PATRICIA WELLS AT HOME IN PROVENCE: Recipes Inspired By Her Farmhouse In France - Softcover

Wells, Patricia

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0684863286 ISBN 13: 9780684863283

Publisher: Scribner, 1999

Synopsis

For the past fifteen years, Patricia Wells has been carrying on a love affair with a region of France, a centuries-old farmhouse, and a cuisine. Provence is uniquely blessed with natural beauty as well as some of the world's most appealing foods and liveliest wines Wells's culinary skills have transformed the signature ingredients of this quintessential French countryside into recipes so satisfying and so exciting that they will instantly become part of your daily repertoire.

Here are over 175 recipes from Wells's farmhouse kitchen, including whole chapters on salads, vegetables, pasta, and bread There are simple but imaginative “palate openers,” such as Tuna Tapenade and Curried Zucchini Blossoms, and soul-satisfying soups, with such delights as Monkfish Bouillabaisse with Aroli, Wells's own brilliant interpretation of a Provencal classic. When it comes to meat and poultry, Wells offers earthy daubes, the slow-simmered stews so beloved by the French, and such melt-in-your-mouth delicacies as Butter-Roasted Herbed Chicken You will savor Wells's fish and shellfish creations with recipes like Seared Pancetta-Wrapped Cod. And no meal would be complete without a delight from the treasure trove of desserts here, including Cherry-Almond Tart and Winemaker's Grape Cake.

Illustrated with famed photographer Robert Fréson's captivating pictures, Patricia Wells at Home in Provence is a book you'll want to revisit time and again.

About this title

Review:

Tomato clafoutis, herb-cured filet of beef Carpaccio, garlic family soup, Catalan tuna daube: these and 171 other recipes pour off the pages of this sumptuous coffee-table cookbook by the author of Bistro Cooking and Simply French. Wells concentrates on coaxing the utmost flavor out of simple, fresh food, and her French recipes are not all swimming in cream, oils, and fats: the filet, for example, profits not from a heavy sauce but from being wrapped for two days in tarragon, parsley, basil, thyme, and salt. In a couple of places Wells even commits the heresy, for a French-style chef, of switching a red wine used to simmer meat to a white wine.

From the Publisher:

For the past thirteen years, Patricia Wells has been carrying on a love affair-not with an individual, but with a region of France, a centuries-old stone farmhouse, and a cuisine. Now, in a cookbook that captures the soul of modern regional French cooking, the award-winning journalist and author invites readers to share the passion, the joy, and, best of all, the cooking of her adopted home.

Provence is uniquely blessed with natural beauty as well as some of the world's most appealing foods and liveliest wines. Patricia's culinary skills have transformed the signature ingredients of this quintessential French countryside into recipes so satisfying and exciting they will instantly become part of your daily repertoire.

Here are 175 recipes from Patricia's farmhouse kitchen. Simple but imaginative "palate openers" such as Tuna Tapenade are followed by a profusion of salads, from All-Star Herb Salad, which captures the essence of the herb garden in a single bite, to the vibrant, cream-dressed greens of the Cheesemaker's Salad.

Vegetables have a special place in the hearts and palates of Provence's cooks, so Patricia presents an entire chapter of quick-and-easy vegetable creations. From the crunch and herbal freshness of Fresh Beans with Garlic & Herbs to the elegant simplicity of Potatoes Roasted in Sea Salt, these are recipes for the vegetarian and nonvegetarian alike.

Soul-satisfying soups have their own chapter, with such delights as Summer Piston and the deeply flavorfull Caramelized Fennel Soup. This chapter is highlighted by Monkfish Bouillabaisse with Aioli, Patricia's own brilliant interpretation of a Provencal classic. Pastas, too, are on the menu, with inventive dishes like Provencal Penne and Spaghetti with Green Olive Puttanesca, inspired by the produce of Patricids village market. A chapter on breads includes everything from Crusty Wheat & Polenta Bread to an olive oil brioche, a local classic.

Poultry and game are represented with everything from Butter-Roasted Herbed Chicken to Monsieur Hennys Rabbit Bouillabaisse. In the fish and shellfish department, you will savor Seared Pancetta-Wrapped Cod and The Valson Fishmonger's Fresh Tuna Casserole. When it comes to meat, Patricia offers recipes for earthy daubes, the slow-simmered almost-stews so beloved by the French, along with homey favorites like Lemon-Thyme Lamb Chops, and Spit-Roasted Brine-Cured Pork.

To round out the meal, there is a treasure trove of desserts based on seasonal fruits-Cherry-Almond Tart, Winernaker's Grape Cake, and Patricids Apricot-Honey-Almond Tart, as effortless as child's play but as impressive as the most exacting work of the pastrymaker's art.

As you read and cook from this book, generously illustrated with the captivating color pictures of famed photographer Robert Freson, you will feel as if you have actually joined Patricia Wells in her beloved stone farmhouse, and her passion for the foods, flavors, and people of Provence will become yours. As comforting as an old friend, as enlivening as a trip to the sun-dappled hills of southern France, this book will truly bring Provence into your kitchen, and you will want to visit its pages again and again.

About this edition

• Publisher: Scribner
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0684863286
• ISBN 13: 9780684863283
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 368