Legendary food writer Ginette Mathiot taught several generations of French people how to cook with her essential 1932 cookbook Je sais cuisiner, a compendium of classic Gallic recipes. Now, more than a quarter of a century since she passed away, Mathiot is being introduced to the next generation of home cooks with a fresh collection featuring 170 of her best recipes.
Mathiot's book features French standards including croque monsieur, pate en croute, boeuf bourguignon and chocolate souffle, and offers a foundation for French-style cooking, shopping and eating. This crumbed veal, or escalopes panées, recipe is another classic and challenges the perception that all French food is complicated.
"This is a crowdpleasing family meal, and quick to make," she writes. "Try not to buy breadcrumbs: when you have leftover bread, just cut it into pieces and let it dry in an aired box or cupboard, then process it or grate it into crumbs. This is a good way to avoid waste. The breadcrumbs can be used on shepherd’s pie, in fillings, or for breaded scallops (escalopes), as in this recipe. The veal can be swapped for turkey or chicken, if you prefer. The scallops can be served with a tomato sauce in a sauceboat or a mixed green salad, including bitter leaves, seasoned with a vinaigrette made of olive oil, lemon juice, and perhaps a crusted anchovy."
Ginette Mathiot's escalopes panées
Serves 6
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
6 veal scallops (escallops)
2 eggs
2 cups (150g) dried breadcrumbs
4 tbsp (60g) butter
½ handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Sea salt
Pepper
Method
Flatten the veal scallops (escallops) by placing them between 2 pieces of plastic wrap and beating them with a meat mallet to about 5mm thick.
Beat the eggs in a small bowl and place the breadcrumbs in a shallow bowl or on a plate. Heat the butter in a large skillet or frying pan over high heat. Dip each scallop in the beaten eggs, then dredge in the breadcrumbs and place in the hot pan. Cook for 5 minutes on each side, or until golden.
Season with sea salt, pepper, and sprinkle with the parsley, then serve.
This is an edited extract from Classic French Recipes by Ginette Mathiot. RRP $74.95 and out now on Phaidon.*
