J’ai faim!
We’ve been wanting to try something from Ginette Mathiot’s I Know How to Cook ever since we got our hands on this lovely French cookbook, printed in English for the first time ever since its 1932 publication. We decided no dish has that je ne sais quois like a rich and fluffy cheese souffle. And wouldn’t you know it, we’ve got a handful of ramekins that had been begging to be used. Since it was our first foray into the world of souffle, we were more than a bit intimidated but this lil’ recipe was so easy and came out just the way a souffle is supposed to: risen to a golden brown that practically melts in your mouth with every bite. Consider this fair warning though–the main ingredients are butter, cheese, and eggs so if that sounds like a nightmare for your tummy proceed with caution. We decided to balance out the cheese souffle’s richness with a veggie dish: green beans in a tomato sauce. But the joke was on us since that tomato sauce turned out to be more of a gravy, making the combo a decidedly heavy one. But what did we expect from France’s version of Joy of Cooking? It was all tasty nonetheless.
Cheese Soufflé from I Know How to Cook by Ginette Mathiot
Prep time: 25 minutes Cooking time: 45 minutes Serves 6
Scant 1/4 cup butter, plus extra for greasing
Generous 3/4 cup flour
Generous 2 cups milk
1 cup grated Gruyere cheese (we got ours from the Meat Hook!)
5 eggs, separated
Salt and Pepper
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a souffle dish or 6 individual ramekins right to the top. Make a very thick bechamel sauce (see recipe below) with butter, flour and milk. Add the cheese. Let cool, then add the egg yolks. Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks and fold into the cheese mixture. Season with salt and pepper, and pour into the prepared dishes to just below the top. If using a soufflé dish, bake in the oven for 30 minutes, then turn the heat up to 425ºF and cook for an additional 15 minutes. If using individual ramekins, cook for 10 minutes, then turn up the heat and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes, or until the soufflé is golden and just set.
Béchamel
Prep time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 20 minutes Makes generous 2 cups
2 heaping tablespoons butter
1/3 cup flour
Generous 2 cups hot milk
Salt and Pepper
Melt butter in a pan. Stir in the flour and cook for 2-3 minutes to form paste. Gradually add the milk, stirring all the time to prevent lumps from forming, and simmer for 10 minutes. Sine the absorbency of different flours can vary, it is difficult to specify the exact quantity of liquid needed, so add just enough water to achieve the required consistency. Season with salt and pepper.
Green Beans A La Niçoise
Prep Time: 30 minutes Cooking Time: 40 minutes Serve 6
2 1/4 pounds green beans
Generous 2 cups tomato sauce
1 handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Tomato sauce
1 pound 10 ozs tomatoes, quartered
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1 carrot, diced
1 onion, diced
1 sprig of parsley, chopped
1 sprig of thyme, chopped
1 bay leaf
Salt and Pepper
Trim each bean, wash in warm water and cook immediately in boiling salted water. To keep the beans green, put them in one handful at a time, and wait for the water to come back to a boil before adding the next handful. Allow 8-12 minutes for cooking. The beans should remain slightly firm.
While beans are cooking, make tomato sauce. Put tomates in a pan, with no oil or butter, and cook for 5 minutes over moderate heat, stirring from time to time. Make a puree by pushing them through a strainer. Prepare a blond roux with 2 heaping tablespoons of butter and the 1/2 cup of flour and 2 cups of stock or water. Stir in strained tomato pulp. Add teh stock, and the carrot, onion, parsley, thyme, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Let simmer for 30 minutes. Just before serving, stir in the remaining butter.
Drain beans and place in pan with tomato sauce. Simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. Add the parsley and serve
4 Comments »
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Looks delicious! I have been wanting to get my hands on this adorable book! Would you say the recipes would be suitable for an beginner-almost intermediate-level cook? French cooking does make me a bit nervous…
Comment by Tara — January 16, 2010 #
Yes! the recipes are really simple to follow and its nothing to fear! there are a lot of sauces and rouxs but you learn the basics of french cooking!
Comment by Caroline & Lisa — January 18, 2010 #
I’ve been dying to try this cookbook, and actually almost bought it today. I just didn’t have the energy to lug it home in the snow along with my groceries. French food is some of my favorite, but it really does intimidate me. But I will take your word on this cookbook!
Comment by Vanessa — January 30, 2010 #
[...] a Parisian Café with a bowl full of mussels and a freshly baked baguette. Especially after our post on the French Cookbook, “I Know How to Cook,” we knew we wanted to revisit the Mussels [...]
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