Dine on Paris' Left Bank Tonight with Patricia Wells' Bar de la Croix Rouge Assiette Saint-Germain!

Recently, I posted a recipe for Cilantro-Flecked Heirloom Tomato Soup from James Beard award-winning author and Francophile, Patricia Wells' latest cookbook, Salad as a Meal: Healthy Main Dish Salads for Every Season. I really loved the simple, yet amazingly flavorful soup and thought I'd try a few more recipes from her latest project.

The title of the second recipe is a bit of a mouthful, but don't let it scare you! The Bar de la Croix Rouge Assiette Saint-Germain is as casual as it is mouth-wateringly delicious! The dish is named after one of Wells' favorite haunts on the Left Bank of Paris, Bar de la Croix Rouge, and it's most famous tartine, Assiette Saint-Germain. Assiette, or "assortment" in French, describes this dish very accurately; it is essentially a playground for the palate, consisting of an open faced roast beef sandwich, sliced cornichons, ripe tomatoes and a soft bed of fresh salad greens. The beauty of this dish is in the details, Wells provides recipes for homemade bread, mayonnaise, roast beef, cornichons and salad dressing which really elevates this essentially common dish to the next level. 

Let me start by saying, I did not make everything from scratch. Instead of making the bread, I bought it from my local store (Publix, not Poilane!), likewise with the cornichons and roast beef. I did however, make the mayonnaise and salad dressing myself. I followed the recipes for both and was very impressed with the results! I love to make my own salad dressings and the Creamy Lemon-Mustard dressing was really delicious. Making the homemade mayonnaise was also pretty easy and so much more flavorful than what you find at the grocery store. Wells also recommends using imported French mustard which was well worth it, it had exceptional flavor and complemented the flavors of the other ingredients beautifully. Once the homemade portions of the recipe are completed (whichever ones you choose to make), the assemblage is a snap.

Per Wells' suggestion, I served the assiette with a Beaujolais, the 2009 Georges Duboeuf Belles Grives Morgon. Beaujolais is a wine producing region located just south of Burgundy proper featuring wines made from the Gamay grape. They are made using carbonic maceration, a method that extracts very little tannin from the grapes making the wines very light and easy to drink. Beaujolais are reasonably priced with Cru Beaujolais, the highest classification of the wines of this region, generally retailing for under $20. The top ten villages included in the "Cru" classification are Brouilly, Cote de Brouilly, Regnie, Morgon, Chiroubles, Fleurie, Moulin-a-Vent, Chenas, Julienas and Saint-Amour. The 2009 Morgon was a delicious pairing with the assiette with its juicy tart notes of violets, plum and cassis.

The next time you feel like dining on the Left Bank of Paris without leaving the comfort of your own kitchen, give this delicious recipe a try. Whether you make one or all of the homemade ingredients, I think you will really enjoy it. I'd love to hear what you think!

Cheers,



Bar De La Croix Rouge Assiette Saint-Germain
4 thin slices Multigrain Sourdough Bread, toasted**
1 tablespoon salted butter
1 tablespoon Homemade Mayonnaise**
24 ultra-thin slices rare roast beef**
2 handfuls of soft salad greens
Creamy Lemon-Mustard Dressing**
4 ripe red tomatoes, cored and slices crosswise
16 Cornichons, cut into thin slices, for garnish**
Imported French Mustard, for garnish


Spread the warm toast with the butter and mayonnaise. Top with the slices of beef. Cut each slice of toast crosswise into 6 slices. Arrange on each of 4 large dinner plates.
In a large bowl, combine the greens and the dressing,  coating with just enough dressing to coat the greens lightly and evenly. Arrange the salad alongside the tartines. Arrange the tomatoes alongside, and drizzle with a bit of dressing. Garnish with the cornichons and serve with a jar of imported French mustard. Serves 4


**The recipes for these items are also included in the cookbook!

Tomato/Tomatoe: Cilantro-Flecked Heirloom Tomato Soup!

After a thoroughly educational experience, I am back from the Society of Wine Educators Conference I attended in Providence, Rhode Island last week. They had to pour me onto the plane, but I made it home nonetheless!

The theme of this year's conference was "A Food and Wine Experience" and consisted of three full days of intensive seminars, many of which focused on the pairing of wine with food - what's not to love about that? It was difficult to select from all the fabulous seminar topics and the caliber of the speakers was truly impressive, as was the humidity level which remained under 100% the entire time! My brain is abuzz with all kinds of fun wine and food facts that I look forward to sharing with you in the coming weeks.

This week, I'm emerging from my wine-induced haze with the second tomato recipe I promised you. I discovered this one in Patricia Wells' latest book "Salad as a Meal." Her recipe for Cilantro-Flecked Heirloom Tomato Soup is very much like a gazpacho and is surprisingly flavorful and easy to make. All you need is a blender and the 6 (yes, count 'em 6) ingredients. You can realistically be enjoying a bowl in under 10 minutes, although she recommends letting the soup sit for 3-24 hours to let the flavors meld. 

As for preparation, I have to admit, I could not find piment d'Espelette locally and used ground red pepper instead with delicious results. Also, in the interest of aesthetics, when selecting the heirloom tomatoes, be sure to use those that are very ripe and do not mix too many colors or your will end up with a murky or brownish looking soup. Otherwise, this dish is a light and delicious way to begin a meal or to keep in the fridge as a healthy snack!

This recipe utilizes the heirloom tomato (aka heritage tomato in the UK), which, according to Wikipedia, is an open-pollinated (non-hybrid) heirloom cultivar of tomato. Heirloom tomatoes can be found in a wide variety of beautiful colors, shapes, flavors and sizes. As with most garden plants, cultivars can be acclimated over several gardening seasons to thrive in a geographical location through careful selection and seed saving. They usually have fun and interesting names like Big Rainbow, Green Zebra, Hillbilly, Striped German and Brandywine, just to name a few. With their delightful flavor, texture and colors, I usually serve them as a simple tomato salad drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar in order to let them shine. This soup, however, really allows their flavor and color to come through and is a lovely alternative.

I hope you enjoy this soup and I'd love to hear what you think of it. Are you an heirloom tomato fan or have you ever grown them? If so, what is your favorite kind? I am partial to the Green Zebras - yum!

Cheers,

Cilantro-Flecked Heirloom Tomato Soup

from "Salad as a Meal" by Patricia Wells

1 1/2 pounds ripe heirloom tomatoes, cored and quartered (do not peel)

1/2 cup imported Italian tomato paste

2 teaspoons fine sea salt

1 teaspoon ground piment d'Espelette or other ground mild chile pepper

2 tablespoons best-quality sherry-wine vinegar

1 cup fresh cilantro leaves, plus extra for garnish (I use a variety of cilantro called Delfino)

Combine all the ingredients, except the extra cilantro leaves, in a blender or a food processor. Add 1 2/3 cups water and puree to a smooth liquid. Taste for seasoning. The soup can be served immediately, but the flavors benefit from ripening for at least 3 hours and up to 24 hours, refrigerated. Serve in chilled shallow soup bowls, garnished with cilantro leaves. (Store without garnish in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Reblend at serving time.) Serves 12