To compile this cookbook, the late Pierre Franey travelled throughout Europe cooking with 17 friends. All are top chefs or restaurateurs who prepare healthy low-fat dishes with local produce and combinations of herbs. Franey also contributed some of his own health-conscious recipes.
In Pierre Franey Cooks with His Friends--the companion volume to "Pierre Franey's Cooking in Europe," his fifth public television cooking series--one of America's most loved culinary figures travels through Europe, visiting and cooking with top chefs in France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium. In recent years, these chefs have begun to cook in a lighter, healthier way--not only for their customers but for themselves as well. By combining fresh local produce and masterful combinations of herbs with moderate amounts of butter, cheese, and oil, these chefs are creating healthful, satisfying, and delicious food. They have reduced the fat and sugar in some of their favorite recipes and have developed new dishes that are naturally lower in fat and calories.
Franey has collected classic and innovative recipes from these world-famous chefs--such as Paul Bocuse, Michel Guerard, Fredy Girardet, and Pierre Wynants--and has visited their gardens and local markets. Inspired by these experiences, he has developed some one hundred delicious, health-conscious recipes of his own.
Among the tantalizing recipes are Paul Bocuse's Black Sea Bass With a Potato Crust, Paola Cavazzini's Pork Tenderloin with Prosciutto, Roger Souvereyns' Belgian Endive with Sea Scallops, and Fredy Girardet's Passion Fruit Souffle.
Franey's contributions include Medallions of Lamb with Basil, Monkfish and Scallops in Bouillabaisse Sauce, Baked Striped Bass Fillets with Vegetables, Spicy Shrimp and Squid Salad, and Bittersweet Chocolate Sorbet. These delicious dishes represent the happy marriage of traditional European cooking and the new health-conscious cuisine.
Sadly, Pierre Franey died on October 15, 1996, shortly after completing work on this book. Pierre Franey Cooks with His Friends, his only illustrated cookbook, is a warm tribute to his many friends in the food world and a fitting culmination to his multi-faceted career.