Simple Cooking

Of the three types of meringue, Swiss meringue is perhaps the easiest for the home cook to master. This recipe is by no means as simple as the Easy Chocolate Buttercream on page 432, but it is a good next step on the way to more involved icings such as Italian meringue. You begin by combining egg whites and sugar in a mixing bowl and then whisking them over a pan of simmering water. Because the heat is more gentle, you won’t have to use a candy thermometer. Once the sugar has melted, and the egg whites are warm, the bowl is transferred to an electric-mixer stand and the mixture whipped to stiff peaks. When the mixture is completely cool, softened butter is beaten in piece by piece, to create a silky smooth icing. It is ultrarich and delicious, and can be used on cakes that run the gamut from homespun to oh-so-fancy.

Steaming a pot of shellfish is actually quite simple—and quick. It requires just a small amount of aromatic liquid, such as the wine used in the recipe below, which imparts flavor to the shellfish while also mixing with the flavorful liquid released from the shellfish, resulting in a delicious broth. And the shells serve as a “steamer basket,” keeping the shellfish from being submerged in the liquid. A dry white wine is used as the steaming liquid; other good choices would be beer or water (you could even forgo adding liquid and steam the mussels in a covered pot until they open, as they have enough liquid in their shells, then sprinkle with salt and pepper). Here some aromatics are sautéed before the liquid is added to enhance its flavor before adding the mussels. In Belgium and France, mussels are traditionally accompanied by piping hot French Fries (page 333), but a crusty loaf of bread is always welcome.

Preparing foods en papillote, which loosely translates to “wrapped in paper,” is actually another way to steam food, even though it takes place in the oven rather than on the stove. It is most commonly used for fish fillets but is also well suited to shellfish and leaner cuts of chicken, such as boneless breast halves. This French technique always manages to impress, the pretty little packages resembling gifts, one for each guest. When the packets are slit open—ceremoniously, at the table—their fragrant aromas are released all at once, hinting at the tastes to come. These bundles are ideal for entertaining, but cooking en papillote has other advantages, too. The packets can be assembled a few hours ahead of time (covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated on a baking sheet) and then tucked into the oven once your guests arrive. And, like other steaming methods, it doesn’t require much added fat; instead, the sealed parchment traps in all that wonderful moisture and flavor. In this recipe, a compound butter helps bring all the components together while adding richness to the dish. Forming the packets is easy—no special skills required. The shape isn’t as important as making sure the edges are tightly sealed. You can fold the parchment into envelopes, wrap it into bundles, or form it into bags, but half-moon packets are the classic shape. The traditional technique begins by cutting paper into a heart shape, but this one starts out as a simple rectangle.

Bamboo steamers are tiered, allowing you to cook more than one item at a time and make a meal out of assorted components, such as the salmon and vegetables in this recipe. General rules of steaming apply no matter which implement you use. For instance, when steaming fish or other proteins, place any aromatics (such as the dill used here) directly underneath them. You could also add the aromatics to the steaming liquid (instead of or in addition to). Adding wine, vinegar, or lemon (or other citrus) juice to the steaming liquid is another way to subtly boost flavors. As with many steamed foods, this dish is equally delicious when served hot, cold, or at room temperature, making it a perfect meal for busy weeknights. The lemon yogurt sauce is a lovely accompaniment, especially when the fish is chilled before serving.

Winter squash makes a very beautiful, fine-textured puree, and there is no need to strain it to finish.

To preserve their bright green color, the peas are shocked in an ice-water bath after boiling. You can skip this step if desired, but the puree will not have the same vibrancy. Frozen peas can be substituted for fresh; boil them for two minutes.

This North African stew is named for the traditional dish it is cooked in. A tagine is a clay pot that consists of a shallow round base and a cone-shaped lid designed to allow all the moisture to flow back down into the base during cooking. The stews known as tagines are often thickened (and flavored) with dried fruits; the recipe here contains dried apricots, but prunes, raisins, and dates are also common. In France, tagines are often accompanied by couscous; while flatbread is more typical in Morocco. This is a nonbrowned stew, similar to the veal stew on page 205, though far simpler to prepare.

Because of their denser texture, root vegetables can be simmered in water instead of milk, then pureed with milk (or cream) and butter.

This recipe produces a puree that is smooth and creamy without adding any heavy cream. Instead, the vegetables are boiled in milk and then pureed with some of the reserved cooking liquid, resulting in a side dish with a pure vegetable taste. When pureeing in a blender, add only enough liquid to keep the blade spinning freely. The fennel puree is delicious with the seared scallops on page 260. It can also be thinned with some of the strained cooking liquid to form a soup.

This “white” stew borrows a nonbrowning method commonly used in making blanquette de veau, one of the canons of French cuisine. In that dish, a stew of veal, onions, and mushrooms is blanketed in a creamy sauce. The meat is never browned (hence the term “white stew”); the stock is thickened with a roux and, traditionally, a secondary thickener called a liaison, made with egg and cream, making it exceptionally rich. This recipe, however, opts for springtime produce over the usual vegetables and makes the liaison optional (you can omit the egg and just stir in the cream, without tempering). To make a classic blanquette de veau, see the variation that follows.

Making your own mayonnaise is a great way to observe the process of emulsification—and the result is far superior to the store-bought variety. The key to preparing any emulsion is to add the oil very slowly while whisking constantly and vigorously. In this case, you end up with a creamy concoction in which tiny droplets of oil are suspended in the lemon juice.

Infusing liquid—cream, milk, or stock can all be used in this recipe—with herbs is a simple yet effective way to add depth of flavor to purees and other preparations (see the gratin on page 320). Garlic is a complementary flavor for potatoes; we boiled the cloves along with the potatoes to mellow their flavor, but you can use Oven-Poached Garlic instead (page 306). For a lighter-bodied puree, replace the cream with milk or stock, or use a combination. For a richer puree, reduce 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream by half, then infuse with herbs.

The squash filling in the recipe can be replaced with virtually any precooked vegetables you like. You can also omit the goat cheese and sprinkle on more grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Asiago, or use Gruyère cheese instead.

Unlike most other vegetables, tomatoes release a lot of moisture as they cook, so there’s no need to completely submerge them in the oil (or added liquid). It is this “cooking in its own juices” that makes this dish a “confit” (see page 232). Because this technique cooks out most of the moisture from the vegetables, it concentrates the sugars, for a sweet, jamlike condiment to serve with roasted, grilled, or sautéed meats (such as the calf’s liver on page 253). While the confit cooks, stir very gently, or the tomatoes and onions may fall apart.

Pâte sucrée is another type of pastry dough. The method for making it is the same as for pâte brisée; you just have to add a bit more sugar and a couple of egg yolks. The presence of sugar results in a sturdier crust—ideal for the more structured crusts used for tarts. The flour and butter are processed slightly longer than for pâte brisée, as there should be no pieces of butter remaining. Both sugar and egg soften the dough a bit, making it a little harder to roll out perfectly than pâte brisée; it’s easier to patch, however, because any tears can simply be pressed together. Pâte sucrée is often used for blind-baked tart shells (meaning the crust is baked before the filling is added; see note on page 448). Because it is tender (due to the eggs), it will hold its shape better than a flaky crust would. A baked pâte sucrée shell is delightfully crisp, providing a nice contrast to soft, unbaked fillings, such as the panna cotta in the recipe that follows.

For this method, garlic is poached with oil, which becomes infused with the flavor of garlic and thyme. When lightly pressed, the cloves will pop out of their peels, and can be served with crusty bread, or spread onto the pastry shell of a savory tart before filling and baking. The oil can then be drizzled over vegetables before roasting, used in vinaigrettes or marinades, or brushed on crostini.

When you think of fruit pie, a double-crust beauty with juices bubbling up and out of the top probably comes to mind. And though you will often hear that baking requires precision to turn out right, once you get in the habit of baking fruit pies, you will begin to see an opportunity for some flexibility with the fillings. With a little practice, you can learn to adapt the basic formula depending on what fruit is in season, and to adjust the amount of sugar or thickener (such as flour or cornstarch) based on the juiciness of the fruit. You might even begin to experiment with combinations of fruits, or flavorings such as zests and spices, to suit your own tastes. Apricots and cherries taste great together, as do peaches and blueberries. If you want to combine fresh and dried fruits, try pears with dried sour cherries; up the ante with a pinch of Chinese five-spice powder. In order to get to that improvisational stage, however, you have to start with something very basic, and what’s better than starting with the American standard—apple?

In this classic French first course, the vegetables are first poached, then marinated in vinaigrette. For deeper flavor, the vegetables can be braised in stock instead of poached. The leeks are especially delicious when garnished with sieved egg yolk (called “mimosa” for its resemblance to the golden flower and most often used with asparagus). The leeks can also be combined with other components to create an elegant composed salad, such as the one on page 312.

Coddling, which in cooking terms means to heat food in water that is just below the boiling point, is a gentle steaming method that yields a tender egg. The traditional way to prepare and serve these eggs is in coddlers—special cups with tight lids that trap in steam when the cups are placed in a pan of simmering water. Buttering the coddlers and adding a bit of heavy cream impart richness. For a garnish, sprinkle with chopped fresh herbs, such as fines herbes (a mix of chives, chervil, parsley, and tarragon), finely diced red onion, or crumbled bacon. Soldiers (toasted bread cut into batons) are the traditional—and sole—accompaniment.