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With restaurants from New York to Hong Kong, chef Joël Robuchon knows a little something about French cooking. His 813-page translated-to-English cookbook is a valuable tool for those trying to recreate his dishes.

By Phyllis Stein-Novack

Add Comment | Comments: 0 | Posted May. 20, 2010

There’s a parlor game that goes like this: You name 10 people you want to invite to your table for the perfect dinner party. You must give reasons for the invitation. My ideal list would include: Benjamin Franklin; choreographer George Balanchine; composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; food writer M.F.K. Fisher; actor/director Mel Brooks; poet Charles Baudelaire; President Barack Obama; actress Meryl Streep; author Mark Twain and chef Joël Robuchon.

Fans of Bravo TV’s “Top Chef” may recall a dinner the cheftestants were asked to prepare for Robuchon last summer in Las Vegas.

In 1989, Robuchon was named Chef of the Century by the editors and writers of the guidebook “Gault Millau.”

Born in 1945 in Poitiers, France, Robuchon apprenticed at age 15 and in ’81, he opened Jamin in Paris. Three years later, he received three Michelin stars.

Robuchon’s approach to food was a direct response to nouvelle cuisine. He also removed the fussy over-the-top attitude from French cooking. For him, less is more, simple is best.

I recently received a copy of “The Complete Robuchon: French Home Cooking for the Way We Live Now.” It was translated from the French by Robin H.R. Bellinger. This 813-page tome features more than 800 recipes. Robuchon includes tips on wine, cooking methods, kitchen equipment and a glossary of culinary terms. It is, what food writers call, a soup-to-nuts cookbook.

I cannot wait to cook from it.

Pork Belly and Potatoes

Ingredients:

3 pounds of pork belly
1 onion, peeled and stuck with one clove of garlic
1 carrot, peeled
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 bouquet garni (2 sprigs fresh thyme, 1 small bay leaf and 2 stems flat-leaf parsley wrapped and tied in a leek leaf)
1 ounce of fresh ginger, peeled
1 bunch of fresh sage
1 teaspoon of black peppercorns
1 teaspoon of juniper berries
1 teaspoon of coriander seeds
8 potatoes (about 1 pound), peeled and washed
Fleur de sel and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions:

Put the pork belly in a Dutch oven and cover it with cold water. Add the next nine ingredients, bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook for one hour.

Add the potatoes to the pot. Cook for 30 more minutes.

Put the pork and potatoes in a colander to drain. Remove the pork from the colander and carve the pork belly into thick slices. Sprinkle the potatoes with the fleur de sel and pepper.

Serves four to six.

Note from Phyllis: You can substitute kosher salt for the fleur de sel.

Parmesan Mushroom Salad

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