James Beards Pate De Campagne Provencale Recipes

JAMES BEARD'S PATE DE CAMPAGNE PROVENCALE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the pork, veal, liver, pork fat or bacon, garlic, eggs, white pepper, cayenne, allspice, Cognac, basil, salt and black pepper. Mix well. (If you wish to test for seasoning, fry a small piece in a little butter or oil until it's cooked through. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.).
• Line a 2 1/2-quart terrine or baking dish with the bacon or salt pork, reserving two or three strips. Spoon the pate mixture into the baking dish, then place the reserved bacon strips over the top. Cover the pan tightly with a sheet of aluminum foil and bake for one hour. Remove the foil and continue baking for 1 1/2 hours, or until the pate slightly shrinks away from the sides of the baking dish. Remove from the oven and carefully drain off excess fat. Cool.
• Cover tightly with aluminum foil and place a weight (I usually use a brick wrapped with heavy-duty foil) on top. Refrigerate for at least eight hours.
• To serve, cut the pate into 1/2-inch slices or small bite-size chunks and accompany with toast points.

JAMES BEARD'S FARMER'S CHICKEN

Steps:

• Pat chicken pieces dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• In a wide skillet with a lid, heat oil over medium. Working in batches if necessary to avoid crowding the pan, brown the chicken, rotating as needed, until the skin is golden and releases easily from the pan, at least 5 minutes per side. Adjust the heat to avoid scorching. As the pieces are browned, transfer them to a plate.
• Once all the chicken is browned, add the onion and bell pepper to the skillet. Sprinkle with salt and cook, stirring, until softened and beginning to brown around the edges, about 5 minutes. Stir in the oregano and paprika.
• Add the wine and simmer, stirring up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until the pan is almost dry, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in stock, olives and currants, and bring to a simmer. Carefully return the chicken pieces to the pan. Cover and let simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. Remove the lid, stir and let simmer, uncovered, until the chicken is tender and the liquid reduces slightly, about 15 minutes. (The sauce will be quite loose.) Taste the sauce for salt and pepper. (Recipe can be made up to this point and refrigerated for up to 3 days.)
• When ready to serve, heat through and stir in lemon zest and juice. Divide among shallow bowls and sprinkle with parsley and almonds (if using). Serve with rice, orzo or toast.

JAMES BEARD'S CHICKEN WITH 40 CLOVES OF GARLIC

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cover the bottom of a heavy 6-quart casserole with the celery and onions and add the parsley and tarragon. Place the oil in a shallow dish. Dip the chicken pieces into the oil, coat all sides evenly and place in the casserole. Pour the vermouth over the chicken and sprinkle with the salt, pepper and a few gratings of nutmeg. Tuck the garlic around and between the chicken pieces.
• Cover the top of the casserole tightly with aluminum foil and fit the lid over the foil to create an airtight seal. Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes without removing the cover. Check for doneness; return casserole to the oven if the chicken seems underdone. Serve the chicken along with the pan juices, the garlic and thin slices of heated French bread spread with garlic squeezed from the root end of the clove.

PATE DE CAMPAGNE

Steps:

• Cut ham slice into 1/4" strips. Cut the salt pork into1/8" slices and the slices into 1/8" strips.
• Put the shallot, bay leaf, thyme, Madeira and Cognac into a flat dish. (I use a pyrex square glass dish). Add the meat strips, cover and marinate 6 hours or overnight.
• Mix veal and pork and salt and pepper and refrigerate until ready to use.
• When ready to make pate, line a 4-cup mold (or 2 small molds) with bacon slices. Drain the liquid from the meat strips into the ground meat and mix (this is the sausage). Place a layer of sausage into the bacon-lined mold, then a layer of eat strips. Continue until all is used, ending with the sausage.
• Cover the top of the mold with strips of bacon cut to fit. Press down firmly into the mold. Cover tightly with foil, and set mold(s) into a water bath. Bake at 325 degrees F. for two hours.
• When done, remove from oven and place mold(s) in pan large enough to hold it and any overflow of fat. Weight down the top of the mold, using a foil wrapped brick or the like. Make sure the pate is pressed while still warm. When cool. refrigerate with the weight.
• When the pate is cold, turn it out of the mold(s), scrape away the congealed fat. A good French cook will save that fat to cook with--fries for example--it tastes great.
• Serve with cornichons and mustard and crusty bread.

PATE DE CAMPAGNE (COUNTRY-STYLE PATE)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
• Combine the meat, liver, onion, garlic and parsley in a mixing bowl and blend well. Add the mixture, one-quarter at a time, to the container of a food processor and blend well. As each batch is processed, scrape it into a bowl. When properly blended, the mixture will be finer than hamburger. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Combine the eggs, flour, cream and Cognac in a small mixing bowl and blend well with a wire whisk. Add this to the pork mixture and blend thoroughly.
• Select a pate mold large enough to hold the pate mixture (a mold with a two-quart capacity and measuring about 11 1/2 by 4 by 3 1/2 inches is suitable). Line it with very thin slices of fatback, letting the slices overlap the upper edges of the mold.
• Pour and scrape the pate mixture into the prepared mold. Smooth it over. Fold the overlapping slices of fatback over the top of the pate. Add additional thin slices of fatback so that the top is completely but not excessively covered.
• Cover the pate with a lid and place it in a heatproof baking dish. Pour warm water around the pate mold and place it in the oven. Bake one hour and 50 minutes to two hours or to an internal temperature of 160 degrees.
• Remove the pate from the oven and remove the mold from the water bath. Leave the lid on top of the pate. Let stand overnight at room temperature. When cold, serve sliced with cornichons.