I was listening to Morning Edition on NPR over the weekend when I heard Clotilde Dusoulier talking about I Know How to Cook, by Ginette Mathiot (here’s the link to her segment, “Oui Oui, French cooking Made Easy”. She worked with a team of translators and copy editors to bring the classic French book to the American public (with over 1400 recipes). I’m a big fan of her blog, Chocolate & Zucchini, so the first thing I did on Monday morning when I got to work was to look through the copy that I had on my desk (one of the perks of being a food editor!). Here’s more about the book from the publisher:
The bible of French home cooking, Je Sais Cuisiner, has sold over 6 million copies since it was first published in 1932. It is a household must-have, and a well-thumbed copy can be found in kitchens throughout France. Its author, Ginette Mathiot, published more than 30 recipe books in her lifetime, and this is her magnum opus. It’s now available for the first time in English as I Know How to Cook. With more than 1,400 easy-to-follow recipes for every occasion, it is an authoritative compendium of every classic French dish, from croque monsieur to cassoulet.
It’s fascinating to see the range of recipes, many of which are unfamiliar to me, but this rice pudding with apples jumped out immediately. I can’t wait to give this a try.
Poached Apples with Rice Pudding
Pommes Au Riz
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Serves 6
Scant ¾ cup short grain rice
Generous 2 c milk
½ vanilla bean, split
Scant 2/3 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ tbsp butter
6 sweet apples, evenly sized
1.) Make a rice pudding: Bring the milk to a boil in a pan with the vanilla bean, then add the rice. Cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes, or until tender. Remove from the heat, discard the vanilla bean and gently mix in the sugar with a fork.
2.) Grease an ovenproof dish with the butter, and spoon the pudding into it.
3.) Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Peel and core the apples without damaging the flesh. Put the apples in a non-reactive pan with 1 cup water and ¼ cup of the sugar. Cover and cook over low heat for 10-15 minutes.
4.) When the apples are tender, but not falling apart, remove them from the syrup, arrange on the rice pudding, and sprinkle with the remaining sugar. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until browned.
I’m going to try to post the onion soup recipe from the book this afternoon, so make sure to check back!
