Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 2

by Julia Child

  2 cups beef stock or bouillon (more if needed)

  A medium herb bouquet tied in washed cheesecloth (1 imported bay leaf, 4 parsley sprigs, and ½ tsp thyme)

  1 tomato, peeled, seeded, and roughly chopped

  Optional, but desirable for sauce consistency: 2 cups chopped or sawed veal knuckle bones or beef marrow bones, and/or an 8-inch square of blanched pork rind (Volume I, page 401)

  2 cups full-bodied, young, red wine (such as Mâcon or Mountain Red)

  If fat in frying pan has burned and blackened, discard it and pour ⅛ inch of oil into pan. Add onions and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes or until fairly tender and beginning to brown lightly. Meanwhile add to the meat in the casserole the garlic, bouillon, herbs, tomato, and optional ingredients. When the onions are done, stir them in. To deglaze frying pan, pour in the wine, scraping around with a wooden spoon to dislodge all cooking juices. Finally, pour wine into casserole, adding a little more (or more stock), if necessary, so ingredients are just covered.

  (*) AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE: Recipe may be done a day or two in advance to this point. When cold, cover and refrigerate.

  3) Braising

  Bring stew to simmer on top of stove, cover casserole, and either maintain at slow simmer on top of stove or place in lower-middle level of preheated 350-degree oven; regulate heat so that stew simmers slowly throughout cooking. Turn and baste the meat occasionally. Stew is done when you can pierce the beef quite easily with a knife; slice into it and sample several pieces if you have any doubts.

  TIMING: Note that aged, prime beef will cook faster than other grades, regardless of cut.

  Sirloin tip, rump, top round, flunken—1½ to 2½ hours.

  Bottom round, shoulder arm, chuck tender, short ribs—2 to 3 hours.

  Heel of round, and other gelatinous cuts with muscle separation and gristle—3 to 4 hours.

  4) Sauce

  A 2- to 3-quart saucepan

  4 Tb flour

  3 Tb soft butter in a 1-quart bowl

  A rubber spatula

  A wire whip

  Set cover askew and pour cooking liquid out of casserole into saucepan. Discard herb bouquet and bones from casserole. With a large spoon, skim as much surface fat as you can from liquid, then bring to the simmer, skimming, to remove more fat.

  Taste carefully for strength and seasoning; if weak, boil down rapidly to concentrate flavor, adding, if you think it necessary, a little tomato paste, another clove of mashed garlic, more herbs, salt, and pepper. When you are satisfied, remove from heat; you should have about 3 cups of rich and delicious liquid that must now be thickened into a sauce with beurre manié. To do so, blend flour and butter to a smooth paste with rubber spatula; beat vigorously into hot liquid with wire whip. When perfectly smooth, bring liquid to the simmer, stirring with wire whip, and simmer 2 minutes. Sauce should be thick enough to coat a spoon, meaning it will coat the meat nicely. If too thin, add half again as much beurre manié; if too thick, stir in stock or bouillon. Fold the sauce into the meat in the casserole.

  (*) AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE: If you are not serving immediately, set cover askew and keep warm in a 120-degree oven, over simmering water, or on a hot-tray. For serving several hours or several days later, let cool; lay plastic wrap over surface, cover, and refrigerate (or wrap airtight and freeze for several weeks).

  5) Serving

  If needed: a warm, lightly buttered platter

  Parsley sprigs, watercress, or whatever vegetables you wish to use as a garnish

  If stew is warm, bring to the simmer again before serving. If it has been chilled, it should simmer 5 to 10 minutes after it has either warmed through slowly on top of the stove or been about 30 minutes in a 350-degree oven. Taste carefully again for seasoning, and if sauce has thickened too much, fold in a little stock or bouillon. Serve either from casserole or turn out onto platter; decorate with greenery or vegetables.

  VARIATIONS

  Boeuf au Pistou

  [Beef Stew with an Herb, Cheese, and Garlic Finish]

  This delicious enrichment comes at the very end, after the sauce has been thickened and just before you are ready to serve the beef. The fresh garlic, herbs, cheese, and a bit of tomato will pep up any stew, and is particularly useful for leftovers and canned or frozen mixtures.

  To be added just before serving the stew, Step 5.

  2 large cloves garlic

  A garlic press

  A small bowl or mortar

  A pestle or wooden spoon

  A dozen large leaves of fresh minced basil, or 1 tsp fragrant dried basil or oregano

  ¼ cup freshly grated imported Parmesan cheese

  3 Tb tomato paste

  4 dashes Tabasco sauce

  Purée garlic through press into bowl. With pestle or wooden spoon, mash it to a paste, then mash with the herbs. Stir in the cheese, tomato paste, and Tabasco. Cover and set aside until you are ready to serve. Stir the pistou into finished stew, basting meat with sauce to blend it thoroughly with the pistou.

  Boeuf à la Provençale

  [Beef Stew with Garlic and Anchovy Finish]

  The mixture of anchovies, capers, garlic, and parsley described in Volume I, page 324, is an alternate enrichment. Add it as directed for the pistou in the preceding recipe.

  Boeuf en Pipérade

  [Beef Stew with a Garnish of Peppers and Tomatoes]

  Another enlivening finish to a stew is the pipérade, a fresh sauté of green peppers, tomatoes, garlic, and herbs.

  To be added just before serving the boeuf aux oignons, Master Recipe, Step 5.

  2 medium-sized green bell peppers, seeded and diced

  2 to 3 Tb olive oil or cooking oil in a frying pan

  3 or 4 firm, fresh, ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, juiced, and diced

  2 large cloves of garlic, mashed or minced

  A cover for the pan

  Salt and pepper to taste

  8 large fresh basil leaves, minced, or ½ tsp fragrant dried basil or oregano and 3 Tb fresh minced parsley

  Sauté the diced peppers in the oil over moderately low heat for 5 to 6 minutes, or until almost tender. Fold in the diced tomato pulp and garlic; cover pan and cook slowly for several minutes until tomatoes have rendered their juice. Raise heat and toss vegetables for several minutes over high heat to evaporate almost all liquid. Fold in salt and pepper to taste, and the herbs. Set aside until stew is finished. When reheating stew for serving, fold the pipérade into the stew, and simmer 5 minutes to blend flavors.

  Boeuf aux Olives

  [Beef Stew with Olives and Potatoes]

  Olives give a very Mediterranean touch and subtle flavor to anything they cook with, and potatoes make the stew practically a one-dish meal. Any of the three preceding garnishes—peppers, anchovies, or pistou—may be included as well, if you wish.

  To be added near the end of the braising period, when beef has about ½ hour more to cook (Master Recipe for boeuf aux oignons, Step 3).

  1) Preparing the olives and potatoes

  ⅓ cup each: small, pitted green olives, and black, Mediterranean-type olives, pitted

  1 quart of water in a saucepan

  To remove excess salt and too strong a taste, simmer the olives for 10 minutes; drain. If black olives are still too strong for your taste, simmer them separately 10 minutes more. Leave olives whole if small (¾ inch long), quarter lengthwise if larger.

  2½ to 3 lbs. “boiling” potatoes all of a size, about 3 inches long

  A bowl of cold water

  Peel potatoes, halve lengthwise, and trim into the shape of large garlic cloves about 2½ inches long and 1½ inches at their thickest, making 3 or 4 pieces per person. Reserve in cold water.

  2) Adding olives and potatoes to stew

  A saucepan of salted water for the potatoes

  The boeuf aux oignons, braised until almost tender, Step 3

  A round of waxed paper or of aluminum foil

  A few minutes before th
ey are to be added to the stew, drain the potatoes and place in a saucepan of cold water; bring rapidly to the boil, and boil 1 minute. Drain. Meanwhile, skim accumulated fat off top of stew, remove from casserole any bones, rind, or other extraneous matter, including herb bouquet, and carefully correct seasoning of cooking liquid. Stir in the olives. Spread the potatoes over the top of the stew, press them down into the cooking liquid, and baste with the liquid. Bring stew again to simmer on top of stove, lay paper or foil over potatoes, cover casserole again, and maintain at simmer for about 30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender, basting them once or twice with the cooking liquid.

  3) Finishing the stew

  Optional but attractive: one of the 3 garnishes in the preceding recipes (pistou especially)

  Beurre manié if needed: 2 Tb flour blended to a paste with 1½ Tb soft butter

  If you wish: a hot, buttered platter

  Parsley sprigs or minced fresh parsley

  You may find that the cooking liquid is sufficiently degreased and sufficiently thickened so that you can serve the stew as is. Otherwise, set cover askew and drain cooking liquid into a saucepan; skim off fat, and correct seasoning. If liquid is lightly thickened and you are using the pistou, which will thicken it a little more, simply blend the pistou into the cooking liquid and pour back into the casserole. If liquid is thin, beat in the beurre manié, bring to the boil, mix in the pistou or other garnish if you are using one, and pour back into casserole. Reheat the stew just before serving, and bring to the table either in its casserole or arranged on a platter and decorated with herbs.

  Boeuf au Gingembre

  [Beef Stew Flavored with Ginger, Capers, and Herbs]

  Ginger gives an especially attractive and unusual flavor to beef, and this dish has rather Chinese overtones of sweet and sour. Because of the special flavors, including vinegar, the usual red wine of the beef stew is omitted in this recipe.

  Complete Master Recipe for boeuf aux oignons, through Step 2, but omit the 2 cups of red wine; substitute 2 more cups stock or bouillon and the following.

  ⅓ cup pressed-down pain d’épices, gingerbread, or ginger-snaps

  1½ Tb fresh ginger, grated, or 2 tsp powdered ginger

  2 Tb capers

  ¼ cup wine vinegar

  2 Tb fresh tarragon or basil, or 1 tsp dried herbs

  2 cups of the bouillon called for in the Master Recipe

  An electric blender

  Purée the bread or gingersnaps, ginger, capers, vinegar, herbs, and 1 cup of the bouillon in the blender. Pour mixture into casserole of beef, rinse out blender jar with more bouillon, pour into casserole, and proceed with recipe.

  NOTE: When beef is tender, at end of Step 3, and you have drained out, skimmed, boiled down, and seasoned the cooking liquid as directed in the next step, you will probably find that it has thickened enough so that you need do nothing more to it.

  STUFFED BEEF ROLLS

  Paupiettes de Boeuf—Roulades

  Thin slices of beef rolled around a stuffing and braised in wine is only a more elaborate way of presenting the familiar beef stew. Paupiettes with a pork and veal stuffing and mustard sauce appear in Volume I on page 319, an excellent recipe. The first one here is a giant paupiette de Gargantua, serving 6 people, while variations are for individual rolls. Stuffings include a Provençal mixture of greens, onions, pork, and ham, an olive mixture, a pepper mixture, and a final combination of rice, garlic, and herbs.

  BEEF CUTS FOR PAUPIETTES

  Look for solid pieces of meat that will make large, thin, cross-grain slices with no muscle separations. Avoid cuts like brisket, which tend to fall into long, loose fibers after cooking. Top round (tende de tranche, noix) is our first choice, and a cut from the upper-middle portion will give perfect slices 10 to 12 inches across by 5 to 7 inches. Rump (rumsteck) works nicely, of course, but it is a waste to spend the extra money for rump when round is equally good. Bottom round (gîte à la noix) is a little grainier than top round, but a satisfactory alternative. Shoulder-arm steak (macreuse) is fourth choice only because of the gristle running through part of the slice, but you can clip the gristle in several places so that it will not draw the meat out of shape.

  LA PAUPIETTE DE GARGANTUA

  [Giant Stuffed Beef Roll]

  Rather than making a number of individual paupiettes, this recipe rolls them all into one, and, because the stuffing is green, you need no green vegetable garnish. You could accompany the paupiette with broiled tomatoes, sautéed mushrooms, and glazed carrots, or with braised lettuce or endives and sautéed potatoes. Another suggestion is one of the unusual purées, squash and white beans, rice and turnips with garlic, or rutabagas. A full red wine is called for, as in all beef dishes: Burgundy, Moulin-à-Vent, Côtes-du-Rhône.

  For 6 people

  1) Preparing the meat

  A 2- to 2½-lb. slice of top round of beef approximately 12 by 6 inches and ¾ to 1 inch thick (see Beef Cuts for Stews)

  3 Tb strong Dijon-type prepared mustard

  ½ tsp mixed herbs such as thyme and bay leaf, or Italian Seasoning

  Trim outside fat and gristle off meat. You are now to cut the slice of beef so that you can open it up like a book, making 2 flaps of meat hinged together at one side. To do so, lay it flat on table and start at one of the long sides with a long, very sharp knife; slice through center of meat, parallel to table, ending ½ inch from other long side. Open up the meat, spread mustard and herbs on inside surface, and set aside while preparing stuffing, next step.

  2) Green stuffing with pork, ham, and onions—for about 3 cups

  1 cup minced onions

  2 Tb rendered pork fat or cooking oil

  An 8-inch enameled or no-stick frying pan

  Cook the onions with the fat or oil in the pan over moderately low heat until tender but not browned.

  About ½ lb. greens (collard, kale, turnip, or spinach, fresh or frozen)

  A large stainless-steel knife

  If greens are fresh, pick them over to remove stems; drop leaves into a large kettle of boiling, salted water, and boil until wilted and fairly tender (2–3 minutes for spinach, more for the others). If frozen, boil for sufficient time in a covered pan with ½ cup salted water until defrosted and fairly tender. Drain cooked greens, refresh in cold water, squeeze out as much water as possible, and chop fine. Then add greens to onions, and stir over moderate heat for several minutes to evaporate moisture and to finish cooking.

  A 3-quart mixing bowl (or heavy-duty electric mixer)

  1 egg

  1 tsp salt

  ½ tsp épices fines, or mixture of all-spice, thyme, and bay leaf

  ¼ tsp pepper

  1 large clove garlic, mashed

  ¼ cup dry crumbs from nonsweetened, homemade-type white bread

  1 cup diced boiled ham

  ½ cup fresh sausage meat

  Scrape greens and onions into mixing bowl and vigorously beat in the rest of the ingredients listed. Sauté a spoonful, taste, and correct seasoning.

  3) Assembling the paupiette

  Either a 14-inch square of caul fat;

  Or a 12- by 8-inch sheet of pork fat ¼ inch thick;

  Or 6 to 8 strips of thick bacon or salt pork, and a 12- by 6-inch piece of beef suet ¼ inch thick

  White kitchen string

  (If using salt pork or bacon, blanch 10 minutes in 2 quarts of water, and pat dry.) Spread the stuffing over the meat, leaving an inch border of clear meat all around. Starting at one long side, roll the meat rather loosely around the stuffing, making a sausage shape about 4 inches in diameter. Fold over the two ends. If you have caul fat, roll the meat in a double thickness of it; tie lengthwise and in several places around the circumference. Otherwise, place strips of pork fat, bacon, or salt pork over length, particularly the seam, and the ends; tie in place, and reserve remaining pieces of fat for later.

  4) Browning the paupiette—preheat oven to 450 degrees

  Pork fat or cooking oil

  A he
avy casserole, preferably oval, and just large enough to hold the meat

  A medium onion roughly sliced

  A medium carrot roughly sliced

  (The paupiette is soft and must be handled carefully to prevent stuffing from bursting out; it will stiffen after browning.) Pat meat gently with paper towels to dry it. Film casserole with ⅛ inch of fat or oil, and place meat seam-side up in casserole. Strew vegetables around meat. Brown over moderate heat, loosening bottom of meat carefully with a spatula from time to time to prevent sticking. Baste top of meat with fat in pan and set uncovered in upper-middle level of oven to brown top and sides. Baste every 3 to 4 minutes with fat or oil for the 12 to 15 minutes it will take to brown. Remove casserole from oven.

  5) Braising—1½ to 2 hours; oven at 325 degrees

  Salt, pepper, and more of the same herbs

  1½ cups dry white wine or dry white French vermouth

  1½ or more cups beef stock or bouillon

  Aluminum foil and the casserole cover