Tag Archives: JC100

Happy New Year!

“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language and next year’s words await another voice.” – T.S. Eliot

Thank you to everyone for your support over the last year, and an extra big thank you to those who took the time to leave comments on posts that, for whatever reason, resonated with you. By asking questions, sharing your thoughts, and adding your own culinary experiences and wisdom, you’ve made this blog a better place, and I truly appreciate it.

As I look back over the last year, it doesn’t surprise me that the most popular posts were all from the JC100 celebration – a fifteen week campaign during which a group of bloggers cooked fifteen of Julia Child’s most celebrated recipes, sharing our stories, successes, failures, and photos along the way. Although that campaign concluded back in August, those posts continue to draw the most visitors to An Uneducated Palate, month after month. It delights me to no end that there are thousands of home cooks out there that just can’t get enough of Julia and her timeless recipes! So here they are – the top three posts of 2012:

1. The JC100: Fillets of Sole Meuni ère

Sauteed Sole Fillets with Parsley and Lemon on a Platter 2. The JC100: Leek and Potato Soup, Two Ways

Bowl of Potage Parmentier garnished with chives 3. The JC100: Coquilles St. Jacques A La Provençale

Coquilles St. Jacques A La Provencale served on the half shell I wish you all a year ahead filled with good food, great friends, and plenty of cheer.

Happy New Year!

The JC100: Boeuf Bourguignon

Welcome to the last week of the JC100 Celebration! I’m sure it comes as no surprise to Julia’s fans that we are ending the celebration with the recipe she is probably best remembered for, Boeuf Bourguignon.

Over the last fifteen weeks, the JC100 bloggers have cooked fifteen of Julia’s most celebrated recipes, sharing our stories, successes, failures, and photos along the way. A period of fifteen weeks is like a long-term relationship to me (nearly as long as I managed to stay married to my ex-husband), so I’m very proud to say that I remained committed to the challenge right until the finale.

Here’s a look back at all fifteen JC100 recipes…

Julia was a television personality, chef, cookbook author, entertainer, icon, adventurer, romantic, and an inspiration – but above all, she was a teacher, and a natural at it (regardless of the medium). She reminded me of some of my favourite school teachers, always encouraging, gently reassuring, laugh-out-loud funny, and extremely passionate about her subject. And like all great teachers, she taught her students the “why” as well as the “how” of a culinary technique, empowering us to become better cooks.

I’ve learned so much over the last fifteen weeks, and not all of it was about cookery. I learned I love olives, so much so that I’m now obsessed with them! I learned that I really don’t like eggplant, even in a classic French preparation like Ratatouille. I also learned that Twitter (and Twitter Parties) are not my thing. I’ve always been a more-is-more kinda girl and I found no pleasure in trying to express myself in under 140 characters. During the months leading up to the JC100 event I had started to suspect (correctly) that I might be more enamored with French culinary technique than with French cuisine, and I learned there’s nothing wrong with that. The techniques are timeless and will serve me well whatever type of food I choose to cook in the future.

My favourite of the JC100 recipes was last week’s Coquilles St. Jacques À La Provençale, but this week’s Boeuf Bourguignon, a deep, dark, delicious beef stew made with red wine, bacon, onions and mushrooms, is a close second.

Julia Child’s Recipe for Boeuf Bourguignon

As is the case with most famous dishes, there are more ways than one to arrive at a good boeuf bourguignon. Carefully done, and perfectly flavored, it is certainly one of the most delicious beef dishes concocted by man, and can well be the main course for a buffet dinner. Fortunately you can prepare it completely ahead, even a day in advance, and it only gains in flavor when reheated.

VEGETABLE AND WINE SUGGESTIONS

Boiled potatoes are traditionally served with this dish. Buttered noodles or steamed rice may be substituted. If you also wish a green vegetable, buttered peas would be your best choice. Serve with the beef a fairly full-bodied, young red wine, such as Beaujolais, Côtes du Rhône, Bordeaux-St. Émilion, or Burgundy.

The JC100: Boeuf Bourguignon

Recipe Type: Main

Author: Julia Child

Serves: 6

Ingredients

A 6-ounce chunk of bacon
A 9 to 10-inch fireproof casserole 3 inches deep
1 Tb olive oil or cooking oil
A slotted spoon
3 lbs lean stewing beef cut into 2-inch cubes
1 sliced carrot
1 sliced onion
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 Tb flour
3 cups of a full-bodied, young red wine such as one of those suggested for serving, or a Chianti
2 to 3 cups brown beef stock or canned beef bouillon
1 Tb tomato paste
2 cloves mashed garlic
1/2 tsp thyme
A crumbled bay leaf
The blanched bacon rind
18 to 24 small white onion brown-braised in stock (see Notes)
1 lb quartered fresh mushrooms sautéed in butter (see Notes)
Parsley sprigs

Instructions

Remove rind, and cut bacon into lardons (sticks, 1/4 inch thick and 1 1/2 inches long). Simmer rind and bacon for 10 minutes in 1 1/2 quarters of water. Drain and dry.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Sauté the bacon in the oil over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon. Set casserole aside. Reheat until fat is almost smoking before you sauté the beef.
Dry the beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Sauté it, a few pieces at a time, in the hot oil and bacon fat until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the bacon.
In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Pour out the sautéing fat.
Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with the salt and pepper. Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly with the flour. Set casserole uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes. Toss the meat and return to oven for 4 minutes more. (This browns the flour and covers the meat with a light crust.) Remove casserole, and turn oven down to 325 degrees.
Stir in the wine, and enough stock or bouillon so that the meat is barely covered. Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs, and bacon rind. Bring to simmer on top of the stove. Then cover the casserole and set in lower third of preheated oven. Regulate heat so liquid simmers very slowly for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.
While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms. Set them aside until needed.
When the meat is tender, pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over a saucepan. Wash out the casserole and return the beef and bacon to it. Distribute the cooked onions and mushrooms over the meat.
Skim fat off the sauce. Simmer sauce for a minute or two, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about 2 1/2 cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly. If too think, boil it down rapidly. If too thick, mix in a few tablespoons of stock or canned bouillon. Taste carefully for seasoning. Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables.
*Recipe may be completed in advance to this point.
FOR IMMEDIATE SERVING: Cover the casserole and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce several times. Serve in its casserole, or arrange the stew on a platter surrounded with potatoes, noodles, or rice, and decorated with parsley.
FOR LATER SERVING: When cold, cover and refrigerate. About 15 to 20 minutes before serving, bring to the simmer, cover, and simmer very slowly for 10 minutes, occasionally basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce.

Notes

BROWN-BRAISED ONIONS:
18 to 24 peeled white onions about 1 inch in diameter
1 1/2 Tb butter
1 1/2 Tb oil
A 9 to 10-inch enameled skillet
1/2 cup of brown stock, canned beef bouillon, dry white wine, red wine, or water
Salt and pepper to taste
A medium herb bouquet: 4 parsley sprigs, 1/2 bay leaf, and 1/4 tsp thyme tied in cheesecloth

When the butter and oil are bubbling in the skillet, add the onions and sauté over moderate heat for about 10 minutes, rolling the onions about so they will brown as evenly as possible. Be careful not to break their skins. You cannot expect to brown them uniformly.

Pour in the liquid, season to taste, and add the herb bouquet. Cover and simmer slowly for 40 to 50 minutes until the onions are perfectly tender but retain their shape, and the liquid has evaporated. Remove herb bouquet.

SAUTÉED MUSHROOMS:
A 10-inch enameled skillet
2 Tb butter
1 Tb oil
1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, washed, well dried, left whole if small, sliced or quartered if large
Optional: 1 to 2 Tb minced shallots or green onions
Salt and pepper

Place the skillet over high heat with the butter and oil. As soon as you see that the butter foam has begun to subside, indicating it is hot enough, add the mushrooms. Toss and shake the pan for 4 to 5 minutes. During their sauté the mushrooms will at first absorb the fat. In 2 to 3 minutes the fat will reappear on their surface, and the mushrooms will begin to brown. As soon as they have browned lightly, remove from heat.

Toss the shallots or green onions with the mushrooms. Sauté over moderate heat for 2 minutes. Season to taste.

Here’s a little tip for peeling those pesky pearl onions:

Cut off the tip of each onion (the end opposite the root).
Cook in boiling water for two minutes.
Drain and let cool.
Squeeze them from the root tip and the onion will pop right out of its skin.

Julia passed away August 4, 2004, just before her 92nd birthday, but her legacy will continue to live on through her remarkable recipes.

“Sooner or later the public will forget you; the memory of you will fade. What’s important are the individuals you’ve influenced along the way.”

~ Julia Child

I think she may have under-estimated her staying power. Here’s to you Julia…

The JC100: Coquilles St. Jacques À La Provençale

Welcome to Week 14 of the JC100 Celebration! Today also marks the kick off Julia Child Restaurant Week (from August 7 – 15th) where 100 restaurants around the country will pay homage to the culinary icon. Be sure to check out Julia Child on Facebook to see which restaurants are participating.

This week’s special recipe for the JC100 bloggers is Coquilles St. Jacques À La Provençale, or Scallops Gratinéed with Wine, Garlic and Herbs. Lucky for me my fish monger was open on the civic holiday yesterday (BC Day). Even luckier that he had a stash of scallop shells he was willing to part with…gratis!

Julia Child’s Recipe for Coquilles St. Jacques À La Provençale

The JC100: Coquilles St. Jacques À La Provençale

Author: Julia Child

Serves: 6

Ingredients

1/3 cup minced yellow onions
1 Tb butter
1 1/2 Tb minced shallot or green onions
1 clove minced garlic
1 1/2 lbs washed scallops
Salt and pepper
1 cup sifted flour in a dish
2 Tb butter
1 Tb olive oil
A 10-inch enameled skillet
2/3 cup dry white wine, or 1/2 cup dry white vermouth and 3 Tb water
1/2 bay leaf
1/8 tsp thyme
6 buttered scallop shells, or porcelain or pyrex shells, of 1/3 cup capacity
1/4 cup grated Swiss cheese
2 Tb butter cut into 6 pieces

Instructions

Cook the onions slowly in butter in a small saucepan for 5 minutes or so, until tender and translucent but not browned. Stir in the shallots or onions, and garlic, and cook slowly for 1 minute more. Set aside.
Dry the scallops and cut into slices 1/4 inch thick. Just before cooking, sprinkle with salt and pepper, roll in flour, and shake off excess flour.
Sauté the scallops quickly in very hot butter and oil for 2 minutes to brown them lightly.
Pour the wine, or the vermouth and water, into the skillet with the scallops. Add the herbs and the cooked onion mixture. Cover the skillet and simmer for 5 minutes. Then uncover, and if necessary boil down the sauce rapidly for a minute until it is lightly thickened. Correct seasoning, and discard bay leaf.
Spoon the scallops and sauce into the shells. Sprinkle with cheese and dot with butter. Set aside or refrigerate until ready to gratiné.
Just before serving, run under a moderately hot broiler for 3 to 4 minutes to heat through, and to brown the cheese lightly.

Notes

This good recipe may be prepared in advance and grantinéed just before serving. The proportions given are sufficient for a first course. Double them for a main course. Serve a chilled rosé, or a dry white such as côtes de Provence.

To prolong the shelf life of a scallop producers often immerse their catch in a preserving agent. While the agent (tripolphosphate) does help to keep up freshness, it also causes the scallop to absorb water which, in turn, affects its overall weight. To avoid paying for all that extra liquid, steer clear of any scallops that look like they’ve already been blanched. Instead, select ones that are beige to blush in colour and have a delicate, sweet aroma.

I used Catarina Bay scallops, a sustainable option from Mexico. I could tell by their rosy colour that they were untreated and, because they’re so tiny, I wouldn’t need to spend time cutting them into ¼ inch thick slices. Bonus!

With a fancy French name like Coquilles St. Jacques À La Provençale, you might expect this recipe to be complicated and fussy but it really wasn’t. It took me less than 20 minutes start to finish. (Okay – 25 if you count scrubbing the scallop shells.)

I was a little reluctant to let the scallops simmer for 5 minutes and then boil rapidly for another one, afraid that I might end up eating a scallop shell full of rubber erasers, but they were surprisingly tender, sweet, and creamy. I should know by now to trust Julia.

I used Parmigiano Reggiano instead of Swiss since that’s what I had on hand.

To serve, I filled shallow bowls with coarse salt then set the scallop shells on top.

Coquilles St Jacques

Even the Sea-King Poseidon and his queen Amphitrite would approve!

I’ve poured over the list of Julia’s 100 most beloved recipes (compiled by a panel of culinary luminaries) this morning trying to guess what the last of the JC100 recipes will be. I think Julia’s perfect Génoise or Gâteau Paris would make a very fitting finale. Every birthday party needs a cake!

The JC100: Cheese Soufflé

Welcome to Week 13 of the JC100 Celebration! With only two weeks left in the countdown, we are finally taking on one of Julia’s most famous recipes, Soufflé au Fromage, a show stopper of a dish that practically demands to be served with a flourish! In Julia’s own words, “The soufflé is undoubtedly the egg at its most magnificent, the egg in all its puffing power. How impressive is the chocolate or cheese soufflé, its head rising dramatically out of its dish, and swaying ever so slightly as it is borne to the table.”

Baking a soufflé can be intimidating for a novice cook but I’m here to tell you it’s downright terrifying for an amateur food photographer/blogger. Even a perfectly executed soufflé will begin to deflate almost immediately once it comes out of the oven, leaving just a few short minutes to capture an image of it in all its towering glory.

Julia Child’s Master Recipe for Cheese Soufflé

The JC100: Cheese Soufflé

Author: Julia Child

Serves: 4

Ingredients

2 Tbs finely grated Parmesan or other hard cheese
2 1/2 Tbs butter
3 Tbs flour
1 cup hot milk
Seasonings: 1/2 tsp paprika, speck of nutmeg, 1/2 tsp salt, and 3 grinds of white pepper
4 egg yolks
5 egg whites (2/3 cup)
1 cup (3 1/2 ounces) coarsely grated Swiss cheese

Instructions

Preliminaries: Roll the grated cheese in the buttered baking dish to cover the bottom and side, and fasten on the aluminum collar (see Notes below). Preheat the oven to 400 F, and set the rack in the lower third level. Measure out all the ingredients listed.
The white sauce – béchamel: Stir and cook the butter and flour together in the saucepan over moderate heat for 2 minutes without colouring. Remove from heat, let cool a moment, then pour in all the hot milk and whisk vigorously to blend. Return to heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, and boil slowly 3 minutes. The sauce will be very thick. Whisk in the seasonings, and remove from heat.
Finishing the sauce base: One by one, whisk the egg yolks into the hot sauce.
The egg whites: In a clean separate bowl with clean beaters, beat the egg whites to stiff shining peaks.
Finishing the soufflé mixture: Scoop a quarter of the egg whites on top of the sauce and stir them in with a wooden spoon. Turn the rest of the egg whites on top; rapidly and delicately fold them in, alternating scoops of the spatula with sprinkles of the coarsely grated cheese – adding the cheese now makes for a light soufflé.
Ahead-of-time note: You may complete the soufflé to this point 1/2 hour or so in advance; cover loosely with a sheet of foil and set away from drafts.
Baking – 25 to 30 minutes at 400 F and 375 F. Set in the preheated oven, turn the thermostat down to 375 F, and bake until the soufflé has puffed 2 to 3 inches over the rim of the baking dish into the collar, and the top has browned nicely (see Notes below).
Serving: As soon as it is done, remove the collar, then bring the soufflé to the table. To keep the puff standing, hold your serving spoon and fork upright and back to back; plunge them into the crust and tear it apart.

Notes

For drama, you choose a dish that’s a little too small, so that the soufflé puffs into a collar. When the collar is removed the puff holds itself 2 to 3 inches over the rim of the dish. Use a double thickness of buttered foil that will rise 3 inches over the top of the dish; secure the collar by inserting a straight pin head down – for easy removal.

When is it done? A soufflé baked in a dish should puff 2 to 3 inches over the rim, and the top should be nicely browned. The puff should hold up when you release the collar just a little bit to check – if the puff sags, rapidly refasten the collar and bake a few minutes more. If you want the puff to hold and the soufflé to stand a reasonable time, test it by plunging a skewer down into the side of the puff; if wet particles cling to it the soufflé will be creamy inside and will not hold as long as if the skewer comes out almost clean. The fateful decision is up to you.

I was so busy thinking about how to carry out a photo session at breakneck speed (planning a nimble route from the oven door to the sun deck where I could take advantage of the natural light, laying out linens, setting up my camera and adjusting the tripod’s height, plotting out the camera angle from below the edge of the table pointing up to emphasize the soufflé’s soaring splendour) that it never even occurred to me that my soufflé might not rise – not even a smidge!

“One of the secrets, and pleasures, of cooking is to learn to correct something if it goes awry; and one of the lessons is to grin and bear it if it cannot be fixed.”
― Julia Child, My Life in France

So here I am, grinning and bearing it (and without apology, I might add). What my soufflé lacked in stature, it more than made up for in taste. In fact I would say it was the absolute best Oven Baked Eggs with Thyme and Gruyère that I’ve ever eaten.

The JC100: Provençal Tomatoes

Hello and welcome to Week 12 of the JC100 Celebration! This week we have a cornucopia of vegetable dishes to choose from including Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce, Celery Root Rémoulade, and Provençal Tomatoes.

Few bites of food are more sublime than a perfectly cooked spear of spring asparagus dripping with a big dollop of lemony, buttery Hollandaise sauce, but alas, its July, and asparagus season has come and gone.

Celery Root Rémoulade is a delightfully crisp and refreshing slaw made from shredded (or julienne) celery root tossed with a mayonnaise-based sauce (often with mustard, chopped herbs, capers and gherkins). The last time I enjoyed this French bistro classic was in February at Mon Ami Gabi in Las Vegas where they served it nestled beneath a perfectly cooked jumbo lump crab cake. Regrettably, celery root is at its best in the cooler months of fall, winter and early spring.

For me, the obvious choice was Provençal Tomatoes. As Julia said, “it is easy to love tomatoes in summer” when they are in season and bursting with flavour.

Julia Child’s Recipe for Stuffed Tomatoes Provençal

The JC100: Provençal Tomatoes

Recipe Type: Side Dish

Author: Julia Child

Serves: 6

Excerpted from Julia & Jacques Cooking at Home by Julia Child and Jacques Pépin. Copyright © 1999 by A La Carte Communications. Reprinted with permission from the publisher Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc.

Ingredients

3 large firm ripe tomatoes
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 to 1 1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs
2 Tbs minced shallots
1 tsp dried herbes de Provence
3 Tbs freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 to 3 Tbs chopped parsley
3 to 4 Tbs olive oil

Instructions

Set a rack on the upper-middle level and preheat the oven to 400 F.
Core the tomatoes and cut them in half crosswise. Over a plate or bowl, squeeze each half gently to force out the seeds and juice (reserve for stock). With your fingers, clean the cavities of any clinging seeds. Arrange in the baking dish cut side up. If any halves are wobbly or tilted, trim a bit off the bottom so that they sit flat in the pan. Season with a sprinkling of salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
Stir together the bread crumbs, shallots, dried herbs, grated cheese, and chopped parsley in a small bowl. Add 2 or 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, tossing well to moisten the crumbs evenly.
Spoon the stuffing into the tomato halves, pushing it down into the cavities and mounding on top. Drizzle a scant teaspoon of oil over the top of each half.
Bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until the topping has browned and the tomatoes are hot but still keep their shape. Serve hot in the baking dish, or move them carefully to a clean platter.

Notes

Do-ahead Notes:
The tomato halves can be stuffed several hours in advance and refrigerated before baking.

Julia on Bread Crumbs:
I always use freshly made bread crumbs – never the packaged dry kind, which can be stale and have an off taste. Start with homemade-style white bread, crusts removed, either genuinely home-baked or a commercial variety like Pepperidge Farm that has some texture and chew. If the bread is a day or two old, so much the better, since it is easier to make crumbs from bread that is slightly dry. The simplest method is to tear the bread into small chunks, then pulse them, about 2 cups at a time, in a food processor until the crumbs have the texture you want. You can also use an electric blender, but work in smaller batches.

Although Julia recommended using freshly made bread crumbs, I used Panko instead. Panko is a Japanese-style breadcrumb made from bread without crusts. The crustless bread is coarsely ground into airy, large flakes that stay crisper longer than standard breadcrumbs. After last week’s texturally-challenged Ratatouille, I wanted to be sure there was more than enough crunch to contrast the softness of the tomatoes, and the Panko worked beautifully!

And it never hurts to use the King of Cheeses – Parmigiano Reggiano!

For Julia’s Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce recipe, check out the great post from fellow JC100 bloggers Carlene and Bob at BS in the Kitchen, and for Julia’s Celery Root Remoulade recipe, pop over to Noshing with the Nolands where Tara has it posted (along with a perfect tomato rose)!

The JC100: Ratatouille

Welcome to Week 11 of our celebration of the extraordinary life of Julia Child and her legacy of timeless recipes. This week we’re cooking ratatouille – an eggplant casserole with tomatoes, onions, peppers and zucchini.

The eggplant, or aubergine, belongs to the group of fruits and vegetables known as nightshades. Although closely related to the tomato and potato, it’s actually classified as a berry. It’s also a distant cousin of tobacco. Though eggplant becomes tender when cooked, the raw fruit has a bitter taste. Salting and rinsing it before cooking (a technique known as degorging) can help soften it and cut the bitterness.

I’ve eaten eggplant three times in my life. The first was at a buffet-style Greek luncheon where I tried the moussaka, and wished I hadn’t. The second was at an Italian cooking class after learning to make an aubergine and pasta timballo, a dish I thoroughly enjoyed but only after I peeled away all the soggy eggplant. And the third time was just last night, after cooking Julia’s recipe for ratatouille.

Julia Child’s Recipe for Ratatouille

The JC100: Ratatouille

Recipe Type: Side Dish

Author: Julia Child

Serves: 6 to 8

Ingredients

1 lb eggplant
1 lb zucchini
1 tsp salt
4 Tb olive oil
1/2 lb (about 1 1/2 cups) thinly sliced yellow onions
2 (about 1 cup) sliced green bell peppers
2 to 3 Tb olive oil, if necessary
2 cloves mashed garlic
1 lb firm, ripe, red tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and juiced (about 1/ 1/2 cups pulp)
3 Tb minced parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Peel the eggplant and cut into lengthwise slices 3/8 inch thick, about 3 inches long, and 1 inch wide. Scrub the zucchini, slice off the two ends, and cut the zucchini into slices about the same size as the eggplant slices. Place the vegetables in a bowl and toss with the salt. Let stand for 30 minutes. Drain. Dry each slice in a towel.
One layer at a time, sauté the eggplant, and then the zucchini in the hot olive oil for about a minute on each side to brown very lightly. Remove to a side dish.
In the same skillet, cook the onions and peppers slowly in olive oil for about 10 minutes, or until tender but not browned. Stir in the garlic and season to taste.
Slice the tomato pulp into 3/8 inch strips. Lay them over the onions and peppers. Season with salt and pepper. Cover the skillet and cook over low heat for 5 minutes, or until tomatoes have begun to render their juice. Uncover, baste the tomatoes with the juices, raise heat and boil for several minutes, until juice has almost entirely evaporated.
Place a third of the tomato mixture in the bottom of a casserole and sprinkle over it 1 tablespoon of parsley. Arrange half of the eggplant and zucchini on top, then half the remaining tomatoes and parsley. Put in the rest of the eggplant and zucchini, and finish with the remaining tomatoes and parsley.
Cover the casserole and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Uncover, tip casserole and baste with the rendered juices. Correct seasoning, if necessary. Raise heat slightly and cook uncovered for about 15 minutes more, basting several times, until juices have evaporated leaving a spoonful or two of flavoured olive oil. Be careful of your heat; do not let the vegetables scorch in the bottom of the casserole.
Set aside uncovered. Reheat slowly at serving time, or serve cold.

Notes

Ratatouille perfumes the kitchen with the essence of Provence and is certainly one of the great Mediterranean dishes. As it is strongly flavoured it is best when it accompanies plain roast or broiled beef or lamb, pot-au-feu (boiled beef), or plain roast, broiled, or sautéed chicken. Equally good hot or cold, it also makes a fine accompaniment to cold meats, or may be served as a cold hors d’oeuvre.

When I first read through this recipe, I thought it called for an extraordinarily large amount of olive oil but the eggplant soaked it up like a sponge. In fact, my vegetable stew could have used a little more liquid.

According to Julia,

“A really good ratatouille is not one of the quicker dishes to make, as each element is cooked separately …

…before it is arranged in the casserole to partake of a brief communal simmer.

This recipe is the only one we know of which produces a ratatouille in which each vegetable retains its own shape and character. Happily a ratatouille may be cooked completely the day before it is to be served, and it seems to gain flavour when reheated.”

So was the third time a charm for aubergine and me? Well, let’s just say that if you aren’t already a fan of eggplant, an eggplant casserole probably isn’t the dish that’s going to make a believer out of you. (You just can’t hide eggplant in a pot of stewed vegetables the way you can hide carrots in carrot cake or zucchini in chocolate-zucchini bread.) But if you’re already a fan of eggplant, you’re going to love Julia’s recipe for ratatouille!

“If you are what you eat, then I only want to eat the good stuff.”

~ Remy (the rat), Ratatouille, 2007

The JC100: Bouillabaisse

Welcome to Week 10 of the JC100 Celebration!

I confess. I almost didn’t take part in this week’s assignment. With current temperatures in the Okanagan Valley soaring above 35° C, the last place I wanted to spend time was in the kitchen and the last thing I felt like eating was a steaming hot bowl of anything, including bouillabaisse. I actually caught myself wondering if anyone would notice if I just wrote up the recipe and inserted an old image from a post I did back in March where I described Chef Matthew Batey’s bouillabaisse along with his heartfelt Tribute to Julia Child.

The fact that I just did a post less than a week ago for a Brazilian Fish Soup wasn’t doing anything to improve matters.

But two things in particular kept me from taking the easy way out. The first is that Bastille Day in France is July 14th – a day that symbolizes the overthrow of the monarchy and the beginning of a new French Republic. If ever there were a week to attempt to Master the Art of French Cooking, this would be it.

Bouillabaisse may be the most hotly debated dish in all of France. Every village along the Mediterranean coast seems to have its own version with no two recipes alike. There is even an organization, Le Charte de la Bouillabaisse Marseillaise, whose sole purpose is to preserve the classic method of preparing this simple fisherman’s stew. Not only does the Charter particularize the required ingredients for a traditional Marseille Bouillabaisse, it also specifies the way the soup must be served (the fish must be cut up in front of the guests), and even what must be served with it (croûtes and rouille). According to the Charter, Marseille Bouillabaisse must consist of at least 4 types of the following fish:

Scorpion fish
White scorpion fish
Red mullet
Skate
Conger eel
John Dory

Always pragmatic, Julia Child recognized that “if you do not happen to live on the Mediterranean, you cannot obtain the particular rockfish, gurnards, mullets, weavers, sea eels, wrasses, and breams which they consider absolutely essential”. Here are Julia’s recommendations for selecting the fish:

Ideally you should pick six or more varieties of fresh fish, which is why a bouillabaisse is at its best when made for at least six people. Some of the fish should be firm-fleshed and gelatinous like halibut, eel, and winter flounder and some tender and flaky like hake, baby cod, small pollock, and lemon sole. Shellfish are neither necessary nor particularly typical, but they always add glamor and colour if you wish to include them. Here are some suggestions:

Rock, Calico or Sea Bass

Cod or Lingcod

Flounder

Grouper

Grunt

Haddock

Hake or Whiting

Halibut

Lemon Sole

Perch

Pollock or Boston Bluefish

Porgy or Scup

Redfish or Red Drum

Scrod

Red or Gray Snapper

Spot

Fresh-water Trout; Sea Trout or Weakfish

Shellfish – Clams, Scallops, Mussels, Crab, Lobster

In the spirit of Bastille Day, I decided to defy tradition by using tilapia fillets, Manilla clams, halibut cheeks, and tiny Catarina Bay scallops. I also halved the recipe to serve 3 to 4 people, instead of 6 to 8. You may want to check with your local fish monger to see what’s fresh and on sale. This recipe calls for a lot of fresh fish and (depending on where you live) 6 – 8 pounds of halibut, for example, could cost you more than $150.

And then there’s the little matter of the price of saffron…

Julia Child’s Recipe for Bouillabaisse

The JC100: Bouillabaisse

Recipe Type: Soup

Author: Julia Child

Serves: 6 to 8

Ingredients

1 cup minced onions
3/4 cup of minced leek, or 1/2 cup more onions
1/2 cup olive oil
4 cloves mashed garlic
1 lb of ripe, red tomatoes roughly chopped, or 1 1/2 cups drained canted tomatoes, or 1/2 cup tomato paste
2 1/2 quarts water
6 parsley springs
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp thyme or basil
1/2 tsp fennel
2 big pinches of saffron
A 2-inch piece or 1/2 tsp dried orange peel
1/2 tsp pepper
1 Tb salt (none if clam juice is used)
3 to 4 pounds fish heads, bones and trimmings, or 1 quart clam juice, 1 1/2 quarts of water, and no salt
6 to 8 pounds assorted lean fish, and shellfish if you wish

Instructions

Cook the onions and leeks slowly in olive oil for 5 minutes or until almost tender but not browned.
Stir in the garlic and tomatoes. Raise heat to moderate and cook 5 minutes more.
Add the water, herbs, seasonings, and fish heads, bones and trimmings to the kettle (or clam juice) and cook uncovered at a moderate boil for 30 to 40 minutes.
Strain the soup into the saucepan, pressing juices out of ingredients. Correct seasoning, adding a bit more saffron if you feel it necessary.
You should have 2 1/2 quarts of in a higher, rather narrow kettle.
Bring the soup to a rapid boil 20 minutes before serving. Add lobsters, crabs, and firm-fleshed fish. Bring quickly back to the boil and boil rapidly for 5 minutes. Add the tender-fleshed fish, the clams, mussels, and scallops. Bring rapidly to the boil again and boil 5 minutes more or until the fish are just tender when pierced with a fork. Do not overcook.
Immediately lift out the fish and arrange on the platter. Correct seasoning, and pour the soup into the tureen over rounds of French bread. Spoon a ladleful of soup over the fish, and sprinkle parsley over both fish and soup. Serve immediately accompanied by the optional rouille.

Notes

To prepare the fish for cooking, have them cleaned and scaled. Discard the gills. Save heads and trimmings for fish stock. Cut large fish into crosswise slices 2 inches wide. Scrub clams. Scrub and soak the mussels. Wash scallops. If using live crab or lobster, split them just before cooking. remove the sand sack and intestinal tube from lobsters.

The second thing that kept me from taking the easy way out was the always alluring promise of a new taste experience. I’ve had plenty of fish stew but I’ve never had rouille.

Rouille [click on the word, close your eyes, and image you are hearing it pronounced by your handsome French waiter]

Rouille is the most fantastic sauce, flavoured with red pepper, garlic, herbs, olive oil and potato. Julia’s recipe says to pound all the ingredients in a bowl or mortar for several minutes to form a very smooth, sticky paste.

After about 30 seconds of this nonsense, you may find yourself feeling a little rebellious. If so, just toss it in the food processor like I did. You’ll end up with a gorgeous, garlicky, rust-coloured sauce (rouille means rust-brown or russet in French) that delivers a huge burst of brilliant flavour. Swirl it into the soup broth or smear spoonfuls of it on top of croûtes. Julia says that serving rouille is optional but before you decide whether to make it or not, there is a saying you should know about, and it goes like this…

Bouillabaisse without rouille is like Marseille without sunshine. – [click to Tweet]