Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1
Page 52
Salt and pepper
When the peas are tender their cooking liquid should have almost entirely evaporated. Correct seasoning.
2 Tb softened butter
A hot vegetable dish
Discard the parsley and the lettuce strings. Just before serving, toss the peas and onions with the butter. Turn them into the vegetable dish, place the lettuce around the edge of the dish, and serve at once.
FROZEN PEAS
This method of cooking frozen peas gives them the character they often lack. Use two saucepans when you are cooking more than two 10-ounce boxes; if too many peas are cooked in one pan, the cooking liquid will not evaporate by the time the peas are done.
For each 10-ounce package of frozen peas:
1 Tb butter
1 Tb minced shallots or green onions
¼ tsp salt
Pinch of pepper
½ cup chicken stock or canned chicken or mushroom broth, or water
Allow the peas to thaw enough so they can be separated. Bring the butter, shallots or green onions, seasonings, and liquid to the boil in a saucepan. Add the peas, cover, and boil slowly for 5 to 6 minutes or until the peas are tender. Uncover and rapidly boil off any remaining liquid. Correct seasoning.
CANNED PEAS
Here is a way to improve the flavor of canned peas.
For each No. 2 can of peas (1¼ lbs. or 2½ cups):
Turn the peas into a sieve and run cold water over them. Drain.
1½ Tb minced shallots or green onions
2 Tb butter
Salt and pepper to taste
3 Tb stock or mushroom broth
Cook the shallots or onions in the butter for a moment. Add the peas and seasonings and toss them in the butter. Then add the stock or broth, cover the peas, and boil slowly for a few moments until the peas are warmed through. Uncover, raise heat, and rapidly boil off any remaining liquid.
SPINACH
Épinards
Spinach is an excellent vegetable when it is cooked properly. Except for the tenderest and freshest garden variety which may be simmered slowly in seasonings, butter, and its own juices, spinach is first blanched in a large kettle of boiling salted water; then all the water is pressed out of it, and it is simmered in butter and meat stock or cream. In addition to its role as a vegetable, it can serve as a bed for poached eggs, fish, or breasts of chicken. It is also used in various stuffings, and makes an excellent soufflé, tart, or mold.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
Spinach goes with just about everything, eggs, fish, chicken, sweetbreads, ham, roasts’, steaks, chops, sautés. Or it may constitute a separate vegetable course. The gratins may also serve as entrées, luncheon, or supper dishes. If it is a separate course, a dry white wine such as a Riesling goes with spinach braised in butter or in stock. Serve a less dry white wine, such as a Graves, with spinach braised in cream.
AMOUNT TO BUY
One pound of fresh spinach yields about 1 cup of cooked spinach, and we shall consider that enough for 2 people.
PREPARATION FOR COOKING
If the spinach is young and tender, the stems are usually removed at the base of the leaf. For more mature spinach, fold the leaf vertically, its underside up, in the fingers of one hand; grasp the stem in the other hand and rip it off toward the tip of the leaf, thus removing with the stem the tough tendrils which are attached to the underside of the leaf. Discard any wilted or yellow leaves. Whether or not it is claimed that the spinach is washed, plunge it into a large basin of cold water and pump it up and down for several minutes with your hands. Lift it out into a colander, leaving any sand in the bottom of the basin. Wash the spinach several times more, if necessary, until there is no sand to be seen in the bottom of the basin. Drain, and the spinach is ready for cooking.
ÉPINARDS BLANCHIS
[Blanched, Chopped Spinach—Preliminary Cooking]
For 3 cups of blanched, chopped spinach
3 lbs. fresh spinach
Prepare and wash the spinach as described in the preceding paragraph.
A large kettle containing at least 7 to 8 quarts of rapidly boiling water
1½ tsp salt per quart of water
A handful at a time, drop the spinach into the boiling salted water. Bring back to the boil as rapidly as possible and boil slowly, uncovered, for about 2 minutes, or until the spinach is almost tender. Test it by eating a piece.
A large colander
At once, set the colander, curved side down, into the kettle. Protecting your hands with a towel, hold the colander firmly clamped to the sides of the kettle as you tilt the kettle and pour out the water. Still with the colander in place, run cold water into the kettle for several minutes to refresh the spinach. This will preserve its color and texture. Remove colander and lift the spinach out of the water into the colander, thus leaving any possible bits of sand in the bottom of the kettle.
A small amount at a time, squeeze the spinach in your hands to extract as much water as possible—last drops of water from each squeeze may be saved for soup.
A stainless steel chopping knife or a food mill
Chop the spinach with a big knife on a chopping board, or, if you want a fine purée, put it through a food mill. The spinach is now ready for further cooking and flavoring.
(*) May be done several hours or a day in advance. Cover and refrigerate.
WARNING
Spinach quickly picks up an astringent and metallic taste if its final cooking is in iron or aluminum. For the following recipes, use only enamel, pyrex, earthenware, or stainless steel saucepans or baking dishes, and serve the spinach in enamel or porcelain, not silver.
PURÉE D’ÉPINARDS SIMPLE
[Cooked Chopped Spinach—Purée of Spinach]
This is the last step in preparing spinach for use in soufflés, quiches, custards, crêpes, stuffings, or for final cooking in any of the following recipes. The directions on this page also bring frozen spinach to this point.
For 3 cups, or for 6 people
2 Tb butter
A 2½-quart heavy-bottomed, enameled saucepan
3 cups blanched spinach, chopped or puréed (directions in preceding recipe)
Salt and pepper
Pinch of nutmeg
When the butter is bubbling in the saucepan over moderately high heat, stir in the spinach. Continue stirring for 2 to 3 minutes until all the moisture from the spinach has boiled off—the spinach will begin to adhere to the bottom of the pan. Season to taste, and the spinach is ready to use.
RECIPES FOR COOKED CHOPPED SPINACH
Épinards Étuvés au Beurre
[Spinach Braised in Butter—Buttered Spinach]
Serve this deliciously buttery spinach with steaks, chops, roasts, ham, or sautéed liver. Use it also in any recipe calling for a bed of buttered spinach.
For 6 people
3 cups cooked chopped spinach (the preceding recipe), in a heavy-bottomed enameled saucepan
4 Tb butter
Salt and pepper to taste
After you have followed the directions in the preceding recipe (stirring the spinach over moderately high heat with butter and seasonings until its moisture has evaporated), stir in the 4 additional tablespoons of butter listed here. Cover the saucepan and cook very slowly for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until the spinach has absorbed the butter and is very tender. Correct seasoning.
(*) If not served immediately, set aside uncovered. Reheat when needed.
2 Tb softened butter
A hot porcelain serving dish
Remove from heat, fold in the additional butter, and turn the spinach into the hot serving dish.
Épinards au Jambon
[Spinach with Ham]
½ cup finely diced ham, sautéed briefly in butter
The preceding spinach braised in butter
12 croûtons (triangles of white bread sautéed in clarified butter)
Stir the ham into the spinach 2 to 3 minutes before the end of the cooking. After arranging the spi
nach on its serving dish, place the croûtons around the edge of the dish.
Épinards au Jus
[Spinach Braised in Stock]
Épinards à la Crème
[Spinach Braised in Cream—Creamed Spinach]
This is an alternative to the preceding recipe for buttered spinach. Whether to use cream or stock for the braising depends on your judgment of which goes best with the rest of your menu. Creamed spinach would contrast well with sautéed ham, liver, brains, sweetbreads, chicken, or veal; spinach braised in stock would be preferable if you served any of these meats in a cream sauce. Spinach braised in stock or cream may also be gratinéed with cheese or be used as a filling for crêpes as suggested in the variations following the recipe.
For 6 people
3 cups cooked chopped spinach, in a heavy-bottomed enameled saucepan
1½ Tb flour, sifted to remove any lumps
After you have stirred the spinach over moderately high heat with butter and seasonings to evaporate its humidity, as directed in the recipe for cooked chopped spinach, lower heat to moderate. Sprinkle on the flour and stir for 2 minutes more to cook the flour.
1 cup brown stock, canned beef bouillon, or whipping cream
Salt and pepper
Remove from heat and stir in two thirds of the stock, bouillon, or cream by spoonfuls. Bring to the simmer, cover, and cook very slowly for about 15 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent spinach from sticking to bottom of pan, and add more liquid by spoonfuls if spinach becomes too dry. Correct seasoning.
(*) If not to be served immediately, set aside uncovered, and film top with a tablespoon of stock or cream. Reheat when needed.
1 to 2 Tb softened butter
A hot porcelain serving dish
Optional: 1 or 2 sieved or sliced hard-boiled eggs
Remove spinach from heat, fold in the butter, and turn into the serving dish. Decorate with optional egg.
VARIATIONS
Épinards Gratinés au Fromage
[Spinach Gratinéed with Cheese]
Serve this gratinéed spinach with steaks or chops, roast veal or chicken, or sautéed liver. It also goes well with broiled fish.
For 6 people
¾ cups grated Swiss cheese
3 cups spinach braised in stock (the preceding recipe)
A lightly buttered baking dish 8 inches in diameter and 1½ inches deep
2 Tb fine, dry, white bread crumbs
1½ Tb melted butter
Stir two thirds of the cheese into the spinach and turn it into the baking dish, heaping it into a slight dome. Mix the rest of the cheese with the bread crumbs and spread over the spinach. Sprinkle on the melted butter.
About 30 minutes before serving, place in upper third of a preheated, 375-degree oven to heat through thoroughly and brown the top lightly.
Canapés aux Épinards
[Spinach and Cheese Canapés]
Serve these canapés as a hot first course or luncheon dish, or make them smaller than directed here and serve as cocktail appetizers.
For 6 people
12 slices of white bread, 3½ by 2½ inches and ⅜ inch thick
¾ cup grated Swiss cheese
3 cups spinach braised in stock (the preceding master recipe)
2 Tb fine, dry, white bread crumbs
2 to 3 Tb melted butter
Cut off the crusts and sauté the bread in hot butter and oil in a skillet until lightly browned on each side. Stir two thirds of the cheese into the braised spinach and heap 2 or 3 tablespoons on each piece of sautéed bread. Sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese, the bread crumbs, and the melted butter.
Just before serving, run under a moderately hot broiler to heat through and brown lightly.
Épinards à la Mornay, Gratinés
[Spinach Gratinéed with Cheese Sauce]
Serve this gratinéed spinach with roasts, steaks, or chops, or as a hot first course or luncheon dish.
For 6 people
1½ cups sauce mornay (béchamel with cheese)
A lightly buttered baking dish 8 inches in diameter and 1½ inches deep
3 cups spinach braised in stock or in cream–1
Optional: ½ lb. sliced mushrooms sautéed in butter
3 Tb grated Swiss cheese
1½ Tb melted butter
Spread a third of the sauce in the bottom of the baking dish. If you are using the optional mushrooms, fold them into the spinach. Heap the spinach in the dish over the sauce, and spoon the rest of the sauce over it. Sprinkle with the grated cheese and melted butter.
About 30 minutes before serving, place in upper third of a preheated, 375-degree oven to heat through thoroughly and brown lightly on top.
Épinards en Surprise
[Spinach Hidden under a Giant Crêpe]
This is an amusing presentation; the spinach is heaped in a serving dish and a large French pancake is spread over it, hiding it completely. Serve it as a main course luncheon or supper dish and, if you wish, mix a cup of sautéed, diced ham or mushrooms into the spinach.
For 6 people
½ cup grated Swiss cheese
3 cups spinach braised in stock or in cream–1
A hot, lightly buttered porcelain serving dish about 8 inches in diameter
A French pancake, crêpe, large enough to cover the spinach completely
Just before serving, stir the cheese into the hot, braised spinach and heap it in the serving dish. Then cover with the crêpe.
PETITES CRÊPES D’ÉPINARDS
[Spinach Pancakes]
Spinach pancakes may be folded in quarters to garnish a roast, steaks, or chops. Filled as suggested in the Crêpe section, they may be served as a hot first course, or luncheon or supper dish.
For about 12 crêpes 6 inches in diameter
Ingredients for ½ the recipe for crêpes
1 cup blanched spinach
If you are making the crêpe batter in an electric blender, you may purée the blanched spinach at the same time. Otherwise, purée the spinach in a food mill and combine with the crêpe batter. Let batter rest for 2 hours before using. Cook spinach crêpes like ordinary crêpes, according to directions following those for the batter.
TIMBALE D’ÉPINARDS
[Spinach Mold]
This is a purée of spinach mixed with eggs, milk, cheese, and breadcrumbs, baked in a soufflé dish, unmolded, and surrounded with a sauce. Use the recipe for asparagus mold substituting spinach purée, for asparagus. Other sauces besides those with the asparagus mold recipe are:
Sauce Tomate or Coulis de Tomates, tomato sauce
Sauce Aurore, velouté or béchamel sauce with tomato flavoring
ÉPINARDS À LA BASQUAISE
[Gratin of Spinach and Sliced Potatoes with Anchovies]
Serve this with steaks, roast beef, roast lamb, or with broiled fish such as mackerel, fresh tuna, herring, or sardines.
For 6 people
½ cup grated Swiss cheese
3 cups spinach braised in stock
Stir the cheese into the braised spinach.
1 lb. “boiling” potatoes
Peel the potatoes and cut them into slices ⅛ inch thick. Boil them in salted water for 5 to 6 minutes, or until tender. Drain.
A lightly buttered baking dish 2 inches deep and 9 inches in diameter
2 Tb mashed anchovies (or 1 Tb anchovy paste) blended with 4 Tb softened butter and ⅛ tsp pepper
Spread half of the potatoes in the bottom of the baking dish. Cover with half of the anchovy mixture. Spread half of the spinach over the potatoes. Repeat with the remaining potatoes, anchovy mixture, and spinach.
⅓ cup grated Swiss cheese mixed with 3 Tb dry white bread crumbs
2 Tb melted butter
Spread the cheese and bread crumbs over the top of the spinach and pour on the melted butter.
About 30 minutes before serving, place in upper third of a preheated, 375-degree oven to heat through thoroughly and brown the top nicely.
FROZEN SPINACH
Although it cannot have the lovely taste of fresh spinach, and there is almost more stem than leaf to it, frozen spinach does have its place. When it’s given this preliminary treatment, you may use it in any of the preceding recipes. If you are cooking more than two packages at once, use two saucepans; when too much is in one saucepan, the liquid will not evaporate quickly enough and the spinach will overcook.
For each 10-ounce package of frozen spinach:
A heavy, stainless steel chopping knife
Whether the frozen spinach is whole, chopped, or puréed, it will cook most successfully if you unwrap and defrost it just enough so you can slice it by bearing down on the block with a heavy knife. If the spinach is already chopped or puréed, cut the slices roughly into half-inch pieces. If the spinach is whole, chop the slices into small bits.