Wolfert
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Thanks, Caroline. I actually think David Leite's forum was so good and complete, I would have very little to add. Publication in newspapers and/or magazines is certainly an excellent entree, but I think the key to being published in book form is a good strong original idea framed in a consise well-written proposal accompanying samples of recipes or stories.
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Fifi: I don't mean to put you off, but I think that when you do get into the text, all your questions will be answered. The book is full of experiences and revelations. That being said, one unfortunate aspect of a visit to Morocco is that most of the restaurant food is boring and second-rate. The best Moroccan food has always been served in private homes. I'm planning to visit again this coming spring and will be on the lookout for places to recommend. If I find some, I will report back here.
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Many people have asked me about this. The real answer is -- lots of preparation. (Does that remind you a little of the old joke about how to get to Carnegie Hall -- "practice, practice, practice"?) I spend six or so months preparing a trip: contacting US residents originally from the region, obtaining suggestions, tips and leads. Lots of letter writing then ensues. I also engage in language study. I' no great linguist, but if I am going to visit Catalonia I make a point of learning the kitchen vocabulary in Catalan (not just Spanish); the same for Sicilian (not just Italian) for Sicily; and Georgian (not merely Russian) for Georgia. I also try to find the local experts, then write to them. I've been very lucky that so many people have been so generous toward me. As mentioned earlier, I always bring gifts, usually a little kitchen gadget, something they're likely to understand and quickly learn to use -- things like parsley cutting wheels and garlic presses, nothing expensive, but always germane to our mutual interest in cooking. When I'm there I'll ask: "Who makes the best such-and-such?" Usually someone will mention the name of an expert. This happened in Turkey when I was looking for a good manti recipe. The woman I finally learned from was truly the best in the whole country. I stay in touch afterwards too. I'm still in contact with the woman who first helped me on my first book in Morocco in 1972, an old dada from the palace of the grandfather of the present King. I really enjoy these people and I think they sense this and respond in kind to my interest and enthusiasm. As I mentioned earlier: food truly is the great connection between people, especially women, no matter the country or culture.
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Hello:
I am really grateful for your help in tracking down gateau a la broche. I had been wanting to taste one for more than 25 years! It was terrific and I intend to order it again for Xmas presents!
I love the dark, earthy food of the French SouthWest -- country style daubes, soups, bean dishes and, of course, all the things they do with duck. I also take a lot of pleasure utilizing the SouthWest techniques of long, slow cooking and the consequent development of deep satisfying flavors through the interaction of ingredients and time. I'm appreciative of many of the more sophisticated dishes as well. I really like it the way the chefs in that region have stayed true to the ingredients while finding new ways of handling them. And of course I love foie gras. When I wrote my book you couldn't get foie gras in the US except in a can. What a wonderful change! To handle and work with a whole fresh foie gras for the first time is an extremely exciting and sensual experience. BTW, I'll do my best to deal even-handedly with the foie gras controversy when I revise "SouthWest France." There's a good deal of sense on both sides of the argument, but you can be sure the great foie gras recipes will still be there.
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Marsha: There's a huge number of fig varieites in the Mediterranean (where they're originally from), but I believe only 3 or 4 are commerically grown in the US and usually in California. I think the ones you might come across in your local market would be Black Mission and Green Kadota in season..
I like to eat them out of hand or roast them (please have a look at a regional recipe in my SouthWest French cookbook.) And at the risk of appearing a bit self-aggrandizing, I adore the fresh black fig and lemon tart in my brand new book, "The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen.".
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Helenas:
I'm in love with all of my books. Each one is different and yet they each have the Mediterranean (and a few miles north here or there) in common, and so I view them as parts of a single larger work -- my life's work, if you will. I hope that doesn't sound too pretentious. I also like to think that the five year interval between each book allows me to grow and change.
The book I particularly like this season is Paul Bertolli's "Made by Hand." My favorites last year were Judy Rodgers' Zuni book and William Rubel's "The Magic of the Fire."
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Green wheat (frik in north africa, freekeh in Syria, fireek in egypt and firik in Turkey).
In the early spring in these countries, when the stores of winter wheat have been used up and the new wheat is not yet ready for harvest, farmers will gather piles of immature wheat from the fields, carefully set them afire, then thresh the charred sheaves. The idea is to let the chaff and straw burn, but to presreve the moist kernels of immature wheat. Asa result of this burning, the kernels become imbued with a wood-smoke flaor that is delicious, earthy, and unique. It takes time to clean green wheat, but it is well worth the effort. It turns rancid very fast. I keep it in the freezer.
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Great report.
I was worried about the fresh canneliini and happy to know you just didn't care in the end because the long, slow cooking allowed the development of a deep, satisfying taste.
On a budget note: You might think about picking up unsalted pork belly in an Asian market or soaking salt pork in several changes of water to rid it of salt.
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Thank you for that great comment on my seafood bisteeya recipe. I published that recipe in Mediterranean Grains and Greens. It's hard bound but you might consider getting a copy. There are a lot of other really good recipes in it!!!
I can't believe I was so brazen. Forgive me.
Best, Paula
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Thank you, Suzanne aka Willow. I am so happy you knew the recipe and the story behind it and willing to type it up for us.
bless you.
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Your frik was old (rancid).
You need to sniff the grain; it should smell smoky and wild. Call aziz at kalustyan and ask him for a pound. Be sure to mention my name and I told you how good is frik is. That should get things going.
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Hi Helena:
Your posting of my comment on the happiness of acquiring a new pot made me smile. Thank you for that.
I read the posts here on tagines and noticed that some people like the le crueset model. For me it doesn't work because it's too small, and, primarily, because it's not earthenware and therefore doesn't "breathe."
I've found www.tagines.com to be a great source. He has about 6 or 7 styles, some glazed, some unglazed. I particularly like the Riffian one, the Ourika\Soussi tagine and the Tangier tagine. Even though they're different, they all work well with a flame diffuser.
Food really tastes different when cooked in clay. You might want to take a look at my piece on this subject in the November issue of Food&Wine, in which I offer some guidelines and a really good tagine recipe of lamb and prunes.
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Each pot has its own seasoning requirement. Tagines should be seasoned, but a Romertopf simply needs to be soaked. I've found that the more times you use clay pots the better they'll cook. If they're unglazed, clean them with a scrub brush and baking soda (not soap). Also soak overnight in water if there's a lot of debris on the pot.
Sure, you can bake the bread anyway you wish, but baking bread in a Romertopf will be a revelation...unless, of course, you already have a HearthKit or baker's oven at home.
As for each pot telling a story,..the stories behind the two recipes you mention are too long to tell here. But the story of the pot I cooked it in is in the piece -- it's the pot fromthe alleys of Marrakech.
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Based on your splendid presentation on egullet, you're the one who should write a definitive Lebanese cookbook!
I haven't been to Lebanon, though I have been to Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Israel, and Turkey. Back in 1973, when I was living in Morocco, I knew a lot of refugees from Sidon who'd immigrated to Tangier. I became close with many of them; most of my Lebanese recipes come from those families.
I'm happy to say that my work has been featured in the magazine "Saveurs Du Liban" and that I've recently been invited to visit. I hope to take up this opportunity soon.
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Hi Mathew: Thanks for your kind words. Actually, I've never published a recipe for "New Age Plum Torte." Could you perhaps be thinking of Marian Burros who's published and republished a much beloved plum torte. (I think it appeared in the New York Times around Thanksgiving one year).
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Actually, I revised "Med. Cooking" in 1994, removing 60 recipes and adding 75 new ones. Among the ones I took out: a salt cod mouuse served in a shell of puff pastry with poached eggs and hollandaise; a French chicken, sausage and bacon pie; a bourride enriched with an aioli made with six eggs; and other extremely rich preparations. I also suspect that these dishes are less popular in their regions for the same reason. Certainly there's been a worldwide change in attitude toward more healthful eating. Bottom line: yes, there is a certain inertia to regional cooking, but peoples' preferences change in regions too. Yet, hopefully, the great old dishes will survive as "grandmother's cooking," and will still be served on special occasions.
For example about taste changes: just today I received an email from a friend in southeastern Turkey telling me about the rage for baking fish on tiles. A dish that never existed before in this landlocked town. By the time I get back to visit..who knows? I will be seeing it everywhere.
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Okay, fessing up: I once made a coulbiac using vermicelli noodles instead of vesiga. I've also applied Chinese cooking techniques to Mediterranean recipes. But, yes, I guess I do make a kind of fetish out of authenticity. Though I'm sometimes dazzled by the fusion dishes of creative chefs, I also find those dishes difficult to remember. For me, being dazzled by brilliant food, and truly adoring a dish are two very different things. I also find those brilliant fusion dishes very hard to reproduce. So...though I may pray in many churches...I worship in only one cathedral
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Knowing that egulleteers want to be on the cutting edge I am passing along the hottest name in Istanbul...Ciye or Ciya on the Asian side of Istanbul. It was just a way of passing along a good tip on a great restaurant/
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Ok you are in dangerous territory and I shall go directly to the John Thorne section of your query. I'm all for serious discussion and give-and-take, but I don't like "snarky" reviews or snarkiness in any form, and I don't participate in it which is why I never answered Thorne. Certainly, our field is large enough to embrace contending views. John Thorne is, of course, entitled to his opinion. But I can promise you that nothing he wrote about me had any effect on my work or my approach. (In the case of some of his criticisms, I still don't know what he was driving at and it has been almost 20 years!) Anyway, it's boring old stuff, water under the bridge. I continue to do what I feel I do best and I stand by all my reporting, including every instance where Thorne claims he has "doubts." And I'm amused that even now he seems to take so much pride in his attack.Such a brilliant hatchet job! Such glory! Such courage too!
And so much fun (I gather!) to nail the old broad to the culinary
barn wall!
On the other hand, trillium, I am not angry that you have asked me about Thorne and please don't take this screed personally. I never dealt in print with Thorne before this forum. And lo and behold you provoked me and I thought "oh, what the hell!"
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: I smiled at your phrase "culinary hub." Certainly there's a lot of "hubbub" about chefs in New York these days, but the last time I recall a hub of food writers and cookbook authors that had any
affect on my work was in the late 1970's when I lived in New York
and the nouvelle cuisine was in full swing. On Saturday
afternoons food writers such as James Beard, James Villas, Arthur Schwartz, Barbara Kafka, Suzanne Hamlin, Gael Greene, myself and others would congregate at the restaurant Le Plaisir on Lexington Avenue to talk endlessly about food. Masa was the chef there; he would create all sorts of exciting new dishes for us to taste. (He went on to make a huge name in San Francisco in the 80's, and then to be tragically and horrifically murdered.) The 70's was a wonderful time in the food trenches and as far as I'm concerned, the last time there was a real "hub" of food writers and cookbook authors.
As to the internet, it's a great resource and I adore egullet. I really enjoy the smarts and enthusiasm of so many of the members and enjoy participating here when I have time.
As to whether food writers now use the internet as a crutch...certainly some do. It's almost too easy now to research something without really experiencing it. I know of some food writers who never travel, who more or less "fake it" by doing diligent research, but they did that before the internet as well. I still believe in field work, and still immensely enjoy it. Field work will always be the basis of my research. But there are times when the internet has served me very well. For example, I have been able to follow the fascinating saga of Heston Blumenthal for the
past six years without ever having been to his restaurant. In my last column (October) for F&W, I quoted a statement he made on the BBC, which I only became aware of through internet research.
Egullet has been particularly helpful to me. Here's a recent example: ever since I wrote "The Cooking Of SouthWest France," I've wanted to add something about gateau a la broche, a cake from the pyrenees. Thanks to an egulleteer, I was able to find
a source, order it and serve it here in Sonoma to friends last week! BRAVO FOR EGULLET!
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I wasn't planning to do follow ups.
It was just a passing comical comment I heard from time to time by certain women who just wanted to keep their neighbors from knowing their little secrets. I just mentioned it in the forum because it amused me.
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The reason I asked you about the poached egg is I think I have the recipe for its preparation...that is for the egg. I learned the technique from a Basque chef who had interned in San Sebastian. I use the technique in my latest book with artichokes.
Anyway, here is the technique as he taught it to me. The recipe I hope it helps in getting :Place a sheet of plastic wrap in a cup, break in an egg, add a
pinch of salt and a drop of olive oil. carefully enclose the white around yolk without
breaking the egg yolk and tie with clip or plastic tie. there should be no air. Repeat with the remaining eggs. Poach all the eggs in simmering water for 7 or 8 minutes depending
on their size. Remove packages to icy water to cool down quickly. You reheat the egg in the package for a few seconds in simmering water. Unwrap and place in your flower.
BTW:there is a version of this dish called flor de patata asada con trufa rellena in Celebrar el milenio con Arzak & Adria.
The sauce in the book is made with port wine and truffles, scallions, meat stock and butter.
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Please describe the poached egg flower.
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Hi Andrew: Thanks for your very generous remarks about my SouthWest French cookbook. I'm just starting a revision of it. When it's republished it will have color photographs. I plan to update some of the recipes, drop some and add new ones, but I'll probably leave the fats chapter pretty much as is. After all, the people of the SouthWest live longer than anywhere in France!
Slow Kitchen
in eGullet Q&A with Paula Wolfert
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Thanks, Boris. Actually, I'm about to ruin your wallet on gas or electric bills! All my books, in one sense or another, are about long slow cooking...from moroccan tagines in "Couscous" through daubes and cassoulets in "South-West France", through "Eastern Med" in which most everything is slow-cooked, to "Grains & Greens" and now "The Slow Med. Kitchen." And guess what I'm starting on now? Clay Pot Cookery, which, of course, is verrrrry slooooooow....