OLIVES NOIRES SAUTEES AU PIMENT
1 LB Large Black Olives (preferably Kalamata)
3 Tbs Olive Oil
7 Sage Leaves
2 Small Bay Leaves
1 Tb Course Salt or Sea Salt
2 Red Chilies
Drain the olives to remove the brine. Rinse and dry well.
In a frying pan, heat the olive oil to warm only, then slowly
fry the olives 3 -4 minutes, stirrring until they are heated
through. Add the sage and bay leaves, then the salt and the
shredded chilies. Serve warm.
CRUDITES AUX AIOLI, TAPENADE, ANCHOVIADE
Baby carrots
Cauliflower florets
Belgian endive leaves
Tiny radishes
Small button mushrooms
Celery sticks
Thin wedges of sweet pepper
Cherry tomatoes
Arrange the vegetables on a platter and serve with the sauces
below.
AIOLI
3 - 6 Cloves of garlic
3 Egg yolks
2 Tsp Dijon mustard
1 1/4 Cups olive oil
Salt
White pepper
Vinegar or lemon juice
Using a mixer or whisk break the eggs into the pureed garlic,
transfer into a small bowl. Beat the egg yolks a moment with
the mustard, the add the oil drop by drop, taking care not to
pour the oil to fast in the early stages, when the aioli is most
likely to separate. As the egg starts to take to the emulsion
the oil maybe be added faster. Do not allow to much of a build
up of oil. Season with salt and pepper, if desired add a little
vinegar or lemon juice to bring up the acidity.
ANCHOIADE
1 Cup olive oil
5 Oz anchovy fillets (preferably salt packed)
3 cloves of garlic
1 Tbl Dijon mustard
2 Tbs Wine vinegar
Cook the anchovies in a sauce pan with 2/3 cup of olive oil
slowly for 15 minutes. When cool mash the anchovies into a
paste add the crushed garlic mustard and vinegar. Add the
remaining oil slowly as for making mayonnaise. (You may do
this in a food processor.)
TAPENADE
1/2 LB black olives
2 Cloves crushed garlic
2 1/2 Oz anchovy fillets
2 1/2 Oz capers
1 Scant cup olive oil
Combine the olives with the garlic, anchovies and capers in the
bowl of a food processor and reduce to a paste. Incorporate the
olive oil by pouring it slowly down the funnel in a stream.
Saladede Moules au Basilic
2 Tbs olive oil
2 shallots finely chopped
5 LB mussels scrubbed with beards removed
Black pepper
In a Dutch oven or sauce pan heat a film of the olive oil and
sauté the shallots a moment to soften. Add the mussels. Grind
the black pepper over them, cover the sauce pan and steam the
mussels open. Remove the mussels and take 3/4 of them out of
their shell, leaving the smallest ones for garnish. Set the
liquid aside.
1/2 bunch of basil
2 Cloves garlic chopped
Scant 1/2 cup olive oil
2 Tbs vinegar
Salt
Black pepper
Place the basil leaves and garlic in a food processor or blender
slowly add the olive oil and vinegar down the funnel and process
until the basil is shredded but not fully pureed. Add 1 - 2 Tbs
of the mussel juice and shallots. Add salt sparingly and a
touch more black pepper.
Spread the mussels over a large serving platter and drizzle over
the sauce. Serve warm or cold. Garnish with basil leaves.
Optional: shred a small red chili and scatter it through the
salad with the fresh basil.
Serves 6
Rabbit With Apricots in Cabernet Sauce
2 Young domestic rabbits
2 Cups Cabernet Sauvignon
1/4 Cup red wine vinegar
4 Cloves garlic unpeeled
Large bouquet garni
10 Oz dried apricots
Coarse salt
Freshly ground pepper
6 Tbs Peanut oil
8 Tbs butter
2 Cups rabbit demi-glace
Bone rabbit saddle, legs and shoulders and cut into cubes of
about 1 ounce each. Marinate the meat in the wine and vinegar
with the garlic and bouquet garni for 12 hours, covering the
rabbit with cheese cloth so it will not dry out. Soak the
apricots in cold water for one hour, the drain. Drain the
rabbit reserving the marinade and garniture. Dry rabbit well
and season with salt and pepper. In a heavy casserole, heat the
oil and 4 Tbs butter. Add the rabbit and brown on all sides
(approximately 20 minutes until meet is gray). Add garlic,
bouquet garni, reserve marinade, apricots and rabbit demi-glace
Cut a circle of wax paper, butter it lightly and place over the
rabbit. Cover the casserole and simmer 20 - 30 minutes. Remove
the bouquet garni and discard. Retrieve the cloves of garlic a
nd remove the peel. Mash garlic into a paste with the remaining
butter. Remove rabbit and apricots from the sauce, set aside
and keep warm. Stir the garlic paste into the sauce a little at
a time. Arrange rabbit and apricots on a serving platter and
cover with sauce.
Note: The demi-glace is a brown sauce made from the rabbit
bones. Julia Child’s has a recipe in her cookbook. I can give
you a copy if you need one.
Potato and Celeriac Galette
2 medium Idaho potatoes, peeled, grated and squeezed dry.
1 small celery root, peeled, grated and squeezed dry.
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 Tbs flour
1 Tsp salt
1/4 Tsp white pepper, to taste
4 Tbs clarified butter or vegetable oil
1/4 LB Goat cheese
6 Oz thinly sliced smoked salmon
In a bowl, combine the potatoes, celery root, eggs, flour, salt,
and white pepper. In a large skillet, heat the butter until hot
over moderate heat. Drop the potato mixture into the skillet,
2 Tbs at a time. Flatten each mound into a 3 inch patty with a
spatula and continue until the pan is full, Sauté in batches
until golden brown about 3 t0 4 minutes. Turn and continue to
cook until tender. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels
to drain.
Arrange 2 gallettes on a serving plate. and top with a thin
slice of goat cheese and a slice of smoked salmon.
Serves 6
RATATOUILLE
1/2 Cup olive oil
2 Onions diced
1 Large egg plant unpeeled and diced
1 Green pepper sliced
4 Small zucchini unpeeled and diced
3 Cloves garlic finely chopped
5 large ripe tomatoes - peeled, seeded, and roughly chopped
Salt
Pepper
Tomato paste
Heat 1/3 cup olive oil in a large frying pan. Sauté the onions
until softened, then the cubes of eggplant and zucchini. The
last two should brown slightly. If the eggplant blots up all of
the oil, add a little more as necessary. Stir in the sweet
pepper garlic and tomatoes. Cover and simmer gently for 15
minutes. Remove the lid and cook rapidly for another 2 - 3
minutes to remove the excess water. Season with salt, pepper,
and tomato paste
BAVAROIS AU MEIL A LA CREME A LA LAVANDE
Meringue Italienne
1/2 Cup sugar
3 1/2 Oz water
4 Large egg whites
Combine the sugar and the water in a saucepan and bring to the
boil, stirring to make sure the sugar dissolves before the water
boils. Whip the egg whites to firm peaks with an electric
beater. When the sugar syrup reaches 118 degrees C or when
bubbles on the top of the saucepan are evenly distributed right
across the top and of even, fairly small sized - remove from
heat and pour in a thin stream over the egg white, beating all
the time until all of the syrup is incorporated.
Barvarian Cream
2 Tbs honey - an aromatic one preferably Meil Province made
from lavender.
1 Envelope of gelatin
2 Cups heavy cream
In a sauce pan warm the honey and when hot add the gelatin
(softened first in a little water to swell it). Stir until the
gelatin disappears. Cool without setting then add the gelatin
and honey mixture to the meringue Italienne, folding it in
gently. Whip the to soft peaks only. When the mixture is cool
fold the cream into it. Place the buckled up wall of an 8 inch
spring form pan without its base onto a large serving platter.
Pour the mixture into the mold and transfer it to the
refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours to set.
Lavender Custard
2 Cups milk
7 Tbs sugar
4 egg yolks
1 Tbs fresh lavender flowers
Bring the milk to a boil in a sauce pan. In a bowl, blend the
sugar with the egg yolks. pour on a little hot milk, stirring,
then return the egg mixture to the saucepan and stir well with a
whisk until the sauce thickens. It must not boil. Remove the
saucepan from the stove and add the lavender flowers. Pour in a
jug and leave overnight in the refrigerator. The next day,
strain out the lavender with a fine sieve and return the custard
to the jug, and cover with plastic wrap until needed.
Run a knife along the wall of the circle and remove the mold.
Serve either as a whole piece with the lavender custard poured
all around the border, or cut into wedges and place on individual
plates in a pool of the custard.
Aigo Bouido
12 Cups salted water
15 Cloves garlic
15 Sage leaves
10 eggs
10 Slices pain de campagne, a hefty country style bread,
topped with grated Gruyere (Swiss) or Parmesan cheese and
warmed under a broiler.
2/3 Cup olive oil
Salt & Pepper
Boil the salted water with the garlic and the sage for 15
minutes or until garlic is soft. Remove the sage and garlic.
Discard the sage. Mash the garlic with a fork, and return it to
the saucepan with the water. Poach the eggs at this time in the
liquid.
Place on slice of the warmed bread at the bottom of each bowl,
drizzle with 1 Tbs olive oil, and top with an egg. Ladle in the
soup. Season with salt and pepper.
Note: I have fresh sage. The eggs can be poached at my house
just before serving.
Roti d’Agneau aux Herbes de Provence
1 Oz shallots finely chopped
2 Tablespoons butter
3/4 Cup white bread crumbs
2/3 Cup lamb or beef stock
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1/2 Cup fleshy black olives chopped
2 Tsp chopped rosemary
2 Tsp wild thyme chopped
2 Tsp chopped savory
1 Egg
4 LB leg of lamb
Salt and pepper
Sauté the shallots in butter. Soak the bread in the stock for 5
minutes. Place the garlic herbs and olives in a bowl. Beat the
egg and mix in, then season with salt and plenty of pepper.
Insert the stuffing into the bone of the lamb. If using shoulder
spread the stuffing over the surface of the meat roll and tie
firmly. Bake at 1 hour at 400 degrees F rest for 10 minutes
before carving. Cut into thick slices.