French Provincial Cooking - Elizabeth David [156]
LES POMMES DE TERRE
POTATOES
From all the scores of interesting potato dishes invented by French cooks, I can include here only some half-dozen, each one representative of a particular method. It is not good potato recipes we lack in England, it is good potatoes. Because we do not grow any of the true varieties of firm and waxy potatoes which do not disintegrate in the cooking, many French dishes can only be made when new potatoes are in season; on the other hand, the old-fashioned floury potatoes are equally hard to come by. English potatoes are neither one thing nor the other. They need extreme care in the cooking and timing and, for this reason, as well as because they are fattening, I personally rarely serve potatoes with the meat course.
One of the most delectable of all French potato dishes is the gratin dauphinois, for which the recipe is on page 211, but this should be served on its own, not with the meat, and it is scarcely kind to offer such a dish to people who are thinking about their weight.
POMMES FONDANTES
POTATOES COOKED IN BUTTER
This is a good example of the method by which potatoes are cooked in butter without first being boiled.
Choose small new potatoes all of a size and, to cook them in, a heavy pan in which they will all fit in one layer. In this pan heat one ounce of butter for each pound of potatoes, put in the potatoes, cover the pan and leave over a very gentle flame, simply shaking the pan from time to time to make sure they don’t stick. After 15 minutes, turn them over very carefully, cook another 5 to 10 minutes and test with a skewer to see that they are done. Salt them before serving.
POMMES DE TERRE EN DIABLE
POTATOES COOKED IN A CLAY POT
A diable (see drawing on page 59) is a totally unglazed clay vessel in which potatoes are cooked without water or fat of any kind.
Medium-sized potatoes, scrubbed but not peeled, will take approximately 1 hours to cook in the centre of a moderate oven, Gas No. 3 to 4, 330° to 350°F.
The porous clay absorbs some of the watery content of potatoes, and gives them in return a very delicious earthy flavour like that of newly-dug home grown potatoes. They will keep hot for some time after the diable is taken out of the oven.
Potatoes cooked in the diable, peeled, sliced and seasoned while still warm make a potato salad infinitely superior to that made from boiled potatoes.
It should be noted that after an initial rinse in plain water to remove dust and packing, the diable should not again be washed.
POMMES PURÉE or POMMES MOUSSELINE
POTATO PURÉE
Cook 2 lb. of good quality potatoes in their skins, either in the oven or in a small amount of water. It makes a great difference to the ultimate consistency of the purée if the potatoes are quite dry when cooked. If they become water-logged to start with, it is impossible to obtain a good purée.
Having skinned the potatoes as soon as they can be handled, either sieve them through a mouli or mash them with a wooden masher or a heavy wire whisk. Gradually add half a cupful of very hot milk, whisking with great thoroughness; season; beat in 2 oz. of softened butter and whisk and whisk until your arm aches. Only in this manner can you get a really light purée, but the whole operation should also be done with as much speed as possible.
Many French cooks have remarked upon the difference between the English and French methods of making a potato pureée, stressing the fact that whereas the French like theirs to be very creamy and on the runny side, the English one is a much more solid affair. Carême, whether by accident or design one cannot