Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 2 (173 page)

Optional: 1 to 2 cloves mashed garlic

1 imported bay leaf

⅛ tsp thyme

½ tsp salt

½ cup water

Waxed paper cut to fit top of dish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook the
mirepoix
vegetables in butter in the covered dish over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, until vegetables are tender but not browned. Stir in the squash or pumpkin, optional garlic, herbs, salt, and water. Bring to a simmer on top of stove, lay waxed paper over vegetables, cover, and bake in middle level of preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring up once or twice to be sure vegetables are not browning. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons more liquid if all has evaporated before squash or pumpkin is tender. (If using canned or frozen squash or pumpkin, cook
mirepoix
vegetables until tender, then add garlic, herbs, and ¼ cup water; cover and boil slowly for about 10 minutes until liquid has evaporated.) Remove bay leaf.

2)
The beans; baking and serving

About 2½ cups cooked or canned white beans such as Great Northern, pea beans, or Italian cannellini beans (for quick soaking and pressure cooking of dried beans, see Volume I, page 400)

A food mill with medium disk

A large mixing bowl

A rubber spatula and wooden spoon

2 “large” eggs

½ cup heavy cream

2 ounces (½ cup) grated Swiss cheese

Salt and white pepper

3 Tb butter

Preheat oven to 425 degrees in time for baking. Purée the squash or pumpkin mixture along with the beans through food mill into bowl. Beat in the eggs, cream, all but 2 tablespoons of the cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. Smear 1 tablespoon of the butter in the baking dish, spoon in the purée, sprinkle reserved cheese on top and dot with the remaining butter.

(*)
AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE
: May be completed a day ahead to this point. When cold, cover and refrigerate. Allow 10 to 15 minutes longer in oven if mixture is chilled.

About half an hour before serving, bake uncovered in upper third of preheated 425-degree oven until bubbling hot and top has browned nicely.

PURÉE FRENEUSE

[Purée of Rice and Turnips with Herbs and Garlic]

Unless your guests know that Freneuse is Turnipville, on one of the serpentine twists of the Seine northwest of Paris, they will have no other clue to identify this marvelous mixture. Serve it with red meats, pork, sausages, chops, goose, and ducklings.

For 4 to 6 people

2 cups milk, more if needed

A heavy-bottomed 2-quart saucepan (no-stick would be useful)

1 cup rice

½ tsp salt

2 Tb butter

2 to 3 large cloves of mashed garlic

¼ tsp Italian seasoning, or thyme and bay leaf

3 to 4 white turnips, about 3 inches in diameter, peeled and roughly chopped (2 to 3 cups)

A food mill

Bring the milk to the simmer, add the rice, salt, butter, garlic, and seasonings. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, until rice is partially tender. Stir in the turnips, adding more milk, if necessary, to submerge the vegetables. Cover and simmer 10 to 15 minutes more, stirring occasionally, until turnips are tender. Liquid should be almost entirely absorbed; if not, uncover and boil, stirring, to evaporate it. Purée through food mill and return to pan.

(*)
AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE
: May be completed to this point.

Salt and white pepper to taste

2 to 3 Tb butter or heavy cream

A hot serving dish

Minced parsley

Shortly before serving, reheat, stirring. Carefully correct seasoning. Stir in the butter or cream by spoonfuls. Turn into a hot serving dish and decorate with the parsley.

LA PURÉE, CHÂTEAUX EN SUÈDE

[Purée of Yellow Turnips—Rutabagas]

Firm, fresh rutabagas with their crisp, moist flesh and fine, sweet flavor are every bit as good as the best white turnips, especially when they are simmered with butter and turned into a fragrant, yellow purée. Serve with a roast goose or duck, a loin of pork, a dinner of homemade sausages, or a lamb or beef stew.

HISTORICAL NOTE

Because rutabagas appear to have originated in Scandinavia, they are called swedes by the English and sometimes
navets de Suède
by the French. The rutabaga is a distinct species of vegetable, related to both the cabbage and the turnip, which accounts for one of its other French names,
chou-rave à chair jaune.
A number of varieties exist, some of which are animal fodder, and in France that type was often all one had to eat during two long world wars. Although modern improvements have created varieties to meet the taste of the most discriminating
châtelaine,
rutabagas are still a distasteful reminder of bitter days to many Frenchmen, which accounts for this recipe’s charmingly evasive title.

For 4 to 6 people

1½ to 2 lbs. firm, crisp rutabaga, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces (6 to 7 cups)

A heavy-bottomed 2-quart saucepan

About 2 cups water

1½ tsp salt

3 Tb butter

A cover for the pan

A food mill set over a mixing bowl

Place rutabaga chunks in saucepan with enough water to come ⅔ the way up the vegetables. Add salt and butter, bring to the boil, cover and boil slowly, tossing
occasionally, for about 30 minutes or until tender. Drain, reserving cooking liquid, and purée rutabaga through food mill into bowl.