The French Market Cookbook (13 page)

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons / 125 g unrefined blond cane sugar (also sold as evaporated cane juice)

⅔ cup / 85 g walnuts, hazelnuts, or pecans

½ cup / 70 g almonds, blanched or not (or ⅔ cup / 85 g almond flour)

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

2 ounces / 55 g good-quality bittersweet chocolate (about 65% cacao)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. / 175°C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a blender or food processor, process the sugar, walnuts, and almonds (if you’re using almond flour, leave it out) in short pulses until finely ground. Don’t process continuously or the nuts may release their oil. Transfer to a medium bowl (if you’re using almond flour, add it now and stir to combine and remove any lumps).

3. In a separate bowl, combine the egg whites, 1 tablespoon cold water, and the salt. Using a whisk or an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Fold the egg whites into the dry ingredients with a spatula, lifting the mixture gently to avoid deflating.

4. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a plain ½-inch / 1 cm tip. (Alternatively, use a sturdy freezer bag and snip off one corner to create a ¾-inch / 2 cm opening.)

5. Pipe a small dot of batter under each corner of the parchment paper so it will stay in place as you pipe. Pipe small round mounds of batter onto the parchment paper, each about 1 inch
2.5 cm in diameter, leaving about 1 inch
2.5 cm of space between them. Strive to make them even in size; you should get 70 to 80 mounds in total. Using a pastry brush or the back of a spoon lightly dipped in water, pat the surface to smooth down the pointy tip you’ve formed while piping.

6. Bake until golden on top and lightly browned around the edges, 10 to 12 minutes.

7. Lift the parchment paper cautiously by each of the corners in turn and spray cold water underneath. Let rest for 2 minutes—the steam will help release the macarons—and then transfer the cookies with a thin spatula to a cooling rack. Cool completely.

8. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. It should be creamy, not runny; let cool slightly if needed.

9. It is likely that your macaron halves won’t be perfectly even in size; find a same-size buddy for each of them and group them in pairs on the cooling rack.

10. Pick up a macaron half, spoon a dollop of chocolate on its flat side, and top with the matching half. Return to the cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining macaron halves. Let rest for 2 hours or until the chocolate is set.

11. The macarons will keep for a few days at room temperature in an airtight container.

WINTER

L’ hiver

The holidays are tremendous occasions in France, with families gathering for Christmas celebrations and friends getting together to usher in the New Year. In both cases, food is the guest of honor. And although roasted and stuffed birds are classic centerpieces on holiday tables, you’ll see that it is absolutely possible to create a meatless French-style spread that feels just as celebratory as the expected one.

This chapter also offers inspiration for vegetarian dishes that are a delight to come home to on a winter night. Hearty and wholesome enough to keep you satisfied, they still provide the freshness of taste that is so hard to find in wintry cooking.

PRODUCE TO PLAY WITH IN THE WINTER

Apples • Beets • Brussels sprouts • Cabbage • Carrots • Cauliflower • Celery root • Endives • Garlic • Grapefruit • Jerusalem artichokes • Kiwifruit • Kumquats • Leeks • Lemons • Mâche • Mushrooms • Onions • Oranges • Parsnips • Pears • Persimmons • Potatoes • Salsify • Shallots • Spinach • Tangerines • Turnips • Walnuts • Winter squash

Jerusalem Artichoke and Potato Canapés

JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE AND POTATO CANAPÉS

Canapés de pomme de terre au topinambour

MAKES ABOUT 25 CANAPÉS

Jerusalem artichokes are a typical example of what the French call légumes oubliés, or forgotten vegetables. This umbrella term includes not only heirloom varieties that have fallen by the wayside in favor of hardier, glossier ones, but also those vegetables our grandparents resorted to eating during World War II, in spite of their cattle fodder status, because the more palatable options were commandeered and rationed. These were swiftly “forgotten” after the war, because of the bad memories they conjured.

But the Jerusalem artichoke (or sunchoke) is now back in style and that’s a very good thing, as it is a truly delicious vegetable with a distinctive artichoke-like flavor. It can be cooked, taking on a creamy texture similar to that of baking potatoes, but it can also be eaten raw, either grated or sliced.

These canapés are built on slices of potato and topped with a quick salad of paper-thin sunchoke slices dressed with hazelnut oil to accent their nuttiness. Add a little dill on top, and you have an attractive winter nibble to serve at a holiday buffet or with predinner drinks.

14 ounces / 400 g small waxy potatoes (each about 1½ inches / 4 cm in diameter), different colors if possible

1 teaspoon cold-pressed hazelnut oil or walnut oil or untoasted sesame oil

3½ ounces / 100 g thin Jerusalem artichokes

Fleur de sel or other flaky sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

⅓ cup / 80 ml crème fraîche, sour cream, or all-natural Greek yogurt

A few sprigs of dill

1. Keep the skin on the potatoes if it’s thin. Cut the potatoes into ⅓-inch / 8 mm slices. Set up a steamer. Steam the potatoes, tightly covered, until cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool completely.

2. In a bowl, whisk together the vinegar, lemon juice, and oils.

3. Peel the Jerusalem artichokes and rinse them well. Leave them whole if they are thin; otherwise quarter them lengthwise, so they’ll produce small slices. Using a mandoline slicer or very sharp knife, cut into paper-thin slices or thin matchsticks. Toss in the dressing as you go to minimize oxidation. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then taste and adjust the seasoning.

4. Arrange the potato slices on a serving plate, dab each with a little crème fraîche, and sprinkle with salt. Using your fingers, plop a mound of Jerusalem artichoke slices on each potato slice. Top with a tuft of dill, sprinkle with pepper, and serve.

JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES

Look for Jerusalem artichokes, sometimes labeled as sunchokes or sunroots, at farmers’ markets or well-stocked grocery stores. These small, pink-or beige-skinned root vegetables appear in late fall and stick around until March or April. It is normal for their skin to be a bit coarse, but it shouldn’t appear overly thick or wrinkled, and their flesh should be firm. Depending on the variety, Jerusalem artichokes may have stubs and bulges; for easier peeling, the fewer the better.

pantry gem

HAZELNUT OIL

You’ll find hazelnut oil at gourmet grocery stores and natural foods stores. Like most nut oils, it is not cheap, but so vivid in flavor that only a small amount is needed as a finishing oil, drizzled over roasted butternut squash, zucchini pasta, or in the Very Green Salad.

Assorted Savory Puffs

ASSORTED SAVORY PUFFS

Gougères assorties

MAKES ABOUT 60 BITE-SIZE PUFFS

I will never tire of the magic of pâte à choux, or choux pastry. I love how this basic mix of butter, milk, flour, and eggs puffs up so appealingly in the oven, creating such an irresistible texture—the crisp shell giving way to a moist and tender interior.

My most frequent use for it is gougères, savory bite-size puffs, often flavored with cheese, to serve with a predinner glass of wine. I have become fond of making assorted gougères: I divide the dough into three parts, flavor one with Comté cheese, another with chopped parsley, and the last with cumin. Three flavors are so much better than one and no more difficult to prepare.

5 tablespoons / 70 g high-quality unsalted butter, diced

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

1 cup / 240 ml milk (not skim) or unflavored, unsweetened nondairy milk

1 cup / 130 g all-purpose flour, sifted

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Freshly grated nutmeg

½ cup / 40 g freshly and finely grated Comté or Gruyère cheese

½ cup / 20 g very finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

¾ teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted, or ½ teaspoon ground cumin

1. In a medium saucepan (not nonstick), combine the butter, salt, and milk and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Remove from the heat, add the flour all at once, and stir quickly with a wooden spoon until well blended and smooth. Return the pan to medium-low heat and keep stirring until the dough leaves a thin film at the bottom of the pan, indicating that the excess water has evaporated, about 3 minutes.

2. Let cool in the pan, off the heat, for 3 minutes. Add the pepper and a generous grating of nutmeg. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring well after each addition. When you first add an egg, it will seem as though the dough can’t absorb it, but it will if you insist.

3. Divide the dough in three equal parts; each should weigh about 7 ounces / 200 g. Fold the grated cheese into the first, the parsley into the second, and the cumin seeds into the third. Scoop each into a small but sturdy freezer bag (to be used for piping the dough), press the air out, and zip or tie it shut. (This can be prepared in advance; refrigerate for up to a day, and remove from the fridge 1 hour before baking.)

4. Preheat the oven to 400°F. / 200°C. and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

5. Snip off one corner of one freezer bag to create a ¾-inch / 2 cm opening, and pipe a small dot of dough under each corner of the parchment paper so it will stay in place as you pipe. Pipe small round mounds of dough onto the parchment paper, each about 1 inch
2.5 cm in diameter, leaving about 1 inch
2.5 cm of space between them. Using a pastry brush or the back of a spoon lightly dipped in water, pat the surface of the mounds gently to smooth.

6. Repeat with the other two freezer bags; you will likely have to work in batches.

7. Bake, without opening the oven door during the first 10 minutes, until puffed and golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Make sure the sides of the puffs are golden, too, or they will soften as they cool. Transfer to a cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

note Once the puffs have been baked and cooled, you can freeze them in a container or freezer bag. Pop them back into a 400°F. / 200°C. oven for 5 minutes; there’s no need to thaw them first.

GRATED CARROT AND BEET SALAD WITH BULGUR AND FIGS

Salade de carottes et betteraves râpées, boulgour et figues

SERVES 4 TO 6

Because I work from home most of the time and eat lunch a few steps from my desk, preparing something refreshing for myself is a good way of taking a break and relaxing in the middle of the day.

Over the years, I have developed a few standbys, among them this no-cook winter salad of raw beets and carrots, grated into a large heap and joined by bulgur, dried figs, parsley, and cashews.

I recommend grating the carrots and beets on the large holes of your grater. In about the same amount of time it would take you to get out the food processor and later clean it, you can get a nice arm workout instead.

This is the rare salad that, stored in the refrigerator, will not only keep but actually improve over a couple of days.

1 cup / 185 g uncooked medium bulgur

2 cups / 480 ml boiling water

3 medium / 375 g carrots, peeled and grated

2 medium / 340 g beets, peeled and grated

3 good-quality plump dried figs, finely diced

½ cup / 60 g cashews, toasted and roughly chopped

1 cup / 20 g chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

Hot sauce

1. In a heatproof bowl or pan, combine the bulgur and boiling water. Cover and let stand until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain well and let cool.

2. In a large salad bowl, combine the bulgur, carrots, beets, figs, cashews, and parsley. In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice, vinegar, and salt. Whisk in the olive oil and then pour over the salad ingredients. Sprinkle with black pepper and hot sauce, to taste, and then stir until thoroughly combined. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

pantry gem

BULGUR

Bulgur is made of precooked, ground dried wheat berries. It is widely used in Middle Eastern cuisines and around the Mediterranean rim, as a side or an ingredient in salads, soups, stuffings, and vegetable dishes to make them more filling. Because the grain has already been cooked when you buy it, bulgur can be ready in a short time—after a brief soaking or boiling step—and this makes it the impatient cook’s best friend. You will find bulgur (possibly spelled bulgar, bulghur, burghul …) at natural foods stores and Middle Eastern markets.

French Endive, Orange, and Walnut Salad

FRENCH ENDIVE, ORANGE, AND WALNUT SALAD

Salade d’ endives à l’ orange et aux noix

SERVES 4

French endive (also sold as Belgian endive) is a small leafy vegetable grown underneath a dome of soil to protect it from the light and thus prevent it from turning green. It can then be harvested all winter long and is quite popular in Belgium and in the North of France, where it goes by the name chicon.

Although endives can be cooked—most iconically wrapped in ham and baked in béchamel sauce for endives au jambon—it is raw that I like them best. Their refreshing crispness and subtle bitter notes make them ideal for quickly assembled winter salads such as this one, which pairs them with walnuts and oranges and is so good I’ve successfully used it to convert friends who thought they didn’t like endives. The recipe may be doubled for a crowd, and if you wish to make it more substantial, it is very good with cooked and cooled lentils added to it.