MYPARI

SKI
TCHEN

Introduction 1
Ingredients 13
Equipment 33

Appetizers

39

mis-en-bouche

First Courses

83

entres

Main Courses

125

plats

Sides

209

accompagnements

Desserts

251

les desserts

Pantry

325

ingrdients de base

Sources 339
Acknowledgments 340
Index 341

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Fennel, radish, orange, and crab salad

salade de fenouil, radis, orange, et crabe
Serves 4
This salad makes good use of such sturdy winter leaves as radicchio, Belgian endive, and watercress. If you wish, you can substitute
peeled cooked shrimp or crayfish for the crabmeat. You can make
this as four individual salads or arrange it on a large platter.
90

2 teaspoons white wine vinegar

1 Mix together the vinegar, lemon juice, and salt in a bowl. Stir in

the olive oil until well combined. Toss the crabmeat and parsley
in the dressing, season with a few generous grinds of the peppermill, and set aside.
2 Trim the fronds off the fennel bulb and remove any tough outer

layers. Cut the fennel bulb in half lengthwise and cut out the
core. Slice the fennel as thinly as you possibly can, or shave it
with a mandoline.
3 Cut the stem and opposite ends off the oranges. Place each

orange, cutside down, on a cutting board. With a sharp paring

or serrated knife, cut away the peel, using downward motions
that match the curvature of the fruit. Slice out suprmes (sections) of the oranges, leaving the membranes behind.

4 teaspoons freshly squeezed

lemon juice
3/4

teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt

6 tablespoons (90ml) mild-tasting

olive oil
8 ounces (230g) lump crabmeat
1 cup (10g) fresh flat-leaf parsley
leaves
Freshly ground black pepper
1 fennel bulb
2 navel or blood oranges
6 cups (230g) torn or sliced radicchio
or Belgian endive, or picked
watercress sprigs (100g)
10 radishes, thinly sliced
Flaky sea salt, to finish

4 Arrange the salad leaves on four large plates (or a large serving

platter). Scatter the shaved fennel over the salad leaves and tuck
the orange segments and radishes in between the fennel and the
salad leaves.
5 Distribute the crabmeat and parsley over the salads, spoon the

remaining dressing over the tops, sprinkle with flaky sea salt,
and serve.

my paris kitchen

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1/10/14 5:03 PM

Fennel, radish, orange, and crab salad

salade de fenouil, radis, orange, et crabe
Serves 4
This salad makes good use of such sturdy winter leaves as radicchio, Belgian endive, and watercress. If you wish, you can substitute
peeled cooked shrimp or crayfish for the crabmeat. You can make
this as four individual salads or arrange it on a large platter.
90

2 teaspoons white wine vinegar

1 Mix together the vinegar, lemon juice, and salt in a bowl. Stir in

the olive oil until well combined. Toss the crabmeat and parsley
in the dressing, season with a few generous grinds of the peppermill, and set aside.
2 Trim the fronds off the fennel bulb and remove any tough outer

layers. Cut the fennel bulb in half lengthwise and cut out the
core. Slice the fennel as thinly as you possibly can, or shave it
with a mandoline.
3 Cut the stem and opposite ends off the oranges. Place each

orange, cutside down, on a cutting board. With a sharp paring

or serrated knife, cut away the peel, using downward motions
that match the curvature of the fruit. Slice out suprmes (sections) of the oranges, leaving the membranes behind.

4 teaspoons freshly squeezed

lemon juice
3/4

teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt

6 tablespoons (90ml) mild-tasting

olive oil
8 ounces (230g) lump crabmeat
1 cup (10g) fresh flat-leaf parsley
leaves
Freshly ground black pepper
1 fennel bulb
2 navel or blood oranges
6 cups (230g) torn or sliced radicchio
or Belgian endive, or picked
watercress sprigs (100g)
10 radishes, thinly sliced
Flaky sea salt, to finish

4 Arrange the salad leaves on four large plates (or a large serving

platter). Scatter the shaved fennel over the salad leaves and tuck
the orange segments and radishes in between the fennel and the
salad leaves.
5 Distribute the crabmeat and parsley over the salads, spoon the

remaining dressing over the tops, sprinkle with flaky sea salt,
and serve.

my paris kitchen

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1/10/14 5:03 PM

Butternut squash bread soup

panade de butternut
Serves 8
I get a kick out of telling French friends about all the Frenchstyle
products that one sees in America, ranging from French-cut green
beans (when Ive asked, no one in France has any idea what Frenchcut means) to a Frenchstyle refrigerator, a behemoth that looks
nothing like the modest-size refrigerators you see in France.
When I first served this panade at a dinner party, none of my
Parisian friends had ever heard of the dish either. In fact, they told
me that panade refers to someone who finds himself in a bad situation; they werent aware of the baked casserole thats served like
soup but is hearty enough to be a full meal.
This panade is one of the few dishes Ive eaten in my life that
Ive never forgotten. I was baking one night in the kitchen at Chez
Panisse and was so busy that I barely had time to enjoy all the wonderful food that I watched the cooks send out to the guests. Seeing my rapt interest, cook Seen Lippert offered me a warm bowl of
panade: slices of toasted sourdough bread soaked in flavorful broth
with lots of fresh herbs and layers of hearty butternut squash holding everything together. I took one spoonful and had to stop what
I was doing and sit down to savor it. (Belated apologies to the customers who had to wait a little longer for their dessert that night.)
Seen has since left the restaurant business, which is unfortunate
for the diners, but very good for her husband. Yet she was happy to
share her recipe for panade, which is one of those dishes that gets
better as it sits, and is even better rewarmed the next day.
For baking the dish, a 4-quart (4l) baking dish is preferred, because
the greater the width, the more crusty cheese topping youll have
when the panade is finished. Whatever size baking dish you use, it
should have sides that are at least 3 inches (8cm) high.
For the bread, find a sturdy, tangy sourdough loaf thats quite
dense. Depending on the size of your dish, you may need a little
more or a little less bread, so you might want to have extra bread
on hand. (Never a problem in France!) Sturdy rye bread will also
work well, if sourdough loaves arent available.
This is one of those dishes where the quality of the chicken
stock is very important, so I urge you to use homemade. Although
this is called a soup, its more like a very moist casserole. As you
serve, ladle additional warm broth over each bowl, if you wish.

163

continued

main courses

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1/10/14 5:04 PM

Butternut squash bread soup

panade de butternut
Serves 8
I get a kick out of telling French friends about all the Frenchstyle
products that one sees in America, ranging from French-cut green
beans (when Ive asked, no one in France has any idea what Frenchcut means) to a Frenchstyle refrigerator, a behemoth that looks
nothing like the modest-size refrigerators you see in France.
When I first served this panade at a dinner party, none of my
Parisian friends had ever heard of the dish either. In fact, they told
me that panade refers to someone who finds himself in a bad situation; they werent aware of the baked casserole thats served like
soup but is hearty enough to be a full meal.
This panade is one of the few dishes Ive eaten in my life that
Ive never forgotten. I was baking one night in the kitchen at Chez
Panisse and was so busy that I barely had time to enjoy all the wonderful food that I watched the cooks send out to the guests. Seeing my rapt interest, cook Seen Lippert offered me a warm bowl of
panade: slices of toasted sourdough bread soaked in flavorful broth
with lots of fresh herbs and layers of hearty butternut squash holding everything together. I took one spoonful and had to stop what
I was doing and sit down to savor it. (Belated apologies to the customers who had to wait a little longer for their dessert that night.)
Seen has since left the restaurant business, which is unfortunate
for the diners, but very good for her husband. Yet she was happy to
share her recipe for panade, which is one of those dishes that gets
better as it sits, and is even better rewarmed the next day.
For baking the dish, a 4-quart (4l) baking dish is preferred, because
the greater the width, the more crusty cheese topping youll have
when the panade is finished. Whatever size baking dish you use, it
should have sides that are at least 3 inches (8cm) high.
For the bread, find a sturdy, tangy sourdough loaf thats quite
dense. Depending on the size of your dish, you may need a little
more or a little less bread, so you might want to have extra bread
on hand. (Never a problem in France!) Sturdy rye bread will also
work well, if sourdough loaves arent available.
This is one of those dishes where the quality of the chicken
stock is very important, so I urge you to use homemade. Although
this is called a soup, its more like a very moist casserole. As you
serve, ladle additional warm broth over each bowl, if you wish.

163

continued

main courses

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1 Melt the butter with the olive oil in a wide skillet or Dutch

oven over medium heat. Add the onions, the 2 cloves of sliced
garlic, and 1 teaspoon of the herbs. Cook for about 35 minutes,
stirring occasionally, until the onions are completely wilted and
beginning to brown on the bottom and edges.

continued

2 While the onions are cooking, preheat the oven to 375F (190C).

164

Put the slices of bread on baking sheets in a single layer and

toast in the oven, turning the slices over midway, until both
sides are dry, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and
when cool enough to handle, rub both sides of the bread with
the whole garlic cloves.
3 When the onions are done, pour in the wine, scraping the bot-

tom of the pan to loosen up any of the flavorful brown bits.

Cook for a minute or two, so the wine is absorbed. Add 2 cups
of the stock to the onions and cook until the stock is mostly
absorbed, 10 to 15 minutes, and then add the rest of the stock
and heat until the stock is hot. Remove from the heat.
4 To assemble thepanade, coverthe bottom of a 3- to 4-quart

(3 to 4l) baking dish with a layer of bread, breaking any pieces

so they fit in a single layer, but keeping them as large as possible. Ladle about half of the onions and some of the stock over
the bread, and then cover with half of the squash slices. Season
lightly with salt, pepper, and half of the remaining herbs. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup (40g) of the Comt. Add a second layer of bread
and ladle the rest of the onions and more stock over the bread.
Cover with the remaining squash slices. Season the squash with
salt and pepper, and then add the remaining herbs. Sprinkle
another 1/2 cup (40g) of the Comt over the squash layer. Cover
the squash with a final layer of bread and then ladle the rest of
the stock over the bread and press down on the ingredients to
encourage them to meld together. Top with the remaining 1 cup
(90g) of Comt, and the Parmesan.

The Dception of Monsieur Parmentier

Butternut squash bread soup,

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 tablespoons olive oil
4 onions, peeled and sliced
4 cloves garlic, peeled (2 thinly sliced
and 2 whole)
2 tablespoons mixed chopped fresh
thyme and sage
2-pound (900g) loaf firm-textured
sourdough bread, sliced
1/2

cup (125ml) white wine

2 quarts (2l) warm chicken stock

(page 326), plus additional stock for
serving
2-pound (900g) butternut squash
or similar winter squash (such as
Kabocha), peeled and sliced into
1/8-inch (.5cm) slices
Sea salt or kosher salt and freshly
ground black pepper
2 cups (170g) grated Comt,
Gruyre, Jarlsberg, or Fontina cheese
1/2

cup (11/2 ounces/45g) freshly

grated Parmesan cheese

iscuit is one of those words, like

dception (which means disappointment
in French), that doesnt mean the same thing
in French as it does in English. A biscuit in the
French baking lexicon refers to sponge cake that
is used for layering. If you told someone that we
baked un biscuit on top of pie, it would probably
confirm some of the worst suspicions French
people have about overthetop American food.
Because the French often Frenchify other
foods, I Frenchify chicken potpie. In lieu of the
biscuits that American often top our potpies with,
I top the filling with pureed potatoes, taking a cue
from hachis Parmentier, a potato-topped meat pie
named after Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, who
is credited with staving off a famine in the late
eighteenth century in France when he promoted
potatoes as a source of nutrition at a time when
people wouldnt go near the dirty tubers. Understanding the contrarian nature of the French,
he set up a private garden that was, deceptively, off-limits to all. Quelle dception! Shrewdly
knowing that people would want whatever they
couldnt have, he arranged to have the armed
guards who watched over the potatoes take nights
off. And soon enough, people began slipping into
the garden at night, and potatoes started appearing in local kitchens. Nowadays Parmentier is

so beloved that there is a mtro station in Paris

named after him, with a mini-museum of his
achievements, including a colorful panorama of
potato recipes that you can peruse while waiting
for your train to come.
165

5 Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and tighten it around

the edges, but dont press it down on the surface or some of the
cheese may stick to it during baking. Set the baking dish on a
foil-lined baking sheet to catch any spills. Bake for 45 minutes,
uncover the panade, and bake for another 30 minutes, or until
thepanadeis very well browned and crisp on top. Let cool for
about 15 minutes and then spoon portions of the panade into
soup bowls, making sure everyone gets a highly prized layer of
the crusty topping, and serve.

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main courses

1/10/14 5:04 PM

Salted butter caramelchocolate mousse

mousse au chocolat au caramel au beurre sal
Serves 6
Theres not much I can say about this. One bite will leave you just
as speechless.
1 Spread the sugar evenly over the bottom of a wide saucepan.

258

Heat the sugar over medium heat. As it begins to liquefy at the

edges, use a heatproof spatula to very gently drag the liquefied
sugar toward the center. Watch carefully, as once the edges start
to darken, the sugar is in danger of burning. Continue to cook,
stirring very gently, until all the sugar is melted and begins to
caramelize.
2 When the caramel is a deep amber color and starts to smoke,

1/2

cup (100g) granulated sugar

3 tablespoons salted butter, cubed

3/4

cup (180ml) heavy cream

6 ounces (170g) bittersweet or

semisweet chocolate, chopped
4 large eggs, separated
Rounded 1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt,
preferably fleur de sel

wait a moment for it to smell just slightly burnt, then remove

it from the heat and quickly whisk in the butter, stirring until
melted. Gradually whisk in the cream and stir until the little
bits of caramel are completely melted. (A few can be stubborn,
so be patient. You can strain the mixture if they simply refuse
to budge.)
3 Once smooth, add the chocolate, stirring gently until its melted

and smooth. Scrape the mixture into a large bowl and let it cool
to room temperature. Once its no longer warm, whisk in the
egg yolks.
4 In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites until stiff. Fold one-

third of the whipped whites into the chocolate mixture, sprinkling in the flaky salt. Fold in the remaining beaten egg whites
just until no streaks of white remain. Divide the mousse into
serving glasses, or transfer it to a decorative serving bowl, and
chill for at least 8 hours. While it might be tempting to serve
this with whipped cream, I prefer to serve it pure, straight up
with just a spoon.

my paris kitchen

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1/10/14 5:08 PM

Salted butter caramelchocolate mousse

mousse au chocolat au caramel au beurre sal
Serves 6
Theres not much I can say about this. One bite will leave you just
as speechless.
1 Spread the sugar evenly over the bottom of a wide saucepan.

258

Heat the sugar over medium heat. As it begins to liquefy at the

edges, use a heatproof spatula to very gently drag the liquefied
sugar toward the center. Watch carefully, as once the edges start
to darken, the sugar is in danger of burning. Continue to cook,
stirring very gently, until all the sugar is melted and begins to
caramelize.
2 When the caramel is a deep amber color and starts to smoke,

1/2

cup (100g) granulated sugar

3 tablespoons salted butter, cubed

3/4

cup (180ml) heavy cream

6 ounces (170g) bittersweet or

semisweet chocolate, chopped
4 large eggs, separated
Rounded 1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt,
preferably fleur de sel

wait a moment for it to smell just slightly burnt, then remove

it from the heat and quickly whisk in the butter, stirring until
melted. Gradually whisk in the cream and stir until the little
bits of caramel are completely melted. (A few can be stubborn,
so be patient. You can strain the mixture if they simply refuse
to budge.)
3 Once smooth, add the chocolate, stirring gently until its melted

and smooth. Scrape the mixture into a large bowl and let it cool
to room temperature. Once its no longer warm, whisk in the
egg yolks.
4 In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites until stiff. Fold one-

third of the whipped whites into the chocolate mixture, sprinkling in the flaky salt. Fold in the remaining beaten egg whites
just until no streaks of white remain. Divide the mousse into
serving glasses, or transfer it to a decorative serving bowl, and
chill for at least 8 hours. While it might be tempting to serve
this with whipped cream, I prefer to serve it pure, straight up
with just a spoon.

my paris kitchen

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1/10/14 5:08 PM

Some of the recipes in this book include raw eggs. When eggs are consumed raw,
there is always the risk that bacteria, which is killed by proper cooking, may be
present. For this reason, always buy certified salmonella-free eggs from a reliable
grocer, storing them in the refrigerator until they are served. Because of the health
risks associated with the consumption of bacteria that can be present in raw eggs,
they should not be consumed by infants, small children, pregnant women, the
elderly, or any persons who may be immunocompromised. The author and publisher expressly disclaim responsibility for any adverse effects that may result from
the use or application of the recipes and information contained in this book.
Copyright 2014 by David Lebovitz
Photographs copyright 2014 by Ed Anderson
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown
Publishing Group, a division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House
Company, New York.
www.crownpublishing.com
www.tenspeed.com
Ten Speed Press and the Ten Speed Press colophon are registered trademarks
of Random House LLC
All photographs are by Ed Anderson with the exception of those noted here:
page ii, 209 (center), and 283 by David Lebovitz.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lebovitz, David.
My Paris kitchen : recipes and stories / David Lebovitz.
pages cm
Summary: A collection of stories and 100 sweet and savory Frenchinspired recipes reflecting the way modern Parisians eat today.
Provided by publisher.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Cooking, French. 2. CookingFranceParis. 3. Lebovitz,
DavidAnecdotes. 4. CookingFranceParisAnecdotes.
5. Food habitsFranceParisAnecdotes. 6. Paris (France
Social life and customsAnecdotes. I. Title.
TX719.L4237 2014
641.5944dc23
2013032561
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-60774-267-8
eBook ISBN: 978-1-60774-268-5
Printed in China
Design by Betsy Stromberg
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
First Edition

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MYPARI
SKI
TCHEN