French cuisine, as anyone who has leafed through Escoffier will surely know, has a tendency to be mind-numbingly complex. I therefore gravitate to the south of France - places like Provence - where the preparations are simpler, seafood is more pronounced, and the use of butter in recipes can no longer be described as prodigious.
K has been clamoring for a trip to Paris for some time now. Personally, I'd rather go elsewhere. After reading The New Provencal Cuisine: Innovative Recipes from the South of France, however, I just might reconsider. Louisa Jones' nice little book draws its recipes from the kitchens of chefs working throughout Provence, like Christian Etienne of Avignon, who envisioned this endive salad and cod vinaigrette.
If we do wind up going to France, forget Paris... We're heading straight for Provence.
Endive and Anchovy Salad
- 4 endives, trimmed
- 1 tsp butter (I left this out)
- 4 anchovy fillets in oil, drained
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
- 6 tbsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp chopped chervil
Cut the tips off the endives about 2 inches from the top non-root end); mince finely and reserve, remove the bitter hearts from the stem ends and discard. Reserve leaves
In a small sauce pan, melt butter and add anchovy. Cook for 1-2 minutes over low heat; add garlic and vinegar and stir to make paste. Remove from heat and beat in 3 tbsp oilive oil, salt and pepper.
Mic 2 tbsp of anchovy mixture into the minced endive tips and make a mound in the center of each of 4 plates. Make a pattern of endive leaves around the mound in a petal design simulating a daisy. Drizzle the anchovy sauce on the petals and sprinkle with chopped chervil to serve.
Fresh Cod Vinaigrette with Sea Salt
- 4 cod fillets
- Salt and ground pepper
- 1 ½ cups olive oil
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- Small bunch chives
- 5 springs parsley
- 5 tarragon leaves
- 5 chervil leaves
- Sea salt
- 2 medium tomatoes, peeled seeded diced
Preheat oven to 400. Sprinkle cod with fine sea salt and pepper and place in oiled gratin dish just large enough to hold them. Bake until just barely forks 10 – 15 minutes. Check after 10.
In a small bowl, mix lemon juice salt and pepper and slowly beat in olive oil to make a vinaigrette.
Remove skin from cod. Transfer to a serving platter, spoon over the vinaigrette and sprinkle with herbs and sea salt. Arrange tomato as a garnish or sprinkle on top. I don't buy tomatoes in the winter - chances are you are getting one of those chemical-ridden ones from Florida - so I used roasted red pepper as the topping instead.
Serve hot or lukewarm.