Béatrice - Cooking

Béatrice - Cooking

Bonjour, my name is Béatrice. Thanks to my grandmother, I developed a love of cooking in early childhood. At her, everything smelled of apple brioche, rhubarb jam and fresh country produces. It’s not always easy to cook in Paris as the number of invitations exceeds the days of the week! So, it’s really necessary to think out the menu in order to have a successful diner at home. The wining recipe: gourmet, seasonal and dietetic dishes. And surprising presentations. No longer possible to serve the traditional Blanquette of veal to make your guests happy…

Parisian women are slender and health-conscious, but they are also gluttons who enjoy the pleasures of the table, the only thing is that they eat in moderation. In any case, nowadays traditional pastry is in its heyday, with the cream puffs of yesteryear as the main protagonists... One of the bakeries specialising in this mini-gourmet delicacy is the legendary Popelini: here is its unusual story...


Popelini...

To revive the cream puff (chou as they call it in France), a treasure trove of French pastry that has fallen into oblivion, and to reinvent this great classic through four collections: this is the promise Lauren Koumetz has made to herself, creating Popelini, the first cream puff treasure chest here in Paris.

Everyone has their own little Proust-style madeleine. And Lauren\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s eyes sparkle when she remembers the cream puffs she enjoyed with her grandmother on Wednesday afternoons.

First sensations, first loves, pastry, a mix of velvet and crunchiness, simplicity and mystery, became his passion. A goldsmith\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s creation that Laurent discovered in the workshops of the Lette company, specialised in macarons and founded by his father in California. It was the early years of the 2000s. This soft, almond paste-based pastry was a hit with the palate.

But her studies led her towards another passion, High Jewellery, in the marketing department of Van Cleef & Arpels. However, her approach to luxury did not make her forget her sin of gluttony and her desire to create her own business. Why not create a line of gourmet products, crafted like jewellery and able to satisfy all desires?  The idea: they will be small cream puffs, now out of fashion.

By chance, during her research, the name Popelini, creator of choux pastry and official chef to Catherine de Medici, leaps out at her like a certainty. A round, musical name that smells of Italy. The uncontrollable call for precious stones led her to discover a small shop in her native Marais, no bigger than a handkerchief, which Laurent transformed into a sober and elegant jewellery box.

The mini-laboratory located in the back of the shop is in turmoil during the six months preceding the opening of the shop. Searching for the best raw materials, the right combinations, a perfect accord of fragrances, the right balance between very delicate dry pastry and cream....

Today, three bakeries pay tribute to this tiny delight... And soon a fourth will open its doors in the Saint Germain des Prés district.

The cream puffs: 30 grams of joy and voluptuousness

Beneath a dome of coloured icing, the soft, airy and light choux pastry is wrapped in a crunchy shortcrust of brown sugar and butter. Beneath this crunchy covering, the oiliness of a custard and the tenderness of a dry pastry in which a fruit confit, crunchy crumbs and chocolate drown... An explosion of flavour. Without fault. A luxury morsel. Within everyone\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s reach.

They are delicate and come in nine fixed flavours, five more for each new collection (spring-summer and autumn-winter), and a surprise flavour for each month.

In all, the Popelini cream puff offers a range of twenty-nine different colours and flavours. It is very difficult to make because the choux pastry is rather capricious and requires a terrible tour de force on the part of the pastry chef.

That\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s why, each time it is baked, each eclair is unique.

Precisely because of its artisanal manufacture, the Popelini cream puff is made entirely of handmade ingredients: milk chocolate, caramel, praline, coffee creamer with roasted beans, ground and pressed through a sieve, lemons squeezed one at a time...

The ingredients are selected from the best, such as Thiecerlin rosewater, l\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Or des Près fresh cream, Valrhona chocolate or natural colourings. Luxury in a single bite... For the delight of the eyes and the pleasure of presentation, the Popelini cream puffs are carefully lined up in a Kraft paper box that is both simple and precious. When the sand-coloured box is opened, these surprises explode into a colourful firework. Cream puff jewels to share in good company. For Valentine\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Day, the Popelini cream puff is transformed into a delicate caramelised apple to munch on with your loved one. For Easter, it satisfies all the whims of chocolate...

Photos: Popelini @ courtesy of Popelini

 

Edoardo VII era un fan delle crêpes, Enrico IV ha lanciato la moda della “poule au pot” (gallina in brodo), la crema Chantilly ha festeggiato 400 anni… Tutte queste storie fanno parte del patrimonio culinario francese, e conoscerle significa dare la pennellata finale all’identità del piatto, allo stesso titolo della sua zona di origine e dei suoi sapori.


Ecco qualche perla della cultura culinaria. A voi il compito di raccontarle, queste storie, in occasione dei vostri prossimi pranzi in città!

La chouquette

Un dolcetto particolarmente apprezzato dai parigini. Fin dal XVI secolo veniva venduto nelle strade di Parigi, dai mercanti che gridavano: “Choux, piccoli choux caldi caldi!”. A quel tempo, e fino al XVII secolo, la composizione degli choux (ossia i bignè) era a base di un formaggio specifico, destinato proprio alla loro realizzazione. Solo alla fine del XVII secolo, troviamo una ricetta di choux senza formaggio, che ricorda in pratica quella delle nostre attuali chouquettes.

La tarte delle sorelle Tatin\"tarte-tatin-1200\"

Esistono molti racconti sulla nascita della tarte Tatin, ma quello che piace a me, è questo, so chic!... Invitate a casa di amici, le sorelle Tatin avevano preparato una tarte (ossia una torta), che si era purtroppo rovesciata, cadendo capovolta per terra, lungo il percorso. Una volta giunte a destinazione, le due sorelle si videro costrette a presentare la tarte a rovescio. Una disavventura divenuta, col tempo, un must!

Le pets-de-nommes (Le “puzzette” di suore)

Stando alla leggenda, a una suora dell’abbazia di Marmoutier scappò una “puzzetta” mentre stava in cucina, intenta a preparare un banchetto. Le altre suore scoppiarono a ridere, e dalle risate fecero cadere un cucchiaio di pasta choux in un tegame pieno di olio caldo. Nacque così il famoso piccolo bignè, chiamato anche, più pudicamente, “sospiro di suora”.

Hachis Parmentier (Tortino di patate Parmentier)

\"hachis-parmentier\"Augustin Parmentier era addetto farmacista presso l’Hôtel Royal des Invalides nel 1771. Convinto che le patate fossero la soluzione ideale per gli episodi di carestia che stava vivendo la Francia, le rende popolari e inventa il suo hachis (tortino di patate con macinato di carne). Non si può dire che Luigi XIV ne andasse matto, ma – nonostante ciò – viene favorita la diffusione del tubero e di questo piatto nelle preparazioni culinarie.

La pâte feuilletée (La pasta sfoglia)

Alcuni attribuiscono la sua creazione a Feuillet, pasticciere del maresciallo di Condé nel XVII secolo. Ma la paternità che gli viene attribuita con maggiore certezza è quella che risalirebbe al pittore francese Claude Gellée, detto “il Lorenese”, un ex pasticciere che avrebbe creato la famosa pasta, per puro caso, mentre stava facendo una “prova” culinaria.

Il Paris-Brest\"paris

La vera identità del creatore del Paris-Brest rimane sconosciuta. Secondo il Larousse gastronomique, si tratterebbe di un pasticciere della periferia parigina, che l’avrebbe creato nel 1881, in occasione di una corsa ciclistica svoltasi da Parigi a Brest. Sarebbe stato lui a distribuire alla folla, lungo il percorso, le sue dolci creazioni. Esistono varie forme di Paris-Brest. La più nota è quella a ciambella, che simboleggia la ruota di una bicicletta.

La poule au pot (La gallina in brodo)

Enrico IV soleva dire «Voglio che ogni coltivatore del mio regno, la domenica possa mettere la poule au pot» (ossia, mettere in pentola la gallina in brodo). Detto fatto, la poule au pot diventa uno dei pilastri della tradizione culinaria francese.

La crema Chantilly

Nel 1610, il Re Sole fu ricevuto a Chantilly dal principe di Condé. François Vatel, intendente generale del principe, organizza i festeggiamenti. Per l’occasione, avrebbe inventato la crema, che da allora venne battezzata “Chantilly” e che da poco tempo ha festeggiato i suoi 400 anni.

La crêpe Suzette\"CREPE-SUZETTE-01\"

1816, Monte Carlo, Café de Paris. Preparando le crêpes per il principe di Galles, un apprendista fa cadere del liquore sul fornello. Spegne le fiamme con lo zucchero e presenta la “nuova” ricetta al principe, che chiede a quel punto, a una cliente del caffè, il suo nome: «Suzette!», risponde lei.

I biscuits à la cuillère (I savoiardi)

Devono il loro nome al procedimento grazie al quale gli veniva data la forma a cucchiaio. Questi dolcetti giunsero in Francia al seguito dei pasticcieri di Caterina de’ Medici. Il famoso cuoco Carême diede loro la forma attuale, più allungata, per rispondere al desiderio del principe di Talleyrand, a cui piaceva tuffarli in un bicchiere di madera. Siamo nel 1383, quando il conte Amedeo di Savoia realizza il primo dolcetto ispirato alla Savoia, che viene chiamato “biscotto” savoiardo. Da allora, sono state create numerose ricette, su cui si basano ancora le preparazioni industriali.

Il chaud-froid

Una sera del 1759, il maresciallo Duca di Lussemburgo, che proprio in quell’occasione ha organizzato un ricevimento nel suo castello di Montmorency, viene convocato al Castello di Versailles. Al suo rientro, a notte fonda, trova la fricassea che aveva dovuto abbandonare precipitosamente. Il liquido gelatinoso che era colato dal piatto, misto alla crema, conferisce un aspetto lucido e appetitoso ai pezzi di carne. Il Duca, felicissimo della buona riuscita – assolutamente casuale – del piatto, esorta il suo cuoco a perfezionaro, ed è così che nasce il chaud-froid (ossia, caldo-freddo).

Il vol-au-vent

\"IlMarie Leszczynska  incaricò i cuochi di corte di creare un piatto che potesse «risvegliare gli ardori di quel farfallone di suo marito»; un vol-au-vent fatto su misura, elegantemente ribattezzato dalla corte “boccone della regina”. Era nata una meraviglia.
La sole “meunière” (La sogliola alla mugnaia)
Molto apprezzata alla corte del re Luigi XIV, la sogliola è uno dei pesci “nobili” più utilizzati nella gastronomia francese. Il termine “meunière” (alla mugnaia) si riferisce al mugnaio, l’artigiano che produce la farina di grano, in quanto la sogliola viene infarinata prima della cottura.

La frangipane

La regina Caterina de’Medici aveva conservato la passione per le polente dolci e salate del suo Paese natale, l’Italia. A Parigi, però, la farina di mais è introvabile. Il Maestro pasticciere di corte allestisce allora una preparazione simile, legandola però con la farina di frumento, mentre la crema, sorta di pasticciera molto densa, è arricchita da macarons schiacciati e rifinita con burro fresco. Questa ricetta è dedicata al conte Cesare Frangipane, un amico della regina, e sarà la base di molte ricette di pasticceria, tra cui la famosa torta Bourdaloue.

La poire Belle-Hélène (La pera Bella Elena)\"La

Ad ispirare la ricetta è stata una cantante! Questo delizioso dessert risale al 1864, anno in cui trionfò l’omonima operetta di Offenbach, la cui protagonista, la bella Hortense Schneider era – così correva voce – l’amante di Napoleone III.

La charlotte

La charlotte è stata creata all’inizio del XIX secolo, in omaggio della moglie del re d’Inghilterra Giorgio III, la regina Charlotte. Preparato in uno stampo alto dai bordi svasati, il dessert era realizzato con del pancarrè imburrato o con della brioche, farciti poi con una composta di frutta.

Dovranno passare vari anni, sempre nell’800, per vedere una ricetta che si avvicina a quella della charlotte attuale. Il merito si deve ad Antonin Carême, pasticciere e chef francese: sarebbe stato lui ad adattare la ricetta, foderando lo stampo di savoiardi e di crema bavarese. Il dessert fu chiamato “charlotte alla bavarese”.

As a child, I loved this recipe with its exceptional flavor. Mum used to make it from time to time and it was always a great moment, during the tasting and afterwards when I would shine the empty plate with a piece of chopstick at the end of a fork! What a memory!

Making good fried potatoes looks simple and yet it is not easy if you don\'t respect a certain ritual in the preparation. In my recipe I explain everything you need to know to make a simple dish into a little marvel!


\"POMMEThis recipe is a basic dish, whose way of cooking was given to me by a great Alsatian cook. Accompanied simply by cold meats or a roast veal or a simple green salad, it is a delight! In Paris, I use small apples such as the Amandine, Charlotte, Ratte, Pompadour, Francine or Chérie, the important thing wherever you are is to take firm-fleshed potatoes. When I find some, red skinned potatoes are very good, firm and tasty.

Ingredients for 4 persons\"Sans

1 kg of firm-fleshed potatoes

1 shallot

Fresh parsley

Olive oil

15 g cold butter

Salt and pepper

PREPARATION

1. Peel the potatoes. Cut them into regular 1.5cm cubes. Plunge the potatoes into cold water for 30 minutes. To make the potatoes successful, you must go through the de-starching stage. Starch can tarnish your preparation and cause you to gain weight. Drain them and wipe them in a clean, dry cloth.

2. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan or large skillet. When the oil is hot (not black especially!), put the potatoes in one go, then coat them with oil in all directions with a wooden spoon.

3. Add salt and pepper, then mix again.

4. Bring to the maximum heat and cook with the lid on until a good smell of roasted potatoes comes out . Don\'t uncover them beforehand unless you see that they are blackening (burning)! This takes between 3 and 5 minutes (watch).

5. Only then, and not before, turn the potatoes over.

6. Lower the temperature by 2 graduations (to medium heat).

7. Add the finely chopped shallot.

8. Put the lid back on and turn the potatoes every 3 minutes for 10 minutes.\"POMME

9. Now they are cooked. Check with the tip of a knife.

10. At the end of cooking add the cold butter to crisp the fried potatoes.

11. Once the potatoes are cooked, and not before, add the chopped fresh parsley.

The fried potatoes are the perfect accompaniment to roasts and cold meats. Tonight I served them with a Spanish Pata Negra ham... a fantastic combination! I\'ll let you try it!

Scallop is a seafood product, very delicate to pamper the palate. But what need to use many ingredients to sublimate it when the flesh itself is already a delight? To please you in all simplicity, here is my tasty (that\'s what my friends tell me...) recipe for scallops in parsley. Simple and greedy, just what you need at the moment.


Did you know that ? The name scallop dates back to the Middle Ages, when priests used it to pour holy water on the head of those receiving baptism. Its second name, St. James\' shell or pilgrim\'s shell, derives from the fact that, still in the Middle Ages, pilgrims on the way to Santiago, once they reached their destination, the sanctuary of St. James, in fact, tied the concave scallop shell to the neck or stick.

RECETTE\"240

Ingredients for 4 persons

12 scallops

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 bunch of fresh parsley

1 clove of garlic

salt, pepper

PREPARATION

Carefully clean the scallops and wipe them gently.

Peel the garlic clove and chop it finely.

Chop the parsley.

Pour the olive oil into a frying pan and heat over low heat. Season with salt and pepper. Fry the scallops for 2 to 3 minutes so that they are golden brown.

\"saintSet aside.

In the same frying pan (where the scallops are cooked) place the garlic and parsley. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring regularly.

Put the scallops back into the pan and mix well so that they are coated with parsley. Serve hot.

MY TIP

I like to serve these scallops with grilled salsify, according to a recipe that is also very simple: 3 ingredients will suffice a little olive oil or butter, the zest of a lemon and fresh parsley and voilà!

The kitchen is a fascinating place for young children. Even older they might be intrigued by how baked goods and meals come together. French moms appreciate cooking with the kids when possible, during holidays or Wednesday afternoon. Preparing a traditional quiche Lorraine with your children, will seem like fun to them…

Gribiche sauce is a great classic of French sauces. A sauce with a strong character! It is made with hard-boiled eggs, mustard, oil and gherkins. Some people add capers or tarragon, which is not my case. The appellation gribiche appeared in the 1900s. It is a whimsical creation of the culinary language, perhaps coming from the Norman word gribiche, a feminine noun: "wicked woman who frightens children"... It is hard to see the semantic path from the shrew to the sauce. A story of character perhaps...

The French in general is a great lover of potatoes, provided that they are of good quality and well prepared. Even a simple recipe: steamed, a knob of butter, coarse salt from Brittany and parsley, requires good products and a knack to be appreciated by a Parisian woman. In the collective imagination, cooking potatoes in water is child's play. In practice, it can be much more difficult than it seems. Here are my cooking tips, mistakes to avoid and a great bistro recipe.

The two french sisters Tatin lived in a small rural town in the Loire Valley of France. The elder sister, Stéphanie was a particularly fine cook, her specialty was an apple tart served perfectly crusty, caramelized and which melted in the mouth. One day during she placed her tart in the oven the wrong way round… The pastry and apples were upside-down but, nevertheless, she served this strange dessert without giving it time to cool. The French call this dessert tarte des demoiselles Tatin…

The aroma of a croissant fresh from the oven is a characteristic scent of Paris. Especially in the morning, even though it is increasingly eaten at any time of day, the croissant is the basic Parisian breakfast par excellence, eaten in a hurry while drinking coffee (at the counter), on the street at the entrance of a bakery, or at the office while your computer is booting up. It’s a good way to start the day.


\"butter-croissants-best-paris-maison-disabelle-1024x1022-5c0d532fc9e77c00016aeb5d\"Due to the Parisian woman’s increasing distrust of everything industrial, there is a new generation of pastry chefs in Paris. With quality products and traditional methods, they are stimulating consumers to demand ever higher standards of quality. Beware of pastry chefs who offer croissants that are soft and flat, full of air, too greasy, or over-cooked and dry. 

 

A “croissant tour” 

A delightful way to discover Paris. Many neighborhood bakeries make delicious croissants, and it’s up to you to judge the color, crispness, lightness, and quality of the ingredients. My favorites are those of Gérard Mulot in Saint-Germain-des-Prés—fabulous and just minutes from home. You need only smell them to recognize the exceptional quality—an indescribably crisp pastry with the authentic taste of pure butter and a golden brown crust. The croissants from Paul are also excellent (photo). The Ispahan croissant from Pierre Hermé is original \"images\"yet very good. 

It is said that Marie Antoinette imported the croissant from Vienna about 1780 and that they were first made in Paris in a bakery on the rue Dauphine. The recipe was described in 1906 in Auguste Colombié’s culinary encyclopedia, where they are called “bakery croissants” and are described as a light puff pastry.

 

In conclusion, how to recognize this good Parisian croissant

Generally, croissants made with vegetable fat take the form of a crescent while a butter croissant has a longer shape. However, bakeries that make only butter croissants prefer the half-moon shape. If in doubt, don’t hesitate to ask. Just between us, there’s a little trick for identifying fresh, homemade croissants: in the pastry shop, ask if you can “freeze” the croissants you want to buy. If they are honest and their croissants are “industrial,” they will tell you not to freeze them. 

\"baguette-burro-e-marmellata-cappuccino-spremuta-1527848214\" 

carita-orizzontale    vancleef-orizzontale
     

ORDER THE BOOK NOW

libro-rizzolilibro-rizzoli
.

Edizione Italiana

Edita da RIZZOLI, Sophie la Parigina è una guida di stile moderna su PARIGI. Illustrata dai disegni di Alessandra Ceriani, completata da un elenco degli indirizzi preferiti dalla parigina e arricchita di ricette gastronomiche.

 

English Edition

Published by RIZZOLI New York, Sophie the Parisian'sis a modern life style guide about PARIS. Illustrated with color drawings, complemented by a list of Parisians' favorite locations and enriched with gastronomic recipes.

 
By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. You can change this and find out more by following this link.