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THE COUNTRY COOKING OF FRANCE by Anne Willan photographs by France Ruffenach Chronicle Books October 2007 200 color photographs throughout $50.00/hardcover ISBN-13: 978-0-8118-4646-2 Back to book information

The country habit of marinating little goat cheeses in herbs and oil (olive oil along the Mediterranean or nut oil where walnuts do well) has recently gone global. It is hard to resist when the cheese is toasted to a bubbling brown, then served on a salad dressed with the oil from the marinade. Tart salad greens such as arugula stand up best to its lively taste.

Fromages de Chèvre Mariné (Marinated Goat Cheeses)

Marinating adds depth of flavor to goat cheeses, delicious in any recipe calling for goat cheese, or served on their own with country bread. Small goat cheeses are best for marinating, and they should be quite dry. The leftover olive oil is great for grilling or in salad dressings.

4 small round goat cheeses (about 2-1/2 ounces/75 grams each)
3 dried bay leaves
2 teaspoons peppercorns
3 sprigs fresh thyme
3 to 4 tiny dried hot peppers
1-1/2 cups olive oil or nut oil

Put 4 small round goat cheeses (about 2-1/2 ounces/75 grams each) in a 1 quart/1 liter/1-3/4 pint covered jar with 3 dried bay leaves, 2 teaspoons peppercorns, 3 sprigs of fresh thyme, and 3 to 4 tiny dried hot peppers. Add 1-1/2 cups/375 milliliters/12 fluid ounces olive or walnut oil, or enough to cover them generously. Cover with the lid and leave at least 2 weeks before using. The cheeses are good for 3 to 4 weeks, but will soften if kept too long. As you use them, more cheeses can be added to the oil. Makes 4 cheeses to serve 4 people, with salad.

Salade de Fromages de Chèvre Mariné

6 ounces/175 grams salad greens
4 Marinated Goat Cheeses (above)
8 slices whole-wheat bread
Oil from marinating the cheese, for brushing

Vinaigrette

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
6 tablespoons/90 milliliters/3 fluid ounces oil from marinating the cheese
2- to 3-inch/5- to 7-centimeter round cookie cutter

Wash and dry the salad greens, discarding any wilted leaves. Slice each cheese in half horizontally. Using a cookie cutter, stamp a round from each slice of bread slightly larger than the rounds of cheese. Brush the bread rounds with oil and set a round of cheese, cut side down, on top. For the vinaigrette, whisk the vinegar with salt and pepper in a small bowl until the salt dissolves. Gradually add the oil, whisking constantly so the dressing emulsifies and thickens slightly. Taste and adjust the seasoning. The greens, cheese, and dressing can be prepared an hour or two ahead.

To finish, heat the broiler. Broil the cheeses about 3 inches/7.5 centimeters from the heat until bubbling and browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Meanwhile, toss the greens with the dressing, then taste a leaf and adjust the seasoning. Pile the greens on individual plates. Set two rounds of cheese on each plate and serve while still warm.

Thanks to the popularity of foie gras, we have magret-the robust breast meat of a fattened duck (the legs go for Confit). Magret has become an up-market steak, particularly in southwestern France, and in the pan behaves very much the same way. When pleasantly pink, the meat is rich and juicy, but be warned that overcooked magret tastes, and cuts, like shoe leather. I like it best with a sauce of seasonal fruit, starting with springtime cherries, moving through apricots, tart berries such as blackcurrants, to apples, figs, and winter dried fruits. All of them can be substituted for cherries in this recipe. An appropriate wine would be a fruity Merlot or Gamay. In general, a magret serves one person, but a very large one can sometimes be enough for two

2 duck magrets (about 12 ounces/330 grams total)
Salt and pepper
Arugula salad leaves, for serving

Cherry Sauce

8 ounces/225 grams cherries, pitted
1 cup/250 milliliters/8 fluid ounces fruity red wine
2 tablespoons red currant or raspberry jelly
1/3 cup/75 milliliters/2-1/2 fluid ounces red wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 tablespoons/45 grams/1-1/2 ounces cold butter, cut in cubes

Put the cherries in a small saucepan with the wine and red currant jelly and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the cherries are just tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Set the pan aside. Trim excess fat from the magrets, then crosshatch the skin, cutting down almost to the meat so fat can escape; sprinkle them with salt and pepper.

Heat a heavy-based, dry frying pan over medium heat, add the magrets skin side down, and fry until the skin is very brown and crisp, 5 to 7 minutes or longer if necessary, to extract as much fat as possible. Turn and brown the other side, 2 to 3 minutes. Test a magret by poking the center with the point of a knife to see the color of the meat; if it is too rare for your taste, continue cooking 1 to 2 minutes, but remember it will be very tough if overcooked. When done, set the magrets aside on a chopping board, skin side up. Cover them loosely with aluminum foil to keep warm.

Discard excess fat from the pan, add the vinegar, and boil until reduced to about a tablespoon, stirring to dissolve pan juices. Whisk in the garlic and tomato paste. Drain in the wine, keeping back the cherries. Boil until the wine is slightly syrupy and reduced by more than half, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the cherries and heat them gently. Take the pan from the heat and stir in the cold butter, piece by piece. Taste, adjust seasoning of the sauce, and set it aside. Carve the magrets on the diagonal in thin slices. (You can discard the crisp skin if you must, but what a pity!) Pile a mound of arugula leaves at the side of two serving plates. Arrange the duck slices overlapping on the plates, add the cherries, and spoon the sauce on top. Serve at once.

In the mid-19th century, the story goes, the demoiselles Tatin were left penniless when their father died. Luckily they lived just opposite the new railroad station at Lamotte Beuvron, a small town south of Orléans. So they took in travelers and baked the crusty dark apple tart their father had loved so much. Fortune smiled; the Hotel Tatin is there to this day, still serving a remarkable tart topped with chunks of slightly singed caramelized apple baked in a wood fired oven.

The apples for Tarte Tatin must be firm and hold their shape during long cooking. I'd suggest Pink Lady or Golden Delicious, but there are many other suitable varieties. To ensure the all-important dark caramel, my Tatin is cooked first on top of the stove, patiently, so apple halves get thoroughly drenched in the buttery caramel. Once the apples are tender and mahogany-colored, I cover them with a simple Pâte Brisée and finish the tart in the oven. The tart is best turned out and served when it's tepid, and it's hard to beat the classic accompaniment of crème fraîche, though a scoop of vanilla ice cream also does nicely.

There is even a special pan for baking Tarte Tatin, a resplendent round of solid copper lined with tin, the sides sloping and high enough to contain the abundant juices the apples release as they simmer in the caramel. You'll find a Tatin pan easily enough in a kitchen equipment store-at a price. Be reassured that a deep frying pan, preferably nonstick, with a heat-proof handle, will perform just as well. A cast iron skillet, ideal in shape and thickness for Tatin, tends to react with acid fruits, so the tart must be turned out immediately after baking.

About 5 pounds/2 to 2.5 kilograms firm apples
1/2 cup/110 grams/4 ounces butter
1-1/2 cups/300 grams/11 ounces sugar

Pâte brisée

1-2/3 cups/200 grams/7 ounces flour
6 tablespoons/90 grams/3 ounces butter
1 egg yolk
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons/45 milliliters/1-1/2 fluid ounces water, more if needed

10- to 11-inch/26- to 28-centimeter Tatin mold; melon baller

To make the pâte brisée, sift the flour onto a work surface and make a well in the center. Put egg yolk, salt, and water in the well with flavorings such as sugar. Pound the butter with a rolling pin to soften it, add it to the well, and work the ingredients in the well with the fingers of one hand until thoroughly mixed. Using a pastry scraper, gradually draw in the flour from the sides of the well and continue working with both hands until coarse crumbs form. If the crumbs seem dry, sprinkle with another tablespoon of water; the crumbs should be soft but not sticky. Press the dough gently together into a ball; it will be uneven and unblended at this point.

To blend (fraiser) the dough, sprinkle the counter with flour and put the dough on it. With the heel of your hand, push the dough away from you, flattening it against the counter. Gather it up, press it into a rough ball, and flatten it again. This flattening motion evenly blends the butter with the other ingredients without overworking the dough. Work quickly so the butter doesn't get too warm. Continue until the dough is as pliable as putty and pulls away from the counter in one piece, 1 to 2 minutes. Shape it into a ball, wrap, and chill until firm, 15 to 30 minutes.

Peel and halve the apples; scoop out the cores with a melon baller. Melt the butter in the mold, sprinkle in the sugar and cook over medium heat without stirring until it starts to brown and caramelize. Stir gently, then continue cooking until the caramel is deep golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes total. Let it cool in the pan for 3 to 5 minutes-the butter will separate but this does not matter.

Arrange the apples in the mold in concentric circles with the cut sides standing vertical-the caramel will help to anchor them. Pack them as tightly as possible as they will shrink during cooking. Cook the apples over medium heat until the juice starts to run, about 8 minutes, then raise the heat and cook them as fast as possible until the underside is caramelized to deep golden and most of the juice has evaporated, l5 to 25 minutes. With a two-pronged fork, turn the apples one by one so the upper sides are now down in the caramel. Continue cooking until this second side is brown also and almost all the juice has evaporated, l0 to 20 minutes more. The time will vary very much with the variety and ripeness of the apples, and can take up to an hour in total. Let them cool to tepid while heating the oven to 400°F/200°C/Gas 6.

Roll the pastry dough to a round just larger than the mold. Wrap the dough around the rolling pin and transfer it to cover the apples. Tuck the edges down around the apples, working quickly so their warmth does not melt the dough. Poke a hole in the center to allow steam to escape. Bake the tart until the pastry is firm and lightly browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Take the tart from the oven and let it cool for at least l0 minutes, or until tepid. Tarte Tatin can be made up to 12 hours ahead and kept in the mold in the refrigerator (if using a skillet, the tart must be turned out immediately).

To finish, if necessary, warm the tart in the mold on the stove or in the oven before you turn it out: this softens the caramel and loosens the apples. Select a flat platter with a lip to catch any juices; set the platter on top of the tart pan and flip the tart onto the platter. Be careful because you can be splashed with hot juice. Cut into wedges to serve.