The cooking of Provence is as vivid and compelling as its countryside.
An enormously talented practitioner of cuisine Provencal is chef Reine Sammut, co-owner with her husband, Guy, of La Feniere restaurant in the quaint village of Lourmarin in the Luberon region. A recent dinner there made me realize that she is, indeed, “one of the best women chefs in France.”
I asked Reine Sammut for a menu that could be cooked easily at home, specifically for do-ahead dishes expressive of her region. For a taste of Provence during the holiday season, consider her menu of warm carrot salad with cumin, coq au vin a la provencale, and a gratin of fresh fruit in a Beaumes de Venise sabayon sauce.
This carrot salad is the perfect choice for introducing a main course.
WARM CARROT SALAD WITH CUMIN
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
3 bunches young carrots, about 2 pounds total, peeled
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 large cloves garlic, minced
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
2 1/2 to 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/8 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
3 cups mixed field greens, washed, crisped
1. Cook whole carrots in boiling salted water to cover until just tender but not too soft, about 10 minutes. Drain and place under cold running water until cold. Cut into thin slices and transfer to 6-cup mixing bowl.
2. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-low heat. Add garlic and cook without browning it, about 4 minutes. Add cumin. Mix well. Add 2 1/2 tablespoons vinegar to deglaze the pan. Pour warm mixture over carrots. Toss to mix well. Add salt and pepper. Mix well again. (Salad can be served immediately or made several hours in advance and kept at room temperature.)
3. To serve, gently reheat carrots stovetop or in microwave oven until warm, if made ahead. Arrange greens on 4 salad plates. Top with warm carrots, evenly divided. Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper. Serve immediately.
At La Feniere, chef Sammut’s version of this dish was a little more intricate with a confit of the legs, which were boned and the breast meat cooked perfectly.
FARM CHICKEN IN RED WINE A LA PROVENCALE
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large broiler/fryer chicken, about 3 pounds, cut into 8 pieces, rinsed, dried
Salt, freshly ground pepper
4 ounces smoked lean bacon, cut into small pieces
1 pint pearl onions, dropped into boiling water, peeled
1 pound medium mushrooms (cultivated or wild), coarsely chopped
1 bottle light red wine
1 cup water
1 branch fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
Steamed peeled small potatoes, for serving
1. Heat oil in 14-inch deep heavy casserole over medium-high heat. When very hot, lightly season chicken with salt and pepper. Brown chicken (in batches if too crowded) on both sides, turning once, about 6 minutes total if done in one batch.
2. Add bacon, onions and mushrooms to chicken. Cook until very hot, shaking pan as necessary to distribute ingredients. When hot, add wine and 1 cup water. Add thyme and bay leaf. Cook barely at a simmer, covered, for 1 hour. Add more water if liquid evaporates too much. To cook a few hours ahead, slightly undercook and leave at room temperature.
3. To finish, reheat chicken if cooked ahead and transfer warm chicken to heated serving platter and tent with foil to keep warm. Skim fat off pan juices, if desired. Boil pan juices with vegetables, uncovered, until reduced to about 1 1/4 cups liquid, about 10 minutes. Discard thyme branch and bay leaf. Adjust seasoning. Ladle sauce over chicken and serve with steamed potatoes.
Recently, when Sammut was “on tour” cooking at Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago, she prepared this gratin of fruit at a special Provence dinner. It was superb. About 5 cups of any soft ripe seasonal fruits will work. The trick is to cook the sabayon until very thick (to cook the egg yolks) so that it doesn’t separate as it chills. The sauce and the whipped cream are combined just before broiling; the fruit can be waiting in the dish.
GRATIN OF FRUIT WITH BEAUMES DE VENISE SABAYON
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Fruit:
5 cups mixed raspberries, strawberries, cubed ripe pears (tossed in a little lemon juice to keep them from turning brown)
Sauce:
3 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup Beaumes de Venise muscat
1/2 cup whipping cream
1. For fruit, arrange in 6-cup capacity shallow gratin dish. Keep chilled.
2. For sauce, beat egg yolks and sugar with electric mixer until very light and smooth, about 2 minutes. Meanwhile, heat muscat in microwave oven or stovetop until very hot.
3. With mixer running, slowly drizzle hot muscat into egg yolk mixture. Transfer sauce to top of double boiler. Set top of double boiler over-not touching-boiling water. Cook, stirring constantly, until very thickened (almost poached-looking) and hot, about 3 to 5 minutes, depending on heat. Transfer sauce to 2-cup bowl and refrigerate several hours until chilled. Whip cream until thick. Keep chilled.
4. To serve, combine chilled whipped cream and chilled sabayon. Evenly spread over fruit. Broil, about 5 inches from heat source, until lightly browned. Watch constantly to avoid burning. Serve immediately.
