Last week, a neighbour lent me her school cookery book from the 1950s. It is a wonderful guide to the basics of French cooking, and contains dozens of recipes that should be preserved for posterity.
The book builds on previous recipes, assuming that students will work their way through from start to finish. Flipping through, the recipe for friands caught my eye - it requires a portion of puff pastry (covered earlier in the book), some ham, and a half portion of mornay sauce (also covered in a previous chapter). Later in the book, basic preparations for preserves, tarts, pâtés, and stews all build on the skills learned earlier.
To cook your way through the book, from start to finish, is to get an education in traditional French home cooking. Unfortunately, I won't have access to the book for long enough to copy it out - and translate it - in full. I do, however, have time to present some of the greatest hits in the form of forgotten classics.
1 young rabbit, skinned, boned, and cut into pieces
60g fat (type unspecified)
1 glass white wine
½ glass water or bouillon
1 tbsps flour
2 tbsps tomato puree
bouquet garni
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. In a frying pan or saucepan over a medium heat, fry the pieces of rabbit in the fat.
2. Increase the heat to high, and stir for around 20 minutes.
3. Sprinkle with flour, then stir to coat.
4. Moisten the meat with the glass of wine and the half glass of water or bouillon. Add the tomato puree and stir well.
5. Add the bouquet garni and season to taste. Cook for a further 10 minutes.
The book builds on previous recipes, assuming that students will work their way through from start to finish. Flipping through, the recipe for friands caught my eye - it requires a portion of puff pastry (covered earlier in the book), some ham, and a half portion of mornay sauce (also covered in a previous chapter). Later in the book, basic preparations for preserves, tarts, pâtés, and stews all build on the skills learned earlier.
To cook your way through the book, from start to finish, is to get an education in traditional French home cooking. Unfortunately, I won't have access to the book for long enough to copy it out - and translate it - in full. I do, however, have time to present some of the greatest hits in the form of forgotten classics.
1 young rabbit, skinned, boned, and cut into pieces
60g fat (type unspecified)
1 glass white wine
½ glass water or bouillon
1 tbsps flour
2 tbsps tomato puree
bouquet garni
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. In a frying pan or saucepan over a medium heat, fry the pieces of rabbit in the fat.
2. Increase the heat to high, and stir for around 20 minutes.
3. Sprinkle with flour, then stir to coat.
4. Moisten the meat with the glass of wine and the half glass of water or bouillon. Add the tomato puree and stir well.
5. Add the bouquet garni and season to taste. Cook for a further 10 minutes.
RSS Feed
