchi among 6 plates. Ladle on most of the sauce (reheated if made ahead). Place the scallops on top and add the rest of the sauce. Drizzle the balsamic reduction over the top. Drizzle the basil oil around the edges and serve immediately. Serves 6.

NOTE: The picture is from the L&N Wine Bar and Bistro website. They topped theirs with crispy threads of deep-fried leek. Pretty , isn't it?

French Summer Picnic Sandwich

In my much younger days, I spent several summers at the University of Montpellier in the south of France. After morning classes, we would all grab a towel and a bathing suit and take a tiny quaint little train out to the beach at Palavas-les-Flots.

Our first stop would be one of the little stands along the beach selling “real” French fries. Piled up and already par-cooked, they would be thrown into a tub of boiling oil and emerge perfectly crispy. A sprinkle of salt and a twist in piece of waxed paper and we’d be on our way to the next little stand, selling drinks and “pan bagnat.”

This sandwich was a staple of ours. The name means “bathed bread,” or “wet bread.” Crusty French bread rounds would be cut in half, a little of the bread pulled out to make room for the filling and wrapped. Then trays would be set on top and weighted, to allow the juices from the tomato, the oil from the tuna, and a bit of vinaigrette to seep into the bread and the rest of the filling.

So when we planned a cooking class titled “Picnic in Provence,” this was the first thing that popped into my mind. We accompanied it with a salad of haricots verts, the tiny French green beans, tossed in a zesty vinaigrette and sprinkled with shaved red onion and fresh basil. Fresh beans from the farmer’s market would be lovely. Just be sure not to overcook them. They should be just barely crisp-tender.

You can make the sandwich on large crusty rounds, as we did, and cut it into wedges, or on smaller individual crusty rolls if you can find them. A regular sandwich bun or roll would get too soggy to work here.

This is a sandwich that definitely needs to be made ahead for the best flavor, making it perfect for a picnic. If you make the salad, don’t put the dressing on until shortly before serving. It wouldn’t affect the flavor, but the vinaigrette makes the bright green beans a sort of olive drab color after a bit.

So gather a few friends and head out to the park with a perfect French picnic!

PAN PAGNAT

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon each salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup good fruity olive oil
1 large crusty bread round
1 can (6 to 7 ounces) tuna packed in olive oil
1 green pepper, cut into very thin strips
1 small red onion, very thinly sliced
2 eggs, hard-cooked and sliced
1 tablespoon capers, drained
1/4 cup sliced black olives
1 large red ripe tomato, thickly sliced
4 anchovy filets (optional, if you hate them)
1 large handful arugula or baby greens

In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper. Whisk in the olive oil until emulsified. Set aside.

Cut the bread in half horizontally and scoop out some of the insides. Brush the bottom with a bit of the dressing. Layer ingredients as listed, drizzling the remaining dressing on top of it all. Place the top on the bread and wrap tightly in foil or plastic wrap.

Traditionally, this is weighted—a cookie sheet with a couple of cans on it will work well—f or a couple of hours, and not refrigerated. If keeping longer than a couple of hours, refrigerate, then let come back to room temperature before serving if possible.

To serve, cut the bread round into quarters or sixths, as desired.

DRESSING FOR GREEN BEAN SALAD

1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 generous tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon each ground cumin, ground coriander and ground ginger
1/2 cup good fruity extra-virgin olive oil

Whisk the vinegar, mustard and seasonings together. Add the oil a little at a time, whisking until well emulsified.

Summer in the South of France

 

A while back, I was once again the guest of my friends Reed Malkin and Diane Benson for a small dinner party. Well, actually small refers only to the guest list, because when you’ve been to their house for dinner, you never go home hungry.

The dinner was inspired by the cuisine of Provence, in the South of France. Our apéritif was served outside, and was a perfect way to start a Southern French dinner: vin d’orange and gougères, a sort of savory cheese puff filled with black olives, anchovies and sundried tomatoes.

They had brought the wine back from a trip to Provence, but I remembered that the mother of one of my French friends used to make her own and had given me her recipe. And it occurs to me that if you start now, you can have a wonderful beverage to bestow upon special friends during the holiday season!

Recipes for the wine vary widely but most call for “bitter oranges,” which, to my knowledge, are not available locally. You can remedy this by adding the peel of one lime. Use the thin-skinned oranges, not the thick-skinned navel oranges. Wash them well before proceeding.

Some recipes call for a dry rose instead of the white. Some call for a stick of cinnamon to be added to the mixture. It’s your call on both.

The cheese puffs can be made a bit ahead and reheated, so they are a perfect way to start a meal that might require a lot of your attention.

VIN D’ORANGE

Peels from 10 oranges, left overnight to dry slightly
Peels from one lime, left overnight to dry slightly
8 cups dry fruity white wine (Sauvignon Blanc or Semillon works nicely)
2 cups sugar
2 cups vodka
1 vanilla bean

Mix everything in a large glass or ceramic container. Cover and store in a dark cool place for about a month, stirring every day for the first week, then occasionally thereafter. At the end of the month, strain the wine through several thicknesses of cheesecloth. Fill small bottles and cork or cap them. Let set in a cool spot for at least another month before opening. Serve well chilled. Makes about six 375 ml. (about 8 ounce) bottles.

GOUGERES DU MIDI

Pastry:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup water
5 tablespoons butter, cut into small chunks
1 generous pinch of salt
4 eggs

1/4 cup Gruyère cheese, shredded
4 anchovy filets, drained and finely minced
1 tbsp finely minced black olives
3 oil-packed sundried tomatoes, drained and finely minced
1 clove garlic, very finely minced

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Sift the flour and set aside. In a deep saucepan, place the water, butter and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and add the flour all at once, stirring quickly to avoid lumps. Continue stirring until the mixture forms a ball that pulls away from the sides of the pan, scraping into the corners of the pan. Transfer to a bowl and let cool for 8 to 10 minutes.

Add the eggs one at a time, stirring briskly to blend completely before adding the next. Fold in the remaining ingredients. Using a spoon to help form them, make balls about 1” in diameter and space them 2” apart on the baking sheets.

Bake in the center of the oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Turn off the oven, open the oven door and let the puffs remain in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

If preparing a bit ahead, cool on racks, then place back on parchment covered baking sheet to reheat. Makes about 30 puffs.

Vegetable Shepherd's Pie?

 I was at a business networking luncheon not long ago. In the post-meeting mingling, a friend mentioned that her daughter had recently become a vegetarian and she just didn’t know how to cook for her.

That seems to be pretty popular among young folks nowadays, who don’t always consider the necessity of planning healthy balanced meals. A vegetarian diet can be a healthy one, but I had one young employee who thought a lot of salads and the occasional cheese pizza would sustain her. She wound up one sick little lady.

If you are a regular reader of my columns, you know I’m definitely not a vegetarian, but I thought it was an interesting challenge.

There’s a dish in France called “hachis parmentier.” It’s sort of the equivalent of shepherd’s pie: seasoned chopped meat topped with mashed potatoes and baked. In France anything “parmentier” involves potatoes. You may remember the salmon parmentier we did a few months back (and wasn’t that a yummy dish!).

That seemed to be a good starting place. I sautéed some vegetables, and added quinoa. It’s an ancient grain that is very nourishing and adapts to a lot of different cuisines. As a bonus it has a nice little mouth crunch.

So I tossed the vegetable-quinoa mixture into a casserole and topped it with seasoned mashed potatoes. It looks like a long recipe, but it goes very quickly. It was totally an experiment, and with a tossed salad with some feta cheese and toasted pine nuts included, made a lovely meal.

Not one of the Monday night tasting group asked “Where’s the meat?!?!”

PARMENTIER AUX LEGUMES

For the bottom layer:
1/2 cup quinoa
2 medium carrots, peeled and very thinly sliced
1/4 cup good fruity olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium red onion, coarsely chopped
3 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 cups cabbage, finely shredded
2 small zucchini, thinly sliced
1 bunch fresh kale or spinach, stalks removed, shredded
1 can diced tomatoes, with Italian seasoning

For the top layer:
2 lbs russet or Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 medium carrot, peeled and shredded or finely chopped
1/4 cup heavy cream, crème fraîche or sour cream
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup fine dried bread crumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan, asiago or gruyère cheese
2 tablespoons minced parsley

In a medium saucepan, simmer the quinoa in 1 cup lightly salted water until tender. This will take 15-20 minutes. It should absorb pretty much all the liquid. Add the sliced carrot after about 10 minutes. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat the oil. Add the garlic, stir a couple of times, then add the onion, celery, bell pepper and cabbage. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until just barely tender, about 10 minutes. Add the zucchini and kale and continue to cook, stirring frequently, another five minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the quinoa-carrot mixture and turn into a casserole greased with olive oil. Scatter the tomatoes and their liquid over the top.

Meanwhile, in a large pan of well-salted boiling water, cook the potatoes and carrot until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain well and mash together. Add the cream, and season to taste.

Spread on top of the vegetable mixture, making sure to completely cover all the way to the edges. Mix together the crumbs, cheese and parsley and sprinkle evenly over the top.

Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven until heated through and the top is golden, about 30 minutes. If you want a crispier top crust, you could run it under the broiler for a few minutes. Serves 6 to 8.

NOTES: 1) You can make this ahead and leave out, covered, for an hour or two. Or do it up to a day ahead and chill, but bring out of the fridge at least an hour before baking.

2) If you would rather not buy a whole cabbage and shred it, you could use bagged cole slaw mix from the produce section. That’s what I did.

3) I think I would love this with diced roasted butternut squash in place of the zucchini. Or beets.