French Kids Eat Everything (37 page)

Preparation: 5 to 7 minutes

Cooking: 30 to 40 minutes

Servings: 4 to 6 small adult servings

Note: This recipe, designed for busy parents, deliberately leaves out the pastry; the result is just as tasty.

Easy and quick to make, quiche is a classic French recipe that pleases adults and children alike. Quiche is also one of the most versatile recipes in the French household, as it can be eaten hot or cold, for lunch or for dinner, and works well with any combination of vegetables that you can think of. French families often make it in advance, as it lasts well for a couple of days in the fridge (or even for a few hours in the cupboard—my mother-in-law tries to avoid refrigerating her quiche, arguing that it changes the texture). In a pinch, I find that quiche freezes fairly well, although most French people don't do this.

The recipe presented here is the children's version, which uses a higher proportion of milk and a smaller number of eggs than a quiche intended for adults. The resulting dish is fluffier, less dense, and less eggy, and so more likely to please young palates. For older children or adults, reduce the milk by half a cup, and add one more egg (or play with the ratio of eggs and milk until you find the texture that your family prefers).

Most French cooks have their personal twist on this dish. For a while, my favorite recipe was a ratatouille-style quiche, with eggplant and tomatoes. A quick survey of our extended family turned up as many recipes as there were cooks: zucchini, broccoli, carrots—almost any vegetable you can think of. Chopped or grated finely, most vegetables don't even need to be cooked in advance.

8 large eggs

1½ cups milk (or ¾ cup milk and ¾ cup cream)

Salt and pepper, if desired

1 cup flour

Filling suggestions (These are some of our favorites, but feel free to make up your own.):

Quiche lorraine: 1 cup cubed or sliced ham and 1 cup grated cheese (Gruyère works best, but Cheddar will also do)

Quiche aux légumes: one small onion, finely diced, ½ cup thinly sliced greens (I use spinach or chard, but not kale, which is too chewy), ½ cup finely chopped red pepper

Quiche provençale: 1 cup ratatouille (this is a great way to use leftovers)

Optional: dried herbs such as parsley or oregano

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. In a large bowl, beat the eggs; add the milk (or milk and cream) and mix well. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, if desired. Stirring constantly with a fork or whisk (to avoid lumps), add the flour a little at a time. Mix in the cheese, followed by the fillings you are using.

2. Pour the mixture into a greased 9- or 12-inch pie plate and bake for 30 minutes, or until the quiche puffs and starts to brown on top. Cool 5 minutes before serving (the quiche will settle, and you'll be able to cut it more neatly).

Tip:
Changing your quiche ingredients is also a great way to introduce new vegetables: the reassuringly familiar look of the dish may entice even the wariest of eaters.

Note:
Take care not to overfill your pie plate, as the quiche will puff up as it bakes. I place mine on a baking sheet in the oven, in case of spills. The quiche will deflate after you remove it from the oven: this is normal! Kids like watching this soufflé effect.

Preparation: 10 minutes

Cooking: 20 minutes

Servings: 4 small adult (or older child) servings

This is one of our family's favorite recipes.
Tomates farcies
(stuffed tomatoes) are both filling and fun. The tomatoes are hollowed out and stuffed (in this case, with a savory ground beef mixture), and then baked to perfection. The
farce
peeks out of the tomatoes in a
coquettish
sort of way, and children love lifting up the tomato “hats” to see what lies underneath. Served with something that can absorb the delicious juices (rice and couscous are our favorites), this is a complete and easy tasty meal.

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion, minced

½ pound ground beef

4 large tomatoes

¼ cup bread crumbs

¼ cup grated Parmesan

Optional: 1 minced red or yellow pepper, 2 teaspoons dried parsley and/or oregano, salt, pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.

2. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over low heat. Add the onion and sauté until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Increase the heat to medium-high, quickly add the ground beef (to “seize” the meat), stir vigorously for 1 minute, and lower the heat to medium-low. Simmer the meat until thoroughly cooked, about 6 to 8 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, prepare the tomatoes: slice off the tops and set them aside, then hollow out the insides of the tomatoes with a small spoon, removing the flesh and pulp to a bowl. (The result will look like little bowls.) Turn the tomatoes upside down on a plate to allow the juices to drain. Chop the tomato insides and add them to the simmering beef mixture. (Optional: add diced red or yellow pepper along with the tomatoes.)

4. Combine the bread crumbs, herbs, and spices in a mixing bowl. (I use a little parsley and oregano, salt and pepper, but my sister-in-law uses paprika. Get creative!)

5. Add the bread-crumb mixture to the meat in the skillet and stir thoroughly. Spoon the resulting mixture (the “
farce
”) into the tomato “bowls.” Sprinkle with Parmesan. Put the tops back on the tomatoes like little “hats.”

6. Place the tomatoes in a baking dish, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until they are deliciously melt-in-your-month (
fondant
). Cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Tip:
This dish can easily be prepared in advance and stored in the fridge until ready to bake. If you put the tomatoes straight into the oven from the fridge, you'll need to increase the baking time to 25 or 30 minutes.

Preparation: 10 minutes

Baking: 10 minutes

Servings: 4 adult servings

This dish is tastier than it sounds, I promise!

I have to admit that cauliflower is not one of my favorite vegetables, but I love this dish, in which cauliflower is baked in a classic French béchamel (white) sauce. The classic French
gratin
is usually made with potatoes (and called
gratin dauphinois
), but you can make a gratin with almost any vegetable.

1 cauliflower, chopped in bite-size pieces

4 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

2 cups milk

½ cup bread crumbs

½ cup grated Parmesan

Optional: salt, pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg or cinnamon

1. Put a pot of water to boil on the stove, preheat your oven to 350°F, and butter a medium casserole dish.

2. Meanwhile, chop the cauliflower into bite-size pieces. Add it to pot when water is at a rolling boil. Reduce the heat slightly and cook for 5 minutes while making the white sauce.

3. To make the white sauce, melt the butter in a medium pot over medium heat. Sprinkle in the flour, stir well (until the flour is absorbed), raise the heat to high, and stir for 30 seconds. Add the milk and stir constantly until the mixture has thickened, about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in salt, pepper, and nutmeg or cinnamon (if desired). Set aside.

4. To make the topping, mix the bread crumbs and Parmesan in a small bowl.

5. To make the gratin, drain the cauliflower (which will be soft but not floppy) and place it in the dish. Pour the white sauce on top, sprinkle with bread-crumb mixture, and bake for 10 minutes, or until the top is golden-brown and crunchy.

Preparation: 5 minutes

Cooking: 10 minutes

Servings: 1 adult, 2 children, or 4 toddlers per fillet

Many of the families we got to know in France had two working parents. So I was always amazed when we got dinner invitations and saw what these busy couples (okay, usually the mom) had managed to whip together. Part of the secret is that they had figured out how to streamline their cooking. This fish dish is an excellent example of how a tasty and elegant dish can be prepared quickly.

Cooking
en papillote
means tightly wrapping something (usually fish) in parchment paper and baking it in the oven. The dish steams in its own juices, and the flavors are wonderfully concentrated.

This dish is also fun to serve.
Papillon
is the French word for butterfly, which is a lovely metaphor for the visual effect of this dish. Bring the baking dish to the table, and watch everyone's faces as you unfold the wrapping to release the savory steam.

1 tablespoon olive or canola oil

1 tablespoon olive or canola oil

1 fillet of fish per person: (salmon, sole, and halibut are our favorites)

1 medium zucchini (for every 2 fillets), sliced thin (but not peeled)

Juice of 1 lemon

½ cup plain yogurt (or mayonnaise or
crème fraîche,
if you have it
)