In Cooking At Home On Rue Tatin award-winning cookbook author and professional chef Susan Herrmann Loomis takes cooks and readers on a friendly and delicious tour of French home cooking, from the refined to the rustic. In this collection of Susan's favorites, readers and cooks will learn the tricks and tips of entertaining like the French, get clear instruction on the basics of French cooking, and be introduced to the new and exciting array of multicultural cuisines that are rapidly entering the realm of classic French. You will meet Susan's inspirations, from neighbors in her small town to starred chefs, as they share their own home recipes, which have become standard fare on Susan's own table.

Susan invites the busy home cook to relax, unwind, and enjoy the tastes, textures, and aromas of simple yet often sophisticated French fare. The book is filled with contemporary recipes, such as Tuna with Ginger Yogurt Sauce and Cilantro Coulis, Spiced Fish Fillet in Parchment Paper, Skate with Potato Puree; classics, such as Soupe au Pistou, Coq au Vin, Pot-au-Feu, and Quiche Lorraine; and cross-cultural dishes, such as Chorba (Algerian Ramadan soup), Chicken Soup with Tamarind, and Lamb and Dried Plum Tagine with Toasted Almonds. What sets apart all of these recipes, from the contemporary to the classic, is Susan's clear presentation, which makes them so easily accessible.

Susan's food, along with her warm hospitality, puts people at ease and makes them feel as if they are honored guests or members of Susan's own family.

Cooking at Home on Rue Tatin

Morrow Cookbooks

Tomato Salad with
Mozzarella and Pistachios

Trust a Frenchman to take the inspired Italian combination of tomatoes and mozzarella and make it divine. Claude Colliot, chef and owner of the restaurant Claude Colliot/Bambouche in Paris, stacks slices of tomato with slices of buffalo milk mozzarella, then drizzles it with that elegant deep-green elixir, pistachio oil.

The Coeur de Boeuf (beef heart) tomato Claude uses has extremely tender and flavorful flesh, a quality that drives farmers crazy because it makes the tomatoes extremely fragile. They must be picked very ripe to have flavor, but when they are that ripe, they are almost impossible to transport because they blemish if you even look at them for a moment too long. Because of this, very few actually get to market.

4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

2 very large (about 9 ounces; 270 g each) ripe tomatoes, cored, and cut into thick slices
8 ounces (250 g) fresh mozzarella, cut into 8 equal slices
1/4 cup (25 g) salted pistachios, dark skins rubbed off and coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons (45 ml) pistachio oil or extra virgin olive oil
Fleur de sel
Sprig of fresh basil

Instructions

1. Arrange the tomato and mozzarella slices alternately on a serving platter. (If there aren't enough slices of mozzarella to alternate with all the slices of tomato, work it out so the salad looks balanced and lovely.)


2. In a small bowl, stir the pistachio nuts into the oil, then drizzle the mixture evenly over the tomatoes and cheese. Season with fleur de sel, and garnish with the basil sprig. Serve at room temperature.

ASTUCES: There are several types of tomatoes, called Oxhearts in English, that resemble the Coeur de Boeuf, including the Bull's Heart, Hungarian Heart, Anna Russian, and German Red Strawberry. All are excellent prepared this way because they have the characteristic tender skin, sweet flesh balanced by a slight acidity, and few seeds. If you cannot find any of these tomatoes, use the most flavorful perfectly ripe and juicy tomatoes you can find. T Goat cheese makes a fine substitute for themozzarella.

Mascarpone and Peach Tart

The French fruit tart is an object of beauty, with its creamy filling and lovely fresh fruit topping. The bed for the fruit is typically a layer of pastry cream on top of pastry. Here, a layer of mascarpone mixed with fromage blanc is delightfully fresh and light, perfect on a hot summer day!

8 servings

Ingredients

Pâte Sablée (page 258)

For the filling
2/3 cup (180 ml) Fromage Blanc (see page 264), or large-curdcottage cheese pureed very smooth
1 1/2 cups (375 ml) mascarpone cheese
3 tablespoons vanilla sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, or to taste
6 small (about 1 pound 3 ounces; 540 g) ripe, very flavorful whiteor yellow peaches, peeled
Fresh mint leaves

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
2. Press the pastry evenly into a 9 ½-inch (24-cm) tart pan with a removable bottom. The pastry should be about 1/8 inch (0.3 cm) thick. The pastry will extend up and over the sides of the pan; remove this and reserve to make cookies. Line the pastry with aluminum foil andweight it with pastry weights or rice or beans.
3. Bake the pastry shell in the center of the oven until the edges of the pastry are golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the pastry from the oven and remove the foil and weights, then return the pastry to the oven and bakeuntil it is golden and baked through, an additional 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
4. If using cottage cheese, place it in a food processor and puree until it is very, very smooth. If using fromage blanc, add the mascarpone and sugar and process in a ford processor until thoroughly combined. Season totaste with nutmeg. Spread the mascarpone mixture in the cooled pastry shell and refrigerate, loosely covered, for 1 hour.

Excerpted from Cooking at Home on Rue Tatinby Loomis, Susan Herrmann Excerpted by permission.
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