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Favorite Cookbooks
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Michael Roberts' Parisian Home Cooking
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It's April in Paris with Michael Roberts' Parisian Home Cooking (William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1999). We can all at least dream about spending April in Paris, strolling along the Seine or in the Luxembourg Gardens, buying baguettes and olives and hunks of cheese at open-air markets, and enjoying simple but wonderful meals by the light of a candle sputtering in an empty wine bottle.
Michael Roberts did just that, living for years in Paris as he worked in restaurants and studied cooking. What he absorbed was far more than the secrets of haute cuisine. He learned what real Parisians, his friends, cooked and ate every day. As he says, "You start with fine ingredients. You cook things in a way that coaxes out the flavors. No need to complicate a recipe with many ingredients, because they only end up fighting each other. . . . Parisian cooks, the women especially, cook in an offhanded manner, relying on intuition and experience, not worrying about a dish coming out perfectly."
The recipes in his book are based on fresh seasonal ingredients, impeccable basic technique, and the opportunity for invention. Roberts often suggests variations to a recipe and leaves it to the reader to improvise.
Black-and-white photographs of produce markets, bakeries, butcher shops, and private kitchens are tucked among the recipes. The kitchen photographs are especially fascinating to anyone who has been a tourist in Paris without ever entering a private home. How small the kitchens are! And what great food comes out of them.
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Recipes:
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Sample Recipes from Parisian Home Cooking
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Tapenade (Black Olive Spread)
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Spread on toast, use as a dip for vegetables, or swirl a spoonful into pan juices to make a sauce for fish or poultry.
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1/2 cup pitted black olives, such as Kalamata
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup drained capers
8 anchovy fillets
1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Combine all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and process to a chunky paste. Transfer to a small serving bowl. Makes about 1-1/2 cups.
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Soupe aux Fanes de Radis (Cream of Radish Leaf Soup)
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Choose radishes with the smallest, brightest-green leaves—or snip a handful from the ones you are growing at home.
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2 bunches radishes
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large leek, white part only, sliced and well washed
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1/2 pound potatoes, peeled and roughly diced (about 1-1/2 cups)
salt and freshly ground white pepper
1/2 cup crème fraîche or sour cream (optional)
Remove the radish tops. Discard any discolored leaves, and trim off the stems. Slice the radishes. Place the butter, radishes, and leek in a soup pot over medium heat and cook until the vegetables are soft but not browned, about 7 minutes. Add the broth, potatoes, and salt and pepper, cover, and bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add the radish leaves and continue simmering, uncovered, for another 5 minutes.
Puree the soup in a blender or food processor and return it to the pot. Taste for salt and pepper and add if needed. Heat the soup until piping hot, add the crème fraîche, and serve immediately. Makes 4 to 5 servings.
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Oeufs Brouilles à la Portuguaise (Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes, Shallots, and Garlic)
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3 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup thinly sliced shallots
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1-1/4 pounds Roma (plum) tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
3 sprigs fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
freshly ground black pepper
10 large eggs
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon water
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat and cook the shallots and garlic, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, thyme, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and pepper to taste and cook until the mixture is dry, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Break the eggs into a bowl. Add half the tomato mixture, the water, butter, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and beat with a wooden spoon. Pour the eggs into a saucepan, place over low heat, and whisk continuously until the eggs begin to thicken, about 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and continue whisking for 30 seconds, then replace over low heat and cook, always whisking, for 2 minutes. Repeat, and cook to desired doneness. Remove the eggs from the heat and mix in the parsley. Pour the eggs into a large serving bowl and mound the remaining tomato mixture in the center. Serve immediately. Makes 4 to 5 servings.
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Vinaigrette Moutardée (The Perfect Mustard Vinaigrette)
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1 clove garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons aged red wine vinegar
5 tablespoons canola, peanut, grapeseed, or extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh chervil (optional)
1-1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh tarragon (optional)
freshly ground black pepper
In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic, shallot, mustard, and vinegar. Gradually beat in the oil until it is incorporated, then mix in the salt, chervil, and tarragon. Give a grind or two of the peppermill, as desired. Makes 1 cup.
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Poulet Rôti en Cocotte (Casserole-Roasted Chicken)
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| Casserole roasting is one of the most common ways of cooking in Paris. The result is browned, crisp, well-cooked chicken that is unbelievably moist. The preferred vessel is enameled cast iron |
One 4-1/2- to 5-pund roasting chicken
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, preferably canola
5 large shallots, thinly sliced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Preheat oven to 475°F. Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Season inside and out with salt and pepper. Turn the wings under the bird and tie the legs together. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Lay the bird on its side in the butter, cover, and move the casserole to the oven. Reduce temperature to 375°F and roast for 30 minutes. Carefully turn the chicken onto the other side, cover, and roast for another 20 minutes. Turn the bird on its back, cover, and roast for another 20 to 30 minutes, until the juices run clear when a thigh is pierced. Transfer the chicken to a platter, cover, and keep warm.
Skim the fat from the pan juices. Place the casserole over medium heat and cook the shallots, stirring, until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the wine, broth, bay leaves, and thyme. Boil liquid until reduced by half, then remove from the heat and pour in any collected juices from the chicken on the platter. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Pour the sauce into a sauceboat and serve on the side. Makes 4 to 5 servings.
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Lentils Tièdes (Warm Lentils)
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| This is the potato salad of France, delicious served at any temperature. Cook the lentils with only enough liquid to keep them moist, and let them cool in the cooking liquid. |
1-1/4 cups small French (du Puy) lentils
4 cups vegetable or chicken broth, preferably homemade
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 sprigs fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried
2 bay leaves
3 tablespoons canola oil
2 medium onions, coarsely diced
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
3 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Combine lentils, broth, salt, pepper, thyme, and bay leaves in a pot, cover, and simmer over medium heat until the lentils are tender, about an hour. Remove the heat, pour the contents into a mixing bowl, and let cool to room temperature.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, and celery and cook until the carrots are soft, about 12 minutes. Do not let the onions brown. Add the contents of the skillet to the warm lentils and gently mix together. Stir in the vinegar and mustard and mix in the parsley. Serve immediately, or chill. Makes 4 servings.
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Quatre-Quarts (Pound Cake)
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| Parisians who bake always seem to keep this cake in the house to serve with morning coffee, or with tea in the afternoon, or to accompany fresh berries or fruit compote for dinner. |
unsalted butter and flour for preparing the cake pan
5 large eggs
1-2/3 cups sugar
grated zest of 1 lemon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground mace
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 cups cake flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour an 8" square or round cake pan (or a 8"x4" loaf pan) and set aside. In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a mixer on medium-high speed until they have nearly quadrupled in volume and are pale and thick. With the mixer on medium speed, add the sugar, lemon zest, salt, mace, and cardamom, then slowly add the flour. Add the butter and continue to mix until incorporated.
Pour the batter in the prepared pan. Place on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 50 minutes, or until a knife or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool for 15 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack. Makes 8 servings.
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