Cooking with 'The Cooking of Southwest France'

[JPW]

As you’ll recall, we feasted on the Roast Chicken Stuffed with Garlic Croutons in the Style of the Corrèze from Paula Wolfert’s new cookbook, The Cooking of Southwest France, and all of us agreed it was wonderful.

I made this last weekend. The chicken was fine. But oh those croutons!

Next time I'm making two birds just so we can have more of that lovely stuffing.

Edited October 26, 2005 by JPW (log)

[Abra]

My book finally came, and tonight I made the Potatoes Roasted in Sea Salt. They were perfect, in a perfectly low-key way. I was expecting them to be salty, at least a bit, and they weren't. What they were was creamy and smooth, in a mysterious way, since the skin remains tender and soft, but entirely intact. It's hard to figure out how they were cooked, if you don't know.

All that said, it's not a potato epiphany, just a good and very simple way to do potatoes. The recipe has you put a layer of kosher salt, topped by a layer of good sea salt. I used a Portuguese Flor de Sal on top, and thought it was wasted. As far as I can tell, plain kosher salt would work exactly as well, and be much cheaper. If anyone else makes these, please let us know whether you think the sea salt is actually adding flavor. I couldn't discern it, and I have a pretty good palate.

But served with some roasted Columbia River sturgeon with a little sauce of butter and verjus, and some Savoy cabbage sauteed in a bit of duck fat, it was a delicious autumn supper.

[FoodMan]

Abra-

No matter what any cookbook says, I never use expensive sea salt such as Fleur De Sel for anything but last minute seasoning where the flavor and sometimes texture is not lost. Using it to bake with or as an all purpose seasoning is a luxury I cannot afford and IMO it does not make much of a difference if any at all.

Last night we tried this:

Yeap, the garlic soup from Correze. It was very simple to prepare with no advance prep required. Made a perfect weeknight supper with some homemade country bread toast slathered with duck fat and sprinkled with salt and pepper (yes, I used sea salt for the bread ).

[Abra]

Last night I made the Chicken with Red Onion Sauce, and the Tuscan-style baked polenta. Now that was a lovely meal!

Here's the mise: I wanted to show how it's really a lot of onions (sitting next to a beautiful Smart Chicken, for you SC afficionados), but then I got carried away with the idea of scale, and couldn't resist putting the world's largest bunch of Red Russian kale next to it all. I didn't actually cook the kale last night, but here it is anyway.

The polenta baked up painlessly to a thick, creamy mush. I did deviate a bit from the recipe by using my favorite polenta taragna, which has buckwheat mixed in with the corn. This might be the one application where I'd prefer something other than duck fat - I found that I missed the flavors of the more usual olive oil or butter, but the texture was absolutely perfect.

THe chicken as it came out of the final broiling step (looking not nearly as wonderful as it tastes and smells)

and plated up with the polenta and a salad with fig balsamic vinegar.

This is definitely one to make again - it's quite luscious. There's a lot of fat, what with the duck fat, the prosciutto, and the chicken skin, so make it when you need something really soul-warming and unctuous.

[bleudauvergne]

...so make it when you need something really soul-warming and unctuous.

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I guess that means lunch tomorrow...

NICE looking kale, Abra.

Your salad had a beautiful touch. Simply beautiful.

[Wolfert]

Please correct the following typo in your copy of The Cooking of Southwest France

On page 341 the amount of potatoes is incorrect.

1/2 pounds baking (russet) potatoes, preferably Idaho

should read 1 1/2 pounds baking (russet) potatoes, preferably Idaho

[francois]

It is a nice book indded. Tried several recipes so far and they all turned out great which is of course a signof a carefully made book - not a frequent thing!!!

Can someone explain why she instructs no to whisk the sauces when adding cream For ex. p. 97 'stratification. I would have thought the emulsion would be better if whisked.

[carswell]

Please correct the following typo in your copy of The Cooking of Southwest France

On page 341 the amount of potatoes is incorrect.

1/2 pounds baking (russet) potatoes, preferably Idaho

should read    1 1/2 pounds baking (russet) potatoes, preferably Idaho

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Bummer! I love that recipe. Just checked the copy you sent me to test back in July of 2004 and it definitely says 1½ lbs.

Now, see? If your editor had let you include metric measurements, there'd be some redundancy and resourceful cooks would be able to figure out the correct amount. Feel free to add that to your pro-metric arguments for the next book!

[Abra]

Last night Chefpeon and I made a scrumptious and labor-intensive dinner of Steak with Shallots and Red Wine Sauce in the Style of Albi, Straw Potato Cake Stuffed with Braised Leeks, and Apple Caramel Calvados Crepes (the latter not from this book, but seeming to go with the dinner.)

I've got to say, we both cook for a living and wow, there was a lot of prep involved in these two dishes. Don't try this on a weeknight unless there are two of you cooking. Even so, plan on a couple of hours to get dinner on the table, at least.

I wish my pictures were better. There's probably a way to have made this food look as good as it tasted, but I didn't manage it. We can chalk that up to the wine Chefpeon and I were drinking merrily as we cooked, or just to crummy photography skills.

Here are the steaks, the mountain of julienned potatoes (hurray for my little julienne shredder!) and the dish of braised leek filling.

The bottom layer of potatoes, covered by the leek filling prior to adding the top layer of potatoes. See how thick the potato layer is? I never managed to get it really crisp on either side (and be very glad you don't have a picture of me inverting the whole thing on the skillet lid!) and we were thinking that a thinner layer of potatoes would work better. That, and a truly nonstick skillet. I used my Cybernox, which is "stick resistant", not the same thing at all. It's a whopping big skillet, though, maybe 11", and even so the potato layer was really thick.

The cooked potato cake, and sliced steak, sans sauce. The sauce was absolutely kick-ass, by the way.

On the plate, looking quite dowdy, with some eG roasted cauliflower that I had to introduce Chefpeon to. The shallots cooked in wine looked like puffy rubies in real life.

And finally, the crepes, which Chefpeon plated up in a beautiful and innovative way, instead of just filling them as I would have done.

This was a very rich meal, even though there wasn't a scrap of duckfat in it. Now I've got to take a break from Southwest France eating for at least a few days or my husband, who washes all the dishes (and this dinner used a LOT of dishes) will move out!

[bleudauvergne]

Wow, that looks heavenly!

I also did the potato leek cake and it was scrumptious. I ran them thought he grater on the moulinex to save time. It might have been prettier if I had hand julienned them.

[bleudauvergne]

It is a nice book indded.  Tried several recipes so far and they all turned out great which is of course a signof a carefully made book - not a frequent thing!!!

Can someone explain why she instructs no to whisk the sauces when adding cream For ex. p. 97 'stratification.  I would have thought the emulsion would be better if whisked.

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That would be an excellent question to pose directly to Paula during the Spotlight conversation coming up from the 14th ot the 18th of November.

[snowangel]

Abra, when you ate it, did you still think the potato layer was too thick?

[Abra]

Well, yes, since the potatoes were mostly all soft, and so was the leek filling, so it just all kind of melted together. The crispness thing seems to be key, and I don't know how to get such a thick layer of potato crisp. Were any of you guys in on the recipe testing of this dish? Am I just crispness-impaired?

[snowangel]

It does look to me like you have more than the three cups she says you should have to have. Is this the case?

[Abra]

Yes, it was WAY more than 3 cups, but it was just under 2 pounds, as the recipe specifies. My rule is, when in doubt, use the given weight. I didn't measure, but it was probably about 9-10 cups. Maybe because I did such a fine julienne?

[snowangel]

Yes, it was WAY more than 3 cups, but it was just under 2 pounds, as the recipe specifies.  My rule is, when in doubt, use the given weight.  I didn't measure, but it was probably about 9-10 cups.  Maybe because I did such a fine julienne?

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This will be a good question for Paula during her Spotlight! I'll ask it before I make the recipe.

[snowangel]

Now in RecipeGullet:

Compote of Rabbit with Prunes

Potato, Leek and White Bean soup with Olive Puree in the manner of Ciboure

Oxtail Daube

Batter Cake with Fresh Pears from the Correze

I'm making the Oxtail Daube tomorrow for dinner on Friday.

And, I did make the Potato, Leek and White Bean Soup on Monday and neglected to photograph it. I had a bowl for lunch with crusty bread. I froze the remainder of the soup so I have quick and ready lunches for myself. This will probably replace the traditional potato leek soup I've been making forever. The Olive Puree really completed this dish in an unexpected and memorable way.

[bleudauvergne]

Susan Fahning (aka snowangel), Elie Nassar (aka foodman) and I warmly welcome you to participate in this eG Spotlight Conversation with Paula Wolfert until Friday, November 18, as she answers our questions about her life, vocation, and the recently released new edition of The Cooking of Southwest France, Recipes from France's Magnificent Rustic Cuisine. See you there!

Links:

A Biographical Note

The eG Spolight Conversation with Paula.

[snowangel]

On the menu here last night was the Oxtail Daube (page 264) and the Straw Potato Cake with Braised Leeks (page 344).

The daube recipe looks comlicated, but is really very simple. The most time consuming part of the recipe is browning the salt pork and oxtails. Since pig's feet are very common in the markets here, that's what I used. Once it was ready for the oven for the first step of the braise, it was wait and smell.

I had questioned that there was enough liquid in the pan when I put them in the oven, but after three hours

you can see there was plenty. The house was smelling pretty darned good by this point.

Returned to the oven with the meat paste (rind, salt pork and whatever meat I could get off of the pig's foot) after degreasing:

After the next step in the oven, the oxtails were removed from the liquid; I put them in a ziplock and the liquid into a covered container and into the fridge they went.

Braising "liquid" removed from the fridge:

I love gelatanous broth or braising liquid.

Back into the oven. Things start to smell really, really good.

Paula's recipe suggests buttered noodles for the daube. A check in the pantry revelaed that I had a paltry amount of noodles, so I checked to see what I had. Potatoes, check. Leeks, check. Cream, check. So, the straw potato cake.

I went by volume rather than weight for the potatoes and leeks because my scale needs a new battery. I had half again as many leeks as the recipe calls for, but noting that they can be made in advance and fridged for a day, I went with that. What was I going to do with one extra leek? This proved to be a very good move. As I taste for salt and pepper, I tasted again. Then again. Then again. I tasted 1/3 of this stuff away. Call it lunch. This stuff is good.

Peter and I julienned the potatoes in the food processor, got the daube out of the oven, removed the oxtails, strained the liquid and set it to reducing.

Got out the skillet, and made the potato cake. It is a thin layer of potatoes top and bottom sandwiching the leeks. The "flip" is really easy, and I figured out right away that you are better off holding the pan with lid with potholders rather than holding the handles of the lid and pan.

Sadly, I do not have a picture of the finished meal; there's just too much going on with the three kids when I'm getting dinner on the table. But, my notes:

The daube is very rich, and really a very easy dish to make. Like I said earlier, although it looks long and complicated, it isn't. Paula mentioned long before I procured this cookbook the idea of separating the meat from the liquid when storing a braise or daube, and this advice is spot on. I used a little over 5 pounds of oxtails, and this dish would easily serve 8. Will make this one again, and would not hesitate to serve it at a dinner party.

The straw potato cake will make repeated appearances on our table. Very simple, very tasty, it will be a popular potato side in this house. Creamy leeks are a perfect foil for the crispy potatoes. This would be equally as good on the breakfast table with poached or easy over eggs. This one seems like it would also be good made with bacon grease.

So, I wonder what I should do with the leftover oxtails?

[FoodMan]

This looks divine! I so wish we could see the rest of the meal. I also love the "aspic cake" up there .

For leftovers, maybe make a nice breakfast with oxtail hash and eggs over easy?

[bleudauvergne]

Drool.

[Smithy]

Gorgeous!

[bleudauvergne]

Well, yes, since the potatoes were mostly all soft, and so was the leek filling, so it just all kind of melted together.  The crispness thing seems to be key, and I don't know how to get such a thick layer of potato crisp.  Were any of you guys in on the recipe testing of this dish?  Am I just crispness-impaired?

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Abra, did you wipe the lid twice during cooking and making sure that the liquid does not drip back in? I found that mine came out nice and crispy, but I was pretty careful to follow the lid wiping (twice) instruction and I know that it made a diference in the crispiness. I completely agree rhat the crispiness thing is definitely key, I'm sorry it didn't work the first time but you should try it again! The contrast between the creamy leeks and the crispy potatoes - divine.

[Abra]

Actually, no! I totally spaced on the lid-wiping part of the instructions. Oh, that's bad! I'll have to try it again. Did you use the amount of potatoes called for by weight, and still get it crispy? I'm so embarrassed!

[snowangel]

Abra, I wish I had a photo of the straw potato cake I made. I did pay careful attention to wiping the lid, and I think that helped. And, I'm embarassed to say that my scale needs a new battery, so I went by volume. The layers of potato are not very thick at all. It was perfect. Crispy and silky at the same time.