Lesson 1, Sunday Morning, March 4, 2001

Le mousseux de champignons au fois gras

(Mushroom Soup with Fois Gras)

• 30 g butter
• 50 g peeled, sliced shallots
• 200 g white mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
• 2 tb white wine
• 2 tb Noilly Prat (dry white vermouth)
• 1/2 tb port wine
• 300 g water, or chicken stock
• fine salt and ground black pepper
• 100 g heavy cream
• 1 t bouillon de volaille Maggi (dehydrated chicken stock powder)
• a few drops lemon juice
• 10 g finely minced truffle
• 100 g fois gras, fresh or from a terrine, cut into 1 cm dice
• 10 g finely sliced truffle

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes until golden. Add the mushrooms and continue cooking for 3 to 5 minutes. Stir occasionally to ensure that the mushrooms cook evenly.
2. Add the white wine, port, and vermouth and cook for 2 minutes. Add the water, cream, and chicken stock. Season with fine salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
3. Transfer the contents of the saucepan to the bowl of a blender. Purée at high speed for a couple of minutes until a smooth, frothy soup is obtained.
4. Return the soup to a clean saucepan, add the lemon juice, and bring to a boil. Adjust the seasonings. Add the minced truffle. Using a whisk, “re-froth” the soup.
5. Divide the fois gras cubes among the serving bowls.
6. Gently divide the soup over the fois gras. Carefully garnish the soup with truffle slices, a few drops of cream, and a few drops of a high quality olive oil [optional].

Yield: 3 to 4 servings.

Le carré d’agneau comme on l’aime en Provence
à la poêlée de légumes aux herbes fraîches

(Provençal-Style Rack of Lamb with Pan-Fried Vegetables and Fresh Herbs)

• 1 rack of lamb with 9 ribs, back fat trimmed, meat and fat removed from rib tips, vertebral bones removed and reserved
• for the sauce:
• 15 cl lamb “juice”, made from the vertebral bones of a rack cut very small and pan-fried in 2 tb olive oil with a little onion, 1/4 t garlic, fresh thyme, fresh rosemary, fresh bay leaf, diced tomato core, 1 t dehydrated chicken stock, 2 tb white wine, salt, pepper and water, and cooked for 30 minutes; strained
• 60 g butter
• 1 leaf fresh basil, minced
• leaves from 1 small sprig fresh tarragon, minced
• 150 g firm tomato, peeled, seeded, and 1 cm diced, cores reserved for “juice”
• for the vegetables:
• 2 tb olive oil
• 200 g very small new potatoes, washed and quartered
• 4 small artichoke hearts, cut into 6 wedges
• 4 small, about 90 g each white onions, peeled and quartered
• 4 small cloves garlic, peeled
• 100 g small, young zucchini, cut lengthwise and then into 2 cm long pieces
• 5 cm sprig fresh thyme
• 5 cm sprig fresh rosemary
• 1 small leaf fresh bay leaf
• 5 leaves fresh basil, finely sliced
• leaves from 1 small sprig fresh tarragon, minced
• 40 g butter

1. Preheat an oven to 200 to 220 °C. Season the rack of lamb with a little oil, salt, and pepper. Place in a roasting pan and cook for about 15 minutes. Start with the rack placed fat side down. After5 minutes turn it so the vertebral side is down. After 5 more minutes turn it rib side down. Transfer the rack to a plate, cover with aluminum foil, and set aside for 15 minutes to rest.
2. For the vegetables: heat the oil in a nonstick frying pan over medium heat. Add the potatoes and brown a bit. Add the artichokes, onions, garlic, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes over low heat. Add water as necessary during cooking if the vegetables become too dry. Add the zucchini and cook for about 5 minutes more. Just before serving, remove the herb sprigs, add the basil, tarragon, and butter.
3. For the sauce: bring the “juice” to a boil. Reduce slightly and adjust the seasoning. Remove from the heat, incorporate the butter, and finish with the basil, tarragon, and tomatoes.
4. Using heated serving plates, divide the vegetables in the center of each plate. Arrange 3 ribs on each plate on top of the vegetables. Spoon the sauce over the meat.

Yield: 3 servings.

Le millefeuillles de pommes sautées sauce caramel

(“Napoleon” of Apples with Caramel Sauce)

• 100 g puff pastry
• powdered sugar
• 500 g golden delicious apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1 cm cubes
• 50 g butter
• 30 g sugar
• 1 t vanilla extract
• for caramel sauce:
• 50 g sugar
• 20 g water
• 250 g heavy cream
• 25 g butter

1. Roll out the puff pastry until very thin. Let rest in a refrigerator for an hour. Preheat an oven to 200 °C. Put the puff pastry on a baking sheet and place in the oven. When about half cooked, sprinkle the pastry with powdered sugar and continue baking until golden. If the pastry rise too much, place another baking sheet over the pastry to weight it down.
2. Cut the cooked puff pastry into 8 pieces, about 8-cm square. Set aside.
3. Using a heavy-bottomed or nonstick frying pan, cook the apples in the butter. When about half cooked, add the sugar and mix. When the apples are cooked and browned, mix in the vanilla extract. Set aside in a warm place.
4. For the caramel sauce: put the sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. When the sugar is caramelized, whisk in the cream. (The sauce can be held for up to a couple of days in this form.) Just before serving, reheat the sauce and add the butter.
5. For each serving, place a quarter of the cooked apples between 2 squares of pastry. Be sure to line up the sides of the pastry so they are parallel. Sprinkle powdered sugar on the top. Carefully place the apple-pastry stack on top of plate and spoon the sauce around the stack.

Yield: 4 servings.

©2001, 2014 Peter Hertzmann. All rights reserved.

Lesson 2, Monday Morning, March 5, 2001

La fricassée instantanée de pommes de terre rattes du Touquet
aux calmars, senteur grassoise

(“Grasse-Scented,” Fricasseed Potatoes and Squid)

• 400 g fingerling potatoes
• 20 g coarse salt
• 4 tb olive oil
• 16 firm, pitted, black olives, 2 mm dice
• 1 sprig rosemary
• 1 leaf bay leaf
• 4 small sprigs dried fennel sticks
• 1 clove garlic, not peeled, lightly crushed
• 50 g red bell pepper, cored, seeded, cut into 1/2 cm squares
• fine salt and ground white pepper
• 200 g squid hoods and tentacles, cut into 1-1/2 cm squares or pieces
• 100 g tomatoes, peeled, seeded, cut in 1 cm squares
• 10 leaves fresh basil, minced
• a few drops lemon juice

1. Add the coarse salt to about 1 liter water and bring to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook for about 15 minutes. Use the tip of a knife to check that the potatoes are cooked. Drain. When cool enough to handle, peel the potatoes, cut into quarters, and slice into 6 mm pieces. Remove any black spots. Set aside on a plate. Cover with plastic wrap.
2. Put the oil, rosemary, bay leaf, fennel, garlic, and red pepper in a nonstick frying pan. Season with salt and pepper. Cook over low heat until the peppers are tender. Remove the garlic, fennel, bay leaf, and rosemary. Increase heat to high, salt and pepper the squid, and add to the pan. Cook for barely a minute more. Salt and pepper the reserved potatoes and the tomatoes. Add to the pan and continue cooking to reheat the potatoes. Add the basil and olives. Remove from heat.
3. Before serving, sprinkle the mixture with a few drops of lemon juice and mix.

Note: Small scallops may be substituted for the squid.

Yield: 4 servings.

Le denti au citron et à la verveine

(Denté with Lemon and Verbena)

• 4 filets, about 150 g each denté (a type of sea-bream), cleaned and scaled, cut into parallelogram-shaped pieces
• 400 g eggplants, peeled, 1 cm cubes (reserve some of the peel, julliened in 2 cm long pieces and blanched)
• fine salt and ground white pepper
• 1 lemon, for zest and juice
• 7 tb olive oil
• 120 g thinly-sliced white onion
• 3 sprigs dried fennel sticks
• 1/2 clove garlic, crushed and puréed
• 1 t dehydrated chicken stock
• 6 leaves flat parsley
• 10 leaves verbena
• 60 g butter
• olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and slightly crushed

1. Cook the eggplant in 1 liter of boiling, salted (12 g) water for just a minute or two. Drain and cool in ice water. Drain, season with salt and pepper, and set aside with the blanched peel.
2. Using a vegetable peeler, peel very thin strips of lemon zest. Cut the pieces into very fine shreds. Set aside.
3. For the sauce: put 2 tb olive oil in a saucepan over gentle heat. Add the onions, fennel, 25 cl water, garlic, and chicken stock powder. Season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Part of the way through the cooking, add the parsley.
4. When the sauce is cooked, add 5 leaves of verbena. Purée the sauce in a blender until very homogenous. Pass the sauce through a small strainer back into the saucepan. The sauce can be held at this point for up to a day.
5. Heat the remaining 5 tb of olive oil in a nonstick frying pan over high heat. Salt and pepper the fish and fry for 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Finish cooking for 4 or 5 minutes in a hot oven. Squeeze a few drops of lemon juice over each fish after cooking.
6. To plate: put the eggplant preparation and the garlic clove in a nonstick frying pan and quickly reheat. Adjust the seasoning and finish with 1 tb butter and a few drops of good olive oil. Remove the garlic and put a quarter of the eggplant mixture in the center of each of the serving plates. Arrange the fish, skin side up, on top of the eggplant. Add the zest and a few drops of lemon juice to the sauce and quickly reheat. Whisk in 30 g butter and adjust the seasoning. Spoon the sauce over the fish. Decorate the plates with the remaining verbena leaves and a little dried fennel.

ote: Red snapper or other medium white fish can be substituted for the denté.

Yield: 4 servings.

La soupière de fraises aux épicés aux olives confites

(Spiced Strawberry Soup with Candied Olives)

• 600 g strawberries, hulled, halved or quartered, depending on size
• 4 mint leaves, minced
• 4 mint sprig tips
• 4 small cinnamon sticks
• 2 vanilla beans, halved
• for syrup:
• 50 cl red wine
• 50 g finely granulated sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
• zest from 1/2 orange
• juice from 1 orange
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 small pinch powdered saffron
• for candied olives:
• 80 g large firm black olives, pitted, quartered
• 100 g sugar
• 10 cl water

1. For the candied olives: mix sugar, olives, and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer over very low heat for 2 to 3 hours. Do not let them dry out. Drain the olives and spread them on a parchment covered baking sheet to cool.
2. Place the syrup ingredients in a saucepan large enough to hold the strawberries as well as the syrup and bring to a boil. Simmer the syrup for about 15 minutes. Add the strawberries and cook for about a minute. Strain the strawberries and chill along with the minced mint. Reserve and chill the syrup separately.
3. When the strawberry mixture has cooled, remove and discard the vanilla bean, cinnamon stick, and zest. Combine the strawberries with the chilled syrup and a few drops of lemon juice. Macerate for 2 or 3 hours in a refrigerator.
4. Divide the strawberries with their syrup among chilled serving plates. Mound up the strawberries in the center and decorate with a mint sprig, a small cinnamon stick, and half a vanilla bean. Strew the olives over the strawberries.

Yield: 4 servings.

©2001, 2014 Peter Hertzmann. All rights reserved.

Lesson 3, Thusday Morning, March 8, 2001

La palette de petits rougets aux légumes provençaux

(Small Rougets with a Palette of Provençal Vegetables)

• 100 g zucchini, 2 mm dice
• 40 g red bell pepper, cored, 2 mm dice
• 40 g green bell pepper, cored, 2 mm dice
• 50 g fennel bulb, cored, 2 mm dice
• 25 cl olive oil
• 4 cl Noilly Prat (dry white vermouth)
• 1 t minced fresh tarragon
• 100 g tomatoes, peeled, seeded, 3 mm dice
• 1 yellow bell pepper, cored, cut into 1 cm by 5 cm strips, a total of 16 strips required
• 80 g pitted olives
• 12 leaves fresh basil, minced
• 80 g mesclun
• 1 lemon
• 12 small rouget filets, scaled, pin bones removed
• a few sprigs fresh dill

1. Separately blanch the zucchini, red and green peppers, and fennel in salted, boiling water. Do not overcook. Drain well. Mix the drained vegetables with 20 cl of olive oil, vermouth, tarragon, and juice from half the lemon. Season with salt and pepper. Finally combine with tomato and set aside.
2. Blanch the yellow pepper in salted, boiling water for about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
3. Chop the olives with half of the basil. Season with salt and black pepper and a little olive oil. Set aside.
4. Wash and spin-dry the mesclun. Reserve the rocket (arugula) leaves from the mesclun. Lightly chop the remainder of the mesclun. Set aside.
5. Heat a little olive oil in a nonstick frying pan. Salt and pepper the rouget filets and gently fry on both sides. Sprinkle with a little lemon juice.
6. Use large round plates for serving. Decorate the perimeter of each plate with 4 pairs yellow pepper strips. Between the strips, divide the olive mixture. Combine the mesclun with the juice of the remaining half lemon, a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mound the mesclun in the center of the plates and decorate with a few of the reserved rocket leaves. Lightly chop the remaining 6 basil leaves and scatter around the salad.
7. Gently reheat the vegetables. Combine with the remaining basil. Arrange the rouget filets on the salad and divide the warmed vegetables over the filets. Sprinkle the dill sprigs on top.

Yield: 4 servings.

Le pageot au jus d’oignon nouveau et petits artichauts

(Pageot with Onion Juice and Small Artichokes)

• 12 small artichokes
• 1 lemon
• 1, about 1.3 kg pageot, scaled, trimmed, and cleaned
• 6 tb olive oil
• 20 g dried fennel sticks
• 120 g small white onions, cut into wedges
• 20 cl water
• 1 t bouillon de volaille Maggi (dehydrated chicken stock powder)
• 1 t scraped (puréed) garlic
• 20 g coarse salt
• 200 g “round” zucchini (summer squash), cut into 6 wedges each [if regular zucchini are used, cut into 3 cm long by 1-1/2 cm thick strips]
• 30 g butter
• a few drops olive oil

1. Using a small knife, peel the artichokes leaving about 3 cm of stem and 1-1/2 cm of the leaves. Cut in quarters and rub with a lemon.
2. Preheat an oven to 170-180 °C. Place the fish in a baking pan. Sprinkle with 2 tb olive oil and a few sticks of dried fennel. Bake for about 10 minutes.
3. In the meantime, heat 4 tb olive oil over low heat in a small saucepan. Add the onion, artichokes, and the remaining fennel sprigs. Cook for a while without allowing the onions to take on any color. Add the water, chicken stock powder, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer until reduced by half.
4. While the sauce is being prepared, bring 1 liter of water with the coarse salt to a boil. Add the zucchini and cook for 5 to 6 minutes. The zucchini should stay slightly crunchy. Drain and set aside.
5. When the fish is cooked, place it on a serving platter. Remove the fennel from the cooking juices. Drain the liquid from the onion mixture and whisk it into the cooking juices along with the juice from the lemon, the butter, and a few drops of olive oil. Rectify the seasoning and pour the sauce over the fish. Remove the fennel sprigs from the onions and artichokes. Combine the onions and artichokes with the cooked zucchini and arrange around the fish.

Yield: 4 servings.

Le moelleux de chocolat au coulis de poires

(Smooth Chocolate Cake with Pear Sauce)

• for the cakes
• 80 g bitter-sweet chocolate (64% cocoa)
• 20 g bitter chocolate (100% cocoa)
• 100 g butter
• 80 g finely granulated sugar
• 2 extra-large eggs
• 70 g flour
• 1/2 t baking powder
• 1 tb unsweetened cocoa powder
• cocoa powder
• for the sauce:
• 3 poached pears in light syrup, drained, reserving a little syrup
• 20 cl heavy cream
• 1 tb eau de vie poire williams

1. Preheat an oven to 180 °C. Prepare 9 cm round by 1-1/4 cm high tart rings with butter and flour. Set aside on a parchment-covered baking sheet.
2. Using a double boiler or a heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the chocolates and the butter together. Remove the chocolate mixture from the heat and whisk in the sugar, followed by the eggs. Combine the flour, baking powder, and cocoa powder and fold into the chocolate mixture with a rubber spatula.
3. Transfer the batter to a pastry tube and pipe it into the prepared rings until they are about three-quarters full. Bake until the outside surface is cooked, but the inside is still soft, about 8 minutes.
4. Purée the pears in a blender with a little of their poaching liquid. Add the cream and continue to blend. Add the eau de vie. Heat gently until just warm to the touch.
5. Spread a little of the sauce in the center of each serving plate. Use a small knife to release the cakes from the rings. Using a large metal spatula to lift the cakes off the baking sheet, place a cake in the center of the sauce. Sprinkle with a little cocoa powder. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings.

©2001, 2014 Peter Hertzmann. All rights reserved.

Lesson 4, Friday Morning, March 9, 2001

Les asperges aux olives et aux févettes

(Asparagus with Olives and Fava Beans)

• 1 kg small fava beans
• 32 stalks green, medium thick asparagus
• 15 cl water
• 50 g butter
• 1 t anise seeds
• 5 tb Tuscan olive oil
• juice from 1/2 lemon
• 60 g black olives from Nice
• a few drops olive oil
• 4 sprigs dill

1. Shell the fava beans. Blanch the beans in salted, boiling water for a minute. Drain and cool in ice water. Drain on absorbent paper. Peel the beans using a finger nail to barely pierce the skin, enabling the meat to slip out. Discard the skins. Set meats aside.
2. Peel the asparagus with a vegetable peeler. Wash the stalks and tie into a couple of bundles. Cook in salted, boiling water for 15 minutes.
3. In the meantime, put the water, butter, anise seeds, and olive oil in a saucepan. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Whisk continuously for 1 minute. Add the lemon juice, fava beans, and olives. Rectify the seasonings. Transfer to a serving bowl.
4. Drain the asparagus and arrange on the serving plates. Spoon the sauce over the asparagus spears. Drizzle a few drops of olive oil over the top and decorate with a dill sprig.

Yield: 4 servings.

Le fondant de canard aux choux rouge et figues sèches

(Duck with Red Cabbage and Dried Figs)

• for the duck:
• 1, about 800 g duck
• salt and pepper
• 5 cm baguette
• 30 g butter
• olive oil
• 20 g juniper berries
• 1 head garlic, cloves separated but not peeled
• 2-1/2 kg coarse salt for baking
• for the cabbage:
• 200 g red cabbage, cored, thinly sliced
• 30 g butter
• 70 g onions, peeled, coarsely minced
• 2 good-quality dried figs, stems removed, finely diced
• 6 cl water
• 3 tb wine vinegar

1. To prepare the duck: preheat an oven to 160 to 180 °C.
2. Season the cavity of the duck with salt and pepper. Cut the baguette lengthwise. Butter the cut surfaces. Put the buttered surfaces together and place into the cavity. Truss the duck with string. Tie the tail inward to keep the baking salt out of the duck’s cavity. Rub the duck with a little oil, season with pepper, and delicately wrap in parchment paper along with the juniper berries and the loose garlic.
3. Using an oval-shaped stock pot, barely large enough to hold the duck without the duck touching the edges, cover the bottom of the pot with the salt mixture. Place the duck in the center and cover totally with the remaining salt. The duck should not be touching the sides of the pot and should be completely covered with salt. Put the pot in the oven and roast for 1-1/2 hours.
4. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until golden. Season with salt and pepper. Add the figs and the water. Stir continuously until the figs dissolve and the water evaporates.
5. In the meantime, cook the cabbage in salted (20 g/l), boiling water for 5 or 6 minutes until tender. Add the wine vinegar, boil a minute longer, rinse in cold water, and drain. Add the cabbage to the saucepan with the onions and figs. Mix well.
6. To serve, remove the duck from the salt and unwrap. Divide the cabbage among the serving plates. Cut the duck into 4 pieces and put 2 on each plate.

Yield: 2 servings.

La douceur d’orange aux petales de fleurs

(Orange Sorbet with Flower Petals)

• for the sorbet:
• 75 cl fresh-squeezed orange juice
• 25 cl fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• 100 g sugar
• for the sauce:
• 20 cl heavy cream
• 1 tb sugar
• 1/2 t potato starch dissolved in 1/2 tb water
• 1 tb olive oil
• 3 leaves fresh basil, thinly sliced
• a few drops orange water
• a few drops lemon juice
• for the decoration:
• candied black olives
• 4 sprig tips fresh basil
• olive oil
• 10 g plum blossoms

1. To prepare the sorbet: mix the ingredients until the sugar dissolves and place in an ice cream machine to freeze.
2. To prepare the sauce: put the cream and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture to thicken the cream, and remove from the heat. Whisk in 1 t of olive oil and the basil. Chill in the refrigerator.
3. To serve: add the orange water and lemon juice to the sauce and mix. Divide the sauce among the serving plates. Drain the olives and strew over the sauce. Place two quenelles of sorbet in the center of the sauce.
4. Decorate the quenelles with a basil sprig and a few drops of olive oil. Finally, strew the flower petals over the plates.

Yield: 4 servings.

©2001, 2014 Peter Hertzmann. All rights reserved.