Soupe au potiron

Posted on October 8, 2012 by Meg

soupe potiron1When the days grow shorter and the nights brisker, one’s thoughts might turn to soup. And not just any soup — a thick, warming kind, like this pumpkin soup. It is both spicy and light, with just a touch of cream. A dash of cumin and squeeze of lemon add an edge to the natural sweetness of the pumpkin. You may prepare this soup using water or homemade broth. It takes just 10-15 minutes, not counting the cooking time (during which you may prepare the rest of the meal, or read a book or some such).

Soupe au potiron / Pumpkin soup

If you don’t have vegetable or chicken broth on hand, begin by making it. The broth recipes are included in today’s soup recipe, and also appear on the site separately in a new category called Basics. Over the next few weeks I will begin adding the main sauces used in French cooking to this category, from salad dressings like mustard vinaigrette to mayonnaise, hollandaise and beurre blanc. Dessert basics like pâte sucrée (sweet pie crust) and meringues will also be appearing in this category. Happy cooking!

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Clafoutis aux poires

Posted on October 5, 2012 by Meg

The beauty of the clafoutis is that it is so easy to make. An unpretentious French dessert, it is typically prepared in the spring, with cherries. But why wait half a year to enjoy it? In this late-summer version, pears are first caramelized and then baked in a batter of eggs, sugar, flour and milk. The result, served at tea time or after a meal,  is mouth-wateringly delicious.

Clafoutis aux poires / Pear flan

How this dessert got its name has various interpretations, but the origin that seems most plausible combines a Latin word meaning “to fill” and a French word meaning “to throw everything in.” For that is how it’s made. Once the pears are browning in butter and sugar, you throw the other ingredients into a mixing bowl, stir well and you’re done. A few moments later you have composed the dessert. Barricade your kitchen, because the aroma is so tempting that your entire household will descend on you.

Site news: We’ve been up for four weeks now, and I have to say it has really been fun. If you like the site, please subscribe by email — simply click on the envelope above and you will receive a daily update with a link to the latest recipe. FaceBook subscriptions will also be available soon.

The Everyday French Chef will be back on Monday. Happy cooking!

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Raviolis à la sauge

Posted on October 4, 2012 by Meg

ravioli sage1You’re right, you’re right. This is an Italian dish, not a French one, and more specifically a Tuscan dish — as I discovered one happy summer when some friends and I wandered down a country lane near Montalcino, past vineyards and noble cypress trees, and happened upon an outdoor trattoria  too enticing to resist. There was no menu, only the chef’s selection of the day. When the pasta course arrived — plump cheese ravioli exuding the lusty aroma of sage — we knew that we, too, had arrived at something special.

Raviolis à la sauge / Cheese pasta with sage

This dish is now Parisian as well, and not just because I’ve been making it in my Paris kitchen for the last 20 years. I see it occasionally on bistro menus — hardly surprising, since anyone who has tasted it once will want to try it again and again. If fresh sage is not available where you live, I strongly suggest you invest in a packet of seeds and grow some on your windowsill. It grows easily and hardily. Once established, you will have all the sage you need for the kitchen on a beautiful plant that cloaks itself in purple flowers in the spring. This dish may be served the first course of a large meal or on its own as the main course with a salad on the side.

 

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Côtelettes d’agneau au romarin

Posted on October 3, 2012 by Meg

lamb rosemary2Rosemary grows wild in the hills of southern France, the kind of hills where shepherds still accompany their sheep in a constant search for green pastures. Maybe this is why the flavors of rosemary and lamb marry so well. Whether cooking for one, two or a crowd, this recipe is quick and ultra easy to prepare. One suggestion would be to serve the lamb with a purée of carrots — also easy to prepare and, as my student Louise would say, divine.

Cotelettes d’agneau au romarin / Lamb chops with rosemary
Purée de carottes / Carrot purée

carrot puree1Vegetable purées are served often in French cuisine — in restaurants and at home — and I will be adding many such recipes to this site as time goes on: cabbage, fennel, celery root, to name just a few of my favorites. Their simplicity complements the complexity of meat, but they are also delicious served on their own, with a salad on the side and some cheese to follow. If you would like to serve purées as a main dish, double the recipe.

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Coquilles saint-jacques au muscat

Posted on October 2, 2012 by Meg

sea scallops1Scallops sautéed to a glorious crispness, their hearts meltingly tender, with the pungency of garlic and thyme infusing a sauce of ethereal sweetness… That is what this recipe produces, and it takes no more than 10 minutes to prepare. Served on a bed of salad greens, it makes a spectacular starter or light lunch dish, and has star quality as a main dish in its own right.

Coquilles saint-jacques au muscat / Scallops sautéed in sweet wine

In former times one had to live near the sea to have access to scallops, but that is no longer the case thanks to the advent of high-quality frozen seafood. The results are almost as good with frozen scallops as with fresh ones, or arguably better if you consider the convenience factor. With scallops in your freezer you can produce this dish at a moment’s notice. As for the vin de muscat — not to be confused with muscadet! — it is a pale yellow sweet wine that has been produced in various regions across southern France since ancient times. My favorite is Frontignan, as much for the beauty of the bottle as for the delicate flavor. If muscat is not available where you live, the recipe works well with any number of sweet wines, from sweet sherry to apple jack.

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Pâté de foies de volaille au cassis

Posted on October 1, 2012 by Meg

pate with cassis1First, the news. It is now possible to subscribe to this site. To receive daily email updates from The Everyday French Chef, just click the link on the upper right of this page. And now, the recipe. Although pâté is quintessentially French, there are as many ways of making it as there are regions across this multifacted land. This version is unusual in that it is flavored with crème de cassis, the black currant liqueur from Burgundy that is popular over here in the white wine cocktail known as kir. The cassis gives the pâté a slightly sweet tang (no, that’s not a contradiction), as you’ll see if you try it.

Pâté de foies de volaille au cassis / Chicken liver pâté with cassis

More traditionally, pâté is flavored with cognac or port, either of which may be substituted in this recipe with happy results. More variations: add a little fresh sage when you add the thyme, or crumble in a hot cayenne pepper for additional kick. Or, when you’re ready to serve, chop some fresh herbs on top — dill, cilantro and chervil  work well. This pâté is a nice start to a meal served with a little salad on the side, with other hors d’oeuvres, or simply on its own.

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Crumble aux myrtilles

Posted on September 28, 2012 by Meg

blueberry crumble2The crumble may have originated in Britain or Ireland or even America — nobody seems to know for sure — but the French have embraced it so wholeheartedly that it now pops up on menus of Parisian restaurants both humble and grand. Variations created over here include crumbles with everything from veggies to chicken to nuts. The fruit crumble, however, is the origin of the species, and among fruit crumbles, my favorites are with berries — black currants, red currants, blackberries or, as in this recipe, with blueberries.

Crumble aux myrtilles / Blueberry crumble

This is not to discount the evident merits of apple or rhubarb crumble, not to mention peach or plum, which stand out as crowdpleasers in midsummer. But berries retain a seductive musky flavor linked to their woodsy origins. And the berry crumble has another advantage: its simplicity. A child of 10 can easily throw one together, as I learned when my daughter insisted on making one herself a few years back. It took me 10 minutes last night to make the crumble shown above, not counting baking time — 5 minutes for the berries and 5 for the crumbly topping. Try it, and let me know how it turns out.

The Everyday French Chef will be back on Monday. Happy cooking!

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Poêlée de champignons des bois

Posted on September 27, 2012 by Meg

wild mushrooms1I learned this dish many years ago from a French friend who happened to be living in the Périgord region south of Limoges, an area that falls within the northern reaches of Dordogne. First we went out gathering mushrooms in a nearby wood. We were searching for girolles, the bright yellow-orange mushrooms known in English as chanterelles and — my favorite — in Russian as lisichki (‘little foxes’), presumably due to their golden color. We brought the mushrooms home and looked them over. Happily my friend was rather experienced at this and could tell a poison mushroom from a good one. Then quite quickly she cleaned them, sautéed them in olive oil with a little garlic — et voilà! A masterpiece. But I’ve taken liberties with her recipe…

Poêlée de champignons des bois / Wild mushrooms with herbs

After living in France for a while I was sent as a reporter to Russia, where mushroom hunting and eating is a national passion. I fear I was seriously smitten by the Russian taste for fresh herbs, which explains why I have added them to this recipe, along with a spot of cream. Prepared this way, the mushrooms can be served as a warm starter or used to accompany fish, meats, pasta or eggs. My preferred herbs from Russia are dill and cilantro, but this is one dish where you can let your imagination run wild. Try any herbs you happen to have on hand — and let us know how it turns out!

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Spaghettis aux coques

Posted on September 25, 2012 by Meg

spaghetti clams1This is the French version of pasta alle vongole, the Italian dish that tastes so seductively of the sea. It is made with cockles, which are abundant along the shores of northern France and England, among other places. If they are not available in your region, try substituting other small clams — the smaller they are, the more tender they will be. In this recipe, the cockles are sautéed in butter and garlic, then steamed open in white wine. The cooking goes so quickly that you need to get your spaghetti going before starting with the cockles. When both are done, you combine them together, sprinkle with parsley — et voilà! A delicious meal in less than 15 minutes.

Spaghettis aux coques / Spaghetti with small clams

Now here’s some news about this web site. It’s been up and running for just over two weeks and, having finally managed to get the statistics working, I can happily report that we have reached 150 visits a day. Many thanks to all of you for that. Where are the visitors coming from? Quite a few from Facebook, unsurprisingly. But another group of visitors is arriving via the site of my friend Martin Walker, a journalist turned novelist who spends part of each year in the Dordogne region of southwest France and who has kindly posted a link to ‘The Everyday French Chef’ on his homepage.

Martin’s site, brunochiefofpolice.com, was created in connection with his series of detective novels starring a friendly and canny Dordogne policeman named Bruno — who also loves to cook. The site is full of great regional recipes. I suggest you take a look at the new video showing the TV chef Keith Floyd making a salad with fresh walnuts and hot goose giblets while aboard a small river craft, being buzzed by water skiiers. Very amusing, and the recipe looks great.

The Everyday French Chef will be back on Thursday. Happy cooking!

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Poulet rôti épicé

Posted on September 24, 2012 by Meg

roast chicken 1The evening before I was to teach my first cooking class, I met two French friends for dinner at a Paris bistro. ‘What’s on your teaching menu for tomorrow?’ they asked, and when I replied, ‘Roast chicken,’ they burst out laughing. ‘Everyone already knows how to make roast chicken,’ they smirked, with more than a hint of gallic superiority. ‘Ah, yes, mes amies,’ I replied, ‘but there is more than one way to roast a chicken.’ In this recipe, the chicken is coated with a sauce made of olive oil, cumin and cinnamon before going into the oven. The mouth-watering result will be evident just 15 minutes into the roasting process as irresistible aromas begin wafting through your kitchen.

Poulet rôti épicé / Roast chicken with spices

As I learned when I put on my apron to teach that first class, roast chicken had not been such a bad choice after all. Before we even started with the bird, my students peppered me with questions: What’s the difference between a free-range chicken and an organic chicken? Why are some chickens white and some yellow? The answers, to the best of my knowledge: Free-range birds have access to outdoors, although how much access varies from region to region. Organic chickens are generally free-range and also receive pesticide-free, organic feed and are certified free of antibiotics and hormones. As for the color, white chickens are fed with wheat and yellow chickens with corn — at least in France. Happy cooking!

Posted in 6. Poultry | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments