CAROTTES ÉTUVÉES AU BEURRE[Carrots Braised in Butter]
This is the basic recipe for cooked carrots; they may be served with a sprinkling of parsley, simmered in cream, mixed with other vegetables, or puréed.
For 6 people
A heavy-bottomed, 2-quart, enameled saucepan
1½ lbs. carrots, peeled, and sliced or quartered (about 5½ cups)
1 Tb granulated sugar (to develop their flavor)
1½ cups water
1½ Tb butter
½ tsp salt
Pinch of pepper
In the saucepan, bring the carrots to the boil with the sugar, water, butter, and salt. Cover and boil slowly for 30 to 40 minutes or until the carrots are tender and the liquid has evaporated. Correct seasoning.
(*) If they are not to be served at once, set aside uncovered and reheat when needed.
1½ lbs. carrots braised in butter
2 Tb softened butter
2 Tb minced parsley, chervil and chives, or parsley only
A hot vegetable dish
Just before serving and off heat, toss the carrots with the butter and herbs. Turn into a hot vegetable dish.
Bring the cream to a boil in a saucepan and pour in enough to cover the carrots. Boil slowly, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes or until the cream has been almost entirely absorbed by the carrots. Correct seasoning.
2 Tb softened butter
2 Tb minced parsley, chervil and chives, or parsley only
A hot vegetable dish
Just before serving and off heat, gently toss the butter and herbs into the carrots. Turn into a hot vegetable dish.
[Braised Carrots with Artichoke Bottoms and Mushrooms]
½ lb. quartered fresh mushrooms
1 Tb oil
1½ Tb butter
Salt and pepper
In a skillet, sauté the mushrooms in hot oil and butter for 4 to 5 minutes until very lightly browned. Season with salt and pepper.
2 Tb minced shallots or green onions
3 or 4 cooked fresh artichoke bottoms cut into quarters (or cooked frozen artichoke hearts)
1½ lbs. carrots braised in butter
Stir the shallots or onions and the cooked fresh artichoke bottoms into the mushrooms and toss for 2 to 3 minutes over moderately high heat. (If you are using frozen artichoke hearts, cook them separately, then add them directly to the carrots.) Fold or toss the artichoke hearts and mushrooms into the carrots.
⅓ cup good brown stock or canned beef bouillon
Salt and pepper
A hot vegetable dish
2 Tb minced parsley, chervil, and chives, or parsley only
Pour the stock or bouillon into the vegetables. Cover and boil slowly for 4 to 5 minutes until the stock has almost completely evaporated. Correct seasoning.
Turn into a hot vegetable dish and sprinkle with the herbs.
Glazed carrots receive the same type of cooking process as braised carrots; the only difference is that they are cooked in stock instead of water, and more butter and sugar are used so that the liquid reduces to a syrupy glaze in the bottom of the pan. Just before serving, the carrots are rolled about in the syrup so each piece is shiny with glaze.
For 6 people
1½ lbs. carrots, peeled, quartered and cut into 2-inch lengths (5½ cups)
A 2½-quart, heavy-bottomed, enameled saucepan with cover
1½ cups good brown stock or canned beef bouillon
2 Tb granulated sugar
Pinch of pepper
6 Tb butter
Salt and pepper
Boil the carrots slowly in the covered saucepan with the stock or bouillon, sugar, pepper, and butter for 30 to 40 minutes until the carrots are tender and the liquid has reduced to a syrupy glaze. Correct seasoning.
A hot vegetable dish
2 Tb very finely minced parsley
Reheat just before serving and roll the carrots gently in the pan to coat them with syrup. Turn into a hot vegetable dish or arrange them around your roast, and sprinkle with parsley.
[Carrots Vichy]
The recipe for carrots Vichy is exactly the same as that for the preceding glazed carrots except that in place of stock you would use bottled Vichy water (or plain bottled water with a pinch of soda). The assumption is that pure noncalcareous bottled water produces a more delicate carrot.
This hearty dish of carrots goes nicely with red meats, pork, sausages, or plain roast chicken. It can also constitute a meatless main-course dish.
For 6 people
1½ lbs. carrots, peeled and cut into ¼-inch slices (5½ cups)
½ lb. (1½ cups) sliced onions
4 Tb olive oil
A 2½-quart, heavy-bottomed, enameled saucepan with cover
Cook the carrots, onions, and olive oil slowly in the covered saucepan, tossing occasionally, for about 30 minutes. The vegetables should be tender but not browned.
A large clove mashed garlic
Add the garlic for the last 5 minutes of cooking.
1 Tb flour
Toss the vegetables with the flour and cook 3 minutes more.
¾ cup boiling brown stock or canned beef bouillon
¾ cup boiling milk
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp granulated sugar
Pinch of nutmeg
Off heat, fold in the boiling stock or bouillon, then the milk, and finally the seasonings. Simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes or until the liquid has reduced to about a third of its volume and has thickened into a light cream. Correct seasoning.
2 egg yolks blended with 4 Tb whipping cream
A rubber spatula
A hot vegetable dish
2 Tb minced parsley
Off heat and just before serving, use the spatula to fold in the egg yolks and cream. Shake and swirl saucepan over low heat until the egg yolks have thickened but be careful not to bring them near the simmer or they may coagulate. Turn into a hot vegetable dish and sprinkle with parsley.
It is hard to imagine a civilization without onions; in one form or another their flavor blends into almost everything in the meal except the dessert. We shall concentrate here on the small, whole, cooked, white onions which are so often called for as a vegetable garnish. When they are used in stews and fricassees it is generally advisable that they be cooked separately so you are sure they will be tender and retain their shape.
AMOUNT TO BUY
One pound of small onions will serve 3 or 4 people if they constitute a principal vegetable dish. If they are used as a garnish or in a mixture with other vegetables, count on 3 or 4 small onions per person.
PREPARATION FOR COOKING
The quickest, neatest, and least tearful way to peel small white onions is to drop them into a saucepan of rapidly boiling water and leave them for 5 to 10 seconds, just long enough for their skins to loosen. Drain. Run cold water over them. Trim off the top and bottom portions, removing only a little bit so as not to disturb the onion layers. Then slip off the outside skin and the first onion layer with your fingers. Pierce a cross in the root ends so that the onions will cook evenly without bursting.
If the onions are old and very strongly flavored, or if for digestive reasons you wish to make them milder, drop them into boiling, salted water and boil slowly for 5 minutes before proceeding with a recipe.
To remove onion flavor from your hands, wash them in cold water, rub them with salt, rinse again in cold water, then wash in soap and warm water.
OIGNONS GLACÉS À BLANCWhite-braised onions may be served as they are, or they may be simmered for a moment in a good cream sauce. Use them also as a garnish for fricassees or blanquettes.
For 18 to 24 peeled white onions about 1 inch in diameter:
A heavy-bottomed, enameled saucepan or skillet which will just hold the onions in one layer
½ cup white stock, canned chicken broth, dry white wine, or water
2 Tb butter
Salt and pepper to taste
A small herb bouquet: 2 parsley sprigs, ⅛ tsp thyme, and ⅓ bay leaf tied in cheesecloth
Place the onions in the saucepan or skillet with the liquid, butter, seasonings, and herb bouquet. Cover and simmer very slowly, rolling the onions in the saucepan from time to time, for 40 to 50 minutes. The onions should not color, and should be perfectly tender yet retain their shape. If all the liquid evaporates during the cooking, add more by spoonfuls as necessary. Remove herb bouquet.
(*) May be cooked several hours in advance, reheated, and served as in the following suggestions.
[Parslied Onions]
These go particularly well with chicken, veal, or fish in cream sauce.
2 Tb softened butter
A warm vegetable dish
2 Tb minced parsley
Just before serving the onions, correct seasoning. Off heat, roll them with the softened butter. Turn into a warm vegetable dish and sprinkle with parsley.
Serve creamed onions with roast veal, chicken, or turkey, chops, steaks, or hamburgers, sautéed veal, chicken, or liver.
(For 2 lbs. of white-braised onions, serving 6 people.)
2 cups sauce crème (béchamel with cream)
Salt and pepper
1 to 2 Tb softened butter
2 Tb minced parsley
A hot vegetable dish
Fold the cream sauce into the braised onions and simmer for 5 minutes. Correct seasoning. Off heat, fold in the butter. Turn into a hot vegetable dish and sprinkle with parsley.
OIGNONS GLACÉS À BRUNBrown-braised onions are used whenever you wish a brown effect, such as in brown fricassees like coq au vin and boeuf bourguignon, or in a mixture with other vegetables.
For 18 to 24 peeled white onions about 1 inch in diameter:
1½ Tb butter
1½ Tb oil
A 9- to 10-inch enameled skillet
When the butter and oil are bubbling in the skillet, add the onions and sauté over moderate heat for about 10 minutes, rolling the onions about so they will brown as evenly as possible. Be careful not to break their skins. You cannot expect to brown them uniformly.
½ cup of brown stock, canned beef bouillon, dry white wine, red wine, or water
Salt and pepper to taste
A medium herb bouquet: 4 parsley sprigs, ½ bay leaf, and ¼ tsp thyme tied in cheesecloth
Then either braise them as follows:
Pour in the liquid, season to taste, and add the herb bouquet. Cover and simmer slowly for 40 to 50 minutes until the onions are perfectly tender but retain their shape, and the liquid has evaporated. Remove herb bouquet. Serve them as they are, or follow one of the suggestions at the end of the recipe.
Or bake them as follows:
Transfer the onions and their sautéing fat to a shallow baking dish or casserole just large enough to hold them in one layer. Set uncovered in upper third of a preheated 350-degree oven for 40 to 50 minutes, turning them over once or twice. They should be very tender, retain their shape, and be a nice golden brown. Remove herb bouquet. Serve them as they are or according to one of the following suggestions.
(*) The onions may be cooked hours in advance, and reheated before serving.
[Parslied Onions]
1 to 2 Tb softened butter
A hot vegetable dish
1 Tb minced parsley
Roll the hot onions gently in the butter. Turn into a hot vegetable dish or place them around your roast, and sprinkle with parsley.
[Vegetable Mixtures]
Braised onions go nicely mixed with other vegetables such as glazed carrots, sautéed mushrooms, artichoke hearts, and sautéed potatoes.
All the brands of canned “small boiled onions” we have tried have tasted, to us, rather unpleasantly sweetish and overacidulated; they also need more cooking to make them tender. However they are so useful in an emergency that we offer the following treatment which improves them considerably.
For each No. 2 can of small boiled onions (¼ lbs. or 2½ cups):
2 Tb butter
¼ cup stock, canned beef bouillon, or mushroom broth
Salt and pepper to taste
A small herb bouquet: 2 parsley sprigs, ⅓ bay leaf, and ¼ tsp thyme tied in cheesecloth
Drain the onions. Drop them into boiling water, bring back to the boil and boil 1 minute. Drain. This removes some of the canned taste. Then simmer them slowly in a covered saucepan for 10 to 15 minutes with the butter, stock, seasonings, and herb bouquet until they are very tender and the liquid has evaporated.
[Braised Rice and Onions]
This is a savory mixture of sliced onions, rice, and butter cooked slowly together until they melt into a purée. The natural moisture of the onions is sufficient to cook the rice; no other liquid is needed. Soubise is particularly good with veal or chicken, or boiled leg of lamb à l’anglaise. It may be turned into a sauce soubise by puréeing it with a sauce béchamel or velouté and enriching it with cream.
For 6 people
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
½ cup rice
4 quarts rapidly boiling water
1½ Tb salt
Drop the rice into the boiling salted water and boil for 5 minutes exactly. Drain immediately.
4 Tb butter
A 3-quart, fireproof casserole
2 lbs. (6 to 7 cups) thinly sliced yellow onions
½ tsp salt
⅛ tsp pepper
Salt and pepper
When the butter is foaming in the casserole, stir in the onions. As soon as they are well coated with butter, stir in the rice and seasonings. Cover and cook very slowly in the 300-degree oven for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally. The rice and onions should become very tender and will usually turn a light golden yellow. Correct seasoning.
(*) May be cooked several hours in advance and reheated later.
¼ cup whipping cream
¼ cup grated Swiss cheese
2 Tb softened butter
A hot vegetable dish
1 Tb minced parsley
Just before serving, stir in the cream and cheese, and then the butter. Taste again for seasoning. Turn into a hot vegetable dish and sprinkle with parsley.
The turnip is a wonderful vegetable when given the treatment required to bring out its delicious qualities. It wants and needs to absorb butter or meat fats, which is why turnips are particularly succulent when finished off in a stew or a braised dish, or in the juices of roasting meat. In France rutabagas, or yellow turnips, are practically unheard of as food for humans, but they may be used interchangeably with white turnips.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
The full flavor of turnips goes well with pork, sausages, ham, goose, and duck.
AMOUNT TO BUY
One pound of turnips without tops will serve 3 or 4 people. A pound of raw sliced or quartered turnips measures about 3½ cups.
PREPARATION FOR COOKING
Small, tender, early-crop turnips, usually sold in bunches with their tops attached, are trimmed, peeled, and set to cook with no preliminary blanching. The older and stronger winter turnips and rutabagas, always sold without tops, are peeled fairly deeply with a knife, and are cut into slices or quarters. Quarters may be trimmed into neat ovals the shape of large garlic cloves, called in French tourner en gousses or en olives. Any turnips which are woody or fibrous should be discarded.
PRELIMINARY BLANCHING
After peeling and cutting winter turnips or rutabagas, place them in a saucepan with salted water to cover them by 2 inches, bring to the boil and boil for 3 to 5 minutes or until they are partially tender. Drain them. This removes some of their overly strong taste. The following recipes are based on winter turnips; omit the blanching step if your turnips are young and tender.
NAVETS À L’ÉTUVÉE[Turnips Braised in Butter]
Braised turnips may be served by themselves or combined with other vegetables. Their final cooking may be done around a roast or in a braised dish or a fricassee.
For 6 people
2 lbs. turnips, peeled and quartered (7 to 8 cups)
A heavy-bottomed, 3-quart, enameled saucepan
2 Tb butter
1 to 1½ cups stock, canned beef or chicken bouillon, or water
Salt and pepper to taste
Blanch the turnips for 3 to 5 minutes in boiling salted water to cover. Drain, and place them in the saucepan with the butter and enough liquid barely to cover them. Season lightly. Cover and boil slowly for 20 to 30 minutes or until they are tender but retain their shape. If the liquid has not evaporated, uncover and boil it off. Correct seasoning.
(*) May be cooked several hours in advance of serving.
[Parslied Turnips]
2 Tb softened butter
Optional: Drops of lemon juice to taste
2 Tb minced parsley
A hot vegetable dish
Just before serving, toss the hot turnips gently with the butter, optional lemon juice, and parsley. Turn into the vegetable dish.
[Turnip and Potato Purée]
Serve this purée with roast turkey, duck, goose, ham, pork, or pork chops or sausages.
For 6 people
7 to 8 cups turnips braised in butter (the preceding master recipe)
4 Tb softened butter
Salt and pepper
A hot vegetable dish
2 Tb minced parsley
Purée the turnips and beat them into the mashed potatoes. Beat the purée in a saucepan over moderate heat to evaporate moisture and to heat thoroughly. Off heat and just before serving, beat in the butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Turn into a hot vegetable dish and sprinkle with parsley.
NAVETS GLACÉS À BRUN[Glazed Turnips]
Glazed turnips are used to garnish a roast, or may be served as a separate vegetable. It is essentially the same procedure as that for braised turnips, except they are browned before being simmered, and are cooked with sugar and more butter to reduce the liquid to a glaze.
For 6 people
2 lbs. turnips, peeled and quartered (7 to 8 cups)
Blanch the turnips for 3 to 5 minutes in boiling salted water to cover. Drain, and dry them in a towel.
A 10- to 12-inch enameled skillet
2 Tb butter and 2 Tb oil, or 4 Tb rendered fresh pork or goose fat
1 to 1½ cups stock or canned beef bouillon
Sauté the turnips in hot butter and oil, or in fat, for 3 to 4 minutes to brown them lightly. Pour in enough stock or bouillon barely to cover them. Add the butter and sugar. Cover and boil slowly for 20 to 30 minutes or until the turnips are tender but retain their shape. Correct seasoning.
2 Tb butter
3 Tb granulated sugar
(*) When cooked in advance, set aside uncovered. Before serving, add a tablespoon of water, if necessary, and reheat in covered saucepan.
A hot vegetable dish
2 Tb very finely minced parsley
If the liquid has not reduced to a syrupy glaze, uncover and boil it down rapidly. Gently toss the turnips to coat them with the glaze. Turn them into a hot vegetable dish or heap them around your roast, and sprinkle with parsley.
[Turnip Casserole]
People who disdain the turnip almost invariably revise their opinion after tasting this dish. It goes admirably with roast pork, beef, duck, goose, turkey, ham, or grilled sausages. (Yellow turnips or rutabagas do well here.)
For 6 to 8 people
2½ lbs. turnips, peeled and cut into quarters (8 to 9 cups)
Blanch the turnips for 3 to 5 minutes in boiling salted water to cover. Drain.
Remove the rind and cut the bacon into ¼-inch dice, making about ⅔ cup. Simmer for 10 minutes in a quart of water. Drain.
A 3-quart, fireproof casserole about 2 inches deep
1 Tb butter
⅔ cup finely diced onions
Sauté the bacon in the butter for several minutes until very lightly browned. Stir in the onions, cover, and cook slowly for 5 minutes without browning the onions.
1 Tb flour
Blend in the flour and cook slowly for 2 minutes.
¾ cup stock or canned beef bouillon
¼ tsp sugar
Salt and pepper
¼ tsp sage
Off heat, blend in the stock or bouillon, seasonings to taste, and the sage. Simmer for a moment, then fold in the turnips. Cover and simmer slowly for 20 to 30 minutes or until the turnips are tender. If sauce is too liquid, uncover and boil slowly for several minutes until it has reduced and thickened. Correct seasoning.
(*) May be cooked several hours in advance and reheated later.
2 Tb minced parsley
Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
The braising of lettuce, celery, endive, or leeks requires a relatively long, slow cooking, usually of an hour and a half or more, before the desired interchange of flavors between the vegetable and its braising medium can take place. It is this culinary osmosis which gives them the delicious flavor they should always have. Any one of these vegetables may be braised, set aside uncovered to cool, then covered and reheated several hours or even a day later.
[Braised Lettuce]
Plain boiled lettuce is dreadfully uninteresting, but lettuce braised slowly in stock and herbs is a marvelous dish. It goes well with roast veal, roast beef, and roast chicken. It can also be combined with other vegetables such as grilled tomatoes and sautéed potatoes to garnish a meat platter.
Boston lettuce, chicory, and escarole are all equally good for braising. Count on one 6- to 8-inch head per person.
For 6 people
6 heads of lettuce, 6 to 8 inches in diameter
Trim the stems of the lettuce and remove wilted leaves. Two at a time, hold each head by its stem and plunge up and down gently in cold water to remove all traces of sand.
A large kettle containing 7 to 8 quarts of boiling water
1½ tsp salt per quart of water
Salt and pepper
Plunge three of the heads in the boiling salted water. Bring rapidly back to the boil and boil slowly, uncovered, for 3 to 5 minutes until the heads have wilted. Remove and plunge for 2 to 3 minutes in a large basin of cold water. Repeat with the remaining lettuce. A head at a time, squeeze gently but firmly in both hands to eliminate as much water as you can. Slice each head in half lengthwise. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Fold in half crosswise and shape with your hands to make fat triangles.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
6 thick slices of bacon
A 4-inch square of bacon rind
Simmer the bacon and rind in a quart of water for 10 minutes. Drain, rinse in cold water, and dry.
A 12-inch, fireproof, covered casserole
½ cup sliced onions
½ cup sliced carrots
3 Tb butter
In the casserole cook the onions and carrots slowly with the butter until tender but not browned. Push them to the sides of the casserole and arrange the lettuce triangles in the bottom, closely pressed against each other. Spread part of the vegetables over the lettuce, then the bacon and bacon rind.
About 2 cups good beef stock or canned beef bouillon, plus, if you wish, ½ cup dry white wine or dry white vermouth
A medium herb bouquet: 4 parsley sprigs, ¼ tsp thyme, and ½ bay leaf tied in cheesecloth
A round of buttered paper
Pour in enough liquid barely to cover the lettuce. Add the herb bouquet. Bring to the simmer on top of the stove. Place the buttered paper over the lettuce, cover the casserole, and set in lower third of preheated oven. Regulate heat so lettuce simmers slowly for 1½ hours.
Remove the lettuce to the serving dish and keep it warm. Quickly boil down the braising liquid until it has reduced to a syrup (about ½ cup).
2 Tb butter
2 to 3 Tb minced parsley
Off heat, swirl the butter into the sauce, then strain it over the lettuce, sprinkle with parsley and serve.
(*) If done in advance, do not sauce the lettuce until the last moment. Boil down the braising liquid and strain it into a saucepan. Reheat the lettuce by covering with buttered foil and setting it for about 15 minutes in a 350-degree oven. Just before serving, butter the sauce and pour it over the lettuce.
Except for slight differences at the beginning and at the end, celery is braised in the same way as lettuce, so we shall not give it a full recipe. Serve braised celery with chops, steaks, roast beef, turkey, goose, duck, pork, or lamb.
For 6 people
6 bunches of tender, practically stringless celery about 2 inches in diameter
A kettle containing 7 to 8 quarts boiling water
1½ tsp salt per quart of
water White string
Trim the roots, and cut off the tops to make each celery bunch 6 to 7 inches long. Wash thoroughly, using warm water if necessary: spread the stalks apart gently while running water all the way down to the root to remove all grit. Drop into the boiling, salted water and boil slowly for 15 minutes. Drain. Plunge for 2 to 3 minutes in a basin of cold water. Drain, and gently extract as much water as possible by pressing each bunch in a towel. Tie each with 2 or 3 loops of white string to keep the stalks in place while braising.
The same ingredients as for braised lettuce (preceding recipe)
A lightly buttered baking or serving dish
Following the method for the preceding braised lettuce, arrange the celery in a casserole or baking dish large enough to hold it in one layer. Cover with blanched bacon strips and cooked vegetables. Add the wine and enough stock just to cover the celery. Season lightly and add the herb bouquet. Cover, bring to the simmer, and bake for 1½ hours in a 350-degree oven. Then uncover the casserole, raise oven heat to 400 degrees, and bake 30 minutes more, basting 2 or 3 times, until the celery has browned lightly. Drain the celery, remove strings, cut bunches in half lengthwise, and arrange in dish. Cover and keep warm if to be served immediately.
Strain the braising liquid into a saucepan and boil it down rapidly until it has reduced to 1 cup. Off heat, beat in the starch mixture. Simmer for 3 to 4 minutes. Correct seasoning.
2 Tb softened butter
2 Tb minced parsley
Off heat and just before serving, beat the butter into the sauce. Pour it over the hot celery and sprinkle with parsley.
(*) May be cooked ahead; see preceding recipe for braised lettuce.
Degrease the braising liquid thoroughly before you reduce it. Omit the starch and the enrichment butter.
[Braised Celeriac—Celery Root]
Celeriac, a delicious winter vegetable, is not nearly as common in American markets as it should be. Besides braising it in stock as in the following recipe, you may treat it exactly like the turnips on this page, cooking it slowly in a small amount of liquid, butter, and seasonings, and serving it with butter and parsley, or puréed with mashed potatoes. Celeriac may accompany roast goose, duck, pork, ham, or turkey.
For 6 people
2 lbs. celeriac
Peel the celeriac and cut it into slices ½ inch thick; you will have 7 to 8 cups. Drop it into a saucepan with boiling salted water to cover, and boil slowly for 5 minutes. Drain.
A ¼-lb chunk of bacon, rind removed
Cut the bacon into ¼-inch dice; you will have about ⅔ cup. Simmer 10 minutes in a quart of water. Drain.
⅔ cup minced onions
1 Tb butter
A 3-quart, fireproof casserole
1 to 1½ cups brown stock or canned beef bouillon
Optional: ½ cup dry white wine or dry white vermouth in place of ½ cup stock
Salt and pepper
Cook the onions, and bacon in butter slowly in the casserole for 10 minutes without browning. Arrange the celeriac in the casserole and spread the onions and bacon over it. Pour in enough liquid barely to cover the celeriac. Season lightly.
A round of buttered aluminum foil
A bulb baster
2 Tb minced parsley
Bring to the simmer on top of the stove. Cover loosely with the foil. Set in upper third of preheated oven and bake for about 1 hour, basting 2 or 3 times with a bulb baster. The celeriac is done when it is very tender, has browned lightly, and the liquid has almost evaporated. Serve sprinkled with parsley.
ENDIVES À LA FLAMANDEIt is too bad Belgian endive is so expensive in this country, as it is one of the better winter vegetables. The plain butter-braise is, in our opinion, the most delicious way of cooking endive. It emerges a beautiful light golden color and its characteristic flavor is enhanced by its slow absorption of the butter. Endive goes particularly well with veal.
For 6 people
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
12 firm, medium-sized endives with tightly closed leaves
Trim the base of the endives. Discard any withered leaves. Wash one by one rapidly under running cold water. Drain.
Smear 1½ tablespoons butter in the casserole. Lay the endives in it in two layers. Sprinkle each layer with salt and lemon juice, and dot with butter. Pour in the water. Cover and boil slowly for 10 minutes. Uncover and boil rapidly for about 10 minutes or until liquid is reduced to 2 or 3 tablespoons.
A round of buttered paper
EITHER:
2 Tb minced parsley
A hot vegetable dish
OR:
A shallow baking dish
2 Tb melted butter
2 Tb minced parsley
Lay the paper over the endives, cover the casserole, and bake in middle level of preheated oven for 1 hour. Remove casserole cover but leave paper in place, and bake 30 minutes more or until endives are a nice golden yellow. Either arrange the endives in a hot vegetable dish or around your roast, and sprinkle with parsley, or, for a more golden effect, arrange them in a baking dish, baste with melted butter, and brown briefly under the broiler. Sprinkle with parsley just before serving.
Butter-braised endives are also good when sauced and browned under the broiler. For a main-course dish, wrap each endive in a thin slice of boiled ham before saucing. See also the quiche aux endives and the gratin d’endives.
For 6 people
2 cups sauce crème or Sauce Mornay (béchamel with cream, or with cheese)
A shallow, lightly buttered baking dish
12 endives butter-braised as in the preceding recipe
2 to 3 Tb grated Swiss cheese
1 Tb butter cut into pea-sized dots
Spread a third of the sauce in the baking dish. Arrange the braised endives over it, and pour the rest of the sauce over them. Sprinkle with cheese and dot with butter.
Shortly before serving, set under a moderately hot broiler to reheat thoroughly and brown the cheese lightly.
POIREAUX BRAISÉS AU BEURREBraised leeks are a fine accompaniment to roast beef, steaks, or turkey.
For 6 people
12 fine fresh leeks about 1½ inches in diameter
A covered, fireproof casserole or baking dish, square or oval, and long enough to hold the trimmed leeks
3 to 4 cups water 6 Tb butter
½ Tb salt
Trim off the roots, remove any withered leaves, and slit the green part of the leeks lengthwise two ways. Wash thoroughly under running water, spreading leaves apart. Cut off a portion of the green tops to leave the leeks about 7 inches long. Lay the leeks in the casserole, making 2 or 3 layers. Pour in enough water to come two thirds the way up the layers of leeks. Add the butter and salt.
Set over high heat and bring to the boil. Partially cover, leaving a 1/16-inch space to allow steam to escape, and maintain liquid at a fairly fast boil. As leeks soften, water will just cover them. In 30 to 40 minutes, the white part of the leeks should be tender when pierced with a knife, and the liquid should have almost evaporated.
A shallow, fireproof baking and serving dish
Transfer the leeks to the baking dish, and pour the remaining cooking juices over them.
Aluminum foil 2 to 3 Tb chopped parsley
Half an hour before serving, cover loosely with aluminum foil and set in the middle level of a preheated, 325-degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until the leeks have taken on a light golden color. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
(*) After their baking, the leeks may be set aside uncovered, and reheated later.
The preceding braised leeks ½ cup grated Swiss, or Swiss and Parmesan cheese, or mixture of cheese and bread crumbs
3 Tb melted butter
After the braised leeks have browned lightly in the oven, sprinkle them with the cheese or cheese and bread crumbs. Pour the butter over them. Run for 2 to 3 minutes under a moderately hot broiler to brown the cheese lightly.
[Leeks Browned with Cheese Sauce]
The braised leeks in the preceding master recipe
2½ cups sauce mornay béchamel with cheese)
¼ cup grated Swiss cheese
1 Tb butter cut into pea-sized dots
After the braised leeks have browned very lightly in the oven, pour the sauce mornay over them, sprinkle on the cheese, dot with the butter. Run under a moderately hot broiler for 2 to 3 minutes to brown the top of the sauce lightly.
Both braised red cabbage and braised sauerkraut need 4 to 5 hours of slow cooking for them to develop their full flavor. Once they have been set in the oven they need little or no attention, and are even better when cooked in advance and reheated the next day.
[Braised Red Cabbage with Red Wine and Chestnuts]
Red cabbage braised in this fashion is a fine dish to serve with roast goose, duck, pork, venison, or wild boar. Or you may cook the meat in the casserole with the cabbage, see the recipe for duck. All red vegetables must cook with something acid to retain their color; thus the tart apples and red wine in the following recipe.
For 6 people
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
A ¼-lb. chunk of bacon
Remove the rind and cut the bacon into lardons, strips 1½ inches long and ¼ inch across. You will have about ⅔ cup. Simmer for 10 minutes in 1 quart of water. Drain.
½ cup thinly sliced carrots
1 cup sliced onions
3 Tb rendered fresh goose or pork fat, or butter
A 5- to 6-quart, covered, fireproof casserole
Cook the bacon, carrots, and onions, in fat or butter slowly in the covered casserole for 10 minutes without browning.
2 lbs. (6 to 7 cups) red cabbage leaves cut into ½-inch slices
Stir in the cabbage leaves and when well covered with the fat and vegetables, cover and cook slowly for 10 minutes.
2 cups diced tart apples
2 cloves mashed garlic
¼ tsp ground bay leaf
⅛ tsp clove
⅛ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp salt
⅛ tsp pepper
2 cups good, young red wine (Bordeaux, Mâcon, or Chianti)
2 cups brown stock or canned beef bouillon
Stir in all the ingredients listed at the left. Bring to the simmer on top of the stove. Cover and place in middle level of preheated oven. Regulate heat so cabbage bubbles slowly for 3 to 3½ hours.
Add the chestnuts to the cabbage, cover and return casserole to oven for 1 to 1½ hours more, or until the chestnuts are tender and all the liquid in the casserole has been absorbed by the cabbage. Taste carefully for seasoning, and serve as follows:
(*) If not served immediately, set aside uncovered. Reheat slowly before serving.
Turn into a vegetable dish or heap around your meat, and decorate with parsley.
In France before sauerkraut is braised with wine, stock, aromatic vegetables, and spices, it is always drained and soaked in cold water for 15 to 20 minutes to remove all but a suggestion of its preserving brine. If you have never cared much for the sour flavor of most sauerkraut dishes, this recipe may well change you into an enthusiast. Sauerkraut makes a most savory accompaniment to duck, goose, pheasant, pork, ham, or sausages any of which may even cook along with the sauerkraut and give it that much more flavor.
For 6 people
2 lbs. (about 5 cups) fresh sauerkraut (canned raw sauerkraut may be used, but it is never as good as the fresh)
Drain the sauerkraut (either fresh or canned) and soak it in a large basin of cold water for 15 to 20 minutes or more, changing the water three times. Taste the sauerkraut, and when as much of the briny flavor as you wish has been removed, drain it. Taking it by small handfuls, squeeze out as much water as you can. Pick it apart to separate the strands.
A ½-lb. chunk of bacon
Remove the rind and slice the bacon into ½-inch pieces about 2 inches long. Simmer it in 2 quarts of water for 10 minutes. Drain.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
½ cup thinly sliced carrots
1 cup sliced onions
4 Tb rendered fresh goose or pork fat, or butter
A 2½- to 3-quart, covered, fireproof casserole
Cook the bacon, carrots, and onions, in fat or butter slowly in the covered casserole for 10 minutes without browning. Stir in the sauerkraut and when it is well covered with the fat and vegetables, cover and cook slowly for 10 minutes more.
The following tied in washed cheesecloth:
4 sprigs of parsley
1 bay leaf
6 peppercorns
10 Juniper berries (or add ¼ cup gin to the casserole)
1 cup dry white wine or ⅔ cup dry white vermouth
2 to 3 cups white stock, brown stock, or canned beef or chicken bouillon
Salt
A round of buttered paper
Bury the herb and spice packet in the sauerkraut. Pour in the wine, and enough stock or bouillon just to cover the sauerkraut. Season lightly with salt. Bring to the simmer on top of the stove. Lay on the round of buttered paper. Cover and set in middle level of preheated oven. Regulate heat so sauerkraut bubbles slowly for 4½ to 5 hours, and until all the liquid has been absorbed by the sauerkraut. Taste carefully for seasoning.
(*) If not served immediately, set aside uncovered. Reheat slowly before serving.
[Sauerkraut Garnished with Meat]
Braised sauerkraut may be used as a bed for sliced roast pork, pork chops, ham, or browned sausages, or with roast goose, duck, or pheasant. The dish is usually accompanied with boiled potatoes and either a chilled Alsatian wine such as Riesling or Traminer, a white domestic wine of the same type, or beer.
If you wish to cook your meats in the sauerkraut, brown them first in a skillet in hot fat; then bury them in the casserole while the sauerkraut is braising, timing the meats so they and the sauerkraut will be done together. See the recipe for duck braised in sauerkraut on this page.
CONCOMBRES AU BEURREIf the natural moisture content is not withdrawn beforehand, cucumbers exude so much water as they are heated that you usually end up with a tasteless mush and swear never to attempt cooked cucumbers again. Blanching for 5 minutes before cooking will remove unwanted water, but also most of the cucumber flavor. A preliminary sojourn in salt draws out the water and also the bitterness, if they are of the bitter European type, yet leaves the flavor, which a little vinegar and a pinch of sugar accentuates. We have found the following method delicious, and suggest it for all cooked cucumber recipes. Baked cucumbers go with roast, broiled, or sautéed chicken, roast veal, veal chops or scallops, and sautéed brains or sweetbreads.
For 6 people
6 cucumbers about 8 inches long
Peel the cucumbers. Cut in half lengthwise; scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Cut into lengthwise strips about ⅜ inch wide. Cut the strips into 2-inch pieces.
2 Tb wine vinegar
1½ tsp salt
⅛ tsp sugar
A 2½-quart porcelain or stainless steel bowl
Toss the cucumbers in a bowl with the vinegar, salt, and sugar. Let stand for at least 30 minutes or for several hours. Drain. Pat dry in a towel.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
A baking dish 12 inches in diameter and 1½ inches deep
3 Tb melted butter
½ tsp dill or basil
3 to 4 Tb minced green onions
⅛ tsp pepper
Toss the cucumbers in the baking dish with the butter, herbs, onions, and pepper. Set uncovered in middle level of preheated oven for about 1 hour, tossing 2 or 3 times, until cucumbers are tender but still have a suggestion of crispness and texture. They will barely color during the cooking.
(*) Set aside uncovered; reheat before serving as in the following suggestions.
A hot vegetable dish 2 Tb minced parsley
Turn the baked cucumbers into the vegetable dish, sprinkle with minced parsley, and serve.
1 cup whipping cream Salt and pepper 1 Tb minced parsley
Boil the cream in a small saucepan until it has reduced by half. Season with salt and pepper, fold into the hot, baked cucumbers, sprinkle with parsley, and serve.
½ lb. fresh mushrooms
An enameled skillet
1 cup whipping cream
1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 1 tsp water
Salt and pepper to taste
2 Tb minced parsley
Trim, wash, and quarter the mushrooms. Dry in a towel. Set them in the dry skillet and toss over moderately low heat for 5 minutes. Pour in the cream and cornstarch mixture; boil slowly for 5 minutes or so, until cream has reduced and thickened. Stir in salt and pepper, simmer a moment and check seasoning. Fold into the hot baked cucumbers, sprinkle with parsley, and serve.
1½ cups sauce mornay (béchamel with grated cheese)
2 to 3 Tb grated Swiss cheese
1 Tb butter cut into pea-sized dots
Fold the cheese sauce into the hot, baked cucumbers. Sprinkle with cheese, dot with butter, and run under a hot broiler for 2 to 3 minutes to brown top delicately.
Eggplants, like cucumbers, contain a considerable amount of water which must be removed before cooking; in their raw state they also have a bitter, puckery quality. The most satisfactory way to remove both moisture and bitterness yet retain flavor is to let them stand in salt for about half an hour.
[Eggplant Stuffed with Mushrooms]
This excellent eggplant dish goes with roast lamb, lamb chops, or roast, sautéed, or broiled chicken. Or it may be a separate vegetable course. Preparation is somewhat long, as it is for many good things, but you may have the dish ready for the oven several hours or even the day before baking it.
For 6 people—12, if the eggplants are divided as they are served
3 eggplants about 6 inches long and 3 inches in diameter
Remove the green stem covering and cut the eggplants in half lengthwise. Cut striations an inch apart in the flesh, going down to within ¼ inch of the skin. Preheat broiler in time for paragraph three.
1 Tb salt
2 Tb olive oil
Sprinkle the flesh with salt and lay the eggplants flesh down on a towel for half an hour. Gently squeeze them to extract as much water as possible. Dry them, then dribble the oil over them.
A shallow roasting pan large large enough to hold eggplant halves in one layer
Place them flesh-side up in a roasting pan and pour ⅛ inch of water around them. Set them so their flesh is 4 to 5 inches from preheated, moderately hot broiler for 10 to 15 minutes, until tender, and lightly browned on top.
A 3-quart mixing bowl
Leaving the skin intact, remove all but ¼ inch of the eggplant meat with a spoon. Chop it and place it in a mixing bowl.
NOTE: In the following stuffing, you may, if you wish, substitute for part of the mushrooms 1 cup of rice steamed in butter.
1 cup finely minced yellow onions
1½ Tb olive oil or butter
A 9- to 10-inch enameled skillet
Salt and pepper
Cook the onions slowly in the oil or butter in a skillet for about 10 minutes until very tender but not browned. Season lightly and add to the eggplant in the mixing bowl.
1 lb. finely minced fresh mushrooms
3 Tb butter
1 Tb olive oil
Salt and pepper
Following the recipe for mushroom duxelles twist the mushrooms, a handful at a time, in the corner of a towel to extract their juice. Sauté them in butter and oil until very lightly browned (5 to 6 minutes). Season and add to the mixing bowl.
1½ packages (4½ ounces) cream cheese
4 Tb minced parsley
½ tsp basil or ¼ tsp thyme
Mash the cheese with a fork, then beat it into the mixing bowl. Beat in the herbs, and taste carefully for seasoning.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
3 Tb grated Swiss cheese mixed with 3 Tb fine, dry, white bread crumbs
2 to 3 Tb melted butter
Fill the eggplant shells with the mixture. Top with cheese and bread crumbs, and baste each half with melted butter.
(*) May be prepared ahead to this point.
About 40 minutes before serving, arrange in roasting pan and surround with ⅛ inch of water. Bake in upper third of preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes to heat thoroughly and brown the cheese and bread crumbs.
[Eggplant Casserole—with tomatoes, onions, peppers, and zucchini]
Ratatouille perfumes the kitchen with the essence of Provence and is certainly one of the great Mediterranean dishes. As it is strongly flavored it is best when it accompanies plain roast or broiled beef or lamb, pot-au-feu (boiled beef), or plain roast, broiled, or sautéed chicken. Equally good hot or cold, it also makes a fine accompaniment to cold meats, or may be served as a cold hors d’oeuvre.
A really good ratatouille is not one of the quicker dishes to make, as each element is cooked separately before it is arranged in the casserole to partake of a brief communal simmer. This recipe is the only one we know of which produces a ratatouille in which each vegetable retains its own shape and character. Happily a ratatouille may be cooked completely the day before it is to be served, and it seems to gain in flavor when reheated.
For 6 to 8 people
1 lb. eggplant
1 lb. zucchini
A 3-quart, porcelain or stainless steel mixing bowl
1 tsp salt
Peel the eggplant and cut into lengthwise slices ⅜ inch thick, about 3 inches long, and 1 inch wide. Scrub the zucchini, slice off the two ends, and cut the zucchini into slices about the same size as the eggplant slices. Place the vegetables in a bowl and toss with the salt. Let stand for 30 minutes. Drain. Dry each slice in a towel.
One layer at a time, sauté the eggplant, and then the zucchini in hot olive oil for about a minute on each side to brown very lightly. Remove to a side dish.
½ lb. (about 1½ cups) thinly sliced yellow onions
2 (about 1 cup) sliced green bell peppers
2 to 3 Tb olive oil, if necessary
2 cloves mashed garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
In the same skillet, cook the onions and peppers slowly in olive oil for about 10 minutes, or until tender but not browned. Stir in the garlic and season to taste.
Slice the tomato pulp into ⅜-inch strips. Lay them over the onions and peppers. Season with salt and pepper. Cover the skillet and cook over low heat for 5 minutes, or until tomatoes have begun to render their juice. Uncover, baste the tomatoes with the juices, raise heat and boil for several minutes, until juice has almost entirely evaporated.
A 2½ quart fireproof casserole about 2½ inches deep
3 Tb minced parsley
Place a third of the tomato mixture in the bottom of the casserole and sprinkle over it 1 tablespoon of parsley. Arrange half of the eggplant and zucchini on top, then half the remaining tomatoes and parsley. Put in the rest of the eggplant and zucchini, and finish with the remaining tomatoes and parsley.
Salt and pepper
Cover the casserole and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Uncover, tip casserole and baste with the rendered juices. Correct seasoning, if necessary. Raise heat slightly and cook uncovered for about 15 minutes more, basting several times, until juices have evaporated leaving a spoonful or two of flavored olive oil. Be careful of your heat; do not let the vegetables scorch in the bottom of the casserole.
(*) Set aside uncovered. Reheat slowly at serving time, or serve cold.
MOUSSAKA, a mold of eggplant and lamb, is in the Lamb section.
Many recipes calling for tomatoes direct that they be peeled, seeded, and juiced. This applies to tomato sauces, to the tomato fondues which are used in egg dishes, to various Basque or Provençal recipes, and to the diced tomato pulp which may be poached in a soup or a sauce. One pound or 4 or 5 medium tomatoes will yield about 1½ cups of pulp.
TO PEEL TOMATOES
Use firm, ripe, red tomatoes. Drop the tomatoes one or two at a time in boiling water to cover, and boil for exactly 10 seconds. Remove. Cut out the stem. Peel off the skin starting from the stem hole.
After a 10-second blanching, tomato skin is loosened and peels off easily
TO SEED AND JUICE TOMATOES
(for illustration, see next page)
Cut peeled or unpeeled tomatoes in half crosswise, not through the stem. Squeeze each half gently to extract the seeds and juices from the center of the tomato. If they are to receive a cold stuffing, sprinkle the interior with salt which will draw more juices out, then invert them in a colander.
Gently press the juice and seeds out of the tomato half
DICED, SLICED, OR CHOPPED TOMATO PULP
Chop, dice, or slice the peeled, seeded, and juiced tomato halves. Roughly chopped tomato pulp is tomates concassées.
[Whole Baked Tomatoes]
These make an attractive decoration around a meat platter, or surrounding a dish of green beans. They should be baked only at the last minute if they are to retain their shape.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Firm, ripe, red tomatoes, all of the same size and not more than 2 inches in diameter
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
An oiled roasting pan just large enough to hold the tomatoes easily
Wash and dry the tomatoes. Cut out the stems, leaving as small a hole as possible. Sprinkle salt and pepper into the stem hole. Brush the tomatoes with olive oil, then place them stem-end down in the roasting pan. Do not crowd them together.
Bake in the middle level of the preheated oven for about 10 minutes. Keep an eye on them; they are done when the skins break a little, but they should not be baked so long that they burst.
Salt and pepper
Minced, mixed green herbs or parsley
Baste them with the pan juices. Season lightly with salt and pepper, and sprinkle herbs or parsley over them. Serve as soon as possible.
TOMATES À LA PROVENÇALEOne of the most savory ways of serving tomatoes is à la provençale. These tomatoes go well with many things—steaks, chops, roast beef, lamb, roast or broiled chicken, broiled mackerel, tuna, sardines, herring, or swordfish. They may also be a hot hors d’oeuvre, or accompany egg dishes.
For 6 people
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
6 firm, ripe, red tomatoes about 3 inches in diameter
Salt and pepper
Remove the stems, and cut the tomatoes in half crosswise. Gently press out the juice and seeds. Sprinkle the halves lightly with salt and pepper.
1 to 2 cloves mashed garlic
3 Tb minced shallots or green onions
4 Tb minced fresh basil and parsley, or parsley only
⅛ tsp thyme
¼ tsp salt Big pinch of pepper
¼ cup olive oil
½ cup crumbs from fresh white bread with body
A shallow, oiled roasting pan just large enough to hold the tomatoes easily in one layer
Blend all the ingredients to the left in a mixing bowl. Correct seasoning. Fill each tomato half with a spoonful or two of the mixture. Sprinkle with a few drops of olive oil. Arrange the tomatoes in the roasting pan; do not crowd them.
(*) May be prepared ahead to this point.
Shortly before you are ready to serve, place them in the upper third of the preheated oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the tomatoes are tender but hold their shape, and the bread crumb filling has browned lightly.
Follow the preceding recipe, but use the mushroom filling described in the recipe for stuffed mushrooms.
Fresh, cultivated mushrooms are an essential element of French cuisine and appear not only as a vegetable or in a garnish, but as an important flavor factor in numerous dishes, sauces, and stuffings. Mushrooms should never be submitted to prolonged cooking or they will lose most of their taste and texture. Therefore if they are to go into a sauce they are usually cooked separately, then added to the sauce to simmer a moment and blend their flavor with the sauce.
CHOOSING MUSHROOMS
It is always advisable to buy mushrooms in bulk rather than in a package, so you can hand-pick each one. Some varieties of cultivated mushrooms are creamy white, others have brownish caps. The freshest of fresh mushrooms are closed on the underside of the cap so that you cannot see the gills. Caps and stems should be smooth, unblemished, fresh looking, and fresh smelling. As a mushroom ages in the market, the cap expands to expose the gills, the mushroom darkens, and begins to dry out.
If you are not going to use fresh mushrooms immediately, refrigerate them in a plastic bag and they will keep perfectly for two to three days.
PREPARATION FOR COOKING
Trim the base of the stems. If the gills are even partially exposed, break the stem off inside the cap so you will be able to wash out any sand which may have lodged in the gills.
Just before using them, drop the mushrooms in a large basin of cold water. Rapidly rub them between your hands for several seconds to dislodge dirt particles. Immediately lift them out into a colander. If there are more than a few grains of sand left in the bottom of the basin, wash the mushrooms again. Dry them in a towel.
HOW TO CUT MUSHROOMS
After they have been washed and dried, here are the various ways in which mushrooms may be cut.
To mince or dice
Place the mushrooms in a heap on the chopping board. Chop them with a big, sharp, straight-edged knife, holding an end of the blade in the fingers of each hand. Use rapid up and down movements, and repeatedly brush mushrooms back into a heap with the knife. Chop until the pieces are less than ⅛ inch.
Mince small amounts with a big knife held between thumb and forefinger of each hand. For large amounts, chop roughly by hand, then mince by cupfuls with on-off flicks in the processor
Sliced
Quartered
To flute mushroom caps
Fluted mushroom caps may be stewed or broiled, and are used as decorations. It takes a little practice to master the technique of fluting, but it is quite a nice professional touch to have at your command.
Fluted caps
Hold the mushroom, cap up, in the fingers of your left hand. Its blade pointing away from you, hold a very sharp, small knife rigidly in your right hand. Rest the thumb of your right hand on the mushroom cap to act as a guide. Then rotate the cap toward you against the blade of the knife starting at the crown, thus removing a very shallow strip, or flute, down one half of the cap. Note that the knife remains stationary; the mushroom cuts itself as it rotates against the blade. It is your left hand, controlling the mushroom’s movement, which determines the depth and direction of the cut. Continue in the same manner all around the cap.
Starting at crown, rotate mushroom toward you against rigidly held knife blade
Left hand guides mushroom against knife blade and regulates cut
When mushrooms are used in white sauces, or in a garniture in which they must remain white, they are cooked this way.
¼ lb. fresh mushrooms
⅓ cup water
⅛ tsp salt
½ Tb lemon juice (which helps keep mushrooms white)
1 Tb butter
A 4- to 6-cup enameled saucepan
Trim and wash the mushrooms; cut as directed in your recipe, or as shown in the preceding illustrations. Bring the water, salt, lemon juice, and butter to the boil in the saucepan. Add the mushrooms and toss to cover them with the liquid. Cover and boil moderately fast, tossing frequently, for 5 minutes. Set aside until ready to use.
[Mushroom Essence]
Mushroom essence is the reduction or boiling down of the cooking juice from stewed mushrooms or canned mushrooms. It is used as a concentrated mushroom flavoring for sauces.
Drain the preceding stewed mushrooms. Rapidly boil down their cooking liquid in a small saucepan until it has reduced almost to a syrup.
(*) If not used immediately, refrigerate or freeze it.
Broiled mushroom caps are used as a garniture, usually on steaks. They may also be served as a separate vegetable, or as a hot hors d’oeuvre on toast.
Fresh mushrooms of whatever size you wish
Preheat broiler to moderately hot. Separate the mushroom caps from the stems. Wash and dry the caps. Stems may be minced and turned into a duxelles.
Melted butter
A shallow, buttered baking dish
Salt and pepper
Paint the mushroom caps with melted butter. Arrange them hollow-side up in the baking dish. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Place 4 to 5 inches from heat, and broil rather slowly for 5 minutes. Turn the caps, and broil 5 minutes more or until the caps are tender and lightly browned.
Optional: Beurre Maître d’Hôtel (butter mixed with lemon juice, parsley, and seasonings)
OR: Beurre pour Escargots (butter mixed with herbs, shallots, and garlic)
The caps may then, if you wish, be filled with parsley butter into which you may also incorporate finely minced shallots with or without a bit of mashed garlic. Spread the butter in the caps, filling them by about a third.
Just before serving, heat them for a moment or two under the broiler until the butter is bubbling.
CHAMPIGNONS SAUTÉS AU BEURREUse these mushrooms either as a vegetable alone or in a combination with other vegetables, or as an integral part of such dishes as coq au vin, boeuf bourguignon, poulet en cocotte. Successfully sautéed mushrooms are lightly browned and exude none of their juice while they are being cooked; to achieve this the mushrooms must be dry, the butter very hot, and the mushrooms must not be crowded in the pan. If you sauté too many at once they steam rather than fry; their juices escape and they do not brown. So if you are preparing a large amount, or if your heat source is feeble, sauté the mushrooms in several batches.
A 10-inch enameled skillet
2 Tb butter 1 Tb oil
½ lb. fresh mushrooms, washed, well dried, left whole if small, sliced or quartered if large
Place the skillet over high heat with the butter and oil. As soon as you see that the butter foam has begun to subside, indicating it is hot enough, add the mushrooms. Toss and shake the pan for 4 to 5 minutes. During their sauté the mushrooms will at first absorb the fat. In 2 to 3 minutes the fat will reappear on their surface, and the mushrooms will begin to brown. As soon as they have browned lightly, remove from heat.
Optional: 1 to 2 Tb minced shallots or green onions
Salt and pepper
Toss the shallots or green onions with the mushrooms. Sauté over moderate heat for 2 minutes.
(*) Sautéed mushrooms may be cooked in advance, set aside, then reheated when needed. Season to taste just before serving.
[Mushrooms Sautéed with Shallots, Garlic, and Herbs]
These may garnish a meat or vegetable platter.
½ lb. fresh mushrooms, whole if small, quartered if large
1 Tb oil
2 Tb butter
Sauté the mushrooms in oil and butter until lightly browned.
3 Tb minced shallots or green onions
Optional: 1 small clove minced garlic
3 Tb fine, white, dry bread crumbs
Stir in the shallots or green onions, optional garlic, and bread crumbs, and toss over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes.
Salt and pepper to taste
3 Tb minced fresh parsley, chervil, chives, and tarragon, or parsley only
Just before serving, season to taste, and toss with the herbs.
Creamed mushrooms may garnish canapés, little vol-au-vents, tartlet shells, artichoke bottoms, or may accompany such foods as omelettes, poached eggs, sweetbreads, or chicken.
½ lb. fresh mushrooms, whole if small, sliced, quartered, or minced if large
2 Tb butter
1 Tb oil
2 Tb minced shallots or green onions
Sauté the mushrooms in hot butter and oil for 4 to 5 minutes, but do not allow them to brown any more than necessary. Add the shallots or onions and toss over moderate heat for 2 minutes.
1 tsp flour
Stir in the flour and cook slowly for 2 minutes more, stirring.
⅔ to 1 cup whipping cream
⅛ tsp salt
Pinch of pepper
Optional: 2 to 3 Tb Madeira
Off heat, blend in the cream and seasonings. Then boil down rapidly until the cream has reduced and thickened. Add the optional wine, and boil for a moment to evaporate its alcohol. Correct seasoning.
(*) May be set aside and reheated later.
1 to 2 Tb softened butter
Off heat and just before serving, fold in the butter.
Another appetizing way of using mushrooms is in a brown Madeira sauce. You may smother a filet mignon with them, or fill tartlets, or combine the mushrooms with sautéed chicken livers and ham to fill a rice ring. If you do not have on hand one of the classic, flour-thickened, long simmered brown sauces, you may use a quick brown sauce made of very good bouillon thickened with arrowroot or cornstarch, as suggested in the recipe.
½ lb. mushrooms, sliced, quartered, or minced
2 Tb butter
1 Tb oil
1 Tb minced shallots or green onions
Sauté the mushrooms in butter and oil, adding minced shallots or green onions at the end. Remove to a side dish.
⅓ cup Madeira
Pour the Madeira into the sautéing skillet and boil it down rapidly until it has reduced by half.
1 cup brown sauce (the flour-thickened sauces Numbers I or II, or the quick sauce, Number III)
Add the sauce and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Then stir in the sautéed mushrooms and simmer a moment more to blend flavors. Correct seasoning.
(*) May be made ahead of time. Dot top of sauce with butter and set aside.
1 to 2 Tb butter
Reheat just before serving. Off heat, stir in the enrichment butter.
[Mushroom Duxelles—Minced Mushrooms Sautéed in Butter]
Duxelles is a dry, mushroom flavoring for many kinds of stuffings and quick mushroom sauces; once made it will keep for several weeks under refrigeration or may be frozen. The juice is squeezed out of the raw minced mushroom so that the cooked duxelles will be as dry as possible; if the duxelles were wet it would dilute and soften a stuffing.
For about 1 cup
½ lb. finely minced fresh mushrooms, whole or just stems (about 2 cups)
A handful at a time, twist the mushrooms into a ball in the corner of a towel to extract as much juice as possible. (Juice may be saved to go into a sauce or soup.)
An 8-inch enameled skillet
2 Tb minced shallots or green onions
2 Tb butter
1 Tb oil
In the skillet, sauté the mushrooms and shallots or onions in butter and oil over moderately high heat, stirring frequently. After 6 to 8 minutes the mushroom pieces should begin to separate from each other and brown lightly.
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional: ¼ cup Madeira and ¼ cup brown stock or canned beef bouillon
Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the optional wine and stock, and boil down rapidly until liquid has reduced to nothing.
(*) If not to be used immediately, allow to cool. Pack in a covered jar, and refrigerate or freeze.
Stuffed mushrooms make a good hot hors d’oeuvres or a garnish for a meat platter.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
12 fresh mushroom caps
2 to 3 inches in diameter, stems removed 2 to 3 Tb melted butter
A shallow, lightly buttered roasting pan
Salt and pepper
Brush the mushroom caps with melted butter. Place them, hollow-side up, in the roasting pan. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.
3 Tb finely minced onions
2 Tb butter
1 Tb oil
3 Tb minced shallots or green onions
Stems from the mushroom caps, finely minced and squeezed in a towel to extract their juice
Sauté the onions in butter and oil for 3 to 4 minutes without browning. Then add the shallots or green onions and mushroom stems. Sauté as in the preceding duxelles recipe.
Add the optional Madeira and boil it down rapidly until it has almost entirely evaporated.
3 Tb fine, white, dry bread crumbs
¼ cup grated Swiss cheese
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 Tb minced parsley
½ tsp tarragon
Salt and pepper
2 to 3 Tb whipping cream
Off heat, mix in the bread crumbs, cheeses, parsley, tarragon, and seasonings. A spoonful at a time, blend in just enough cream to moisten the mixture but keep it sufficiently stiff to hold its shape in a spoon. Correct seasoning.
3 Tb grated Swiss cheese
2 Tb melted butter
Fill the mushroom caps with the stuffing. Top each with a pinch of cheese and drops of melted butter.
(*) May be done ahead to this point.
Bake in upper third of a preheated, 375-degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until caps are tender and stuffing has browned lightly on top.
Canned mushrooms will have more flavor in sauces or garnitures if you follow the procedure outlined here. (If they are to be browned, drain them, dry in a towel, and sauté quickly in butter and oil with minced shallots or onions.)
For 1 cup drained, canned mushrooms:
1 Tb minced shallots or green onions
2 Tb butter
Salt and pepper
Optional: 1 to 2 Tb port or Madeira
In a small enameled saucepan, cook the shallots or onions slowly in the butter for 2 minutes without browning. Add the mushrooms and seasonings, and toss them in the butter. Add the optional wine. Cover and cook slowly for 2 minutes.
NOTE: The juice from the can may be boiled down in a saucepan until reduced to a third of its volume or less. Use as a sauce flavoring.
Fresh raw chestnuts are in season in the winter months. Choose heavy nuts with tight-fitting shells—indications that they are fresh and will have their maximum flavor.
Chestnuts have a traditional affinity for roast turkey, goose, venison, boar, wild duck, and pheasant; they also go with pork and with sausages. Chestnut purée is used as a starchy vegetable to accompany any of these meats. Whole braised chestnuts are often combined with other vegetables such as red cabbage, Brussels sprouts, mushrooms, onions, or carrots. Whole partially-cooked chestnuts go into stuffings, particularly sausage stuffings for goose and turkey.
AMOUNT TO BUY
One pound or 35 to 40 whole raw chestnuts will yield approximately 2½ cups of peeled chestnuts.
HOW TO PEEL CHESTNUTS
Chestnuts have an outside shell and a bitter inside skin, both of which must be removed before the chestnuts can be used. Peeling off the inside skin is a chore whatever method you adopt. To our mind, and we have tried them all, the following is the most satisfactory, especially if you want the chestnuts to remain whole.
With a small sharp knife, peel a ⅛-inch strip of shell off one side of each chestnut. Set chestnuts in a saucepan of cold water, bring to the boil and boil 1 minute; remove from heat. Then three at a time, with a slotted spoon, dip the chestnuts out of the water and peel off the shells and inner skins. (Set aside until later any recalcitrant chestnuts. Drop them all later into boiling water for a moment, then peel them one by one.) The whole peeling process must be a continuous operation and done while the chestnuts are still warm.
[Chestnut Purée]
For 6 to 8 people
A 3-quart, heavy-bottomed saucepan
8 cups peeled chestnuts
2 stalks celery
A medium herb bouquet: 4 parsley sprigs, ½ bay leaf, and ⅛ tsp thyme tied in cheesecloth
3 cups good brown stock or 2 cups canned beef bouillon and 1 cup water
A food mill
3 to 6 Tb softened butter, or butter and whipping cream
Salt and pepper
Pinch of sugar, if needed
Place in the saucepan the chestnuts, celery stalks, and herb bouquet. Pour in enough stock, or bouillon and water to cover the chestnuts by 1½ inches. Simmer very slowly and uncovered for 45 to 60 minutes, or until the chestnuts are cooked through. Do not overcook and allow them to become mushy. Drain immediately; remove celery and herb bouquet. Purée the chestnuts in the food mill, then return them to the saucepan.
Beat in the butter, or butter and cream. If purée is too thick, beat in spoonfuls of the cooking liquid. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and a pinch or two of sugar if you feel it necessary.
(*) If not to be used immediately, instead of beating in the butter, spread it over the surface of the purée. To reheat, cover and set over boiling water, beating occasionally.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
24 peeled chestnuts
A heavy, fireproof casserole or baking dish just large enough to hold the chestnuts in one layer
1 Tb arrowroot or cornstarch mixed to a paste with
2 Tb port, Madeira, or water 2 cups good brown stock or 1½ cups canned beef bouillon and ½ cup water
Water, if necessary
3 Tb butter
Place the chestnuts in the casserole or baking dish. Beat the starch mixture into the stock or bouillon and pour over the chestnuts. There should be enough liquid to cover them by ½ inch; add water, if necessary. Add the butter. Bring to the simmer, cover, then set in lower third of preheated oven. Regulate heat so liquid simmers very slowly for 45 to 60 minutes or until chestnuts are tender.
(*) If not to be served immediately, set aside uncovered. Cover and reheat slowly on top of stove before proceeding.
If liquid has not reduced to a syrupy glaze at the end of the cooking, drain it off and boil it down in a saucepan. Pour it back into the casserole and roll the chestnuts gently around in it to cover them with the glaze. Serve as follows:
Serve sprinkled with parsley, or combined with other vegetables as directed in whatever recipe you are using.
Out of the vast store of French potato dishes, we have selected an unusual version of mashed potatoes, some excellent grated potato pancakes, a series of good regional recipes for scalloped potatoes, and one for potatoes sautéed in butter.
KIND OF POTATOES TO BUY
We shall not classify potato varieties by name. We shall merely specify baking potatoes when we mean the type of white potato such as Idaho which turns floury after cooking, and boiling potatoes when we are talking about the white potato which retains its shape. It is particularly important that you use the right kind of potato for such dishes as scalloped potatoes, for the potato must not disintegrate during cooking; in such cases we have used quotation marks in order to draw your attention to the necessity for using “boiling” potatoes.
[Garlic Mashed Potatoes]
Two whole heads of garlic will seem like a horrifying amount if you have not made this type of recipe before. But if less is used, you will regret it, for the long cooking of the garlic removes all of its harsh strength, leaving just a pleasant flavor. Garlic mashed potatoes go with roast lamb, pork, goose, or sausages. Although both garlic sauce and potatoes may be cooked in advance, they should be combined only at the last minute; the completed purée loses its nice consistency if it sits too long over heat, or if it is cooked and then reheated.
For 6 to 8 people
2 heads garlic, about 30 cloves
Separate the garlic cloves. Drop into boiling water, and boil 2 minutes. Drain. Peel.
Cook the garlic slowly with the butter in the covered saucepan for about 20 minutes or until very tender but not browned.
2 Tb flour
1 cup boiling milk
¼ tsp salt
Pinch of pepper
A sieve and wooden spoon, or an electric blender
Blend in the flour and stir over low heat until it froths with the butter for 2 minutes without browning. Off heat, beat in the boiling milk and seasonings. Boil, stirring, for 1 minute. Rub the sauce through a sieve or purée it in the electric blender. Simmer for 2 minutes more.
(*) May be done ahead of time. Dot top of sauce with bits of butter to keep a skin from forming. Reheat when needed.
2½ lbs. baking potatoes
A potato ricer
A 2½ quart enameled saucepan
A wooden spatula or spoon
4 Tb softened butter
Salt and white pepper
Peel and quarter the potatoes. Drop in boiling salted water to cover, and boil until tender. Drain immediately and put through a potato ricer. Place the hot purée in the saucepan and beat with the spatula or spoon for several minutes over moderate heat to evaporate moisture. As soon as the purée begins to form a film in the bottom of the pan, remove from heat and beat in the butter a tablespoon at a time. Beat in salt and pepper to taste.
(*) If not used immediately, set aside uncovered. To reheat, cover and set over boiling water, beating frequently.
3 to 4 Tb whipping cream
4 Tb minced parsley
A hot, lightly buttered vegetable dish
Shortly before serving, beat the hot garlic sauce vigorously into the hot potatoes. Beat in the cream by spoonfuls but do not thin out the purée too much. Beat in the parsley. Correct seasoning. Turn into hot vegetable dish.
These are excellent with roasts, steaks, or chops. As a bed for fried or poached eggs, they may be topped with a cheese or tomato sauce. Or roll them around a filling of mushrooms, chicken livers, or ham, top with a sauce, and brown under the broiler.
For 18 crêpes about 3 inches in diameter, or 8 crêpes made in individual 6-inch crêpe pans
8 ounces cream cheese
3 Tb flour
A 3-quart mixing bowl
Mash the cream cheese with the flour, in the mixing bowl.
2 eggs
½ tsp salt
⅛ tsp pepper
Mix in the eggs and seasonings and beat until smooth.
6 ounces (1¼ cups) Swiss cheese cut into ⅛-inch dice
Stir in the Swiss cheese.
2½ lbs. of baking potatoes (4 cups when grated)
A vegetable grater
Peel the potatoes and rub them through the large holes of the grater. A small handful at a time, twist them into a ball in the corner of a towel to squeeze out as much of their water as you can. Stir the grated raw potatoes into the egg and cheese mixture.
3 to 6 Tb whipping cream
Optional: ½ cup diced boiled ham, or ½ cup sautéed mushrooms, chicken livers, or onions 3 to 4 Tb fresh herbs, such as parsley, chives, chervil
Stir in the cream by spoonfuls to make a mixture the consistency of a thick, creamed cole slaw—not runny. Add optional ingredients. Taste carefully for seasoning.
A 10-inch skillet
1½ Tb butter, more as needed
½ Tb oil, more as needed
A large spoon or ladle
A hot platter
Set skillet over moderately high heat with the butter and oil. When you see the foam begin to subside, ladle 3 piles of batter into the skillet to form 3 crêpes approximately 3 inches in diameter and ⅜ inch thick. Regulate heat so crêpes are lightly browned on the bottom and bubble holes have appeared on the surface in about 3 minutes. Then turn and brown on the other sides for about 3 minutes. Transfer to platter and keep warm in one layer while making the remaining crêpes.
(*) If not served immediately, arrange crêpes in one layer on a baking sheet. Set aside uncovered. Reheat for 4 to 5 minutes in a 400-degree oven.
GRATIN DAUPHINOISThere are as many “authenic” versions of gratin dauphinois as there are of bouillabaisse. Of them all, we prefer this one because it is fast, simple, and savory. It goes with roast or broiled chicken, turkey, and veal. With roast beef, pork, lamb, steaks, and chops you may prefer the gratin savoyard which follows, since it is cooked with stock rather than milk. Although some authorities on le vrai gratin dauphinois would violently disagree, you may omit the cheese. If you do so, add 2 more tablespoons of butter.
For 6 people
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2 lbs. “boiling” potatoes (6 to 7 cups when sliced)
Peel the potatoes and slice them ⅛ inch thick. Place in a basin of cold water. Drain when ready to use.
A fireproof baking-serving dish about 10 inches in diameter and 2 inches deep (if recipe is increased, dish must be wider but no deeper)
½ clove unpeeled garlic
4 Tb butter
1 tsp salt
⅛ tsp pepper
1 cup (4 ounces) grated
Swiss cheese
1 cup boiling milk
Rub the baking dish with the cut garlic. Smear the inside of the dish with 1 tablespoon of the butter. Drain the potatoes and dry them in a towel. Spread half of them in the bottom of the dish. Divide over them half the salt, pepper, cheese, and butter. Arrange the remaining potatoes over the first layer, and season them. Spread on the rest of the cheese and divide the butter over it. Pour on the boiling milk. Set baking dish over heat and when simmering, set in upper third of preheated oven. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender, milk has been absorbed, and the top is nicely browned. (As the oven is hot, and the dish shallow, the potatoes cook quickly.)
(*) May wait for half an hour, loosely covered, over simmering water. For a longer wait, stop initial cooking just before all milk has evaporated. Set aside uncovered. Shortly before serving, dot with 2 Tb butter, reheat on top of stove, and set in a 425-degree oven for 5 to 10 minutes to finish cooking.
For 6 people
Ingredients for the preceding gratin dauphinois with the following exceptions:
1 cup brown stock or canned beef bouillon instead of milk
6 rather than 4 Tb butter
Follow the recipe for gratin dauphinois, but substitute stock for milk, and increase the butter proportions as indicated at the left.
[Scalloped Potatoes with Heavy Cream and Cheese]
Potatoes baked in heavy cream are mouth-watering with roast lamb or chicken, or turkey, veal, beef, or pork. An important point in this recipe is that you must never let the cream come quite to the simmer during the baking; thus it will not curdle.
For 6 people
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
4 Tb butter
A 10-inch, fireproof dish 2 inches deep
2 lbs. “boiling” potatoes, sliced ⅛ inch thick (6 to 7 cups)
1 tsp salt
⅛ tsp pepper
1 cup grated Swiss cheese
1¼ cups whipping cream
Smear 1 tablespoon of the butter in the baking dish. Arrange layers of potatoes in it, seasoning each layer with salt, pepper, cheese, and dots of butter. End with a sprinkling of cheese and butter dots. Pour on the cream and bring slowly almost to the simmer on top of the stove. Then place in middle level of preheated oven and bake for 1 to 1¼ hours, regulating oven heat throughout baking so that cream never quite bubbles. The gratin is done when the potatoes are tender and have absorbed the cream, and the top is lightly browned.
This mixture of potatoes, carrots, and cream is delicious with veal or chicken. It is the same as the preceding gratin jurassien but the potatoes are interspersed with sliced, braised carrots prepared as follows:
2 cups carrots sliced ⅛ inch thick
½ Tb butter
¼ tsp salt
2 Tb finely minced shallots or green onions
¾ cup water
A 4- to 6-cup, heavy-bottomed, enameled saucepan with cover
Boil the carrots slowly with the butter, salt, shallots or onions, and water in the covered saucepan for 20 to 30 minutes or until the liquid has evaporated and the carrots are tender. Then continue as for the preceding gratin jurassien, but alternate carrot slices with the potato slices.
[Scalloped Potatoes with Onions, Tomatoes, Anchovies, Herbs, and Garlic]
This casserole with its full-bodied Mediterranean flavor goes with roast lamb or beef, steaks, chops, or grilled mackerel, tuna, or swordfish. It is also good served cold. The potatoes need no other liquid than that rendered by the tomatoes as they cook together.
For 6 people
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2 cups thinly sliced onions
2 Tb olive oil
A small saucepan
1½ lbs. tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and juiced (4 to 5 tomatoes, 2¼ cups pulp)
¼ tsp salt
Cook the onions and olive oil slowly together in the saucepan until the onions are tender but not browned. Cut the tomato pulp into strips ⅜ inch wide. Fold the tomatoes and salt into the onions. Set aside.
6 canned anchovies packed in olive oil, drained
2 cloves mashed garlic
¼ tsp basil
¼ tsp thyme
⅛ tsp pepper
2 Tb olive oil (include as part of this the oil from the anchovy can)
In a small mixing bowl, mash the anchovies into a paste with the garlic, herbs, pepper, and oil.
An oiled baking dish about 10 inches in diameter and
2 inches deep 2 lbs. “boiling” potatoes sliced ⅛ inch thick (6 to 7 cups)
¼ cup grated Parmesan or Swiss cheese
1 tsp olive oil
Spread one quarter of the tomatoes and onions in the baking dish. Over them arrange half the potato slices, then half the anchovy mixture, then half the remaining tomatoes and onions. Spread over this the rest of the potatoes and the anchovy mixture; top with the last of the tomatoes and onions. Spread on the cheese, and sprinkle with olive oil.
Aluminum foil, if necessary
Place in middle level of preheated oven and bake for about 40 minutes, or until potatoes are tender and have absorbed all of the juice from the tomatoes. If the top browns too much during cooking, cover very loosely with a sheet of foil.
(*) Keep warm or reheat as for the gratin dauphinois.
POMMES DE TERRE SAUTÉESAlthough we rationed ourselves strictly on potato recipes, potatoes sautéed in butter appear as a garnishing suggestion in so many of the main-course dishes that we are including directions for doing them. The following recipe demands that the potatoes be sautéed raw, which produces a delectable result. But the cooking is rather exacting as raw potatoes will stick to the sautéing pan unless certain precautions are taken.
If you were living in France, you would buy smooth oval potatoes 2 to 2½ inches long, with yellowish flesh, pommes de terre de Hollande. You would peel them neatly, and sauté them whole. Elsewhere, choose small boiling potatoes or new potatoes. Peel them, and cut them into elongated olive shapes all the same size, 2 to ½ inches long and 1 to 1¼ inches at their widest diameter. Cut them smoothly, so they will roll around easily and color evenly when they are sautéed. (You might save the cuttings for the good leek and potato soup.) Do not wash the potatoes; simply pat them thoroughly dry in a towel. If you peel them some time in advance of their cooking, roll them in a damp towel; dry them in a fresh towel just before sautéing.
For 4 to 6 people
2 lbs. (5 to 6 cups) “boiling” potatoes or new potatoes
Cut the potatoes according to the directions in the preceding paragraph. Remember they are not to be washed, merely well dried in a towel.
3 to 4 Tb clarified butter, or 2 Tb butter and 1 Tb oil, more if needed
A 10- or 11-inch heavy skillet large enough to hold all the potatoes easily in one layer
Add enough clarified butter or the butter and oil to the skillet to film it by 1/16 inch and set over moderately high heat. When the clarified butter is very hot but not coloring, or when the butter foam in the butter and oil mixture begins to subside, put the potatoes into the skillet. Leave them for 2 minutes, regulating heat so butter is always very hot but not coloring. Then shake the skillet back and forth to roll the potatoes and to sear them on another side for 2 minutes. Continue thus for 4 to 5 minutes more until the potatoes are a pale golden color all over, indicating that a seared, protective film has formed over them, so that they will not stick to the pan.
¼ tsp salt
Then sprinkle the potatoes with salt and roll them again in the skillet.
A heavy, close-fitting lid for the skillet
Lower heat, cover the skillet, and cook the potatoes for about 15 minutes, shaking them every 3 to 4 minutes to prevent their sticking to the skillet, and to insure an even coloring.
They are done when they yield slightly to the pressure of your finger, or when a knife pierces them easily; they should be a nice, fairly even, golden brown color. Hold the cover slightly askew over the skillet, and pour out the sautéing fat.
(*) If not to be used immediately, set cover askew to allow for air circulation, and place skillet on an asbestos mat over very low heat. The potatoes can be kept thus for about half an hour. Reheat just to sizzling hot before serving.
2 to 3 Tb softened butter
2 to 3 Tb minced parsley, chives, or fresh tarragon, or a mixture of fresh green herbs
Big pinch of pepper
A hot vegetable dish
Then off heat, add the butter and herbs, sprinkle on the pepper, and roll the potatoes in the skillet so they glisten with herbs and butter. Arrange the potatoes around your meat platter, or turn them into a vegetable dish.
[Diced Potatoes Sautéed in Butter]
Use exactly the same system as that in the preceding recipe, but form the raw potatoes into balls with a potato-ball cutter, or cut them into ¼-inch dice.
Whatever method you use for rice the grains should emerge whole, tender, and separate. Although raw rice is not difficult to cook, many people are so afraid of it they dare to attempt only the precooked or parboiled varieties, thus limiting their scope of rice dishes and denying their skill as good cooks. Two factors contribute to the gumminess of badly cooked rice. One is overcooking. The other is failure to deal with the floury coating which clings to raw rice and becomes sticky and gluey unless the rice is washed or sautéed in butter or oil.
Although more than 40,000 varieties of rice exist, only a few of them are available commercially. Long grain rice is the one that cooks up the fluffiest for plain boiled or steamed rice, risottos, and salads. Medium grain rice is shorter and tenderer, good for puddings. Short grain and glutinous rice, which vary from rather sticky to very sticky indeed, are used mostly by Oriental cooks and commercial gravy makers. Remarks on parboiled and precooked as well as wild rice are on this page.
ENRICHED RICE
This means that certain minerals and vitamins have been added to replace those lost during milling. Since the enrichment is on the surface of the grains, it is soluble, and that means (unless you do not want the enrichments!) you should neither wash rice before cooking nor rinse it afterward. Most states now have laws that rice must be enriched—your box or package will so indicate. It seems to us that enriched rice cooks faster by 2 to 3 minutes than un-enriched rice. In other words, whereas it used to take 18 minutes for the cooking of braised rice or risotto, it now takes about 15 minutes.
AMOUNT TO BUY
One cup of raw rice makes about 3 cups of cooked rice, or enough for 4 to 6 people.
WARNING
Never stir cooked rice with anything but a wooden fork or chopsticks; lift and fluff the rice, being careful not to mash or break the grains.
RIZ À L’INDIENNE-RIZ À LA VAPEUR[Steamed Rice]
There are many ways to arrive at plain boiled or steamed rice, and most cooks choose one that best suits their temperaments. We find the following to be a foolproof system where the rice may be cooked hours ahead of time and reheated when needed.
For 4½ cups of cooked rice serving 6 people
Place the rice in the saucepan; stir in the water and salt. Bring to the boil over high heat, stir up once thoroughly, reduce heat to the simmer—very slight heat and bubbling—cover the pan and set timer for 12 minutes. Take a quick peek at the rice: the liquid should be almost absorbed. Fork up a few grains but don’t stir it because stirring at this point could turn it sticky. Bite into it. It should be very slightly al dente—with the faintest crunch, but almost tender. Cover the pan and set off heat to let the rice finish cooking. (If not tender, sprinkle on droplets of water and cook a few minutes more; if liquid has not absorbed, uncover and boil it off, fluffing with a fork.)
The rice is now ready to serve, but if you are not ready to serve it, here are the alternatives:
Reheating cooked rice
Once cooked, rice may be allowed to cool; then cover it airtight and refrigerate it for a day or two before reheating it. To reheat, first fluff it lightly and steam it as follows:
3 thicknesses of well-washed cheesecloth
A colander set over a pan of simmering water
A cover
Steaming—à la vapeur. Fold the rice into the cheesecloth, set in the colander, cover it, and place over the simmering water. Steam it for several minutes until well heated through.
ALTERNATE METHODS: Riz à l’anglaise or au beurre
The frying pan: Sauté the cooked rice lightly in butter, tossing and turning and fluffing it with seasonings as it warms.
Double boiler: Turn it into a covered pan and set in a larger pan of simmering water. Fluff it with butter, salt, and pepper as it heats.
You can do many things to vary the flavor of plain rice. For instance, use half chicken broth and half water rather than water alone for its initial cooking. Or add some white wine or dry white French vermouth to your water or broth. You may wish an herb flavoring, like a bay leaf, a big pinch of thyme or tarragon, or an herb bouquet; add the herbs right at the beginning of the cooking. A big pinch of curry or turmeric or saffron flowers gives color to rice served with lamb stew or curried dishes. And there are always onions and garlic: Simmer ⅓ cup or so of minced onions in a tablespoon of oil or butter or half a cup of chicken broth or wine; when tender, proceed in the usual way. Or add minced garlic to the rice at the beginning of the cooking, or whole peeled raw garlic cloves, which will cook along with the rice. Here are other ideas:
½ lb. finely diced fresh mushrooms
2 Tb butter
1 Tb oil
1 to 2 Tb minced shallots or green onions
Salt and pepper to taste
1 to 2 Tb more butter
2 to 3 Tb minced parsley
Following the procedure for duxelles twist the mushrooms, a handful at a time, in the corner of a towel to extract their juice. Sauté the mushrooms in butter and oil for 6 to 8 minutes until very lightly browned. Stir in the shallots or onions and cook slowly for 2 minutes more. Mix in the hot, steamed rice with a fork and season to taste. Fluff in the rest of the butter and the parsley.
(*) May be set aside and reheated later.
[Vegetarian Rice Bowl]
For 4 servings
4 cups hot steamed rice
1 cup minced onions cooked in butter and mixed herbs
1 cup diced eggplant sautéed in oil and garlic
⅓ cup chopped walnut meats
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
Salt and pepper
1 omelette, cut into strips
Chopped parsley
With the hot rice in a roomy saucepan, deftly fluff in the onions, eggplant, walnuts, and cherry tomatoes. Season carefully to taste, and turn into warm bowls. Decorate with the omelette strips, and sprinkle with parsley.
Pass chopsticks to your guests.
[Rice Salads]
Cooked rice is a versatile base for many a salad combination, and it is always useful to have on hand for quick and attractive meals. Save up such treasures to combine with the rice as cooked peas or green beans, ham, chicken or other poultry tidbits, lamb, pork sausages, shrimp, crab, lobster—anything that you can dice up and, perhaps, marinate first in a tossing of oil, lemon, minced shallots or scallions, herbs, and seasonings. For instance:
For 4 servings
2 to 3 cups cooked rice
Good salad oil
Lemon juice or wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
4 scallions, thinly sliced, including tender green
A handful of black olives, quartered lengthwise
½ cup ham, diced
½ cup each cooked carrots and beans, diced
1 small head shredded romaine
1 bunch broccoli spears, cooked
Toss the rice in a bowl with droplets of oil, lemon or vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. (Be sure to use a wooden spoon and fork, and toss gently so as not to break the grains.) Toss in the rest of the ingredients except for the romaine and broccoli. Season carefully. Arrange the shredded romaine on plates or a serving dish, mound the rice salad on top, and decorate with the cooked broccoli, which you have seasoned nicely beforehand with salt, pepper, lemon, and oil. (Fresh herbs, such as basil, chives, chervil, and tarragon, are always welcome.)
[Risotto—Braised Rice]
This is the standard French method for braised rice, meaning rice sautéed in fat and onions, then cooked in seasoned liquid. Whether the final dish is labeled risotto, pilaf, or pilau it is usually done in this manner regardless of the traditional techniques of other rice-eating nations. A good risotto is simple to make if you bear the following points in mind that apply to a plain risotto as well as to one which includes vegetables, chicken, or sea foods.
SAUTÉING
The rice must first be sautéed slowly in butter for 2 to 3 minutes until it turns a milky color. This cooks the rice-flour coating and prevents the rice from becoming sticky.
Use the correct amount of liquid: 2 cups for each cup of raw rice.
HEAT
Regulate your heat so the liquid is entirely absorbed in 18 to 20 minutes. If the liquid is absorbed too quickly, the rice will not be tender. If it is absorbed too slowly, the rice becomes gummy, the grains disintegrate, and the flavor of the rice is impaired.
STIRRING
Do not stir the rice until all the liquid has been absorbed.
For 6 people
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
¼ cup finely minced onions
4 Tb butter
A 6-cup fireproof casserole about 8 inches in diameter with a tight-fitting cover
Cook the onions and butter slowly in the casserole for about 5 minutes until tender but not browned.
1½ cups clean, unwashed, raw rice
Blend the rice into the onions and butter and stir over moderate heat for several minutes, not letting the rice brown. The grains will at first become translucent, then will gradually turn a milky color.
3 cups boiling liquid, depending on what your risotto is to be served with:
Chicken stock or canned chicken broth
Brown stock or canned beef bouillon and water
Mushroom broth and water
White wine fish stock
White wine or white vermouth, and water
OR, water only
Salt and pepper
A small herb bouquet: 2 parsley sprigs, ⅓ bay leaf, and ⅛ tsp thyme tied in cheesecloth
As soon as the rice looks milky, pour in the boiling liquid. Add the herb bouquet, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to the simmer, stir once, cover the casserole, and set in lower third of preheated oven. As soon as the liquid maintains itself at a very slow boil, in 4 to 5 minutes, reduce heat to 350 degrees; the boil should be regulated so the liquid has been absorbed by the rice in 14 to 15 minutes. Do not touch the rice during this time. Then uncover the casserole; tilt it and lift rice with a fork to see if all liquid at bottom of casserole has evaporated. If not, return to oven for 2 to 3 minutes more. Then remove the casserole from the oven. If you wish the rice to be slightly al dente, uncover it. If you wish it to become a little more tender, leave it covered for 10 minutes. Discard herb bouquet. Fluff the rice with a fork and correct seasoning.
(*) If not to be used immediately, keep warm over barely simmering water. Or set aside, and reheat casserole over boiling water when needed.
[Rice Ring]
This is how to make a ring of rice which is to be filled with creamed shellfish, sautéed chicken livers with ham and mushrooms, buttered peas, or whatever luscious sauced tidbits you wish.
For 6 people
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
A 6-cup ring mold, smeared with ½ Tb butter
The preceding risotto
A round of waxed paper
A lid to cover the mold
A pan of boiling water to hold the mold
Turn the risotto into the buttered mold, patting down the rice lightly; it should fill the mold exactly. Lay the waxed paper over the risotto. Cover with the lid, and set the mold in the pan of boiling water. Place in lower third of preheated oven for 10 minutes.
A round serving platter, heated and lightly buttered
Just before serving, turn platter upside down over mold and reverse the two, to unmold the rice ring onto the platter.
(*) If risotto is not to be served immediately, leave it in its mold, covered, and over barely simmering water.
This is treated by a special steam process designed to harden the grains so that they will not stick together when cooked. Use it like regular rice, but it may call for a little more liquid and the timing may be a little longer than for regular rice. It is a great invention, and the rice has excellent flavor.
This is the type of rice which, according to the printed directions, you mix with salt and boiling water, then cover and let stand for 5 minutes. It can be made much more interesting if you add to it onions or shallots cooked in butter, and use a well seasoned boiling stock rather than boiling salted water.
Wild rice has hardly been heard of in France, but you can cook it deliriously in the French manner by using a modified risotto technique.
For 6 to 8 people
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
1½ cups wild rice
3 quarts boiling water
1½ Tb salt
Drop the rice in the boiling salted water and boil uncovered for 5 minutes. Drain thoroughly.
3 Tb each: finely minced carrots, onions, and celery
4 Tb butter
A 2½-quart fireproof casserole with cover
1½ cups brown stock or canned beef bouillon
1 bay leaf
¼ tsp thyme
Salt and pepper
While the rice is boiling, cook the minced vegetables slowly in the butter in the casserole for 5 to 6 minutes until tender but not browned. Then add the drained rice and stir over moderate heat for 2 minutes to impregnate it with the butter. Add the stock or bouillon, bay leaf, thyme, and seasonings to taste. Bring to the boil. Cover the casserole and set in lower third of preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until the rice is tender and has absorbed all the liquid. Add a few drops more liquid if all has been absorbed before the rice is tender. The rice grains should emerge separate and lightly filmed with butter. Discard bay leaf. Fluff rice with a fork and correct seasoning.
(*) May be cooked in advance and reheated when needed.
