The emotional language of food
PETIT CHOU FARCI
The mythology of food has a Mason Dixon line in France. In the northern regions with Germanic traditions children come from storks. France is mostly a Latin culture however, promoting the tradition that children come from cabbages. Chou-chou, and mon petit chou are French expressions that are so ultimately endearing that we recognize the words even in English.
Any dish called Petit Chou Farci conveys rich and emotional satisfaction. Today we prepared stuffed cabbages and made them as small and round as a fist. We wrapped cabbage leaves around an egg, so that there would be a surprise when you cut into them. We liked the idea of the whole egg inside, nesting small and delicately, because we were making them for my friend’s daughter who just gave birth to a baby boy named Victor. The family was together celebrating a new arrival, and occupied with mother and son. We offered a caring and hospitable gesture to feel part of the welcome. They were enchanted when we arrived with a dozen of them nicely arranged in a gratin dish, warm and flavorful.
We cooked some rice in water with a little salt until the rice was tender. While it cooked we also made 8 minute eggs, simmering them slowly in water so the yolk would stay perfectly golden. We also blanched the outer leaves of cabbage until they were soft and flexible. We trimmed the thick part of the foot to make the leaves roll nicely and then kept them at the ready.
While these things happened, we sauteed onions soft and golden in butter. We added spinach to the onions and continue to cook until it wilted, and made it flavorful with salt, fresh ground pepper, and nutmeg. We mixed in enough breadcrumbs to absorb the moisture from the spinach. When that was right, we added a few tablespoons of cream as an element of richness because it was a celebration! We tasted again to ensure that the flavors were keeping abreast, knowing that more salt, pepper and nutmeg provide the necessary adjustment. The white rice mixed with flecks of green spinach looked pretty and appealing.
All the elements were in place to assemble the little stuffed cabbages. We placed a tea towel flat on the counter and set a blanched cabbage leaf on top. We put a heaping tablespoon of stuffing in the center and nested a peeled egg. We placed another tablespoon of the flavorful rice on top of the egg. The whole thing is transformed into a packet with the help of the tea towel and holds the shape of a small cabbage. We simply gathered the towel up, coaxing the leaf to form around the egg. As it did, we twisted the towel to compact its shape.
The stuffed cabbage were set, seam side down, on a bed of chopped onions and carrots. We fed the vegetables enough wine and water to keep the cabbages moist while they baked. They only need to bake for 20 minutes or so because everything in them is already cooked.
When they are done, we drained the liquid into a small sauce pot and reduced it. We added a small amount of cream, mixed it well, and finally whisked in butter to make a sauce like a beurre blanc. When we served the cabbages in a flat soup bowl, we poured some of the sauce into the bowl, and gave it a sprinkling of chopped chives and a grinding of pepper at the end.
Imagine the surprise in store as you cut into your petit chou cheri and discover a perfect little egg in the center. It’s not such a tough job to make these but what pleasure to give and what fortune for those who cut into it.
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