Tarte aux quetsches

Posted on September 21, 2012 by Meg

plum tart2Heralding autumn, the blue plums known as quetsches appear in French markets at this time of year. They are grown mainly in the eastern regions of Alsace and Lorraine, and appear to be related to what the British call damsons. Neither too sweet nor too sharp, they carry an almost nostalgic flavor of summer declining — and make a perfect tart for this time of year.

Tarte aux questches / Plum tart

The pastry for this tart is a classic French pâte sablée, or sweet pie crust, which I learned to make in the 1970s while working at the Café Dewitt in Ithaca, New York. It is quite quick to make once you get the hang of it, and does not need to be rolled out. You simply pat it into your tart pan — et voilà!

The Everyday French Chef will be back on Monday. In the meantime, thanks for your support. And happy cooking!

Posted in Desserts | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Ratatouille

Posted on September 20, 2012 by Meg

ratatouille2There must be as many ways of making ratatouille as there are chefs in France, for appreciation of this ultraflavorful vegetable stew spread north from Provence long ago. The best I ever had was at lunch at a two-star Michelin restaurant in the lavender-swathed foothills up from the coastal road to Nice. The chef kindly shared her recipe — which I have long since lost — but the key was to cook each ingredient separately before combining them all at the end. According to my Provençal cookbook, Recettes de Provence by Andrée Maureau (Edisud), that is indeed the traditional way of making ratatouille. But for everyday French chefs it is far too time-consuming. This recipe, in contrast, is quick and simple, and practically just as good.

Ratatouille / Ratatouille

Ratatouille is usually served as a hot vegetable dish, but it is also wonderful as a summer salad. To serve it as a first course, sprinkle the ratatouille with a few drops of fresh lemon juice, mix well and spoon onto individual plates atop a bed of lettuce. The essential trick here is never to serve the ratatouille cold. To ensure that you receive the full burst of its fabulous flavor, allow the ratatouille to return to room temperature before serving.

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Omelette à la sauge

Posted on September 19, 2012 by Meg

sage omelet1There is an art to omelet making. I learned it long ago at the Café Dewitt in Ithaca, New York, where I had a part-time job as a chef while working on my Masters thesis. The trick is to make the omelet both fluffy and consistent at the same time, airy and yet earthbound. In this particular omelet, the goodness of the eggs is enhanced by the flavor of fresh sage, one of the most sensuous herbs around.

Omelette à la sauge / Omelet with fresh sage

I first encountered the culinary use of fresh sage during a trip to the Tuscan countryside, where a small outdoor restaurant hidden away along an ancient road served cheese ravioli in a sauce of melted butter and sage, topped with grated parmesan. It was so fantastic that we went back for more several nights in a row — and since then I have incorporated sage into my French cooking at home.

This omelet makes a great lunch dish, accompanied by a green salad, some fresh bread and perhaps a glass of wine. To round out a simple meal, serve fresh fruit for dessert. The omelet is quite easy to make once you get hold of the ingredients. If sage isn’t available where you live, you can substitute other herbs, as noted at the bottom of the recipe.

Posted in 4. Omelets, Soufflés, Quiche | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Magret de canard au cassis

Posted on September 18, 2012 by Meg

duck cassis2This recipe marries two of my favorite flavors — the wild, woodsy taste of black currants and the rich, warm taste of duck. Throw in a little garlic and thyme and you have an intensely satisfying dish for autumn, winter, or in fact any time of year.

‘But wait!’ you may object. ‘What about all that duck fat?’ Yes, it’s true — a duck breast comes with a thick layer of fat on one side, while the other side is lean. The trick is to score the fat with a sharp knife, and to throw off the melted fat as the duck is cooking. This way your sauce will be flavor-packed without being heavy. And you can also — although this is anathema to most French — trim the fat off as you eat the duck. The great thing is that this recipe can be prepared quickly, and if guests are coming you can do it in two stages — the first before they arrive, and the second just before bringing the duck to the table.

Magret de canard au cassis / Duck breast with black currant sauce

Needless to say, this is one of those foods that falls under the heading ‘the French paradox’ —  the way the French stay thin and live longer than the rest of us mortals despite consuming rich foods. In fact, according to official French statistics, life expectancy is higher in the region surrounding Toulouse — in southwest France, where the most duck is produced — than in any other part of the country except the capital.

Another part of the French paradox is that red wine seems to be beneficial to health if one does not overindulge. And duck  pairs beautifully with a glass of the red — from southern France, or anywhere with wine robust enough to stand up to these intense flavors.

Here’s an update about this site, which has received an enthusiastic welcome from readers since it was launched last week. For which many thanks. First, some readers have pointed out that ingredients called for in these recipes are not available where they live. What is to be done? Later today I will add a new category to the menu bar, Ingredients, with advice on which food products to choose and what to substitute if you cannot find certain items. Second, while I am still experiencing some technical difficulties, the RSS feed on this site appears to be working. If you’d like to receive a daily alert telling you which recipe has been posted, simply click on the ‘Entries RSS’ line toward the bottom of the right-hand column on this page and sign up. I hope to have an RSS icon on the top of the page in the near future. Happy cooking!

Posted in 6. Poultry | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Soupe au fenouil braisé

Posted on September 17, 2012 by Meg

fennel soup1When summer fades toward autumn, the days grow shorter and the nights begin to nip, I often get a hankering for soup. And not just any soup — the warm, comforting kind, the kind with which to start an evening meal and make all feel right with the world. One of my favorites for autumn evenings is braised fennel soup, made from fennel bulbs, or finocchio, that is chopped, slowly browned in olive oil, braised in water or stock and then puréed.

Soupe au fenouil braisé / Braised fennel soup

The recipe serves up to 3, but when I made this the other night for an English friend we nearly finished the pot between the two of us. And then had a second course of duck! (Coming tomorrow). Fennel soup is light despite being hearty (try it — this isn’t a contradiction). It’s vegetarian if you cook the fennel using water (which I do) or vegetable stock. For vegans, simply omit the cream and add an extra swirl of olive oil.

Posted in 2. Soups | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ricotta à la lavande et aux mirabelles

Posted on September 14, 2012 by Meg

ricotta mirabelles3Guess what? Even everyday French chefs go out from time to time. Luckily for me there is a cluster of great little bistros in my neighborhood, and none I like better than Au Passage. The other night I had a dessert there that was so addictively sublime that I had to have it again. The name itself is enough to evoke Provence in the still of a summer evening: Ricotta with lavender and mirabelles, the sweet little yellow plums that appear in markets over here every August. I tried to duplicate the dessert a few days later, but it lacked some little je-ne-sais-quoi. So yesterday I wandered over to Au Passage and spoke with the chef, Shaun Kelly, who was kind enough to share his recipe.

Ricotta à la lavande et aux mirabelles / Ricotta with lavender and plums

Shaun, who has been chef at Au Passage since mid-July, is Australian — and a brilliantly creative master of the culinary arts. His menus change every day, so when you return you can never be sure of finding the fabulous moules à l’aïoli (mussels with garlic mayonnaise) or burrata à la poutargue (creamy mozzarella with botargo) that you enjoyed the last time. This is what inspired me to try my hand at it. And Shaun’s creations are not only delectable but beautiful, too. Before serving the ricotta-mirabelle dessert, for example, he recommends sprinkling it with a few drops of olive oil ‘and the odd lavender flower.’

The dessert, the first on this site, takes about 20 minutes to prepare from beginning to end. And it’s to die for…

The Everyday French Chef will be back on Monday. In the meantime, happy cooking!

Posted in Desserts | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Escalopes de veau à la crème, salade mâche-betterave

Posted on September 13, 2012 by Meg

escalope veau1A friend from England is coming for lunch en route to his Eurostar home. He expects a good meal and you don’t want to disappoint him. But you’ve been working at your computer all morning and now he’s about to arrive. What is to be done?

I have several dishes that I make on such occasions — easy to prepare and quintessentially French. For example, veal scallops with cream and fresh mushrooms. This dish can be made in a matter of minutes — 5 minutes for the mushrooms and another 5 for the veal — and always makes a great impression at the table. If wild mushrooms like chanterelles (girolles) or porcinis (cèpes) are available, by all means use them. Otherwise any fresh mushrooms will do.

lambs lettuce beets1As a starter, another quintessentially French dish is a salad of lamb’s lettuce with beets. It’s a bistro favorite but also very easy to make at home, at least in France where beets come to the market already cooked. In places where beets are sold raw, this dish would take some forward planning. But once your beets are ready, composing the salad is quick and fun.

Escalopes de veau à la crème / Veal scallops with cream and mushrooms
Salade mâche-betterave / Salad of lamb’s lettuce and beets

Today marks the fourth day of this blog and I am still trouble-shooting. In order to make things more practical for both readers and myself, I have removed the page ‘Today’ with the recipes of the day and instead am linking new recipes straight to the appropriate page for each dish. This change has the benefit of allowing people who comment to see their remarks appear directly with each recipe. If you’d like to make a comment about ‘The Everyday French Chef’ in general, please use the form at the bottom of this page.

Happy cooking!

Posted in 3. Salads, 7. Meat Dishes | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Salade de roquette, saucisses merguez

Posted on September 12, 2012 by Meg

merguez2Let’s face it — the everyday French chef cannot concoct a major feast every day. There are school nights, work nights, nights when you’re planning a rendez-vous with your lover… Sometimes it’s just a matter of opening up the fridge to see what’s available, and then using your creativity. The result can be a 20-minute supper that’s as tasty as it is simple. For example, spicy merguez sausages accompanied by a salad of arugula with balsamic vinaigrette dressing — and if you like a little couscous on the side.

Salade de roquette / Arugula salad
Saucisses merguez / Spicy sausages

I fell in love with merguez way back in the late 1970s when I hadn’t been in Paris all that long. The occasion was a trip to the Montreuil flea market — on the eastern edge of Paris, and more manageable than the sprawling market at Clignancourt. I got into an argument with Jean-Pierre, a friend who went out there to look for some funky old furniture with me and my boyfriend. There was a little café that served merguez-frites where a guy in a beret played the accordion, and that’s the place where I had my first taste of these wonderful sausages. Anyhow, Jean-Pierre said the word merguez was not in the dictionary because it wasn’t French. I begged to differ, insisting that the sausages — which originally hailed from the French colonies in North Africa — had become so prevalent on the mainland that they must have been integrated into the language. On arriving home, I checked my Petit Robert dictionary and saw I had lost the bet. But if Jean-Pierre was right about that, he was wrong about another thing. He swore merguez were made from donkey meat. That may have been the case in the past, but now the merguez sold commercially in France are generally made from a mix of beef and lamb. If you cannot find merguez in your neighborhood, any spicy or herbal sausages will do.

Now then. On the launching-a-web-site front:
1) I’m afraid I’m not very tech-y and somehow managed to wipe out all the comments of people who wrote in the first day (Monday Sept. 10). My apologies. I will now try to post them below.
2) I am desperately seeking someone who can help me iron out some of the wrinkles associated with this launch. If anyone knows of a Paris-based web designer or web technician, could you kindly let me know?

Comments from Monday

Pauline AV says:
Hi Meg, et bienvenue au Blogosphere !
I love the clear presentation and the veggie header pic, and look forward to seeing you turn your talents to the veggie repertoire.

Meg says:
Hi Pauline. Well, yes, ‘The Everyday French Chef’ takes a fresh and seasonal approach to cooking — and the site will feature plenty of dishes likely to appeal to the gourmet vegetarian, as well as other French foodies. I expect to put one up in the very near future!

dgforbes says:
Sounds delicious. As a variation on olive oil, I would recommend either walnut or hazelnut oil together with the addition of either nut, crumbled, to vegetables or salads as a crunchable contrast that echoes the oil used.

Meg says:
Many thanks for the tip.

Julia Watson says:
How do the rest of us get invited? Yum!
Keep cooking…
Julia

Meg says:
Just come to Paris!

Luciano Granozzi says:
Indiscutibilmente il miglior sito di cucina francese dall’emisfero boreale. Great!!! We’ll try…

Meg says:
Grazie mille, and I may just call on you for advice on some recipes that came to me here in Paris via Sicilia…

Linda Cahill says:
Congratulations, Meg. The food looks delicious and I’m going to try the moules ce soir.
Gros bisous,
Linda

Ann Mah says:
I love the slightly exotic combinations of flavors you used — the touch of curry, the splash of pastis. I can’t wait to unpack my kitchen so that I can replicate this meal at home!

Carol J. Williams says:
Meg – I love the simplicity and streamlined preparation. I will definitely be stealing these recipes for my own dinner parties.

 

Posted in 3. Salads, 7. Meat Dishes | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Jambon de pays aux figues, salade tomates-mozzarella-basilic

Posted on September 11, 2012 by Meg

prosciutto figs3It’s been rather warm in Paris recently so when my friend Martine stopped by à l’improviste for dinner last night I opted for a couple of starters — proscuitto with fresh figs and tomatoes with mozzarella. Okay, purists might say that this is Italian cuisine, not French. But they may be forgetting that a swath of southern France was part of Italy not that long ago…

tomato mozza2In any event, tomato-mozzarella salad and country ham with melon or another fruit have become part of the everyday Paris repertoire in both bistros and homes. To complete the dinner, you could make a little salad of arugula (recipe forthcoming soon) or enjoy some wonderful leftovers, which is what we did.

Jambon de pays aux figues / Cured country ham with fresh figs
Tomates-mozzarella-basilic / Tomato-mozzarella salad

By the way, many thanks to all who replied to my first entry yesterday. Some of you noticed that the site was down for a while — this was due to a major crash of my domain server, but the problem is thankfully fixed now. As I am not very tech savvy there are still some glitches on this site, but I hope to have them ironed out in the next few days. I am grateful for your interest and support, and welcome your comments on the recipes.

Posted in 1. Starters, 3. Salads | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Moules au curry, gambas au pastis, rôti d’agneau aux deux haricots

Posted on September 10, 2012 by Meg

mussels curry2An esteemed guest was coming to dinner last night — Alison Smale, executive editor of the International Herald Tribune, former colleague of mine when we were both reporters in Moscow in the 1980s, and dear friend. As it was Sunday, I went out in the morning to the street market in my neighborhood, the Marché Richard-Lenoir, planning to buy mussels and a small lamb roast — enough for Alison, my daughter and me. But the fish stand was also selling a big pile of large, succulent-looking raw gambas for just 6 euros, so I bought them too. And we had everything! The entire cooking process took no more than half an hour. Here’s what I did …

Moules au curry / Mussels in a light curry sauce
Gambas au pastis / Shrimp sautéed in pastis
Rôti d’agneau aux deux haricots / Roast lamb with two kinds of beans

Posted in 5. Fish and Shellfish, 7. Meat Dishes | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment