Thursday, April 18, 2013

P = Pépin and Pipérade

a-to-z-letters-p
Jacques Pépin is one of my favourite chefs. He used, coincidentally, Jacques Pepinto be a great friend of Julia Child who is mentioned below. I finally found the DVDs of his cookery tips and hints in which he expounds on such things as sharpening knives properly and making an omelette or dealing with onions. It’s full of useful information. I have one of his cookbooks too and we use several of the recipes regularly. He started working with his parents in their restaurant near Lyon, La Pelican. He later went to Paris training under Lucian Diat at the Plaza Athénée. He then was personal chef to three French heads of state. Eventually he came to the States where he became even more well known and eventually graduated into a television chef par excellence.


This a classic sauce from the Basque region of Spain. The Bayonne ham may be replaced with Prosciutto if you cannot obtain it and the piment d’Espelette, a unique pepper all of its own, can be found online or through gourmet groceries, but can also be replaced with cayenne or Paprika. You can use this sauce over almost anything, Julia Child even suggests using it over an omelette.


Pipérade
Source: Chow

INGREDIENTSPipérade
  • 6 medium tomatoes
  • 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 4 ounces thinly sliced Bayonne ham, cut into 1/2-inch squares
  • 2 medium yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced
  • 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, coarsely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, coarsely chopped
  • 1 medium dried bay leaf
  • 2 medium red, yellow, or orange bell peppers, cleaned and sliced lengthwise into 1/4-inch strips
  • 2 medium green bell peppers, cleaned and sliced lengthwise into 1/4-inch strips
  • Kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons piment d’Espelette
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Prepare an ice water bath by filling a medium bowl halfway with ice and water. Using the tip of a knife, remove the stem and cut a shallow X-shape into the bottom of each tomato. Place the tomatoes in the boiling water and blanch until the skin just starts to pucker and loosen, about 10 seconds. Drain and immediately immerse the tomatoes in the ice water bath. Using a small knife, peel the loosened skin and cut each tomato in half. With a small spoon, scrape out any seeds, then core and coarsely chop the remaining flesh. Set aside.
  2. Place a large Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot with a tightfitting lid over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of the oil. When the oil shimmers, add the ham and cook, stirring occasionally, until it’s golden brown, about 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the ham to a plate and set aside.
  3. Return the pan to heat, add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil, and, once heated, add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring rarely, until soft and beginning to color, about 8 minutes. Stir in the herbs and pepper slices and season well with salt. Cover and cook, stirring rarely, until the peppers are slightly softened, about 10 minutes.
  4. Stir in the diced tomatoes, browned ham, and piment d’Espelette and season well with salt. Cook uncovered until the mixture melds and the juices have slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and serve
Have a great day
Jo_thumb[2]

32 comments:

  1. I get hungry just reading this post.

    Happy P- Day.

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    Replies
    1. I guess that's the idea. I love Pipérade.

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  2. Hello jo !
    Bayonne and basque is 3 hours from my home !
    Half spain half france ^^
    I love piperade !
    Gynie

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    1. Hi Gyne, long time no see. Never been to the Basque region, would love to do so. The recipes from there are always fab.

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  3. I have the pleasure of watching his show several times a week on one of our public broadcasting stations. Nice post.

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    1. He's not on any of our shows at the moment. I think he is brilliant.

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  4. I've seen him on TV before, but I didn't know his name.

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    1. He is great, haven't seen him for a while.

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  5. I just finished his autobiography it was so lovely! I love him though so I may be a bit biased.

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    1. I haven't read it but must make a point of doing so. No harm in loving him, he is great.

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  6. A gourmet's delight, France is the city for food lovers and everything to do with Food. Your lovely recipe made my mouth water.

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    1. Me too, it looks delicious. Any idea where I might find piment d’Espelette?

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    2. Amazon have it Pam, its not cheap

      http://www.amazon.com/Piment-dEspelette-Pepper-Powder-France/dp/B002J6ARK6

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    3. You are so right about France being the place for food lovers, but then so is Italy. Many of the foods we associate with France today originally came from Italy when one of their Kings married an Italian princess who found the food in France to be bland and boring.

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  7. Sounds and looks absolutely delicious! Thanks for sharing, Jo. I will most certainly be trying the recipe :)

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    1. Pipérade is very popular and there are other versions of the recipe used in Italy too.

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  8. oh my gosh this recipe is making me hungry. Never tried it before but it sounds yummy!
    Nutschell
    www.thewritingnut.com

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  9. Looks good, though I've never heard of him; and he doesn't look familiar as a face I've seen on TV. I watch alot of cooking shows, you really can learn alot.
    A-Z

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    1. I am not sure he has a current programme Sandy but he used to be on with Julia Child when she was still alive. You can probably find reruns of his programmes.

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  10. Replies
    1. Obviously I don't really know what that tastes like, but you can but try it.

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  11. I love that man! One of my faves:)

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    1. Me too Laeli. I recently got hold of his double CD on cooking techniques, etc. which I watch now and again if I can't remember anything.

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  12. I don't watch cooking shows, so it should be no surprise that I've never heard of him.

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    1. I guess that's like me not watching too many movies.

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  13. Oh I love Pipérade but don't make it often enough! Thanks for sharing the recipe, the only thing I'd take out are the green peppers and just add more yellow or red. I always end up making weird noises after eating green peppers. That was too much information wasn't it? (:

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    Replies
    1. So do I and nor do I. Don't know why, I thoroughly enjoy it when I do make it.

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  14. The recipe looks good, except for the ham. LOL



    Sonia Lal

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    1. I guess you could leave out the ham if you don't like the idea.

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  15. Hi Jo .. I don't know of Jacques Pepin .. but love piperade .. cheers Hilary

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    1. You do surprise me Hilary, maybe he was never on British TV, he was so very popular here at one time. We get s lot of your TV chefs over here like Nigella, Gordon Ramsey, Jaime Oliver, I sort of assumed you would get some of ours.

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