French Peasant Supper Recipes

FRENCH PEASANT CHICKEN STEW

Steps:

• In 4-quart saucepan, mix all ingredients except peas and chicken.
• Heat to boiling over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover; simmer about 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
• Stir in peas and chicken. Cover; simmer about 5 minutes or until peas are tender.

FRENCH "PEASANT" BEETS

Steps:

• 1. Scrub and peel the beets. Remove the greens, wash and dry them, and chop coarsely. Set the greens aside in a large prep bowl. Slice the beets into 1/4-inch rounds.
• 2. Remove the ribs from the Swiss chard and coarsely chop the ribs. Toss the leaves and ribs into the bowl with the beet greens.
• 3. In a large sauté pan, melt the butter and sauté the shallot over medium heat until softened.
• Add the beet rounds to the shallot-butter mixture. Toss in a pinch of salt and crack some pepper over the beets. Reduce the heat and sauté the beets, turning to ensure even cooking, until the beets are beginning to glaze and become tender, about 15 minutes.
• Add the beet greens, chard, and chard ribs and sauté for about 5 minutes, then add the wine and cover. Cook until the greens are wilted, adding 2 tablespoons water if necessary. Allow the liquid to be mostly absorbed into the greens. Adjust the seasonings.
• Scoop the greens and beets into a shallow bowl. Serve with a generous wedge of Bucheron and some crusty bread. Crack a little bit of pepper over the entire dish.
• Tips and Techniques
• To find the right cheese, Amy N‐B said: "Nice grocery stores (such as Wegmans and Whole Foods) usually have it, and any good cheese counter should have it. It can be spelled Boucheron, Bucherondin, or Boucherondin. All will do the trick."
• About the Cook
• Amy Nichols‐Belo is a cultural anthropologist from Richmond, Virginia.
• Her favorite entertaining tip: "When hosting an event where guests will be contributing dishes or beverages, provide a theme (tapas, sixties hors d'oeuvre, Latin) to avoid a meal that's more 'church basement potluck' than party."
• Here's her blog: Amy Cooks and Brad Does the Dishes (www.amycooksbraddoesthedishes.blogspot.com).
• What the Community Said
• deensiebat: "Made this last night and loved it. I had fallen into a rut of always making beets the same way-wedges parboiled, then roasted, greens reserved for later. Nice to have a new all‐in‐one method, with a sweet result."
• romanolikethecheese: "Droplets of good balsamic vinegar on top set this dish up from good to really good!!"

WINTERTIME FRENCH STYLE SPLIT PEA SOUP

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a heavy soup pot or Dutch oven; cook and stir onion and garlic in the hot oil until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir herbes de Provence, turmeric, bay leaves, and cayenne pepper into the vegetables; cook and stir until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Mix dried split peas, half the carrots, half the potatoes, vegetable stock, and water into vegetables and seasonings, bring to a bowl, and reduce heat to low. Cover pot and simmer until peas are nearly tender, about 35 minutes. Stir remaining half of carrots and potatoes and the ham into soup, cover, and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 25 more minutes.

FRENCH PEASANT SUPPER

Steps:

• Turn on the broiler.
• Heat the oil in an extra-deep 12 inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
• Meanwhile, cut the pork chops into 1/2-inch cubes, adding them to the skillet as you cut.
• Slice the sausages into 1/4-inch circles, adding them as you cut.
• Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
• Peel and coarsely chop the onion, adding it to the skillet as you chop.
• Stir in the water, wine, ketchup, honey, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, black pepper, and cloves and cook until the pork cubes are no longer pink, about 4 minutes, stirring frequently.
• (Reduce the heat to medium if the pork seems about to burn.) Meanwhile, rinse and drain the beans and set aside.
• Spread the bread crumbs evenly on a cookie sheet and toast under the broiler until crisp and light brown; leave the oven door cracked and don't walk away- they brown quickly!
• (If you are really distracted, you can omit the bread crumbs and skip this step to prevent mishaps.) Set aside.
• Stir the beans into the pork mixture and simmer just long enough to mix well and heat through, about 2 minutes.
• Scatter the toasted crumbs on top and serve.

PEASANT SKILLET

Steps:

• In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook bacon until crisp. Drain on paper towels, reserving 2 tablespoons drippings in skillet. Add next five ingredients to drippings. Reduce heat to medium; cook, covered, stirring frequently, until vegetables are crisp-tender, 10-15 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cut sausage diagonally into 1/2-in. slices; place on top of vegetables. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. Crumble bacon; sprinkle on top.