There is much more to being a devout gourmet than going to good restaurants and eating the specialties of fine chefs. When gastronomy becomes a favorite pursuit, you'll want to search Our, along with the best eating places, nature's hard-to-find delicacies. And you should also get better acquainted with some of her more profuse offerings which you may have overlooked. Truffles, morels, mussels, scallops, oddments such as fiddlehead ferns and plovers' eggs as well as such commonplace victuals as tripe and eel, can lure a gourmet into all kinds of markets and out-of- the-way restaurants, and ultimately to cookbooks and his own kitchen. There's always something new to try, even for the most experienced gastronome, though it may seem that you have run the gamut. Right now I'm thinking about three foods of this type: morels, mussels, and snails, all as dear to a Frenchman as le tricolre itself, but to Americans a little bewildering—or so people have told me when they have asked my help in preparing them.
Morels (in French, morilles) are rare and elusive, to say the least. In fact, there is only one time of the year that nature produces them—even then she is far from generous—and that is in early May. If you have never eaten morels, and perhaps even the name is unfamiliar to you because they are so scarce, you may recognize them by another and quite as descriptive name, spring mushrooms. However, morels differ greatly from ordinary mushrooms in that man has never been able to tame them. How well he has learned to raise other mushrooms and increase them by scientific propagation is seen by our abundant year-round supply. Not so with the wild morel. Like the truffle, that other hard-to-come-by fungus, morels appear briefly and only at nature's appointed time; and so far as I know this is the only wild edible fungus (hat grows in the spring.
Most morel lovers have lived where morels grow, have hunted them, carried them home, and waited in blissful anticipation for them to appear on the table. When I was a boy, and in the way of boys did not follow the calendar too closely, le mois de mai would often creep up on me before I realized it. But in addition to my prodding elders there were always natural reminders to tell a country boy when to start looking for morels. If the tightly rolled spikes of lily-of-the-valley had opened and released their fragrant white flower stalks, if you had to watch every step you took through the meadows to avoid crushing the first bright blue violets, and hedgerows suddenly turned white with Dowering aubépine, then you knew it was time to start looking for morels. In mon pays, we found them where meadow and wood lot meet in the sheltered valleys that fell away from our gently rolling hills—they seemed to like the spongy soil compacted with leaf mold that accumulated through the years, and we had learned to look for them in the spots which were neither too shady nor too sunny. In this country I have read of their being found in places as far apart as Connecticut, Montana, and northern Michigan, as well as in Missouri and Ohio. No doubt other states can boast of them too.
In most places morel-hunting is a kind of sport and the find is cleaned, cooked, and eaten the same day, just as it is in France except in sections near enough to gastronomic centers to permit quick transportation to fine restaurants. In Alsace and in the Rhineland country, for example, when the morel sea-sot) arrives, every farmer, with his wife. his children, and his farm hands, is out every day searching under fallen leaves and tangled wild grapevines and pushing aside sprouting ferns to find the conical brune and blonde heads of morels. The season is so short that it is over almost before it starts, but (here's money to be made while it lasts. If the morels can be packed quickly and carefully and sent off immediately on their journey to Paris or Lyons, the chefs of the fine restaurants will pay well for them. In fact, there arc more morels in Alsace than anywhere else in France, making this province the only place in the world where there is what might be called a morel industry.
Morels are recognized by their coneshaped heads, honeycombed and some of them pointed at the top, perched on bulbous stems. There are two colors, dark grayish-brown and beige, or, as the French say, moriilles brunts and morilles blondes. I believe that freshness is probably more important than color; and I do know that stale morels are worse than none at all.
Before cooking morels, remove and discard the bulbous stem ends. Then wash the fungus very thoroughly, because the tiny pockets in the honeycomb surface pick up sand as they push up through the soil. More than ordinary washing is required to (lush out this Sand, M. Tissier always insisted that we waste one morel, as precious as they were, in order to make sure that the rest were well cleaned. We had to bite into a raw one to assure ourselves that the sand had been washed out before we muted to cook them. As a mailer of fact, the only reason for discarding the bulbous stem is that it is almost impossible to clean out the sand that becomes lodged there. After washing the morels, shake out as much water as possible. They are rather watery themselves, and you don't want to leave an additional amount of water.
You can use morels in any dish that calls for mushrooms, or use the recipes which follow. Occasionally it is possible to buy canned morels imported from Europe; but since they don't come in every year, they are not to be depended upon. And sometimes you can buy dried ones in shops that carry foreign delicacies. If you are lucky enough to live where morels grow in abundance, you can dry them yourself. To do this, remove and discard the bulbous stems and with a large kitchen needle thread the morels on a soft white string. Hang them in the sun for several days, then finish the drying indoors in a warm place or in a very slow oven. To use dried morels, soak them for a few hours in lukewarm water, clean them very thoroughly, and prepare them as you would the fresh ones.
Morilles Sautées (Sautéed Morels )
Trim off the bulbous ends of the stems of 1 pound morels, wash them very thoroughly to remove every bit of sand, and drain and dry them well. Leave the small ones whole and cut the large ones in halves or quarters. Heat 1 tablespoon butter and 2 tablespoons salad oil in a shallow pan. add the morels, and cook them over high heat for 8 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately.
Morilles Bonne Fernme
To 1 pound sautéed morels add ¼ pound diced fat pork, fresh or sale, sautéed to a golden brown. Season the morels lightly with salt and pepper, add 2 tablespoons chopped shallots, and cook all together slowly for about 15 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon chopped parsley and serve immediately.
Morilles à la Bordelaise
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a shallow pan with ½ teaspoon lemon juice and in it saute 1 pound cleaned morels for 7 to 8 minutes. Remove the morels, cut off the stems, and chop them. Brown the caps lightly in ¼ dtp very hot oil. Drain them and transfer them to a serving dish. Discard the oil from the pan and add 3 tablespoons butter. the chopped stems, l tablespoon chopped shallot, and 5 tablespoons fine fresh bread crumbs. Stir together over the heat until stems and crumbs are gulden brown. Add 1 tablespoon chopped parsley. Spread this mixture over the morels and sprinkle with a few drops of lemon juice.
Morilles à la Provençale
Follow the recipe for morilles borde-laise, adding 2 cloves garlic, finely crushed, to the crumb mixture.
Morilles à la Crème (Morels in Cream Sauce)
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a sauce-pan and in it saute lightly 1 pound cleaned morels. Add ½ tablespoon flour and mix well. Add 1 cup light cream and cook all together for 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer the morels to the serving dish and continue to cook the sauce until it is thick and smooth. Add 2 or 3 tablespoons heavy cream, correct the seasoning with a little salt, and add a little freshly ground pepper and a few drops of lemon juice. Pour the sauce over the morels and serve with toast.
Moriles Farcies au Gratin (Stuffed Morels au Gratin)
Clean 3 dozen large morels and chop the stems finely. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a small pan, add 1 tablespoon chopped shallots, the chopped morel stems, and a little salt. Cook until the moisture has evaporated. Acd a little freshly ground pepper, 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, 2 cloves crushed garlic, ½ cup finely chopped cooked ham and 3 tablespoons fine fresh bread crumbs. Correct the seasoning with salt. Slit each morel at the side and stuff it with the prepared mixture. Butter the bottom of a heatproof dish generously and arrange the stuffed morels in the dish. Sprinkle them with fine bread crumbs and with a little melted butter. Bake in a moderately hot oven (375° F.) for 15 to 20 minutes, until the lopping is browned.
Although nature is very parsimonious With her mortis, she is certainly generous when it comes to mussels. Wherever mussels are found, on the coastlines of this country and Europe, they appear in great quantities. They attach themselves to every rock, to any pole in the water, and cover mud flats when the tides go out, clinging tenaciously to any available support. Their plenitude and the fact that they are so popular with the French make supplying moules—as we call them—to restaurants an important industry in France. Any good French restaurant a day's transportation away from the coast will have moules on the menu.
Whether you gather mussels yourself or buy them in the market, the rule for them is the same as for the other bivalves. They must be (Jive when they arc cooked. Live mussels hold their shells together so tightly that it is difficult to pry them apart. Discard any with open shells. A French shopper is also suspicious of mussels that are overly heavy, because this sometimes indicates that a dirty stone or other foreign material has gotten inside the shell and will be released when the shells open, spoiling the sauce.
The basic rules about the preparation of mussels are simple, and there arc just three of them. Mussels must be thoroughly scrubbed, one by one, to remove all the mud, dirt, and bits of seaweed that cling to them. Use plenty of water, changing it often, and a good stiff brush. Next, trim off the “beard” or fringe of vegetation around the edges. And last, don't cook the mussels too long. When the shells open they are ready to cat. Longer cooking will toughen them.
You'll notice that in most recipes a little white wine is used in the kettle along with the seasonings and that the cooked mussels are served on the half shell with a sauce made from the cooking liquor poured over them. The true devotee cats the mussels with a small fish fork and drinks the saute from the shell, and usually he spoons up what is left in the dish or mops it up with his bread.
Moules Marinière (Steamed Mussels)
Scrub 24 to 36 mussels well and wash them in running water. Pat them in a saucepan with 2 tablespoons finely Chopped shallots and 1 cup whi:e wine. Cover the pan and cook the bivalves for 6 to 8 minutes or until they open. Remove one shell from each mussel, leaving the meat attached to the other shell. Put the mussels in a serving dish. Reduce the liquor in the pan to half its original quantity and thicken it with manié butter made by creaming together
2 tablespoons butter and ½ teaspoon Hour. Roll the pan to swirl in the butter. Add 1 more tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, and if desired ½ teaspoon finely chopped chives. Correct the seasoning with salt, add a little freshly ground pepper, and pour the sauce over the mussels.
If a richer sauce is preferred, thicken the sauce with ¼ cup cream.
Or, if a very plain sauce is preferred, reduce the cooking liquor to half the original quantity and finish it with 2 or 3 tablespoons butter.
Moules Poulette
Scrub 24 to 36 mussels well and wash them in running water. Put them in a saucepan with 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots, 6 mushrooms, thinly sliced, and 1 cup white wine. Cover the pan and cook for about 6 to minutes, or until the shells open. Remove one shell from each mussel, leaving the meat attached to the other shell, and arrange them in a serving dish. Reduce the liquor in the pan to half its original quantity and add ½ cup cream sauce. Bring the sauce to a boil and add 1 egg yolk beaten with ¼ cup cream and a little of the sauce. Cook slowly, stirring briskly, until the sauce is well blended and slightly thickened, but do not allow it to boil. Correct the seasoning with salt, add a little freshly ground pepper and 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, and pour the sauce over the mussels.
Moules Bonne Femme
Follow the recipe for moules poulette, adding to the pan with the mussels ½ cup celery, cut in fine julienne, parboiled for 10 minutes and drained.
Moules Frites (Fried Mussels)
Steam mussels open as for moules marinière, using ¼ cup white wine. At serving time, dip the meal in fritter batter and fry in deep hot fat (375° F.). Drain and serve with fried parsley and tomato or cream sauce.
Or the opened mussels can he breaded à l'anglaise by rolling them in flour. in egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk, and finally in fine bread crumbs. They may then be fried in deep hot fat or sautéed on both sides in butter.
The subject of snails is one which. I realize, does not interest all people. But one who bus never eaten the Frenchmans beloved escargots can hardly claim to know la cuisine française. More and more French restaurants in this country are now serving snails regularly. In France every restaurant does, and everyone eats them. I recall how amused I was a few years ago in a Vichy restaurant to see two youngsters, hardly more than six or seven years old, expertly pick up their escargots, dig out the snails, and eat them with all the relish of experienced gourmets.
Snails are found in various parts of Europe, but I don't believe that they are eaten with the same gusto anywhere Outside France. In France the best snails come from the wine-growing sections. Hut even there fresh snails are not a year-round food, because it is only after they have receded into their shells, closing themselves in for winter hibernation from the first of November through March, that they are prime. The rest of the year canned snails are served; and snails, fortunately, are excellent when canned. The seasonal situation does not affect us at all here in this country, because all the snails we eat here arc Canned and imported from France.
Preparing fresh snails involves a tedious process that includes many washings in water with salt and vinegar and cooking in court-bouillon for three or four hours. I won't go into these details because you will be using canned snails, and 1 am sure that you will be more interested in knowing how the canned ones are sold. Two sides are canned, the average sized snails and extra large ones. The former are put up two dozen and four dozen to the can for households and a hundred to the can for restaurants, the latter eighteen and twenty-four to the can for households and seventy-two for restaurants. The shells are packed separately in cartons that contain forty-eight shells for regular sized snails or thirty-six for the large size. Then there is a special package for the housewife which contains a can of twenty-four snails, a carton of twenty- four shells and seasonings for the butter sauce.
Canned snails are the easiest fare in the world to prepare. They have already been thoroughly cooked, and the shells have been cleaned and sterilized so that after the special butter and the snails arc put into the shells they need only be heated. The conventional way to eat snails is to pick up the shell with a holder made for tin's purpose and dig out the snail with a tiny two-lined snail fork.
To Prepare Canned Snails
For 24 snails prepare butter as follows: Cream 1/3 pound butter and add to it I teaspoon finely chopped shallots, 2 cloves garlic, crushed, ½ tablespoon finely chopped parsley, 1 teaspoon salt and a little pepper. Put a little of this butter in each of 24 shells, put a snail in each shell and cover it with the remaining butter. Pour 2 tablespoons white wine in a flat baking dish, arrange the shells in the dish and sprinkle them with fine bread crumbs. Bake the snails in a very hot oven or put the dish under the broiler until the crumbs are golden brown. Serve the snails immediately.
An unusual recipe for snails which does not require the use of the shells is a spécialité of the Burgundy country-side, where both snails and red wine are at their best.
Escargots au Vin Rouge (Snails in Red Wine)
Parboil ¼ cup fat salt pork, diced, for 5 minutes and drain it. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a heavy pan or casserole and in it sauté the pork dice until golden brown. Add 1 ½ cups red wine, 12 small white onions, 1 large clove garlic, crushed line, and a bouquet garni made by tying together 3 sprigs of parsley, 1 stalk celery, ½ bay leaf and a little thyme. Bring the liquid to a boil, cover the casserole and cook the mixture slowly for about 1 hour. Add 24 canned snails and heat them for 5 minutes. Discard the herbs and thicken the sauce by swirling in manié butter nude by creaming together 1 tablespoon butter and ½ tablespoon floor. Add 1 tablespoon brandy and sprinkle the snails with chopped parsley before serving.