Twins in the lavender fields on the Valensole plateau

Any visitor who goes to Provence hopes to see the lavender fields in bloom, acres and acres of them, reaching to the horizon. In the blooming season, which is late June through mid-August, you can see cars pulled off the side of the alongside the lavender fields, with people posing against the dramatic backdrop of intense purple. Trucks stacked high with freshly cut lavender ply the back roads, trailing the perfumed scent behind them.

Fresh lavender bouquets are sold in bundles at the open markets for a brief time, and dried lavender is always available. Lavender honey is stacked high on the tables of the honey sellers at the market and roadside signs entice the visitor with signs indicating “produits de lavande ici” and an arrow pointing the way.

The vistas of rolling hills and plateaus of purple lavender are an iconic symbol of Provence, but it wasn’t always so. Lavender only became a cultivated crop after World War I, and even then the gathering of wild lavender, which was abundant, remained commercially viable until the late 1940s.

Prior to the commercial plantings of lavender, wild lavender, which has long been extensively used in the production of perfume, was harvested on a first come, first serve basis by local people, primarily women, and then purchased from them by manufacturers and brokers. One of my neighbors in Provence told me of the times when, as a young girl recently emigrated from Calabria, Italy, she worked the lavender harvest on the Valensole plateau, near Riez in the Alpes d’Haute Provence. Harvesting was done with a sickle, and the cut lavender was tied up in big linen bundles. The workers sometimes slept out under the stars, and cooked food over a campfire, she told me. It sounds romantic, but it was actually arduous work, back breaking work. Today, the harvest is done mechanically.

As the perfume industry grew, so did the importance of lavender, and by the early part of the twentieth century, the gathering of wild lavender had an opening date and a closing date to control the harvest season. Small, portable distilleries were set up throughout the lavender producing regions, primarily the departments of the Alpes d’Haute Provence, Vaucluse, and the Drome, and lavender distilling became a family enterprise.

Over the years, gatherers had noticed that there seemed to be two kinds of wild lavender, one they called la lavande fine or la lavande vrai (Lavandula angustifolia) and the other la lavande aspic (L. latifolia.) A third type occasionally appeared as well called lavendin. The stems of the lavande aspic were longer, with larger and more numerous flowers that rendered more essential oils, but the blossoms were less fragrant and not as intensely blue as those of L. angustifolia. Laboratory analysis ascertained in 1927 that lavendin, or grosse lavender as they called it, was a hybrid of L. angustifolia and L. latifolia. It had to be propagated vegetatively by cuttings, as it did not grow true from seed. Hybridizing experiments were conducted, and by 1975, many of the commercial plantings were of one of the lavendin hybrids, especially on the Valensole plateau. Elsewhere, L. Angustifolia is primarily planted.

The gathering of the wild lavender from the hillsides disappeared along with many of the small family distilleries. By far the greatest portion of the crop today goes for making perfume, pharmaceuticals, and soaps. The remainder ends up in the floral market for drying. La lavande fine, which is cultivated at eh higher altitudes, is making a comeback, however, because of the high quality of its fragrance and oil.

Lavender has also made its way into the culinary world, sometimes as part of an Herbes de Provence mixture or on its own. Lavender is used for grilling, for infusing, in soups, for rubs and glazes.
At La Vie Rustic, here in Northern California our lavender is staring to bloom now, in mid-May, and over the next few weeks, until around mid-June, depending on the weather, we will be cutting fresh lavender to order, shipping to our customers the same day it is cut.

Our bundle of about 70 stems, leaves included because they are fragrant as well, is $10.00 plus shipping. You can use the lavender fresh, then as time goes by and it dries, you can use it dried. Visit www.lavierustic.com on the Les Champs ( the fields) page and the market place for information and to order.

Recette du Jour

Honey-and-Lavender Glazed Chicken
The powerful flavors and fragrance of the lavender and herbs create a woodsy tang, mingled with sweetness. The skin of the chicken turns a glistening dark mahogany, while the meat beneath remains tender and fragrant. This is my version of a dish I had at Les Santons Restaurant in Moustiers-Ste-Marie, in the Alpes d’Haute Provence.

4 teaspoons fresh lavender flowers, crushed, or 2 teaspoons dried
2 teaspoons fresh minced lavender leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
3 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves or 1 ½ teaspoons dried
2 teaspoons minced fresh winter savory or 1 teaspoon dried
8 black peppercorns
1 teaspoon sea salt, preferably grey
4 chicken breast halves, bone-in, skin on
¼ cup strong flavored honey, preferably lavender but others, such as chestnut or acacia work well

Preheat an oven to 450 degrees F.

In a mortar, grind together 2 teaspoons of the lavender flowers, the leaves, thyme, winter savory, peppercorns and salt to make a mixture. Rub each chicken breast with about 1 teaspoon of the mixture. Place the chicken breast, skin side up, on a baking sheet. Roast for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and baste the chicken skin thoroughly with the honey. Sprinkle all but two teaspoons of the remaining her mixture evenly over the chicken breasts. Return to the oven, reduce the heat to 35 degrees F, and roast, basting frequently with the pan juices, until the juices run clear when a breast is pierced with the tip of a knife, about 20 minutes longer. Frequent basting is important as the honey, once warm, pours off the chicken into the pan and regular basting ensures the honey flavor of the finished dish.
Remove from the oven and serve immediately, sprinkled with the remaining 2 teaspoons of crushed lavender flowers.
Serves 4

In 1854 after the United States accomplished opening up Japan to trade with the west, the French art world became fascinated by Japanese art, especially the impressionists. By 1872 the impact on French and European art had become important enough that a term, Japonism, was coined to explain it.

The influence of Japanese art on the west shows itself in different ways. Japanese wood-block prints, screens, and kimonos are incorporated into some of the impressionist paintings. Spare lines, large eyes, and poses typical of those found in Japanese wood block art can be seen in other impressionist paintings.

One of Vincent Van Gogh’s famous self portraits shows a Japanese block print on the wall behind the artist. In Eduard Manet’s portrait of Emil Zola, a Japanese block print appears in a collage handing on the wall above the writer’s desk. In another painting, properly dressed European women are depicted carefully  inspecting a Japanese silk screen.

Perhaps the most dramatic of all the Japan-inspired paintings of the period is George Hendrik Breiten’s ‘Girl in a Red Kimono’ in which the gorgeously patterned kimono takes up fully two-thirds of the painting. This is one of twelve girl in kimono paintings that he did, in either a red or white kimono, always the same young girl, and always an expanse of beautifully patterned silk.

La Vie Rustic now has its own small share of Japonism. Sharon Spain’s intricate hand silk-screenings  reflect the Japonism style, with intricate patterns of simple lines. The photos here simply cannot do justice to the beauty of the pattern and shimmering colors of her rose-pink flowers on Duponi silk that she has made into shams. They are art for la maison, a pleasure to look at, to touch, and to use. Sharon is an Oakland-based textile artist and a long-time friend. She is also the coordinator/curator for Recology San Francisco’s Artist in Residence Program.

To buy your own bit of Japonism, visit La Vie Rustic.com.

While you are there, take a look at Thomas Kuoh’s new photos of our products.

Kuohphotography.com.

You will be inspired to head right to the kitchen and start cooking or out to the garden to plant.

Sel de Figue and French Heirloom Lettuce Seeds at lavierustic.com

There’s lots of talk these days about bone broth, but I’d like to talk about bean broth, and specifically, bean broth with Rancho Gordo beans. Steve Sando, the passionate person behind Rancho Gordo, sells top quality beans of dozens of different varieties, but among my personal favorites are the fat, meaty Royal Coronas, pictured dry here in La Vie Rustic’s Rectangle Gratin dish, large Limas, and of course, the Cassoulet bean, known in France as Tarbais.

I cook all these beans in the simplest way, without soaking. I cover the beans by about 3 inches of water, add 2 fresh bay leaves or 1 dried per half pound of beans and bring to a boil over high heat. I reduce the heat to low, simmer for 30 minutes or so, then add about a teaspoon of gros sel, or coarse grey sea salt.

Simmer until done, until the beans are tender, about 2 hours or so. If I need to, I add a little water if it seems to getting too low. I taste the broth. I may add a little more salt, plus some pepper until it hits that perfect point of richness and complex flavor.

And, the broth of each variety of bean reflects the bean’s individual character.
If I’m cooking beans, for say, a bean salad with parsley, lemon, and olive oil, I’ll leave a few beans in the broth, and have that for soup the next day, maybe with some garlic rubbed croutons and some bits of prosciutto stirred in.

On Easter, I baked a fresh ham, and then, a day or two later, cooked some Royal Coronas and added shreds of that bourbon glazed ham to make an unctuous soup.

Cooking beans with a little celery, carrots, adds another dimension to the resulting bean broth, as do additional herbs. Sometimes I add a sprinkle of Herbes de Provence, which includes the bean friendly herb, winter savory.

Freshly cooked dried beans and their broth are an essential component for real deal vegetable soup or stew recipes that call for ‘X cups of cooked beans and their broth’.

Here is the link to the Rancho Gordo website, where you can read all about beans, buy them, peruse recipes, and read Steve Sando’s pithy prose.

http://rancho-gordo.myshopify.com/

As for the gorgeous rectangle gratin dish to serve the beans in, the fresh or dried bay leaves, and the Herbes de Provence, you can buy those right here at La Vie Rustic.

Combining the dish with some herbs or bay leaves, plus beans would make a special gift for anyone who loves pretty things, good food, and cooking.

 https://lavierustic.com/

A patina of soft-greenish blue and rust color creates the finish on this oval gratin dish by ceramist Elaine Corn. Imagine it with asparagus lightly sprinkled with Parmesan cheese, golden brown from the oven. Or, use it as a serving dish for sugar and butter glazed spring carrots, sprinkled with sweet English peas. Make a mixture of bread soaked in milk, an egg or two, a little prosciutto, and some cheese and pour it into the gratin dish and bake for a savory bread pudding to scoop right at the table. Imagine it late spring with a Cherry Clafouti, or in summer with Roasted Figs and Pancetta, for example.

This rectangular gratin dish is a replica of a beloved dish purchased many years ago in Provence. Broken, and glued back together, Elaine used it as a mold and visual reference to bring this piece back to life. It is the perfect size  – 1 1/2 inches deep, 6 3/4 inches wide, and 8 3/4 inches long – for so many different dishes. The molded handles make it easy to grasp and bring from the oven to the table.

See these on the Cuisine page and in the Marketplace page of La Vie Rustic.

RECETTE DU JOUR

 Cranberry Beans with Sweet Red Peppers and Fried Bread
This looks gorgeous in either of the new gratin dishes. The beans combine with sautéed sweet peppers and onions to make the base of this simple dish. Chunks of bread lightly fried in olive oil are scattered across the top to finish,. Be sure to reserve the bean broth. This makes the perfect accompaniment for a grilled leg of lamb and you can use the some of the jus in the beans.

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ onion, thinly sliced
2 cups thinly sliced mixed sweet peppers
3 cups cooked, seasoned Cranberry, Barlotti or Corona beans(Rancho Gordo is an excellent source for dried beans) with reserved broth and use sweet bay leaves when cooking
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of saffron
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon fresh oregano
2 tablespoons meat jus—chicken, pork, beef, if available (optional)
For the topping:
1 (4-inch) piece of baguette or coarse artisan bread
Extra-virgin olive oil for frying
Sea salt

In a frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. When hot, add the onions; cook, reducing the heat to medium, until slightly soft, about 3 minutes. Add the peppers. Continue to cook, stirring as needed, until the onions and peppers are very soft, about 15 minutes. Do not brown.
Preheat oven to 400° F.
Pour the onions, peppers and their cooking juices into a gratin dish. Add the drained beans and turn several times. Add a tablespoon or 2 of the reserved broth. Add salt and pepper to taste, plus the saffron, cumin and half the oregano, and the optional meat jus. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired.
To make the topping, cut the crust from the bread. Tear the bread into bite-sized pieces.
In a frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. When hot, add the bread and sauté until lightly golden, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle with a little salt.
With a slotted spoon place the fried bread bits on top of the beans and peppers.

Place in the oven and cook until bubbling and the bread is golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove and sprinkle with the remaining oregano.

Serves 4

Scarlet Runner Beans Photo Thomas Kuoh www.thomaskuoh.com

Curl up with vegetable packets and cookbooks and dream of spring. Imagine your garden filled with delicate lettuce, brilliant scarlet runner beans, and rainbow chard and you, in the kitchen with a harvest basket, merrily washing lettuce and trimming runner beans or chopping greens. It may be snowing, raining, or sunny today, tomorrow, even next week or longer, but spring will arrive so best to be  prepared with seeds at hand, ready to plant.

Even though it says ” A Child’s Kitchen Garden Seed Collection”, anyone of any age can get a garden started with this handy 6 -packet collection, so don’t be hesitant. Scarlet Runner Beans, Green Globe Artichoke,  Carouby Peas, Gaudry Radish, Rainbow Chard, and Fava Beans make a good beginning. Add La Vie Rustic’s ” French Lettuce Seed Collection” and “French Chicory Collection” (escarole, frisee, and radicchio) and your kitchen will be bursting with homegrown food to inspire you for months to come.

And, If there is a child you’d like to garden with take a look at this wonderful new cookbook by Claudine Pepin, “Kids Cook French” from Quarry Books. It’s whimsically illustrated by her famous father, Jacques Pepin and the recipes and text are in both French and English. What could be more fun than growing a French style Potager garden with a child, then ‘cooking in French’? OK a trip to France could be more fun, but gardening and cooking are gifts that last a lifetime.

There is a simple recipe for Sauteed Swiss Chard, Blettes sautees in French, a recipe for Whole Roasted Chicken with Herbes de Provence that uses more than a whole head of garlic – you can see this is serious food for everyone -and for dessert Claudine has lots of recipes, including Clafoutis and Crepes. Imagine a Fig Clafouti with Sultan de Marabout figs.

Buy the book at your local bookstore or online.

And, while you are thinking about cooking, take a look at Elaine Corn’s latest set of prep bowls she’s made for La Vie Rustic. She’s working hard on replacing our stock of prep bowls and gratin dishes. Be patient. They are all made by hand from shaping the bowls to glazing and firing them.

RECETTE DU JOUR

Artichoke and Fava Barrigoule
This is a favorite springtime dish in Provence, when the gardens and markets of full of young, tender artichokes and fava beans. Serve this as a first course with a good baguette. I find an excellent wine pairing is Vermentino (or Rolle as the varietal is called in France). Artichokes are tricky to wine pair, but this one really works. ~Georgeanne

2 tablespoons minced green garlic, about 3 stalks, whites only or 2 cloves minced garlic
8-12 fresh artichokes, small to medium, trimmed and halved
2 pounds of fresh fava beans, removed from pods
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup chicken broth
2-3 branches fresh thyme
Bring a pot of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Drop in the shelled fava beans and blanch for 10 to 20 seconds. Drain and rinse under cold water. Slip the outer skins off. Discard the skins and set aside the beans.

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan or sauté pan with a lid. When it is hot, add the garlic and sauté. Add the artichokes and favas, and sauté briefly. Then add the white wine, scraping up any bits, then add the broth. Add the thyme and the pepper. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until the artichokes are tender, about 15 minutes. Remove and let stand until ready to serve. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Serves 6 to 8

PS – If you didn’t see the feature on Georgeanne Brennan and La Vie Rustic in the Feb 28 issue of the Wall Street Journal, take a look.

Sultan de Marabout figs are shipping as of February 26, 2015. They are 2 year old trees and will be shipped with rootball and soil intact. Please plan on planting the trees as soon as possible once you receive it. Complete planting and care instructions included.

Planting a Kitchen Garden with a Child is a Good Way to Begin Spring and La Vie Rustic is proud to offer a carefully curated collection of vegetable seeds and matching planting cards created especially for children.

A Child’s Kitchen Garden Seed Collection contains large seeds for small hands, quick to germinate and grow. Within a few days in most cases, children will discover the first sprouts.

The garden is meant for children and adults to do together from planting to harvest and on into the kitchen, and it is an opportunity for sharing and learning together whether in home, school, or community garden.

Children and adults alike will find a thrill each day as they watch their vegetable seeds grow and develop pods of peas or beans, roots, or buds that they can harvest and proudly bring to the kitchen to share with their family. There is a range of harvest times, from less than 30 days for the radish, up to 180 days for the artichokes.

Some of the vegetables like the fava beans, artichokes and scarlet runner beans date back to antiquity and have been foods for man for thousands of years. Others, like the Carouby French pea, and rainbow chard date to the 19th century, and have proven to be garden and market garden favorites for over 100 years.

Children growing these vegetables from seeds will be following in the footsteps of the generations who have preceded them, sharing in the process of growing their own food, if only radishes and beans.

As the vegetables grow, children will discover an array of colors, from the first green leaves to the final purple thistle of the artichoke, the scarlet blooms of the runner bean and the orange, red, pink, and white ribs of the chard.

Planting, tending, and harvesting a kitchen garden with a child is one of life’s most rewarding experiences, and a gift that will create lasting memories for a lifetime, as well as an understanding of where food comes from. It is a good beginning.

For more information  visit the Potager page of La Vie Rustic.

Contents: 6 individually packed seed varieties each containing 25 or more seeds and 6 individual cards with complete growing instructions. Price: $18.00

RECETTE DU JOUR

Chard and Spinach Tart with Bacon

The cheese, milk, and egg here are just enough to bind the spinach and chard, so the tart is dense and rich with greens, highlighted by bits of bacon.It’s a simple take on a more complex Chard Tart from Provence that includes raisins.

1 8-inch pie crust
8 chard leaves
1 bunch spinach
2 teaspoons salt
2 slices bacon
2 tablespoons minced onion
3 ounces soft goat cheese
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 tablespoon butter
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Pre-heat an oven to 400 degrees F. Place the pie pastry in a 9 – 10 inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Line the pastry with a sheet of aluminum foil and add pie weights, rice, or dried beans. Place in the oven and bake until the edges are firm, but not golden, about 10 minutes. Remove the foil and the weights bake until the bottom is opaque, about 2 or 3 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool.

Reduce the oven to 375 degrees F.

Trim just the stem end tips of the chard and spinach leaves. Place a large pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil. Add the chard leaves and the salt, reduce the heat to medium-high and cook until the chard ribs are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the spinach and cook another 5 minutes until the spinach is thoroughly wilted, but still bright green. Remove to a colander and place under running cold water until cool enough to handle. Squeeze the chard and spinach dry with your hands, then finely chop it. Set aside.

In a frying pan over medium heat, fry the bacon until crisp, about 8 minutes. Remove to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat and return the frying pan to the stove. Add the onions and the chopped chard and spinach and cook, stirring until there is no liquid, about 3 minutes. Stir in the cheese, stirring until it melts and blends with the greens, about 2 minutes. Remove and set aside.
In a bowl, combine the milk, egg, salt, and pepper and mix well with a whisk. Add the spinach mixture. Crumble the bacon and add it as well. Pour the mixture into the pre-baked tart shell and place in the oven. Dot with butter and sprinkle with the cheese.

Bake until the top is deep golden and slightly puffed, about 30 to 35 minutes.
Remove to a rack and let stand 10 to 15 minutes before serving. To serve, cut into wedges and serve warm or at room temperature.
Serves 6 to 8

Because we think prep dishes should be pretty, ceramicist  Elaine Corn has been busy making one-of-a-kind hand done ceramic prep bowls for La Vie Rustic glazed with colors like Iced Aqua and Provencal Ochre and even glossy, Brilliant Black. The bowls are the perfect size for salts and spices, herbs, and other bits that go into whatever you might be making. They are so pretty to look at you’ll feel that once you are prepped for cooking, you’ve already accomplished something lovely. Look for them in the Cuisine and Marketplace sections of La Vie Rustic’s on-line store.

Brilliant Black Set

Provencal Rose Set

Elaine’s beautiful gratin dishes for La Vie Rustic, featured at the left of this page, are now out of stock, but she has more headed for the kilns, so they will be back in stock soon, so keep posted.

Coming soon to La Vie Rustic is a new seed collection, A Child’s Kitchen Garden.  However, as my friend and fellow gardener Jane says, “The collection is  perfect for anyone, not just children.” The collection, in a letter-press printed overpacket,  consists of 6 individualseed packets – Rainbow Chard, Green Globe Artichokes, a French pea and radish, runner and fava beans. Each variety of seed has its own instruction card with historical, botanical, planting and harvesting information and best of all, step by step indicators of what to look for as the plant develops from tiny seedling to time to harvest. That way, an adult – and the collection is meant  for adult and child to work together on the garden – even an adult with little or no gardening experience can be the garden guide.

Ready to Plant Fava Beans

Fava Bean Blossoms

RECETTE DU JOUR

Fava Greens Salad with Chicken, Walnuts, and Kumquats

Fava Greens Salad with Chicken, Walnuts, and Kumquats

Fava greens, which taste like the bean themselves but slightly milder, and kumquats are in season at the same time, so they make an obvious combination.

30 kumquats
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
½ teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons Champagne vinegar
4 cups young fava or baby spinach leaves, loosely packed
½ cup walnut haves
2 cups chopped roasted chicken meat

Cut the kumquats crosswise into thin slices, removing any seeds as you go.
In a serving bowl combine the oil and honey and whisk until the honey dissolves. Stir in the ginger and vinegar. Add the fava leaves, half the walnuts, and the chicken and toss to combine. Divide among individual plates or bowls. Garnish with the remaining walnuts and the sliced kumquats and serve
Serves 4

Adapted from Salad of the Day by Georgeanne Brennan, Williams-Sonoma

Savory gratins are a mainstay of the French kitchen and of mine. Crunchy and golden on top, creamy and rich inside, they come directly to the table straight from the oven in their beautiful dishes. Gratins are easy to make. Take a vegetable, say celery root, cauliflower, broccoli, or leeks for example, parcook a little – and sometimes not – cover with a béchamel or mornay sauce, sprinkle on some breadcrumbs and maybe some cheese, bake for 30 minutes or so and voila! If you like, add a little bacon, ham, or prosciutto, combine different vegetables together, like asparagus and fresh peas or fava beans and artichokes, the combinations for savory gratins are endless.

What Does Gratin Mean?
Classically, gratiner means to cook au gratin– that is, with a cheese and or bread crumb topping that forms a crust. Gratin has come to mean a dish cooked in this fashion, and has also come to mean the dish in which it is baked, which is shallow and classically oval, but it can also be round, square or rectangular, no more than one to one and half inches deep, with sloping sides.

Gratin Dishes
The dishes themselves are another reason to make gratins because they are fun to collect. They come in a variety of colors, materials, and designs. They can be terra cotta, porcelain, or enameled cast iron. I have several ceramic and terra cotta ones that I have brought to home from France, as well as a small collection of cast-iron, enameled Le Crueset ones in different colors and sizes, ranging from service for two to ten.

I keep them all in plain sight on a restaurant rack in my kitchen where I can not only admire them, but where they are handy to use, all year long.

At the left is a salt cod gratin made with potatoes and leeks with a cheese, bread crumb and butter topping in a Le Crueset gratin dish.

La Vie Rustic Gratin Dishes – NEW
I’m happy to announce La Vie Rustic’s own gratin dishes, made by California ceramicist, cookbook author and culinary journalist, Elaine Corn. Her first ones for La Vie Rustic are a classic oval design. Forthcoming are rectangular ones, made by modeling a beloved Provençal dish of mine, broken and much-mended.

Elaine brings her deep knowledge of food and cooking to the creation of these very special gratin dishes, knowing what works in the oven as well as looks gorgeous on the table. Each dish is slightly different, just as every time I make the same gratin, it’s a little bit different, and that is part of the distinctive charm both of the dishes and of cooking.

I suspect we will sell out of these quickly, so do get your order in soon. At the moment supplies are limited, but Elaine promises to make more.

RECIPES

Leek Gratin
This is my new favorite leek gratin, make in Elaine’s handmade La Vie Rustic gratin dish. I just tossed it together and it is super easy and so good. Here, I’ve written down the basic instructions. The key, I think, is the cooking of the leeks first, bundled by string.
8 to 10 leeks, trimmed to fit your gratin dish, all the whites, and on half, some of the green as well.

Ingredients.
2 tablespoons butter plus 1 teaspoon
2 teaspoons coarse sea salt
3 tablespoons flour
1 ½ to 2 cups whole milk or half and half
¼ teaspoon freshly ground white or black pepper
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup freshly grated Gruyere cheese
Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F.

Tie the leeks together in bundles of 3 or 4. Bring a pot of water large enough to hold the bundles to a boil. Add 1 teaspoon of the salt and gently drop in the bundled leeks. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the leeks until they are slightly limp, but the greens are still bright, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove to a colander to drain. In a saucepan over medium high heat, melt the butter. When it is foaming, remove it from the heat and whisk in the flour. Drizzle in about 1 cup of the milk, slowly, whisking as you go.

Add the remaining teaspoon of salt, the pinch of pepper and return to the heat to thicken and for the flour taste to dissipate. Whisk from time to time to prevent lumps. This will take about 15 minutes. The sauce should be about the consistency of yogurt – not too thin, not too thick.

Butter the gratin dish with the remaining teaspoon of butter, then spread over it about ¼ cup of the sauce. Arrange the leeks in the dish in a single layer, alternating green ends with white ends. Spoon over them about ½ to ¾ cup of the sauce, but do not fully cover the leeks. Leave some exposed. Extra sauce can be refrigerated for another use.

Sprinkle the two cheeses over the leeks and bake until the sauce begins to bubble and the surface developed golden bits, about 15 minutes. If desired, place under a broiler to hasten the golden bits developing, but without over cooking.
Serve hot or warm.
Serves 3 to 4

Cauliflower Gratin with St. Marcellin Cheese

This is adapted from a French cookbook on gratins that I have since lost, but the memory of this particular dish stayed with me. St. Marcellin is a fresh cow’s milk cheese that comes in a round, terra cotta dish. I can’t describe how good it is melted atop cauliflower, as it here, and combined with caramelized onions and bacon. The fresh bay makes a difference but you can use dry bay if you don’t have fresh. Or, you can buy some fresh bay from La Vie Rustic.
.

1 head cauliflower, separated into large florets and steamed
2 1/2 tablespoons butter
2 onions, cut in thin slices
4 thick slices bacon, or pancetta lardons, cut into 1/2-inch wide pieces
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 fresh sweet bay leaves
2 St. Marcellin cheeses cut into 1/2 inch thick pieces

Preheat an oven to 350º F.

Grease a shallow baking dish with 1 teaspoon of the butter. Arrange the cauliflower florets in baking dish. Set aside.

In a frying pan over medium heat, sauté the onions and the bacon together until the onion is translucent and soft, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Put this mixture on top of the cauliflower, and tuck it in around them, along with the bay leaves. Top with the cheese and sprinkle with the thyme. Place in the oven and cook until the cheese has melted and has a golden tinge, about 20 minutes. Serve hot.

Serves 4 to 6

Winter is citrus season, and that means that oranges, mandarins, lemons, limes, kumquats and grapefruit are at their peak of flavor and juiciness, and the essential oils in their zest are intense. Just scratch the skin of a piece of citrus – any kind – and take a whiff. That’s how my friend, Bill Fujimoto, the former owner of Monterey Market in Berkeley, California, used to evaluative the quality of the citrus that arrived at his loading dock. An intense aroma is an indicator of a fruit at its prime.

The Mediterranean’s region, like much of California, the southwest and Florida, is citrus country. Groves of oranges stretch out of Seville, Spain to the sea. Blood oranges thrive on the coast of North Africa and Italy, and Menton, on France’s Riviera is famous for its oranges and lemons.

BLOOD ORANGES
My first experience of blood oranges was many years ago when I was working in the vineyards in Southern France alongside a man from Algeria who shared his oranges with me and my daughter. The rind, like the flesh inside, was the color of rubies, and tasted like a combination of raspberries and oranges. After that, I sought them out in the markets of Provence, and eventually, here at home in California, I planted my own trees, now more than 20 years old.

Blood Orange, Anchovy, and Olive Salad
A French friend who was visiting me one January showed me how to make this classic North African salad. She grew up in France during World War II, in the Alps, and an orange, any kind, was a once in a year treat. She was thrilled to pick oranges from my trees, and equally excited to compose this salad which she had had on a recent trip to Morocco with her son. For maximum flavor, be sure to use good quality anchovies, packed in olive oil. You can use either black or green olives, but I prefer the salt-cured, wrinkly black ones. They look beautiful dotting the  dark-red fruit.

Blood Orange, Anchovy and Olive Salad

4 blood oranges
4 to 6 olive-oil packed anchovies
10 to 12 salt-cured black olives
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Slice the oranges crosswise into thin rounds, then cut away the rind and remove the seeds. Arrange them in concentric circles on a serving platter. Arrange the anchovy fillets and olives on top and drizzle with the olive oil.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 5 or 6 hours or overnight.

Remove from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before serving.
Serves 4

Blood Orange Upside Down Polenta Cake
This is a good ending for a rich meal, because, surprisingly, the cake, while intensely flavorful, is not overly sweet. The recipe is adapted from the March 2010 issue of Bon Appétit. I have a Le Creuset Tarte Tatin baking dish with handles which makes it so easy to flip the cake onto a serving plate. I highly recommend it. And, if an orange slice should stick, don’t worry. Just gently unstick it and place it where it belongs on the cake.

Cake
7 tablespoon sugar, plus ¾ cup
3 tablespoons water
8 tablespoons butter at room temperature, cut into 1 tablespoon slices
3 to 4 unpeeled small to medium blood oranges (the cooked skin and pith are delicious)
¾ cup plus 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
3 tablespoons polenta
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt or kosher salt
6 tablespoons milk
1 inch piece of vanilla or ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, separated
For the Crème Fraiche Sauce
1 cup chilled crème fraiche
1 tablespoon sugar

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F. Combine 6 tablespoons of the sugar and the water in a 10-inch diameter ovenproof skillet with 2 ½ inch high sides. Place over medium high heat, and heat until the sugar dissolves, about 1 minute. Increase the heat and boil without stirring until the syrup is golden amber, but not dark amber, occasionally brushing the sides with a wet pastry brush and swirling the skillet, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in 2 tablespoon of the butter into the caramel. Set aside.

Cut off both ends of the oranges and slice them into 1/8-inch thick rounds. Remove and discard any seeds. Arrange orange slices over the caramel mixture, in concentric circles, overlapping them.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, polenta, baking powder, and salt to blend. In another, large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together the ¾ cup of sugar and the remaining 6 tablespoons of butter. Split the vanilla bean and scrape out the inside, adding it to the sugar and butter. Beat until light and fluffy.

Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternately with milk in two additions, beating batter until just incorporated.
Using clean, dry beater beat the egg whites in a large bowl until soft peaks form. Add remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and beat until stiff but not dry. Fold ½ of the egg whites into the batter to lighten, then fold in remaining egg whites in 2 additions. Drop batter by large spoonful atop orange slices in skillet, then spread evenly.

Place in the center of the oven and bake until tester inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes. Cool cake in the skillet 10 minutes, then loosen the edges. Place a platter atop the skillet. Using oven mitts hold platter and skillet firmly together and invert, allowing cake to settle on the platter. Rearrange any orange slices that may have become dislodged. Let cool slightly before serving.

Sauce

Using an electric beater, beat the crème fraiche and the 2 tablespoons of sugar in a medium bowl until thickened, about 2 minutes.

Serve cake warm or at room temperature, cut into wedges and topped with a dollop of the sauce.

Serves 8 to 10.

MEYER LEMONS
I am a big fan of Meyer lemons. They have a thin, tender skin and are sweeter than the Lisbon or Eureka lemons, and are thought to be a wild cross between a lemon and a mandarin. I have to admit I was as fascinated by the history of the Meyer lemon as I was enamored of its delicate skin and sweet tart juice. The Meyer lemon, like many citrus, originated in China, and it is thought to be the result of a naturally occurring cross between a lemon and an orange or mandarin. Frank N. Meyer, a plant explorer for the USDA, introduced it into the United States in 1908, and it became a popular backyard fruit in California and elsewhere in the southwest, partly because it is more cold tolerant than other lemons.

Then, in the 1940s, it was discovered that the Meyer lemon was a carrier of a deadly citrus disease and the trees were pulled from nursery propagations and destroyed, except for one strain that was found free of the disease. Happily, by the 1970s, it was deemed virus free and received certification to that effect from the University of California. This particular clone was propagated and became known as the Improved Meyer Lemon which is the tree that is sold today – and the variety that we planted now almost 25 years ago when my husband and I moved into the old wooden farmhouse where we live now. We spaced them to frame the south side of the house from sun porch to kitchen. We keep them trimmed, like a hedge, to just about 7 feet, and it is very convenient to have them in easy reach of the kitchen windows.

I use my Meyer lemons for salad dressings, marinades, for fish, and for this incredible lemon tart, and soon will  use them in making Sel d’Agrume for La Vie Rustic.

Tarte au Citron

This has a crumbly sweet crust and a dense, intensely flavored layer of pure lemon custard that forms a lovely golden skin on top as the tart cooks. Don’t be scared that the filling seems a bit shaky – it will set as it cools. And, if you are not using Meyer lemons, add another 2 to 4 tablespoons of sugar.

For the pastry
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup cold butter, salted or unsalted, cut into small pieces
1 large egg
For the filling
4–5 Meyer lemons, to make ¾ cup juice
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs
10 tablespoons butter salted or unsalted, melted

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Have ready a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom.

To make the pastry, in a bowl, combine the flour and 1/4 cup of the sugar and stir until well blended. Add the butter and, using and using a pastry cutter, cut until the mixture is crumbly. Add the egg and, using a fork, mix it into the dough. Using your fingers, press the dough evenly into the tart pan; the crust should be about 1/4 inch thick.

Line the crust with aluminum foil or parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until slightly firm, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and lift out the weights and liner. Prick any bubbles with the tines of a fork and return to the oven until firm and barely colored, about 5 minutes longer.

Finely grate the zest of 2 of the lemons. Halve, juice and seed as many lemons as needed to measure 3/4 cup lemon juice.

In a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the sugar and the eggs until pale yellow. Gradually pour in the melted butter, beating constantly. Stir in the lemon zest and juice. Gently spoon the filling into the pastry shell. Bake until the crust is golden and the filling is lightly golden and firm to the touch, about 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to let cool completely before serving.

Serves 10

SEL D’ AGRUME
By mid-January, Sel d’ Agrume, made with my blood oranges and Meyer lemons will available and ready to ship. Think of using it to rub a turkey or a flank steak for the grill, for adding to Sangria, or sprinkling a bit on chocolate mousse or brownies. Like La Vie Rustic’s other Sel de Fruits, the base is coarse sea salt from Guerande in France.

JAMBON CRU
January and February are, for most of us, cold months, and are ideal for preparing Jambon Cru, or French-style prosciutto. In France, this is the traditional time of year, the cold months, when fresh hams are salted and cured. Start now, and you’ll be using your homemade jambon cru to wrap your melon slices to stuff your figs in summer. La Vie Rustic’s DIY set, with its redwood salting box securely constructed with brass screws, ready-made curing rub, fine-mesh cheesecloth, butchers’ string and straightforward instructions makes it easy.