Recipes: French Bouillon Eateries, Part 1: Casserole of Endive
One thing I find fascinating is that in countries such as France and Italy, there are specific classes of restaurants that serve specific types of cuisine as well as having a set décor and style of the restaurant itself. When I say cuisine, I don’t mean other ethnic cuisines, but rather, in France that serve different types of French fair or in Italy certain types of Italian food. In America, you can, of course, go to a Chinese restaurant or an Indian or a BBQ joint, but that doesn’t necessarily indicate the price point or the type of restaurant within those culinary traditions. In France, there are the small corner restaurants, Bistros, that generally serve French staples as well as moderately priced wine and other alcoholic beverages. In Italy, the cuisine I am the most familiar with there are the local small cheap restaurants, Osterias, and then the more formal, but still reasonable Trattorias, and finally the Ristorante, much more formal with secondi as well as pasta and antipasta. The closest thing we have to the French Bistro, or Italian Trattoria, is “the diner,” although even that changes names depending on your place in our nation. On the east coast, indeed they are called diners, but on the west coast we call them coffee shops, etc. When you visit a diner, you generally know the type of food available: breakfast all day-any way, burgers, and sometimes other blue-plate dinner specials: fried chicken, meatloaf, etc.
When you visit a French Bistro, generally you know you are going to be eating Bistro food at a restaurant that caters to the middle class / local neighborhood. French Bistros have caught on in America compared to other French eateries. Some of the Bistro staples have become commonplace: steak-frites, soupe a l’oignon, braised lamb shanks; however, in France, a “new” culinary wave is taking place: the revival of French Bouillons. I recently became aware of this because of an article by the New Times chronicling the revival and reviewing six of their favorite restaurants.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/10/travel/affordable-dining-in-paris.html
The term Bouillon comes from the French word for broth and certainly bowls of this simple comfort food would be expected in Bouillons. The restaurants started in the late 19th or early 20th century and were known for “a bargain-priced meal that promised to be surprising for both its quality and reasonable price: less than 20 euros, or about $23, for a three-course dinner with a glass of wine.” They are traditionally housed in large halls which allow them to serve a lot of people at lower prices with high turnaround. These Boullions were “working-class restaurants that thrived in Paris during the 19th century. ‘In an age of globalization, eating a meal at a bouillon is an affirmation of Gallic identity, since the comfort food we serve is so traditionally French,’ said Christophe Joulie, director of the Groupe Joulie, which owns and runs a number of brasseries in Paris, along with Bouillon Chartier, the 1896 vintage bouillon the company acquired in 2006.
By ‘traditionally French,’ Mr. Joulie was referring to dishes like marinated leeks, canard confit (duck preserved in its own fat) and choucroute Alsacienne (sauerkraut garnished with pork and sausage). ‘Everyone loves a bargain, especially at a time of economic uncertainty.’ he said. ‘A three-course meal of freshly cooked, on-the-premises food for 20 euros served in 30 minutes — has never been more popular.’ (So popular, that Mr. Joulie revived the original second address of Chartier near the Gare Montparnasse on the Left Bank in February.)”
And so, with that, I have decided to start my first cooking series on Gourmand Film Writer. Inspired by this article, I have decided to dive into French country food typically served at Boullions. As a means of saving money, many of the recipes use tough cuts of meat or reduce the amount of a protein in a meal to level out the cost. The food has been truly delightful. Fresh, complicated, and dare I say, new to me. It is indeed simple food, which in some respects remind me more of Italian cuisine, but there’s no mistaken that the flavor profile is truly French. Some of these recipes I have taken and altered from greats like Jacques Pepin; others I have been inspired by the recipe and tried my own editions.
For my first dish, I decided to tackle a casserole of Belgian endive wrapped in ham and covered with Mornay sauce. It is such a comforting dish, making me wish that I had learned how to make this years ago for those times when I was in New York in the cold snow and ill.
Ingredients:
6 endive
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 tablespoon of butter
12 slices of ham
1 pinch of nutmeg
½ teaspoon white pepper
1 tablespoon white wine
1 cup of chicken stock
1 cup of milk
½ cup of shredded gruyere cheese
¼ cup of Parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste
Begin by splitting the endive in half lengthwise so that the root remains as part of both halves. Then place a large skillet with a lid on the stove and heat on high heat, adding the tablespoon of olive oil.
When hot, add the endive halves, flat side down into the pan. By the time you’re done placing the last one, the first will probably be ready to be taken out, so place them in an order you know them. We just want to sear one side slightly brown without cooking them all the way through. Quickly brown each endive half and remove from the heat. In the hot pan, turn off the heat but add the tablespoon of white to deglaze and reserve the wine in the pan, but remove from the heat for now.
While the endive cools, take a small sauce pot and melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Once the butter is melted, add in the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until a roux forms. Continue stirring and cooking the roux over medium-low heat for several minutes. You do not want to color the roux, but you do want to cook out the flour so it doesn’t taste raw.
At the point, switch to a whisk and stream in, slowly, while whisking, cold milk. The roux should not form lumps if you stir in the milk slowly enough while whisking. When all the milk has been added season with salt, white pepper, and nutmeg. Stir. Bring to a boil and reduce immediately. The béchamel sauce is as thick as it will get. At this point, on low heat, begin whisking in the gruyere cheese a little at a time, so that it doesn’t clump, but rather melts into a silky sauce. When all of the cheese has been added, remove from the heat and set aside.
Take the cooled endive or at least endive that has cooled enough to be handled and wrap with ham. Place each of the endive wraps and place face down in the pan with the reduced wine. At this point, drizzle in the chicken stock. Bring the entire pot to a boil and cover for 2-3 minutes. Remove the lid and pour the Mornay sauce over the top. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Place into the broiler on high for 2-4 minutes, watching and until it is browned. Serve immediately with a good slice of bread and perhaps a salad.
Delicious dish.
