by Julia Child
Fill the eggplant shells with the mixture. Top with cheese and bread crumbs, and baste each half with melted butter.
(*) May be prepared ahead to this point.
About 40 minutes before serving, arrange in roasting pan and surround with ⅛ inch of water. Bake in upper third of preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes to heat thoroughly and brown the cheese and bread crumbs.
RATATOUILLE
[Eggplant Casserole—with tomatoes, onions, peppers, and zucchini]
Ratatouille perfumes the kitchen with the essence of Provence and is certainly one of the great Mediterranean dishes. As it is strongly flavored it is best when it accompanies plain roast or broiled beef or lamb, pot-au-feu (boiled beef), or plain roast, broiled, or sautéed chicken. Equally good hot or cold, it also makes a fine accompaniment to cold meats, or may be served as a cold hors d’oeuvre.
A really good ratatouille is not one of the quicker dishes to make, as each element is cooked separately before it is arranged in the casserole to partake of a brief communal simmer. This recipe is the only one we know of which produces a ratatouille in which each vegetable retains its own shape and character. Happily a ratatouille may be cooked completely the day before it is to be served, and it seems to gain in flavor when reheated.
For 6 to 8 people
1 lb. eggplant
1 lb. zucchini
A 3-quart, porcelain or stainless steel mixing bowl
1 tsp salt
Peel the eggplant and cut into lengthwise slices ⅜ inch thick, about 3 inches long, and 1 inch wide. Scrub the zucchini, slice off the two ends, and cut the zucchini into slices about the same size as the eggplant slices. Place the vegetables in a bowl and toss with the salt. Let stand for 30 minutes. Drain. Dry each slice in a towel.
A 10- to 12-inch enameled skillet
4 Tb olive oil, more if needed
One layer at a time, sauté the eggplant, and then the zucchini in hot olive oil for about a minute on each side to brown very lightly. Remove to a side dish.
½ lb. (about 1½ cups) thinly sliced yellow onions
2 (about 1 cup) sliced green bell peppers
2 to 3 Tb olive oil, if necessary
2 cloves mashed garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
In the same skillet, cook the onions and peppers slowly in olive oil for about 10 minutes, or until tender but not browned. Stir in the garlic and season to taste.
1 lb. firm, ripe, red tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and juiced (makes 1½ cups pulp)
Salt and pepper
Slice the tomato pulp into ⅜-inch strips. Lay them over the onions and peppers. Season with salt and pepper. Cover the skillet and cook over low heat for 5 minutes, or until tomatoes have begun to render their juice. Uncover, baste the tomatoes with the juices, raise heat and boil for several minutes, until juice has almost entirely evaporated.
A 2½ quart fireproof casserole about 2½ inches deep
3 Tb minced parsley
Place a third of the tomato mixture in the bottom of the casserole and sprinkle over it 1 tablespoon of parsley. Arrange half of the eggplant and zucchini on top, then half the remaining tomatoes and parsley. Put in the rest of the eggplant and zucchini, and finish with the remaining tomatoes and parsley.
Salt and pepper
Cover the casserole and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Uncover, tip casserole and baste with the rendered juices. Correct seasoning, if necessary. Raise heat slightly and cook uncovered for about 15 minutes more, basting several times, until juices have evaporated leaving a spoonful or two of flavored olive oil. Be careful of your heat; do not let the vegetables scorch in the bottom of the casserole.
(*) Set aside uncovered. Reheat slowly at serving time, or serve cold.
MOUSSAKA, a mold of eggplant and lamb, is in the Lamb section.
TOMATOES
Tomates
Many recipes calling for tomatoes direct that they be peeled, seeded, and juiced. This applies to tomato sauces, to the tomato fondues which are used in egg dishes, to various Basque or Provençal recipes, and to the diced tomato pulp which may be poached in a soup or a sauce. One pound or 4 or 5 medium tomatoes will yield about 1½ cups of pulp.
TO PEEL TOMATOES
Use firm, ripe, red tomatoes. Drop the tomatoes one or two at a time in boiling water to cover, and boil for exactly 10 seconds. Remove. Cut out the stem. Peel off the skin starting from the stem hole.
After a 10-second blanching, tomato skin is loosened and peels off easily
TO SEED AND JUICE TOMATOES
(for illustration, see next page)
Cut peeled or unpeeled tomatoes in half crosswise, not through the stem. Squeeze each half gently to extract the seeds and juices from the center of the tomato. If they are to receive a cold stuffing, sprinkle the interior with salt which will draw more juices out, then invert them in a colander.
Gently press the juice and seeds out of the tomato half
DICED, SLICED, OR CHOPPED TOMATO PULP
Chop, dice, or slice the peeled, seeded, and juiced tomato halves. Roughly chopped tomato pulp is tomates concassées.
TOMATES GRILLÉES AU FOUR
[Whole Baked Tomatoes]
These make an attractive decoration around a meat platter, or surrounding a dish of green beans. They should be baked only at the last minute if they are to retain their shape.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Firm, ripe, red tomatoes, all of the same size and not more than 2 inches in diameter
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
An oiled roasting pan just large enough to hold the tomatoes easily
Wash and dry the tomatoes. Cut out the stems, leaving as small a hole as possible. Sprinkle salt and pepper into the stem hole. Brush the tomatoes with olive oil, then place them stem-end down in the roasting pan. Do not crowd them together.
Bake in the middle level of the preheated oven for about 10 minutes. Keep an eye on them; they are done when the skins break a little, but they should not be baked so long that they burst.
Salt and pepper
Minced, mixed green herbs or parsley
Baste them with the pan juices. Season lightly with salt and pepper, and sprinkle herbs or parsley over them. Serve as soon as possible.
TOMATES À LA PROVENÇALE
[Tomatoes Stuffed with Bread Crumbs, Herbs, and Garlic]
One of the most savory ways of serving tomatoes is à la provençale. These tomatoes go well with many things—steaks, chops, roast beef, lamb, roast or broiled chicken, broiled mackerel, tuna, sardines, herring, or swordfish. They may also be a hot hors d’oeuvre, or accompany egg dishes.
For 6 people
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
6 firm, ripe, red tomatoes about 3 inches in diameter
Salt and pepper
Remove the stems, and cut the tomatoes in half crosswise. Gently press out the juice and seeds. Sprinkle the halves lightly with salt and pepper.
1 to 2 cloves mashed garlic
3 Tb minced shallots or green onions
4 Tb minced fresh basil and parsley, or parsley only
⅛ tsp thyme
¼ tsp salt Big pinch of pepper
¼ cup olive oil
½ cup crumbs from fresh white bread with body
A shallow, oiled roasting pan just large enough to hold the tomatoes easily in one layer
Blend all the ingredients to the left in a mixing bowl. Correct seasoning. Fill each tomato half with a spoonful or two of the mixture. Sprinkle with a few drops of olive oil. Arrange the tomatoes in the roasting pan; do not crowd them.
(*) May be prepared ahead to this point.
Shortly before you are ready to serve, place them in the upper third of the preheated oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the tomatoes are tender but hold their shape, and the bread crumb filling has browned lightly.
VARIATION
Tomates Farcies Duxelles
[Tomatoes Stuffed with Mush
rooms]
Follow the preceding recipe, but use the mushroom filling described in the recipe for stuffed mushrooms.
CULTIVATED MUSHROOMS
Champignons de Couche — Champignons de Paris
Fresh, cultivated mushrooms are an essential element of French cuisine and appear not only as a vegetable or in a garnish, but as an important flavor factor in numerous dishes, sauces, and stuffings. Mushrooms should never be submitted to prolonged cooking or they will lose most of their taste and texture. Therefore if they are to go into a sauce they are usually cooked separately, then added to the sauce to simmer a moment and blend their flavor with the sauce.
CHOOSING MUSHROOMS
It is always advisable to buy mushrooms in bulk rather than in a package, so you can hand-pick each one. Some varieties of cultivated mushrooms are creamy white, others have brownish caps. The freshest of fresh mushrooms are closed on the underside of the cap so that you cannot see the gills. Caps and stems should be smooth, unblemished, fresh looking, and fresh smelling. As a mushroom ages in the market, the cap expands to expose the gills, the mushroom darkens, and begins to dry out.
If you are not going to use fresh mushrooms immediately, refrigerate them in a plastic bag and they will keep perfectly for two to three days.
PREPARATION FOR COOKING
Trim the base of the stems. If the gills are even partially exposed, break the stem off inside the cap so you will be able to wash out any sand which may have lodged in the gills.
Just before using them, drop the mushrooms in a large basin of cold water. Rapidly rub them between your hands for several seconds to dislodge dirt particles. Immediately lift them out into a colander. If there are more than a few grains of sand left in the bottom of the basin, wash the mushrooms again. Dry them in a towel.
HOW TO CUT MUSHROOMS
After they have been washed and dried, here are the various ways in which mushrooms may be cut.
To mince or dice
Place the mushrooms in a heap on the chopping board. Chop them with a big, sharp, straight-edged knife, holding an end of the blade in the fingers of each hand. Use rapid up and down movements, and repeatedly brush mushrooms back into a heap with the knife. Chop until the pieces are less than ⅛ inch.
Mince small amounts with a big knife held between thumb and forefinger of each hand. For large amounts, chop roughly by hand, then mince by cupfuls with on-off flicks in the processor
Sliced
Quartered
To flute mushroom caps
Fluted mushroom caps may be stewed or broiled, and are used as decorations. It takes a little practice to master the technique of fluting, but it is quite a nice professional touch to have at your command.
Fluted caps
Hold the mushroom, cap up, in the fingers of your left hand. Its blade pointing away from you, hold a very sharp, small knife rigidly in your right hand. Rest the thumb of your right hand on the mushroom cap to act as a guide. Then rotate the cap toward you against the blade of the knife starting at the crown, thus removing a very shallow strip, or flute, down one half of the cap. Note that the knife remains stationary; the mushroom cuts itself as it rotates against the blade. It is your left hand, controlling the mushroom’s movement, which determines the depth and direction of the cut. Continue in the same manner all around the cap.
Starting at crown, rotate mushroom toward you against rigidly held knife blade
Left hand guides mushroom against knife blade and regulates cut
CHAMPIGNONS À BLANC
[Stewed Mushrooms]
When mushrooms are used in white sauces, or in a garniture in which they must remain white, they are cooked this way.
¼ lb. fresh mushrooms
⅓ cup water
⅛ tsp salt
½ Tb lemon juice (which helps keep mushrooms white)
1 Tb butter
A 4- to 6-cup enameled saucepan
Trim and wash the mushrooms; cut as directed in your recipe, or as shown in the preceding illustrations. Bring the water, salt, lemon juice, and butter to the boil in the saucepan. Add the mushrooms and toss to cover them with the liquid. Cover and boil moderately fast, tossing frequently, for 5 minutes. Set aside until ready to use.
FUMET DE CHAMPIGNONS
[Mushroom Essence]
Mushroom essence is the reduction or boiling down of the cooking juice from stewed mushrooms or canned mushrooms. It is used as a concentrated mushroom flavoring for sauces.
Drain the preceding stewed mushrooms. Rapidly boil down their cooking liquid in a small saucepan until it has reduced almost to a syrup.
(*) If not used immediately, refrigerate or freeze it.
CHAMPIGNONS GRILLÉS
[Broiled Mushroom Caps]
Broiled mushroom caps are used as a garniture, usually on steaks. They may also be served as a separate vegetable, or as a hot hors d’oeuvre on toast.
Fresh mushrooms of whatever size you wish
Preheat broiler to moderately hot. Separate the mushroom caps from the stems. Wash and dry the caps. Stems may be minced and turned into a duxelles.
Melted butter
A shallow, buttered baking dish
Salt and pepper
Paint the mushroom caps with melted butter. Arrange them hollow-side up in the baking dish. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Place 4 to 5 inches from heat, and broil rather slowly for 5 minutes. Turn the caps, and broil 5 minutes more or until the caps are tender and lightly browned.
Optional: Beurre Maître d’Hôtel (butter mixed with lemon juice, parsley, and seasonings)
OR: Beurre pour Escargots (butter mixed with herbs, shallots, and garlic)
The caps may then, if you wish, be filled with parsley butter into which you may also incorporate finely minced shallots with or without a bit of mashed garlic. Spread the butter in the caps, filling them by about a third.
Just before serving, heat them for a moment or two under the broiler until the butter is bubbling.
CHAMPIGNONS SAUTÉS AU BEURRE
[Sautéed Mushrooms]
Use these mushrooms either as a vegetable alone or in a combination with other vegetables, or as an integral part of such dishes as coq au vin, boeuf bourguignon, poulet en cocotte. Successfully sautéed mushrooms are lightly browned and exude none of their juice while they are being cooked; to achieve this the mushrooms must be dry, the butter very hot, and the mushrooms must not be crowded in the pan. If you sauté too many at once they steam rather than fry; their juices escape and they do not brown. So if you are preparing a large amount, or if your heat source is feeble, sauté the mushrooms in several batches.
A 10-inch enameled skillet
2 Tb butter 1 Tb oil
½ lb. fresh mushrooms, washed, well dried, left whole if small, sliced or quartered if large
Place the skillet over high heat with the butter and oil. As soon as you see that the butter foam has begun to subside, indicating it is hot enough, add the mushrooms. Toss and shake the pan for 4 to 5 minutes. During their sauté the mushrooms will at first absorb the fat. In 2 to 3 minutes the fat will reappear on their surface, and the mushrooms will begin to brown. As soon as they have browned lightly, remove from heat.
Optional: 1 to 2 Tb minced shallots or green onions
Salt and pepper
Toss the shallots or green onions with the mushrooms. Sauté over moderate heat for 2 minutes.
(*) Sautéed mushrooms may be cooked in advance, set aside, then reheated when needed. Season to taste just before serving.
VARIATIONS
Champignons Sautés à la Bordelaise
[Mushrooms Sautéed with Shallots, Garlic, and Herbs]
These may garnish a meat or vegetable platter.
½ lb. fresh mushrooms, whole if small, quartered if large
1 Tb oil
2 Tb butter
Sauté the mushrooms in oil and butter until lightly browned.
3 Tb minced shallots or green onions
&nbs
p; Optional: 1 small clove minced garlic
3 Tb fine, white, dry bread crumbs
Stir in the shallots or green onions, optional garlic, and bread crumbs, and toss over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes.
Salt and pepper to taste
3 Tb minced fresh parsley, chervil, chives, and tarragon, or parsley only
Just before serving, season to taste, and toss with the herbs.
Champignons Sautés à la Crème
[Creamed Mushrooms]
Creamed mushrooms may garnish canapés, little vol-au-vents, tartlet shells, artichoke bottoms, or may accompany such foods as omelettes, poached eggs, sweetbreads, or chicken.
½ lb. fresh mushrooms, whole if small, sliced, quartered, or minced if large
2 Tb butter
1 Tb oil
2 Tb minced shallots or green onions