Paris Cookbook

Recipe

FRÉDÉRIC ANTON'S FOUR-HOUR ROAST PORK
8 to 10 servings

During the past several years, braised meats have become increasingly popular among Parisian chefs. Rare lamb, rosy pork, duck with a touch of pink, all have their place, but the homey, wholesome flavors of meat and poultry cooked until meltingly tender and falling off the bone are once again in vogue. Here Frédéric Anton, chef at the romantic restaurant Pré Catelan in the Bois de Boulogne, offers universally appealing roasted pork loin, flavored simply with thyme. This is delicious accompanied by sautéed mushrooms or a potato gratin.

One 4-pound pork loin roast, bone in (do not trim off fat)
Sea salt to taste
Freshly ground white pepper to taste
2 teaspoons fresh or dried thyme leaves
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
2 onions, peeled and finely chopped
6 plump fresh cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 ribs celery, finely chopped
2 cups homemade chicken stock
2 large bunches of fresh thyme sprigs

Equipment:
A large, heavy covered casserole or Dutch oven

1. Preheat the oven to 275° F.
2. Season the pork all over with sea salt, white pepper, and the 2 teaspoons thyme. In a large heavy-duty casserole that will hold the pork snugly, heat the oil over moderate heat until hot but not smoking. Add the pork, sear well on all sides, about 10 minutes total. Transfer the pork to a platter and discard the fat in the casserole. Wipe the casserole clean with paper towels. Return the pork to the casserole, bone side down. Set it aside.
3. In a large, heavy skillet, combine the butter, carrots, onions, garlic, celery and sea salt to taste. Sweat -- cook covered, over low heat without coloring -- until the vegetables are soft and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Spoon the vegetables around and on top of the pork. Add the chicken stock to the casserole. Add the bunches of thyme, and cover.
4. Place the casserole in the center of the oven and braise, basting every 30 minutes, for about 4 hours, or until the pork is just about falling off the bone. Remove the casserole from the oven. Carefully transfer the meat to a carving board and season it generously with sea salt and white pepper. Cover loosely with foil and set aside to rest for about 15 minutes.
5. While the pork is resting, strain the cooking juices through a fine-mesh sieve into a gravy boat, pouring off the fat that rises to the top. Discard the vegetables and herbs.
6. The pork will be very soft and falling off the bone, so you may not actually be able to slice it. Rather, use a fork and spoon to tear the meat into serving pieces, and place them on warmed dinner plates or a warmed platter. Spoon the juices over the meat, and serve. Transfer any remaining juices to a gravy boat and pass at the table.

Good wines with this pork include a fairly light red or a rich white: Try a good Beaujolais or a good selection from the Médoc, or a white Roussanne-Marsanne blend from the Coteaux du Languedoc Faugères house of Domaine Alquier.

Le Pré Catelan
Route de Suresnes
Bois de Boulogne
Paris 16
Telephone: 01 44 14 41 14
Fax: 01 45 24 43 25
Métro: Porte-Dauphine

DAVID VAN LAER'S POTATOES ANNA
8 Servings

This crusty, crunchy, golden potato cake comes from David Van Laer, and I first sampled it during the early years of his first Left Bank restaurant, Le Bamboche. He has since moved to a new address with a new restaurant name, Maxence, and the rich cake figures on the menu there during the winter months.

2 pounds Yukon Gold or russet potatoes
14 tablespoons unsalted butter, clarified
Sea salt to taste
Freshly ground white pepper to taste

Equipment:
A 10-inch round nonstick cake pan

1. Preheat the oven to 425° F.
2. Peel and thinly slice the potatoes, dropping them in a bowl of cold water as they are sliced. Rinse the potatoes, drain, and pat dry with a clean towel.
3. Brush the bottom and sides of a 10-inch nonstick cake pan with some of the clarified butter. Starting at the center of the pan, arrange potato slices, overlapping, in a single layer. Brush with butter. Season lightly with sea salt and white pepper. Continue layering in this manner until all the potatoes and butter have been used, occasionally pressing the layers down with the back of a spatula to form a compact cake. Cut out a piece of aluminum foil to fit exactly on top of the potatoes. Place the foil over the potatoes.
4. Place the cake pan in the center of the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until the potatoes are golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes more. Run a small sharp knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the potatoes. Invert the cake pan over a large round serving platter with a lip (to catch any excess butter). Serve immediately, cutting the potato cake into wedges.

On Clarified Butter:
Clarified butter has a gently nutty aroma and a fine, grainy texture, and can heighten the flavors of many foods. In its natural state, butter has a high water content (about 16 percent) and a small amount of nonfatty substances (about 2 percent). It is the water in butter that causes it to spoil, and the combination of water and the nonfatty substances that cause it to blacken when very hot. Clarified butter is in essence, purified butter, because the clarification process removes the water and the nonfatty substances, leaving 100 percent pure butter, which can be stored much longer. The greatest advantage of clarified butter is that it can be heated to high temperatures without burning, and it is particularly welcome when you want perfectly browned fruits, vegetables or, meats. Clarified butter can be used whenever butter is called for in cooking, but with care. It is the water in unclarified butter that causes it to sputter and foam when heated, a warning signal to turn down the heat. When overheated, clarified butter reacts just like overheated oil. It will only smoke.

Le Maxence
9 Bis, Boulevard du Montparnasse
Paris 6
Telephone: 01 45 67 24 88
Fax: 01 45 67 10 22
Métro: Falguière

LA MAISON DU CHOCOLAT'S BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
8 servings

When I first moved to Paris in 1980, one of my biggest treats was to walk to the end of my street and wander into La Maison du Chocolat for a mid-afternoon chocolate fix. Owner Robert Linxe remains one of the city's paramount chocolatiers, always offering quality, creativity, and excellence. He kindly shared this exquisite chocolate mousse: It is light, rich with chocolate flavor, and as voluptuous as one could ever imagine.

1/2 cup heavy cream
7 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (preferably Lindt Excellence 70% or Valhrona guanaja 70%) broken into pieces (see Note)
3 tablespons unsalted butter
2 large egg yolks
5 large egg whites
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Equipment:
A double boiler; a heavy-duty mixer

1. In the top of a double boiler set over, but not touching, boiling water, heat the cream just until warm, about 1 minute. Add the chocolate pieces, and stir until the chocolate is melted. Add the butter and stir to melt and combine. Remove from the heat. One by one, whisk in the egg yolks. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl, and set it aside to cool.
2. Place the egg whites in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer fitted with the whisk. Whisk at low speed until the whites are frothy. Gradually increase the speed to high. Slowly add the sugar, cocoa, sea salt, and vanilla extract. Whisk at high speed until stiff but not dry.
3. Stir one third of the egg white mixture into the cooled chocolate mixture, and whisk until the two are thoroughly blended. (This will lighten the batter and make it easier to fold in the remaining egg white mixture.) With a large spatula, gently fold in the remaining white mixture. Do this slowly and patiently. Do not overmix, but be sure that the mixture is well blended and that no streaks of white remain.
4. Pour the mousse into a large glass bowl, eight individual ramekins, or eight pot de crème cups. Cover with plastic wrap and store at room temperature. Serve within a few hours.

Variations:

• Add about 1/2 vanilla bean, finely ground, to the chocolate. Do not add too much, or the vanilla will make the chocolate taste too sweet.
• Add 1 small cup of very strong coffee, along with the grated zest of 1 orange or 1 lemon, to the cream when you heat it.
• Add 1 teaspoon finely ground ginger to the warm cream. Let the mixture cool, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve.

Note: Semisweet and bittersweet chocolate can be used interchangeably, and are made of chocolate, cocoa butter, and a bit of sugar to make the chocolate more palatable. Unsweetened chocolate contains no sugar at all and is considered less palatable.

Robert Linxe says:

• "The amount of egg whites makes this a very light mousse."
• "Don't put the mousse in the refrigerator, but in a cool spot. The cold will block the flavor of the chocolate and it will lose its smooth, creamy quality."
• "For a truly rich mousse, use an extra-bitter chocolate -- Van Couva from Trinidad, the best chocolate in the world."

Chocolate is delicious with one of France's newly popular vins doux naturels, such as Boissy-Masson's Rancio, full of body with a nuttiness that pairs well with the richness of chocolate.

Maison du Chocolat
225, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré
Paris 8
Telephone: 01 31 27 30 44
Métro: Ternes

Copyright © 2001 by Patricia Wells.