FRENCH FAVOURITES - Peta Mathias
FRENCH FAVOURITES - Peta Mathias
FRENCH FAVOURITES - Peta Mathias
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AWW | entertaining<br />
The ingredients<br />
for Brouffado.<br />
Slow-cooked and<br />
sumptuous, this beef<br />
stew will win over<br />
the most fervent<br />
anchovy hater (for<br />
recipe, see page 116).<br />
112 | AWW JULY 2007<br />
MENU<br />
PISTOU SOUP<br />
BEEF STEW WITH ANCHOVIES AND CAPERS (BROUFFADO)<br />
SLOW-ROASTED TOMATOES<br />
STRAWBERRIES IN PASTIS AND PEPPER<br />
BRANDADE DE MORUE – SALT COD PURÉE<br />
COURGETTE FLOWERS STUFFED WITH FISH MOUSSE<br />
GOAT CHEESE & FIG CAKE<br />
<strong>Peta</strong> <strong>Mathias</strong>’<br />
<strong>FRENCH</strong> <strong>FAVOURITES</strong><br />
Colourful chef <strong>Peta</strong> <strong>Mathias</strong> is mixing business with pleasure at her cooking<br />
school in the south of France, where mouth-watering local dishes are de rigueur.<br />
PHOTOGRAPHY BY HENRI COMTE/INTERNATIONAL RESCUE WORDS BY JENNY FORSYTH<br />
WW JULY 2007 | 113
IT’S HARD NOT TO FEEL JUST<br />
a little bit hungry around <strong>Peta</strong> <strong>Mathias</strong>.<br />
All this talk of slow-cooked brouffado,<br />
pélardon goat cheese, pastis and pepper<br />
strawberries, stuffed courgette flowers …<br />
And it’s not just the food that’s<br />
mouthwatering. As <strong>Peta</strong> <strong>Mathias</strong><br />
rhapsodises about Uzès, the medieval<br />
French town where she spends most of<br />
the New Zealand winter, she sums up<br />
a dreamy life of heaving marketplaces,<br />
wine-soaked afternoons and a<br />
neighbourhood populated with an<br />
“adorable” butcher, “charming and<br />
good-looking” cooking assistants and<br />
even a snail farmer who looks like<br />
Angelina Jolie.<br />
Now <strong>Peta</strong> has made it her business to<br />
spend half her time here, soaking up the<br />
sunny good life in the Languedoc-<br />
Roussillon region of southern France.<br />
“I’m a bit of a gypsy at heart and the<br />
best thing for someone like me is to get<br />
a job that obliges you to move,” says <strong>Peta</strong>,<br />
who has started up a cooking school in<br />
this delightful town.<br />
<strong>Peta</strong>, who is also in the process of<br />
filming A Taste of Home, a series about<br />
New Zealand immigrants’ favourite foods,<br />
is taking four week-long classes this year<br />
at the farmhouse of her New Zealand<br />
friends and business partners David<br />
Horsmann and Celia Lindsell.<br />
“I lived in France for 10 years and<br />
I’ve been coming back every year since<br />
1995,” says <strong>Peta</strong>. “I’d been thinking<br />
about starting up a school in Burgundy<br />
because I used to live there but then<br />
I started visiting the Uzès area and<br />
I thought: ‘Why not come here?’<br />
“I was introduced to David and his<br />
wife Celia at a party and I was banging<br />
on about this cooking school. “He said:<br />
‘Come and look at our house.’<br />
“So far it’s working well. I live there<br />
while I’m teaching – there are not enough<br />
rooms for all the students to be there, too,<br />
so they stay in a nearby hôtel de charme –<br />
and the Horsmans get on with their<br />
sculpting work.<br />
“I have to admit that I was emotionally<br />
exhausted at the end of the very first class<br />
I took. You have to be ‘on’ and behaving<br />
all the time and, sometimes, while others<br />
are enjoying themselves out by the pool,<br />
I’m spending my time worrying.<br />
“It’s just so stressful being the only one<br />
to remember every single ingredient and<br />
knowing the buck stops with you. But I do<br />
like everything about my job. It’s really<br />
very pleasant, enjoyable work.”<br />
After one last dash around the market,<br />
<strong>Peta</strong> greets her guests with a tantalising<br />
menu of pistou soup, brouffado served<br />
with slow-roasted tomatoes and pasta,<br />
cheese and a simple dish of strawberries<br />
and cherries with pastis and pepper.<br />
“The stew I welcome them with is<br />
fantastic. It’s called brouffado. It used to<br />
be made from bull meat but I make it from<br />
beef. It’s slow-cooked with anchovies,<br />
vinegar, olive oil and capers. It’s unusual<br />
but all of the acidity is cooked off.<br />
“People who hate anchovies love this<br />
dish – although the anchovies have to be<br />
really good quality. People who’ve never<br />
eaten them like that can’t believe it.”<br />
That first dinner is a chance to get to<br />
know her students and gauge what they<br />
want from their gourmet week.<br />
“You know, it’s not necessarily rich<br />
people who come,” says <strong>Peta</strong>.<br />
“It’s often professional hard-working<br />
people who come and they’re sometimes<br />
knackered. Everyone has in their head<br />
what they think it is going to be. Some<br />
people don’t want to work or cook, other<br />
people are really coming there to learn<br />
about southern French cooking.<br />
“Last year there was a woman who<br />
didn’t want to cook at all – she just<br />
wanted a holiday.”<br />
The week includes a visit to a goat<br />
farm – the one where all the goats<br />
have names, a vineyard and Angelina<br />
Jolie’s snail farm.<br />
There’s also a day trip to the Camargue<br />
– the marshy area famed for its red rice,<br />
flamingos and the cowboys <strong>Peta</strong> has set<br />
her cap at. “There are lots of horses and<br />
cowboys and gypsies … it’s very sexy,”<br />
she says in a conspiratorial whisper.<br />
“They’re everywhere. But I haven’t<br />
had an affair with one yet.<br />
“Actually they’re a bit macho.<br />
“It would appeal to me intellectually to<br />
have an affair with a cowboy. It’s just<br />
such a great idea – a cook from New<br />
Zealand having an affair with a cowboy.<br />
“I think I’m actually just trying to<br />
annoy my mother because it would be<br />
so unsuitable – and that would be the<br />
reason to do it!<br />
“But then of course you’d have to put<br />
up with the stuff that’s not so glamorous,<br />
because basically you’d be falling in love<br />
with a farmer. I’m the girl who should be<br />
falling in love with a winemaker, but I fall<br />
for the cowboys.”<br />
Actually, <strong>Peta</strong> confesses, she’s not<br />
particularly keen to find any partner –<br />
she’s too happy on her own.<br />
“At this stage in my life I can’t imagine<br />
having one. The person in my life would<br />
really have to add to my life or I would<br />
have to live a similar life,” says <strong>Peta</strong>, who<br />
was widowed in 1993.<br />
“I’ve thought about it and I realise<br />
you’re driven to have mates when you’re<br />
young but you’re a lot less driven as you<br />
get older.<br />
“Your hormonal make-up changes.<br />
What you need as a young person or as a<br />
40-year-old changes with time. Having a<br />
partner now isn’t a priority … but I have<br />
lots of fun.<br />
“Of course, you should keep your<br />
options open …”<br />
Right now, she’s focusing on enjoying<br />
her French lifestyle – and hopefully<br />
passing on that love of French cooking.<br />
“The thing that makes me confident about<br />
this cooking school is I know everybody<br />
I deal with. I know where every piece of<br />
meat comes from. I know they’re not<br />
going to let me down.<br />
“It makes a huge difference because<br />
I’ve guided gastronomic tours before and,<br />
with my school, there’s no way you can go<br />
to a restaurant that’s not good or have an<br />
experience that’s not top-notch.<br />
“It’s people like me who come in from<br />
the outside who keep the cuisine alive.<br />
Most people here don’t have time for the<br />
old, time-consuming recipes. They eat a<br />
lot of fish recipes and they love salt cod –<br />
brandade. It’s a bit of a carry-on to make –<br />
but it’s sooo good.<br />
“Then, of course, there are the stuffed<br />
courgette flowers. For one of our meals<br />
together we ate them and one of my<br />
favourite dessert dishes – a fresh goat<br />
cheese and fig cake. Delicious.<br />
“You’d think I’d get sick of the dishes<br />
that I teach others to make, but I never do.<br />
And every class is different. We finished<br />
my latest one with a final meal of tellines<br />
[tiny shellfish], duck confit and cherry<br />
clafoutis. We invited extra people and<br />
musicians because it was Celia’s birthday<br />
and partied until 2am. There was a storm<br />
but we just put on shawls and stayed out<br />
on the terrace. When you have wonderful<br />
nights like that it’s hard to believe that<br />
what I’m doing is actually work.”<br />
BRANDADE DE<br />
MORUE – SALT<br />
COD PURÉE<br />
For recipe, see<br />
page 119.<br />
<strong>Peta</strong> explains the art<br />
of zucchini-stuffing to<br />
her students. Opposite:<br />
Market-fresh products,<br />
sunshine and an idyllic<br />
farmhouse setting make<br />
school fun for <strong>Peta</strong>.<br />
114 | AWW JULY 2007 AWW JULY 2007 | 115
PISTOU SOUP<br />
SERVES 6. PREPARATION 25 MINS (PLUS<br />
SOAKING TIME). COOKING 1 HOUR 25 MINS.<br />
Use a good-quality bottled pesto or make<br />
your own: process 1 cup fresh basil leaves,<br />
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts, 1 clove<br />
garlic, 2 tablespoons grated parmesan and<br />
¼ cup olive oil until smooth.<br />
200g dried white beans<br />
1.5 litres (6 cups) water<br />
bouquet garni<br />
1 large brown onion (200g), chopped<br />
2 medium waxy potatoes (400g), diced<br />
into 1cm pieces<br />
2 medium carrots (240g), diced into<br />
1cm pieces<br />
1 small leek (200g), trimmed, washed,<br />
chopped<br />
3 large zucchini (450g), diced into<br />
1cm pieces<br />
125g baby green beans, trimmed<br />
3 medium tomatoes (450g), peeled,<br />
chopped<br />
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper<br />
200g shelled peas<br />
½ cup (125ml) pesto<br />
shaved parmesan cheese, to serve<br />
1 Soak beans in cold water overnight;<br />
drain. Place beans in a large saucepan;<br />
cover with water. Bring to the boil; reduce<br />
heat. Simmer for 30 minutes. Drain.<br />
2. Return beans to pan with water,<br />
bouquet garni and all the vegetables,<br />
except the peas; bring to the boil. Reduce<br />
heat; simmer for 30 minutes.<br />
116 | AWW JULY 2007<br />
3 Add peas; simmer for about 15 minutes<br />
or until beans and vegetables are tender.<br />
Discard bouquet garni; season soup with<br />
salt and pepper. Serve soup topped with<br />
pesto and shaved parmesan.<br />
COOK’S NOTE: A bouguet garni is herb<br />
mixture for flavouring soups and stews. Tie<br />
together bay leaves and sprigs of herbs,<br />
such as thyme, parsley and marjoram, with<br />
kitchen string.<br />
BEEF STEW WITH ANCHOVIES<br />
AND CAPERS (BROUFFADO)<br />
SERVES 6. PREPARATION 20 MINS<br />
(PLUS MARINATING TIME). COOKING<br />
3 HOURS 20 MINS.<br />
1.5kg piece beef chuck steak, cut<br />
into 6 thick slices<br />
5cm strip orange rind<br />
2 bay leaves<br />
6 cloves<br />
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg<br />
4 cloves garlic, sliced thinly<br />
¹/ ³ cup (80ml) red wine vinegar<br />
¼ cup (60ml) olive oil<br />
1 large brown onion (200g), sliced<br />
½ cup (125ml) beef stock<br />
½ cup (125ml) dry red wine<br />
2 tablespoons baby capers<br />
12 cornichons (small gherkins)<br />
6 anchovy fillets<br />
¹/ ³ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley<br />
ANCHOVY PASTE<br />
6 anchovy fillets<br />
¼ cup (60ml) milk<br />
1 clove garlic<br />
1 tablespoon olive oil<br />
1 Place beef in a large dish; add rind,<br />
bay leaf, spices and half of the garlic.<br />
Pour over vinegar and half of the oil.<br />
Cover; refrigerate 3 hours or overnight.<br />
Drain; reserve marinade.<br />
2 Preheat the oven to 150°C (130°C<br />
fan-forced).<br />
3 Heat rest of oil in large flameproof<br />
casserole; cook drained beef, in batches,<br />
until browned all over. Cook onion and<br />
remaining garlic in same dish until<br />
browned lightly. Return beef to pan with<br />
stock, wine, capers and marinade. Cover<br />
tightly; cook in the oven for 3 hours or<br />
until beef is tender.<br />
4 ANCHOVY PASTE: Meanwhile,<br />
soak anchovies in milk for 5 minutes;<br />
drain. Using a mortar and pestle, pound<br />
anchovies to a paste with garlic and oil.<br />
5 Remove beef from braising liquid;<br />
cover to keep warm. Bring liquid<br />
to a boil over moderate heat.<br />
Simmer for 5 minutes or until reduced<br />
by half; stir in anchovy paste. Serve<br />
beef topped with cornichons and<br />
anchovy fillets. Drizzle with sauce<br />
and sprinkle with parsley.<br />
COOK’S NOTE: Any beef good for stewing,<br />
such as shoulder or gravy beef, can be<br />
used in this recipe.<br />
Opposite:<br />
Nearly ready<br />
– <strong>Peta</strong> prepares<br />
to discard the<br />
bouquet garni<br />
from the<br />
Pistou Soup.<br />
COURGETTE FLOWERS<br />
STUFFED WITH<br />
FISH MOUSSE<br />
For recipe, see page 120.<br />
WW JULY 2007 | 117
BEEF STEW WITH<br />
ANCHOVIES AND<br />
CAPERS (BROUFFADO)<br />
For recipe, see page 116.<br />
SLOW-ROASTED TOMATOES<br />
SERVES 8-10. PREPARATION 15 MINS.<br />
COOKING 2 HOURS 30 MINS.<br />
olive oil spray<br />
2kg roma tomatoes<br />
2 teaspoons sea salt flakes<br />
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper<br />
1 teaspoon sugar<br />
extra virgin olive oil<br />
1 Preheat oven to 150°C (130°C<br />
fan forced). Lightly grease three oven<br />
trays with oil spray.<br />
2 Wash tomatoes; cut in half lengthways.<br />
Cut cores from tomatoes and place,<br />
cut-side up, onto trays. Sprinkle with salt,<br />
pepper and sugar. Lightly spray with oil.<br />
3 Roast about 2½ hours or until tomatoes<br />
are semi-dried and browned lightly. Place<br />
tomatoes in sterilised jars; completely<br />
cover with olive oil. Store in a cool, dry<br />
place for up to 2 months.<br />
STRAWBERRIES IN PASTIS<br />
AND PEPPER<br />
SERVES 6. PREPARATION 10 MINS<br />
(PLUS SOAKING TIME).<br />
300g strawberries<br />
300g cherries<br />
2 tablespoons pastis<br />
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper<br />
1 Wash strawberries and cherries,<br />
leaving stems on.<br />
2 Place fruit in a serving bowl. Add<br />
liqueur and pepper; toss gently to<br />
combine. Stand for 30 minutes; serve<br />
with whipped cream, if desired.<br />
COOK’S NOTE: Pernod or any aniseed<br />
flavoured liqueur can be used.<br />
BRANDADE DE MORUE<br />
– SALT COD PURÉE<br />
SERVES 8 AS A STARTER. PREPARATION<br />
20 MINS (PLUS SOAKING TIME). COOKING<br />
25 MINS.<br />
Brandade originally comes from Nîmes in the<br />
south of France. Purists say it shouldn’t have<br />
potatoes or garlic in it, but this has become<br />
the common method over the years because<br />
people further north found the strong salt<br />
cod and olive oil too powerful a punch to<br />
swallow. In the old days, bargees used to<br />
tow the cod under water to desalt it (so it<br />
got to taste of the filthy canal – yum). Salt<br />
cod is available from gourmet delis.<br />
500g boneless fillet of salt cod<br />
few sprigs of thyme<br />
1 bay leaf<br />
300g floury potatoes, peeled<br />
¾ cup (80ml) milk<br />
½ cup (125ml) extra virgin olive oil<br />
3 cloves garlic, chopped finely<br />
2-3 teaspoons lemon juice<br />
freshly ground black pepper<br />
pinch ground nutmeg<br />
GARLIC CROUTONS<br />
1 French bread stick (baguette)<br />
¼ cup (60ml) olive oil<br />
2 cloves garlic, chopped finely<br />
1 Place the cod in a large bowl; cover<br />
with water. Refrigerate, covered, for<br />
24 hours, changing water every few<br />
hours. Drain.<br />
2 Bring a large saucepan of water to<br />
a boil. Add drained cod, thyme and bay<br />
leaf. Reduce heat; simmer for 10 minutes.<br />
Drain; cool for 5 minutes. Flake cod,<br />
discarding any bones and skin.<br />
3 Meanwhile, cook potatoes in a large<br />
saucepan of boiling salted water about 10<br />
minutes or until tender. Drain; push<br />
through a ricer or sieve.<br />
4 Bring milk to the boil in a small<br />
SLOW-ROASTED<br />
TOMATOES<br />
STRAWBERRIES<br />
IN PASTIS<br />
AND PEPPER<br />
saucepan. Remove from heat. Heat oil in<br />
a medium saucepan; add the flaked fish<br />
and garlic. Beat with a wooden spoon,<br />
over medium heat, until shredded<br />
finely. Gradually beat in potatoes and hot<br />
milk until mixture is almost smooth (you<br />
may need to add more oil and milk to<br />
obtain an emulsified purée). Season to<br />
taste with juice, pepper and nutmeg.<br />
Cover to keep warm.<br />
5 GARLIC CROUTONS: Slice bread thickly;<br />
brush slices with oil and sprinkle with<br />
garlic. Toast under a preheated grill until<br />
browned both sides. Serve brandade in a<br />
warm bowl; drizzle with a little olive oil.<br />
Serve with garlic croutons.<br />
118 | AWW MAY 2007 AWW JULY 2007 | 119
PISTOU SOUP<br />
For recipe, see page 116.<br />
COURGETTE FLOWERS STUFFED<br />
WITH FISH MOUSSE<br />
MAKES 16. PREPARATION 30 MINS.<br />
COOKING 10 MINS.<br />
2 slices white bread, crusts removed<br />
2 tablespoons milk<br />
250g firm white fish fillets, chopped<br />
½ cup (125ml) cream<br />
2 teaspoons aniseed flavoured liqueur<br />
½ teaspoon sea salt<br />
MOROCCAN<br />
freshly SHREDDED ground black pepper<br />
¼ teaspoon SALAD ground nutmeg<br />
1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese<br />
16 tiny zucchini with flowers attached<br />
grated parmesan cheese, to serve<br />
1. Place bread and milk in a small bowl;<br />
stand until milk is absorbed.<br />
2. Process fish, cream, liqueur, salt,<br />
pepper, nutmeg, cheese and bread until<br />
smooth.<br />
3. Remove and discard stamens from<br />
zucchini flowers. Fill each flower with<br />
a heaped tablespoon of fish mixture;<br />
twist petal tops to enclose filling.<br />
4. Arrange zucchini with flowers in<br />
a large bamboo steamer over a saucepan<br />
of boiling water. Cook for about 10<br />
minutes or until cooked through. Serve<br />
with grated parmesan.<br />
COOK’S NOTE: Liqueur can be replaced<br />
with lemon juice.<br />
GOAT CHEESE & FIG CAKE<br />
SERVES 8. PREPARATION 15 MINS.<br />
COOKING 50 MINS.<br />
2 tablespoons caster sugar<br />
8 small figs, halved crossways<br />
1½ cups (225g) plain flour<br />
1 tablespoon baking powder<br />
175g butter, softened<br />
¾ cup (165g) caster sugar, extra<br />
200g soft goat’s cheese<br />
3 eggs<br />
2 tablespoons apricot jam, warmed, sieved<br />
1 Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan<br />
forced). Grease a 24cm cake pan with<br />
butter. Line base with buttered baking<br />
120 | AWW JULY 2007<br />
GOAT CHEESE<br />
& FIG CAKE<br />
paper. Sprinkle the paper with the sugar;<br />
arrange the figs, cut-side down, on top.<br />
2 Sift the flour and baking powder<br />
together into a small bowl. Beat the<br />
butter, extra sugar and goat cheese in<br />
a small bowl with an electric mixer until<br />
light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at<br />
a time. Transfer mixture to a large bowl;<br />
fold in flour mixture.<br />
3 Spread mixture evenly over the figs;<br />
bake for about 50 minutes or until firm to<br />
<strong>Peta</strong> and the students<br />
toast the Zucchini<br />
Flowers at the<br />
farmhouse.<br />
touch. Stand cake in pan for 10 minutes<br />
before turning out onto a serving plate.<br />
4 Brush the top of the cake with warm<br />
jam; serve with whipped cream, if<br />
desired. Cake is best served warm.<br />
COOK’S NOTE: Make sure the<br />
baking paper is well buttered so that<br />
the figs caramelise. The cake pan can<br />
be sprinkled with brown sugar instead<br />
of caster, if desired.<br />
WW JULY 2007 | 121