Larousse Traditional French Cooking

Nation's Restaurant News, Oct 30, 1989 by Florence Fabricant

Cookbook proves classical French cooking is here to stay

The question of whether the current taste for some of the time-honored classics of French cuisine is more than a passing fancy should be laid to rest by the publication of "Larousse Traditional French Cooking," by Curnonsky (Doubleday, 1989, $45). It is a translation of the 1987 version published in France and an updated revision of the original, which first appeared in 1953 and was never translated into English.

The foreward, by Pierre Troisgros, is revealing. "Marrying tradition and modernity seems to me to be the ambition of today's chefs, who sometimes venture some original combinations, but always favor a return to first sources, the rediscovery of simple -- some would say rustic -- ingredients, produced as they are with painstaking diligence."

For the American chef who has not been blessed with such a background of first sources, such as the experience of having memorable home or regional food while he or she is growing up, the 1,200 or so recipes in this book can offer needed support. The techniques are French, to be sure, but that describes many of the best kitchens in this country, regardless of the cuisine they produce. A self-taught chef or one who has not had classical training should find the book useful.

And for the chef who has not had the good fortune of traveling or working extensively in France, this book may become something of a bible, inspirational and guiding. It rewards the reader with the fundamentals of many basic French recipes.

Curnonsky, whose real name was Maurice Edmond Saillard, was not a chef but an astute and devoted observer of the gastronomic scene in France for more than 30 years. He died in 1956. What he wrote in 1953 -- about the importance of seasonality and the quality of ingredients, the prerequisites for making a good chicken, the way mashed potatoes should be prepared and guidelines for salad making -- is still relevant. The editors have given some of his remarks a 1980s perspective.

Except for pastry, the recipes are designed to serve eight and are measured for home cooks, not professionals. But a chef should be more concerned with the outline, design and structure of the recipes than with the minutiae of measurements.

The book does not give the seemingly endless listings of variations, codified in the Escoffier style, that are contained in the new "Larousse Gastronomique." It is less complete as a reference book but more vital as a kitchen tool.

And although much of the book is traditional indeed, with recipes for oxtail broth with Madeira, beef marrow tartlets from Le Perigord, duck rouennaise style and crepes suzettes, it has also been considerably updated. Lobster a la nage with haricots verts, tagliatelle with tomatoes and eggplant, corn on the cob with melted butter and Italian polenta are some additions.

No attempt has been made to lighten recipes in the contemporary style, replacing butter with oil and eliminating eggs and cream. Nevertheless, chefs will find a great many of the traditional recipes to be in keeping with today's tastes.

Artichokes barigoule, dandelion salad with walnuts, wine maker's salad with beets, cream of pumpkin soup, foie gras with grapes, grilled bass with fennel, skate with noisette butter, crayfish and dill salad, braised duckling with turnips, sauteed rabbit with mustard, ox tongue Italian style, veal shank provencal and caramelized walnuts are just a few examples.

A pastry chef at a loss for new ideas for the petits fours platter has pages of recipes to consult. Recipes for cooking assorted kinds of furred and feathered game are also in abundance.

What is evident throughout is the relative simplicity of the recipes, the combinations of ingredients that are not overburdened with too many conflicting ideas. The notion of classic or traditional in cooking, as in other art forms, is the very antithesis of the overdone baroque style.

That there is interest in the traditional in America today -- whether it is called bistro or regional or whatever -- appears to be a reaction to some of the excessively complicated preparation that has been going on for some time. It is a welcome evolution.

One can't help reading the recipes without working up an appetite. Even the titles made me hungry. The recipes all appear to be very satisfying. At the end of the book is a chapter on French wines. Like an earlier chapter on cheeses, it is of limited usefulness. Similarly, the dogmatic dictates about the appearance of a table may not be to everyone's taste. Forget all that and head straight for the recipes.