La Varenne Pratique: Part 1, The Basics
By Anne Willan
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About this ebook
Anne Willan
Anne Willan founded La Varenne Cooking School in Paris in 1975 and has written more than thirty books, including the double James Beard Award–winning, The Country Cooking of France, the Gourmand Award–winning The Cookbook Library, and the groundbreaking La Varenne Pratique, as well as the Look & Cook series, showcased on PBS. In 2013, she was inducted into the James Beard Foundation Awards Hall of Fame. Willan serves as an Emeritus Advisor for The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts. She divides her time between London and the south of France.
Read more from Anne Willan
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Reviews for La Varenne Pratique
16 ratings1 review
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The only cookbook you will ever need. This was so helpful when I was living in Asia. I could just point at the picture of the exotic produce to the maid and hold up however many fingers I wanted to tell her how much to buy.Everything is from scratch in this book so if you're the kind of person who seems to always find yourself living where you can't readily get processed food...or if you just like to know what the heck is in stuff this is a great cookbook.
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La Varenne Pratique - Anne Willan
Copyright © 2013 Anne Willan, Inc.
Print copyright @ 1989 Anne Willan
www.lavarenne.com
All rights reserved. Published by Anne Willan, Inc.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.
For information regarding permission, write to:
Anne Willan, Inc.
P.O. Box 5180
Santa Monica, CA 90409-5180
v2013.1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Available
Willan, Anne
La VarennePratique/by Anne Willan
ISBN 978-0-9911346-0-1 (ebook)
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
For the conception and planning of La Varenne Pratique Anne Willan would like to thank Jonathan Clowes and Jill Norman.
The contribution of those listed below is recorded with appreciation.
Chief editor: Amanda Phillips Manheim
Consultant editors: Mark Cherniavsky, Henry Grossi, Barbara Wheaton
Contributing author: Barbara Kafka
Techniques demonstrated by: Chef Claude Vauguet, Director of cuisine at Ecole de Cuisine La Varenne, Paris and Burgundy, assisted by Pastry Chef Laurent Terrasson.
Assistant editors: Laura Garrett, Martha Holmberg
Nutritional consultant: Carol Gvozdich.
Recipe testing and development: Henry Grossi, Randall Price
Technique photography by Jerry Young
Recipe photography by Martin Brigdale
Dishes prepared by Jane Suthering
Art directed by Jacquie Gulliver
Project editor: Emma Johnson
Senior editor: Anderley Moore
Managing editor: Victoria Davenport
Consultant editors: Jill Norman, Jane Grigson
American editor: Erica Marcus
Jacket design: Nancy Kenmore
Production: Eunice Paterson, Henrietta Winthrop
For researching and drafting the following chapters Anne Willan owes a special debt to the following contributors:
Henry Grossi: Soups and Stocks, Pasta, Herbs, Spices and Flavorings,Kitchen Equipment.
Faye Levy: Sugar and Chocolate, Fats and Oils.
Amanda Phillips Manheim: Vegetables, Fruits and Nuts, Grains and Legumes.
Steve Raichlen: Flours, Breads and Batters.
Lynn Stallworth and Martha Holmberg: Preserving and Freezing
Anne Willan would also like to acknowledge expert review and guidance
from Geoff Palmer (plant science) and Jon Rowley (fish)
from Shirley Corriher, Elisabeth Evans, Judith Hill and Susan Stuck
Sources of technical or commercial information consulted in the USA include: American Meat Institute; California Sunshine Fine Foods; Fisheries Development Foundations; Fleischmann’s Yeast; Flying Food; Frieda’s Finest; Lundberg Family Farms; National Meat and Livestock Board; Rodale Institute; South Mills Mushrooms Sales; The Sugar Institute; United Dairy Industry Association; United Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Association; United States Department of Commerce, Office of Fisheries; University of Maryland, Department of Horticulture; Paradise Bay Co., Washington for supplying fresh salmon. In Britain, special acknowledgement is due to Department of Zoology, British Museum (Natural History) for expert help and advice; Elizabeth David Cookshop, Covent Garden, for supplying kitchen equipment; The Mushroom Growers Association.
Digital Foreword
In the print edition of La Varenne Pratique, I wrote, Modern technology, has in effect, transformed how we stock our kitchen and how we handle and prepare food.
Some 20 years later, modern technology has transformed the way we consume cookbooks. The original La Varenne Pratique, despite selling more than 500,000 copies worldwide, went out of print. With the original harder to find and more expensive to buy, I felt the time was right to create an eBook edition to make La Varenne Pratique affordable and accessible once again.
This eBook is a digital reproduction of the original, created by scanning in every one of the book's 500-plus pages. Digitizing this complicated book was not without challenges. If a page does not format as you would expect, we suggest that you change the font, font size, or page orientation. The eBook’s images can be enlarged, though they cannot be magnified beyond a certain point, as the images are scans from the original printed book, not high-resolution digital photographs. That said, the images themselves are larger, and easier to study, than those in the original print edition.
We decided to divide the book into four parts to make it easier for readers to digest. Now you can download only the part of greatest interest or all of them as you see fit. To the devotees of the print edition, don’t worry: nothing is missing! Every image and every accent has made it safely across the digital divide. We dropped the index as the search function puts a static index to shame. You can quickly find any term, technique, word or phrase at the push of a button.
While we have sliced, diced and digitized the original to fit modern times, this eBook edition of La Varenne Pratique still celebrates the pleasures of the table inside and outside the kitchen just as before. To everyone who has cherished the print edition and to those who are just discovering the digital one, I again say, bon appetit!
ANNE WILLAN
Santa Monica, California 2013
Preface
In the past 30 years I have had the good fortune to work in food and in cooking in three different countries—France, Great Britain and the United States. This book is the distillation of that experience. It is also the fruit of almost continuous writing and research, much of it associated with La Varenne, the cooking school which I founded in Paris in 1975.
As its name implies, La Varenne Pratique is a book for the practicing cook. The point of departure is that mastery of ingredients is as important to success in the kitchen as mastery of technique. In each chapter, therefore, we consider carefully how to choose ingredients, how to store them, and indeed how to identify them in the first place. Modern technology has, in effect, transformed how we stock our kitchen and how we handle and prepare our food.
Allied with good ingredients must be a knowledge of technique, and it is here that French skill comes into play. The action photographs in this book were shot with French chefs in the heart of France, yet the techniques they demonstrate have universal application, covering such basics as chopping an onion, as well as the complexities of boning a rabbit and tempering chocolate. The principles of cooking apply equally to English roast beef and to a Texas barbecue.
With a knowledge of ingredients and technique, recipes follow naturally. You’ll find a few of them here to illustrate possibilities, together with lists of many more ideas from around the world. La Varenne Pratique celebrates the pleasures of the table inside and outside the kitchen. It is dedicated to those who love to cook, and those who love to eat. To you all, bon appetit!
ANNE WILLAN
Paris, May 1989
Weights and Measures
Part 1
HERBS, SPICES & FLAVORINGS
STOCKS & SOUPS
SAUCES
MILK, CHEESE & EGGS
FATS & OILS
HERBS, SPICES & FLAVORINGS
Herbs, spices and flavorings are scarcely considered basic ingredients, yet we cannot cook successfully without them. Food would be dull indeed without the zest added by a sprinkling of herbs, a teaspoon of spice or a few drops of vanilla. Some flavorings are akin to salt and pepper, used as highly concentrated seasoning. They develop and heighten the flavor of other ingredients, rather than stand on their own. Other more perfumed additions such as saffron, wine and rose water flavor food with their own distinctive character. Significantly, the French word for flavoring is parfum. It is important that no flavoring should be overused; too many herbs or too much spice is worse than too little.
The distinguishing features of an herb are that it is green and leafy, may be eaten fresh or dried, and can be grown in temperate regions. A spice is the dried and sometimes ground seed, root, bark or stem of a plant grown in the tropics. Many herbs and spices, however, do not conform to these broad descriptions and some plants, such as coriander, serve as both herb and spice.
Flavoring principles
The expression season to taste
appears in many recipes. It usually means that a dish should be tasted and the seasoning adjusted with salt and pepper. However, this narrow definition may be widened to include sugar where appropriate, and any herb, spice or flavoring already in the recipe. Since the taste of the ingredients can vary, as can the strength of the flavorings themselves, exact amounts cannot be specified. In the end, the amount of flavoring a dish will require is a matter of judgement, depending on individual preference and how the taste buds are stimulated. (Sour-sweet flavors are sensed at the front of the tongue, sour-saltiness on the side, and bitterness at the back.)
A careful cook tastes a dish not only when finished but throughout the cooking process. If seasoning is added only at the end of cooking, it may not have time to interact with the other ingredients and will be overpowering. On occasion, a flavoring may be deliberately added at the last moment in order to heighten its effect. Such is the case with Madeira added to a brown sauce just before serving. There are also some flavorings (notably ground pepper and certain fragile herbs such as mint and chervil) that lose their impact if heated for too long.
Some dishes always need more flavoring than others. Sauces and stuffings, which are typically paired with food that is bland, will need more seasoning than a soup that is served alone. Delicate steamed fish needs less seasoning than a robust beef stew. Remember that cold food requires more flavoring than hot, and iced dishes require most of all. If more intensity is desired in a dish, an extra pinch of salt is often the best way to draw out other flavors. Similarly, a teaspoon of sugar can enhance the flavor of fruits and sweet desserts. A pinch or two of sugar even enhances the flavor of savory salads, vegetables and meat stews.
In a menu, courses with more subtle flavors should be served ahead of more dominant ones. For this reason, meat traditionally follows fish, while cheese and sweet desserts with a lingering flavor are served at the end of the meal.
HERBS
Many herbs grow wild in the benign climate of southern Europe, and are cultivated in the less hospitable north. Colonial settlers brought their plants to the New World, growing them primarily for medicine, but also for dyeing clothes and for the kitchen. Despite this migration, many herbs are still firmly identified with the cuisines of particular countries. Rosemary tends to be associated with Italian roast and grilled meats, rigani (a type of oregano) with Greek lamb dishes, and dill with Scandinavian fish and vegetables. Nowadays, herbs are so widely available that only a few are restricted to a single country or area and some, like thyme, parsley and bay leaf, have become truly international. There are also herbs that complement certain foods--for example, the classic combination of mint sauce with roast lamb or chicken with tarragon. Herbs behave like all leafy plants. They sprout in spring, flourish through summer, flower, and then go to seed. Herbs such as thyme, mint and rosemary are perennials, returning every year from the same root. Others must be grown from seed each season as annuals: basil, summer savory and coriander are examples. A few herbs are biennials and have a two-year growth cycle. Parsley is an example, although it is better grown as an annual because its leaves are less flavorful in the second year.
Choosing fresh herbs
Most herbs are at their best just before flowering, and this is a critical time for herb gardeners, since the plant’s energy is devoted to producing blossoms, to the detriment of the leaves. To overcome this problem, gardeners often nip off the buds before they bloom, forcing the plant to continue producing leaves. All herbs are best picked fresh during the summer, but the most popular varieties are now available from nurseries year-round, grown in greenhouses or imported from more temperate regions. For flavor, herbs grown outdoors always rank first, though many can be grown indoors, especially those that are short and bushy or trail easily from hanging baskets.
When shopping for fresh herbs, look for healthy sprigs that are strong in fragrance with no hint of mustiness. Avoid bouquets with dried ends, discolored leaves or wilted stems. Any leaves should stay firmly attached when the sprig is shaken, especially those with woody stems, like thyme and rosemary.
Storing fresh herbs
To store fresh herbs with short stems, put them in an unsealed plastic bag or wrap them in a moist paper towel and refrigerate them. They should keep for about a week. Herbs with longer stems can be treated like cut flowers: put them in a small container of water and leave them at room temperature, or refrigerate them, covered with a loose plastic bag. Herbs with their roots intact are best of all; wrap the roots in a damp paper towel, cover with a plastic bag, leaving the leaves outside, and then refrigerate.
Cooking with fresh herbs
The taste of any herb is most characteristic when it is uncooked. Puréed raw herbs form the base of various green sauces and chopped raw herbs feature in other cold sauces. Whole leaves may be used in salads and as a decoration.
Not all herbs behave in the same way during cooking: fragile herbs such as parsley and tarragon, whose volatile oils dissipate rapidly when heated, are always added toward the end of cooking. More robust herbs (for example, thyme and rosemary) benefit from lengthy cooking since their flavors infuse a dish more slowly. The stems may be included for extra flavor in a cooked dish, and discarded before serving. As herbs vary in strength depending on the circumstances of their cultivation and method of packaging, always be prepared to adjust the quantities given in the recipe.
Whether the leaves of an herb are coarsely cut, chopped, or ground to a paste can significantly affect flavor. When they are lightly shredded in a chiffonade the volatile oils are not extracted. Chopping bruises the leaves of more fragile herbs but has little effect on robust ones. However, when herbs are ground in a mortar and pestle or food processor, this releases the oils and intensifies their value as a flavoring. This is particularly noticeable when they are used uncooked, as in pesto sauce
Preserving fresh herbs
Any herb to be preserved should be at the height of its flavor—for most varieties this is just before they flower. Choose the healthiest-looking growth and discard any damaged leaves. If you are gathering herbs from your garden, the best time to pick them is in the morning, after the dew has evaporated and when the essential oils are warmed, but before the drying sunlight of afternoon. Avoid washing the leaves unless absolutely necessary; simply wipe off any soil or grit that adheres.
The oldest method for preserving herbs is drying, while the most modern is freezing. Herbs can also be preserved as herb vinegar. Large-leaved herbs, like sage, can be stored in a jar covered with an all-purpose oil or layered and covered with coarse salt. They will keep for months and yield an added bonus of flavored oil or salt. See also Preserving and Freezing.
CHOPPING FRESH HERBS
There are several ways in which fresh herbs can be chopped. A food processor can be used, or a chef’s knife, or a two-handled mincing knife (It. mezzaluna). For use as a garnish, herbs can also be shredded into a chiffonade. Using a food processor Strip the leaves from the stems and put them in the food processor. Turn the machine on and off in short spurts, chopping the leaves to the desired consistency. Take care not to over-chop them as this will reduce the herbs to a purée.
Using a chef’s knife
Strip the leaves from the stems and pile them on a cutting board. Cut the herbs into small pieces, holding the tip of the blade against the board and rocking the handle up and down. Chop the herbs coarsely or finely, as you wish. Note The knife must be sharp, otherwise you will bruise the herbs rather than cut them.
Using a two-handled mincing knife
1 Cut through the pile of herbs, rocking the knife to and fro without lifting it, and moving it gradually across the board.
2 Continue chopping until the herbs are the texture you want — either coarse or fine.
Choosing and storing dried herbs
Dried herbs should be vivid, not faded. Look for whole leaf herbs in preference to chopped herbs in glass bottles. Store them in sealed containers in a cool, dry place away from light. Dried herbs will gradually lose their aroma and should be used within a year.
The flavor of most herbs is about twice as strong when they are dried as when they are fresh. Fragile herbs like mint and basil, however, lose their intensity when dried and are best used fresh.
Drying herbs
Drying herbs is easy if you have a place, such as a shed or porch, that is well-ventilated, dry and warm. It should be light but shaded from direct sunlight, which bleaches the flavor and color of herbs. Herbs such as bay are almost always used dried; thyme, marjoram, and rosemary are also well suited to drying. Fragile herbs do not dry well. Tie the herbs in bunches and hang them upside down. To prevent them getting dusty, the bunches may be tied inside paper bags cut with air holes. After about a week, the herbs should be completely dry; leave them in sprigs or store in airtight containers.
Herb Mixtures
Often required in slowly cooked dishes, a bouquet garni always includes sprigs of thyme and parsley and a bay leaf, tied together with string or wrapped in cheesecloth. Sometimes a piece of leek green or a celery stalk is added for extra flavor, while bitter orange peel is a common addition in southern France. A bouquet garni can be made with dried herbs or bought pre-packaged, but is superior when made with fresh herbs. It is always removed before serving.
Three fresh herb combinations are commonly found in the kitchen. Fines herbes is a mixture of fresh chervil, chives and tarragon used raw, or added toward the end of cooking so it is scarcely heated. The herbs should always be fresh. Parsley may be added as well, or used alone instead of a dried fines herbes substitute. The second classic combination is a persillade of finely chopped parsley leaves and garlic or shallot, often added to sautéed meats and vegetables. It is only lightly cooked so that its fresh flavor is not lost. The Milanese gremolata, based on the acidic bite of lemon zest, used to include sage, rosemary and anchovy, but today it is most often limited to lemon, garlic and parsley. It is sprinkled over the braised veal shanks of osso buco milanese or other braised meat dishes just before serving so that the aroma of the citrus peel is retained.
Popular dried herb mixtures include herbes de Provence, a commercial mixture of thyme, savory and an anise-flavored herb such as fennel, perhaps with some sage, rosemary and bay leaf. Poultry seasoning is a commercial blend of ground rosemary, sage, ginger, oregano and black pepper intended to season roast poultry and stuffings. Salad seasoning is a similar dried product.
ALLIUMS
The onion family (Allium) provides some of our most familiar flavorings, including garlic, shallot and varieties of the onion itself. Chive, the only true herb of the family, is mild with a delicate green
taste, while the others have a strong bite.
Some alliums can be used in small quantities as herbs. The green tops of scallions can take the place of chives, but they have a more pronounced onion flavor and should be used in smaller quantities. If young and tender, the pale-green inner leaves of leek can be chopped and eaten raw in salads, but are more often cooked like shallot. Rocambole, or giant garlic, develops mild-flavored edible bulbs and mauve flowers. It is seldom cultivated, however, and must be gathered in the wild. For the use of the onion family as vegetables, see Vegetables.
USEFUL INFORMATION
Season Garlic and shallot: summer to autumn. Chives: spring to autumn.
How to choose Garlic and shallot: compact bulbs, little dry skin. Chives: vivid green fresh leaves.
Problems Garlic, shallot: bitter if browned. Chives: snip with scissors to avoid bruising.
Processed forms Garlic: powder, minced, paste, preserved in oil. Chives: freeze-dried.
Storage Garlic: 2-3 months. Shallot: 1 month. Chives, fresh: refrigerate 5 days, freeze 6 months; freeze-dried and bottled: room temperature 1 year.
GARLIC
Renowned for its odor and mordant flavor, garlic is a staple in many cuisines, especially in Mediterranean and Asian countries. The three main types of garlic—white, violet and red-skinned—range from mild to strong. Elephant garlic, a giant variety, is the mildest of all and should be cooked as a vegetable.
The culinary value of garlic is as a seasoning and, when used moderately, it greatly enhances other flavors. It can also be used in larger quantities as a principal ingredient of Mediterranean sauces like aïoli and skordalia. Raw garlic is most effective in a salad dressing or marinade. After long cooking, garlic mellows and sweetens. When frying, it must be cooked gently and quickly, as it burns easily and becomes acrid. For a mild garlic flavor, whole cloves can be lightly browned in butter or oil and removed from the pan before other ingredients are added.
Garlic sauce
Skordalia
This Greek garlic sauce is usually served with poached or fried fish, fried vegetables or fritters.
Makes 1 ½ cups/375 ml
2 slices white bread
½ cup/125 ml red wine vinegar
6 cloves garlic
¼ cup/22 g blanched sliced almonds
2-3 tbsp/30-45 ml oil (optional)
1 cup/250 ml olive oil
Cut the crusts from the bread and soak the slices in vinegar for 10 minutes. Squeeze the bread dry and work it in a blender or food processor with the garlic cloves and almonds. (If using a blender, add 2-3 tbsp/30-45 ml oil with the blades turning.) Gradually add the olive oil and work the mixture until smooth. Season to taste.
SHALLOT
The purple-hued shallot tastes like a combination of onion and garlic and is an essential ingredient in French cooking. Whole shallots can be treated as a vegetable, but they are more frequently chopped to use raw in vinaigrette-based dressings and marinades, or cooked to flavor dishes like mussels marinière and white butter sauce. Unlike onions, shallots should never be allowed to brown lest they become bitter.
CHIVE
The tubular leaf of the chive is the most useful part, although the pink-purple flowers can be used as edible decoration or in salads. Chives can be grown indoors and used as needed. More subtle in flavor than other alliums, chives may be used raw or simply added to a dish at the end of cooking. To avoid bruising, they are snipped with scissors, or sliced crosswise with a knife rather than chopped. When blanched, they can be used for tying small bundles of vegetables. Cut chives often garnish cream soups and may be added to salads, omelets and potato dishes.
Chinese chives, used like ordinary chives, have flat leaves and a mild garlic flavor. In Chinese cooking, the flower buds are stir-fried and the leaves blanched to serve with pork dumplings.
PEELING & CHOPPING GARLIC
Garlic is best chopped, as crushing in a press can give too strong a taste. If it has started to germinate, discard the green heart.
1 To separate the garlic cloves, smash the bulb with your hands. Alternatively, pull a clove from the bulb with your hands.
2 To crush a clove, set the flat side of a chef’s knife on top and strike it with your fist.
3 Discard the skin and finely chop the clove with the knife, moving the blade to and fro.
CHOPPING SHALLOT
Shallots, although they are smaller than onions, are chopped in exactly the same way.
1 If necessary, separate the shallot into sections at the root. Peel each section and set it on a chopping board with the flat side down.
2 Hold the shallot section steady with your fingers. Using a large chef’s knife, slice horizontally toward the root, leaving the slices attached at the root end.
3 Slice vertically through the shallot, again leaving the root end uncut.
4 Finally, cut across the shallot to make fine dice. The root end may be reserved for stock.
FRAGILE HERBS
There are five major herbs that are characterized by their soft, fragile leaves: parsley, chervil, tarragon, mint and basil. They are at their perfumed, pungent best when freshly picked and carefully handled so they do not bruise. The leaves, particularly of tarragon, basil and mint, bruise easily and are best coarsely chopped. Fragile herbs are often eaten raw and should be cooked only lightly. For longer cooking, their stems may be used to give flavor and the leaves can be added shortly before serving. Some fragile herbs are disappointing when dried, lacking the fresh perfume that is so much a part of their charm. The flavors of mint or parsley are potent and they are often used alone.
USEFUL INFORMATION
Season Spring to late autumn.
How to choose Bushy leaves with no bruises, good aroma, well-formed stems and leaves.
Problems Less flavor if immature or raised indoors; leaves wilt rapidly and bruise easily.
Processed forms Parsley: dried, chopped, frozen. Chervil: dried. Tarragon: dried, preserved in vinegar. Mint: dried, extract. Basil: dried, preserved in oil.
Storage Fresh: refrigerate 2-5 days; freeze 6 months; dry 1 year.
PARSLEY
The ubiquitous parsley, rich in vitamins and minerals, is