Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1
Page 50
Haricots Mange-tout — Haricots Beurre
Wax beans are trimmed and blanched in the same manner as green beans, and may be substituted for green beans in any of the preceding recipes. Here is a special recipe for large wax beans.
HARICOTS MANGE-TOUT À L’ÉTUVÉE
[Wax Beans Braised with Onions, Lettuce, and Cream]
For 6 to 8 people
3 lbs. large but tender wax beans
Trim and wash the beans according to directions being sure all strings have been removed. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2 Tb softened butter
A covered fireproof casserole or baking dish
1½ cups diced onions
1 tsp salt Big pinch of pepper
1 medium herb bouquet: 4 parsley sprigs, ½ bay leaf, and ¼ tsp thyme tied in cheesecloth
2 heads of Boston lettuce, shredded
8 Tb (¼ lb.) butter
1½ cups chicken stock or canned chicken broth
A round of waxed paper
Butter the casserole or baking dish heavily. Spread the onions in the bottom, arrange the beans over them, and season with salt and pepper. Bury the herb bouquet in their midst. Distribute the lettuce over the beans. Sliver the rest of the butter over the lettuce. Pour in the stock or broth. Set casserole over heat and bring liquid to the simmer. Place the round of paper over the vegetables, cover the casserole and set in lower third of oven. Regulate heat so liquid simmers regularly and has almost evaporated in 45 minutes. Remove herb bouquet.
2 cups light cream Salt and pepper
Bring the cream to the boil and pour it into the casserole. Bake 30 minutes more. Correct seasoning.
(*) May be set aside, partially covered, and reheated at serving time.
3 Tb minced fresh savory, basil, tarragon, or parsley
Sprinkle with herbs just before bringing casserole to table.
FROZEN GREEN OR WAX BEANS
Frozen beans cook more evenly if they are partially thawed and not stuck all together in a solid block. When you are doing more than two packages, use two saucepans; if too many beans are cooked in one pan, the liquid will not evaporate by the time the beans are tender. Cut beans have more flavor than Frenched beans.
For each 10-ounce package of beans:
½ cup chicken stock, canned chicken broth, canned mushroom broth, or water
1 Tb minced shallots or green onions
¼ tsp salt
1 Tb butter
A heavy bottomed, enameled saucepan or skillet with cover
Bring the liquid, shallots or onions, salt, and butter to the boil in the saucepan. Add the partially thawed beans. Cover and boil slowly for 5 to 6 minutes, tossing occasionally, until the beans are just tender. Remove cover and rapidly boil off any remaining liquid. Correct seasoning.
The beans may now be used in any of the preceding green bean recipes. If they are to be simmered in cream or in a sauce, use half the amount of liquid for their preliminary cooking, and cook only until partially tender. They will finish cooking in the sauce.
If you wish to do the preliminary cooking in advance, spread the cooked beans out in one layer in a big cold saucepan or dish so they will cool rapidly.
If the beans are to be served cold, use olive oil rather than butter in the preceding recipe, and spread the beans out afterward in one layer to cool rapidly.
BRUSSELS SPROUTS
Choux de Bruxelles
Cooked Brussels sprouts should be bright green, fresh-tasting, and have the slightest suggestion of crunch at the core. Overcooked sprouts become yellowish, mushy, and develop the flavor of stale cabbage.
Choose firm, healthy, fresh, rounded heads all of the same size with bright green leaves. Soft-headed sprouts are overmature, tasteless, or unhealthy, and will cook into a pulp.
AMOUNT TO BUY
A 1-quart basket weighting about 1¼ pounds will serve 4 or 5 people as a vegetable garnish.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
Buttered Brussels sprouts go well with roast duck, goose, turkey, beef, pork, liver, ham, and sausages. Creamed Brussels sprouts may be served with any of these, and also with roast chicken or veal.
PREPARATION FOR COOKING
Trim the base of each Brussels sprout with a small knife and pierce a cross in it for quick cooking. Remove any wilted or yellowish leaves. Discard any sprouts which are soft-headed, yellowish, or worm-eaten. Wash the trimmed vegetables quickly in a large basin of cold water and drain. Modern growing methods seem to have eliminated burrowing insects, so it is nowadays rarely necessary, as it used to be, to soak the vegetables for 10 to 15 minutes in salted water.
CHOUX DE BRUXELLES BLANCHIS
[Blanched Brussels Sprouts—Preliminary Cooking]
Brussels sprouts, whether they are to be served with melted butter and seasonings or are to be simmered or braised, always receive a blanching in a large kettle of boiling salted water. This preliminary may be accomplished hours before the final cooking is to take place.
1 to 2 quarts Brussels sprouts, trimmed and washed
A large kettle containing 7 to 8 quarts of rapidly boiling water
1½ tsp salt per quart of water
Drop the Brussels sprouts into the rapidly boiling salted water. Bring to the boil again as rapidly as possible.
Partially cooked
A skimmer
A colander
If the vegetables are to be partially cooked and finished off later as directed in most of the following recipes, boil them slowly, uncovered, for 6 to 8 minutes, or until almost tender. Immediately remove with a skimmer and drain in a colander.
Fully cooked
If they are to be fully cooked, and served at once with melted butter à l’anglaise, boil them slowly, uncovered, for a total of 10 to 12 minutes. They are done when a knife pierces the stem of a sprout easily; cut one in half and eat it, to be sure. Drain immediately.
AHEAD-OF-TIME BLANCHING
If the Brussels sprouts are not to be used at once, as soon as they have been drained spread them out in one layer, not touching one another, on a double thickness of clean toweling. This lets the air circulate around them and cool them quickly, so that they retain their color and texture. (You may plunge them into cold water instead, if you wish, but we think the one-layer cooling gives a better texture.) When the Brussels sprouts are thoroughly cold, they may be refrigerated and will keep perfectly for 24 hours. Complete the cooking as directed in any of the following recipes.
CHOUX DE BRUXELLES ÉTUVÉS AU BEURRE
[Brussels Sprouts Braised in Butter]
Serve braised Brussels sprouts with roast turkey, pork, duck, or goose, steaks, chops, hamburgers, or sautéed liver. You may dress up braised Brussels sprouts with cream, cheese, or chestnuts, as suggested in the variations at the end of the recipe.
For 6 people
1½ Tb softened butter
A 2½-quart, fireproof, covered casserole or baking dish large enough to hold the Brussels sprouts in 1 or 2 layers
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and smear the butter inside the casserole or baking dish.
1½ quarts blanched Brussels sprouts (partially cooked)
Salt and pepper
2 to 4 Tb melted butter
Arrange the blanched Brussels sprouts heads up in the casserole or baking dish. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper, and with the melted butter.
A round of lightly buttered waxed paper
Lay the paper over the Brussels sprouts. Cover and heat on top of the stove until vegetables begin to sizzle, then place in middle level of preheated oven. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the sprouts are tender and well impregnated with butter. Serve as soon as possible.
VARIATIONS
Choux de Bruxelles Étuvés à la Crème
[Creamed Brussels Sprouts]
Serve these with veal, chicken, or turkey.
For 6 people
1½ quarts Brussels sprouts
½ to ¾ cup boiling whipping cream
&nbs
p; Salt and pepper
1 to 2 Tb butter cut into pea-sized dots
Braise the Brussels sprouts as in the preceding recipe, but use only 2 tablespoons of butter. After the casserole has been in the oven for 10 minutes, pour on the boiling cream and continue baking for 10 more minutes or until the vegetables are tender. They will have absorbed most of the cream. Correct seasoning, dot with butter, and serve as soon as possible.
Choux de Bruxelles aux Marrons
[Brussels Sprouts Braised with Chestnuts]
This recipe is particularly good with roast turkey, duck, or goose.
For 6 people
1½ quarts Brussels sprouts braised in butter
2 cups braised chestnuts
Follow the preceding master recipe for braising the Brussels sprouts, but add the braised chestnuts to the casserole to cook with them.
Choux de Bruxelles à la Mornay, Gratinés
[Brussels Sprouts Gratinéed with Cheese Sauce]
Serve these with roast chicken or veal, or as a luncheon or supper dish.
For 6 people
1½ quarts Brussels sprouts braised in butter
2 cups hot sauce mornay (béchamel with cheese)
A lightly buttered baking dish about 9 inches in diameter and 2 inches deep
¼ cup grated Swiss cheese
1 Tb butter cut into pea-sized dots
Follow the preceding master recipe for braising the Brussel sprouts; you may use only 2 tablespoons of butter if you wish. Prepare the sauce, and spread one third of it in the baking dish when the sprouts are done. Arrange the Brussels sprouts over the sauce, spoon the rest of the sauce over them, and sprinkle with cheese and dots of butter. Set under a moderately hot broiler for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly, and serve at once.
Choux de Bruxelles à la Milanaise
[Brussels Sprouts Browned with Cheese]
These cheese-coated Brussels sprouts are good with steaks and chops.
For 6 people
1½ quarts Brussels sprouts braised in butter
½ cup grated Swiss cheese mixed with ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tb melted butter
Follow the preceding master recipe for braising the Brussels sprouts, but when they have been in the oven 10 minutes, turn them into a bowl. Reset oven to 425 degrees. Sprinkle 2 to 3 tablespoons of cheese in the casserole or baking dish to coat the bottom and sides. Return the Brussels sprouts, spreading the rest of the cheese over each layer. Pour on the melted butter. Place uncovered in upper third of oven for 10 to 15 minutes, to brown the cheese nicely.
CHOUX DE BRUXELLES À LA CRÈME
[Brussels Sprouts Chopped and Simmered in Cream]
Serve this dish with steaks or chops, roast beef or lamb, pork, duck, or goose.
For 6 people
1½ quarts Brussels sprouts, trimmed and washed
Follow the recipe for blanched Brussels sprouts, but boil them for 5 minutes only. Drain. If you are not proceeding at once with the rest of this recipe, let them cool in one layer. Chop them roughly.
3 Tb butter
A 10-inch enameled skillet
¼ tsp salt
Big pinch of pepper
Heat the butter to bubbling in the skillet. Add the chopped Brussels sprouts and season with salt and pepper. Shake them over moderately high heat for several minutes to evaporate their moisture but not to brown them.
¾ cup whipping cream
Salt and pepper
Pour in the cream. Bring to the simmer. Cover the skillet and cook at a slow simmer for 8 to 10 minutes or until the vegetables have almost entirely absorbed the cream and are tender. Correct seasoning.
1 to 2 Tb softened butter
A hot vegetable dish
2 Tb minced parsley
Reheat to the simmer just before serving. Off heat, fold in the butter. Turn into a hot vegetable dish, sprinkle with parsley, and serve.
TIMBALE DE CHOUX DE BRUXELLES
[Brussels Sprouts Mold]
This is a purée of Brussels sprouts mixed with eggs, milk, cheese, and bread crumbs, cooked in a mold, then unmolded and served with a cream sauce. It makes an unusual luncheon dish, or a fine accompaniment to roast veal or chicken. Use the same method and ingredients as for the asparagus mold, this page, substituting blanched, chopped Brussels sprouts for asparagus.
FROZEN BRUSSELS SPROUTS
This recipe is for fully-cooked Brussels sprouts. If you wish to substitute partially cooked frozen sprouts for fresh ones in any of the preceding recipes, use half the amount of water indicated here, and cook the sprouts until they are almost but not quite tender, 3 to 4 minutes. (When you are cooking more than two packages, use two saucepans; if too many vegetables are cooked in one pan, the liquid will not evaporate by the time they are tender.)
For each 10-ounce package frozen Brussels sprouts:
½ cup water
¼ tsp salt
1 Tb butter
Salt and pepper
Allow the frozen Brussels sprouts to thaw just enough so that you can separate them. Boil the water with the salt and butter in a saucepan. Add the vegetables, cover, and boil slowly for 6 to 8 minutes or until the sprouts are tender. Uncover saucepan and rapidly boil off any remaining liquid. Correct seasoning.
(*) If not to be used immediately, spread them out in one layer in a large, cold saucepan or dish.
BROCCOLI
Choux Broccoli—Choux Asperges
Broccoli, for some reason, is rarely seen in France though it abounds next door in Italy. We shall therefore not give it full-dress treatment, though we think it a delicious and useful vegetable.
PREPARATION FOR COOKING
Fresh broccoli will cook much more rapidly and stay greener if you divide it into flowerets about 3 inches long and then peel the thin, green skin off the stalks. Peel the cut-off butt ends deeply enough to expose the whitish, tender flesh, and cut into bias lengths.
BLANCHING
Blanch the prepared broccoli in a large kettle of boiling, salted water; first put in the pieces of stem and boil 5 minutes, then add the flowerets. Because it is a fragile vegetable, broccoli is easier to handle if you place it in a vegetable rack which you may set into the boiling water, and lift out with the broccoli when it is done. If the broccoli is to be partially cooked then braised, or simmered in a sauce, boil the flowerets for about 5 minutes or until almost tender. Fully cooked broccoli that is to be served with melted butter or a sauce such as hollandaise requires 8 to 10 minutes of cooking, or until a knife pierces the stems easily. Drain immediately.
FROZEN BROCCOLI
Cook frozen broccoli in the same manner as frozen Brussels sprouts
SAUCES FOR PLAIN, BOILED BROCCOLI
Sauces for hot or cold broccoli are the same as those suggested for asparagus
OTHER COOKING METHODS
Broccoli may be substituted for Brussels sprouts in any of the following recipes in the Brussels sprouts section:
Braised in Butter
Creamed
Gratinéed with Cheese Sauce
Browned with Swiss and Parmesan Cheese
Chopped and Simmered in Cream
Baked in a mold with eggs, milk, and cheese, then unmolded. See the master recipe for asparagus molds on this page.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
Hot or cold broccoli with a sauce such as hollandaise or vinaigrette may be served, like asparagus, as a separate vegetable course. Creamed broccoli goes with roast or broiled chicken, roast veal, or sautéed veal scallops. Broccoli with melted butter or browned with cheese goes with sautéed liver, steaks, chops, and broiled chicken.
CAULIFLOWER
Chou-fleur
Choose cauliflowers with hard, clean, white heads containing firm, compact, flower clusters. The leaves surrounding the head should be fresh, healthy, and green.
AMOUNT TO BUY
A trimmed cauliflower head about 8 inches across will serve 4 to 6 people as a vegetable garnish.
SERVING
SUGGESTIONS
Cauliflower gratinéed or served with a sauce may constitute a separate vegetable course. All types of cauliflower dishes go with roast turkey, chicken, lamb, beef, pork, and with steaks or chops.
PREPARATION FOR COOKING
Cauliflower cooks more evenly if you divide it into flowerets; we therefore always advise that you do so. Pull the outside leaves off the cauliflower and cut the stem off close under the head. The smaller leaves and the peeled stem may be used for soup. Cut the flowerets off the central stalk, and peel the thin skin off their stems with a knife. Cut a slit in any stems larger than ¼ inch in diameter, so they will cook quickly. Peel the central stalk deeply enough to expose its tender flesh, and cut it in bias pieces. Wash the cauliflower rapidly in a large basin of cold water. Drain.
CHOU-FLEUR BLANCHI
[Blanched Cauliflower—Preliminary Cooking]
1 or 2 heads of cauliflower, cut into flowerets
A large kettle containing 7 to 8 quarts of boiling water
1½ tsp salt per quart of water
A vegetable rack set in the kettle is useful