Community Kitchen: Winter Feast ? la Proven?al

Wild mushroom tart and radish hors d'oeuvres

My friends and I are all glad the end of semester is here, though it does mean facing mountains of ungraded undergraduate papers; finally we actually have time for those dinner dates and get-togethers we?ve been saying we?ll schedule all during the busy fall months. Earlier this week, my friend Ranger (who is always full of good ideas) came up with the brilliant plan that we should co-cook a big, French dinner in celebration of our end-of-semester freedom. She?d recently come by a book of Proven?al recipes, and there were about 20 different dishes she wanted to try out. Just thinking of it all made me full?and happy. By the time we met on Sunday evening to go over the menu, she had narrowed those many down to a manageable-sounding five: radishes on herb-butter baguette; butter lettuce salad with hazelnuts; pork stew with peppers; wild mushroom and walnut tart; and potatoes with olives, herbs, and bacon. My mouth was already watering.

The recipes were seasonal, making good use of ingredients Ranger had found in her Root Cellar Bounty Box (fresh, local produce) last week. And even better, they were simple. With two of us in the kitchen, we easily knocked it all out in under three hours, with time for plenty of conversation and cocktail-sipping along the way. For dessert, we asked our friend Anne-Marie to bring her famous ginger cookies, a recipe she gets from her grandmother?cookies so addictively good they deserve their own blog post on another week.

I include three recipes below from Ranger?s new find, Patricia Wells?s "The Provence Cookbook" (Harper Collins, 2004). The hors d?oeuvres and salad were quite simple and don?t require much of a recipe.

For radishes on baguette, mix softened butter with chopped dill, parsley, salt, and any other herbs of your choosing. Wash and very thinly slice a bunch of radishes. Slice a baguette crosswise into ?-inch slices, spread herb butter on top, and lay a few radish slices over butter.

For butter lettuce salad, separate the leaves on one small head of butter lettuce. Toss with a simple vinaigrette of mustard, red wine vinegar, olive oil, scallions, and a dash of Worcestershire sauce. Top with chopped, toasted hazelnuts and crumbled soft goat cheese.

Herb butter baguette with sliced radishes

JEAN-LOUIS MARTIN?S POTATOES WITH OLIVES, HERBS, AND BACON

(Les Pommes de Terre de Jean-Louis Martin aux Olives, aux Herbes, at au Lard)

4 ounces smoked slab bacon, rind removed, cut into cubes (1 cup)
1 ? tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 onions, peeled and thinly sliced
Fine sea salt
2 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
2 pounds small Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and very thinly sliced
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
4 dried bay leaves
1 cup mixed olives
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
Freshly ground black pepper

In a large frying pan, combine the bacon, olive oil, onions, and a pinch of salt. Brown the bacon and onions over moderate heat, about 5 minutes.

Add the garlic, potatoes, thyme, bay leaves, and olives. Cover with the broth, cover the pan, and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. There should still be some liquid remaining. Add black pepper to taste. Servings: 8

The beginnings of delicious potatoes

PORK STEW WITH SWEET AND HOT PEPPERS

(Daube de Porc aux Poivrons et aux Piments) 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 large onions, peeled and thinly sliced
Fine sea salt to taste
3 lbs pork tenderloin, cut into small cubes
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 cups water
1 red bell pepper, rinsed, trimmed, seeded, and cut into thin strips
1 green bell pepper, also cut into thin strips
4 small fresh hot chili peppers

Ingredients for pork stew

In a dutch oven or large pot, combine 2 tablespoons of the oil, the onions, and ? tsp of salt and sweat the onions?cook, covered, over low heat without coloring them until soft and translucent?for about 5 minutes. Transfer onions to a bowl. Season the pork with salt and pepper. In the same pot, heat the remaining oil over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add the meat and sear well on all sides, about 10 minutes total. Remove meat to a plate and season with salt and pepper. Combine the onions and pork in the pot. Add water, just to cover the meat. Cover and cook over low heat at a very gentle simmer until the meat is very tender, about 1 hour. Once the meat is tender, add the peppers, and cook until they are soft, about 15 minutes more. Add additional seasoning as desired. Servings: 6

Pork stew and olive potatoes, tarte tatin (before inversion).

WILD MUSHROOM AND WALNUT TARTE TATIN

(Tarte Tatin aux Cepes et Cerneaux de Noix) serves 8

2 teaspoons olive oil
2 pounds large c?pe or porcini mushrooms (other varieties can be substituted)
Fine sea salt to taste
1 teaspoon fresh or dried thyme leaves
3 large garlic cloves, peeled and minced
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
? cup chopped walnut pieces
fresh ground black pepper to taste
Light flaky pastry, refrigerated one hour (see recipe below)

For vinaigrette:
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
Fine sea salt to taste
? cup walnut oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees, and place a rack in the center.

Heat the oil in a large nonstick frying pan over moderate heat until hot but not smoking. Add the mushrooms, season lightly with salt, and saut? just until the mushrooms begin to give up their juices, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat and add the thyme, garlic, half the parsley, and half the walnuts. Cook, stirring regularly, for about 1 more minute. Season generously with salt and pepper.

Transfer the mixture to a cast iron skillet. Place the pan on a baking sheet. Remove the pastry from the refrigerator and place it on top of the mushroom mixture, gently pushing the edges of the pastry down around the edge of the pan. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake until the pastry is golden, 20 to 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small jar, mix the ingredients for the vinaigrette. Shake, then taste for seasoning.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven. Immediately invert a large serving platter over the tart pan. Quickly, but carefully, unmold the tart onto the serving platter so the mushrooms are on top and the pastry is on the bottom. Remove any mushrooms sticking to the bottom of the pan and place them back in the tart. Sprinkle the mushrooms with the remaining parsley and walnuts, season with fresh ground pepper, and drizzle the vinaigrette over top.

LIGHT AND FLAKY PASTRY (P?te Bris?e L?g?re)

1 cup all-purpose flour
? teaspoon fine sea salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes
? cup ice water

Place the flour and salt into the bowl of a food processor and process to blend. Add the butter and process until well blended, about 10 seconds. With the machine running, add the ice water and process just until the mixture resembles fine curds of cheese and almost begins to form a ball, about 10 seconds more.

Transfer the dough to a clean surface and work with the palm of hour hand (smear across work surface) until the dough is thoroughly incorporated. Form dough into a flattened round. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Roll dough into a 9-inch circle on a lightly floured surface.

Source: http://www.columbiatribune.com/weblogs/community-kitchen/2012/dec/13/winter-feast-a-la-provencal/

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