Recipe: French Bouillon Eateries, Part 6: Barigoule
Part 6 in my French Bouillon series. The prologue for what the series is follows in bold. The recipes comes after.
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.
Barigoule
When I was younger, my favorite vegetable were by far artichokes. Living in California, the artichoke capital of the world, we would get artichokes the size of small melons. Springtime always meant that the artichokes were finally available. Our family would steam them whole. Then we would sit and pull the petals off, dip the ends in butter or, if you were my father, mayonnaise. Dipping them in butter, adding a richness and then pulling the edible part off. It’s soft texture melted like the butter. There was also something of the joy of being able to eat with your hands. Dining can be an activity and as diner went on the bowl in the center of the table would fill with artichoke petals, having been stripped of their flesh. Then we would get to the hearts.
My mother’s favorite part was the heart. At first, I was grossed out having to remove the inner petals / thistles of the flower so that you could get at the heart underneath. The idea of accidently eating a thistle amidst the heart kept me from eating them. But, as I grew older, I grew more adventurous. Eventually, I discovered how my mother was right. The hearts are the best part. And I discovered that my father was right, especially dipped in mayonnaise (or ideally a homemade aioli).
A simple French dish that I was introduced to relatively recently is a barigoule. A barigoule is an artichoke dish, generally served in the spring, that truly elevates the artichoke with both wine and vinegar. It’s rich and tangy, absolutely amazing. I first heard about the dish from Alex Guarneschelli who was making it, on of all shows… Guys Grocery Games. It intrigued me.
I decided to adapt it slightly by making it a spring vegetable barigoule, mixing other vegetables of the time with the artichokes. It makes a great meal on its own with bread and butter or could be served as a side dish along with something like the roasted pork I published in the 5th part of my French Bouillon Eateries series.
Bon Appetit!
Ingredients:
2 cans of artichoke hearts in brine (not oil) [you can easily use fresh artichokes, but preparing artichokes is one of my least favorite activities. You have to pull off the outer leaves then use a pairing knife dipped in lemon to cut around the artichoke removing any part of the leaf you won’t be able to eat. Then you peel the stem. Then, you cut them in half and using a knife remove the thistles. Then in a pot of boiling water with lemon, cook the artichokes for ten to twenty minutes until they are fork tender. Then drain them and dry them. They are ready to be used now]
1 bunch of organic carrots
½ lb of peas shelled
1 bunch of pencil asparagus
1 fennel bulb
1 bunch of spring onions
2 sprigs of thyme
½ cup of white wine
1 teaspoon of champagne vinegar
½ - 1 cup of vegetable stock (store bought for this is fine)
Salt and Pepper
Olive oil
Fill a large pot with water and place on the stove. On high heat, bring to a boil. Add at least a tablespoon of salt to the water.
While you are waiting for the water to boil, cut the asparagus into 1-2 inch pieces. Cut the carrots into bite size pieces as well. When the water is boiling, place carrots into the water. You want to blanch them for about 3-4 minutes. When they are done, using a slotted spoon, remove and place in an ice bath to cool them. Then toss the asparagus in. Blanch for only 1-2 minutes at most and remove and place in the ice bath.
Next open and drain the cans of artichokes, spreading them out and patting them dry. Then slice the fennel in half and them remove the core by cutting it off. Then slice the fennel bulb into julienne. Take the root end of the spring onion and barely remove it, then split the onion into half and if large into fourths.
Take a large skillet and place on the stove. Turn the heat on to medium and add a tablespoon of olive oil and the fennel. Cook over medium heat until tender and translucent. At this point, turn the heat up to high and add a drizzle more oil. Place the artichokes cut side down in the oil. They will spatter oil so be careful. Place each one down and cook on high heat. Allow to really caramelize. Once they all are, take the pan off the heat and deglaze with the white wine. After it stops spattering put it back on the heat and turn down to low to simmer. Once the wine is half reduced add the vegetable stock and bring back to a boil. Add salt and pepper.
Once it is at a boil, turn down the heat to a simmer. Add the asparagus, carrots, and onions, into the pan. Stir. Take the thyme leaves off and sprinkle them in as well. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
After cooking 3-4 minutes in the vegetable stock, remove from the heat. Add the vinegar and the raw peas. I like the peas partially raw. If you like them cooked, cook for another 1-2 minutes.
Serve.
