NEW WORLD PROVENCE: Modern French Cooking for Family and Friends.
By Chefs Alessandra and Jean-Francis Quaglia
Arsenal Pulp Press, 2007, Hardcover, $26.95
Available November 1, 2007 I must confess that whenever a weighty new cookbook from a celebrity chef lands on my desk with a thud, my heart sinks a little.
Maybe its just a leftover eflex from my years at
Vancouver Magazine and
Western Living Magazine, when one of my first editorial duties consisted of deciphering chefs’ recipes into plain English. I particularly recall one recipe which started with the line:
“
Take one large coho salmon and cut it into minuscule dice."
And that wasn’t the most heinous example by any means; it was just the worst one that I could imagine myself struggling to obey.
Too often, chefs have little concept of the realities involved when their fans try to follow their dishes equipped at a non-professional skill level, and their recipes tend to reflect that. It’s the Marie Antoinette “let them first make confit of truffle stock� school of awareness.* In other words, unless you are a student chef hoping to assimilate a master’s techniques by faithfully reproducing his signature dishes, there usually isn’t a lot of value a home cook can hope to get out of a haute cuisine chef’s recipe book – although sometimes if you manage it right, you can colour oordinate the cover jackets with your sofa pillows.
Look at it this way, if you examine the cost of the ingredients involved, the techniques required (illustrations are usually all about photographic art, not instruction), and the time it is going to take you to scrub every dang pot in your kitchen afterwards, doesn’t it actually make more sense, especially if we are talking about local chefs, to just hot foot it over to their restaurants and let them do all the work? Call me a B!#ch for saying so, and chefs certainly will, but I think there is a reason their profession started in the servants' quarters.
Okay, so I'm no Princess Royal myself, but given that complaint, maybe that’s why I'm so attracted to this new project from local celebrity chef couple,
Alessandra and
Jean-Francis Quaglia. Their
New World Provence cookbook is not just a collection of the dishes that have made their restaurants a success for the last ten years, it’s the obvious care they have taken to make the tempting recipes less opaque and labourious for home cooks who are aiming to achieve similar restaurant quality results. Which is why, on a rainy Vancouver night when I'm peevish, tired, in need of some Prozac in a pan, and must decide whether to whip out a chopping knife and a sauté pan and get cooking, or instead decamp to the restaurant itself, this book is actually going to make it a contest.
Both Quaglias,
monsieur et madame, were schooled in the techniques of classical French cuisine and yet the essential soulfulness of their cooking probably stems from the fact that they operate their business as a family, and much of the repeat clientele they enjoy has stuck with them over the past decade in response to that beacon of comfort that their two restaurants,
Provence (Point Grey) and
Provence Marinaside (Yaletown) provide. Jean-Francis’ mama
Suzanne often visits from France and takes a shift or two in front of the stoves whenever she is in town. Hence, one might speculate that her influence is as much in evidence in the Quaglia repertoire as is the Michelin starred restaurants they have cooked in. Their menus are modern and innovative, yet also down to earth, flavourful, and health conscious.
Says Alessandra Quaglia: "
For my husband and I, cooking is not merely about putting food on the table. It’s about a way of life that sustains more than just the body. Through food, we nurture loving relationships with family and friends. We take time to be with one another, to chat and to laugh. Our greatest joy is sharing good food around the table – young and old, new friends and close family – everyone is enriched by the experience,"
A signature item at both Provence restaurants is the antipasti and the book includes a dozen of these dishes, not counting others (such as the marinated goat cheese or cannelloni beans) which show up in the appetizer or vegetable side dish sections. The famous Bouillabaisse is included (although it is my opinion that you need to have rouget and other specifically Mediterranean fish in the stock if you are after real authenticity of flavour), as well as other popular seafood dishes such as their Fennel Pollen-dusted Wild Salmon with Lemon Aioli and the Tapenade-crusted Lingcod. There is even a complete chapter on brunch items, a specialty area where Provence has also distinguished itself. Care for something more exotic? Try the Whole Barbecued Rabbit. If you don’t first have to catch one, it’s easier than you’d think.
There is one recipe however, that I’d just refuse to cook, and that’s the tangy, delectable Lemon Tarte. Because If I did, I’d gobble it all myself, and with party dress season coming up, that just won’t do.
The two introductions to the book have been penned by their friends Chef
Rob Feenie of Vancouver’s
Lumiere restaurant and Chef
Dominique LeStanc of Nice’s
Hotel Negresco (in whose kitchen the young Quaglias first met and fell in love.) To launch the book, Chef LeStanc will be flying in from France to be guest of honour at a special dinner which will take place at Provence Marinaside on Monday, November 12th. Visit the Provence website for
more details on this event. The couple will also be
teaching a cooking class using recipes from the book at
Barbara Jo’s Books to Cooks on November 19th. Below is a list of the 120 recipes and a few of the 32 full colour photos they will be selecting from.
-- Rhonda May* The first clue that you are dealing with this kind of book is that the cover will focus exclusively on a photo of the chef’s head. If that doesn’t tip you off then nothing will. The exception to this rule would be if the chef in question is a Food Network
star and then you should expect the difficulty quota to be exactly the opposite. Your five-year-olds would be safe with Rachel Ray. They might even "get" her.
Recipe List of New World Provence by Alessandra and Jean-Francis Quaglia (Arsenal Pulp Press).
ANTIPASTI
Sautéed Squid with Chili-Citrus Vinaigrette
Stewed Squid in Tomato Saffron Sauce
Snapper Escabeche
Pissaladière (Caramelized Onion Thin Crust Pizza)
Coco Bean & Wild Mushroom Ragoût
Ratatouille
Roasted Vegetables Tossed in Pesto
Grilled Mushrooms
Roasted Red Bell Peppers
Fennel à l’Orange
Roasted Chicken with Olives & Garlic Confit
Merguez Sausage
APPETIZERS, SOUPS & SALADS
Salade Forestière
Marinated Goat Cheese
Warm Goat Cheese Salad
Mushroom Tartelettes
Fresh Tomato Tarte
Cassoulette d’Escargot
Seared Jumbo Squid with Radicchio, Spinach & Chickpeas
Crabcakes
Antipasto di Mare
Seared Oysters
Oysters Provençal
Fresh Oysters with Pear Mignonette
Oven-Baked Sardines
Cannellini Beans with Sautéed Calamari
Soupe au Pistou (Provençal Vegetable Soup)
Soupe aux Moules de Mamie Suzanne
Fish Soup with Crostini
Crostini
Cold Tomato Soup
SPREADS, SAUCES & DRESSINGS
Tapenade
Artichoke Tapenade
Anchoïade
Caramelized Fennel & Anchovy Spread
Chickpea Spread
Moroccan Salsa
Fennel & Oven-Dried Tomato Compote
Roasted Red Pepper Aïoli
Rouille
Cumin Cilantro Yogurt
Hollandaise Sauce
Velouté Sauce
Virgin Sauce
Tomato Sauce
Caponata
Cilantro Pesto
Dijon Balsamic Vinaigrette
L’Ancienne Mustard & Lemon Vinaigrette
VEGETABLE MAINS & SIDES
Roasted Vegetable Tartelettes with Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Chanterelles à la Provençal
Tomatoes Provençal
Grilled Asparagus with Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette
Curried Baby Eggplant
Artichoke, Peas & Pancetta in Phyllo
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Seven-Grain Rice with Chickpeas & Romano Beans
Mushroom & Pearl Barley Risotto with Truffle Oil
New World Panisse
Soft Parmesan Polenta
Nonna’s Manicotti
Orecchiette Pasta with Rapini & Olives
Warm Potato Salad with L’Ancienne Mustard Vinaigrette
FISH & SEAFOOD MAINS
Bouillabaisse
Lingcod aux Epices
Tapenade-Crusted Lingcod
Fennel Pollen-Dusted Wild Salmon with Lemon Aïoli
Seared Rockfish with Artichoke & Roasted Red Pepper
Grilled Halibut with Cherry Tomato-Coriander Vinaigrette
Seared Yellowfin Tuna à la Provence
Roasted Dungeness Crab with Virgin Sauce
Seared Scallops with Snow Pea Sprouts & Mediterranean Vinaigrette
Scallop Brochettes aux Epices
Prawns Provençal
Prawn & Scallop Brochettes with L’Ancienne Mustard & Lemon Vinaigrette
Sautéed Tiger Prawns with Socca Galettes
Seafood Linguini
MEAT MAINS
Daube de Boeuf
Slow-Roasted Duck with Fig Demi-Glace
Seared Beef Tenderloin with Red Wine & Peppercorn Jus
Dijon-Roasted Chicken
Roast Chicken with Herbes de Provence
Grilled Quail with Juniper Berry Jus
Whole Barbecued Rabbit
Matisse’s Favorite Rabbit Stew with Baby Carrots & Bacon
Mamie Suzanne’s Pork Pot Roast
Fragrant Curried Pork
Involtini di Vitello (Italian Veal Stuffed with Spinach & Mozzarella)
Braised Lamb Shanks with Tomato Sauce
Rack of Lamb with Dijon-Herb Crust
Leg of Lamb Stuffed with Olive Tapenade
Ragoût d’Agneau
Lamb Sirloin with Curried Israeli Couscous
BRUNCH
Croque Monsieur Eggs Benedict
Baby Shrimp Eggs Benedict
Crabcake Eggs Benedict
Crab & Lobster Omelette
Smoked Salmon Omelette
Alessandra’s Sunday Quiche
Chicken Crêpes
Remi & Matisse’s Crêpes
Provence-Style French Toast
Jam-Filled Brioche
Healthy Banana Muffins
Currant & Flax Scones
Clarified Butter
DESSERTS
Pear & Fig Tarte
Pear Frangipane Tarte
Apple Tarte Tatin
Lemon Tarte
Hazelnut Brittle
Nectarine & Basil Crostada
Soupe aux Fruits Rouges (Fresh Berry Soup)
Clafoutis with White Chcolate & Mixed Berries
Torta di Capodanno
Raspberry Crème Brûlée
Peach & White Chocolate Bread Pudding
Truffle Cake
Flambée Bananas
Moist Chocolate Layer Cake
Chocolate Espresso Pot de Crème
Tiramisu
Lavender & Orange Cheesecake with Mixed Berry Compote
