Pot au Feu, where have you been all my life?
Somehow in many years of visiting France (heck, even living there for a while), visiting French restaurants, and generally nosing around for all things good to eat, Pot au Feu did not cross my path until I started cooking through Dorie Greenspan’s Around my French Table. Her first recipe, Warm Weather Pot au Feu, had me instantly hooked and I have repeated this recipe many, many times. In fact, I made it just a few weeks ago for visiting family and they even asked for the recipe to take home with them.
This time around Dorie has us making Seafood Pot au Feu. Like her Warm Weather version, this one has us layering the flavors into the broth by adding the ingredients one at a time. I halved the recipe and couldn’t find any mussels (not that I looked particularly hard), but otherwise followed Dorie’s instructions. Okay, okay, if I’m really being honest, I also used store-bought aioli. Hey, it was a busy week!
Like the Warm Weather version, I loved this dish. It looks so simple, but the underlying flavor in the broth and veggies is anything but. And it’s these simple yet nutritious recipes which I get the most excited about, because these are the ones which I know I can use again and again.
So, last fish recipe in the book. I know that there are some fish haters out there but I absolutely loved this chapter and would be hard pressed to pick a favorite, though, those curried mussels were just amazing. I’m going to try not to dwell on the fact that we only have one recipe left, and will instead start reviewing my favorites to figure out which ones I’m going to tackle again for our last month.
one expat's life 
That looks amazing. Specifically, those big, gorgeous scallops look amazing. Nice one!
Your pot au feu looks great. I enjoyed how light it was – delicate soup for delicate seafood.
The flavors were really lovely, weren’t they? Yours looks perfect!
Yup Neil loved the curried mussels too – but this one I think he would eat every day! Bittersweet for sure, coming to the end of this chapter…
The mussels recipes from AMFT were pretty darned good. I am not sure I could pick a favorite section from the book – it would be a smattering of recipes from throughout the book.
I agree that the pot au feu’s were both delicious. That scallop hanging out in there looks ready for a fork to pick it out 🙂
I’m with you – I liked the fish recipes. They should have been more spread out for others, but we eat a lot of fish anyway. So hard to believe how far we’ve come!
Have a lovely weekend!
I will miss the fish too. I’m with you, some of the best recipes in the book.
Rosa, since I don’t often make fish (Michael was a meat and potatoes guy, unfortunately), I have enjoyed the fish chapter also. Well, I’ve enjoyed ALL the chapters and most of the recipes. It’s off-season in Aspen now, restaurants closed, so fresh, good fish and fresh vegetables are not available. No tourists. No purveyors. Everyone’s taking a breath after the skiing season. So, I’ve been doing make-ups but will definitely return to this Seafood-Pot-au-Feu recipe this summer. I also have been thinking of my favorites and how I am going to limit them to #5 in the first celebratory post. Darn, I wish Betsy and I had said #10 favorites. One of the first things I remember about you is that early on, when I first joined FFWD, you had just had your camera stolen. How the heck can you write a blog about food with no camera. I felt very sorry for you, as I recall. Nice Post this week and I look forward to reading your memories.
Your seafood pot au feu looks great. I did not use the topping, but looking at yours I’m sorry I didn’t
try it. It will be difficult to choose favorites, we been thru so many wonderful recipes. Have a great
weekend.
Looks good, love that thickly buttered toast on the side! I find the pot au feu very soothing!
I loved the mussel recipes…and many of the fish recipes, as well! This one was a winner for both of us! It will definetly be a regular at our table! Yours looks lovely and so delicious!! Have a great weekend!
I’m with you. I think the seafood chapter was one of my favorites. I tend not to be very creative with seafood, and this one has given me all kinds of great new ideas.
Rose, so nice to read that you enjoyed the Seafood Pot-au-Feu as much as we did. I did not find mussels either – it is not “mussle season” right now in these parts, as the weather warms up, they are harder to get hold of – I substituted prawns, still delicious.
Hope you are enjoying a nice springlike weekend – looks like it is going to be a rather summery week starting Monday.
Liebe Grüße nach Frankfurt,
Andrea
I too love fish, so I was not thankful this was the last recipe. I love your presentation, your napkin is lovely 🙂
Glad this was a winner in your house. Looks like I will be able to play around with the recipe and use just what we like. I will look into the other soup you recommended too.
Gorgeous bowl of soup, Rosa! I also loved how you characterized the complex flavors of the broth–definitely unexpected for the eater! I don’t think I’ve made the warm weather pot-au-feu yet, so I’ll need to check that one out as well!
I loved this one too. And most of the fish chapter too. I loved how most of the recipes were easy, yet packed with flavor.