Sunday, July 15, 2018

Summer in France

For something new and different, I pulled some classic summer dishes from my 30-year-old collection of French housewife recipes, and translated those described as not much time, trouble or cost. They all feature one of the fruits or veggies piled high right now at farmers' markets everywhere.  Enjoy!

Stuffed Zucchini in Provence
This is exactly how the recipe reads. I would add a tsp of Aleppo chili pepper or chipotle pepper to the meat mix because I like the stronger flavor. The French would probably gasp.

serves 4 -6

1+ lb lean ground beef
1/2 lb pork sausage meat (not in the casing)
5 good looking med/lg zucchini
2 med green bell peppers
4 ripe tomatoes (juicy ones are best)
6 shallots, peeled and diced
5 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 egg
2 sprigs fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried
1 tsp chopped tarragon leaves, fresh or 1/2 tsp dried
scant 1/4 c olive oil
Sea salt to your taste
Freshly ground black pepper

 Preheat oven to 350º.
Lightly coat the bottom of a sauté pan with olive oil. Salt the sausage meat and brown it in the oil.
While that's happening, put the ground beef in a bowl with salt, pepper, shallots and garlic. Mix well. Add to the pan with the sausage meat, blending everything well. Add the thyme and tarragon. Sauté over low heat 5 minutes to brown the beef. Remove from heat. 

Fill a large pot with enough water to cover the zucchini, salt it and bring the water to a boil. While waiting, cut the zucchini in large pieces, at least 2" and using a knife, hollow them out, leaving 1/2" flesh around the rim. (See photo) Blanch the cut zucchini logs in the boiling water 1 minute. Remove the zucchini with slotted spoon and drain well. Throw the tomatoes into the water quickly, then remove, run under cold water and slip off their skins.  In a small bowl, smash the tomatoes into a mash.

Wash the peppers, cut in half to remove the seeds and cut lengthwise into the thinnest strips possible.
Carefully blend the egg into the meat mixture.

Lightly oil a baking platter you can serve on and cover it with the mashed tomatoes. Put the pepper strips on top all around. Salt and pepper to your taste.
Fill the hollow zucchini logs with the meat mixture. Top each with a sprinkle of olive oil and arrange over the tomatoes and peppers. Bake 25-30 minutes, basting at intervals. Serve garnished with fresh chopped parsley. It would probably be delicious and vivid with a grated carrot salad filled with fresh chopped parsley. (See Veggiyana, the Dharma of Cooking for the French carrot salad.)

Melon Surprise
This one is categorized as very fast and very simple--and dietetic!
serves 4

2 med cantaloupe or similar melon
2 peaches
1 doz cherries (I say you can substitute raspberries or blueberries)
1 doz strawberries
2 tsp sugar
4 oz creme fraiche
4 oz fromage blanc (this is any soft white cheese a bit thicker than creme fraiche)
garnish: chopped fresh mint leaves and a sprinkle of ground nutmet (this is my idea; it's not in the recipe)

Clean the melons with a damp cloth. Cut each in half and scoop out the seeds. Using a melon ball scoop or similar, carefully scoop out the melon flesh without cutting through the skin. Leave 1/4" flesh on the skin. Peel the peach and cut it into bite-size pieces. Half the cherries to remove the pits. You won't have this problem with raspberries or blueberries.  Wash and dry the strawberries and cut in half lengthwise.

In a small bowl combine the creme fraiche and fromage blanc with the sugar and whisk into a soft cream. Put a tbsp of this into the bottom of each melon half, then fill the melons with all the fruits. Put the rest of the cheese mix on top. Refrigerate 2 hours and serve garnished with mint leaves and nutmeg if you choose.

Stuffed Eggs Latour
This one is categorized as gourmet.
serves 4-5

6 extra large eggs. hard boiled
3 oz. mushrooms
2 oz. chicken breast meat, cooked
2 oz cooked ham
2 tbsp + 1 tsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp creme fraiche
1 tbsp Port
1 sprig sorrel or a few pieces of arugula or three spinach leaves
handful chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp Gruyere cheese grated
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste

 Preheat oven to 300º.
Peel the eggs. Carefully cut in half lengthwise and remove the yolks without injuring the white casing.
Clean and dry the mushrooms, remove the stems and finely chop the caps. Dice the chicken, ham. sorrel (or substitute) and parsley.

Melt the butter in a medium heavy gauge casserole pot (think Le Creuset type) and brown the mushrooms over med heat. Stir in the meat and herb mix and continue to sauté 3 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper. Remove from heat. Stir in the Port and creme fraiche. Add the egg yolks and blend everything carefully.  Fill the egg whites generously with this stuffing and top each with a sprinkle of Gruyere cheese. Arrange them on a platter that's ovenproof and slip them into the oven 4-5 minutes to warm them and melt the cheese.  Serve immediately while warm. (I say they would look terrific on a bed of freshly sauteed greens.

Poached Peaches
These are called Peaches a La Cardinal and there's no liquor so the kids can enjoy them.
Serves 6

6 ripe but firm peaches that look pretty
1 c sugar
1/2 vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla extract
1 lemon, juice only (I personally prefer lime)
1/2c currant jelly

slivered almonds toasted or toasted pecans for garnish

Fill a large pot with enough water to cover the peaches and bring the water to a boil. Drop the peaches in 30 seconds to blanche. Carefully remove them and run them under cold water immediately. This should allow you to easily slip off the skins. Handling carefully, place them in a large glass bowl or compote dish.

In a saucepan/pot, combine the sugar, lemon juice and vanilla with 1/2 liter of water. Bring to a boil and stir only with a wooden spoon to dissolve the sugar. Cook until you get syrup. Take out 1/2 cup of the syrup. Plunge the peaches into the remaining syrup and cook over low heat 8-10 minutes to soften the peaches. Remove from heat, carefully get the contents of the pot back in the glass bowl/compote dish and cool down. Cover tightly with cling wrap and put in the fridge for 1/2 hour.

While they cool, in a small saucepan, over low flame, heat the currant jelly with the reserved 1/2 c syrup to get something you can pour.  Remove the peaches from the fridge 10 minutes before serving. When ready to serve pour the currant jelly mix over each one evenly and garnish with the nuts.

Soup for all Seasons
This soup is a vegetable medley pureed and this is the time of year when you can conceivably get all the vegetables so I include it here. There is an accompanying note that says not to worry if some are out of season. Just carry on with what you have. Use fresh veggies. You will notice there are no spices. If you don't have sorrel, add a squirt of lemon juice for the sourness sorrel provides. The actual soup color is green, not yellow as the bad photo suggests.

serves 6
1/3 lb young carrots
1/4 lb turnips
1 yellow onion
4 small leeks, white part only
5 cabbage leaves
1/2 lb green beans, smaller is better
1/3 lb shelled fresh peas
6 lg spinach leaves
6 lettuce leaves
small amount of sorrel
2 tbsp unsalted butter
handful fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Wash and dry all the vegetables. Peel the carrots,  turnips and onion and remove the green parts of the leeks. Cut the carrots, turnips, onion, leek and cabbage leaves in thin strips. In a heavy gauge casserole, melt the butter over low heat. Add the carrots, turnips, leek, onion and cabbage and sauté to soften. Season with salt and pepper. Add 2 quarts water. Bring to a boil, cover the casserole and reduce heat to low. Cook 1 hr. Add the peas, green beans, spinach leaves, lettuce and sorrel. Add a pinch of salt. Continue cooking another 20 minutes. Pour the contents of the casserole into a blender or processor and purée into a thick well blended soup. Put in back in the casserole to reheat a minute. Serve in individual bowls garnished with fresh parsley. A garlic crouton wouldn't hurt.




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