Fall into Cooking Featured Recipe from Jacques Pepin’s Essential
Pepin When the weather gets cooler in the fall, I make soup. I
generally cook up a big batch and freeze some for whenever I need
it. This one, with sausage, potatoes, and cabbage, is hearty and
good for cold weather. It’s terrific served with thick slices of
country bread, and if you have a salad as well, you’ve got a
complete dinner.
Sausage, Potato, and Cabbage Soup
Serves 8
Ingredients
8 ounces mild Italian sausage meat
2 small onions, cut into 1-inch-thick slices (1 ½ cups)
6 scallions, trimmed (leaving some green) and cut into ½-inch
pieces (1¼ cups)
6 cups water
1 pound potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch-thick slices
8 ounces savoy cabbage, cut into 1 ½-inch pieces (4 cups)
1¼ teaspoons salt
Crusty French bread
Break the sausage meat into 1-inch pieces and place it in a
saucepan over high heat. Sauté, stirring and scraping the bottom
of the pan with a wooden spoon to keep the meat from sticking,
for 10 minutes, or until the sausage is well browned.
Add the onions and scallions and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the
water, potatoes, cabbage, and salt and bring to a boil. Cover,
reduce the heat to low, and cook for 45 minutes.
Serve the soup in s with chunks of crusty French bread.
Baker’s Wife Potatoes This classic potato gratin is made in
France in many places, as is the famous dauphinois gratin, which
is made with cream, milk, and garlic. The dauphinois has many
more calories than this one, which is flavorful and ideal with
any type of roast, from a roast chicken to a leg of lamb.
The potatoes are sliced but not washed, which would cause them
to lose the starch that binds the dish. A good chicken stock and
a little white wine are added for , and the gratin is
flavored with thyme and bay leaves. It can be prepared ahead and
even frozen.
Serves 8
Ingredients
2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes
1 tablespoon peanut oil
4 cups thinly sliced onions (about 14 ounces)
6 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced (3 tablespoons)
3 cups homemade chicken stock (page 612) or low-salt canned
chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ cup dry white wine
3 bay leaves
2 fresh thyme sprigs
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Peel the potatoes and cut them into ⅛-inch-thick slices.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan. When it is hot, add the onions
and sauté them for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients,
including the potatoes, mixing gently, and bring to a boil.
Transfer the mixture to an 8-cup gratin dish.
Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until most of the moisture is
absorbed and the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork.
Serve.
Chicken Legs with Wine and Yams I love both yams and sweet
potatoes and use them in different ways, sometimes in soup,
sometimes simply split in half and roasted in the oven. You can
use either sweet potatoes or yams in this casserole, which also
includes mushrooms, chicken, and wine. This is a great dish for
company. It can be prepared ahead and reheated--which makes it
even better.
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 whole chicken legs (about 3 pounds total), skin removed,
drumsticks and thighs separated
¼ cup chopped onion
4 large shallots (about 6 ounces), sliced (about 1½cups)
8 medium mushrooms (about 5 ounces), cleaned and halved
4 small yams or sweet potatoes (about 1 pound), peeled and
halved lengthwise
1 cup dry white wine
8 large garlic cloves, crushed and chopped (2 tablespoons)
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the chicken pieces in
batches and sauté over medium-high heat until browned on all
sides, about 10 minutes.
Add the onion and cook for 1 minute. Add the shallots,
mushrooms, yams or sweet potatoes, wine, garlic, salt, and
pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat, and boil very
gently for 20 minutes.
Garnish with the parsley and serve.
- Rux Martin Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.