Copyright © 2020 by Melissa Clark Photographs copyright © 2020 by Laura Edwards All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York. clarksonpotter.com CLARKSON POTTER is a trademark and POTTER with colophon is a registered trademark of Penguin Random House LLC. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Clark, Melissa, author. Title: Dinner in French: my recipes by way of France / Melissa Clark. Description: First edition. | New York : Clarkson Potter/Publishers, [2020] | Includes index. Identifiers: LCCN 2019013485 (print) | LCCN 2019018378 (ebook) | ISBN 9780553448269 (ebook) | ISBN 9780553448252 (hardcover) Subjects: LCSH: Cooking, French. Classification: LCC TX719 (ebook) | LCC TX719 .C469 2020 (print) | DDC 641.5944--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019013485 ISBN 9780553448252 Ebook ISBN 9780553448269 Cover design by Marysarah Quinn Photographs by Laura Edwards rhid_prh_5.5.0_c0_r0 CONTENTS Introduction EGGS French Baked Eggs with Smoked Salmon and Tarragon Cream Oeufs à l’Aioli Homemade Mayonnaise Deviled Eggs with Crème Fraîche and Roquefort Tahini Omelet Spicy Egg, Tomato, and Leek Toasts Egg Yolk Shakshuka Sweet Pepper and Cheddar Clafouti Twice-Baked Cheese Soufflés Cornmeal and Harissa Soufflé Red Wine–Poached Eggs with Mushrooms and Bacon CHEESE Comté Cocktail Crackers Croque Monsieur Casserole Sweet Potato Aligot with Fried Sage Truffled Mac and Cheese Fromage Blanc and Smoked Trout Dip Classic Fromage Fort with Chives Jalapeño Fromage Fort Gruyère Latkes Savory Gruyère Bread with Ham Phyllo-Wrapped Brie with Hot Honey and Anchovies Lillet Fondue Burrata with Brown Butter, Lemon, and Cherries SALADS Caesar Salad au Frisée Dandelion Salad with Sweet Garlic Confit, Pancetta, and Blue Cheese Roasted Beet, Caraway, and Crème Fraîche Salad with Arugula Grated Carrot Salad with Preserved Lemon and Coriander Baby Lettuce Salad with Shallot Vinaigrette Spinach and Grape Salad with Roquefort Dressing Fennel Salad with Grapefruit and Warm Goat Cheese Radicchio and Baked Camembert Salad Endive, Ham, and Walnut Salad Classic Salade Niçoise Shaved Zucchini and Melon Salad with Mint and Almonds Asparagus Salad with Herbed Crème Fraîche Watercress, Avocado, and Feta Salad Fresh Corn and Tomato Salad with Tapenade SOUPS Delicate Pea and Lettuce Soup with Ricotta and Tarragon Fish and Mussel Soup with Rouille Vegetable Soup au Pistou Gazpacho by Way of Provence French Onion Soup with Grilled Gruyère Sandwiches Chilled Melon Soup with Spiced Yogurt Brandied Chestnut Soup Savory Mushroom Soup QUICHES, TARTS & SAVORY PIES Asparagus, Goat Cheese, and Tarragon Tart Herbed Tomato and Gruyère Pie Sweet Potato and Bacon Quiche with Parsley Pissaladière with Tomato, Olives, and Anchovies Classic Tarte Flambée Roasted Tomato and Zucchini Tarts FISH & SHELLFISH Classic Brandade Sardine and Tomato Toasts Giant Prawns with Preserved Lemon, Herbs, and Brandy Roasted Tarragon Shrimp and Onions Shrimp and Mushrooms with Garlicky Herb Butter Lemony Spanish Mackerel Hake with Herb Butter en Papillote Buttery Crab Pasta with Golden Tomatoes and Chervil Swordfish Brochettes with Basil and Harissa Brown Butter Scallops with Parsley and Lemon Cod with Aioli and Heirloom Tomatoes Mustard Seed–Cured Salmon Salmon Confit with Lime, Juniper, and Fennel Sautéed Salmon with Fennel Beurre Blanc Spaghetti with Anchovies, Tomatoes, and Basil Provençal Tuna with Sweet Onions, Peppers, and Capers Basque Squid with Pancetta, Espelette, and Garlic Trout Meunière with Thyme and Pine Nuts CHICKEN & OTHER MEATS Chicken Paillards with Endive-Parsley Salad Chicken Salad with Rouille Roasted Tarragon Chicken with Crispy Mushrooms Ratatouille Sheet-Pan Chicken Chicken Tagine with Blood Orange Spatchcocked Chicken with Herbes de Provence Butter Wine-Braised Chicken with Orange and Olives Poule au Pot Pie Crispy Duck Legs with Satsumas Chicken Liver Mousse with Bourbon Seared Duck Breasts with Figs, Rosemary, and Lemon Marrowbones with Horseradish Parsley Sauce Seared Steaks with Basil Béarnaise Beef Daube with Carrots and Honey Vinegar Braised Brandied Short Ribs Roasted Pork Loin with Rosemary Oxtail Bourguignon with Caramelized Mushrooms and Garlic Lentil Stew with Garlic Sausage and Goat Cheese Chive-Stuffed Rack of Lamb with Crispy Potatoes Grilled Butterflied Leg of Lamb with Fennel and Anchovy Lamb Shank Cassoulet VEGETABLES Asparagus Almondine Radishes Anchoïade Artichokes with Feta-Dill Dressing Roasted Tomatoes with Lemony Anchovy Crumbs Tomato, Eggplant, and Zucchini Tian Roasted Eggplant with Herbs and Hot Honey Roasted Cauliflower with Brown Butter, Raisins, and Capers Moroccan Eggplant Salad Chickpea and Vegetable Tagine with Couscous Scalloped Potato Gratin Duck Fat–Roasted Potatoes with Anchovy Salsa Verde and Mayonnaise Roasted Carrots and Fennel with Pomegranate Vinaigrette Mushroom and Goat Cheese Toasts Sautéed Chanterelles with Garlic and Parsley Sautéed Cabbage with Gruyère and Jalapeños Roasted Butternut Squash with Lime and Hazelnuts AFTER DINNER Rustic Buckwheat Apple Ginger Cake French Yogurt Cake with Cherries and Cardamom Campari Olive Oil Cake Pain d’Epices French Rye-Chocolate Cake with Spiced Crème Anglaise Chestnut Icebox Cake Stacks Cocoa Hazelnut Financiers Black Sesame Palmiers Hazelnut Butter Raspberry Pie Gâteau Breton with Plums and Cardamom Tarte au Fromage with Goat Cheese, Crème Fraîche, and Honey-Drizzled Figs Meyer Lemon Tart with Olive Oil and Fleur de Sel Blackberry Frangipane Tart Peach Cobbler Tatin Apricot Tarte Tatin Pumpkin Brûlée Tart with Crème Fraîche Hazelnut Dacquoise with Coffee-Cardamom Buttercream Jam-Filled Sablés Melon with Sauternes Apricots and Red Fruit with Sugared Crème Fraîche Strawberry Champagne Soup with Fleur de Sel Meringues and Mint Crème Fraîche Crème Caramels Gingerbread Mousse Raspberry-Lavender Clafouti Lemon Verbena Ice Cream with Candied Lemon Chestnut and Armagnac Ice Cream Darkest Chocolate Sorbet Almond Milk Sorbet Marzipan Bonbons Two Ways: Rose and Lemon Lavender Lemonade Red Currant–Lemon Verbena Cordial Acknowledgments Index Introduction I can’t really speak French, but I cook in French. For years, I studied conjugations and the passé simple, practiced pronouncing yaourt and grenouille, but try as I might I just couldn’t seem to master it beyond the essentials like “deux pains au chocolat, s’il vous plaît.” In the kitchen, however, I am fluent. The fistfuls of garlic and thyme, the pebbly feel of grey sel marin de Guérande between my fingers, and the lushness of an emulsifying sauce are now so ingrained, I can cook in French without thinking. The ethereal creaminess of a soufflé, the anchovy funk of a pissalardière, the caramelized depth of bœuf Bourguignon are as deeply part of me as the bagels and lox we ate in Brooklyn every Sunday. That merging of classic French cuisine and the food I grew up eating in Brooklyn is the foundation of how I approach cooking—and the raison d’être of this book. To me, the cuisines are not two distinct things, but seamlessly intertwined into a glorious whole, because I learned about them at the same time. Yes, we waited in line for Di Fara’s pizza, Lundy’s clams, and chicken feet and tripe at our favorite dim sum palace. And we also spent countless weekends fussing over Julia Child’s terrines and Jacques Pépin’s coq au vin, which my mother might slather on leftover challah, and my dad might spike with soy sauce (sorry, Jacques). It wasn’t irreverence so much as an intense culinary curiosity, a playful exploration of the delicious. All of these influences are so essential to the way I think about food that they’re the touchstones of every recipe I create. I might start by asking myself, would adding chicken schmaltz to ratatouille be a good thing? The full answer is on this page. The short answer is: Yes! None of this would have happened if my Great-Aunt Martha and Uncle Jack hadn’t dragged my parents on their first trip to Europe—seven countries in twenty-five days—after medical school in 1960. My dad, whose ideal vacation up until then was fishing in the Catskills, didn’t want to go. But they went and fell hard for France, getting hooked on escargot, extra crispy frites, and the high culture of Monet-filled museums and Gothic cathedrals, all so astoundingly ancient and different from the Yeshiva-centric Brooklyn they grew up in. My parents went back every year, first by themselves, then with my sister and me in tow. The planning began in January. At first my parents rented houses. But at some point they started house exchanging to economize. Less money spent on lodging meant more on the Michelin-starred meals my parents mapped into their own stellar universe. The year began with the arrival of a thick catalog in the mail: HomeAway, bursting with options. We swapped our old wood-framed Victorian in Flatbush for stone-walled farmhouses in Burgundy, cabins in the Dordogne, stucco split-levels near Nîmes. It was the 1980s, and it was still the custom for a psychiatrist to take off the entire month of August. This was back before the internet, back before cell phones, even before fax machines. My parents typed letters on blue onionskin paper, then sent them via airmail. There was no way to look up references and no background checks from the HomeAway company. We packed our valuables into a locked closet, printed out instructions for the care of the cats, and caught a cheap charter flight to Paris, hoping for the best. It always worked out, though some years better than others. There were the lifelong friends we made with the people whose homes we exchanged for ours, like the Lamontagnes, gourmets to the core, whose pantry filled with jars of homemade quince jam and pork rillettes was rival to our own. On the other end of the spectrum were the shady characters who used our Brooklyn house and Volkswagen Rabbit while we got their marble-clad apartment in Nice, their white Mercedes convertible, and their National Front pamphlets next to a loaded gun in their bedside table.