If ever a person feels untethered, confused, isolated, gob-smacked or uprooted, a palliative is available: come to France and read a menu.
As the world changes and governments, borders, countries, opinions and beliefs swirl like oil on water, there is always oeuf mayonnaise. And confit. Quiches crowd patisserie shelves while café tables are populated with fat cups of espresso and shattery croissants in the morning, bubbling croque monsieur and golden omelets at noon, and crisp-skinned chicken or charred steak with a basketful of frites alongside in the evening.
Not only do all of these time-honored dishes make the mouth water, but each provides sense, beauty, delectability, in a world where we need all of these more than ever. That is because French cuisine, while creative, is rooted in history. Take the humble oeuf mayonnaise. It owes its origins to sauce mayonnaise, purportedly created to celebrate a battlefield victory. The year was 1756, the occasion the battle of Minorca where the French defeated the English and took control of the Port of Mahon. Maréchal de Richelieu, the big boss of the affair, asked his chef to prepare a meal, but ingredients were poor, and included above all eggs and olive oil. No matter: a sauce was created and christened Mahonnaise.
Frites? They were first served in newspaper cones on the streets of Paris by fried fish vendors. Croissants? Merci, Marie-Antoinette who came to France from Vienna in 1770 with her bakers, experts at layering dough and butter. Duck confit dates back at least two centuries in the region of Gascony, where duck was put away for the winter after being salted and cooked, long and slow, in duck fat. Pot-au-feu? This simple dish, originally made with pork, lamb, and beef, was lauded by Goethe in the 18th century as he travelled through France. It was then made with the tough cuts of meat unfit for anything but being simmered slowly until tender, with a few carrots, leeks, and the ever-present bay leaf. It’s preparation hasn’t changed much to this day.
Nearly every dish in France has a story, geographic root, or an event it calls its own. And each contributes to making France and the French what and who they are: confident, masterful, sure of what they say (whether it is right or wrong), free-thinking, icons of the accessory. They have their history to back them up, and they experience it once, twice, three times a day on their plate.
In troubled times (and I wonder if times are ever un-troubled), favorite traditional dishes keep us tethered to ourselves, our loved ones, our lives. Nowhere is this more obvious than in France, where cuisine is an enduring source of pleasure, comfort, meaning, and the subject of argument and conversation in what is universally considered a safe zone, the dining table. And a French menu puts everything in its place, providing roots, history, logic, and tradition.
What follows is my recipe for mahonnaise. I probably don’t need to offer serving suggestions to anyone out there.
MAYONNAISE
NOTE: There are many myths wrapped around mayonnaise. One of the most current is that all the ingredients need to be at the same temperature. This is not true. The only thing that will guarantee the success – ie. Emulsion – of a mayonnaise is the speed with which you add the oil. That speed is SLOW. Another note – you may make mayonnaise in a blender or food processor, but it will not be as tender as that you make by hand.
Mayonnaise intended for frites has extra mustard in it; I like it that way in all cases.
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 to 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon red or white wine vinegar
1 large egg yolk
¾ cup (190ml) untoasted peanut oil, or other neutral oil
2 tablespoons, extra-virgin olive oil
1. Place a wet towel under a medium-sized, non-reactive bowl to keep it from sliding around. Then, place the salt, the mustard, and the vinegar in the bowl and whisk them together. Whisk in the egg yolks, then VERY SLOWLY, in a fine stream, whisk in the oils. The mixture will thicken as you whisk. You may stop adding oil when it gets to the thickness you desire.
About 1 cup (250ml)
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