Read The Sweet Life in Paris: Delicious Adventures in the World's Most Glorious - and Perplexing - City for Free Online Page A
Authors: David Lebovitz
Tags: Travel, Essays & Travelogues
to become crystallized, which is fine) until the sugar is a deep bronze color and begins to smoke slightly. Remove from heat and add the water, being careful of the hot steam that rises.
Return the pan to the heat and stir until any pieces of molten sugar are melted. You can strain the caramel to remove any stubborn bits.
SERVING: Chill individual serving bowls. Put about 1/3 cup (80 ml) of crème anglaise in each bowl. Run a knife around the edges of the meringue to turn it out onto a platter. Using a thin, sharp knife, slice the meringue into six portions and place them on top of the crème anglaise. Drizzle with a heaping spoonful of caramel sauce and sprinkle with toasted nuts. (You can also use the Candied Almonds, page 51.)
STORAGE: The crème anglaise can be kept covered in the refrigerator for up to three days. The caramel, which will be more than you need for the recipe, will keep for several months in the refrigerator and can be used to garnish another dessert. The meringue can be made one day in advance and refrigerated, loosely covered. The crème anglaise should be very cold and the caramel should be brought to room temperature for serving.
CLAFOUTIS AUX PRUNEAUX-FRAMBOISES
PLUM AND RASPBERRY CLAFOUTIS
MAKES 8 SERVINGS
No matter how
faible
(feeble) your kitchen is, clafoutis is easy to make and requires no special equipment: just an oven, a bowl, a whisk, and a baking dish. It’s not a fancy dessert—it’s meant to be homey and simple, and it’s a no-brainer when marvelous summer fruits and juicy berries are in season.
Especially good to use are
quetsches
, which are known as Italian prune plumsin the United States. They’re generally available late in the season, or you can substitute fresh apricots, which become pleasantly tangy when baked.
4 tablespoons (60 g) salted or unsalted butter, melted, plus more for preparing the dish
1 pound (450 g) firm, ripe plums
1 cup (115 g) raspberries
3 large eggs
½ cup (70 g) flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup (100 g) plus 2 tablespoons (30 g) sugar
1⅓ cups (330 ml) whole milk
Position the rack in the top third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375°F (180 C).
Liberally butter the bottom and sides of a 2-quart (2-L) shallow baking dish. Halve the plums, remove the pits, and place them cut side down over the bottom of the baking dish. If the plums are quite large, cut them into quarters. Scatter the raspberries over the plums.
In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs until smooth. Whisk the butter and flour into the eggs until completely smooth, then add the vanilla. Whisk in ½ cup (100 g) of the sugar, then the milk.
Pour the custard mixture over the fruit and bake for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, slide out the rack that the clafoutis is resting on (rather than lifting the clafoutis and breaking the tenuous crust that’s starting to form on top) and sprinkle 2 tablespoons (30 g) of sugar over the top.
Continue baking the clafoutis for about 30 more minutes, until the custard feels slightly firm in the center and the top is a nice golden brown.
SERVING: Serve warm or at room temperature. Clafoutis is best served shortly after it’s baked. I prefer it without any accompaniment, as it’s traditionally served, although I’ll allow you to serve vanilla ice cream or softly whipped cream alongside.
THE MOST IMPORTANT WORDS TO KNOW IN PARIS
So you’re in Paris and you need something.
Let’s say you’re shopping for, I don’t know—a pair of gloves. Or a hammer. Or shoelaces. A new battery for your telephone. Or just a
baguette ordinaire.
Whatever. It doesn’t really matter how large or small it is. You step inside a shop, but can’t find what you’re looking for, so you ask the salesperson who ostensibly is there to help you, the all-important customer.
In lieu of a response, you’re met with a
réception glaciale
, and on your way out, you wonder, “Why are Parisians so nasty?”
It’s probably because you’ve insulted them—deeply—which
Return the pan to the heat and stir until any pieces of molten sugar are melted. You can strain the caramel to remove any stubborn bits.
SERVING: Chill individual serving bowls. Put about 1/3 cup (80 ml) of crème anglaise in each bowl. Run a knife around the edges of the meringue to turn it out onto a platter. Using a thin, sharp knife, slice the meringue into six portions and place them on top of the crème anglaise. Drizzle with a heaping spoonful of caramel sauce and sprinkle with toasted nuts. (You can also use the Candied Almonds, page 51.)
STORAGE: The crème anglaise can be kept covered in the refrigerator for up to three days. The caramel, which will be more than you need for the recipe, will keep for several months in the refrigerator and can be used to garnish another dessert. The meringue can be made one day in advance and refrigerated, loosely covered. The crème anglaise should be very cold and the caramel should be brought to room temperature for serving.
CLAFOUTIS AUX PRUNEAUX-FRAMBOISES
PLUM AND RASPBERRY CLAFOUTIS
MAKES 8 SERVINGS
No matter how
faible
(feeble) your kitchen is, clafoutis is easy to make and requires no special equipment: just an oven, a bowl, a whisk, and a baking dish. It’s not a fancy dessert—it’s meant to be homey and simple, and it’s a no-brainer when marvelous summer fruits and juicy berries are in season.
Especially good to use are
quetsches
, which are known as Italian prune plumsin the United States. They’re generally available late in the season, or you can substitute fresh apricots, which become pleasantly tangy when baked.
4 tablespoons (60 g) salted or unsalted butter, melted, plus more for preparing the dish
1 pound (450 g) firm, ripe plums
1 cup (115 g) raspberries
3 large eggs
½ cup (70 g) flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup (100 g) plus 2 tablespoons (30 g) sugar
1⅓ cups (330 ml) whole milk
Position the rack in the top third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375°F (180 C).
Liberally butter the bottom and sides of a 2-quart (2-L) shallow baking dish. Halve the plums, remove the pits, and place them cut side down over the bottom of the baking dish. If the plums are quite large, cut them into quarters. Scatter the raspberries over the plums.
In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs until smooth. Whisk the butter and flour into the eggs until completely smooth, then add the vanilla. Whisk in ½ cup (100 g) of the sugar, then the milk.
Pour the custard mixture over the fruit and bake for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, slide out the rack that the clafoutis is resting on (rather than lifting the clafoutis and breaking the tenuous crust that’s starting to form on top) and sprinkle 2 tablespoons (30 g) of sugar over the top.
Continue baking the clafoutis for about 30 more minutes, until the custard feels slightly firm in the center and the top is a nice golden brown.
SERVING: Serve warm or at room temperature. Clafoutis is best served shortly after it’s baked. I prefer it without any accompaniment, as it’s traditionally served, although I’ll allow you to serve vanilla ice cream or softly whipped cream alongside.
THE MOST IMPORTANT WORDS TO KNOW IN PARIS
So you’re in Paris and you need something.
Let’s say you’re shopping for, I don’t know—a pair of gloves. Or a hammer. Or shoelaces. A new battery for your telephone. Or just a
baguette ordinaire.
Whatever. It doesn’t really matter how large or small it is. You step inside a shop, but can’t find what you’re looking for, so you ask the salesperson who ostensibly is there to help you, the all-important customer.
In lieu of a response, you’re met with a
réception glaciale
, and on your way out, you wonder, “Why are Parisians so nasty?”
It’s probably because you’ve insulted them—deeply—which
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