Les Marchés Francais

March 6, 2017
In a series of introductions, Canadian DeFehr, a private chef in Paris, provides an overview of French regions, various market players, and even a loving description of his favorite flea market. The book’s 75 recipes are broken down by season, with roasted game hen with endive and celery-root puree a winter selection and roasted quail with pea puree a summer selection, though occasionally allocations feel random. He vaunts flexibility and proffers substitutions liberally, as when he notes that monkfish and sea bass can stand in for cod in a stew that incorporates sauerkraut and sausage. Because many of his family members have celiac disease, all recipes are gluten free, with gluten-free flour in desserts like individual lemon and raspberry tarts and crepes with apricot compote. Hearty stews and braises, such as pork with plums and olives; interesting composed salads, including one of artichokes, seared scallops, and tender romaine and radicchio; and vivid vegetable dishes like a sunny yellow ratatouille made with chickpeas and saffron all appeal. The idea of cooking seasonally is no longer new, but this is a solid entry in that expanding category.

April 15, 2017

Personal chef DeFehr and photographer Boldt, both from Manitoba, began working together after a chance reunion in Paris. This treasury of seasonal and gluten-free French recipes is the latest product of their fruitful collaboration. Elegant, unfussy dishes such as coleslaw with shredded cured Savoie ham, whole roasted duck with cabbage and shallots, and crème brulée with lavender infusion will have home cooks feeling they've escaped to the markets of France. Some readers will quibble over the ingredient measurements (given in weights, counts, volumes, or a combination thereof), but they'll be placated by full-page color photographs and practical extras, including a guide to "learning to cook by feel and instinct." VERDICT Highly recommended. Paired with Clotilde Dusoulier's more vegetarian-friendly The French Market Cookbook, home cooks will be well equipped to entertain guests with almost any dietary restriction.

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