Cooking of Southwest France Recipes from Frances Magnificent Rustic Cuisine

- Jeffrey Steingarten, Vogue

When Paula Wolfert's The Cooking of Southwest France was first published in 1983, it became an instant classic. This award-winning book was praised by critics, chefs, and home cooks alike as the ultimate source of recipes and information about a legendary style of cooking. Wolfert's recipes for cassoulet and confit literally changed the American culinary scene. Confit, now ubiquitous on restaurant menus, was rarely served in the United States before Wolfert presented it.

Now, twenty-plus years later, Wolfert has completely revised her groundbreaking book. In this new edition, you'll find sixty additional recipes - thirty totally new recipes, along with thirty updated recipes from Wolfert's other books. Recipes from the original edition have been revised to account for current tastes and newly available ingredients; some have been dropped.

You will find superb classic recipes for cassoulet, sauce perigueux, salmon rillettes, and beef daube; new and revised recipes for ragouts, soups, desserts, and more; and, of course, numerous recipes for the most exemplary of all southwest French ingredients - duck - including the traditional method for duck confit plus two new, easier variations.

Other recipes include such gems as Chestnut and Cepe Soup With Walnuts, magnificent lusty Oxtail Daube, mouthwatering Steamed Mussels With Ham, Shallots, and Garlic, as well as Poached Chicken Breast, Auvergne-Style, and the simple yet sublime Potatoes Baked in Sea Salt. You'll also find delicious desserts such as Batter Cake With Fresh Pears From the Correze, and Prune and Armagnac Ice Cream.

Each recipe incorporates what the French call a truc, a unique touch that makes the finished dish truly extraordinary. Evocative new food photographs, including sixteen pages in full color, now accompany the text.

Connecting the 200 great recipes is Wolfert's unique vision of Southwest France. In sharply etched scenes peopled by local characters ranging from canny peasant women to world-famous master chefs, she captures the region's living traditions and passion for good food.

Gascony, the Perigord, Bordeaux, and the Basque country all come alive in these pages. This revised edition of The Cooking of Southwest France is truly another Wolfert classic in its own right.

The Cooking of Southwest France

"A true culinary zealot, Paula Wolfert champions forgotten dishes, uncovers regional cooking in surprising places, and reminds us of our resources and roots. In writing about the earthy food of France's Southwest, she teaches us how to cook foods that are traditional, slow, and sustainable."

—Alice Waters, Chez Panisse

"No one has broadened our culinary horizons with more generosity, integrity, insight, and charm than Paula Wolfert. Her Southwest France is enchanting, irresistible. If you don't yet know the region, you are in for a treat, and if you thought you knew it, prepare yourself for the new vintage, the best ever from the region."

—Judy Rodgers, Zuni Cafe

"Americans have only recently come to know what the people of Southwest France have known for generations—that the key to great cooking is in its simplicity and depth of flavor. In this book, Paula has taught us to fully enjoy each bite, to share our joy through the food that we cook and serve."

—Thomas Keller, French Laundry, Per Se, Bouchon

"The Cooking of Southwest France"

"A true culinary zealot, Paula Wolfert champions forgotten dishes, uncovers regional cooking in surprising places, and reminds us of our resources and roots. In writing about the earthy food of France's Southwest, she teaches us how to cook foods that are traditional, slow, and sustainable."

— Alice Waters, Chez Panisse

"No one has broadened our culinary horizons with more generosity, integrity, insight, and charm than Paula Wolfert. Her Southwest France is enchanting, irresistible. If you don't yet know the region, you are in for a treat, and if you thought you knew it, prepare yourself for the new vintage, the best ever from the region."

— Judy Rodgers, Zuni Cafe

"Americans have only recently come to know what the people of Southwest France have known for generations— that the key to great cooking is in its simplicity and depth of flavor. In this book, Paula has taught us to fully enjoy each bite, to share our joy through the food that we cook and serve."

— Thomas Keller, French Laundry, Per Se, Bouchon

- Jeffrey Steingarten, Vogue

When Paula Wolfert's The Cooking of Southwest France was first published in 1983, it became an instant classic. This award-winning book was praised by critics, chefs, and home cooks alike as the ultimate source of recipes and information about a legendary style of cooking. Wolfert's recipes for cassoulet and confit literally changed the American culinary scene. Confit, now ubiquitous on restaurant menus, was rarely served in the United States before Wolfert presented it.

Now, twenty-plus years later, Wolfert has completely revised her groundbreaking book. In this new edition, you'll find sixty additional recipes - thirty totally new recipes, along with thirty updated recipes from Wolfert's other books. Recipes from the original edition have been revised to account for current tastes and newly available ingredients; some have been dropped.

You will find superb classic recipes for cassoulet, sauce perigueux, salmon rillettes, and beef daube; new and revised recipes for ragouts, soups, desserts, and more; and, of course, numerous recipes for the most exemplary of all southwest French ingredients - duck - including the traditional method for duck confit plus two new, easier variations.

Other recipes include such gems as Chestnut and Cepe Soup With Walnuts, magnificent lusty Oxtail Daube, mouthwatering Steamed Mussels With Ham, Shallots, and Garlic, as well as Poached Chicken Breast, Auvergne-Style, and the simple yet sublime Potatoes Baked in Sea Salt. You'll also find delicious desserts such as Batter Cake With Fresh Pears From the Correze, and Prune and Armagnac Ice Cream.

Each recipe incorporates what the French call a truc, a unique touch that makes the finished dish truly extraordinary. Evocative new food photographs, including sixteen pages in full color, now accompany the text.

Connecting the 200 great recipes is Wolfert's unique vision of Southwest France. In sharply etched scenes peopled by local characters ranging from canny peasant women to world-famous master chefs, she captures the region's living traditions and passion for good food.

Gascony, the Perigord, Bordeaux, and the Basque country all come alive in these pages. This revised edition of The Cooking of Southwest France is truly another Wolfert classic in its own right.

Introduction to the New and 1983 Editions.

Map of the Greater French Southwest.

The Tastes of the French Southwest.

Garbure, Pot-au-Feu, and Other Soups.

Appetizers and Small Plates.

Fish and Shellfish.

Chicken.

Duck, Goose, and Rabbit.

Foie Gras, Terrines, and Rillettes.

Beef, Veal, Pork, and Lamb.

Cassoulet.

Vegetables.

Desserts.

Stocks and Sauce Bases.

Mail Order Sources.

Index to Recipes by Region and Course.

Notes on Equipment.

Bibliography.

Acknowledgments for the New and 1983 Editions.

Index.