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Episode 102

Pot-au-Feu

FOR THE BEEF AND BEEF BROTH

• 2 pounds beef short ribs or oxtails

• 1 pound beef shanks

• 1 pound beef brisket

• 1 sweet onion, peeled and studded with 10 cloves

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 bunch fresh winter savory

• 1 tablespoon herbes de Provence

• 1 tablespoon sea salt

• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns

• 3 star anise

• 1 stick cinnamon

• 1 head of garlic

• 1 big sprig of fresh thyme

FOR THE VEGETABLES

• 2 leeks, (white and light green parts), cut into 3-inch lengths, halved, and washed well

• 8 medium carrots, halved and cut into 3-inch lengths

• 8 small turnips, peeled and left whole, or 4 medium turnips, cut in half

• 8 small Yukon Gold

• 2 (4-inch) pieces beef marrow bones

FOR THE HORSERADISH SAUCE

• 1/2 cup heavy cream

• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise

• 2 tablespoons grated fresh horseradish or prepared horseradish, or to taste

• 1 teaspoon sea salt

• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

TO SERVE

• 1 baguette, cut into thick slices then toasted

• Fleur de sel or another flake salt

• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

• Whole-grain mustard

• Dijon mustard

• Cornichons

1. To make the beef and beef broth, in a large stockpot, combine the short ribs, shanks, and brisket, cover with cold water, and bring to a rapid boil over high heat. With tongs, remove the meat to a large bowl and discard the water (this is done to help create a clear broth). Rinse out the pot, return the meat to the pot, and add the onion, bay leaf, savory, herbes de Provence, salt, peppercorns, star anise, cinnamon, garlic, and thyme. Add cold water to cover everything by at least 1 inch. Bring to a gentle boil over medium-high heat. As soon as it boils, reduce the heat so it is barely simmering (see Tip below). Cook until the meat is so tender that a knife passes through it with no resistance, about 3 hours.

2. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a large bowl and strain the meat, keeping both the liquid and the beef. Discard the vegetables. Transfer the beef to a platter.

3. To make the vegetables, return the broth to the pot, add the leeks, carrots, turnips, potatoes, and marrow bones, and simmer over low heat until the vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes. Return the beef to the pot and simmer to heat through, about 10 minutes.

4. To make the horseradish sauce, while the vegetables simmer, in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, whip the cream to stiff peaks. Fold in mayonnaise, horseradish, salt, and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

5. To serve, remove the marrow from the bones using a paring knife. Coarsely chop the marrow, spread it over the baguette toasts, and sprinkle with a few flakes of salt. Slice all the beef 1/2 inch thick, keeping the different cuts separate. Arrange all the vegetables and meat on a serving platter. Traditionally, the broth is served first with the marrow toasts with the parsley sprinkled over the broth and toasts. Then, the meat and vegetables are passed around for everyone to help themselves. More broth is ladled over, and diners may customize their bowls as they like with horseradish sauce, mustard, and cornichons.

TIP: The object here is to cook the meat and broth so ridiculously slow that the stock remains crystal clear. Boiling tends to make the broth cloudy.

Recipe Courtesy:  https://www.simplefrenchcooking.com/recipe-entry/pot-au-feu

Classic Souffle’

Recipe Courtesy: Julia Child

Prepare the bowl.

1/2 Tbsp Softened Butter

Granulated Sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter the entire inner surface of the mold. Roll granulated sugar around in it to coat the sides and bottom evenly. Knock out excess sugar.

Sauce Base

3 Tbsp Sifted All-purpose Flour

3/4 Cup Milk

1/3 Cup Granulated Sugar

4 Eggs

2 Tbsp Softened Butter

Beat the flour in a 2 1/2 quart enameled sauce pan with a bit of the milk until well blended. Beat in the rest of the milk, and the sugar. Stir over moderately high heat until mixture thickens and comes to the boil. Boil, stirring, for 30 seconds. Sauce will be very thick. Remove from heat and beat for 2 minutes to cool slightly.

Separate one egg, dropping the white into a bowl and the yolk into the center of the sauce. At once, beat the yolk into the sauce with wire whip. Continue with the rest of the eggs, one by one.

Beat in half the butter. Clean sauce off the sides of pan with rubber scraper. Dot the top of the sauce with the rest of the butter to prevent a skin from forming on the surface.

5 Egg Whites (4 left over from the yolks and one extra white)

Pinch of Salt

1 Tbsp Granulated Sugar

2 Tbsp Vanilla Extract

Beat the egg whites and salt together until soft peaks are formed. Sprinkle on the sugar and beat until stiff peaks are formed.

Beat the vanilla into the sauce base. Stir in a fourth of the beaten egg whites. Delicately fold in the rest.

Turn the soufflé mixture into the prepared mold, leaving a space of at least 1 1/4 inches between the top of the soufflé and the rim of the mold. If the mold is too full, the soufflé will spill over as it rises.

Place the mold in the middle level of the preheated oven, and immediately turn down to 375 degrees. In 20 minutes, when the scuffle has begun puff and brown, quickly sprinkle the top with powdered sugar. After a total of 30 to 35 minutes of baking, the top of the soufflé should be nicely browned, and a trussing needle, straw, or long thin knife, plunged into the soufflé through the side of the puff, should come out clean.

Serve immediately.