Bourride with Homemade Garlic Aioli

 

                    This garlicky fish stew from Provence doesn't rely on any particular type of fish. Use what's fresh and firm - halibut and shrimp, sea bass or red mullet, monkfish and clams - the choice is yours. The garlic mayonnaise (aioli) thickens and enriches this iconic stew. Serve with crusty bread.

Serves 4

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 leek, sliced in half then cut into half moon
• ½ fennel bulb, thinly sliced
• 4 plum tomatoes, chopped
• ½ cup white wine
• 3½ cups fish stock
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 3 tablespoons chopped thyme
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 pinches saffron
• 6 sea scallops, cut in quarters
• ½ pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• ½ pound cod, cut into 2-inch segments
• 1 pound mussels
• ¼ cup aioli (recipe follows)

1. Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat.
2. Add the carrots, leek, and fennel, and sauté for 5 minutes ; add the tomatoes and cook or 2 minutes longer.
3. Stir in the wine and simmer for 5 minutes ; add the fish stock, parsley, thyme, salt and saffron, and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.
4. When ready to serve, with the broth simmering, add the scallops and cook for 2 minutes ; add the shrimp and cod, and cook 2 minutes longer.
5. Add the mussels and cook just until they all open, about 2 minutes.
6. Serve in bowls, topped with a dollop of aioli.

Aioli

                    Aioli is a mayonnaise-like Provençal sauce that's delicious with grilled seafood, fried fish, grilled meats, and vegetables.

Makes 1 cup

• ½ cup canola oil
• ½ cup olive oil
• 1 large garlic clove, finely minced
• 1 egg
• ¼ teaspoon dry mustard
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Pinch of cayenne

1. Combine the canola and olive oil in a measuring cup.
2. Put the garlic, egg, mustard, salt, lemon juice, and cayenne in a food processor or blender and blend on high, slowly adding the oil mixture until you have the consistency of a beautiful, thick mayonnaise.
3. Refrigerate if not using immediately ; covered, aioli will last a week in the refrigerator.

BON APPÉTIT

Pan-Fried Trout with Lemon and Caper Sauce

                    You can cook most types of fish this way. Vary the sauce by adding diced tomato or roasted bell pepper, pitted black olives, or different fresh herbs such as dill, chervil, or basil.

Makes 4 servings

• 2 large or 3 small lemons
• 125 gr unsalted butter, divided
• 2 (½-inch-thick) sliced fresh brioche or white bread, crusts trimmed and discarded, cut into ½-inch cubes
• 8 trout fillets
• Salt and freshly ground white pepper
• All-purpose flour for dusting
• 60 ml olive oil
• 30 ml minced shallots
• 30 ml rinsed and drained capers
• 12 caper berries, drained and cut lengthwise in halves, or 30 ml more rinsed and drained capers
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• 60 ml minced flat-leaf parsley

1. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C).
2. To prepare the lemons, using a sharp paring knife, cut off just enough of each end of a lemon to reveal the fruit inside. Stand a lemon on one cut end and cut downward to remove the peel and pith. Holding the peeled lemon over a bowl to catch the juices, cut carefully between the membrane and pulp of each segment, freeing the segment and letting it drop into the bowl. Squeeze any remaining juice from the pulp left clinging to the membranes and discard the membranes and peel. Cut the lemon segments into ¼ to ½-inch pieces, discard the seeds, and return the segments to the bowl.
3. Strain off the lemon juice and measure out 125 ml of segments.
4. To make the croutons, melt half of the butter in a small saucepan over low heat ; toss the bread cubes with the butter and spread them on a small baking sheet.
5. Put them in the preheated oven and bake until crisp and golden, about 10 minutes ; transfer to a bowl and set aside.
6. Season the trout fillets with salt and white pepper to taste and lightly dust them with flour.
7. Over high heat, heat a sauté pan large enough to hold all the fillets without crowding (or cook the fillets in batches, using half the olive oil for each batch).
8. Add the olive oil ; when the oil is hot, add the trout fillets boned side down and sauté until their undersides are golden brown, about 3 minutes ; with a metal spatula, carefully turn the fillets over and cook until their other sides are golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes more.
9. Carefully transfer 2 fillets to each of four heated serving plates ; scatter the croutons over and around the fillets.
10. Add the remaining butter to the pan, when it has melted add the shallots ; sauté over high heat until the butter turns golden brown.
11. Add the lemon juice and stir and scrape with a wooden spoon to deglaze the pan deposits ; add the lemon pieces, capers, caper berries, lemon zest and parsley, and heat through, about 1 minute more.
12. Spoon this sauce over and around the trout fillets and serve.

BON APPÉTIT

Scallops with fennel and pastis

 

6 portions

• 24 scallops
• 60 gr butter
• 2 chopped fennel bulbs
• 4 sliced green onions
• 80 ml pastis
• 300 ml cream 35%
• 15 ml roughly chopped fennel leaves

1. Remove the scallops from their shells and clean them, removing the coral. Wash the shells, dry them and keep them aside.
2. Melt 40g of butter in a pan and cook the fennel for around 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the fennel is tender, keep it warm.
3. Heat the rest of the butter in the same pan and melt the onion while stirring.
4. Return the fennel to the pan with the scallops, pastis and cream.
5. Cook for 2 minutes, until the scallops become opaque.
6. Arrange 4 half-shells on each serving plate. Remove the scallops from the pan one by one and distribute them among the shells.
7. Let the sauce simmer until it thickens slightly and top with the scallops and sprinkle with fennel fronds.

BON APPÉTIT

Onion Soup

 

Serves 4

• 575 gr onions, sliced into fine rings
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 100 gr butter
• ½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce
• Pinch each cayenne pepper and nutmeg
• 1¼ liters beef stock
• 250 ml dry white wine
• 4 slices French bread
• 50 gr grated Emmental or Gruyère cheese

1. Melt the butter in a large shallow pan, add the onion and garlic and fry, stirring continuously, until golden brown ; add the Tabasco, cayenne, nutmeg and stock, cover the pan and bring to the boil.
2. Simmer over a moderate heat for 20 minutes ; pour in the wine, continue cooking for a few minutes and take the pan off the heat.
3. Divide the soup between four individual flameproof bowls.
4. Lightly toast the bread and place one slice on each portion of soup ; sprinkle the toast with the grated cheese and place the bowls of soup under the grill until the cheese has melted.

BON APPÉTIT

Steak Tartare

 

Serves 4-6

• 2 onions, diced
• Bunch parsley, finely chopped
• 3 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
• 6 baby gherkins, finely diced
• 575 gr minced fillet steak
• 1 tablespoon capers
• 3 egg yolks
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 4 canned anchovy fillets
• 1 sage leave, for garnish

1. Place the minced steak in a large bowl and mix with the onion, chopped herbs, gherkins, capers, two egg yolks, pepper and salt.
2. Arrange the steak tartare in a large bowl, make a well in the center and pour the remaining egg yolk.
3. Top the tartare with the anchovy fillets, and garnish with the sage leave.

BON APPÉTIT

Make a successful roast lamb (Provençal roast leg)

 

                To remain tender and retain all its juices, roast meat should not cook for too long. It is essential to place it in an already very hot oven, and to finish cooking by lowering the temperature. It is equally important to never salt the meat at the very beginning of cooking, because the salt encourages the flow of juices. For a pink leg of lamb, you need 20 minutes of cooking for the first 500 gr and 10 minutes for the following ones

                Peel 3 cloves of garlic. In a blender, grind them by adding 6 anchovy fillets, 12 basil leaves and 30 ml of olive oil. Preheat the oven to 400*F. Coat this leg of lamb with this mixture and cook it. Allow 25 minutes per 500g of meat. When the leg of lamb is cooked, cut it into thin slices in the baking dish, allowing the anchovy crust that has formed to fall into the juice. Arrange the slices in a warm serving dish then mix the anchovy juice and crust with 30 ml of homemade mayonnaise in the baking dish. Cover the slices of lamb with this sauce and serve immediately.

A red Bordeaux: Médoc or Côtes-de Bourg

BON APPÉTIT

Nicoise salad

 

                    Here is a classic salad that has become part of our summer habits. The achovy enhances the Mediterranean flavor of this salad.

For 2 meal salads

• 8 unpeeled baby potatoes
• 250 ml green beans in sections
• 1 can of 170 gr canned tuna, drained
• 2 hard-cooked eggs, quartered
• 20 grape tomatoes
• 20 Kalamata olives
• 4 anchovy fillets
• Anchoïade (see recipe below)

1. In a large pot of water, over medium heat, cook the potatoes for 10 to 12 minutes; drain and let cool before cutting in half.
2. Meanwhile, in a pot of boiling salted water over medium heat, cook the beans for 4 to 5 minutes or until tender; drain and immerse in an ice water bath to retain their color.
3. Place tuna in the center of a large serving plate; Arrange the beans, eggs, potatoes, tomatoes and olives all around.
4. Garnish with anchovy fillets and drizzle with anchoïade.

Anchoïade

• 15 ml white wine vinegar
• 5 ml Dijon mustard
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 3 anchovy fillets, crushed with a fork
• 60 ml olive oil
• Mill pepper

1. In a bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard and garlic.
2. Add the anchovies, then drizzle in the oil until the mayonnaise sets.
3. Pepper to taste.

BON APPÉTIT

How to preserve duck legs (Confit de canard)

                         Confire is a particular cooking technique which consists of slowly cooking a piece of poultry previously brined, particularly goose or duck, by immersing it in its heated fat.

                        Choose mulard duck, raised indoors and fattened by force-feeding from feed made from corn and water. Its flesh is plump and delicious.

For 4 servings

• - 4 duck legs
• - ½ cup coarse salt
• - 1 C. tbsp peppercorns
• - 5 to 6 juniper berries
• - 3 bay leaves
• - 1 sprig of thyme
• - 2 cup duck fat

1. In a bowl, mix the coarse salt and the spices, rub each duck leg with this mixture.
2. Place the thighs in a dish, cover with plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for 12 hours.
3. Rinse each thigh well to remove the salt.
4. Dry the thighs well.
5. In a saucepan, melt the fat, immerse the thighs in the hot fat and let simmer for 2 hours without ever bringing to the boil.

Suggestion

                    Serve warm, with a mesclun salad drizzled with a spicy mustard vinaigrette or an arugula salad drizzled with a few drops of balsamic vinegar and garnished with Parmesan shavings.

BON APPÉTIT

Ordinary choux pastry (The Escoffier culinary guide)

 

Proportions:

• 1 liter of water
• 375 grams of butter
• 15 grams of salt
• 25 grams of sugar
• 500 grams of sifted flour
• 16 medium eggs
• A spoonful of orange blossom water

Process :

1. Put water, salt, sugar and butter in a saucepan and bring to the boil.
2. Remove from fire ; add the flour; mix this and dry over high heat until the dough no longer sticks to the spoon and oozes slightly.
3. Then add, and completely off the heat, the eggs two by two, taking care to incorporate them well into the dough before adding more.
4. When all the eggs have been absorbed by the dough, top it off with the flavoring.

The cooking :

1. Place the choux buns on the lightly buttered baking sheet, using a spoon or a piping bag; take care to space them out sufficiently, as they double in volume when cooked.
2. Bake in a hot 400F (200C) oven for about 20 minutes.
3. The choux should be puffy, golden, crunchy and light.
4. Let cool on rack.

In homage to Auguste Escoffier

Old-fashioned Veal Blanquette (The Escoffier culinary guide)

 

(Proportion for one service: one kilo 500.)

 

              The elements of the Blanquette are caught in the tendon, shoulder and collar ribs.

              Cut the meat into small pieces; mark them during cooking with enough white stock so that they are covered. Add very little salt, bring to the boil gently, stirring the meat often; skim with the greatest care.

              Add a small carrot; an onion studded with a clove; a bouquet composed of a leek, parsley stems, fragment of thyme and bay leaf. Cook gently for an hour and a half.

              With 100 grams of white roux and a liter and three quarters of cooking, prepare a velouté; add a small handful of fresh mushroom peelings and cook for a quarter of an hour, thinning out the sauce.

              Drain and trim the pieces of veal, if necessary; put them in another saucepan with 20 small white-cooked onions and as many small mushrooms.

              At the last moment, complete the sauce with a mixture of 5 egg yolks; a drizzle of lemon juice, grated nutmeg and a deciliter of cream. Pass it through fine strainer over the pieces and the filling; heat without letting it boil, arrange in a timbale, and sprinkle lightly with chopped parsley.

BON APPÉTIT