French Provincial Cooking - Elizabeth David [123]
Peel 1 lb. of yellow potatoes, and slice them in even rounds no thicker than a penny; this operation is very easy with the aid of the mandoline (see page 64). Rinse them thoroughly in cold water—this is most important—then shake them dry in a cloth. Put them in layers in a shallow earthenware dish which has been rubbed with garlic and well buttered. Season with pepper and salt. Pour pint of thick cream over them; strew with little pieces of butter; cook them for 1 hours in a low oven, Gas No. 2, 310 deg. F. During the last 10 minutes turn the oven up fairly high to get a fine golden crust on the potatoes. Serve in the dish in which they have cooked; it is not easy to say how many people this will serve; two, or three, or four, according to their capacity, and what there is to follow.
Much depends also upon the quality of the potatoes used. Firm waxy varieties such as the kipfler and the fir-apple pink18 which appear occasionally on the London market make a gratin lighter and also more authentic than that made with routine commercial King Edwards or Majestics which are in every respect second best.
Two more points concerning the proportions of a gratin dauphinois: as the quantity of potatoes is increased the proportion of cream may be slightly diminished. Thus, for 31b. of potatoes, 1 pints of cream will be amply sufficient; and the choice of cooking dish (for the appropriate shape see the tian, Fig. 2, page 61). is also important, for the potatoes and cream should, always, fill the dish to within approximately three quarters of an inch of the top.
The best way, in my view, of appreciating the charm of a gratin dauphinois is to present the dish entirely on its own, as a first course to precede grilled or plain roast meat or poultry, or a cold joint to be eaten with a simple green salad.
La Charcuterie
Pâtés and terrines, sausages, ham dishes and other pork products
A GREAT deal is said and written about the innate cooking skill of every French housewife and every patron-chef of every other auberge, restaurant and transport café in the land. While not wishing in any way to belittle the culinary talents so lavishly bestowed by Providence upon the French, and so brilliantly cultivated by them, it should be observed that both housewife and restaurateur frequently lean heavily upon their local charcutiers and pâtissiers. If a housewife has but little time for cooking, she is able to rely upon the terrines and pâtés, the sausages, the hams and all the miscellaneous pork products of the charcutier, to make a quick midday meal for her family or a first course for her lunch party. If the talents of her cook do not lie in the direction of pastry-making, she can with perfect confidence order a vol-au-vent to fill with a rich creamy sea-food mixture, or a cake, a handsome fruit flan or a savarin to serve as dessert, while she and her cook concentrate upon the meat, the fish and the vegetables.
The reputation of many a small restaurateur has been built upon the products of the local charcutier. A careful look at the details of restaurant specialities given in the Michelin and other guides shows that not a few of them owe their star to some kind of sausage, or pâté, andouillette or pieds de porc truffés. Ten to one you will find that not far away from that restaurant is a first-class pork