The French Market Cookbook (3 page)

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SAFFRON

Saffron is drawn from a flower, the saffron crocus (Crocus sativus). It comes in short, reddish-orange dried threads that turn dishes a rich shade of yellow and deliver a vibrant, one-of-a-kind flavor halfway between honey and hay. Saffron is water soluble, so it needs to be infused in a liquid component of your dish—which should be hot, acidic, or alcoholic—to unlock its full potential.

Saffron is a costly ingredient, but a small pinch is enough to set alight the flavors of a dish. Supermarket saffron typically lacks freshness and tastes dull; it is best to buy yours from a specialty spice store, whether online or in the real world. It’s often more affordable to buy it by the ounce; perhaps you can place a group order with friends.

Softly Spiced Carrot and Almond Soup

SOFTLY SPICED CARROT AND ALMOND SOUP

Velouté de carottes à l’ amande et aux épices douces

SERVES 4 TO 6

In exploring a diet that relies on fewer animal products, I have found nondairy milks—plant milks derived from grains, legumes, seeds, or nuts—to be of particular interest. Each kind has its own flavor and consistency, so I like to buy and use them in a rotation. Although they present a different nutritional profile from cow’s milk, they offer enough similarities that they can replace it in the kitchen, whether occasionally or regularly.

My preference goes to oat milk and almond milk: I use the former in crêpe batters and rice pudding, and I am very fond of the latter in this carrot soup, which can be served warm or chilled. Lightly spiced with star anise and vanilla, this soup rides on the subtle sweetness of the carrots and almond milk to form a delicate balance of flavors, and the result is both refined and satisfying. The flavors of this soup will deepen as it sits, so make it a day in advance if you can.

2 pounds / 900 g young carrots

1 small red onion (4¼ ounces / 120 g), minced

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

Fine sea salt

1 medium baking potato (8 ounces / 225 g), peeled and diced

Seeds from 2 green cardamom pods or ¼ teaspoon ground green cardamom

1 small fresh vanilla bean or 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

4 cups / 1 liter Vegetable Stock

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar or cider vinegar

2 cups / 480 ml plain unsweetened almond milk

Small bunch of cilantro, flat-leaf parsley, chervil, or mint

1. Peel the carrots or simply scrub them if they are thin-skinned and then slice into coins.

2. Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt, and cook, stirring often to avoid coloring, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the carrots, potato, star anise, and cardamom and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring from time to time, until the carrots are lightly golden, about 10 minutes.

3. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise with a sharp knife, scrape the seeds from the inside of the bean with the dull side of the blade, and add them and the bean to the pot. Add the stock and vinegar, cover, bring to a simmer, and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.

4. Remove from the heat, fish out the vanilla bean and star anise (save them for another use), and add the almond milk. Use a blender or an immersion blender to purée the soup until smooth. You can make the recipe a day in advance up to this point: Add the vanilla and star anise back in so they’ll continue to infuse in the soup, then cool completely, cover, and refrigerate.

5. When ready to serve, mix the almond butter with 1 tablespoon cold water in a small bowl to get a smooth and pourable consistency.

6. Reheat the soup without allowing it to boil. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve topped with the thinned almond butter, freshly ground pepper, and a few sprigs of cilantro.

Swiss Chard Pie with Prunes and Pine Nuts

SWISS CHARD PIE WITH PRUNES AND PINE NUTS

Tourte aux blettes, pruneaux et pignons

SERVES 4

One of my mother’s spring staples is a savory pie made with two layers of puff pastry filled with Swiss chard leaves, a handful of raisins, and a scattering of pine nuts. In my kitchen, it has morphed into this recipe, assembled on a yeast-raised dough made with spelt flour and garnished with chopped prunes.

Most Swiss chard tart or pie recipes have you cook the leaves before assembling the dish, but this causes them to overcook and lose their vibrancy. I prefer my mother’s unconventional technique of piling the raw leaves in the center of the pie before topping them with a second circle of dough. The giant pile feels a little precarious at first, but the leaves cook down in the oven and the top crust will follow.

This pie is equally good hot or at room temperature, served with a salad of mixed greens, and you can pack slices for a picnic or lunch at the office, as they are easily eaten out of hand. This recipe makes use of the leaf part of the Swiss chard only. Chop the stalks and add to a stir-fry or a risotto or use them to make Pickled Swiss Chard Stalks.

7 ounces / 200 g Swiss chard leaves, from 4 large or 6 small stalks

8 medium prunes, pitted

3 medium / 150 g shallots

Spelt Tart Dough or 1 pound frozen puff pastry, thawed

3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted

Freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. / 200°C.

2. Rinse the Swiss chard leaves and dry in a salad spinner. Chop into strips.

3. In a food processor, chop the prunes, shallots, garlic, oil, and ½ teaspoon salt until they form a paste. (Alternatively, chop finely by hand.)

4. Divide the dough in half. Dust one piece of dough with a little flour and roll it out on a sheet of parchment paper into an 11-inch / 28 cm circle. Transfer to a baking sheet.

5. Spread the prune mixture gently over the circle of dough, leaving a 1-inch / 2.5 cm border all around; there won’t be enough of the mixture to cover the dough, just make sure it’s evenly spread out. Sprinkle the rolled spelt on top; it will absorb excess moisture and prevent the bottom crust from getting soggy.

6. Add the pine nuts and arrange the chopped chard on top, without letting it fall onto the clear border. It will look like a very large pile at this stage; this is normal. Grind some pepper over the chard.

7. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and 1 tablespoon cold water; use some of this to moisten the edges of the dough. Reserve the remaining egg yolk mixture.

8. Dust the second piece of dough with a little flour and roll it out on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch / 30 cm circle. Drape it over the pile of chard, making sure the edges line up with the bottom crust. Crimp with a fork to seal the edges and nick the top in a few places with the tip of your knife to make steam vents.

9. Brush the top crust with the reserved egg yolk mixture and bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Cut into slices with a serrated bread knife.

pantry gem

PRUNES

Ah, prunes. It saddens me greatly that this extraordinary dried fruit gets such a bad rap in North America. We French love our pruneaux and when we’re not simply snacking on them, with a few almonds or a square of dark chocolate, we use them in savory dishes and desserts with equal enthusiasm. Before you fall back on the preconceived notion that prunes—or dried plums, as they are marketed nowadays—are no more than a digestive aid, do seek out good, plump, freshly dried prunes. Taste them and see for yourself how sweet, fruity, and aromatic they are.

GREEN PANCAKES

Pascadous

SERVES 4

I stumbled upon this dish the year my boyfriend, Maxence, and I drove across the Aveyron, a mountainous and starkly gorgeous region in the heart of France. We stopped in the village of Laguiole, wanting to buy some of the famous artisanal knives, with the signature bee on the handle, that are produced there—and shamelessly counterfeited around the world.

Having parted with a good lump of money for a beautiful set of handmade dinner knives, we found our way into a bustling little restaurant across from the town hall and proceeded to order lunch. I asked about the pascadous listed on the menu and was told they are small pancakes made with sliced Swiss chard leaves. My curiosity was rewarded when the plate appeared and I took a bite from one of the golden, lightly crusty rounds, fluffy and richly green inside.

I make these often now, with Swiss chard or spinach, and, if I have it, I add sorrel, too, for a nice tang. They make for a lovely weeknight dinner, paired with a green salad, and they’re a welcome brunch item, too.

1 cup / 130 g all-purpose flour

Fine sea salt

4 large organic eggs, 2 whole and 2 separated

Freshly ground black pepper

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

2 tablespoons dry white wine (optional)

½ cup / 120 ml milk (not skim) or unflavored, unsweetened nondairy milk

8 ounces / 225 g Swiss chard leaves (save the stalks for another use) or spinach, finely chopped

Olive oil for cooking

1. In a medium bowl, combine the flour and 1 teaspoon salt and form a well in the center. Add 2 whole eggs and 2 egg yolks and stir to mix with part of the flour from the mound. Sprinkle with pepper. Add the garlic and wine and then pour the milk in a slow stream, whisking as you go, until all the flour is incorporated and the mixture is creamy and mostly lump-free. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

2. When ready to cook the pancakes, remove the bowl from the fridge and fold in the greens.

3. In a clean bowl, beat the 2 egg whites with ¼ teaspoon salt with a handheld electric mixer or a whisk until they form stiff peaks. Fold them into the batter with a spatula, working in a circular, up-and-down motion to avoid deflating the egg whites.

4. Heat 1 tablespoon cooking olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Ladle about ¼ cup / 60 ml of the batter into the hot skillet, without flattening. Repeat to form as many pancakes as will comfortably fit in the skillet, probably no more than 4.

5. Cook until the edges are set and the pancakes are golden underneath, 4 to 5 minutes. Flip and cook until the other side is set and golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a warmed serving plate, grease the skillet again, and repeat with the remaining batter. You should have enough to make 10 to 12 pancakes.

6. Serve hot, adding a little more pepper and a sprinkling of salt on top.

Asparagus Buckwheat Tart

ASPARAGUS BUCKWHEAT TART

Tarte asperge et sarrasin

SERVES 4

You and I might think we’re pretty passionate about asparagus, but we have nothing on the Germans: they really do love their asparagus and celebrate the season with as much abandon as, say, Americans on Halloween or the Japanese in cherry blossom season. Shop windows are redecorated to match the theme, entire dinner parties are thrown in honor of the green stalk, and eager cooks buy just about every gadget imaginable to peel, prepare, and serve it.

It’s about more than the vegetable, of course; it’s about welcoming the first sprightly thing to pop out of the earth after a long winter of turnips and potatoes. As someone who greets any change of season with excitement, I can get behind that idea.

The most common way to eat asparagus, in Germany as in France, is to pick up each stalk with your fingers, dip it in vinaigrette, and munch your way down, bite after bite. I do enjoy serving them in this manner, but I also like to use them to garnish savory tarts. This square one features a variation on my yogurt-based tart crust, made here with buckwheat flour; the subtle malted notes complement the asparagus beautifully.

Olive oil for cooking

1 small yellow onion (4¼ ounces / 120 g), thinly sliced

Fine sea salt

Freshly grated nutmeg

3 scallions (white and green parts), thinly sliced

1¼ pounds / 560 g green asparagus, preferably thin ones

Extra-virgin olive oil

Buckwheat Yogurt Tart Dough

Zest of 1 organic lemon, cut into thin strips

Freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat a glug of cooking olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt and a touch of nutmeg, and stir to combine. Cover, reduce the heat, and cook, stirring from time to time, until very soft, about 20 minutes. Add the scallions and cook for another 5 minutes. Taste, adjust the seasoning, and remove from the heat.

2. Trim the bottom of the asparagus stalks, just to remove the woody part. Using a mandoline slicer or sharp vegetable peeler, shave 4 of the asparagus stalks lengthwise into long ribbons, as thin as you can, and put these in a medium bowl. Add a thin drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt and toss to coat.

3. Prepare the rest of the asparagus for roasting: If the stalks are thick, halve or quarter them lengthwise. Place in a baking dish, drizzle with a little cooking olive oil, sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt, and roll side to side to coat.

4. Preheat the oven to 400°F. / 200°C.

5. Roll out the dough between two sheets of parchment paper to form a 12-inch / 30 cm square. Remove the top sheet of paper and roll the edges of the dough over themselves to form a small ridge all around, pressing down as you go. Transfer the dough on the parchment paper to a baking sheet. Prick all over with a fork, cover with the top piece of parchment, and top with baking weights.

6. Place both the baking dish of asparagus and the baking sheet of dough in the oven to bake until the asparagus is roasted and the crust is golden brown, about 30 minutes.

7. Remove the top sheet of parchment and baking weights (be careful; they will be hot) from the crust. Spread the onion mixture over the crust and arrange the roasted asparagus on top, lining them up and arranging them so that the tips alternate which side they point to. Arrange the raw asparagus ribbons in loops on top, sprinkle with the strips of lemon zest and black pepper, and cut square servings with a serrated knife.