La Cuisine Niçoise

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File:Food shop at Nice.jpg“La Cuisine Niçoise” is the food of the French Riviera.  Mediterranean cuisine is not only a delight to the palate, but has also been shown to have health benefits.

First secret: The MENU
Choose the recipes according to the season.  Using in-season fruits, vegetables, and fish is one of the secrets to the exquisite tastes of the French Riviera.

Second secret:  SHOPPING
French markets feature fresh vegetables, first class meat and fish. To get the same ingredients in the U.S., venture beyond the traditional chain grocery stores and shop at local farm stands, farmer’s markets,  butcher shops featuring local grass-feed meat and free range poultry, and fish markets carrying fresh, wild fish.

Stock your pantry with high quality extra virgin olive olive, sea salt, and fresh garlic cloves.  If you have room on your window sill, a few fresh Mediterranean aromatic herb plants, like thyme, sage, rosemary, basil, savory, fennel, marjoram, tarragon, oregano, and bay leaf will ensure you always have a convenient source of the herbs most commonly used in “La Cuisine Niçoise.”

Third secret: COOKING
Recipes are guides; unless you are baking, you have flexibility with ingredients and seasonings.  Taste often as you cook, and make sure you leave enough time so that you are not rushed and can let the flavors develop.

Fourth secret: DINING
Set a beautiful table as a backdrop for the experience of enjoying a leisurely meal. While not everyone will be able to dine alfresco under an olive tree, the way they do in Nice, placing fresh flowers on a table set with crisp linens and floral stoneware will help make your experience more authentic.

French Hot Chocolate

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Le Chocolat Chaud

15 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes

Ingredients for 2 people:File:Hot chocolate (2).jpg

  • 2 cups low fat milk
  • 3.5 ounces dark chocolate, grated. Use chocolate with at least 60% cacao for best results
  • 2 ounces heavy cream
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
  • Additional sugar, for serving

Method

1. Place a metal bowl and beaters in the freezer to chill.

2. Boil 2 cups of water and pour 1 cup into each of 2 mugs. Set mugs aside.

3. Heat 1 cup of the milk in a heavy bottomed saucepan, stirring constantly, until tiny bubbles appear at the side. Do not boil.

4. Remove from heat and add all but 1 tablespoon of grated chocolate to the milk. Whisk until chocolate has melted.

5. Return pan to heat, and add remaining 1 cup milk. Whisk until combined, and reduce heat to warm setting.

6. Remove the bowl and beaters from the freezer. Add the cream and sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.

7. Empty the hot water from the mugs.

8. Pour the hot chocolate into the mugs, and top each with half of the whipped cream and 1 1/2 teaspoons of grated chocolate. Serve with additional sugar on the side, so the hot chocolate can be sweetened to taste.

 

Chicken in Vinegar, Lyon Style

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Poulet au Vinaigre

40 minutes
Cooking time: 15-20 minutes
Ingredients for 4 people:

  • 10 tablespoons butter, divided
  • 1 3-pound chicken, cut up for sauteing
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup minced shallots or scallions
  • 1 cup good quality red-wine vinegar
  • 1/2 cup water

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

2. Set a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add 7 tablespoons of butter; when it is hot, place the chicken pieces in the skillet, skin side down. Cook undisturbed for about 5 minutes, or until chicken is nicely browned. Turn and cook 3 minutes on the other side. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Place skillet in preheated oven. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until almost done (juices will run clear, and there will be just a trace of pink near the bone).

4. Remove chicken to an ovenproof platter. Place the platter in the oven; turn off the heat, and leave the door slightly ajar.

5. Pour all but 2 tablespoons of the cooking juices out of the skillet (discard them). Place skillet over medium-high heat, and add shallots; sprinkle them with a little salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until tender, about 2 minutes.

6. Add vinegar, and raise the heat to high. Cook a minute or two, or until the vinegar smell has subsided somewhat.

7. Add 1/2 cup water, and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring, until the mixture is slightly reduced and somewhat thickened. Stir in 3 tablespoons butter.

8. Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the skillet, and turn the chicken in the sauce. Serve immediately.

 

Herbs de Provence

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Herbes de Provence

5 minutes
Cooking time: NA
Ingredients for 1 cup:File:Herbesdeprovence.jpg

  • 2 tablespoons dried rosemary
  • 1 tablespoon fennel seed
  • 2 tablespoons dried summer savory
  • 2 tablespoons dried chervil
  • 2 tablespoons dried thyme
  • 2 tablespoons dried basil
  • 2 tablespoons dried marjoram
  • 2 tablespoons dried lavender flowers
  • 2 tablespoons dried Italian flat leaf parsley
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon dried tarragon
  • 1 teaspoon bay powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground sage

Method

1.Grind rosemary and fennel seed in a spice grinder; transfer to a mixing bowl.

2.Add savory, chervil, thyme, basil, marjoram, lavender, parsley, oregano, tarragon, bay powder, and sage to the rosemary and fennel.  Stir well.

3.Store in an air-tight container between uses.

 

Stuffed Vegetables

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Petits Farcis

“Petits Farcis” or Stuffed Vegetables from Nice30 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Ingredients for 4 people:

For the stuffing :

  • 2 1/4 pounds veal
  • 5 large onions
  • 1 head of garlic
  • 1 bouquet garni (bay leaf, thyme, rosemary)
  • 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
  • 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon of herbes de Provence
  • Tomato puree, salt, pepper

For the vegetables :

  • 8 small green peppers
  • 8 round zucchini
  • 4 small eggplants
  • 8 small tomatoes
  • 1/2 bread stick

Method

  1. Dice the meat in cubes. Peel and finely chop the onions. Peel and slice the garlic. In a casserole dish, brown the cubes of veal in olive oil with the onions and garlic. Add the bouquet garni and leave to simmer 2 hours.
  2. Wash the vegetables. Cut the tomatoes in half, remove the seeds, turn them over and dry them for 5 minutes in the oven. Cut the peppers in half, remove the seeds, brush with olive oil, and cook them for 5 minutes in the oven. Cook the whole zucchini in salted boiling water, and then cut them in half. Cut the eggplants in half, cover them in olive oil, and cook them in the oven for around 5 minutes.
    Hollow out the cooked zucchini and eggplant, and put aside the flesh. Fifteen minutes before the veal finishes cooking, add the diced bread, the Herbes de Provence, and the vegetable flesh. Season. When the veal is cooked, put everything through the mincer (fine setting). Place the vegetables on a baking tray, stuff them with the mince, sprinkle with breadcrumbs and drizzle with olive oil. Brown them in the oven at 400°F.
  3. Serve the stuffed vegetables with tomato puree.

Sage soup

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La soupe de sauge 

File:Growing leaves of garden sage (Salvia officinalis).jpg5 minutes
Cooking time : 15 minutes

Ingredients for 8 people :

8 cups of salted water
A large sprig of sage
A dozen peeled cloves of garlic
Some slices of stale bread
Olive oil

Sage soup is a miracle which cures all excesses of the table. It perfectly combines three sacred elements from our region : water, whose importance one has the tendency to forget these days; sage, whose name in Niçois saùvi, means “I save”; and garlic, that universal remedy which “heals the body, kills worms, repels scorpions and spiders, and frightens away witches and devils “!!

Boil the sage and the garlic in the salted water. Pour it onto the stale bread and add a small splash of olive oil.
Variation : the bread can be replaced by a handful of vermicelli dropped into the soup 10 minutes before the end of cooking time. It can also be served with a little grated gruyère.

Vegetable soup with garlic and basil

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La soupe au pistou 

File:Veg-bean_soup_cook.jpg45 minutes
Cooking time : 1 hour

Ingredients for 6 people :
2 carrots
1 turnip
1/2 a head of green cabbage
2 potatoes
2 tomatoes
3/4 cup coco or cannelini beans
3 small zucchini
2 leeks
7 ounces salt pork
1/2 cup dry elbow macaroni
20 nice leaves
3 cloves of garlic
1 cup grated parmesan
1/2 cup olive oil
Ssalt and pepper

Carefully wash your vegetables. Peel the carrots, potatoes and turnip but leave the skin on the zucchini.

Cut into little cubes the carrots, turnip, courgettes, potatoes, and cabbage. Place the tomatoes in boiling water for one minute so as to easily remove their skins, drain them and cut them into large pieces. Cut the leeks and onions into thin slices.
Cut the salt pork into 6 large cubes and boil these for 5 minutes.
In a large pot place the leeks the onions and a clove of garlic crushed by hand in a tea towel and gently simmer this with the olive oil on low heat. Add the salt pork. As soon as the onions and the leeks become transparent add all the other vegetables except the coco beans.

Allow to cook for 5 minutes on low heat, stirring if necessary with a wooden spoon. Add 8 cups of salted water, the cocos, and bring to the boil.

Simmer until tender, about 30 minutes.  Fifteen minutes before the end of cooking, add  the macaroni.
Before cooking is finished, start to prepare the pistou.
The pistou is added to the soup once it has been removed from the heat. Mix and eat straight away.

The Pistou:
Crush 3 cloves of garlic in the mortar. Add the basil leaves and continue to grind the mixture. When the garlic and basil are completely mixed together, add the olive oil and the powdered parmesan and keep mixing until a thick paste is achieved.

Rouille

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Rouille

File:Rouillesauce1.jpgRouille (rouïo in Provençal) is a spicy garlic sauce used for fish dishes, fish soup, and bouillabaisse. After the rouille is prepared, keep it chilled in the refrigerator until it is served. Before serving, if the rouille is stiff, thin it with a few drops of boiling water. Rouille can be prepared one day in advance.

Ingredients :

3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup olive oil
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon saffron

 

In a mortar, crush the garlic until it is a paste.

Add the egg yolks, whisk beat into a mayonnaise while adding about a half-cup of olive oil.

When the sauce is thick and smooth, stir in the pepper and saffron.

Mussel soup with saffron and spaghetti

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 La Soupe aux moules at au safran 

File:?????????????????.JPG15 minutes
Cooking time : 15 minutes

Ingredients for 4 people :

2 1.4 pounds of mussels
1 onion
2 leeks (white sections only)
2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
1 clove of garlic
1 bouquet garni
1 rib of celery
2 ounces spaghetti
2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt, pepper
1 pinch of saffron

 

Heat oil in a large heavy-bottom saucepan.  Into the hot oil drop the onion cut into small cubes and the leaks cut into 1/2 slices. Add the bouquet garni and the celery as well as the tomatoes.  Simmer for about 5 minutes and add 4 cups of slightly salted water.

Bring to a boil and add the spaghetti, broken into half lengths, and the saffron.
While this is cooking, open the mussels which have been previously cleaned into a large pot and add a glass of white wine.  Leave about 20 in the half shell, and totally shell the rest. As soon as the pasta is cooked remove the pot from the stove, and discard the bouquet garni and celery. Add the mussels and their liquid, carefully mixed. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Note : do not boil the mussels as they will become tough.
Serve this meal directly from the cooking pot, topped with a splash of olive oil accompanied by grated gruyère cheese, some garlic croutons, and some rouille.

Salade niçoise

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 La salade niçoise 

File:Salade Niçoise jenny downing.jpg15 minutes
No cooking necessary

Ingredients for 6 people:
5 ripe tomatoes
1/2 fresh onion or 3 green onions.
1 cup fresh fava beans
3 violet artichokes
6 ounce can of tuna
1 small green pepper
A handful of black olives of Nice
3 desalted anchovies (6 filets)
3 hard-boiled eggs
A sprig of basil
1 cucumber
Salt
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil

This recipe is not found very often in old cooking books because it was so natural to eat fresh vegetables with olive oil. A real salade niçoise is a great treat both for the eyes and for the taste. It never includes cooked vegetables (e.g. green beans or potatoes), nor rice.
It is inconceivable without sun-ripened tomatoes (the Saint-Pierre variety) and the use of virgin olive oil of absolute top quality. One can make it without necessarily including all the vegetables cited below, depending upon the season. It is better to use good quality vegetables in lesser quantities, than vegetables that are out of season.
Cut the tomatoes into 1/4 inch slices. Salt them and leave them in a colander so that they may release a little of their liquid.
Peel the cucumber and cut it into paper thin slices.
Cut the fresh onions into thin rings.
Peel the fava beans.
Trim the artichokes: remove the outer leaves and the tip; remove the “beard” which surrounds the heart.
Cut the pepper into thin slices.
In a large flat serving bowl, layer the tomatoes and all the other vegetables, ending with the broad beans, the olives and the hard-boiled eggs cut into quarters.
Lightly salt.
Cover the lot with finely cut basil.
Prepare the vinaigrette immediately before serving. Note that, just as a good musician can be recognized by his own style of playing scales, a successful vinaigrette is the sign of a competent cook! Start by dissolving 3 pinches of fine salt in 2 tablespoons of good wine vinegar in a bowl. Beat the vinegar and salt with a fork, as for an omelette. Add the olive oil slowly while continuing to beat the mixture until the oil is fully incorporated.

Zucchini blossom fritters

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Les beignets de courgettes fleurs

File:Zucchini and blossoms at market on Fondamenta Sant Anna, Castello (6293030821).jpg
15 minutes
Cooking time : 15 minutes
Ingredients for 4 people :

A dozen zucchini blossoms
1 1/4 cups of flour
2 eggs, separated
1/2 cup milk
1/2 water
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for frying
Pepper and salt

Build the flour into a small mountain inside a salad bowl and pour the egg yolks and a tablespoon of olive oil over it. Mix together and slowly add the water and the milk. Add pepper and salt. Leave to rest for a half hour.

Do not wash the zucchini blossoms, just shake off any dirt by hand. Cut the stems to leave about 4 inches and remove the yellowy/orange pistil from inside as this may be a little bitter.

Beat the egg whites until stiff.

Gently fold the egg-whites into the fritter mixture

In a large frying pan heat a generous amount of olive oil.

Dip each flower one after the other first into the fritter mixture then place into the hot oil. With a little experience you will be able to cook several flowers at the same time. After cooking each side for between one and two minutes, take each flower out by its stalk and let them drain off the excess oil on paper towels.

Serve on a dish which you have previously warmed in the oven.

As there is always a little batter left over, the housewives of Nice (who do not like waste), have the habit of blending it with coarsely grated zucchini, and dropping the batter by the tablespoon in to the oil to make zucchini fritters.

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