The 20 best French recipes: part 3 | Life and style | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/mar/01/20-best-fr...

The 20 best French recipes: part 3

Classic dishes from top chefs, including boeuf bourguignon and filet au poivre, selected
by Observer Food Monthly

Elizabeth Davids boeuf la bourguignonne. Photograph: Jean Cazals for the Observer

Elizabeth David, Henry Harris, Gregory Marchand, Bruno Loubet, Jane Grigson
Wednesday 1 March 2017 08.00GMT

Elizabeth Davids boeuf la bourguignonne

This is a favourite among those carefully composed, slowly cooked dishes which are the
domain of French housewives and owner-cooks of modest restaurants rather than of
professional chefs. Generally supposed to be of Burgundian origin (although Alfred
Contours Cuisinier Bourguignon gives no recipe for it) boeuf la bourguignonne has long
been a nationally popular French dish, and it is often referred to, or written down on
menus, simply as bourguignon. Such dishes do not, of course, have a rigid formula,
each cook interpreting it according to her taste, and the following recipe is just one
version. Incidentally, when I helped in a soup kitchen in France many years ago, this was
the dish for feast-days and holidays.

2 lb of topside of beef, 4 oz of salt pork or streaky bacon (unsmoked for preference), a

large onion, thyme, parsley and bay leaves, pint of red wine, 2 tablespoons of olive oil,

1 of 9 29/03/2017, 16:42
The 20 best French recipes: part 3 | Life and style | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/mar/01/20-best-fr...

pint of meat stock, preferably veal, a clove of garlic, 1 tablespoon our, meat dripping.
For the garnish, lb of small mushrooms, a dozen or so small whole onions.

Cut the meat into slices about 2 inches square and inch thick. Put them into a china
or earthenware dish, seasoned with salt and pepper, covered with the large sliced onion,
herbs, olive oil and red wine. Leave to marinate from 3 to 6 hours.

Put a good tablespoon of beef dripping into a heavy stewing-pan of about 4 pints
capacity. In this melt the salt pork or bacon, cut into inch thick match-length strips.
Add the whole peeled small onions, and let them brown, turning them over frequently
and keeping the heat low. Take out the bacon when its fat becomes transparent, and
remove the onions when they are nicely coloured. Set them aside with the bacon. Now
put into the fat the drained and dried pieces of meat and brown them quickly on each
side. Sprinkle them with the our, shaking the pan so that the our amalgamates with
the fat and absorbs it. Pour over the strained marinade. Let it bubble half a minute; add
the stock. Put in a clove of garlic and a bouquet of thyme, parsley and bay leaf tied with a
thread. Cover the pan with a close-tting lid and let it barely simmer on top of the stove
for about 2 hours.

Now add the bacon and onions, and the whole mushrooms washed but not peeled and
already cooked in butter or dripping for a minute or so to rid them of some of their
moisture. Cook the stew another half-hour. Remove the bouquet and garlic before
serving.

There should be enough for four to six people.

If more convenient, the rst two hours cooking can be done in advance, the stew left to
cool and the fat removed; it can then be reheated gently with the bacon, mushrooms and
onions added. There are those who maintain that the dish is improved by being heated
up a second time; the meat has time to mature, as it were, in the sauce.

To make a cheaper dish, chuck (shoulder) beef may be used instead of topside, and an
extra 45 minutes cooking time allowed. And when really small onions are not available
it is best simply to cook a chopped onion or two with the stew, and to leave onions out of
the garnish, because large ones are not suitable for the purpose.

For formal occasions a boned joint of beef may be cooked whole and served with a
similar sauce and garnish, and then becomes pice de boeuf la bourguignonne.
From French Provincial Cooking by Elizabeth David (Grub Street, 15.99). To order a copy
for 12.74, go to bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over 10,
online orders only. Phone orders min. p&p of 1.99.

Jane Grigsons pt de campagne

2 of 9 29/03/2017, 16:42
The 20 best French recipes: part 3 | Life and style | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/mar/01/20-best-fr...

Jane Grigsons pt de campagne Photograph: Jean Cazals for

the Observer

Makes 1.2kg
1 lb (680g) lean, boned shoulder of pork
3 oz (85g) veal, ham, or lean beef
lb (227g) flair (leaf, flead, body) fat
lb (227g) back fat, cut into strips, or streaky bacon
lb (227g) belly of pork
lb (227g) onions, chopped
3 oz (85g) butter or lard
pint (142ml) dry white wine
2-3 oz (57-85g) brandy, calvados, marc or eau-de-vie
1 level tablespoon flour
1 large egg, beaten
seasonings salt, pepper, quatre-pices, nutmeg, mace, crushed juniper berries, thyme,
parsley, garlic, etc

If the butcher wont cut the back fat into thin slices, and you cant do it without slicing
yourself, cut it as thin as you can safely manage, then beat it out with a wooden mallet.
Salt and pepper lightly, leave in the cool. Caul fat, softened in tepid water is a good
substitute.

Chop all the other meat nely. Put it through the mincer if you must, but the Moulinette
68 is better. Mix in the seasonings you have chosen, and the alcohol, and leave to
marinade overnight.

Next day cook the onions gently in the butter or lard until they are a golden hash. Do not
brown them.

Beat the our and egg together to a smooth paste, and add with the onions to the meat
mixture.

Grease a terrine with lard. Any oven-proof dish will in fact do there is no need to buy
one of those dramatic dishes with dead hare lids, and simulated pastry sides. Provided it
holds two liquid pints (1.2 litres), it doesnt matter what shape it is. If you like, you can
divide the mixture between several smaller dishes.

Some people line the terrine next with shortcrust pastry, and cover the meat with a
decorated pastry lid. But unless you want that kind of a showpiece (which adds
considerably to your labour), a lining of pork fat strips is quite enough.

3 of 9 29/03/2017, 16:42
The 20 best French recipes: part 3 | Life and style | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/mar/01/20-best-fr...

The seasoning of pts is a personal aair, but allow for the fact that foods to be eaten
cold need more seasoning than foods to be eaten hot. Its prudent to try out a small
rissole (fried or baked), before irrevocably committing the pt to the oven. Should you
have overdone the seasoning, add more chopped meat, or in desperate situations
some breadcrumbs.

Fill the terrine absolutely full, and mound over the top it will shrink in the cooking. Lay
a lattice of fat pork strips on top and cover with foil.

Stand the terrine in a larger pan of hot water, which should come about halfway up the
side, and bake in a slow oven for 1-3 hours, according to the depth of the dish: small
but deep dishes of pt take longer than wide shallow ones. Oven temperature should be
about 340F (170-180C), Mark 3 or 4. The pt is done when it appears to swim in fat,
quite free of the sides of the terrine; you can also test it with a metal knitting or larding
needle if it comes out clean the pts cooked.

You can also cook pts like steamed puddings, on top of the stove. If you want an
addition to the store cupboard, try bottling the pt in preserving jars like fruit. It needs
two hours cooking. This is widely done in France.

Pt can be served straight from the cooking dish. If you do this, remove the foil 20
minutes before the end of cooking time so that the top can brown appetizingly. Cool for
an hour, then weight it gently.

Remember that it will taste better the next day.

For very elegant meals, the pt is nished with meat jelly. If there is much fat, pour it
o, add the jelly in a liquid state, and dont weight the pt until the jelly is beginning to
set. Be careful to eat the pt within three days if you have a refrigerator, within two
days at most if you havent, for jelly sours quickly.

If the pt is to be the main dish of a meal, serve a green salad with it, and some small
pickled gherkins. In France crusty bread is always served too, but English factory bread
is abby and needs toasting, or, better still, baking in thin slices to a golden brown
crispness.

Although bottling is the best way of keeping pt, it also keeps well under a half inch
layer of lard, in a cool dry larder. A month is a safe length of time. To do this, allow the
pt to cool for an hour, then weight it not too heavily (a dish with a couple of tins on
top, or a foil covered board). Next day melt plenty of good quality lard and pour it over
the pt, so that it is completely covered to the depth of half an inch. When the lard has
set cover it with silver foil, smoothing it on right close to the fat. Then put another piece
of foil over the top, as if you were nally covering a jam pot. Store in the fridge if
possible.

*La panne (air, are, ay, ead, ick, leaf fat), a sheet or layer of fat forming an interior
covering to the loin, and enveloping the kidneys. Best taken from bacon pigs, and used
for the best lard, boudin blancs, and ne pts.
From Charcuterie and French Pork Cookery by Jane Grigson (Grub Street, 14.99). To
order a copy for 12.74, go to bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK
p&p over 10, online orders only. Phone orders min. p&p of 1.99.

4 of 9 29/03/2017, 16:42
The 20 best French recipes: part 3 | Life and style | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/mar/01/20-best-fr...

Gregory Marchands oeuf meurette

Gregory Marchands oeuf meurette Photograph: Jean Cazals

for the Observer

Oeuf meurette is a traditional French dish from the Burgundy region. It was born from
the leftovers of a boeuf bourguignon sauce to which poached eggs were added for lunch
the next day. At Frenchie Covent Garden this features on our weekend brunch menu.
This is French brunch at its best!

Serves 4
For the meurette sauce
lardons 200g
button mushrooms 200g, quartered
salt to taste
unsalted butter 50g
baby onions 100g, peeled and sliced in half
flour 1 tbsp
red wine 300ml
port 200ml
veal or beef stock 250ml
red wine vinegar 1 drop

For the poached egg

eggs 8 extra fresh, free-range, at room temperature
vinegar 2 tbsp

For the toast

garlic 1 clove
sourdough bread 4 slices
parsley chopped, to serve

Saut the lardons in a pan then put on paper towel making sure you leave the fat in the
pan. Fry the button mushrooms in the lardon fat in the same pan until golden brown,
season with salt then put next to the lardons on the paper towel. In the same pan add the
butter and saut the onion, add the our and cook for a few minutes, add the red wine,
port and reduce by half, add the stock and reduce to a syrupy consistency. Season with
salt and pepper and a dash of red wine vinegar. Add the mushrooms and lardons to the
sauce.

Bring a pot of water to boil and add the vinegar. Crack the egg into a cup and pour it into
the simmering water. Repeat with all eggs. Let cook for 2-3 minutes in the simmering

5 of 9 29/03/2017, 16:42
The 20 best French recipes: part 3 | Life and style | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/mar/01/20-best-fr...

water, then drain the eggs on paper towel. Keep aside.

Grill 4 pieces of sourdough bread and rub with garlic.

Reheat the poached egg in a pan with the sauce and spoon on the toast, nish with
chopped parsley, cracked black pepper and eur de sel.
Gregory Marchand is chef-patron of Frenchie in Covent Garden, London, and Paris

Henry Harriss filet au poivre

Henry Harriss let au poivre Photograph: Jean Cazals for the

Observer

I have been cooking this dish for 25 years and never tire of it. Fillet is not often the
preferred cut for a chef but for a peppered steak no other will do. Dense rich meat oset
by the sharpness and piquancy of the pepper is brought together by the comfort of the
cognac and the silkiness that good veal stock brings to a sauce. Veal stock is not easily
made at home, though there are some versions available in the shops that give a passable
result. Alternatively, at the ambe stage just stop there and spoon the buttery, brandy-
infused liquor over the steak, perhaps with a slice of Fourme dAmbert cheese placed
alongside the steak as a condiment.

Serves 2
fillet steaks 2 x 250g
cracked pepper 3 tsp
clarified butter 2 tbsp
butter 50-75g
cognac 50ml
veal or beef stock 100ml

To prepare the cracked pepper, take 75g of whole black peppercorns and 75g of whole
white peppercorns and place them in a blender or mini food processor. Run the machine
for 15-30 seconds or until the peppercorns have broken into coarse pieces. There should
be a fair amount of dust but no whole peppercorns. Transfer the mixture to a sieve and
shake out the dust over a bowl. Use your ngers to work the dust out. Discard the dust
and keep the cracked pepper in an airtight jar until needed. Do this well in advance of
cooking your steaks as the dust is pretty strong.

Preheat the oven to 100C/gas mark . Take the two llet steaks, place them on a dish
and press the pepper onto one cut side of each steak only and press it into the meat with
the heel of your hand to ensure it is well attached. Then season with salt.

6 of 9 29/03/2017, 16:42
The 20 best French recipes: part 3 | Life and style | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/mar/01/20-best-fr...

Heat the claried butter in a frying pan and add the steaks pepper side down and cook
briskly for three to ve minutes or until that rst side is crusted and brown. Then turn
over the meat and cook for one minute. Tip out the claried butter from the pan and slip
in half of the regular butter. Turn down the heat to a medium temperature and let the
butter foam and cook to a gentle hazelnut colour. Baste the meat with the butter
regularly. If the butter appears in danger of turning too dark then just lower the heat.
Continue this process for three to four minutes. Add the cognac. Cook o the alcohol and
then add the stock, bring to the boil and add the remaining butter. Reduce to a syrupy
consistency. Remove the steaks from the pan and transfer them onto a dish to rest in the
oven for at least ten minutes. Transfer the steaks to warm plates and add the juices that
seeped out of the meat to the pan. Adjust the seasoning and then spoon the sauce over
the steaks. Serve immediately with chips and salad or buttered leaf spinach and crispy
roast potatoes cooked in duck fat.
Henry Harris was chef-patron at Racine in London

Bruno Loubets pot au feu

Bruno Loubets pot au feu Photograph: Jean Cazals for the

Observer

Pot au feu is an icon of French cooking and one of the most popular classics.

Often, depending on the region in France, an ingredient could be added. For example,
my mother used to add large chunks of pumpkin with the potatoes and my grandmother
used to add savoy cabbage and French peppery dry bacon. Its only a question of taste.
In this recipe, colouring the onions in a dry pan gives this dark colour which helps to
achieve a beautiful golden colour in the bouillon but also an extra layer of taste.

But the idea is to use three dierent cuts of meat that bring something dierent to the
dish in terms of texture and depth of avour. One cut that is on the bone with good
layers of fat (rib), a piece of gelatinous meat like the shin or cheek and a lean piece like
the brisket.

Serves 6
chuck steak or brisket 600g
ox cheeks or shin 600g
flat rib or oxtail 600g
marrow bone 6 pieces, approx 6cm high (the marrow quantity per person should be the
size of a walnut)
onions 2, peeled
cloves 2

7 of 9 29/03/2017, 16:42
The 20 best French recipes: part 3 | Life and style | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/mar/01/20-best-fr...

leeks 3, cut into 5cm chunks (reserve a small piece of green to tie up the bouquet garni)
bay leaf 1 fresh or 2 dry ones
parsley 5 stalks
thyme 6 sprigs
carrots 4 large, peeled, cut each carrot into three chunks
celery 3 sticks, cut into 5cm chunks
turnips 3, peeled, cut each turnip in quarters
potatoes 3, peeled, cut each potato in 4 large chunks
garlic 4 cloves, peeled
black peppercorns 4, cracked

To serve
sourdough bread 6 slices, grilled
garlic 2 cloves
cornichons 250g
dijon mustard

Clean the meat under cold water, then place in a large pot and pour 3 litres of cold water
in. Under-season with salt as the liquid will reduce during cooking and concentrate.
Bring to the boil, then add the marrow bones. When boiling, lower the heat to simmering
point and skim the top of all impurities. Leave for 10 minutes then take out the marrow
bones. Extract the marrow from the bones and place in the fridge. Add the bones back to
the meat.

Cut the onions across in two, then place the at side in a dry frying pan or on a plancha
to colour to a dark brown, nearly black. Stick the cloves in the onions and keep aside.

Use the brous green part of the leek to tie up the bay leaf, parsley and thyme together
for the bouquet garni.

Add all of the prepped vegetables except the potatoes to the meat with the herb bundle,
garlic and black peppercorns. Leave to simmer for about 2 hours then add the potatoes
and leave to simmer for another 30 minutes.

To serve, cut the meat and place on a large serving platter with the vegetables next to it,
serve the bouillon in a very hot soup dish.

Grill the bread, rub with the fresh garlic, and then spread the marrow on each slice.
Season and place in the oven at 170C/gas mark 3 for 20 seconds. You just want to warm
it. If you cook it, the marrow will melt and become oily.

Serve the toast along with the cornichons and the mustard.

Maldon sea salt and a ne mignonette of pepper should be on the table as well.

Tips: It is paramount for the moisture of the meat and the clarity of the bouillon to
simmer the liquid during the whole of the cooking.

At the end, if you like it, you could drain 80% of the bouillon in a clean open pan. Cover
the pot with the meat with a lid and reduce the bouillon to get it more concentrated.
Bruno Loubet is executive chef of the Grain Store, Kings Cross, London

8 of 9 29/03/2017, 16:42
The 20 best French recipes: part 3 | Life and style | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/mar/01/20-best-fr...

Topics
French food and drink/The Observer
Food & drink/Meat/recipes

9 of 9 29/03/2017, 16:42