Curious Provence

a Curious Canadian in Provence

Tarragon Chicken Fricassée Recipe

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chicken fricassee

My Comfort Food

Chicken fricassée is my winter go-to when I want something comforting and delicious. The tarragon and chicken compliment each other so well in this rich delicious sauce.

A fricassée is a dish of stewed or fried pieces of meat served in a thick white sauce.

provence herbs

I use lots of fresh herbs in my cooking. I like everything to have that kick of fresh flavour!

Recipe: Chicken Fricassée

Serves 4

Ingredients

2oo g smoked bacon lardons/pancetta

1 free-range chicken (fermier chicken in France-tasty!) cut into 6 pieces*
Ask your butcher to do this for you.

3 leeks, green tops removed, sliced

3 large carrots, diced

2 shallots, sliced

250 g button mushrooms/baby bella mushrooms diced

1 tbsp flour

1 bunch of tarragon, chopped finely with stems removed

1 bay leaf

2 sprigs of lemon thyme

300 ml dry cider (or dry white wine)

300 ml chicken stock

2 tbsp crème fraiche/sour cream

1 tbsp hot dijon mustard (or more if you like your mustard like me)

zest of one lemon

parsley, chopped finely, for garnish

*You can use de-boned chicken breasts and thighs instead of a whole chicken if you choose not to deal with the bones while eating. However, the recipe is more flavourful with a whole chicken.

Method

Prepare all your veggies so they’re ready to go. Place a large knob of butter into a heavy bottomed pan on medium-high heat. Brown the chicken pieces all over. Remove from the heat. Lower the heat to medium.

Place bacon, leeks, shallots and carrots into the pan. Soften for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the flour, cook for another minute. De-glaze with the cider, cook for another minute.

Add the bay leaf, thyme, tarragon, stock, and chicken to the pot. The chicken should be covered in liquid. Add more stock if necessary.

Cover and cook on a low simmer for 35 minutes. Add the chopped mushrooms. Remove the lid from the pan if the sauce needs thickening. Add the mustard and cream. Stir well. Cook for another 15 minutes. The chicken should be falling off the bone.

Season with salt and pepper to your taste. Add the lemon zest and parsley.

Serve with steamed rice, fresh baguette or potatoes and a cold glass of white wine.

Yum.

chicken fricassée

Jerusalem Artichoke Soup Recipe

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foodie

Jerusalem artichokes have become one of my winter veggies that greatly add to my seasonal eating. In Canada, the Jerusalem artichokes that I used to buy were a beige colour. In Provence, I’ve often seen them as a beautiful magenta colour.

The French and Jerusalem Artichokes (Topinambour)

Topinambour was one of the few vegetables, if not one of the only ones, available during WWII in France. The misery associated with this time in history in a starving Europe gave Jerusalem artichokes a bad reputation. Their ability to get the digestive system working, and their consequential association with flatulence, didn’t really help either. The older generation that can still remember the war years often refuse to eat them. However, as all veggies almost forgotten, they’re experiencing a little renaissance.

It is time for the Jerusalem artichoke to rise again! For only the good reasons. This vegetable is unique in flavour. It adds welcome variety to the root veggies of winter. Also, when paired with potatoes, it doesn’t affect the digestive system with the same vigour.

I swear, they’re delicious.

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Homemade Pastry Recipe Test

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pastry making

Yes! Managed to get the pastry into the case.

A riverboat cruise company recently asked me to contribute recipes to some of their stops along the Rhône river. For the Macon stop, I decided instead of making a boeuf bourguignon recipe, I would make a prune tart.

Prunes are wonderful in France. If you’re familiar with my other recipes you’ll know that I’m a fan. Here, you can buy them in the market. They’re juicy rather than dried. Semi-dried. I used to work at a restaurant where people would often order the prunes rather than a chocolatey dessert. Though, to be fair, they were stewed in red wine and spices.

Pastry Making

Making your own pastry is messy, often tedious, and you need to do it a few times before you get the hang of it. When we first moved to France I planted blette (Swiss chard) in my garden. I had bushels of the stuff. A rather lot of quiche had to be consumed! In my effort to not waste, I was constantly experimenting with recipes. I tend to like the richer pastries with egg yolks.

It’s been a while since I’ve made homemade pastry. Despite this, Robin and I are still extremely sensitive to that moment when the other person is putting the pastry into the pie dish. It’s one of the essential rules of the relationship. Get out of the room at that moment.

I hope I’m not discouraging you.

I wanted to share here my absolute favourite recipe for pastry. It works. It’s easy. I still had to compare it though.

I still had to compare it though.

Operation Homemade Pastry

Homemade Pastry 1: Recipe by Keith Floyd from his book Floyd on France.

The recipe said things like: add milk until a pastry is formed. Ya. Thanks. Thankfully, I have an idea of what the pastry should be like.

The ingredients (I halved the recipe):

250g sifted flour, 125g butter, 1 egg, pinch of salt, 1/2 glass of cream

I added together the dry ingredients and slowly incorporated the butter and egg with my fingers. I mixed it well together and let it rest in the fridge for 2 hours.

Then, I rolled it out and placed in the pastry case with relative ease.

prune tarts

The workstation. You may notice I’ve used 2 recipes from British sources. You’ll have to forgive me.

homemade tart

Mmmmmmmmm…

Recipe 2: Homemade Pastry: Almond Flour by BBC Good Food

Ingredients:

  • 200g plain flour
  • 175g ground almonds
  • 175g golden caster sugar
  • 200g cold butter, diced, 1 egg yolk

This is incredibly easy. The dough is quite wet so there’s no rolling out to be done. You can even combine it in a food processor. You stuff the dough into the pastry case as thick or thin as you like it. Fingerprints and all. It will end up looking gloriously rustic. I baked the pastry, with the prunes, for 40 minutes at 190°C.

Go to the BBC Good Food website for the full recipe (their version with cherries).

homemade pastry

The verdict

Despite the elegance of the traditional pastry, the almond flour and extra sugar in the second recipe add so much more flavour. I now have my definitive sweet pastry recipe.

Share your best pastry recipe in the comments. What’s your secret? Have you mastered the transfer of the rolled dough to the pastry case? Do you use baking beans?

Above all, do you think it’s worth making your own pastry?

Gastronomic Weekend in Marseille (à la Marocaine)

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port of marseille

View of Marseille’s port from Saint Victor.

I have always heard great things about Moroccan hospitality. However, I was still surprised when Asma, French Moroccan blogger of Culture Cherifienne, invited me to her home in Marseille for a weekend. We had never met but soon become acquainted through a common excitement for both food and culture. Before I knew it, I was sent a gastronomic and cultural itinerary for our gourmet weekend in Marseille.

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Traditional Foods of Florence

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What to Eat in Florence

traditional foods of Florence

Florence is responsible for turning me into a foodie. I arrived there, 18 and naive, only having eaten American-style pizza. I was converted (it was indeed religious!) after my first meal there. I wandered into a tiny pizzeria, at an odd time of afternoon after flying overnight from Montreal. I picked at random a pizza from the Italian-only menu and ate the entire thing. I stayed for a year, finding my own little routines of eating cornettos instead of croissants and fettunta instead of “bruschetta.” Florence will always hold a special place in my heart.

Regional Tuscan cooking is like any other Mediterranean country, it can change dramatically depending on which city or village you’re in. If you’re visiting Florence, you should try the gastronomy specific to this beautiful Renaissance city. The traditional foods of Florence are very much tied to Tuscan Cucina Povera. These are the most common dishes, and most traditional, you’ll find all around the city. See my article about the Markets of Florence for more information on where to find these delicacies.

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Tellines à la Persillade, a simple market dish

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Tellines (pronounced tellEEne)

tellines

There was a little commotion yesterday morning at Saint Remy de Provence market. Gilles, the oyster and mussel vendor, placed a large tub of tellines at the front of his stall. First to notice, with coffees in hand at 8 am, were the other foraines (market workers). Some even stopped in the middle of the bise* greetings to make their way over to Gilles’ stall. Threats were made to keep some for them. The lip-smacking in anticipation for dinner started particularly early.

tellines

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Marchés à Lyon: Croix Rousse

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A Love of Markets

On our recent weekend trip to Lyon, despite the chilly mornings, I dragged my man to just about every market in town. It’s defiantly an obsession. The large market on Croix Rousse blvd, located in the upper part of the city, occurs daily. I was impressed by the level of produce at this Lyonnaise market; there is a mix of typical Provençal deliciousness as well as more rustic strong cheeses and meats from the Alps.

There are about 95 stalls at Croix Rousse on Tuesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (6h00-13:30)

and 23 stalls at Croix Rousse on Wednesday and Thursday (6h00-13h00)

olives croix-rousse

Gotta love the colourful buildings in the background.

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Spiced Version of Daube Provençal

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daube provencal

Daube à la Provençal

Since I’ve moved to France, I’ve made all kinds of slow cooked beef stews. The Provencal version of the more commonly known Boeuf Bourguignon is called Daube à la Provençal. I’ve heard men in cafés arguing over the inclusion of carrots or not, and which spices to use… Black or green olives? Everyone has their own recipe. As a rule, Southerners tend to add olives instead of mushrooms. Daube is served, like Italian ragu, with short pasta.

My Version

I have to admit that although French cooking is sophisticated and generally tasty, I prefer my food to be a true explosion of flavour. I often turn to middle eastern cooking for inspiration. Therefore, here is my succulent and tasty version of beef stew. Ottolenghi Style?

Ingredients

1,2 kg stewing beef (shoulder is great for this but any stewing beef with do, this will also work with veal and is the most delicious, if you ask your butcher in advance, with beef cheeks)
200 g bacon diced
8 prunes (I buy mine from the prune lady at the local market. You won’t believe how good French prunes are. Try to find prunes that are moist and without artificial preservatives. If you’re anxious about the taste of prunes don’t worry, they melt into the sauce)
1 Onion finely chopped
2 Leeks finely chopped
3 Garlic Cloves crushed
1 Cinnamon stick
tsp pepper
tsp chilli flakes
a bunch of thyme 
tbsp tomato paste
half bottle of red wine
a bunch of coriander chopped
half an orange peel
2 cups basmati rice

Recipe

Serves 4 

Take the meat out of the fridge so that it can come to room temperature while you’re chopping the veg. Finely chop the onion, leeks and crush the garlic. Add a knob of butter and a tbsp of vegetable oil to medium-high heat in a large heavy-bottomed pan. If you have a Le Creuset- now is the time to get it out! Brown the meat on all sides. You’ll have to do this in batches. When the meat is browned, remove from the pan and replace with the chopped bacon. Fry for a minute, deglaze the pan with a little water if necessary, then add the onion, leek, garlic, and spices. Cook these down on a medium-low heat for at least 6 minutes while stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

Put the meat back in the pan. Cover with red wine, wait until you have a very low simmer, then cover. Leave on the stove for 4 hours. Check on it from time to time to make sure it isn’t boiling and that you have enough liquid. After 4 hours, put in the prunes. Cover again and wait 30 minutes. Uncover if you have too much liquid to thicken the stew while you prepare the rice.

Chop up half the removed orange peel and fry in 1 tbsp of vegetable oil on medium heat for 1 minute. Add your rice and fry for another 30 seconds. Add double the amount of water to rice and let simmer uncovered. Wait until most of the liquid has evaporated and you see holes appear on top of the rice. Now cover, take off the heat and wait for 15 minutes. Add the tomato paste to the stew and season with salt and pepper if necessary. Serve your rice and beefy deliciousness scattered with chopped coriander and devour!

Tips:

Spice: This is meant to be a lightly spiced meal. Don’t leave the cinnamon out- it really adds a wonderful element to the stew. Feel free to add more chilli and garlic though.

My rice: If you’ve never seen this technique- try it. It works every time. I put the orange in the rice one day when I forgot to put it in the stew- I think it adds nice colour to the finished dish.

Flour: You may wonder why I don’t flour my meat before I brown it. Honestly, it never seems to work for me. The cooking time should create a thick sauce. If you’re worried about it, I find it easier to add a tbsp of flour to the finely chopped veg while their being fried in the pan.

Cooking time: I’ve tried, don’t skimp on the cooking time. If possible, make the stew the day before. It’s always better the next day. I have a hard time waiting, though!

 

Try out the recipe and give me your notes!

Pralines- and Other Things to Eat in Lyon

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Pralines and Offal in Lyon

brioche pralines lyon

Pralines and Offal– that is what comes to mind when I think of the gastronomic capital of France. Not on the same plate of course, but often in the same meal. There are very specific dishes and products that are considered particularly Lyonnais or from villages outside of Lyon. During our visit there, I had a mental list that made tasting them all an imperative and full-time activity. Here is a little summary of what we ate over 3 days in the beautiful city of Lyon. No judgment on the quantities- we had to make the most of it!

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