• Preparation: Cut in half and scrape out seeds and strings. Peel halves and cut into ¾-inch chunks
• Cooking: Cook as described above.
• Finishing: Purée as described above.
ROASTED OR BAKED VEGETABLES
Although they are synonymous, “roasted” sounds more exciting to the modern ear than “baked,” which has a rather dowdy and old-fashioned ring. I shall use whichever sounds best to me.
Tomatoes Provençal
Halved and baked with herbs, garlic, and crumbs. For 4 firm, ripe tomatoes, to serve 4. Halve, seed, and juice the tomatoes. Toss together ½ cup fresh white bread crumbs, 2 tablespoons minced shallots or scallions, 2 cloves garlic, minced, 1 to 2 Tbs olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Salt lightly, and fill tomatoes with the crumb mixture. Drizzle on olive oil and bake in the upper level of a preheated 400°F oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until crumbs are lightly browned and tomatoes are softened but still hold their shape.
TOMATOES: PEELED, SEEDED, AND JUICED—FRESH TOMATO PULP. To peel tomatoes, drop them into a large pan of rapidly boiling water and time the boil for exactly 10 seconds. Cut out the core, then peel the skin down from it. To seed and juice them, halve crosswise and gently squeeze to dislodge jelly and juice, poking out remaining seeds with your fingers. They are then usually chopped or diced (concassées) into “fresh tomato pulp.”
Baked Winter Squash
For 1½ pounds squash, to serve 4 to 6. To bake any winter squash, halve it and scrape out seeds and strings. Rub the inside with butter and seasonings, then bake in the lower-third level of a preheated 400°F oven until the flesh is soft and edible, usually an hour or more. Cut into serving portions and serve as is, or fill with any stuffing suitable for turkey and bake another ½ hour, basting several times with roasting juices or melted butter.
Baked Eggplant Slices and Eggplant “Pizza”
For 2 medium eggplants, about 3 pounds, to serve 5 or 6. Choose firm, shiny eggplants. Wash them and cut into ½-inch slices, salt lightly on both sides, and let sweat on paper towels 20 to 30 minutes. Pat dry, arrange on an oiled baking pan, and brush tops with olive oil. Sprinkle on dried Italian or Provençal herbs, cover with foil, and bake in a preheated 400°F oven for 20 minutes, or until just tender. For eggplant “pizza,” spread tomato sauce (see box below) over each slice, and sprinkle with Parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil. Brown under the broiler.
TOMATO SAUCE
FRESH TOMATO SAUCE. For about 2½ cups, sauté ½ cup minced onions in 2 tablespoons olive oil, and when tender stir in 4 cups fresh tomato pulp or half fresh and half canned Italian plum tomatoes. Season with a pinch of thyme, a bay leaf, 2 large cloves of puréed garlic, and, if you wish, both a pinch of saffron threads and ¼ teaspoon dried orange peel. Salt lightly and simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes.
TOMATO FONDUE—A GARNISH. Sauté 2 tablespoons minced shallots or scallions in 1 tablespoon olive oil or butter, and when tender bring to the boil with ¼ cup each of chicken stock and dry white French vermouth. When syrupy, blend in 2 cups fresh tomato pulp (see box above), a clove of minced garlic, and a good pinch of tarragon or basil. Simmer 2 to 3 minutes to cook the tomatoes, then correct seasoning and fold in minced parsley.
Cauliflower au Gratin
To serve 5 or 6. For 3 cups of cooked cauliflower (see charts), prepare 2 to 2½ cups béchamel sauce. Fold ⅓ cup of coarsely grated Swiss cheese into the sauce, and spread a thin layer in a buttered shallow baking dish. Arrange the cauliflower in the dish, spoon over the remaining sauce, and sprinkle on ¼ cup of cheese. Bake in a preheated 425°F oven 20 to 25 minutes, until bubbling and lightly browned on top.
VARIATIONS
BROCCOLI OR BRUSSELS SPROUTS. Use exactly the same system as for cauliflower.
ZUCCHINI AU GRATIN. Grate and sauté zucchini but save the squeezed-out zucchini juices. Make a velouté sauce, using 2 tablespoons butter, 3 tablespoons flour, and 1½ cups liquid (zucchini juices plus milk). Fold the zucchini into the sauce, spread in a buttered baking dish, and sprinkle over ¼ cup grated Swiss cheese. Bake in upper-third level of a 400°F oven until bubbling and browned, about 20 minutes.
SAUTÉED VEGETABLES
As always, sautéing is the easiest and fastest way to prepare vegetables. However, you always have to remember the added calories given you by that delicious butter or virgin olive oil you are using.
Sautéed Mushrooms
Keep in mind: 1 pound fresh mushrooms = 1 quart; ½ pound sliced fresh mushrooms = 2½ cups; ½ pound diced fresh mushrooms = 2 cups; ¾ pound (3 cups) sliced or quartered fresh mushrooms = 2 cups sautéed mushrooms.
For ¾ pound quartered fresh mushrooms, heat 1½ tablespoons butter and ½ tablespoon oil in a large frying pan, and when butter foam is subsiding, turn in the mushrooms. Sauté for several minutes, tossing frequently as the butter is absorbed and then reappears on the surface when the mushrooms begin to brown. Toss in ½ tablespoon chopped shallots, season with salt and pepper, and sauté another 30 seconds.
VARIATION
MUSHROOM DUXELLES—FINELY DICED SAUTÉED MUSHROOMS. Finely dice ½ quart (½ pound) fresh mushrooms. By handfuls, twist them in the corner of a towel to extract their juices. Sauté as previously directed, adding chopped shallots at the end. For a wine flavoring, stir in 2 tablespoons dry port or Madeira and boil down briefly.
SIMMERED MUSHROOM CAPS. For use as a garnish. Toss 10 large mushroom caps in a stainless-steel saucepan with ¼ cup water, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, a big pinch of salt, and 1 tablespoon butter. Simmer, covered, for 2 to 3 minutes until just tender.
Pipérade—Sautéed Peppers and Onions
For 1½ cups. Sauté 1 sliced medium onion slowly in 2 tablespoons olive oil until tender but not browned. Add 1 sliced medium red pepper, 1 sliced green pepper, and a clove of puréed garlic. Season with a big pinch of Provençal herbs, and salt and pepper to taste. Continue sautéing several minutes over low heat, until peppers are tender.
Grated Sautéed Zucchini
For 1½ pounds, to serve 4. Grate the zucchini and toss in a colander with 1½ teaspoons salt; let steep 20 minutes. By handfuls, twist in the corner of a towel to extract juices. Sauté 1 tablespoon minced shallot briefly in a large frying pan with 2 tablespoons olive oil or butter, then add the zucchini and toss over high heat for 2 minutes or so, just until tender.
VARIATIONS
CREAMED ZUCCHINI. When tender, stir in ½ cup of heavy cream and let simmer until absorbed, then fold with a tablespoon of chopped parsley or tarragon.
GRATINÉED WITH CHEESE.
Grated Sautéed/Steamed Beets
For 1½ pounds beets, to serve 4. Peel and grate the beets. Toss them in a nonstick frying pan with 2 tablespoons melted butter. Add ¼ inch water and 1 teaspoon red-wine vinegar, and bring to simmer over medium heat for 1 minute, stirring. Cover, lower heat, and simmer about 10 minutes, adding more water if necessary, until beets are tender and liquid has evaporated. Swirl and toss with another tablespoon or so of butter, and season to taste.
VARIATION
TURNIPS, RUTABAGAS, AND CARROTS. Grate and sauté/steam the same way.
Brown Onion “Marmalade”
To make about ½ cup. Sauté 3 cups sliced onions slowly in 2 to 3 tablespoons butter for about 15 minutes, until tender and translucent. Raise heat and sauté 5 minutes or so more, stirring, until nicely browned.
BRAISED VEGETABLES
When vegetables need longer cooking, you braise them, meaning you cover them and let them steam in their own juices.
Braised Celery
Use ⅓ to ½ prepared celery heart per serving. Cut the celery hearts in halves or thirds lengthwise, depending on thickness; wash under cold running water. Lay cut side up in a buttered flameproof baking dish. Salt lightly, spread over each a teaspoon of mirepoix (see box below), and pour in chicken stock to a third of the way up. Bring to the simmer on top of the stove. Lay buttered wax paper over the celery, cover with foil, and cook in a 350°F oven 30 to
40 minutes, until tender. Pour juices into a saucepan and boil down until syrupy. Swirl in a tablespoon or so of butter and pour over the celery.
MIREPOIX—DICED AROMATIC VEGETABLES. To give extra flavor to braised meats and vegetables. For about ⅓ cup. Sauté gently for about 10 minutes ¼ cup each finely diced carrots, onions, and celery in 2 tablespoons butter with a pinch of thyme and, if you wish, ¼ cup diced ham. When tender, season lightly to taste.
VARIATION
BRAISED LEEKS. Use 1 fat or 2 thin trimmed leeks per serving. Cut fat leeks in half lengthwise; leave thin ones whole. Place cut side up in one layer in a buttered baking dish, and proceed as for the braised celery, but omit the mirepoix.
Braised Endives
For 10 endives, to serve 5 to 10. Trim root ends of endives, keeping leaves attached. Arrange in one layer in a buttered flameproof casserole. Salt lightly, distribute 1½ tablespoons butter in small pieces on top, and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Pour in water to come halfway up, and bring to the boil on top of the stove. Boil slowly for 15 minutes, or until almost tender. Lay buttered wax paper over the endives, cover the casserole, and bake in a 325°F oven for 1½ to 2 hours, or until the endives are a pale buttery yellow.
Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage
Serves 4 or 5. Sauté 1 cup red-onion slices in a large saucepan with 2 to 3 tablespoons of butter or oil or pork fat until tender. Blend in 4 cups of shredded red cabbage, a grated sour apple, 2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar, a puréed garlic clove, a bay leaf, ½ teaspoon caraway seeds, 1 teaspoon sugar, salt, pepper, and ½ cup water. Cover and boil over high heat for about 10 minutes, tossing occasionally and adding more water if necessary, until cabbage is tender and liquid has evaporated. Taste, and adjust seasonings.
POTATOES
Mashed Potatoes
For 2½ pounds (4 or 5) large russet or Yukon-gold potatoes, to serve 6. Peel and quarter the potatoes, and boil for 10 to 15 minutes in salted water (1½ teaspoons salt per quart) until definitely tender when pierced (but not overcooked!). Drain. Return to the pan and sauté for a minute or so to evaporate moisture. Either put through a potato ricer, or whip in an electric mixer at slow to medium speed, adding driblets of hot milk or cream. Season with salt and white pepper, beating in up to ½ cup in all of hot milk or cream by spoonfuls, and alternating with ½-tablespoon additions of butter. If not serving at once, set pan over almost simmering water and cover loosely—the potatoes must have a little air circulation. They will keep thus an hour or more; stir up once in a while, adding a little more butter if you wish before serving.
VARIATION
GARLIC MASHED POTATOES. After mashing the potatoes, purée a head or two of braised garlic cloves simmered in cream (see box below), beat it into the potatoes, and proceed to season them, adding milk or cream and butter to taste. (In my early TV versions I used a more complicated system with a roux and so forth, but this is far simpler and better.)
GARLIC
GARLIC FACTOIDS. To separate the cloves from the head of garlic, cut off the top, then bang down on the head with your fist or the flat of a knife. To peel whole garlic cloves, drop them into a pan of boiling water and boil exactly 30 seconds; the peels will slip off easily. To mince garlic, smash a whole garlic clove on your work surface, peel off and discard the skin, then mince with your big knife. To purée, sprinkle a big pinch of salt on the minced garlic, then press and rub the garlic back and forth on your work surface with the flat of your knife, or pound with a mortar and pestle.
To remove garlic smell from your hands, wash in cold water, rub with salt, wash in soap and warm water; repeat if necessary.
BRAISED WHOLE CLOVES OF GARLIC. Simmer 1 head of large peeled garlic cloves and 1 tablespoon of butter or olive oil in a small covered saucepan for 15 minutes or so, until very tender but not browned.
BRAISED GARLIC CLOVES SIMMERED IN CREAM. Simmer the above braised garlic cloves with ½ cup of cream for about 10 minutes, until meltingly tender. Season with salt and white pepper.
Steamed Whole Potatoes
For small red-skinned or new potatoes about 2 inches in diameter. Scrub potatoes and, if you wish, peel off a band of skin around middle. Pile in a steamer basket set in a saucepan over 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil, cover closely, and steam 20 minutes or so, until easily pierced. Serve as is with seasonings and melted butter, or peel and slice for salad.
Boiled Sliced Potatoes
Especially for use in salads. For about 1 quart. Choose “boiling” potatoes all the same size. One at a time, peel them, cut into slices ¼ inch thick, and drop into cold water—to prevent discoloration. When all are done, drain and add fresh water to cover and 1½ teaspoons salt per quart. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, testing carefully to be sure they are tender. Drain, cover the pan, and let firm up for exactly 4 minutes, then uncover, and be prepared to season them while still warm.
Scalloped Potatoes—Gratin Dauphinois
For 2 pounds boiling potatoes, to serve 4 to 6. Wash potatoes, and one by one peel and cut into slices as described in the preceding recipe. Butter a flameproof baking dish, smear bottom with a puréed clove of garlic, and lay in potato slices. Heat 1 cup of milk seasoned with salt and pepper, and pour over potatoes, adding milk if necessary to reach three-quarters of the way up. Bring to the simmer on top of the stove, and distribute 2 to 3 tablespoons butter in small pieces over potatoes. Bake in upper third of a preheated 425°F oven about 25 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and nicely browned on top.
VARIATIONS
SCALLOPED POTATOES SAVOYARDE. Sauté 3 cups of thinly sliced onions in butter and prepare 1½ cups of grated Swiss cheese. Layer onions and cheese with the potato slices in the baking dish. Instead of milk, heat 2 cups of well-seasoned chicken or beef stock; pour over potatoes to cover by three-quarters. Bake in 425°F oven, basting several times with the juices, until liquid is absorbed and potatoes are nicely browned, about 40 minutes.
POTATOES ANNA—SCALLOPED POTATOES BAKED IN BUTTER. For 2 pounds boiling potatoes, to serve 4 to 6. Prepare the potato slices as described above and dry well. Pour clarified butter (see box below) into a 10-inch nonstick frying pan to a depth of ¼ inch; set over moderate heat and rapidly fill pan bottom with a layer of potato slices, overlapping in concentric circles. Shake pan to prevent sticking, baste first layer with a sprinkling of butter, and arrange the remaining slices in neat layers, sprinkling on butter after each, and seasoning with salt and pepper every few layers. When pan is filled, let cook 3 to 5 minutes to crust bottom layer. Lower heat, cover pan, and cook for 45 minutes, or until potatoes are easily pierced, making sure bottom does not burn. Loosen galette around the sides and invert onto a hot serving dish.
Sautéed Diced Potatoes
For 1½ pounds boiling potatoes, to serve 4. Peel the potatoes and cut into ¾-inch cubes; drop into cold water to remove starch. Drain, and dry on towels. Sauté over high heat in 3 tablespoons clarified butter (see box below), or 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon oil, tossing frequently until nicely browned. Lower heat; season lightly with salt, pepper, and, if you wish, Provençal herbs. Cover and cook 3 or 4 minutes, until tender. If not serving at once, keep warm for 15 minutes or so, uncovered. To serve, raise heat to moderately high, then toss in a spoonful of chopped shallots and parsley, plus a tablespoon or so more of butter. Toss again for several minutes, and serve.
CLARIFIED BUTTER—FOR SAUTÉING. The simple system: melt the butter and pour the clear yellow liquid off the milky residue. The professional, long-keeping method: bring the butter to the slow boil in a roomy saucepan and boil until its crackling and bubbling almost cease; pour the clear yellow butter through a tea strainer into a jar, where it will keep for months in the refrigerator or freezer.
The Best Grated Potato Pancakes
This is my version of those wonderful ones Sally Darr used to serve in the sixties in her charming New York restaurant, La Tulipe. For 3 or 4 large-size baking potatoes, serving 6. Steam the potatoes 15 to 20 minutes, until almost but
not quite tender. Set aside for several hours, until completely cold. Then peel and rub through the large holes of a hand grater. Toss with a sprinkling of salt and pepper and divide loosely into 6 mounds. Film a frying pan with ⅛ inch of clarified butter (see box above), and when butter is hot, spread in 2 or 3 mounds, pressing the potatoes together lightly with a spatula for 4 to 5 minutes. Sauté for several minutes, until browned on the bottom, turn with care, and brown on the other side. Set aside uncovered, and reheat briefly in a 425°F oven.
VARIATION
LARGE POTATO GALETTE. Form the potatoes into one large cake and sauté in a large nonstick frying pan. When bottom has browned, either flip it over, or slide out onto a baking sheet and plop it browned side up back into the pan to brown on the other side.
French Fries