Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1

by Julia Child

  Farce aux Rognons

  [Rice and Kidney Stuffing]

  ¼ cup finely minced onions

  1 Tb butter

  ⅓ cup raw white rice

  ⅔ cup white stock or canned chicken bouillon

  In a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan, cook the onions in butter for 4 to 5 minutes until tender but not browned. Add the rice and stir over low heat for 2 to 3 minutes until it turns a milky color. Pour in the stock or chicken bouillon, bring to a boil, cover, and simmer not too slowly for 15 minutes without stirring, at which point the liquid should be absorbed and the rice almost tender. It will finish cooking in the lamb.

  ½ tsp ground rosemary, sage, or thyme

  Pinch of allspice

  ¼ tsp pepper

  ½ clove mashed garlic

  Salt to taste

  Fluff in the herbs, spice, pepper, and garlic with a fork. Add salt to taste.

  4 lamb kidneys, or a mixture of lamb kidneys, heart, and liver making about 1 cup in all

  1 Tb butter and 1 Tb oil

  Salt and pepper

  Dry the meat in paper towels, and leave the pieces whole. Sauté quickly in hot butter and oil to brown very lightly, leaving the interior of the meat rosy. Cut into ⅛-inch slices. Season lightly with salt and pepper, and fold into the rice.

  When the stuffing is cool, spread it on the lamb. Roll and tie the meat as described at the beginning of this section.

  VARIATIONS: Other Stuffings Following the General Procedures Outlined

  Farce Duxelles

  [Ham and Mushroom Stuffing]

  ½ cup minced onions, cooked in butter

  ¼ lb. minced fresh mushrooms, cooked in butter

  ¾ cup minced, lean boiled ham

  ¼ cup finely minced fresh pork fat (or ham fat)

  Salt, pepper, herbs

  Farce aux Olives

  [Olive and Ground Lamb Stuffing]

  ½ cup ground lean lamb

  ½ cup minced onions, cooked in butter

  1 cup stale white bread crumbs soaked in stock or bouillon and squeezed dry

  12 pitted black Greek olives, simmered 10 minutes in 1 quart of water, drained, and chopped

  1 egg

  Salt, pepper, herbs, allspice, and garlic

  Farce Mentonnaise

  [Salmon and Anchovy Stuffing]

  An unlikely combination, but a good one

  ½ cup drained, canned salmon

  6 drained, mashed anchovies (packed in olive oil)

  ½ cup ground lean lamb

  ¾ cup minced onions, sautéed in butter

  Salt, pepper, herbs, garlic

  GIGOT OU ÉPAULE DE PRÉ-SALÉ BRAISÉ (aux Haricots)

  [Braised Leg or Shoulder of Lamb—with Beans]

  Braising is a succulent way to do almost mature lamb or young mutton, particularly if it has been stuffed with any of the preceding suggestions. Beans may finish their cooking with the lamb, and will absorb a fine flavor from the braising liquid. If you do not wish to include them, serve with the lamb a purée of lentils or chestnuts, mashed potatoes, rice, or risotto. Other vegetables to serve with braised lamb are green beans, peas, Brussels sprouts, baked tomatoes, or a garniture of glazed carrots, turnips, onions, and sautéed mushrooms. A fairly full red wine goes well—Beaujolais, Bordeaux—St. Émilion, Côtes du Rhône, or Burgundy.

  A NOTE ON TIMING

  Almost mature lamb or young mutton is usually braised 40 to 50 minutes per pound, long enough for the meat, its stuffing, and the braising liquid to exchange flavors. This makes 3½ to 4 hours for a leg, and around 2½ hours for a shoulder. Boned and stuffed lamb will usually take an hour longer. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily. You may, if you wish, cut the time in half, and cook the meat only until the thermometer indicates 150 degrees for medium rare, or 160 to 165 degrees for well done; in this case, there will be little exchange of flavor between the various elements.

  Beans. If you are to use dry white beans, their soaking and precooking will take a good two hours. This is done while the lamb is braising.

  For 8 to 10 people

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  A 6- to 7-lb. leg or 4- to 5-lb. shoulder of lamb, boned, and stuffed, if you wish, with one of the preceding fillings

  The lamb bones, sawed or chopped

  3 to 4 Tb rendered fresh pork fat or cooking oil

  A heavy fireproof casserole or covered roaster just large enough to hold all ingredients

  2 large sliced carrots

  2 large sliced onions

  2 cups of dry white wine, or red wine, or 1½ cups dry white vermouth

  ½ tsp salt

  ¼ tsp pepper

  3 to 4 cups beef stock or canned beef bouillon

  4 parsley sprigs

  1 bay leaf

  1 tsp rosemary, thyme, or sage

  3 unpeeled cloves garlic

  Optional: 3 Tb tomato paste

  Aluminum foil

  Brown the lamb on all sides, and then the bones in hot fat or oil in the casserole or roaster. This will take 15 to 20 minutes. Remove to a side platter. Then brown the vegetables for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove them with a slotted spoon to the platter. Pour out the browning fat. Add the wine or vermouth and boil it down rapidly, scraping up coagulated browning juices, until reduced by half. Season the lamb and place it, its fattiest side up, in the casserole or roaster. Surround it with the browned bones and vegetables. Pour in enough stock or bouillon to come two thirds of the way up the meat. Stir in the herbs, garlic, and optional tomato paste. Bring to the simmer on top of the stove. Lay aluminum foil over the top of the casserole, then the casserole cover. Place in lower third of preheated oven and regulate so liquid is maintained at a slow simmer. Turn and baste the meat every half hour.

  Remove the lamb from the casserole when it is to within half an hour of being done. (See A Note on Timing, at beginning of recipe.) Strain and degrease the cooking stock, and correct its seasoning. Return meat and stock to the casserole and surround with the beans which have been precooked as follows:

  2½ cups dry white Great Northern beans

  6½ cups boiling water

  A 4-quart kettle

  1½ Tb salt

  Drop the beans into the boiling water. Bring quickly to the boil again and boil exactly 2 minutes. Set aside for 1 hour. Immediately the soaking time is up, add the salt to the kettle, bring to the simmer, and simmer 1 hour. Set aside. The beans will finish their cooking later with the lamb. After the lamb stock has been degreased as described in the preceding paragraph, drain the beans and add them to the casserole with the lamb.

  (*) May be prepared ahead to this point. See note at end of recipe.

  Bring the casserole again to the simmer on top of the stove. Cover, and return to the oven until the meat is tender when pierced with a fork, about 30 minutes.

  A hot platter

  Parsley sprigs

  A hot sauceboat

  Drain the lamb, remove trussing strings, and place it on a hot platter. Strain the beans and place them around the meat. Decorate with parsley sprigs. De-grease the cooking stock, correct seasoning, and pour it into a hot sauceboat.

  (*) AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTES

  If you wish to cook the meat in advance, braise it until tender. Then strain and degrease the cooking stock and place meat and stock in the casserole. An hour before serving, reheat on top of the stove, then cover and place in a 350-degree oven. In 20 minutes, add the beans and continue cooking for about 30 minutes more. The meat should reach an internal temperature of about 130 degrees.

  Or follow the recipe but carve the meat when it is done. Arrange it in a fireproof serving dish or casserole with the beans, and spoon part of the sauce over it. Cover and reheat slowly for 10 minutes before serving.

  GIGOT EN CHEVREUIL

  [Leg of Lamb or Mutton Marinated in Red Wine]

  A large well-aged leg of lamb or a leg of young mutton marinated for several days in wine will taste very much like a marinated leg of venis
on. It is roasted and served, like venison, with a sauce poivrade or chevreuil. Braised red cabbage with chestnuts, and a purée of celery root and potatoes go well with it, plus a good red Burgundy wine. Any cold sliced leftovers will be delicious.

  Since the meat is marinated for a relatively long period of time, it takes on a definitely gamy taste—which is the whole reason for the recipe. The first marinade vegetables are cooked, therefore, so they will not turn sour.

  Marinade Cuite

  [Cooked Wine Marinade]

  1 cup thinly sliced onions

  1 cup thinly sliced carrots

  ⅓ cup thinly sliced celery

  2 halved cloves garlic

  ½ cup olive oil

  A 3-quart enameled saucepan with cover

  Cook the vegetables slowly in the olive oil in the covered saucepan for 5 minutes without allowing them to brown.

  6 cups full-bodied, young red wine: Mâcon, Côtes du Rhône, Beaujolais, Burgundy, Chianti

  1½ cups red wine vinegar

  1 Tb salt

  1 tsp peppercorns

  2 cloves

  5 parsley sprigs

  2 bay leaves

  1 Tb rosemary

  ½ tsp juniper berries, if available, or ¼ cup gin

  Add the wine, the vinegar, and all the rest of the ingredients. Simmer, partially covered, for 20 minutes. Allow the marinade to cool completely before using it.

  Marinade au Laurier

  [Uncooked Wine Marinade with Bay Leaves]

  6 cups red wine

  1½ cups wine vinegar

  ½ cup olive oil

  35 bay leaves

  1 Tb salt

  ½ tsp peppercorns

  This alternative marinade needs no cooking, and is just poured over the lamb.

  Marinating and Roasting the Lamb

  A 7- to 8-pound leg of well aged lamb or young mutton

  Prepare the lamb for cooking as described earlier. It may be boned if you wish.

  Place it in an enameled, pyrex, porcelain, or stainless steel bowl, roaster, or tub just large enough to hold it. Pour the marinade over it. Turn and baste the lamb 3 or 4 times a day for 4 to 5 days at room temperature, for 6 to 8 days if it is refrigerated.

  Drain the lamb for half an hour or more on a rack. Just before roasting, dry it thoroughly with paper towels. Following directions in the master recipe for roast lamb on this page, baste it with fat and sear it for 15 to 20 minutes in a 450-degree oven, then roast it at 350 degrees to a medium rare, 147 to 150 degrees on the meat thermometer.

  If you are serving with it a sauce poivrade, or sauce venaison, include ½ cup of the marinade liquid as part of the ingredients.

  GIGOT À L’ANGLAISE

  [Boiled Leg of Lamb with Onion, Caper, or Tomato Sauce]

  The English, according to the French, boil everything, thus anything boiled (or poached) and served simply is à l’anglaise in French cuisine. This method is truly a delicious and utterly simple way to cook a leg of lamb; simmer it in salted water until it is done, and it can stay quietly in that hot water for an hour or more before serving. But you do need a young tender “genuine spring leg of lamb” for this because the fat of older lamb penetrates the meat, giving it a strong taste. (See lamb discussion.)

  VEGETABLE AND WINE SUGGESTIONS

  For a family-style vegetable garnish, carrots, turnips, onions, leeks, and potatoes may be cooked for an hour with the lamb; tie them in cheesecloth bundles for easy removal. For a more formal array, here are some other suggestions to be cooked separately and combined as you wish:

  Purée of turnips and potatoes

  Garlic mashed potatoes

  Soubise (rice and onions)

  Brussels sprouts

  String beans

  Ratatouille (eggplant casserole)

  If you choose onion sauce for the lamb, serve a red Bordeaux from the Médoc district. With caper or tomato sauce, serve a chilled rosé.

  For 6 to 8 people

  A 4- to 5-lb. whole leg of genuine spring lamb

  Prepare the lamb for cooking as described earlier; if a whole leg, remove pelvic bone.

  A meat thermometer

  A kettle of rapidly boiling water, large enough to hold the lamb completely submerged

  1½ tsp salt per quart of water

  Insert a meat thermometer into the fleshiest part of the lamb. Plunge the lamb into the boiling, salted water. When the water comes back to the simmer, begin timing 10 to 12 minutes per pound, or about 1 hour (125 to 130 degrees on the thermometer for rare; 140 to 150 for medium). The water must remain at a very slow simmer throughout the cooking.

  (*) After the lamb has been removed from the kettle, it should cool at room temperature for about 20 minutes before it is carved. But if it is to be served later than that, pour cold water into the kettle to cool it to just below 120 degrees, so the lamb will not continue to cook. (Add 1½ tsp salt per quart of water poured into the kettle.) The lamb may rest thus for an hour or more, and the kettle may be gently reheated if necessary.

  3 cups of one of the following sauces:

  Sauce aux Câpres (mock hollandaise with egg yolks, cream, capers, and butter)

  Sauce Soubise (béchamel with onion purée)

  Coulis de Tomates (fresh tomato sauce with herbs)

  While the lamb is simmering, prepare the sauce: 5 minutes or less for caper sauce, about 30 for onion sauce, 1½ hours of simmering for tomato sauce.

  3 Tb melted butter

  ¼ cup minced parsley

  A hot platter

  A warmed sauceboat

  Drain the lamb when you are ready to serve, and place it on a hot platter. Baste it with the melted butter and sprinkle it with parsley. Pass the sauce in a warmed sauceboat.

  LAMB STEW

  Ragoûts, Navarins, et Haricots de Mouton

  In France, mutton rather than lamb is preferred for stews because the flesh of the more mature animal has more character. But, except for the tender-fleshed stewing cuts of “genuine spring lamb” which are best in a blanquette, lamb or mutton may be used interchangeably. Ragoût, navarin, and haricot all mean stew. Haricot according to most linguists is a corruption of halicoter, to cut up. It does not therefore mean a lamb stew with beans. Stew meat is very inexpensive; one can only wonder why, but be grateful when a dish like a navarin is so delicious. Other lamb stews may be made like beef stew, and suggestions are listed at the end of the navarin recipe.

  CUTS FOR STEWING

  All of the lamb for a stew may be from the same cut, but a more interesting texture and sauce will be obtained if you use a mixture from the following suggestions. Chop and leg meat are not recommended as they become dry and stringy. Count on 1 pound of boneless meat for 2 people if your menu is small; for 3, if large.

  Shoulder—Épaule and Basses Côtes. Lean and meaty, a bit dry

  Breast—Poitrine. Provides fat and texture

  Short Ribs—Haut de Côtelettes. Provide fat and texture, and the bones give flavor

  Neck—Collet. Has a gelatinous quality which gives body to the sauce.

  PREPARATION FOR COOKING

  Have excess fat and the fell or covering filament removed, and the meat cut into 2-inch cubes weighing 2 to 2½ ounces. Any bones left in the meat will give added flavor to the sauce. Most of them may be removed before serving.

  TIMING

  Allow about 2 hours for the cooking. Stews may be simmered on top of the stove but the more uniform and surrounding heat of the oven is preferable.

  NAVARIN PRINTANIER

  [Lamb Stew with Spring Vegetables]

  Navarin printanier, a most delectable lamb stew with its carrots, onions, turnips, potatoes, peas, and green beans, is presumably done in the spring when all the vegetables are young and tender. But as it can be made any time of the year, it is not a seasonal dish any more thanks to deep freezing. Frozen peas and beans are discussed here. The written recipe is long as each detail is important if the navarin is to taste like a French masterpiece. B
ut none of the steps is difficult and everything except the addition of the green vegetables at the very end may be made ready in the morning. The stew can then be finished in 10 to 15 minutes just before dinner time.

  With the stew serve hot French bread, and a red Beaujolais or Bordeaux wine, a chilled rosé, or a fairly full-bodied, dry, chilled white wine such as a Mâcon, Hermitage, or one of the lesser Burgundies.

  For 6 people

  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

  3 lbs. lamb stew meat (see list preceding recipe)

  2 to 4 Tb rendered fresh pork fat or cooking oil

  A 10- to 12-inch skillet

  A fireproof covered casse-role large enough to hold the meat, and all the vegetables to come

  Cut the lamb into 2-inch cubes and dry with paper towels. The meat will not brown if it is damp. Brown a few pieces at a time in hot fat or oil in the skillet. As they are browned, place them in the casserole.

  1 Tb granulated sugar

  Sprinkle the lamb in the casserole with sugar and toss over moderately high heat for 3 to 4 minutes until the sugar has caramelized. This will give a fine amber color to the sauce.

  1 tsp salt

  ¼ tsp pepper

  3 Tb flour

  Toss the meat with the salt and pepper, then with the flour. Set casserole uncovered in middle level of preheated oven for 4 to 5 minutes. Toss the meat and return it to the oven for 4 to 5 minutes more. This browns the flour evenly and coats the lamb with a light crust. Remove casserole and turn oven down to 350 degrees.