Friday, June 3, 2011

Spring Vegetable Pot au Feu for French Fridays with Dorie

I haven't been very regular with my French Fridays with Dorie posts lately. To be honest, I just haven't been all that inspired by the dishes (with the notable exception of the bacon, asparagus, and egg salad, which I wish I'd made, and the quiche, which I completely futzed with).

But her warm weather vegetable pot au feu really appealed to me, partly because it's more of a method than a recipe, and partly because of that lovely, squishy poached egg, which I'll get to in a moment.  The basic idea here is that you successively saute and simmer some spring veggies in chicken or vegetable broth to create layers of flavor, and finish the whole lot with chopped herbs or an herb coulis of your choice.


Dorie's combo was nice, but I went with what I had and what appealed to me - garlic, leeks, onions, red fingerling potatoes, carrots, and fresh corn. About 5 minutes before serving, I added bok choy, French sorrel, and watercress, and finished the dish with a Thai basil coulis.

Meanwhile, Poppa Trix poached the eggs, something he loves to do and does really well, as you can see from the photo. By the way, Dorie says this dish doesn't keep, but it does if you only add enough tender greens for each serving and make the eggs a la minute.  We enjoyed this both for dinner and for brunch the following day.

Now, a word about those eggs. I know that some people are squeamish about runny yolks, and if you are one of those people I urge you to please make yourself get over it. You can do it! How do I know this? I didn't eat meat for 10 years and jumped right into beef tartar and rabbit belly. Believe me when I tell you our culinary aversions are all (or mostly) in our heads.

I am only saying this because I love you.  You are missing out on so much tasty goodness if you never experience the warm, melting comfort of a thick, gooey yolk. It makes everything it touches better, and in this case turns the broth into a creamy wonder.

Don't believe me? Behold:
Here endeth the lesson.
If you want to join in and cook dishes from Around My French Table, grab a copy of the book and sign up here.  In the meantime, embrace those runny yolks, people! Happy French Friday.





19 comments:

  1. Very beautiful shot.
    Sorry. I can't get over the egg thing. I am trying, but not there yet...
    And why do so many guys have a knack for poaching eggs? I wonder if its built into their DNA.

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  2. Nice shot indeed Trix.. looks like the perfect meal... I don't like eggs much at all, but I think this one is convincing enough to try this dish ... lovely presentation as always!

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  3. Love your combination of ingredients and the egg looks perfect, I will make this one again;-)

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  4. The bok choy sounds fabulous! I'm just sad I didn't think of it as well. And, I like how you called this a method. Great description!

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  5. I'm with Cher. Your soup is gorgeous, but I'll never be a fan of the yolk (runny or hard) - I just can't get over the taste. :)

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  6. Those photos are AMAZING. You almost made me want to try the runny egg thing with the last shot...then I read Cher and Jessica's comments and thought "nah". Just kidding. If you went from vegetarian to raw meat, I can dig deeper to try an egg one of these days. At least my family loved the recipe and Nana enjoyed hers as well.

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  7. You've almost convinced me to try the runny eggs...super job with this recipe. Glad you're back with us :)

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  8. Beautiful presentation! I think the bok choy would be a great addition. I never thought about why the dish wouldn't be tasty the next day, but it all makes sense now ... not that we had any leftovers to worry about at our house!!

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  9. ...'here endeth the lesson'.. so funny and gad I hope not... hey, your version is very appealing to me, so different than the others I am seeing (as usual) and the blend of all those good veggies are just great

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  10. Looks fabulous, especially with the egg. Love your white soup bowl.
    LL

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  11. I am so glad you made this dish this week - I agree that it's wonderful that it's a method and one I will be reproducing again and again this summer when I am on my own in Paris. Love that you can just use what's on hand and there are no real measurements involved. I have mastered the 6 minute soft boiled egg, now to lear how to poach before I leave at the end of the month!

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  12. Poppa Trix poaches one mean egg! It looks perfect! I cheated and used the ruffly eggs method. The fresh corn and watercress additions sound fantastic!

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  13. Nice combo of veggies, even if it is just what you had on hand. You had a great selection. Thai basil coulis sounds delicious too. I do love recipes that are more of a method than strict recipe to follow. It's more likely to stay in the repertoire. I really did love this soup.

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  14. A perfect poached egg indeed! Your choice of vegetables sound like the perfect combination. My mouth is watering. I couldn't agree more on your feelings towards runny egg yolks. For the longest time I couldn't eat runny eggs, poached or sunny side-up but once my husband urged me I was hooked. I think I'll go make some now :) Great post!

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  15. A beautiful job on your pot au feu. I thing the poached egg on top is genius. I have always been a fan of runny yolks, the more the better!

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  16. Your presentation is gorgeous!

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  17. Your choice of vegetables sounds delicious!

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  18. Oh yours is packed with veggies! I wish I had done that!
    Glad you are back in the "game" ... you are one of the few that inspired me to do FFwD :)

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