Julia's Kitchen Wisdom (10 page)

Grated Sautéed/Steamed Beets

For 1½ pounds beets, to serve 4. Peel and grate the beets. Toss them in a nonstick frying pan with 2 tablespoons melted butter. Add ¼ inch water and 1 teaspoon red-wine vinegar, and bring to simmer over medium heat for 1 minute, stirring. Cover, lower heat, and simmer about 10 minutes, adding more water if necessary, until beets are tender and liquid has evaporated. Swirl and toss with another tablespoon or so of butter, and season to taste.

VARIATION

• TURNIPS, RUTABAGAS, AND CARROTS.
  Grate and sauté/steam the same way.
  

Brown Onion “Marmalade”

To make about ½ cup. Sauté 3 cups sliced onions slowly in 2 to 3 tablespoons butter for about 15 minutes, until tender and translucent. Raise heat and sauté 5 minutes or so more, stirring, until nicely browned.

BRAISED VEGETABLES

When vegetables need longer cooking, you braise them, meaning you cover them and let them steam in their own juices.

Braised Celery

Use ⅓ to ½ prepared celery heart per serving. Cut the celery hearts in halves or thirds lengthwise, depending on thickness; wash under cold running water. Lay cut side up in a buttered flameproof baking dish. Salt lightly, spread over each a teaspoon of mirepoix (see box below), and pour in chicken stock to a third of the way up. Bring to the simmer on top of the stove. Lay buttered wax paper over the celery, cover with foil, and cook in a 350°F oven 30 to 40 minutes, until tender. Pour juices into a saucepan and boil down until syrupy. Swirl in a tablespoon or so of butter and pour over the celery.

MIREPOIX—DICED AROMATIC VEGETABLES.
To give extra flavor to braised meats and vegetables. For about ⅓ cup. Sauté gently for about 10 minutes ¼ cup each finely diced carrots, onions, and celery in 2 tablespoons butter with a pinch of thyme and, if you wish, ¼ cup diced ham. When tender, season lightly to taste.

VARIATION

• BRAISED LEEKS.
  Use 1 fat or 2 thin trimmed leeks per serving. Cut fat leeks in half lengthwise; leave thin ones whole. Place cut side up in one layer in a buttered baking dish, and proceed as for the braised celery, but omit the mirepoix.
  

Braised Endives

For 10 endives, to serve 5 to 10. Trim root ends of endives, keeping leaves attached. Arrange in one layer in a buttered flameproof casserole. Salt lightly, distribute 1½ tablespoons butter in small pieces on top, and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Pour in water to come halfway up, and bring to the boil on top of the stove. Boil slowly for 15 minutes, or until almost tender. Lay buttered wax paper over the endives, cover the casserole, and bake in a 325°F oven for 1½ to 2 hours, or until the endives are a pale buttery yellow.

Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage

Serves 4 or 5. Sauté 1 cup red-onion slices in a large saucepan with 2 to 3 tablespoons of butter or oil or pork fat until tender. Blend in 4 cups of shredded red cabbage, a grated sour apple, 2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar, a puréed garlic clove, a bay leaf, ½ teaspoon caraway seeds, 1 teaspoon sugar, salt, pepper, and ½ cup water. Cover and boil over high heat for about 10 minutes, tossing occasionally and adding more water if necessary, until cabbage is tender and liquid has evaporated. Taste, and adjust seasonings.

POTATOES

Mashed Potatoes

For 2½ pounds (4 or 5) large russet or Yukon-gold potatoes, to serve 6. Peel and quarter the potatoes, and boil for 10 to 15 minutes in salted water (1½ teaspoons salt per quart) until definitely tender when pierced (but not overcooked!). Drain. Return to the pan and sauté for a minute or so to evaporate moisture. Either put through a potato ricer, or whip in an electric mixer at slow to medium speed, adding driblets of hot milk or cream. Season with salt and white pepper, beating in up to ½ cup in all of hot milk or cream by spoonfuls, and alternating with ½-tablespoon additions of butter. If not serving at once, set pan over almost simmering water and cover loosely—the potatoes must have a little air circulation. They will keep thus an hour or more; stir up once in a while, adding a little more butter if you wish before serving.

VARIATION

• GARLIC MASHED POTATOES.
  After mashing the potatoes, purée a head or two of braised garlic cloves simmered in cream (see box below), beat it into the potatoes, and proceed to season them, adding milk or cream and butter to taste. (In my early TV versions I used a more complicated system with a roux and so forth, but this is far simpler and better.)
  

GARLIC

GARLIC FACTOIDS.
To separate the cloves from the head of garlic, cut off the top, then bang down on the head with your fist or the flat of a knife. To peel whole garlic cloves, drop them into a pan of boiling water and boil exactly 30 seconds; the peels will slip off easily. To mince garlic, smash a whole garlic clove on your work surface, peel off and discard the skin, then mince with your
big knife. To purée, sprinkle a big pinch of salt on the minced garlic, then press and rub the garlic back and forth on your work surface with the flat of your knife, or pound with a mortar and pestle.

To remove garlic smell from your hands, wash in cold water, rub with salt, wash in soap and warm water; repeat if necessary.

BRAISED WHOLE CLOVES OF GARLIC.
Simmer 1 head of large peeled garlic cloves and 1 tablespoon of butter or olive oil in a small covered saucepan for 15 minutes or so, until very tender but not browned.

BRAISED GARLIC CLOVES SIMMERED IN CREAM.
Simmer the above braised garlic cloves with ½ cup of cream for about 10 minutes, until meltingly tender. Season with salt and white pepper.

Steamed Whole Potatoes

For small red-skinned or new potatoes about 2 inches in diameter. Scrub potatoes and, if you wish, peel off a band of skin around middle. Pile in a steamer basket set in a saucepan over 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil, cover closely, and steam 20 minutes or so, until easily pierced. Serve as is with seasonings and melted butter, or peel and slice for salad.

Boiled Sliced Potatoes

Especially for use in salads. For about 1 quart. Choose “boiling” potatoes all the same size. One at a time, peel them, cut into slices ¼ inch thick, and drop into cold water—to prevent discoloration. When all are done, drain and add fresh water to cover and 1½ teaspoons salt per quart. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, testing carefully to be sure they are tender. Drain, cover the pan, and let firm up for exactly 4 minutes, then uncover, and be prepared to season them while still warm.

Scalloped Potatoes—Gratin Dauphinois

For 2 pounds boiling potatoes, to serve 4 to 6. Wash potatoes, and one by one peel and cut into slices as described in the preceding recipe. Butter a flameproof baking dish, smear bottom with a puréed clove of garlic, and lay in potato slices. Heat 1 cup of milk seasoned with salt and pepper, and pour over potatoes, adding milk if necessary to reach three-quarters of the way up. Bring to the simmer on top of the stove, and distribute 2 to 3 tablespoons butter in small pieces over potatoes. Bake in upper third of a preheated 425°F oven about 25 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and nicely browned on top.

VARIATIONS

• SCALLOPED POTATOES SAVOYARDE.
  Sauté 3 cups of thinly sliced onions in butter and prepare 1½ cups of grated Swiss cheese. Layer onions and cheese with the potato slices in the baking dish. Instead of milk, heat 2 cups of well-seasoned chicken or beef stock; pour over potatoes to cover by three-quarters. Bake in 425°F oven, basting several times with the juices, until liquid is absorbed and potatoes are nicely browned, about 40 minutes.
  

• POTATOES ANNA—SCALLOPED POTATOES BAKED IN BUTTER.
  For 2 pounds boiling potatoes, to serve 4 to 6. Prepare the potato slices as described above and dry well. Pour clarified butter (see box below) into a 10-inch nonstick frying pan to a depth of ¼ inch; set over moderate heat and rapidly fill pan bottom with a layer of potato slices, overlapping in concentric circles. Shake pan to prevent sticking, baste first layer with a sprinkling of butter, and arrange the remaining slices in neat layers, sprinkling on butter after each, and seasoning with salt and pepper every few layers. When pan is filled, let cook 3 to 5 minutes to crust bottom layer. Lower heat, cover pan, and cook for 45 minutes, or until potatoes are easily pierced, making sure bottom does not burn. Loosen galette around the sides and invert onto a hot serving dish.
  

Sautéed Diced Potatoes

For 1½ pounds boiling potatoes, to serve 4. Peel the potatoes and cut into ¾-inch cubes; drop into cold water to remove starch. Drain, and dry on towels. Sauté over high heat in 3 tablespoons clarified butter (see box below), or 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon oil, tossing frequently until nicely browned. Lower heat; season lightly with salt, pepper, and, if you wish,
Provençal herbs
. Cover and cook 3 or 4 minutes, until tender. If not serving at once, keep warm for 15 minutes or so, uncovered. To serve, raise heat to moderately high, then toss in a spoonful of chopped shallots and parsley, plus a tablespoon or so more of butter. Toss again for several minutes, and serve.