Episode 3 The Little Paris Kitchen: Cooking with Rachel Khoo

My name is Rachel Khoo. I'm a food writer and a cook.

Wow!

My passion is for French food cooked simply the way Parisians do at home.

I think there's still this kind of cliche of French food,

where you think it's complicated.

My cooking is no fuss, just enjoyable.

Oh, no! It fell in!

After training here as a chef,

I opened the smallest restaurant in Paris in my tiny flat.

Ooh, c'est bien.

Somebody said to me it's harder to get a reservation at my place than it is for El Bulli.

Super.

Fantastic, really.

In this series I'm going to take the fear out of French cooking.

-Pois?

-Pois, yes!

-Pois!

Tonight on the menu, a cheesy potato delight.

It's like heaven on a plate.

I persuade some stubborn butchers to change their breakfast habits.

Very, very good.

And my most decadent dinner party dessert.

It's like, whoa, chocolate!

This is French food the way Parisians cook and eat it.

C'est tout. That's it!

Springtime in Paris. The city is overflowing with fresh produce.

With over 80 food markets to choose from selling the best ingredients,

you can see why Parisians love home cooking.

HE SPEAKS FRENCH

But the most loved of all French ingredients is cheese.

Venez gouter de supers fromages.

One of the great things about living in Paris

is being able to go to these specialised cheese shops where they only sell cheese.

Many Parisians will eat cheese twice a day

and to feed this addiction, there are over 400 fromageries.

One of the best is Marie-Anne Cantin's,

the perfect place for me to buy some cheese for my first recipe.

-Bonjour, madame!

-Bonjour.

The cheeses in her shop have been personally aged by her,

a skill that has been learned over a lifetime.

I used to say I am born in Camembert!

Because my parents was into cheese also. I love cheese.

Every day I eat cheese. Every day.

Madame Cantin will age any cheese to your personal taste in temperature-controlled cellars.

Young, mild cheeses will gain new flavour, consistency and colour.

Ageing this stinky Reblochon cheese for 10 days

gives it a stronger flavour that's just right for my recipe.

-Thank you very much. Au revoir!

-Bye.

Tartiflette is a dish which was created in the 1980s

by the Reblochon cheese makers.

Reblochon is a smelly French cheese!

Yes, it's pretty smelly but super yummy.

You need about half a kilo of waxy potatoes.

I'm going to julienne my potatoes, make them into little matchsticks on my mandoline.

If you don't have a mandoline,

you could slice it by hand.

You can see...

it looks a bit like a twig.

I find that potatoes sliced on a mandoline

make the best shaped nests.

Finely chop an onion.

Whack them in the pan.

Garlic. Ah...

Smelly work, this. Smelly onions, smelly cheese, smelly garlic.

But it makes for an extra tasty dish.

Let's put this on the hob.

I'm going to throw in a bay leaf.

While that starts cooking I'm going to cut up my lardon.

While that's sizzling, I'm going to cut up my stinky Reblochon cheese.

Look at that.

Squashy in the middle. Yum.

You'll need 250 grams of Reblochon, which comes from the Alps.

If you don't like Reblochon you could use a Brie, Camembert.

OK. That's the cheese done.

I'm going to throw in 100 millilitres of dry white wine.

You just want to cook that

until there's about a tablespoon of liquid left.

My wine's reduced down and I'm going to add my potatoes.

I'm going to pour this into the bowl.

I've got to fish out the bay leaf.

This is what you should do before you add the potatoes!

Ah, yes. Found you!

OK. Throw in the cheese.

Look at all that cheese.

You only live once. That's what they say.

Give it a stir. Grab your tin.

The tins are already buttered, so just load up each section.

Overfill it because it kind of shrinks a little bit.

Might not be the prettiest of dishes,

but when it tastes this good, who cares?

In the oven they go.

And I'm going to clean up.

After about 15 minutes, they'll be cooked.

It smells certainly quite cheesy now.

Let's have a look. Oh, it's bubbling away.

They look amazing.

Oh, yummy! Good stuff.

All right, I'm going to scoop one out.

Scoop it all out.

Just like heaven on a plate!

I really like the Rebluchon cheese, which is melted.

Smoky bacon flavour. A bit of crunch from the potato on the top

but then it's all kind of soft and cooked in the middle. Delicious.

What these little tartiflettes lack in looks, they make up for in taste.

A delicious springtime lunch.

For my next recipe,

I have a summery twist on a French winter classic.

But first, I want to see the dish made by a master.

La Fontaine De Mars is one of the oldest bistros in the capital

and has been serving Parisians since Napoleonic times.

It's famous for cassoulet,

a traditional dish from the southwest of France.

It's a regular on Parisian menus.

The basic ingredients are beans, duck and sausage.

For head chef Pierre, the cassoulet is all about the quality of the sausage.

Secret ingredients in this sausage.

There's shoulder of pork, throat.

He's got a confit, so a slowly cooked skin of pork.

And slowly cooked shallots.

-Le sel, le poivre.

-Salt and pepper. And that's it!

A good Toulouse sausage is a must for any decent cassoulet.

The sausage takes 15 minutes to cook.

You want to do it slowly,

because if you do it too fast then it will explode.

'Once done, the sausage is added to the bean stew

'and then his home-made confit duck.'

It's then put in the oven for 10 minutes.

And that's it. Pierre's signature cassoulet.

Voila!

Wow!

'All that's left to do is sit down and enjoy.'

All right, I'm going to have a little taste.

Try a bit of the sausage.

Mmm!

It's really rich without having that greasy taste around your mouth.

-C'est vraiment bon.

-Bon.

'Traditionally, this is a heavy stew,

'but I'm going to transform it into a deliciously light dish.'

I've come up with this light and quick version you can do,

with all the flavours of cassoulet but with none of the hassle.

I'm going to start by making my soup base.

You need three pints of water in a pot.

I'm going to add sun-dried tomatoes to give it a rich flavour.

Then 30 grams of dried cep.

Mushrooms aren't traditional in a cassoulet,

but adding them will give real depth of flavour.

And one of my favourite ingredients.

Lovely smoky bacon.

On the hob it goes.

While that's simmering away,

I'm going to start on my little dumplings.

I need some duck and Toulouse sausage.

The two really important ingredients in cassoulet.

And I need a little blender.

To start off, remove the skin off the sausage meat.

I'm going to make meatballs

and Pierre's Toulouse sausage packs a punch

as the pork is minced in bigger bits than in other sausages.

I've cut up my duck into smaller bits. Makes it easier to blend.

Add a clove of garlic.

Half an onion, roughly chopped, and some black pepper.

I'm not going to add any salt.

I think there's enough in there with the sausage.

Put this on.

JARRING GRINDING NOISE

Whoa! OK, I think it's done!

Once your mix is ready, get it onto a plate,

ready to shape into the meatballs.

Make them a bit smaller than a golf ball.

Those are my meatballs done.

Let's have a look and see how our soup is doing. Woo!

Crazy, bubbling away, there. I'm going to take out all the bits.

These ingredients have done their job now

and infused my broth with all their delicious flavours.

Then I need some tomato paste

and one teaspoon of brown sugar.

Two carrots.

While that simmers away, I'm going to get a big pan.

I'm not going to put any oil in the pan

because the meatballs are quite fatty already.

-Put one in to test it.

-SIZZLING

It's sizzling! That means it's hot enough.

Let's put these meatballs in here.

Use a big frying pan.

Try not to overcrowd it.

Then add some tinned beans, such as haricot.

Mm, smells so good. I'm getting really hungry.

They're done.

Now to bring it all together.

Put your sizzling meatballs in a bowl.

The meatballs in there.

Then add some of your delicious tomato soup.

That lovely colour. The carrots are bright orange and that rich red colour.

And finish it off with a nice sprig of parsley.

Let's have a taste.

Mm! Essentially all the flavours I tasted in the cassoulet

but in a lighter, fresher kind of version.

You just want to keep on shovelling it in. Really, really yummy.

And if you want to know more about any of the recipes

in the programme, log on to:

For me, Paris is THE city of food.

Degustation! Ca va?

The best ingredients don't just find their way

onto the dinner table in my tiny restaurant,

but also at 11,000 others in the city.

We all get our produce, one way or the other, from the same place.

On the outskirts of the capital, you will find Rungis,

the world's largest wholesale food market.

Planes, trains and trucks bringing the tastiest delights.

Of course there's cheese. More than 700 varieties.

But also fish from the Med and beef from Argentina.

Bonjour.

The finest ingredients, destined for the dinner tables of Paris and beyond.

OK, OK. A plus tard, alors. Merci!

And the perfect place to find some quality beef for my next recipe.

Every morning after an exhausting shift,

the butchers go for breakfast.

Instead of a bacon butty, it's steak tartare on the menu.

Bonjour.

Today they're getting my Japanese twist on this French classic.

These guys are hardcore

and don't like it when people mess with their food.

They want it the way they've had it every day for the last 20 years

at 7 o'clock in the morning.

Keep it simple is the way they like it. So I'm not sure.

At the on-site restaurant, I've got a tough crowd to please.

THEY SPEAK FRENCH

The butchers will expect their steak tartare

to come with capers, shallots and a raw egg.

But not today.

I'm going to add a little Japanese twist. I've got some cubed cucumber.

A bit of daikon radish that they use a lot in Japanese food.

Some pickled ginger and some wasabi.

OK.

'I've roped in butcher Jean-Bernard,

'who's been a regular at Rengis for over 40 years.

'Cutting it like this will make it easier to chew.

'Once you've done that, then slice it.'

'Steak tartare needs the highest quality meat. I like to use fillet or sirloin.'

I'm going to have a go.

C'est trop epais?

OK, so that's too thick.

I don't have 40 years of experience, that's why I'm not as quick as him.

'Jean-Bernard chops the meat finely,

'then I get a go at the cleaver challenge.'

My goodness, look at this!

SHE WHOOPS

Now for my Japanese twist.

So I have chopped up some white Japanese radish.

Daikon has a very mild taste, and a good crunchy texture.

Some cucumber.

You want a bit of salt. And I have some sugar.

And some rice vinegar.

Mix that all together and then you get some of your steak tartare.

A little bit of wasabi. A bit of ginger.

And that is your steak tartare with a little Japanese twist.

It's the moment of truth. What will the butchers make of my version?

I am terrified!

OK, cheers. Sante!

'I don't get off to a flying start.'

HE RETCHES

INAUDIBLE

'Has this been a twist too far?'

On y va! Ouais!

Very, very good.

Woo! Phew!

C'est bon?

-Can I taste one more?

-Yeah, sure! Go ahead!

He's having a second bite. That says something!

Thank you very much.

Another satisfied customer.

I'm ready for bed!

That was emotionally exhausting,

'but the positive side is they liked the taste of it.'

Yeah, so English girl one, French zero!

Yes!

In my little restaurant, I always liked to make simple food

which showed off the best ingredients.

Warm salads are popular in Paris and make an elegant starter.

When fig's in season, I go to my local marche, my fresh produce market,

pick up a bag, and usually they don't make it home

because I eat them all on the way home.

But if there's some left over, I love to make this salad.

So what do I need? I need a red onion. I'm going to cut it in half.

Oh, a little trick.

When you want to scrape the board,

always turn it round,

so you're using the back, like this. Never scrape the board like this.

When I hear somebody doing that, I'm like, "Ooh! The poor knife!"

You blunt the blade if you do it that way.

So I'm going to chop this finely.

I'm not the fastest chopper but I get there in the end.

Throw that all in there with a bit of butter.

We're actually going to caramelise the onions.

Ooh! I'm on fire!

OK.

So, the butter's starting to melt.

Then I've got a fig. I'm going to just cut it in half.

And then in quarters.

And I'm going to need some red wine vinegar...

for later. What you're looking for with these red onions

is they'll turn translucent,

soften, and get a beautiful kind of golden caramel colour.

So these onions are ready.

I'm going to put them in a bowl to set them aside.

In they go.

Now it's time for the chicken livers,

which always go well with fruit.

When I was a kid, I absolutely hated livers.

My mum would try and disguise it in mince

to make me eat the livers.

They're small livers,

so about 30 seconds to a minute on each side.

I'm just adding a bit of salt.

You can see it's started to caramelise round the edges.

And then a splash of red wine vinegar.

And that's the livers done. So hopefully...

We'll have a little look.

They should be nice and pink in the middle.

Yeah! That's perfect.

You want to serve it fairly quick.

Just bung the salad in there.

Then put the figs on too.

Your livers.

And some onions.

Oh, forget it. Just use your hands!

Add a pinch of good-quality sea salt

and drizzle over extra-virgin olive oil.

And a bit of black pepper.

The French like to put hot bacon or freshly poached eggs in their salads.

But this combination is my favourite.

Et voila! My French fast food healthy lunch.

Perfect.

If there's one delicious ingredient you should never skimp on,

it's chocolate.

And it's the star of my final recipe.

-Bonjour, madame.

-Bonjour.

It smells amazing in the shop, all the aromas from the chocolate.

Catherine is a fifth-generation Parisian chocolatier

and she's going to let me create my very own chocolate bar.

So you have the different chocolates.

-OK.

-From different origins and different taste,

-from the very bitter one. 100% chocolate.

-100%?

-No sugar.

-I've never tried 100%.

-Let's try it.

-A little bit.

OK.

It's to give the mixture more bitterness.

-It's very bitter.

-Yes.

For my chocolate mousse, I'm looking for the chocolate bar

which isn't too sweet,

but not bitter.

OK, so perhaps you can try these three.

Venezuela, Madagascar and Santo Domingo.

-I think a blend of this would make a really good chocolate bar for my...

-I think so.

The bitter Madagascan and Venezuelan

both have at least 70% cocoa solids.

So for a touch of sweetness,

adding some Santo Domingo 60% will be perfect.

I'm glad I'm not making this, because if I was making this

I'd have chocolate all over me. That's what always happens.

To get that rich quality chocolate,

the French always mix in cocoa butter, rather than vegetable fat,

which is cheaper.

C'est tout! Mais c'est super simple. Ah, genial!

All right, that is my chocolate bar.

All I need to do now is let it cool down

and I can take it home and make a great chocolate mousse.

This chocolate mousse is for all those chocoholics out there.

If you're crazy about chocolate, this is the one to make.

To start off, you need to make your pastry cream. You need a pot.

For this you'll need 250 mls of full fat milk

and a heaped tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder.

We're going to warm up our milk.

You need three egg yolks.

Keep your egg whites for later.

Add to your egg yolks 50 grams of plain caster sugar

and 20 grams of cornflour.

OK, mix in your cornflour.

Then you're just waiting for your milk to come to a boil.

At this point, you have to be a bit careful,

because if you pour it all in one go, you get scrambled eggs,

so do it slowly.

Now pop it back on a medium heat to thicken it up.

Pour your cream in.

All you need to do at this stage is keep on whisking.

If you don't whisk, what happens is your cream will develop lumps.

All you're waiting for is a little 'blop'.

You're looking for your pastry cream to burp.

That's definitely done. Grab a spatula.

And then just scrape it out.

Look at that. It's pretty amazing.

You need a bit of clingfilm.

You want to pat it onto the top, like this.

Then it can go into the fridge to chill.

This is where two of my leftover egg whites are put to good use.

So to make my meringue, add half of the egg whites,

50 grams of icing sugar, a couple of drops of lemon juice,

a pinch of salt.

Let's start whisking!

When the mixture is pale and creamy, add the rest of the egg whites.

This meringue will add a lightness to the mousse as well as a little bit of sweetness.

Look how the meringues turn out. It's beautiful and shiny.

It will make our mousse fluffy.

I'm going to melt my bar of strong dark chocolate over a bain-marie.

All we need to do now is bring all these components together,

starting with our chilled pastry cream.

Add this to this big bowl.

This is where the magic is starting to happen.

Give it a little whisk first, just to break up any lumps.

OK. Then you incorporate your melted chocolate.

Oh, look at that!

Mix that in.

It's all starting to come together.

Now we're going to add our meringue,

which is going to give it that sweetness.

Then you want to fold it in.

Scrape around the sides.

OK.

Last component, whipped cream. Look at that.

This is what a mousse should be.

You could probably just eat it like that,

but it's much better if you let your mousse chill.

I buttered some glasses and rolled some cocoa nibs round the inside.

This will add some nice crunch and a bit of texture.

Finishing touch!

Cocoa nibs on top.

Just pop it in the fridge. Four hours is best,

but if you can really not wait that long, an hour.

Just an hour and then you can devour this chocolate mousse.

Look at that!

It's like, whoa! Chocolate hitting you from every direction.

This is the ultimate chocolate mousse.

Voila. The finest ingredients really do make the best food.

The proof is in the chocolate pudding.

Next week, flavours to savour.

A stylish salad with a heavenly mousse.

It's almost too good-looking to eat.

I head off on a Parisian getaway for the freshest seafood.

It jumped!

'And I get to grips with some heavy machinery...'

I have a very big blowtorch.

'..to make a luscious meringue tartlet.'

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd