1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die: A Food Lover's Life List (26 page)

The strangely anthropomorphic “face” and wide, gray-white flapping side wings of the large, diamond-shaped fish known as
skate
or
ray
—terms generally used interchangeably—might discourage potential gourmands from its pleasures. That would be their great loss, because the meat of this snowy, mild-flavored fish is seductively silky. The wings are the only edible portions of the fish; constructed much like fans, they are held together by riblike slivers of cartilage which, when removed, leave a flat fillet that cooks quickly.

If the skate is to be poached and doused with melted butter or a cream sauce, it’s best to leave the cartilage in place, lest the fragile meat disintegrate. But for sautéing or frying—the cooking methods that bring the fish to its best, most delicate flavor—the cartilage should be removed first for even cooking.

Although mild, skate’s flavor may seem unpleasant to those who detect a faint hint of ammonia, which dissipates if it is held (under refrigeration) for twenty-four to forty-eight hours after being caught, before it is cooked. (Cooking also helps evaporate most remaining overtones.) Yet it is that lingering antiseptic hint, modified by seasonings and other ingredients, plus the smooth texture of the pearly flesh, that delight the most devout skate lovers.

Beyond doubt, the single most luscious preparation for skate is the French specialty
raie au beurre noir
, in which the boned wing is first dusted with flour and then sautéed in clarified butter,
meunière
style, to be finished with the “black” butter—browned in the pan with lemon juice, brassy capers, and a sprinkling of freshly minced parsley. Second place among skate preparations goes to a quick deep-frying that renders the fillets gold-leaf crisp and as delectable on a plate with chips as on a toasted bun slathered with tartar sauce. Fried skate is also delicious as crunchy strips layered over a vinaigrette-dressed green salad. A side of lemon wedges is nonnegotiable.

Where:
In New York
, Barchetta, tel 212-255-7400,
barchettanyc.com
; Pearl Oyster Bar, tel 212-691-8211,
pearloysterbar.com
;
in Los Angeles
, Cliff’s Edge, tel 323-666-6116,
cliffsedgecafe.com
;
in San Francisco
, Rue Lepic, tel 415-474-6070,
ruelepicsf.com
;
in Yountville, CA
, Redd, tel 707-944-2222,
reddnapavalley.com
.
Further information and recipes:
North Atlantic Seafood
by Alan Davidson (1979);
marthastewart.com
(search skate au beurre noir);
bbc.co.uk/food
(search skate wing with caper butter sauce).

The delicious morello sour cherry, called the
griotte
in France, is one of the world’s best known. Small and juicy, the dark red and tender-fleshed fruit is a jewel to behold—but its intense acidity means that it must be cooked or somehow preserved. The French have come up with the loveliest applications for its charms, which make it the perfect sour-sweet ingredient in pies, jams, cordials, and, in Belgium, beer. To the French, griotte means more than just the cherry itself; it also refers to any preparation in which the cherries are preserved, preferably in sugared brandy. The ruby-red, meaty, sweet-tart treat serves as a garnish for many classic French dishes, from desserts such as chocolate mousse and crème brûlée to platters of roasted duck and servings of foie gras. Canned cranberry sauces are well advised to run for cover.

Mail order:
Dean & Deluca, tel 800-221-7714,
deananddeluca.com
(search morello cherry fruit spread); amazon.com (in Grocery and Gourmet Food, search griottes).
Further information and recipes:
Professional Baking
by Wayne Gisselin (2004);
The Oxford Companion to Food
by Alan Davidson (1999).

The dish pairs well with Chenin blanc.

Lobster à l’Américaine
and lobster
à l’Armorique
form another of those “You say potatoes, I say po-tah-toes”–style debates in the food world: The two names describe a single preparation that dresses the crimson crustacean in a sublimely rich and velvety sauce. The dish itself is a miracle of complementary textures and flavors—the gently firm, saline white meat of the crustacean contrasting with the satiny cream and tomato-blushed sauce heady with tarragon, leeks or shallots, and Cognac, white wine, or both.

But the dispute has nothing to do with the dish’s ingredients, beginning instead with its point of origin—some say it was Brittany (formerly known as Armorique) while others swear it was Paris where the dish was supposedly created in 1867 at the Noël Peters restaurant for a group of late-night American diners. But the debate doesn’t end there—preparation also plays a part. If the story of its Parisian origin is true, then the lobster should be steamed before it is arrayed in the succulent sauce; other recipes, including that of Prosper Montagne, who penned the first edition of the historic French food primer
Larousse Gastronomique
, require that a live lobster be submerged directly in the hot cooked sauce. Only in a nation so food-centric could
such distinctions wreak so much havoc. As the late gourmand James Beard put it, “… no dish in French cuisine has been more controversial.”

Where:
In Carqueiranne, France
, Auberge Lou Petoulet, tel 33/4-94-58-50-07,
loupetoulet.eu
;
in New York
, La Grenouille, tel 212-752-1495,
la-grenouille.com
;
in Philadelphia
, Parc Restaurant, Bistro & Cafe, tel 215-545-2262,
parc-restaurant.com
.
Further information and recipes:
Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1
, by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, and Simone Beck (1961); for Julia Child demonstrating this recipe on her TV show
The French Chef
,
youtube.com
(search Julia Child lobster);
The Country Cooking of France
by Anne Willan (2007);
foodreference.com
(search lobster l’americaine vogel).

Jambon de canard
is one of the triumphs of Michel Guérard’s elegant hotel-spa and restaurant, Les Prés d’Eugénie, in southwest France. The literal translation: duck ham. Thinly sliced, with a polished gold-garnet glow, the supple, subtle meat is layered onto firm-textured French bread veneered with sweet butter and sprinklings of freshly ground black pepper. The combination creates ethereally delicious open sandwiches to devour as snacks or appetizers.

The term
ham
refers, of course, to the curing of the duck. Ideally, that should begin with the thick, fat-marbled breast, or
magret
, of the plump, long-bodied moulard duck of the Bordeaux region. Boneless, but with skin and a thin lining of tenderizing fat still in place, the raw duck breast is seasoned with bay leaves, thyme, coriander, and other spices before being placed in the refrigerator for about thirty-six hours.

After it is wiped clean, the spice-infused meat is tied up like a fat sausage, enveloped in cheesecloth, and hung in a cool room or cellar for about two weeks. (At home, the ripening can take place in the refrigerator over a period of about three weeks; the process results in a somewhat less intense texture and flavor.)

As the duck juices evaporate, the meat firms up and develops a tantalizing patina of ripe flavor. The roseate breast meat is sliced in long, almost transparent ribbons to be furled onto platters garnished with curlicues of butter and mounds of pickled pearl onions and cornichons. The skin and thin edge of fat can be included in the slicing, or the skin can be removed and rendered into crunchy cracklings for salads or mashed potatoes.

Where:
In Eugénie-les-Bains, France
, Les Prés d’Eugénie tel 33/5-58-05-06-07,
michelguerard.com
.
Mail order:
D’Artagnan, tel 800-327-8246,
dartagnan.com
.
Further information and recipes:
Michel Guérard’s Cuisine Gourmande
by Michel Guérard (1979);
epicurious.com
(search duck prosciutto).

Dust the cooled cake lightly or lavishly with powdered sugar.

A subtly sweet coffee cake, the tall, turban-shaped
kugelhopf
is a raisin-and almond-studded wonder scented with orange and lemon rind and dusted with snowy confectioners’ sugar. Toasted, it makes a delicious base for ice cream or poached fruit; past its prime, it can become transcendent French toast.

One of the prides of the Alsatian pastry kitchen, kugelhopf is also a staple of German and Austrian bakers, who generally call it
gugelhupf.
Austrians claim it was invented in Vienna—shaped to mock the sultan’s turban in commemoration of the Turks’ defeat at the gates of the city in 1683. For Alsatians, the fluted cake harkens to the time when the three magi were walking from Bethlehem to Colmar (don’t ask why) and enjoyed a night’s rest in the inn of one Herr Kugel. By way of thanks, they baked the first kugelhopf and presented it to their generous host. That inaugural kugelhopf begat the slice of kugelhopf and glass of wine that are traditionally served to Alsatian wedding guests on their arrival to sustain them during the lengthy ceremony, as well as the customary gift of a whole kugelhopf made by the bride’s mother for the officiating priest, minister, or rabbi.

The kugelhopf’s ingredients vary according to region: Some bakers use very few eggs, to make it more of a white sweet bread than a golden cake, while others add many yolks and walnuts for a richer mix. Either way, kugelhopf is most traditionally baked in a Turk’s-head ceramic ring mold, glazed only on the inside to impart an especially tender brown outer crust while ensuring thorough inner cooking. Economics being what they are, unbreakable metal pans tend to replace the ceramic. In either case, the mold’s center tube, or funnel, confers the ring shape, which is not merely decorative. As with many breads and cakes with a dense dough, it would be difficult to thoroughly cook the inside of a solid block of kugelhopf without burning its outside. Eliminating the center dispenses with that danger, in coffee cakes and doughnuts alike.

Where:
In Colmar, France
, Pâtisserie Jean, tel 33/3-89-41-24-63.
Further information and recipes:
The Lutèce Cookbook
by André Soltner with Seymour Britchky (1995);
epicurious.com
(search kugelhopf).

High in fiber and protein, good-for-you lentils come in a variety of hues—red, yellow, black, and brown—but for good looks, health,
and
elegance, none surpass the dark bluish-green
lentilles de Puy.
Nutty in flavor and firm in texture, these satisfyingly starchy delights most often come from Le Puy-en-Velay in the Haute-Loire region of the South of France, a sunny, dry place of volcanic soil, surrounded by mountains. These conditions are essential to growing hardy lentils with a deep, rich flavor.

So different are lentilles de Puy from the usual flat brown varieties that the French government protects them with an Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée label, so buyers can be sure they’re getting the genuine article. Another key to these smaller lentils involves their preparation: They take longer to cook, but are better at retaining their shape and texture.

These lentils are luxury legumes that are embraced by top chefs and often listed on menus by name, whether as the main ingredient in salads and stews or as a garnish for lamb or game. At any price, the tiny disks offer a big nutritional bonus—they’re rich in minerals and B vitamins and, unlike many other legumes, lentils do not contain sulfur, the gas-producing element found in most beans. Prior to cooking, lentils should be picked over thoroughly and any little bits of stone removed. Store uncooked lentils in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to twelve months.