Issue1 TasteBound compressed - Flipbook - Page 79
FRENCH LESSONS
White bean salad
SERVES 6-8 AS A STARTER OR SIDE
In summer, the roads between Beaune and the little village where Kendall and
Laurent live are lined with sunflower fields that are perfect for picnicking in.
When we’re in the mood for lunch al fresco, we make this salad, which works
well for meals on the go because you can make the beans the night before.
Fresh and crunchy, the salad also makes a good light meal on its own, with
toasted, crusty bread, or serve it as a side with roast chicken or steak.
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PHOTO: ANSON SMART
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200g dried large
white beans, such
as lingot or
cannellini, soaked
overnight in cold
water and drained
1 medium yellow
onion, halved
1 quantity lemon
confit vinaigrette
(see below)
1 garlic clove,
finely minced
1 small shallot,
finely minced
3 celery stalks
3 small fennel
bulbs, trimmed,
tough outer layers
removed, halved
and cored
1 lemon, halved
Large handful fresh
mint leaves
Large handful flatleaf parsley leaves
1½tbsp saltpacked capers,
rinsed and drained
35g freshly shaved
Parmesan
Extra virgin
olive oil,
to drizzle
In a medium saucepan,
combine the beans and
onion and add cold
water to cover by about
5cm. Bring to a simmer
over a medium-high
heat, then reduce the
heat to low and cook,
stirring occasionally, for
30-40 minutes until
tender (this will depend
on the exact size and
age of the beans).
Meanwhile, in a large
bowl, stir together the
vinaigrette, garlic and
shallot and set aside
while the beans cook.
Once the beans are
tender, drain, then
remove and discard the
onion. Add the beans to
the vinaigrette while still
warm. Toss to coat and
season generously with
salt and freshly ground
black pepper. Leave to
rest for at least 30
minutes so the beans
can cool and absorb the
vinaigrette. (You can
also make the salad up
to this point and
refrigerate overnight,
covered. Bring the
beans to room
temperature before
continuing.)
When ready to
assemble the salad, use
a mandoline or very
sharp knife to thinly
slice the celery into halfmoon shapes and the
fennel into matchsticks.
Squeeze the juice of half
the lemon over the
celery and fennel to
prevent them browning.
Just before serving,
add the celery, fennel,
herbs, capers and
Parmesan to the beans.
Squeeze the other
lemon half over
everything, adjust the
seasoning as needed,
and finish with a drizzle
of olive oil. Arrange on
a serving platter and
serve immediately.
Lemon confit
vinaigrette
This simple vinaigrette, in which a finely
chopped preserved lemon stands in for both
the acid and the salt, is delicious with fresh
greens, over grilled fish, or even over warmed
potatoes. Try it in the white bean salad, above.
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¼ preserved
lemon,
(homemade or
a high-quality
store-bought
preserved lemon),
rinsed and dried
3tbsp extra virgin
olive oil
Quarter the lemon and
remove and discard
any interior pulp. Using
a small sharp knife,
remove and discard any
white pith, leaving just
the zest – the deep
yellow part of the rind.
Using a sharp knife,
finely mince the zest.
In a large bowl, whisk
together the lemon
zest and olive oil and
season with a couple
grinds of black pepper.
mother-daughter team since for ever. As
a family, we had always had an interest in
France. Growing up, as a high school kid in
Arizona, I had a really good French teacher
named Miss Male, who was amazing. I
became intrigued by the French language and
culture and the French way of living. Mom
worked in cooking and pastry, so we had
always talked about what it would be like
to some day live in France – though we
never knew we would actually ever live
here for real one day.
‘After high school, I decided to make
French and art history my majors at college,
and I did a lot of studying abroad. Then, after
college, I ended up staying to teach English in
the south of France. I never wanted to leave,
so I was always trying to find a way to stay.
Eventually, I moved to Paris to study and
intern at Christie’s, where I worked in
a little wine bar on the side and got really
into it. That was in
2005, and in 2008,
‘Then I get
I came here, to
the call:
Beaune in Burgundy,
“Mom, you’re to study wine and
going to love viticulture at the
CFPPA wine school.’
this place.
Marjorie cuts in:
You should
‘And that’s when
come. Why
I get the call.’ She
not try it?”’
laughs: ‘At this
point, I had a little
restaurant and a cookery school in Phoenix,
of all places. I was doing my thing, it was
fun. When Kendall would come home from
college in the summer, she’d work with me,
and this went on and on as she was having
her adventure in France. Then I get a phone
call: “Mom, you’re going to love this place.
You should come.” She said: “You’ve been
telling me my whole life I can do anything,
so why don’t you try it?” And I thought,
“Oh dear, that sounds like a challenge.”
But also, “Well, why not?! Let’s see what
happens.” I tried to convince myself that it
was a sabbatical – that I’d just go for a year
and if it was supposed to be, it would be.
‘At the time, Kendall was working for
Kermit Lynch, a wine merchant based here
in Beaune, and I’m on my “sabbatical”, which
was great, except that I couldn’t work. It was
the first time in a long time that we’d both
been in the same place at the same time, and
we just kept asking ourselves: “Should we
try what I had been doing in Phoenix, here?
Could we figure this out?” And so, in 2008,
The Cook’s Atelier was born.
‘We started in a tiny little two-bedroom
apartment right in the centre of Beaune,
where we turned the front bedroom into
TA S T E B O U N D
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