Larousse -Gastronomique Recipe Collection - Desserts Cakes

Larousse Gastronomic Recipe Collection

Since its original publication in 1938, Larousse Gastronomique has withstood the test of time and trend to remain the world’s most authoritative culinary reference book.

Generations of serious cooks have turned to it for guidance that encompasses every fashion and taste, making its comprehensive collection of 2,500 classic recipes an indispensable resource. Recently updated, every one of these recipes has now been organized into four compact volumes to create a convenient and essential addition to every cook’s library.
The Larousse Gastronomique Recipe Collection includes:

•Classic meat, poultry, and game recipes, from Boeuf Bourguignon and Osso Bucco à la Milanaise to Glazed Spare Ribs and Chicken Jambalaya

•Quintessential fish and seafood dishes, including Lobster Thermidor, Salmon Koulibiac, Pike Quenelles Mousseline, and Grilled Shad with Sorrel

•Landmark vegetable and salad recipes, such as Asparagus Mousse, Gratin Dauphinois, Mushroom Duxelles, and Corn Fritters

•Timeless desserts, cakes, and pastries, from Charlotte à la Chantilly and Black Forest Gâteau to Passion Fruit Sorbet and Danish Cherry Flan

Each volume of the Larousse Gastronomique Recipe Collection also includes recipes for basic pastries, condiments, garnishes, sauces, and more, turning this collection into a complete course in kitchen classics.

Product Details

Language: English
ISBN-10: 0307336034
ISBN-13: 978-0307336033

Editorial Reviews

Braised leg of lamb with spring onions

Calculate the cooking time for a leg of lamb at 40 minutes per 1 kg, 20 minutes per 1 lb, plus an additional 40 to 20 minutes. Cook the lamb in a covered flameproof casserole in a preheated oven at 200°C (400°F, gas 6) for 25 minutes, then drain. Melt some buter in the casserole. Lightly coat 1 kg (2.25 lb) spring onions (scallions) in sugar, then fry them in the butter. Place the leg of lamb on the onions and put the casserole back in the oven. When the onions have softened, add 2 tomatoes, peeled and cut into 8 pieces, and 500 ml (17 fl oz, 2 cups) white wine. Complete the cooking process, turning the leg to make sure it is browned all over and basting it as required with reduced beef stock.

Remove the leg of lamb from the casserole, draining off all the cooking liquor. Drain the spring onions. Cover both and keep hot. Thicken the cooking juices with beurre manié (recipe follows). Carve the lamb. Arrange the spring onions on plates and coat with the sauce. Arrange the lamb on the plates and serve.

Beurre Manié

Beurre manié is a classic thickening mixture of sauces, casseroles and other cooking liquors.

To thicken 500 ml (17 fl oz, 2 cups) stock or sauce, work together 25 g (1 oz, 2 tablespoons) butter and 25 g (1 oz, 4 tablespoons) plain (all-purpose) flour. Add this paste to the boiling liquid and whisk over the heat for 2 minutes.

Fillets of sole à la bordelaise

Prepare some button mushrooms and baby (pearl) onions and cook in butter. Butter a small fish kettle or flameproof casserole and sprinkle the bottom with finely chopped onions and carrots. Season the fillets of sole with salt and pepper and arrange in the fish kettle. Add a bouquet garni and 175 ­ 350 ml (6--12 fl oz, ¾--1½ cups) white Bordeaux wine, according to the size of the container. Poach the fillets for 6-7 minutes, then drain, retaining the liquor. Arrange the fillets on the serving dish surrounded by the mushrooms and baby onions; cover and keep warm. Add 2 tablespoons demi-glace or fish stock to the cooking liquor and reduce by half. Add a knob of butter, sieve and pour over the fillets.

Artichoke hearts à la forentine
Slowly cook some artichoke hearts and some spinach in butter in separate pans. Stuff each artichoke heart with a heaped tablespoon of prepared spinach and coat with Mornay sauce (recipe follows). Sprinkle with grated cheese and brown in a preheated oven at 240°C (475°F, gas 9).

Mornay Sauce
Heat 500 ml (17 fl oz, 2 cups) béchamel sauce. Add 75 g (3 oz, ¾ cup) grated Gruyère cheese and stir until all the cheese has melted. Take the sauce from the heat and add 2 egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon milk. Bring slowly to a boil, whisking all the time. Remove from the heat and add 2 tablespoons double (heavy) cream (the sauce must be thick and creamy). For browning at a high temperature or for a lighter sauce, the egg yolks are omitted. If the sauce is to accompany fish, reduce fish stock is added.

Leckerli
Also known as lecrelet. A spiced biscuit (cookie) with a distinctive flavour, sometimes coated with icing (frosting). It is a Swiss specialty from Basle. The name is an abbreviation of leckerli kuchen, meaning ‘tempting cake’.

Sift 500 g (18 oz, 4½ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour into a bowl, add 350 g (12 oz, 1 cup) liquid honey and beat with a spoon. Add 75 g (3 oz, ½ cup) candied orange peel, 40 g (1½ oz, 1/3 cup) flaked (slivered) almonds, 20 g (3/4 oz, ¼ cup) spices (half mixed spice, half ground ginger), and 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda). (The candied peel and flaked almonds can be replaced with chopped hazelnuts and cinnamon.) Mix well until blended. Butter some square sheets and spread the mixture in them to a depth of 2.5 cm (1 in). Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (350°F, gas 4), for about 20 minutes, or until well browned. When done, brush with milk and cut into even rectangles.

Customer Reviews

I have many times over many years gone to the Larousse Gastronomique as my first step in menu planning before a grand meal. Its encycopedic breadth, its to-the-point informative essays, its side-by-side alternative recipes, and its marvelous way of linking recipes, ingredients, geographical biases and lore into nearly endless chains of ideas is a great inspiration. So often, different sources say very different things about a food, and the Larousse becomes the arbiter of these disagreements. It is authoritative and comprehensive.

But it can be a pain in the tenderloin to use as a cookbook. Its recipes, even in the most recent editions, can be too dense, too full of recondite practices, and just too damned French in their prejudices and presuppositions. So I've always used it as a first source, but rarely for practical guidance with individual dishes. For years I have returned to the same unfulfilled wish: to have the recipes excerpted, reorganized, edited, and cleaned up for kitchen use. Sometimes you just need to know how much onion goes in the soup without all the chauvanistic opinions about onions in their many forms. I am very pleased to say that the editors at Larousse have produced exactly this book.

As another reviewer has noted, "this book is listed as a "hardcover" edition. This collection, in point of fact, consists of 4 paper bound books with a cardboard slipcover." To that, I can add that the cardboard slipcase is incredibly cheaply made. My set arrived with the slipcase torn apart on several edges. It was not damaged, but simply torn by the stress of being moved about with books inside it.

That said, it is a very good, if overpriced, resource for serious cooks. It and its companion encyclopedia (which is actually hardback) are great for cooking or just getting ideas.

I would give it more stars if the recipes were printed in the traditional English-speaking format, making them easier to evaluate, choose and use. Also, it is upsetting to pay so much for paperbacks, which are unlikely to last very long.