Notes From a French Kitchen

Text and Photo by Marie-Christine Perry

Early last spring, since my partner Cheryl was going to be working from home because of the pandemic and there would be two of us living full-time here in Norfolk, we decided that to make sure we had access to fresh vegetables and fruits, we would join the farm share program (commonly known as a CSA, for community-supported agriculture) at Husky Meadows Farm. This would be a first for me, since I usually prefer carefully choosing the food I buy. I am a totally whimsical shopper where food is concerned, guided only by my musings in markets and at farm stands, my coups de foudre, the smells and colors around the stalls. I love bringing home the unusual, the unexpected, and letting my creative streak transform it all into meals.

The prospect of having the farm decide for me what would be in my basket each week was daunting. Visions of—not sugarplums—but bunches of kale trying to get into my kitchen kept me awake at night! I bravely waited for the first week.

I was surprised to find salad greens, scallions, sage, radishes, strawberries, Swiss chard, lemon balm and a jar of arugula pesto in my first basket, early in June. Later in the summer, a jar of the farm’s honey also made its appearance.

Although I keep a vegetable garden, I mostly grow asparagus, Japanese eggplant, jalapeños and other hot peppers, Swiss chard and assorted tomatoes. I also grow a full complement of herbs, both for using fresh, in tisanes, and to dry for the winter months. I am the quintessential Provençal eater, with olives, goat cheese, tomatoes, eggplants and peppers at the core of my cooking. The abundance of greens in my weekly basket transformed my habits.

Over the course of the summer, I discovered several new tastes, mostly Japanese greens and Hakurei turnips, but the variety of weekly offerings made every Wednesday trip to the farm a special event. I am happy to report that kale made its appearance only twice, and zucchini was kept to a very manageable amount. Although I grow most herbs in quantity, it was always easy to tuck some extra parsley into a broth and dry extra lavender or sage. 

When faced with several vegetables and no inspiration, a Moroccan tagine is often a great solution, as I discussed with Dominique Lahaussois, the owner of the farm, who invested in an authentic tagine earthenware dish for just such a purpose. This can be a meat or meatless dish, best served with steamed couscous and a Moroccan salad of seared red peppers or oranges.

The following recipe is one of my favorites, tajine de poulet aux olives, with chicken and olives, but lamb tagine with apricots is also delicious.

You will need 1 whole chicken cut into pieces, 2 preserved lemons, 2 large onions, 3 cloves garlic, a 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, a small handful of fresh cilantro and of fresh parsley, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon saffron threads crumbled, 1 teaspoon Ras el Hanout (a Moroccan spice mix), 1/3 cup olive oil, 2 handfuls of green olives.

Add 1 chopped preserved lemon to a bowl with the chicken, the chopped onion, garlic, cilantro, parsley, ginger, pepper, turmeric, salt, saffron, Ras el Hanout. Mix well. Marinate in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight. Coat the bottom of the tagine (or other flat-bottom baking dish) with enough olive oil. Arrange the marinated chicken in the tagine, flesh-side down, and spread the onions around. Distribute around the chicken 2 to 3 cups of your choice of vegetable cut into medium pieces, the olives and the second preserved lemon cut into quarters. Add a cup of water and drizzle the remaining olive oil over the chicken. 

Bake the tagine uncovered for 45 minutes to one hour in a 425-degree oven until the chicken is light golden brown, basting occasionally. 

Reduce the heat to 350 degrees and continue baking for another 30 minutes or longer. The chicken should be deeply browned, the juices should run clear, and the leg joints should move easily. Remove the chicken from the oven and let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes before serving with steamed couscous. An Alsatian wine, either Riesling or Gewurtztraminer, would be a lovely accompaniment.

We definitely plan to sign up with Husky Meadows Farm for next summer, as this proved a fun, challenging and exciting experience. Their blog throughout the summer was very useful, with news from the farm, full photos and descriptions of each week’s bounty, some recipes and great information on some of the more unusual produce. Other farms in our area also offer CSAs in the summer, and the Connecticut Department of Agriculture provides a list of them on its website.

Supporting your local community farms, particularly when the local farmer’s market is closed all summer, is an important part of making sure fresh, wholesome food appears on the table without any carbon footprint! 

Bon appétit!