Notes - The Cooking of Provincial France

CHAPTER 26 : THE COOKING OF PROVINCIAL FRANCE.

To many a lay person, French cooking means an elaborate and expensive way to complicate or at least masking foods with sauces. Unfortunately French cooking can also mean mediocre or poor or dishonest cooking served with pomp in pretentious restaurants everywhere, even in the city of Paris. There is of course another side of French cooking. What is called haute or grande cuisine may be modern mans nearest approach to pure bliss. However provincial cooking is sometimes quite different from haute (grande) cuisine. It simply means, the cooking that springs from regional areas called provinces. Grande cuisine owes a lot to true provincial cooking. Most of the great chefs came from villages in the provinces. They have learnt to adapt the cooking styles as well as the raw material from their regions to the kitchens of rich and famous. In true provincial cooking, there is no need for complexity. Food is cooked in its own juices and served right in the casseroles in which they are cooked.

In this handout we will deal with the provincial cooking of France. The historic provinces of France no longer exist as potential entities. Starting with the Bretagne (Brittany) in the northwest, there are eleven regions divided according to their culinary contribution to French cooking.

BRETAGNE (Brittany) takes its food and cooking simply. The sea supplies an abundance of fish and excellent Belon oysters are found along the coast. Bretagne can also be credited with inventing the French version of the pancake – the delicate crepe.

NORMANDIE – can boast of richest milk, cream and butter in all of France, Norman cream is an important ingredient in some of the best French dishes, and much of the milk goes into the world famous Camembert cheese. The meat from the region is also excellent, especially the sheep and lamb pastured in the salt marshes along the coast. Apples grow abundantly, most of them going into cider, the favorite accompaniment to Norman meals, or in the fiery brandy called calvados.

CHAMPAGNE – makes one supreme contribution to French cuisine – the famous sparkling wine, named after the province. Although its repertoire of food is limited, the region produces excellent ham and sausages and neighboring Flanders has invented many different ways to serve the herrings.

TOURAINE – is often called ‘the garden of France’. Its recipes can be as delicate as Trout in Aspic or as robust as Roast Pork with Prunes. The Loire Valley that cuts through the province is ‘ Chateaux Country’ where French kings relaxed in the splendor of their country estates while their chefs made most of the regions fine fruits and vegetables.

ILE DE FRANCE – The fertile land surrounding Paris is the birthplace of the classic cooking style known as Le Grande Cuisine. It was here, in the cavernous kitchens of kings and lords that French cooking became a high art. Cooks competed with one another to invent even more elaborate dishes. The cooking of Ile de France lacks a striking regional personality, but it draws on the culinary genius of all the provinces.

ALSACE AND LORRAINE – have often come under German domination and this is reflected in their cooking. Alsatian food with its sausages and sauerkraut has a Germanic heritage. The food of Lorraine is slightly more French in character. The most famous dish is the Quiche Lorraine. The province is also known for its excellent potee, a cabbage soup with salted pork and vegetables. The fruity Rhine wine of Alsace rival those of Germany.

BOURGOGNE (Burgundy) is justly well known throughout the world for its wines, and these wines, white and red, play a dominant role in Burgundian cooking. Red burgundy is a key ingredient in Boeuf Bourguignon the king of beef stews and also in most regional dishes. An annual gastronomic fair held in Dijon, the region’s principal city and the ‘mustard capital’ draws gourmets from all over the world.

BORDEAUX and the country around it are best known for their wine, which rank with the ones from Burgundy as the best of French produce. Bordeaux cooks have developed a highly specialized cuisine to go with their great wines. Also in this region are cognac (the brandy capital) and Perigueux; whose truffles go into the making of Pate de foie gras the most extravagant delicacy of French table.

FRANCHE – COMTE along with its neighboring provinces of Savoie and Dauphine is mostly mountain country and the food is as robust as the climate. Perhaps the greatest contribution of this region to the national cuisine is the Bresse Chicken, a small bird whose flesh is so delicate that even the inventive French prefer it simply roasted without any spices or sauces to obscure its flavor. The cows of this region produce more milk than its inhabitants can consume and much of the surplus is used to make cheese. The French version of Swiss Gruyere the Comte comes from this region.

LANGUEDOC, FOIX AND ROUSSILLON – Languedoc was once an outpost of the Roman Empire and it has retained traces of Roman influence in the cuisine. Especially popular here are the old Roman ‘Cassoulets’ which are rich concoctions of goose or duck, pork or mutton plus sausage and white beans. To the west, along the Pyrenees is Foix and Roussillon, the Spanish culinary influence prevails, particularly in the omlettes prepared with green peppers, ham and tomato.

PROVENCE – has been a favorite vacation center since Roman times. Like some other regions of north Mediterranean, it bases its cooking on garlic, olive oil and tomatoes. Bouillabaisse, the famed fish stew/Soup comes from the Marseille waterfront. In general, the cuisine of Provence is much more highly flavored than the rest of France.

THE BREADS OF FRANCE

It is enough to say that bread is to the Frenchman, what rice is to the Chinese and potatoes to the German. It is also safe to say that most normal Frenchmen would rather starve than substitute their daily supply of bread. The French are extremely demanding about what is literally their staff of life. It must be fresh, baked not too long before the time it has to be eaten. Under ideal circumstances, some people like their loaves very brown and crusty and some like them comparatively pale, but still capable of making razor sharp crumbs when broken. The loaf must be of a certain shape, depending on the conditioned wishes of the family! Although neighborhood bakeries usually manage to satisfy their customers, some Frenchmen will go clear across town to get bread that is perhaps centimeters wider or longer than the ones more readily available. Bread is usually eaten at all three meals of the day - always in the morning, with hot milk, chocolate or coffee; always at noon with a bowl of a hearty soup and often at night with the main meal. Although very rarely is any bread leftover (a French housewife has a special intuition which tells her the exact consumption of her family!!) surplus quantities go into the making of stuffing and puddings or made into breadcrumbs. Very rarely will it be eaten as bread the next day.

By far the most popular kind of bread in France is the Baguette, a golden brown, rod shaped loaf, 2 feet long. Next comes the Petit Parisien which is shorter and fatter than the Baquette. There are whole grain breads like the one made of black rye Courte d’ Auvergne. The French though disdainful of foreign cooking are quick to recognize and adopt good bread. The Natte Ordinaire and Natte aux Cumins are both Austrian in origin whereas the Pain Espagnol as the name suggests comes from Spain. The croissant, brioche and Vienna rolls are all special treats and are popularly known as breakfast rolls.

SOUPS

In a great number of provincial families, the main meal at noon is soupless. The soup is served for supper, with perhaps a light egg dish to follow. In simple French fare, the soup is kept simple, since it is eaten at the end of the day. However a complex dish such as Bouillabaisse is seldom served at night. In the same category of main dish soups are cotriade (a pungent Breton Bouillabaisse), bourride (a garlicky fish stew) and soupe au pistou (a spicy vegetable soup). Each of these has a complimentary sauce. Rouille (a peppery concoction) suited for Bouillabaisse and cotirade, aioli for bourride while the soupe au Pistou gets its name from Pistou – a blend of garlic, herbs, tomato paste and cheese, which is added to the soup.

However, generally, soups are based more on vegetables. These soups are considered healthy or potages de sante. There is a popular saying in France ‘soups’ enough if there’s enough soup.

FISH

Most non – Frenchmen are amazed by the eating habits of the French. A Frenchman will look for and then prepare and eat with enjoyment food, which to us may seem outlandish. A good example of this is snails. Snails are usually prepared in the Burgundian style, served in their shells with strong flavoured garlic butter. Another creature that the French have raised to a lordly place on the table is the frog; frogs’ legs (cuisses de grenouilles) are prepared and eaten in a way similar to chicken legs. Plainly, anything that lives is edible – in France at least. Another delicacy in France is the ‘eel’ – the delicate flesh of which is prepared in many various forms including smoked, roasted, fried, boiled and broiled. Oysters are usually eaten raw but clams, scallops and mussels find their way into delicious hors d’oeuvre or fish dishes on a dinner menu. Depending on where they are caught, these shellfish may be prepared with butter, cream and egg yolk in the north or with olive oil, tomato and garlic in the south. Most of the supply of fish in France comes from the southern part of Marseille. It has one of the most colourful marketplaces where on inconceivable amount of fish is available and sold. The catch could include eels, mullet, sardines, shrimp, clams, inkfish, mussels, oysters, sea urchins bass, red snapper, trout, cod, rockfish, whitefish and mackerels.

POULTRY AND MEAT

France is known for its variety of poultry meats. Every housewife is well versed in the preparation of various fricassees, stews and blanquettes. Best of all, perhaps are the chickens, simply roasted with good butter, flavoured with tarragon or lemon juice. They are served tender and succulent with a slightly crackly skin. This method can be used for any domesticated fowl. A duck or goose with their higher fat content, are much richer. Wild birds, because of their diet and exercise are tougher, dryer but more flavoursome. They must be cooked by slow simmering rather than roasting. Tender squabs and older pigeons are also eaten. Cockerels, Leghorns and Hens are stewed or braised and used in making of that famous dish Coq au Vin. Turkeys, which are becoming increasingly popular in France, are best treated like chickens, depending on their age.

When William the Norman conquered England in 1066, he brought much more than armed law to the land. The Normans ate their meals in courses, often to music and they drank wine and made cooked dishes of their meats instead of tearing them from the bones, half raw. To native Britans, these table manners seemed hilariously dainty at first but gradually such customs were accepted as part of everyday life. Thus it was the French who taught the English the art of gracious living.

Although in most parts of the western world a joint of Beef is the symbol of a robust meal, in France, it is more likely to be lamb, veal or pork, roasted simply to bring out its best flavour. If a good piece of beef is to be served, it is generally browned first and then braised or stewed in its own juices along with a few vegetables. Lamb most often than not, is served pink in France and leg of baby lamb is one of the favourite dishes of the French family. In Brittany lamb is braised and then served with white beans. The French version of the casoulet is a mixture of beans (dried) and meat can vary according to family tastes and availability of materials. But whatever is put into it, simple or complex, it is a sturdy, hearty dish.

Besides these dishes, the French are also very fond of offals or innards as they are more popularly known as. In France, the innards are treated as respectfully as any other part of the carcass. Tripe, brain, liver, kidney, tongue are all deliciously prepared and are among the favourites of the local French population.

CHEESE

Cheese in many cooked or heated forms can be used in any part of a well-planned meal to add flavour consistency and interest! It can be found in omlettes, soufflés and tarts to start a dinner or to be the main course of a lighter lunch or supper. It can form an essential part of many sauces, or it can be used to variate colour, and flavour in dishes. But to serve cheese as such is unthinkable in France until the end of the meal. Then is the time to finish the last few bites of bread. It is a near truth that cheese is never eaten without bread, but there are expectations. Probably the best example is “coeur a la crème” a white creamed cheese served with strawberries.

Cheese comes in a wider variety of tastes, shapes and textures in France than anywhere else in the world. However, this leadership is more than numerical – the quality is of international repute. Camembert is one of the most popular of all French cheese. Its rind is light yellow – orange with a fine white powdery dust, on the inside, it should be light pale yellow with a soft

creamy texture. Brie is next to Camembert in its popularity. It has a soft, satin like texture. Another cheese from the Brie-Camembert family is Coulommiers less mellow than Brie and tastes like Camembert. Roquefort is a salty tangy cheese with green-blue flecks. Another popular blue-veined cheese is Bleu de Bresse. Cantal is similar to cheddar, a semi hard smooth light lemon coloured cheese. Saint Paulin and Port Salut are similar cheeses, semi-hard, mild with a smooth buttery like texture. Reblochon, though in appearance, akin to Camembert is a much firmer cheese and in taste is somewhat like both Beaumont and Le Dauphinois. Pont-L’Eveque is a square shaped cheese with a soft and pale yellow interior. Fromage au marc de Raisin also called La Grappe is a pale sweet, pasty cheese that is rolled in a crust of grape pulp (marc). Comte is the French version of Swiss Gruyere (complete with holes). Saint-Maure, Valencay and Saint-Marcellin are all goat milk cheeses generally eaten while still fresh and produced in small quantities. Mimolette resembles Dutch Edam but has a much tangier flavour while Murister is a strong flavoured, semi-soft, pungent cheese, Boursin and Belletoile are rich, fresh cheeses eaten by themselves with a little powdered sugar sprinkled over. All cheeses are best eaten at room temperature, removed from the refrigerator 2-3 hours before service. Although generally eaten with fruit and bread as the dessert at the end of a meal, they are equally well suited for an hors d’oeuvre or a midday snack.

DESSERTS

Most good French pastrymen have their own specialities and pride themselves on their meringues and pates brisees. However, considerably the number of dessert tricks French cooks seem to have up their sleeves, it is surprising that their meals so seldom feature desserts. There are two types of basic pastry dough used in France in countless ways – the pate brisee, which is the same dough used for quiches and tarts that are eaten as hors d’oeuvres and main dishes, but sweetened for desserts and then there is the pate chou or a choux pastry. The simple sponge cake used as a base for many other confections is called a Bisquit (which literally means cooked twice), vanilla or chocolate flavoured not more than an inch and a half high. It can be filled with crème anglaise and then perhaps iced. It can also be cut into small squares for petit fours. It does not contain any baking powder and its lightness depends on the mixing of beaten egg whites into the batter. A crème anglaise is a standard in any French housewives repertory. It can be thin, to pour over fresh or poached fruits, somewhat thicker to half fill a piecrust and thicker still to spread between two layers of sponge. The soufflé is one of the most popular desserts normally kept plain and simple or perhaps flavoured with a liqueur such as Grande Mariner or grated lemon or orange rind. Crème caramel, Paris Brest, Profiteroles, Gateau St.Honore and the Diplomate are all traditional French favourites.

French Cheeses

Soft Cheeses –

1. Brie – It comes from the region of Ile de France. Brie almost became famous overnight. At the Vienna Congress in 1815, there was an argument as to which country produced the best cheese. Frenchman Talleyrand proposed a competition and put forward Brie de Meaux which was declared the best amongst the rest 60 cheeses. It was then unanimously crowned Roi de Fromages.

The first mention of the cheese can be found in the records of the court of champagne in 1217. Preripened milk is mixed with morning milk and then mixed carefully in 6 successive layers into stainless steel rings and the whey is removed by perforated spoons. The cheese is turned and placed on clean reed mats. After six or seven days, the cheese is sprinkled with powdered Penicillium candidum and ripened for 4 weeks at 11̊̊C. Any change in temperature will cause changes in shape, colour and taste of the Brie. A good Brie should have an evenly distributed mould layer, cream coloured soft palate and a nice flavour. After ripening, the cheeses are wrapped in waxed paper and packed. There are many varieties of Brie like Brie de Melun, Brie de Meaux, Brie de montereau, etc.

2. Brillat – savarin - Brillat-Savarin is a soft, white-crusted cow's milk cheese with at least 75% fat in dry matter (roughly 40% overall), named after the 18th century French gourmet and political figure Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin. The cheese was created in the 1930s by cheese-maker Henri Androuët. Brillat-Savarin is produced all year round, mainly in Normandy. It comes in 12-13 cm wheels and approximately 4 cm thick, and is aged for one to two weeks. It is also available as a fresh cheese (non affine) that resembles rich cream cheese. It is a triple cream Brie that is luscious, creamy and faintly sour. It goes well with medjool dates and also champagne. Because of its creaminess combined with its Brie aroma and slight sharpness, it has been described as "Dairylea for grownups" or "what Dairylea tastes like in heaven".

3. Boursin - is a brand of Gournay cheese. It is a soft creamy cheese available in a variety of flavours. Its flavour and texture is somewhat similar to cream cheese. Boursin cheese was first produced in 1957 by François Boursin inNormandy. Boursin is a trademark – Boursin cheese was at one time produced exclusively in Croisy-sur-Eure, France, by the Boursin company, a subsidiary of Groupe Bel, which purchased Boursin in November 2007 for 400 million Euros

4. Cancoillotte – it is an unripened curd cheese, mostly homemade product from the vicinity of the Besancon. The curds are placed in the warm part of the kitchen to ferment and to develop a unique strong flavour. They are then heated with milk or butter or white wine (as per family tradition). The melted cheese is then poured into a dish to form a thick paste to be used with a combination of dishes like a savoury pastry or potatoes and fried eggs etc.

5. Camembert – Camembert cheese takes its name from the Normandy village of Camembert in the department of the Orne. Camembert has been produced since the seventeenth century. Marie Harle was the inventor of the first “modern” Camembert with the regular mold flora. In 1910 Penicilium candidum, a white mold improved the industrial produce of camembert. A real Camembert has a fine, supple consistency a taste reminiscent of mushrooms and a strong aroma.

6. Caprice des Dieux - he Caprice of the Gods is a brand of cheese industrial double cream white crust and soft, supple texture. Ce fromage est caractérisé par la couleur bleue et la forme en « calisson » de son emballage. This cheese is characterized by the blue colour and shape "calisson" from its packaging. La marquee Caprice des Dieux appartient au groupe fromager Bongrain . The brand belongs to Caprice des Dieux cheese group Bongrain.

7. Care de l’Est – It is a square shaped cheeses with a spotlessly white mold. It ripens on screens and its paste is homogeneous with a fat content of 40%-60%. The cheese is slightly salted and its flavour resembles that of the Camembert.

8. Epoisses – In the Burgundy country of the cote d’ Or, to the west of Dijon lies Epoisses village where the cheese of the same name is made. It is made by mixing well chilled evening milk with fresh morning milk. As soon as the mold forms, the cheese is soaked in water and an eau de vie made from grape pulp called Mar de Bourgogne. Just before selling they are again soaked in the Marc which has been fortified by a good strong white Burgundy.

9. Edel de cleron - del de Cléron is a traditional French cheese of relatively recent origin which carries the name of the village where it is made, Cléron, in the valley of the Loue of the Doubs department in Franche-Comté. By its taste, form and texture, it is close to a Vacherin Mont-d'Or. It is made from lightly pasteurized cow's milk from the Doubs department. It is made all year long. It is surrounded by a band, and packaged in a box, of natural aromatic pine bark from the Jura mountains.

10. Fromage à pate demi-dure – It is an uncooked and pressed cheeses which tastes a bit like Cheddar and is made from cow's milk in the Auvergne, and the delicious Tomme de Savoie.
11. Langres – Langres is a French cheese from the plateau of Langres in the region of Champagne-Ardenne. It has benefited from a Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) since 1991. Langres is a cow's milk cheese, cylindrical in shape, weighing about 180g. The central pâte is soft, creamy in colour, and slightly crumbly, and is surrounded by a white penicillium candidum rind. It is a less pungent cheese than Époisses de Bourgogne, its local competition. It is best eaten between May and August after 5 weeks of aging, but it is also excellent March through December.

12. Le Montagnard - he Montagnard des Vosges, as the name implies, is a mountain cheese with a strong character. It is an intensely creamy cheese with pleasant, earthy flavours, but without any sharpness at the finish. It is excellent as a table cheese with rustic bread or a baguette. The Montagnard is best enjoyed with a Pinot Gris, or Chardonnay that will highlight its strong nature. Made from cow's milk in the eastern region of France, this cheese has subtle wood aromas and earthy tones.
    
    A washed rind cheese, it bares the colours of autumn on its rind: the bright orange exterior hides a creamy, rich paste full of tasty promise. The texture is smooth, unctuous, and melting, reminiscent of the fresh, milky aromas of mountain pastures. The Montagnard is soft and slightly pungent, with an edible rind.

13. Livarot – It is a world famous cheese from the Pays d’Auge. It was once a skimmed milk cheese but now it is made from the skimmed evening milk of the previous day mixed with the full cream morning milk. The cheeses are not ripened on the farm and are sold off on the market in Livarot as Livarot blanc. A maturing Livarot cheese tends to dip in the centre, thus it is bound by 5 strips of cattail leaf or paper. The stripes left by the same have given the nickname of “The Colonel” to the Livarot!! The consistency is soft with small “eyes” and mild flavours with strong aromas.
14. Morbier - Morbier is a semi-soft cows' milk cheese of France named after the small village of Morbier in Franche-Comté. It is ivory coloured, soft and slightly elastic, and is immediately recognizable by the black layer of tasteless ash separating it horizontally in the middle. It has a rind that is yellowish, moist, and leathery. Traditionally, the cheese consists of a layer of morning milk and a layer of evening milk. When making Gruyère de Comté, cheesemakers would end the day with leftover curd that was not enough for an entire cheese. Thus, they would press the remaining evening curd into a mold, and spread ash over it to protect it overnight. The following morning, the cheese would be topped up with morning milk. Nowadays, the cheese is usually made from a single milking with the ash added for tradition. The Jura and Doubs versions both benefit from an appellation d'origine contrôlée(AOC), though other non-AOC Morbier exist on the market. The aroma of Morbier is strong, but the flavour is rich and creamy, with a slightly bitter aftertaste.

15. Munster – Alsace Lorraine is on the border of France and Germany and this region gives us its greatest cheese called Munster. It is said that this cheese was first made by Irish Monks who settled in Vosges in the 7^th century. Munster is a round cheese with an orange red rind a yellow and very soft consistency and a distinct tangy flavour. Real farmhouse Munster is becoming rare and is very expensive. Munsters are ripened in cellars for two months after being dried in the outdoors. They are ripened on rye straw beds alongside already mature Munster from which they get their rind flora.

16. Gerome – It is a larger Munster originally made in the mountain huts of Gerardmer on the east slopes.

17. Neufchatel – Where the river Epte runs before and beyond the town of Gournay, some of the finest dairy country between Paris and the sea is said to be found. This area is known as the Pays de Bray and its most famous cheese is Neufchatel. It has been produced since the 15^th century. It a small cheese weighing up to 100g each. Fresh Neufchatels have a white flora on it. They have a soft paste which is lightly salted and has a pure and refreshing flavour. They come in various shapes which describes their names like the cylindrical Bonde/Bondon, rectangular Briquette and the heart shaped Coeur.
18. Pont l’Eveque - Pont-l'Évêque is a French cheese, originally manufactured in the area around the commune ofPont-l'Évêque, between Deauville and Lisieux in the Calvados département of Basse-Normandie, and probably the oldest Norman cheese still in production. Pont-l'Évêque is an uncooked, unpressed cow's-milk cheese, square in shape usually at around 10cm square and around 3cm high, weighing 400g. The central pâte is soft, creamy pale yellow in colour with a smooth, fine texture and has a pungent aroma. This is surrounded by a washed rind that is white with a gentle orange-brown coloration. The whole is soft when pressed but lacks elasticity. It is generally ranked alongside Brie, Camembert, and Roquefort as one of the most popular cheeses in France. The cheese has been made in Normandy since at least the 12th century, and local legend claims that it was first made in a Norman abbey. A manuscript from the time writes that a fine meal should always end with some "angelot", the name used for the cheese at the time. The cheese became popular across the country from the 16th century onwards, when it obtained the name of the village around which its production was centred. Pont-l'Évêque was recognised as anAppellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) cheese on August 30, 1972, reaching full status in 1976. Its production was defined and protected with a decree of December 29, 1986. The AOC regulations include the following restrictions:

• The milk must come from a controlled area around the village of Pont-l'Évêque, extending to the départments ofCalvados, Eure, Manche, Mayenne, Orne and Seine-Maritime.

• The curd must be successively divided, kneaded and then drained.
• During affinage the cheeses must be washed, brushed and turned.
• The resulting cheese must be one of three sizes:
• Petit - 8.5-9.5cm square, and a minimum of 85g of dry matter.
• Demi - 10.5-11.5cm by 5.2-5.7cm, with a minimum of 70g of dry matter.
• Grand - 19-21cm square, with a minimum of 650g of dry matter.

The cheese is around 45% fat as a percentage of dry matter and is manufactured throughout the year. Regulations currently allow both pasteurized or unpasteurized milk to be used during manufacture.

19. Chaource - Chaource is a French cheese, originally manufactured in the village of Chaource in the Champagne-Ardenne region. Chaource is a cow's milk cheese, cylindrical in shape at around 10 cm in diameter and 6 cm in height, weighing either 250 or 450 g. The central pâte is soft, creamy in colour, and slightly crumbly, and is surrounded by a white penicillium candidum rind. The cheese has been made in its namesake village since at least the Middle Ages. Cheese is still manufactured there, ranging from small cheese makers to industrial scale production further away. It is only made in a tightly controlled area in the départements of Aube and Yonne.

20. Banon- Banon is a French cheese made in the region around the town of Banon in Provence, south-east France. Also known as Banon à la feuille, it is an unpasteurized cheese made from goat's milk and is circular in shape, around 7 cm in diameter and 2.5 cm in height, and weighing around 100 g. This pungent uncooked, unpressed cheese consists of a fine soft white pâte that is wrapped in chestnut leaves and tied with raffia prior to shipping. The Provençal specialty fromage fort du Mont Ventoux is made by placing a young banon in an earthenware jar. The cheese is then seasoned with salt and pepper, doused in vinegar and eau-de-vie and left in a cool cellar to ferment. The concoction will last for many years becoming increasingly fierce in taste.

21. Brocciu - Brocciu is a cheese produced from sheep milk or goat milk. This is notable as a substitute for lactose-rich Italian Ricotta, as brocciu does not contain lactose. Produced on the island of Corsica, Brocciu is considered the national food. Like Ricotta, it is a young white cheese and is paired frequently with Corsican white wines. The word brocciu is related to the French word "brousse" and means fresh cheese made with goat or ewe's milk. Production of Brocciu: Brocciu is made from whey. First, the whey is heated to a low temperature just a few degrees below 100F and then ewe's milk is added and further heated to just a bit below 200F. After heating, the cheese is drained, the whey removed, and the cheese is finished. Serving of Brocciu: the cheese is ready for consumption immediately, although ripening is acceptable between perhaps a couple weeks to a month. However, the ideal affinage time for Brocciu is 48 hours to one month. ^[1] Other Corsican sheep's-milk cheeses are Asco,Brin d'amour, A filetta, Fleur de maquis, Sarteno and Niolo.

22. Cabécou is a soft goat cheese that comes from the Midi-Pyrénées region of southern France. It has a thin striped rind and after 2 weeks its crust grows blue mold changing its taste. Chabichou (also known as Chabichou duPoitou) is a traditional soft, unpasteurized, natural-rind French goat cheese (or Chèvre) with a firm and creamy texture. Chabichou is aged for 10 to 20 days. habichou of Poitou is made of fresh and whole goat's milk. It is quickly but slightly pressurized: less than 100 microliters per litre of milk. They then let the milk coagulate during a 24-hour period between 20 and 22°C. This curd is then moulded manually with a ladle or mixer into perforated and truncated moulds and left to drain for another 18 to 24 hours while turning it over it two or three times, maintaining it at 22°C. Afterwards, they are removed from the moulds and salted with dry salt or sometimes in abrine bath. It is then laid out in drying rooms, i.e. it is drained while being placed in moulds for 24 to 48 hours. Afterwards it is left to mature in cellars at between 10 and 12°C and within 80% to 90% humidity. It remains there for at least 10 days, but generally for two or three weeks. Some are even preserved for months for a more vigorous flavour.

23. Pélardon, formerly called paraldon, pélardou and also péraudou, is a French cheese from the Cévennes range of the Languedoc-Roussillon region. It is a traditional cheese made from goat's milk. It is round soft-ripened cheese covered in a white mold (à pâte molle à croûte fleurie) weighing approximately 60 grams, with a diameter of 60-70 mm and a height of 22-27 mm. Pélardon has benefited from Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) status since August 2000.
24. Pouligny-Saint-Pierre is a French goats'-milk cheese made in the Indre department of central France. Its name is derived from the commune of Pouligny-Saint-Pierre in the Indre department where it was first made in the 19th century. The cheese is distinctive, being pyramidal in shape and golden brown in colour with speckles of grey-blue mould, and is often known by the nicknames "Eiffel Tower" or "Pyramid". It has a square base 6.5cm wide, is around 9cm high, and weighs 250g.^[1] The central pâte is bright white with a smooth, crumbly texture that mixes an initial sour taste with salty and sweet overtones. The exterior has a musty odour reminiscent of hay. It is made exclusively from unpasteurized milk. Both fermier (farmhouse) and industriel (dairy) production is used with thefermier bearing a green label, and industriel a red label. Its region of production is relatively small, taking in only 22 communes. he manufacture is typical of the great goats cheeses of the Loire Valley. The coagulating milk is placed whole into moulds with holes to drain the whey. It is then dried in a well-ventilated cellar with affinage of at least two weeks, although the best examples are left for up to five weeks. Production now occurs all year round although farmhouse manufacturers produce between spring and autumn.

25. Rocamadour is a French cheese from the regions of Périgord and Quercy. It takes its name from the commune of Rocamadour in the département of Lot. It has benefited from an Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) since 1996. It is a very young goats cheese of just 35g that can be eaten after just 12-15 days of ageing, but gets more intense after a few months. When young it is often consumed on hot toast, in salads or, as it ages, on its own with a red wine after a meal.

26. Sainte-Maure de Touraine is a French cheese produced in the region of Touraine, mainly in the department ofIndre-et-Loire. It is named after the small town of Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine, in the department of Indre-et-Loire, at equal distance from westly Chinon and eastly Loches. Sainte-Maure de Touraine is an unpasteurized cheese made from goat's whole milk. It has the form of a small log, around 16-17 cm in length, and weighs at least 250 g. It is white and soft under a greyish mouldy rind. A remarkable feature is the straw through its centre, marked by the AOC seal and a number indicating the producer. The straw is used, in the making, to keep the roll together. The finished cheese has 45% milkfat.

27. Saint-Nectaire is a French cheese made in the Auvergne region of central France. The cheese has been made in Auvergne since at least the 17th century. Its name comes from the Marshal of Sennecterre (a linguistic corruption of "Saint-Nectaire"), who served it at the table of Louis XIV. The Marshal of Sennecterre is also responsible for the introduction of Cantal and Salers. Saint-Nectaire is a pressed, uncooked cheese made from cow's milk, mainly of Holstein and Montbéliarde and sometimes Salers. It is circular in shape, around 21 cm in diameter and 5 cm in height, and weighing around 1.7 kg. The finished cheese has a grey/brown rind, with white, yellow or red patches that surround a semi-hard pâte that is creamy in appearance with occasional residual holes. This dense cheese has a silky texture with soft acidity, and its taste is similar to that of Reblochon, with hints of hazelnut and mushrooms, due to the aromatic flora where the cheese ages. After being heated to 32 °C, rennet is added to the milk and left for around an hour. The curd is milled to around the size of grains of rice and gathered into a single mass, known as the tomme. The tomme is cut into small cubes and pressed into the circular mould by hand. After pressing, the cheese is salted and pressed for around 24 hours, turning around midway through. The mould is discarded and the cheese is dried over a period of three days. The period of affinage lasts up to eight weeks, during which time they are twice washed in brine and aged on rye straw. The majority of Saint-Nectaires are transported to a professionalaffineur for the final six weeks of the affinage. The affinage is also cut short if it is decided that the flavour and scent are not developing sufficiently. Around 15 litres of milk are required to make one cheese, and the final product is at least 45% fat as a percentage of dry matter.

28. Saint-Félicien is a cow's milk cheese produced in the Rhône-Alpes region of France. In France, it is designated adauphinois cheese, referring to the former French province Dauphiné where it originated. The cheese is a close cousin of another dauphinois cheese, Saint-Marcellin, and bears a similar texture and taste, though it can be almost twice as large in diameter. The name originates from the small town where the cheese was first produced and sold. The cheese was originally made from goat's milk, but since then it has become more common to produce the cheese with cow's milk. Its creamy interior is encased in a flower-style (fleurie) casing. Its average weight is 180 grams. The optimal period for flavour occurs between April and September after an aging of 4 to 6 weeks, but it is also excellent consumed between March and December. It is softer and creamier than Saint-Marcellin.

29. Selles-sur-Cher is a French goats'-milk cheese made in the Centre region of France. Its name is derived from the commune of Selles-sur-Cher in the Loir-et-Cher department where it was first made in the 19th century. The cheese is sold in small cylindrical units, around 8cm in diameter at the base (reduced to around 7cm at the top) and 2-3cm in height, and weighing around 150g.^[1] The central pâte is typical of goats cheese, rigid and heavy at first but moist and softening as it melts in the mouth. Its taste is lightly salty with a persistent aftertaste. The exterior is dry with a grey-blue mould covering its surface and has a musty odour. The mould is often eaten and has a considerably stronger flavour.

30. Valençay is a cheese made in the province of Berry in central France. Its name is derived from the town ofValençay in the Indre department. Distinctive in its truncated pyramidal shape, Valençay is an unpasteurised goats-milk cheese weighing 200-250g and around 7cm in height. Its rustic blue-grey colour is made by the natural moulds that form its rind, darkened with a dusting of charcoal. The young cheese has a fresh, citric taste, with age giving it a nutty taste characteristic of goats cheeses. The cheese achieved AOC status in 1998 making Valençay the first region to achieve AOC status for both its cheese and its wine. The curd is drained and placed in a mould. After being removed it is covered with charcoal dust and left to ripe in a humid, ventilated room. Affinage lasts for three weeks during which time its characteristic external mould forms and the central pate - initially crumbly - softens. The cheese is available between March and December, with peak manufacture between April and August.

31. Tomme au Raisin – It is a cheese from the North east of France. It is ripened in natural caves. It may be treated with brandy and brushed. It is coated with grape pulp. After each turning the cheese is pressed the mold into the rind by hand. The crust formed is gray in colour.

32. Fondu au Marc de Raisin – It is similar to the Tomme au Raisin except that over here pasteurized milk is used to make this cheese.

Hard Cheeses –

1. Beaufort d’ Montagne – It is a type of the famous Gruyere cheese being produced in France. Unlike Comte or Emmental, Beaufort is not allowed to form holes or “eyes”. It has a smooth and creamy consistency, with an excellent fruity aroma and taste. The shape of the Beaufort is somewhere between the straight Comte and the convex Emmental. It weighs from 30Kg to 60Kg. It is also called the Prince of the Gruyeres. It is made with extremely rich milk from the valleys of Tatentaise and Maurienne. The method of production has been passed down from one generation of farmers to another. The Beaufort ripens at 10C. The production of Beaufort d’Montagne is relatively small.

2. Comte – This cheese is also part of the Gruyere. It is slightly moist and crumbly with a rind. The consistency is firm and it has holes or eyes as big as nuts. Owing to the mold on the rind, it has a more pronounced character than that of Emmental with respect to smell and taste. Comte is made from evening milk set aside for ripening and creaming up. When the cream has been skimmed off, it is mixed with morning milk and is processed raw thus not subjecting it to heat treatment. This induces slow ripening process and takes up to 6 months to ripen at 18C to 20 degrees C. To enhance rind mold formation, we don’t brush it as with Beaufort but wipe it with brine soaked cloth. It is ripened in cellars.

3. Emmental – Emmental is from the famous Swiss cheese region around Berne but in France today, it is considered to be the original French Gruyere cheese. France is the largest producer of Emmental in the world. It is however not exported but consumed within the country itself. Normally a meter in diameter, French Emmental is a huge cartwheel of cheese which weighs up to 130Kg. It can be recognised by the Red Mark signifying its origin. The mild somewhat sweet taste is reminiscent of fresh nuts. The consistency is softer than the Gruyere. Emmental as a trademark has many large holes. During ripening, the rind turns hard and yellow. Emmental is entirely produced by mechanical means in large dairy factories!

4. Mimolette – It is a pleasant mild cheese weighing in at 3Kg. It is orange coloured with a gray rind. It closely resembles the Dutch Commissie. It is produced in the northern part of France.

5. Maroilles – Named after its town, Maroilles is made in Northern France along the border with Belgium. It is in existence since the 12^th century. The cheese is allowed to mature for several months during which they are carefully washed and turned. Maroilles is a square cheese with a reddish rind and the paste being pale soft and salty. It has a strong and powerful flavour. It is slightly salted.

6. Reblochon – It is a mountain cheese from the Swiss border area of France. It is matured in caves. It has a drak, yellow coloured rind. The rich unskimmed milk is processed immediately after milking and when the milk is still warm. This gives it characteristic flavour and taste.
7. Laguiole sometimes called Tome de Laguiole, is a French cheese from the plateau of Aubrac, situated at between 800 - 1500m, in the region of Aveyron in the southern part of France. It takes its name from the little villageLaguiole and has been protected under the French Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) since 1961 and by the amended decree in 1986. Laguiole is said to have been invented at a monastery in the mountains of Aubrac in the 19th century. According to historical accounts, the monks passed down the recipe for making this cheese from cattle during the alpages to the local buronniers, the owners of burons, or mountain huts. Today, Laguiole is made in three different départements: Aveyron, Cantal and Lozère by the coopérative Jeune Montagne. They are the only ones who are licensed to produce this cheese. With a 45% fat content, Laguiole has a pressed, uncooked paste made exclusively from raw, unpasteurized French Simmental or Aubrac cow's milk collected between May and October at more than 800m altitude. 666 tonnes were produced in 1998 (-9.14% since 1996) from 20,000 - 30,000 litres of milk furnished from 79 different farms. The Tome weighs 40-50kg and is distinguished by a bull sign and its name stamped on the rind, as well as by an aluminium identification plaque. Its production process starts with renneting before the curd is pressed in two consecutive stages. Maturing takes at least six months and may be as long as twelve months. The rind is natural and thick, the straw-coloured paste supple and firm, and the texture rich and creamy.

8. Ossau-Iraty is produced in south-western France in the Northern Basque Country and in Béarn. It has been recognized as an appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) since 1980. It is one of only two sheep's milk cheeses granted AOC status in France. Although the cheese received AOC status in the 80s, it is of ancient origin, traditionally made by the shepherds in the region
9. Picodon is a goats-milk cheese made in the region around the Rhône river in southern France. The name means "spicy" in occitan language. The cheese itself comes in a number of varieties, each small, flat and circular in shape varying from speckled white to golden in colour. Between 5 and 8 centimetres in diameter and between 1.8 and 2.5 centimetres in height, they range from around 40 to 100 grams. The pâte of the cheese is spicy and unusually dry, whilst retaining a smooth, fine texture. Whilst young the cheese has a soft white rind and has a gentle, fresh taste. If aged for longer, the cheese can lose half of its weight resulting in a golden rind with a much harder centre and a more concentrated flavour.

10. Vieux Lille – It is a type of Maroilles where the cheese is matured for 5 to 6 months in very moist cellars. by this time the Vieux Lille turns liquid and might be considered over ripe. It has a pronounced ripe flavour and the aroma is that of somewhat ammonia.

11. Boulette d’ Avesnes – It is a small farm house cheese made in Avesnes. It is made up of buttermilk curds with finely chopped herbs. It is ripenend for three months. It has a crumbly texture and has a very sharp first taste.

Blue Cheeses –

1. Bleu d'Auvergne – It is a dairy cheese which comes from more or less the same area as Cantal. The cheese is flat and is cylindrical and weighs up to 3Kg. It has a refined taste and a special bouquet. It is said to stimulate appetite. As the cheese is small, not much milk is required. Farmers these days use Penicillium glaucum to make this cheese like Roquefort. Deep cooled evening milk of high quality is used for this cheese. It is mixed with morning milk and heated. After the curd is set in mold, the Penicillium glaucum is sprayed over it. After washing and turning of four days, the cheeses are sent to salt rooms where they are stored at 10C Here they are rubbed with salt and pricked with needles to encourage mold formation. They are kept like this for 4 weeks. Once the green veins are visible they are packed off in metal foil and stored for a few weeks at 2C.

2. Bleu des Causses – It is a blue veined cheese which ripens in natural caves in the manner of Roquefort. It is found everywhere in the Auvergne. It’s taste depends on grazing conditions, including the composition of local soil and the hours of sunshine in summer.

3. Bleu de Laqueuille – It is produced in the region of Puy – de – Dome. This cheeses has a drier rind and a less distinct flavour than the others mentioned. It possesses attractive veining. The latter is attributed to Antoine Roussel who dipped a piece of mouldy bread from his home kitchen into the curds and subsequently produced a famous blue cheese.

4. Bleu de Gex – It is a famous blue veined cheese from the Haute Jura region. They are an ancient variety previously made in small huts in the mountains but now in co-operative dairy farms.

5. Bleu de Septomoncel – This like the one above comes from the Haute Jura region and is a famous cheese from that region.

6. Bleu de Sassenage – is a mild pasteurized natural rind cow's milk blue cheese originally produced by monks in the Rhône-Alpes region of France in the 14th century. Now made in the Dauphiné area, the cheese has been a protected Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée since 1998^[1]. As a requirement, the cheese be composed of milk from Montbéliard, Abondance or Villard cows. The cheese is unpressed and uncooked and contains the mold Penicillium roqueforti. In Larousse's Grand Dictionnaire Universel of the 19th century, King Francis I is described as being quite fond of the cheese.

7. Roquefort – It is described as a noble cheese delicately veined, and marbled with a bluish green mold. Roquefort comes from the area south of Massif Central and East of Gorges du Tarn. In the village of Roquefort – sur – Soulzon, there are remains of a mountain which collapsed due to weakening by rainwater and hollowing. Now cracks have formed due to which natural chimneys have formed for the underground caves for circulation for fresh air. Thus there is a micro climate of a unique type in the caves now. It is here that Penicllium roqueforti develops. The milk of Lacaune sheep is used to make Roquefort. Roquefort is then covered with a thin layer of salt, brushed and pricked. After some time it is wrapped up in foil to speed up the ripening. Roquefort weighs in at 2.7Kg. and is cylindrical in shape. The paste is crumbly and blue green veins are present. It is a great ewe cheese with high flavours and a noble aroma.

8. Bleu de Bresse – It comes from the meadows between Saone and Jura. It is almost like a much milder form of Gorgonzola.

Vernon Coelho

ihm mumbai

2009-2010

-------------------------

MENU - 23

FRIED WONTONS

Ingredients:
Cooked Chicken 100g
Carrot Brunoise 30g
Spring Onions 30g
Spring roll sheet 2 nos
Pepper powder 2g
Soya Sauce 5ml
Chilly Vinegar 5ml
Oil for frying
Salt 5g

Method:
1. Cut chicken into brunoise
2. Mix all ingredients except spring roll sheet.
3. Cut spring roll sheet into 8 pieces.
4. Put a filling inside and shape them neatly.
5. Fry till golden brown, serve hot with chilly garlic sauce.

 

CHOWMEIN

Ingredients:
Noodles 200g
Egg 2nos
Spring Onion 1 bunch
Chopped Ginger & garlic 10g
Salt to taste
Oil 20 ml
Cabbage 50g
Bamboo shoots 20g
Capsicum 50g
Carrots 50g
Chicken 50g
Chicken stock 100g
Soya sauce ½ tsp
Cornflour 5g

Method:
1. Boil water. Add the noodles and puit off the flame. Cover it and drain after 5 minutes.
2. Refresh and spread it over a plate properly.
3. Boil the shredded chicken and keep aside.
4. Cut vegetables into juliennes.
5. Heat oil in a wok, add ginger-garlic paste. Sauté lightly.
6. Egg, spring onion bulbs and toss noodles and season.
7. For the sauce, stir fry vegetables and chicken.
8. Add the stock, soya sauce and thicken with corn flour. Adjust seasoning.
Presentation:
Spread noodles over a serving dish, top it up with vegetables and serve hot garnished with chopped greens of spring onions.

Standard:
Well seasoned al-dente noodles served topped with a flavoured sauce with crispy vegetables and lightly flavoured with soya sauce.
 

STIR FRIED BEEF WITH CELERY

Ingredients:
Tenderloin (beef) 300g
Celery 4-5 nos
Spring onions 2-3 nos
Red wine 5ml
Soya sauce 15 ml
Ginger paste 1tsp
Garlic paste 1tsp
Oil 2 tbsp
Crushed pepper 1 tsp
Corn flour 2 tsp
Chicken stock 30 ml
Sugar 5g

Pre-preparation:
1. Clean and cut tenderloin into thin strips. Marinade with red wine, soya sauce, sugar & salt and keep aside.
2. Cut celery into juliennes, blanch.
Method:
1. Heat oil in a wok.
2. Add tenderloin and sauté on full flame.
3. Add spring onion bulbs and pepper.
4. Stir in stock and left over marinade. Thicken with dissolved corn starch.
5. Serve hot immediately.

Recipe for Fried Brinjals coming soon…

MENU - 22

Hot & Sour Soup

Ingredients

Chinese stock 1lt
Spring onion 2-3
Garlic 5gm
Ginger 5gm
Dried chilly 2-3no.
Soy sauce 5ml
Vinegar 5ml
Corn flour 5gm
Cabbage 50gm
Carrot 50gm
Capsicum 50gm
Oil 2.5ml
Peppercorns 5gm
Salt 10gm
Cream corn 30gm
Garlic flakes 2-3
Chicken (garnish) – cooked & shredded 10 gm

Pre preparation:-
1 cut vegetables into juliennes
2 chop ginger & garlic

Method:-
1 flavor oil with red chilly & garlic flakes. Allow to cool & save some for garnish.
2 sauté spring onions, ginger & garlic. Add cabbage, carrots, capsicum & then stock. Bring to a boil. Add cream corn, soya sauce, crushed pepper & vinegar. Adjust seasoning & finish with slurry of corn flour

Presentation: – ladle hot soup in a bowl. Garnish with julienne of spring onion, greens & shredded chicken. Drizzle flavored oil on top
Standard: – medium thick consistency, brownish in colour, pungent taste of pepper & sour flavor of vinegar. Neatly cut crunchy vegetables which should retain colour.

Sweet & Sour Prawns

Batter:-
Prawn 400gm
Egg 1no
Ginger 10 gm
Garlic 5gm
Soya sauce 5ml
Corn flour 25gm
Sauce:-
Tomatos puree 50ml
Sugar 100gm
Vinegar 200ml
Water 400ml
Corn flour 30gm
Carrot 50gm
Capsicum 50gm
Spring onion 50gm
Cucumber 50gm
Tomato 100gm
Pineapple 30gm
Oil to fry

Method:

1 marinate prawns with all the ingredients for batter
2 cut vegetables into even size, neat pieces.
3 fry prawns & keep aside.
4 reduce water, vinegar, sugar into a syrup consistency. Add tomato puree & cook for a while. Thicken with corn starch to form gravy.
5 blanch the vegetables in hot oil & keep aside.

Presentation:
– toss prawns & vegetables in sauce & serve hot
Standard: – prawns, well done in a thick reddish colour sauce having a good mélange of sweet & sour taste & neatly cut vegetables

Shao-Mai with chilly garlic sauce

Flour 120gm
Fat 10gm
Salt 10gm
Yeast 5gm
Sugar 10gm
For filling:-
Chicken mince 150gm
Spring onion 1no.
Soya sauce 5ml
Ginger 10 gm
Chilly Garlic sauce:-
Tomatoes (concassed) 100gm
Tomatos puree 50gm
Red chilly paste 15gm
Garlic 8-10 cloves
Salt 5gm
Pepper pwd 5gm
Oil 15ml

Method:
1 mix ingredients for dough & knead to soft texture. Allow to ferment & divide into 6 pieces
2 roll each into 3-4” diameter
3 put filling in the centre & moisten edges
4 shape like money bag

Filling:-
1 debone chicken if necessary
2 season with soya sauce & add finely chopped ginger & spring onion stems
Sauce:-
1 heat oil, add garlic, then red chilly paste, sauté lightly.
2 add concassed tomatoes, then the tomato puree.
3 adjust seasonings & reduce to a thick consistency

Standard:
- steam the dumplings for 15-20 min & serve hot with chilly garlic sauce.

Yang Chow Fried Rice

Rice 400gm
Spring onion 3-4bunch
Ginger 15gm
Garlic 15gm
Carrots 30gm
Peas 30gm
Corn 30gm
Capsicum 30gm
Prawns 100gm
Soya sauce 5ml
Salt 10gm
Pepper pwd 5gm
Oil 20ml
Pork 100gm
Marinade for pork:-
Crushed pepper 2.5gm
Soya sauce 5ml
Red wine 5ml
Chopped ginger 5gm
Chopped garlic 5gm

Pre preparation:-
1 pick wash & drain the rice
2 boil the rice with a dash of soya sauce in the water till al Dante. Refresh.
3 cut vegetables into dices
4 shell & devein the prawns. Wash. Marinate the pork
5 chop spring onion & garlic

Method:-

1 in a wok, sauté ginger, garlic & pork
2 add in the prawns. Stir fry.
3 add vegetables & toss lightly
4 add in rice, celery, soy sauce. Adjust seasoning. Serve hot.

Standard: -
well cooked rice, light brown in colour, well flavored. The pork & prawns should be cooked. Vegetables must retain their colour.

Cuisine of Italy

CHAPTER 25 : THE COOKING OF ITALY

It would probably occur to very few people to regard Italian cooking as the source of every other western cuisine. Nevertheless, that is precisely what it is. The cooking of the Italian peninsula was the first fully developed cuisine in Europe. Its originators, the ancient Romans found inspiration in Asia Minor and Greece, besides drawing on many resources and ingredients that were home grown. Combining all these, it was possible for the Italians to teach the French the art of good cooking and.…… eating!. In fact the Larousse Gastronomique, the bible of French cooking goes on record to state `Italian cooking can be considered a veritable mother cuisine’.

It was in 1533 that Catherine de Medici journeyed from Florence to Paris for her marriage to Henry II. Both Catherine and her cousin Marie di Medici who later became queen of Henry IV in 1600, brought teams of expert cooks to France with them. These culinary aristocrats possessed and delivered to France the most sophisticated cookery. They knew the art of modern pastry making as well as desserts, ice cream and cakes. Medici cooks also prepared for the first time outside Italy, exotic vegetables such as asparagus and artichokes as well as broccoli and the tiny peas that the French took as their own and which the world now knows as petits pois.

The `mother cuisine’ of Italy also assimilated many products of the `new’ world. It is hard to think of Italian cuisine without the tomato, but till 1554, no European had even set eyes on it. It was imported into Italy from Mexico where it was known as Pomo d’oro (golden apples). The pimento or red pepper, so important in Italian cooking today was also a find of the conquests. So was the potato, sent back to Europe in1540. Italy was the first to exploit corn, a grain used in the making of polenta. Turkey was brought back from America. By the end of the 16th Century, the Italian list of food resources was complete and Italy’s cooking techniques and eating habits had crystallized into the form we know today.

THE MODERN CUISINE

To many a non-Italian, the cooking of Italy means pasta, pasta and more pasta. Even within this category, there is an astonishing variety. Actually, Italian fare can be lively and interesting. It ranges from rich and hearty soups through a dazzling antipasti, meat, fish and vegetable dishes to a profusion of cheeses, cakes and ice creams.

Far from being identical though, the cooking of modern Italy varies from the North to the South. On the basis of the styles of cooking, the whole country can be divided into two separate territories: the north and the south. The North is fertile, populous, industrialized and affluent. The South is parched, dry, sparsely inhabited, historically poor and mainly agricultural. As a consequence, the north cooks in butter, whereas the south cooks in olive oil (its cheaper to grow an olive tree than to maintain a cow!!). Flat, stuffed pastas made with egg are preferred in the North, while in the South, dry tubular pastas are common.

PASTA

No doubt, most non-Italians if asked to name pastas would come up with spaghetti and macaroni and perhaps ravioli and cannelloni. These are not many from a list which includes:
Agnolotti, amorini, bucatini, caneloni, capellini, capaletti, cavatoni, conchiglie, ditali, ditalini, farfale, farfalette, fedelini, fettucca, fettucelle, fettucine, fritelle, fussili, lasagne, linguine di passero, lumache, macheroni, mafalde, malfati, manicotti, margherite,maruzelle, mezani,moscaccioli, papardelle,passatelli, pastine, penne, pennoni, perciatelli, riceiolini, rigati, rigatoni, spaghetti, spaghetini, spiedini, stelline, stivaletti,tagliarini, tagliatelli, taglio, tagliolini,tonarelli, tonnellini, tortelli, tortelini, torteloni, trenette, tripolini, tubettini, tufoli, and ziti. Phew!!! This list reveals almost as much of the Italian language as it does the varieties of pastas. Most names describe the shape, origin or the filling it contains. At times they are in local dialects and at times even nicknames are used as description. Some of those which are transalatable include agnolotti (little lambs), amorini (little cupids), canneloni (big pipes), conchiglie (conch shells), farfalle (butterflies), fusilli (spindles), lingue de passero (sparrows tongues), riceiolini (little curls), stivaletti (little boots) and vermicelli (little worms) .

Pastas can be cooked in a variety of ways including boiling, baking and frying. Besides the above exhaustive list, there is another doughy variety of pasta called gnoochi. These are small dumplings made of flour, potato or semolina or at times a mixture of these. There are also a whole range of sauces that go with pastas. The basic ones include Besciamella (white), Ragu Bolognese (red meat sauce) and Pesto (green). There are derivatives of these sauces like arabiata, al fredo and saffron.

After pasta, the sea is Italy’s most important source of food. Being a narrow country, every Italian province has a coastline of its own. No region is very far away from the sea and in the North, there are an abundance of lakes which provide fresh water fish. Italy is bounded by the Adriatic, the Ionian, the Ligurian, the Mediterranean and the Tyrrhenian seas which yield millions of tons of fish every year. The catch includes varieties such as red mullet, bass, sole, anchovy, sardines, mackeral, tuna, eel and crustraceans such as oysters, clams, crayfish, mussels, shrimp and the famous scampi. Squid, cuttlefish and octopus are other varieties, not very popular outside Italy!

While pasta and fish may be the staple diet of most Italians, the greater glories of Italian cuisine lies in its fruit and vegetables. The high quality of fruits and vegetables is attributed to a variety of reasons: the sea mists that carry salts and other minerals across the land, the use of natural rather than artificial fertilizers, the vagaries of the soil and climate and of course the know how and fine Italian hand! The vast repertory of herbs has also contributed to the fineness of Italian food. No Italian kitchen is without fresh or dried bunches of parsley, oregano, rosemary, wild marjoram, sweet basil, sage, tarragon, bay leaves, mint, fennel seeds and juniper berries to mention but a few. Spices such as cloves and coriander; flavorings such as saffron, garlic, shallots, lemon juice, vinegar, olives and celery form a wide spectrum of enhancers to choose from. In this list the olive has a special place. Some of the best olive oil comes from Italy. Lucca in Tuscany and Sasaria in Sardania produce the best extra virgin olive oil.

Italy is also Europe’s largest producer of rice and its per acre production is rarely matched anywhere in the world! ARBORIO is a top quality rice used in the preparation of Risotto. This comes from the Piedmont region which also produces some of the finest quality of white truffles.

Although Italians are not ordinarily great meat eaters, it is not true that Italy doesn’t have good meat. Italian veal, pork and even beef are very good. However, moist Italians prefer veal and chicken. Processed pork in the form of Parma Ham, Bologna Sausage and Mortadella are all popular. Duck, Geese and Turkey are also prepared in a number of ways.

Italy also has a fair amount of good quality cheese. Although they do not compare with the variety available in France, cheeses such as Parmesan, Gorgonzola, Mozzarella and Ricotta are now world famous. Also popular are the Mascarpone, Castelmagno, Provolone and the Fontina.

Italian ice cream is perhaps the best in the world. It comes in two basic varieties: Gelati and Granita. The gelati is milk based whereas the granita is sherbet like made of a thin powdery ice flavored with lemon, coffee, liqueur etc. Tiramisiu (which literally means pick me up) is another popular Italian dessert. The Sicilian dessert Cassata surprisingly, is made from a base of sponge cake layered with cream cheese flavored with sugar and tutti frutti and coated with chocolate. Zabaione or Zabaglione is a thick custard like dessert which is made of a thick egg and sugar mixture and flavored with Marsala wine

Inspite of this rich heritage and tremendous variety, most of the average Italians prefer a simple meal. Lunch is the main meal of the day. Italian cooking has kept in touch with the requirements of a changing modern world. It is simple, adaptable and inexpensive. Moreover, Italy has not succumbed to modern techniques in food processing (using harmones in meat processing and chemical fertilizers in crop production). Italy is still wedded to old fashioned methods.

THE REGIONS OF ITALY

Culinary wise, Italy has been divided into various regions. Each region has its own history and its own distinctive methods of preparing food. These diverse styles give extraordinary variety to the national cuisine. The main regions include:
Rome Florence and Tuscany
Bologna, Venice and the North East
Genoa and Liguria
Milan and Lombardy
Turin and Piedmont
Naples and the South &
The Islands of Sicily and Sardinia

Each region was formerly a separate state and the boundaries have been subject to constant change. Yet each region tends to remain stubbornly individualistic. Even today, food that is considered Italian in one region is said to be foreign in another! However, most Italian restaurants abroad are Neapolitan as it was from the relatively impoverished South that most immigrants came from, bringing with them their regional cuisine.

In the broadest terms, the dominant city in the North is Bologna, while it is Naples in the South. However, some regions refuse to align themselves with either. For example, Rome, historically the headquarters of the Catholic Church has attracted cultural and culinary contributions from across the globe. Florence enjoys a special status, tracing its origins to their leadership during the Renaissance. Sicily and Sardania are special cases as they are influenced and dependant on the sea.

One of the most famous culinary exports from Italy has been the pizza. Famous all over the world, it is one of the most popular fast food and spawned legions of takeaways and home delivery chain stores across the world. The original pizza came from Naples (and not America) and was first cooked in wood fired ovens (al forno). Traditionally, it consisted of a base of bread dough, topped with a thick tomato sauce, flavored with basil and oregano, drizzled with olive oil and topped with grated mozzarella. This cheese made from the milk of the water buffalo has a special texture, so distinctive in a pizza. From this basic pizza came a variety with other flavors and topping.

Italy is more famous for its quantity rather than its quality of wine. Italy is the largest producer of wine in Europe. Some of its wines are world famous. The distinctive Ruffino, Lacrimae Christi & Est Est Est are still very popular.

Cappuccino is another specialty which originated from the town of Padua, near Genoa and gets its name from the color of the robes of the capuchin monks. Another coffee special favored by the local Paduans is Caffe alla Borgia, coffee laced with apricot brandy and cinnamon.

vernon coelho
ihm Mumbai
2009-2010

MENU - 21

Chinese Stock

Ingredients:
Chicken Bones 400g
Pork Bones 100g
Water 4 lt
Spring Onion 1 or 2 no
Ginger 20g
Salt to taste

Method:
1. Trim and wash spring onion. Make a cross incision on the bulb and tie the leaves into the knot.
2. Wash ginger and crush lightly.
3. Wash and cut chicken and pork bones.
4. Bring bones and water to a boil.
5. Remove scum as it forms.
6. Simmer gently and add spring onions, ginger and salt.
7. Cook for about half an hour, then strain. Cool and use as required.
 
Sweet Corn Soup

Ingredients:
Cream style corn 200 g
Chicken stock 300 ml
Corn flour 15g
Salt to taste
Egg 1 no.

Method:
1. Boil cream style corn with chicken stock.
2. Adjust seasoning and chicken stock with corn flour.
3. Beat egg lightly and stir in the soup.
Standard:
Thick viscous soup, off white in colour with good flavour of corn and well flavoured stock. 

Hakka Noodles
Ingredients:
Chinese Noodles 100 g
Spring Onions ½ no
Ginger 10 g
Garlic 4-6 flakes
Carrot 50 g
Capsicum 30 g
Salt to taste
Cabbage 50 g
Egg 1 no
Oil 15 ml
Soya sauce 5 ml

Pre Preparation:
1. Blanch noodles and refresh.
2. Cut the vegetables into juliennes and chop ginger, garlic.
Method:
1. In a wok, scramble the egg and sauté ginger, chop the onion and carrot.
2. Add the noodles with soya sauce and other vegetables.
3. Toss well and adjust seasoning.
Standard:
Long strands of noodles neatly cut vegetables, good colour combination. Noodles must be just done, served hot.
 
Szechwan Chicken

Ingredients:
Chicken 1 no.
Garlic paste 10 g
Ginger paste 10g
Salt a pinch
Pepper a pinch
Soya sauce 1 tbsp
Corn flour 3 tbsp
Oil for frying

Sauce:
Red chilly paste 15 g
Tomato puree 60 ml
Chicken stock 150 ml
Ginger paste 15 g
Garlic 15 g
Spring onion bulbs - for garnish

Preparation:
1. Wash and cut chicken into 8 pieces.
2. Marinade chicken.
3. Fry the pieces in hot oil for few minutes.
4. To prepare sauce, sauté red chilly, ginger and garlic paste. Add tomato puree and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Simmer for couple of minutes and strain.
5. Add chicken pieces to sauce. Simmer till chicken is cooked and sauce is of coating consistency. Add corn flour if required.
6. Garnish with dices of spring onion bulbs.

Spring Rolls
Ingredients:
Spring roll sheet 4 nos.
Cabbage 40 g
Capsicum 30 g
Carrot 30 g
Spring onion 50 g
Ginger 5 g
Garlic 5 g
Soya sauce 20 ml
Chilli sauce 2 tsp.
Salt to taste
Pepper a pinch
Oil 20 ml
Pre-Preparation:
1. Cut vegetables into juliennes or shred them.
2. Chop ginger, garlic and slice spring onions.
3. Wash bean sprout.
Method:
1. Heat oil in a wok. Stir fry spring onion, ginger, garlic.
2. Add hard vegetables first and then the soft ones.
3. Add soya sauce and chilli sauce.
4. Adjust seasoning, cool the mixture.
5. Put the portion of vegetable in spring roll and shut them.
6. Fold and roll to seal.
7. Deep fry till golden brown.
Standard:
The spring roll should be hot, crispy and golden brown in colour, vegetables should be crunchy and nicely flavoured with ginger and garlic.