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By Root 882 0

into a partridge by the goddess Athena, who has a thing for geniuses. One of the oldest partridge recipes comes from the French, who would encrust foods in salt to protect them from the scorching heat of the oven. The guards of the Aigues-Mortes salt fields, had they survived being massacred by invading Burgundians, would surely have appreciated this dish. The Burgundians were eventually massacred as well, and their bodies buried in a tower filled with salt. Athena would have approved of their ingenuity, and of salt crusting in general, though it is doubtful that she would have approved of this choice of bird for the roasting.

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

4 juniper berries, crushed

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 partridges (8 to 10 ounces each), or squab, cleaned, washed, and dried

4 large fresh figs, stems removed

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 pounds sel gris

¼ to ⅓ cup water (optional)

½ cup balsamic vinegar

½ ounce bittersweet chocolate

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Mix together the garlic, rosemary, juniper, and pepper in a small bowl. Rub the partridges inside and out with the mixture and stuff a fig into the cavity of each bird.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Put as many of the birds as will fit comfortably in the pan and brown as evenly as possible all over their surfaces, about 2 minutes per side. Repeat until all of the birds are browned. Set aside to cool for 15 minutes.

Have ready a large casserole dish just large enough to accommodate the four birds. Press the sel gris between your fingers. It should be moist enough to stick together. If it isn’t, stir in a few tablespoons of water until the salt is moist enough to cling together when firmly pressed.

In the casserole dish, make four ½-inch-thick oval pads of the sel gris, each just large enough to hold a bird. Place a bird on each oval and pack the remaining salt around each bird until it is completely encased. Bake for 30 minutes.

While the birds are roasting, boil the balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan or skillet until reduced by half. Remove from the heat and swirl in the chocolate until melted; keep warm.

Remove the birds from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes. Break the salt crusts and brush off any salt clinging to the surface of the partridges. Remove the figs from the cavity and arrange on four plates, along with the birds. Drizzle with chocolate-balsamic syrup and serve.

RIB STEAK IN SALT CRUST

SERVES 4

One of the great diversions of life in France is an intimate evening at the local bistro, where mainstays of French food are reduced to their basic elements for quick, casual dining. Côte de boeuf en croûte de sel is among the great bistro dishes: beef rib steak, cut tremendously thick, perfectly cooked, and served piping hot with a little herbed butter. Roasted potatoes can accompany the dish, but it is perhaps best to leave the steak to itself; the dish is so simple, so satisfying, that you will likely find yourself thinking of little more than another sip of good red wine and a nice green salad to round things off. This preparation calls for a lot of salt, but fear not, the resulting steak will be seasoned to perfection. Whatever you do, use moist sel gris, never desiccating kosher salt, for your salt crust.

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 two-rib bone-in rib steak (about 3 pounds and 2 to

3 inches thick)

1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

2 pounds sel gris, such as sel gris de l’Ile de Noirmoutier

2 to 5 tablespoons water (optional)

Leaves from 2 rosemary sprigs

HERB BUTTER

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

½ clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons finely minced fresh herbs, such as Italian parsley, rosemary, and/or thyme

2 two-finger pinches fleur de sel de Camargue

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Heat a heavy iron skillet over high heat for 10 minutes until very hot. Add the olive oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Pat the surface of the steak dry and season with the cracked pepper. Brown the steak on both sides, 1 to 2