Potage Luzienne

Some weeks ago, while wandering through Barnes & Noble and enjoying the smell of coffee and paper, I happened upon a jackpot of a find on a clearance table, Under the Sun: Caroline Conran's French Country Cooking. For $5.50, how could I not!? The book is filled with information on the ingredients, foods, and people of southern France, "...from Bordeaux to Nice..." and beyond. The recipes are pretty simple, down-home French cooking, you could say. None of the snooty stuff which often maligns French cooking in pop culture. Recipes include Sautéed Green Bell Peppers and Tomato Salad (Salade de Tomates aux Piments Verts), Cep and Potato Soup (Soupe aux Cépes), Lamb Couscous with Seven Vegetables (Couscous aux Sept Legumes), and Sweet Aniseed Brioche (Brioche Anisée) and so many more. Many of the recipes are accompanied with beautiful photographs, as well.

Tonight, I was set on making the Olive Soup from St.-Jean-de-Luz (Potage Luzienne).

Mmm, hearty, old world, rustic, and tasting of the country of the Pays Basque...at least, so I'd assume.

Olive Soup from St. Jean-de-Luz
(Potage Luzienne)
from Under the Sun, by Caroline Conran

1 cup dried fava beans, soaked for 2 hours until tender
1 smallish russet potato, peeled and diced
1 large leek, cleaned and sliced thinly
1 cup pitted kalamata olives
2 shallots, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp. dried thyme
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Slices of whole grain baguette, buttered and toasted and sprinkled with salt and pepper

Put the soaked and drained beans, potato, leek, olives, shallots, thyme and garlic into a dutch oven with 4 3/4 cups water. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on low for 1¼ to 1½ hours.

Add slat and pepper to taste, and id you'd like, briefly blend with a stick blender.

Serve topped with a slice of toasted baguette.

Bon appétit!

French Cooking 1: Delicious Simplicity

When I mention that I like to cook French cuisine, most people I know react either with astonishment, or with a certain "f#$% that fancy French food" look to their faces. Really, I fail to understand how French food always seems to create such diametrically opposed reactions. Either you're amazing, or you're a snob. I think one reason is that so many people think of French food as being long prepped coq au vin, fragile beurre blanc, or the pricey epitome of French retro-chic cooking (à la Julia Child), la filet du bœuf Wellington. As for the negative reactions, well, maybe there's still some post-9/11 anti-French fallout among the "freedom fries" sect. Who is to say?

Myself, when I think of French cuisine, I think of dishes that are simple yet delicious. Take, for example, the cassoulet, simple slow-cooked, bean stew. The stew often includes meat, in the form of pork sausage, duck, mutton, and pork skin. Being a mostly-vegetarian, however, I have searched for, and found, a delicious recipe for a simple and easy cassoulet de légumes (vegetable cassoulet).

Veggie Cassoulet
(via epicurious.com)

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 zucchini, chopped
2 celery stalks, sliced
1 onion, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1 can (14 ounces) diced tomatoes, drained
3 cups drained cannellini beans, liquid reserved
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 dried bay leaves
4 slices crusty whole-wheat toast

Heat oven to 400°F. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook zucchini, celery, onion, salt and pepper until soft, about 8 minutes. Mix in garlic and cook, stirring, another minute. Combine veggies, tomatoes, beans, 1/4 cup of the bean liquid, thyme and bay leaves in a 2-quart baking dish. Bake until golden, about 30 minutes. Remove bay leaves and serve warm with toast on the side.

Nutritional analysis per serving: 382 calories, 7.8g fat (1 g saturated), 66g carbs, 15.5g fiber, 19.6g protein.

The only change I really made, was to add a small block of crumbled tofu, just to up the protein a bit more. I also made the cassoulet in my 10-in dutch oven. The cast iron gives a wonderful, rustic flavor to the dish!

Bon appétit, tout le monde!