Notes from a French Kitchen

By Marie-Christine Perry

As our new way of life becomes a routine, we are faced with shopping much less often and more randomly, and with having to be creative with our pantry. If you, like me, are well stocked on the basics and find you are bored with the recipes from your old repertoire, here are some ideas to freshen your approach.

Hopefully your pantry contains most of these staples: several kinds of flour and grains (rice, couscous, barley, oats, kasha, polenta); pasta and legumes (black and white beans, lentils, chickpeas); sugar, instant yeast, baking powder, chocolate (ideally chocolate chips, cocoa, baking chocolate); some canned goods (evaporated milk, tomatoes, tuna, anchovies, various stocks); jars of jams and jellies, honey, olives, salsa and a nice selection of spices, also onions, shallots and garlic. If you canned some vegetables last summer, so much the better! I would add to a well-stocked pantry some thick sliced bacon, pancetta, duck confit and duck fat.

Although fresh meat and fish are available, vegetarian meals make the most of our pantry, showcasing recipes we tend to forget when abundance reigns, and making the most of legumes and their versatility. 

 
A couple of cans or a couple of cups of dry black beans, a can of whole or chopped tomatoes, onions, garlic, a bouquet garni (thyme, bay leaf, parsley), cumin and cayenne pepper will take you to Mexico and yield a fabulous chili, garnished with fresh jalapeños and fresh cilantro and a dollop of sour cream or crème fraîche.

Made instead with navy beans, a good stock, tomatoes, garlic, bouquet garni, some thickly sliced pancetta or bacon (blanched for a few minutes to reduce the salt and some of the smokiness), a couple of legs of duck confit, you are now in Languedoc and have quite a respectable cassoulet.

 
Lentils can let you travel from India to France, whether you make dahl or lentilles du Puy. For dahl, cook red lentils in broth with fried onions and garam masala spice blend. To make your own garam masala, mix 1/4 cup each of cumin and coriander seeds, 1 1/2 T cardamom seeds, 2 whole cinnamon sticks, 1 1/2 tsp whole cloves, 3 T black peppercorns, 4 bay leaves, and grind in coffee grinder after roasting in a pan for a few minutes to release the aromas. Lentilles du Puy, the tiny green lentils from the Auvergne region of France, stay firm when cooked and lend themselves to any salad combination. Cook in broth until tender, dress with a Dijon mustard vinaigrette, add chopped parsley and chives and serve as is or as a bed for roast salmon.

With chickpeas you can travel throughout the Mediterranean, from Israeli hummus to a complete North African couscous. A complete couscous includes the grain, steamed over the broth of fragrant vegetable, meats and spices, and is served with harissa, a spicy North African condiment. It is easily found already made, but to make your own. Grind together in food processor:

1 red pepper

1/2 tsp each of coriander seeds, cumin seeds and caraway seeds

1 1/2 T olive oil

1 small red onion, coarsely chopped

3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

3 hot red chilies, seeded and coarsely chopped

1 1/2 tsp tomato paste

2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 tsp salt

Covered with a film of olive oil, this will keep in refrigerator for weeks. Put your vegetables (you can use what you have; I like to include an eggplant quartered lengthwise and some zucchini, pearl onions, garlic cloves, carrots, celery, young turnips), the chickpeas, two cups of raisins or mixed dried fruit, the meat you have (chicken thighs, lamb shank, merguez sausage, beef or lamb meatballs) and tomato paste, cover with water, and cook until meat is tender. Serve the meat and vegetable with the grain and with some of the broth in which you have dissolved harissa to taste on the side.

The idea, during this long home confinement, is to have fun and travel from your kitchen. Here imagination is unbridled—the only limit is your ability to dream as you look at your pantry shelves. Bon appétit!