A new clay casserole usually needs to be seasoned to remove the raw clay taste that it will otherwise impart to the food the first few times it is used. To do this, chop up a few onions and cloves of garlic, skins and all, put them into the casserole, and fill it with cold water. Bring the water slowly to the boil. Empty the pot and repeat the process. In French restaurants, it is customary also to rub the entire outside surface with cut garlic before seasoning the casserole. This procedure supposedly toughens the clay.
In many of the recipes that follow. you will notice that the meat is browned first. In this case, I think you will find it easier and more satisfactory to brown the meat in a skillet and then to transfer it to the casserole with the other ingredients and the liquid. Meat always browns better in a utensil with shallow sides, and you can cook a few pieces at a time without crowding them, removing each piece to the casserole as it finishes browning. All the juices that have browned in the pan can be saved by adding to it some, or all, of the liquid called for in the recipe and cooking this liquid until the crustiness dissolves.
If you prefer to cook these casserole dishes in the oven, remember to keep the heat low. Remember also that an oven casserole must be watched carefully and more liquid added as needed. The liquid reduces more quickly when the heat is all around the utensil than when it is hot only on the bottom.
Most of these recipes, like many others of the series, call for a faggot. To make a faggot, cut a stalk of celery in two pieces three or four inches long. In the curve of one piece, tuck a few sprigs of parsley, folding in the ends, lay on this a bay leaf, and sprinkle: with a little thyme. If the recipe does not include carrots, a small piece of carrot is sometimes tucked in with the parsley. Place the other piece of celery on top very firmly and secure the faggot by winding a long piece of string closely around it. Unless you assemble a faggot firmly and bind it tightly with siring, it is apt to fall apart during the cooking. Always discord the faggot before serving the dish it flavors.
When the recipes call for tomatoes to be peeled, seeded, and chopped, proceed this way: hold the tomato on a fork over a high flame until the skin splits. Peel the tomato and cut it in half crosswise. Pick up each half in turn, cut side down, and squeeze it gently until the seeds and water drip our. Now chop or dice the tomato on the chopping board.
I would like to call your attention especially to oxtail à la parisienne. Oxtails are very rich in fat and can be quite indigestible unless all the fat is cooked out. Therefore, I advise cooking this dish a day ahead and allowing it to stand overnight so that the fat can rise and be skimmed off. Also you might note that in veal recbauffé and capilotade of chicken, the two recipes that use meat that has already been cooked, the meat is cooked only long enough to reheat it; rebooking meat for any length of time always toughens it.
Oxaih à la Parisienne
Have the butcher cut 2 oxtails weighing about 4 pounds in 2- to 3-inch sections. Wipe the meat with a damp cloth and put it in a deep bowl. Add 1 carrot and 2 onions, all coarsely chopped. 10 peppercorns, 1 teaspoon salt with a pinch of spice parisienne or poultry seasoning, and a faggot made by tying Together a stalk of celery, 3 sprigs of parsley, a small bay leaf, and a little thyme. Add 1 cup red wine. Marinate the meat in the refrigerator overnight.
Drain the marinade and reserve it with the faggot. Dry the oxtails well and brown the pieces, one at a rime, in a hot skillet in 4 tablespoons melted beef fat. Remove the meat to a casserole, and in the skillet brown the carrot and onions from the marinade. Skim most of the fat from the skillet, blend in 4 tablespoons flour, and cook until the Hour begins to turn golden. Add the reserved marinade. 1 cup tomato puree, and 1 cup beef stock. Cook, stirring, until the mixture boils, and pour it over the oxtails. Add the faggot. I clove of garlic, crushed, and enough water to cover. Bring the liquid to a boil, cover the casserole, and cook over low heat for about 3 hours, or until the oxtails are tender. Remove the meat to a bowl and strain the sauce over it. Cool and store in the refrigerator overnight or until the fat rises to the surface and congeals. Remove the layer of fat.
Pinterest
