Rillettes de Thom, tuna paté, an elegant spread that can be served for any special occasion.
“At the avant-garde Parisian bistro Itinéraires,” Dorie Greenspan writes in her recent cookbook, “ sardine rillettes is served in a martini glass topped with a baby scoop of cornichon sorbet.”
Pronounced ree-ett (the ‘s’ is not pronounced), and called the poor man’s paté, Sardine Rillettesis our FFWD recipe choice for the week. Unfortunately, this Iowa farm girl, admittedly unsophisticated, cannot sit at that bistro table.
Not that I didn’t try to find some willing “tasters”. In desperation, my last stop was at our housing community’s security gate to see if any guards liked sardines. They weren’t pleasant in their replies. I didn’t even mention the cornichon sorbet. Admittedly, the last goody I dropped off at the gate was a sheet of warm cinnamon rolls. They’re spoiled rotten.
Instead, I turned to Dorie’s other two rillettes recipes, salmon and tuna, and decided to go with the tuna. Clearly, this is one delicious ree-ett: soft, spreadable, a tad rich and quickly made.
All the ingredients, dumped into my mini-chopper.
Here a pulse, there a pulse, everywhere a pulse, pulse. Voilà. Rillet
I threw two cans of chunk light tuna, a shallot, curry powder, crème fraîche, salt and pepper, into my Ninja Food Chopper and pulsed the ingredients together. After adding a squeeze of lemon joined by one last pulse, the paté needed to be refrigerated. After its flavors intensify (chill at least an hour), Rillettes de Thon is a delightful spread with crackers, bread or toast.
I will use the leftover rillettes, if there is any, as the centerpiece of the Salade Niçoise I plan to make for lunch tomorrow.
Cover the mixture and refrigerate it for at least an hour. For me, overnight.
Salade Niçoise with Tuna Rillettes Tastespotting.com
It’s important to remember that albacore tuna is too firm and dry for this recipe. Otherwise, there’s not much to dislike about this tasty treat.
I know what you’re thinking. Who needs another baking powder biscuit recipe? This sounds like an appetizer party-nibble to me. Hey, who even hosts cocktail parties anymore?
Okay, maybe this was what I was thinking yesterday morning when my feet hit the floor, earlier than usual, to channel Dorie and bake this week’s FFWD recipe. However, I’ve learned not to underestimate Ms. Greenspan who carefully tested and selected each of the 300 recipes that appear in her cookbook. So, within fifteen minutes the onions were sizzling in the skillet; the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder, whisked together; the milk and butter bits, ready-to-mix.
Carmelizing onions at 6am in the morning. That’s a first!
I measured the dry ingredients, put them into the bowl with the softened onions and poured in the liquid – whole milk.
Another fifteen minutes later, and barely through listening to NPR’s Morning Edition’s first segment, I placed the baking sheet into a 425 degree oven.
Ready to shove into a 425 degree oven
CAUTION – My biscuits were finished to perfection, top and bottom, in 9 minutes, half the time that Dorie suggests.
To put this biscuit in the “little quick bread” category (which it is) seems a great disservice. To reserve it primarily for cocktail circuit fare is just plain wrong! The faint flavor of carmelized onions blended wonderfully with the orange marmalade and raspberry preserves I spread on two of the warm biscuits. Served with an omelet or frittata, even better. What a feast to enjoy to honor International Women’s Day (March 8th).
Who knew? A baking powder biscuit + carmelized onions + raspberry preserves. Mmmmmmmmmm
Really, these biscuits are so subtle in their taste and texture they will work with many different food choices. Why not make them a house special, as Dorie suggests. Rather than baking off all three-dozen biscuits, I froze some on a baking sheet until they were solid, packed them airtight and placed them in my freezer where they will last for two months.
My On-the-Road Rolling Pin – Note that, appropriately, the Vodka is French
“Comment voulez-vous gouverner un pays qui a deux cent quarante-six variétés de fromage?” General Charles DeGaulle
Every week, in my French Friday with Dorie Post, I join more than 100 cooks to bake a specific recipe from Around My French Table, Dorie Greenspan’s latest cookbook. It’s reasonable, even appropriate, to expect Dorie to favor and choose ingredients français.
Not this week.
France is all about producing fine cheeses, but, for this week’s quiche, Dorie has risked the wrath of DeGaulle and crossed borders to choose Gorgonzola dolce, the soft, mild blue cheese from Italy. Her reasoning? Gorgonzola has a milder, sweeter, less salty flavor with a softer, creamier consistency than its French cousin, Roquefort.
Albeit equipment-challenged and despite my improvisation, this quiche turned out well.
What man wouldn’t like this? Get real………..
Dorie also turns left from traditional, Quiche Lorraine, and suggests a tart loaded with apples, onion, toasted hazelnuts (or, walnuts) and Gorgonzola. Scrumptious. And, the comment from my supper guest/guinea pig, who shared this with me? “This is delicious. It tastes ‘so French’ !!!
My only challenge with this simply-put-together Quiche is that I am living in a rental house this Winter. This kitchen is not my kitchen. Since Michael Ruhlman just posted the article I wish he’d written earlier but didn’t, I’ve had to improvise. http://ruhlman.com/2012/01/cooking-on-the-road-tools-i-traveled-with/
1.My rolling pin. A Vodka bottle. Yes, the Vodka was French. (For the Record: I don’t drink Vodka but found this bottle in the freezer!)
2.The tart pan. An over-sized Pyrex pie plate.
3.I pre-baked the tart shell and used a metal cake pan to keep the dough flat.
4.I added an extra egg and more heavy cream to fill the larger vessel (plate).
The buttered foil and metal cake pan kept the chilled tart dough flat while pre-baking.
Oven-ready, hoping for “puffy”. I may not drink Vodka but wine, yeah.
The result was just fine, not perfect, but good e’nuf. I have awarded myself a “Best in Show” Blue Ribbon for improvisation.
Although I urge you to buy Dorie’s excellent book, Around my FrenchTable, if you covet this recipe, just e-mail me personally and I’ll send it your way. To see the quiche versions of the extraordinary and more-talented Doristas, visit: http://www.frenchfridayswithdorie.com/
Yummy enough to eat
(NOTE: Tuesdays with Dorie, Baking with Julia premieres next week, February 7th, with two recipes per month. To date there are over 300 blogs represented! Ten bakers are named Jennifer. Four of our bakers are men. California is the most represented state with 53 bakers. Although I will be baking with Dorie, next week’s recipe is bread, something I cannot make without my heavy-duty mixer. Please see what others have baked at http://tuesdayswithdorie.wordpress.com/. I will post my first Tuesday’s recipe on February 21st, Chocolate Truffle Tartlets, which I am baking in anticipation of my daughter’s birthday week-end celebration.)
Dorie’s Version of Baba Ghanoush with a tweak de français
Don’t be frightened by its name. There is nothing “posh” about Eggplant Caviar. It’s fun and easy to make, the primary ingredients being eggplant, tomatoes and onions. A few seasonings. A few herbs. Viola.
This is a dish, however, that is best used the day it is made. So, I halved the recipe and, first, used it with pita crisps as an afternoon snack.
For dinner, I roasted some peppers and made a sandwich: Nine Grain Bread, Eggplant Caviar and Roasted Peppers. Dories’s idea, not mine, and it was delicious.
I will make this Eggplant Caviar again and again to use as a nutritious and very flavorful sandwich spread.
Roasted Peppers – I love the paper sack-step.
Eggplant Caviar + Roasted Peppers
+ 9-Grain Bread = Veggie Sandwich
Add thinly-sliced ham to this sandwich for a different and more substantial taste.
My Sicilian neighbor keeps me supplied me with her family’s home-made sun-dried tomatoes. Utilizing Las Vegas’ searing sun, they’re dried in the time-consuming European-style and are the most delicious sun-dried tomatoes I have ever tasted. Dorie’s Tomates Confites, our recipe of the week, comes close to matching their flavor. It’s so simple, a no-brainer, to cut cherry or grape tomatoes in half, throw on olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and fresh thyme from the garden, before roasting in the oven for three hours.
Viola! A burst of flavor for salads, pasta, spreads and dips. Ladle them over sautéed or steamed chicken, salmon or tuna or throw some in the belly of a whole fish headed for the grill. For my next pasta dinner party, I’m going to throw them on a platter, place it in the middle of the table and let everyone choose themselves whether to add to the pasta or salad, smother over some crusty Italian bread, or use as a side dish — whatever smacks their fancy. The tomato-garlic-thyme aroma is heavenly.
If you aren’t using the roasted tomatoes for the day’s menu, pack them in a jar along with the garlic and thyme and cover with olive oil where they will keep for a few weeks. I intend to start giving them as house gifts or for Christmas to my friends who love to cook. Really flavorful, for sure, and useful, any time of the year.
If you’re watching your calories these days, and, who isn’t, this luncheon item reeks of yumminess. As Dorie puts it, “The Tartine Régime, (or, diet tartine), is extremely popular among ladies-who-lunch in Paris, since it is filling, not fattening, pretty but not precious, and, fine for any season.”
Tartine Régime est parfait pour le déjeuner:
The real clue to making this Tartine so tasty is the nonfat fromage blanc spread which is sometimes difficult to find in American stores. But, Dorie, being ever so clever, provides a superb substitute. Because I encourage you to use this spread on other sandwiches, I want to share the recipe with you:
Nonfat Fromage Blanc américain – Whisk 6 tablespoons cottage cheese to 2 tablespoons sour cream. Salt and Pepper to taste. Refridgerate overnight.
I Love this Tartine. Vive La France!
Fromage Blanc on Country Bread, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, & Chives-a Wow
