Roasted Boar Legs. Cuissot de Sanglier Rôti
The boar legs are prepared precisely in accordance with the cooking philosophy of Carême. The legs are marinated in the fines marinade made of wine vinegar, olive oil, onions, garlic, carrots, and Provence spices. The entire cooking process is filled with refinement, sophistication, and a sense of taste. One of the most notable things about this dish is serving the legs with a celery puree, or sautéed chestnuts or chestnut puree.
This chef is regarded as one of the most notable innovators in cooking. As it is stated by Panayi (2008, p. 40):
He revolutionized away old-style garnishes such as cockscombs and offal (remnants of Renaissance cooking style.) Instead, he would use meat to garnish meat, and fish to garnish fish. He was a modernizer. He called Roman cookery “essentially barbaric.” He is the one who classified French sauces into the four groups they remain known as today.
This description reveals the entire philosophic approach which Marie-Antoine Carême applied for his inventions. Fresh herbs, vegetables, and sauces have become an integral part of French cuisine, therefore, roasted boar legs may be regarded as the historically national dish.
Melba Toast with Soup or Salad
One of the simplest, however, fine and delicious foods that may be found in French cuisine is Melba Toast. Every brilliant idea is simple. Therefore, the ingredients that are needed for cooking this chef-d’oeuvre are given below:
- One long thin loaf of French bread
- Butter softened
- Fresh grated Parmesan cheese
Gilles Escoiffier is a real genius of snacks, and it is hard to invent something that would be as simple and as refined. Melba toasts may be cooked as an independent dish if you need just to have a snack; though, French cooking will not tolerate such a frivolity. Cooking Melba Toasts means that the main dish will be even more sophisticated, as a snack should not overwhelm the entire meal. (Sage, 2001) This would perfectly fit with meat dishes, however, this can not be a component of another dish. This is explained by the entire philosophy invented by Gilles Escoiffier. As it is emphasized by Renner (2006, p. 913):
He created dishes such as Tournedos Rossini , Melba Toast, and Peach Melba. Though most of his cooking would be considered overly elaborate by today’s standards, for his time, he did simplify things by getting rid of the over-the-top food displays and reducing the number of courses.
Potato Leek Soup
François Pierre La Varenne may be regarded as the innovator in cooking vegetables. He proved to the world that vegetables are not only useful, but they may be tasty, refined, and sophisticated if cooked properly. Hence, for achieving a high cooking level, La Varenne used spices instead of breadcrumbs. Cardamon, nutmeg, and cinnamon were taken out of the main courses. He insisted on using only fresh vegetables, that is why all the dishes cooked by him involved only vegetables that had been previously taken from his vegetable garden. This approach towards using vegetables and spices helped him to separate sweet from savory. (West-Sooby, 2004)
Potato Leek Soup requires olive oil, leeks, salt, fresh thyme, chile powder, potatoes, bay leaves, freshly-ground white pepper. The cooking itself is quite simple, however, this may be complicated by the overuse of spices. Even though this is a matter of taste, one inaccurate movement may spoil a cooking masterpiece.
Reference List
Panayi, P. (2008). Foreign Tastes: Continental Chefs Dominated London’s Restaurant World in the Nineteenth Century. History Today, 58, 40.
Renner, B. (2006). Satyres Chrestiennes De la Cuisine Papale. Renaissance Quarterly, 59(3), 913.
Sage, A. (2001). Don’t Ask Me to Cook, I’m a Chef: The French Cuisinier No Longer Sweats over a Stove; He Dedicates His Time to Raising His Media Profile, Writes. New Statesman, 130, 81.
West-Sooby, J. (2004). Consuming Culture: The Arts of the French Table. Newark, DE: University of Delaware Press.