Cook's Country

♪♪ -"Cook's Country" is about more than just getting dinner on the table.

We're also fascinated by the people and stories behind the dishes.

We go inside kitchens in every corner of the country to learn how real people cook, and we look back through time to see how history influences the way we eat today.

We bring that inspiration back to our test kitchen so we can share it with you.

This is "Cook's Country."

♪♪ Today on "Cook's Country," Christie makes an elegant version of trout amandine for Julia.

I talk about the influence of Julia Child on French cooking in America, Jack discusses freshwater fish, and Adam reviews bench scrapers.

Then, finally, Ashley makes lentils du Puy for Bridget.

That's all right here on "Cook's Country."

♪♪ -Trout amandine is a classic French dish, and though it may sound a little intimidating, it is actually incredibly easy to make for a weeknight dinner.

And today, Christie is gonna show us how.

-It's so easy, Julia.

It's all technique.

We're talking about pan-fried trout with a really delicious, buttery, brown butter sauce.

-And I love that you're using trout, because cod and salmon get all the love, but trout is delicious.

-It's really easy.

It's simple.

And it's actually a very forgiving fish.

So, I have four fillets of freshwater trout.

They're skin-on, 4 to 6 ounces each.

-They're gorgeous.

-They're really beautiful.

And this is a moist, tender, flaky fish.

It's so nice in this.

Now, you can find saltwater trout.

We don't want to use that.

-Different animal.

-Right.

Looks more like salmon and cooks totally differently.

I'm just gonna pat these dry because we're gonna be pan-frying, so we want to get rid of any excess moisture.

-That's right.

-Aren't they beautiful?

-They're gorgeous.

-And we're using skin-on fillets because that's actually gonna help protect the fish and maintain its structure while it's cooking.

-That makes sense.

Plus it's tasty.

-[ Laughs ] And now I'm going to season it all over.

I've combined a teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper.

So I'm seasoning this all over, because a lot of people love to eat the skin, too.

This will get nice and crisp.

While these are beautiful, they're also quite lean.

And so the problem with pan-frying trout is that it's hard to get them browned before they get overcooked.

-Yep.

-So we're gonna dredge these.

Just a light dredge of flour just to give them a little extra coating, because this flour is actually going to brown before the fish does.

It'll give us some nice brown color, toasty flavor, and it'll also actually act almost like a shield between the heat of the skillet and the flesh of the fish.

-Yeah, and it's a classic French technique that is often used on thin pieces of fish or chicken or veal.

Again, it's a nice protective layer, but it tastes good when it's good and brown.

-And this is just about 1/4 cup of flour in here.

We don't need very much.

You just want to have a nice shallow bowl or dish like this so that we can get good coverage.

All right.

So we've got four lovely, floured fillets.

Now I just have to clean up and we can start cooking.

-Great.

-Julia, I'm gonna start with one tablespoon of vegetable oil, and I'll heat this over medium heat.

-I love that you're using nonstick, because it is brilliant when cooking fish so the fish doesn't stick to the pan, which is a classic problem.

-Right.

The skin is gonna tighten up, and with the flour on it, it'll help with the release.

But we don't want to take any chances.

So we'll just let that heat up until it's just smoking.

In the meantime, I can put together some of the ingredients for my sauce.

So I'm gonna zest my lemon first.

-And how much volume are you looking for?

-About 2 teaspoons.

And the zest is so important because that's where all the really good lemon flavor is.

So we're not skimping on this.

So I'm just going to give this a little roll, loosen up those juices.

-Yep.

Get those juices flowing before you cut it open.

-And now we'll juice this.

I need 4 teaspoons of lemon juice.

All right.

So I need 4 teaspoons.

One.

Two.

All right.

And then the final thing.

I have some parsley.

I have fresh parsley.

I've picked the leaves, and now I just want to give it a chop.

And this will just add some nice freshness to finish the dish.

I need 2 tablespoons.

There's one.

Oh, that's pretty good.

Julia, the oil's nice and hot, so we can start pan-frying that fish.

So, we're only gonna do two fillets at a time.

We don't want to overcrowd the pan.

And we're gonna start this with the skin side down.

[ Oil crackling ] Now, this will happen pretty quickly.

We're just working on getting some golden-brown color on the skin and helping it crisp a little bit.

This will only take about two to four minutes.

♪♪ -Americans have been interested in French cuisine since before we were officially a country.

But it wasn't until Julia Child started gracing television screens in the early 1960s that French cooking truly became mainstream in America.

"The French Chef" first aired on WGBH in 1962, and over the next three decades, Julia Child became a household name, with multiple cookbooks and television shows.

Julia's charm, distinctive voice, and ability to laugh at her own kitchen mistakes made French cooking seem approachable for American audiences.

Other chefs and food writers followed her example, spreading the gospel of French cuisine.

Craig Claiborne, Jacques Pépin, Alice Waters, and Richard Olney all made careers teaching Americans to cook French food.

And today at "Cook's Country," we continue Julia Child's proud tradition of taking the fear out of French cooking with our easy and fail-proof version of trout amandine.

♪♪ -Ooh.

That smells good, Christie.

-Doesn't it?

-Yeah.

-You can see the edge of the browning.

I think we're there.

Now, now you can use a helper spatula if you want.

This is pretty firm, so it's not too hard to flip it on its own.

-Oh, goodness!

-Ah.

Look at that.

-That is picture perfect.

-That is gorgeous.

-Oh!

-Nice, flavorful browning.

We're just gonna cook the other side until the flesh is opaque and it's just starting to get some nice golden color.

It's been a minute on the second side, so we'll take a little peek.

-Oh!

-Look at that.

I'm just gonna flip it so you can see it.

Isn't that beautiful?

-Gorgeous.

-So it's nice and opaque.

It's starting to get golden.

That's all the color we need, so we'll get this out of the pan.

And I am gonna put it skin side down.

While the skin is nice and brown, we didn't really get to cook it long enough for the skin to become super crispy.

So we're not focusing on that as much as this golden, beautiful color.

Now I'm just going to heat another tablespoon of oil.

That'll heat up in no time because our pan is nice and hot now.

Okay.

Now we're gonna do the same thing with the second batch.

[ Oil crackling ] -Mmm.

Good enough to eat.

-[ Laughs ] Good enough to eat just like that.

But we're gonna up the ante a little bit, and we're gonna make a beautiful amandine.

I have 8 tablespoons of unsalted butter, and I've cut these into eight pieces so it'll melt pretty quickly.

Now I'm gonna cook this until we have some nice golden-brown color.

The trick, though, with a brown butter, especially in a dark skillet like this, is that, first of all, you want to be stirring it constantly so any of those milk solids don't burn.

But it's helpful to use a light or a white spatula so that you can kind of gauge the color on the spatula, 'cause you really can't see it.

-Yeah.

That's very clever.

-So we don't want to take the butter all the way to brown brown because we have to cook our nuts.

You got to do a little digging.

You see the flecks?

-Yep.

-Golden brown.

So now I'm adding 1/2 cup of sliced almonds.

And you definitely want to start with raw almonds here, because if you started with toasted, they'll get too dark.

These are gonna toast and become nice and golden brown in about two minutes, maybe.

And you want to be either stirring the butter or swirling your pan just to make sure there's movement and we don't have anything sticking.

-Mmm.

Butter-toasted almonds.

-Mmm!

So good.

-So good.

-So, I'm gonna quickly add -- but carefully add -- my final ingredients.

So that was that 4 teaspoons of lemon juice and 2 teaspoons of lemon zest.

-Ooh!

That's a lot of flavor.

-Mm.

Love it.

And then 1/4 teaspoon of table salt.

-Right, 'cause it was unsalted butter.

-Right.

All right.

Oh, my goodness.

Look at this!

-Oh!

Gorgeous.

-Has this whole dish taken us more than 15 minutes?

-No.

I mean, it's so incredibly easy.

-Whew.

Okay.

So we're just gonna pour this right over the fish.

-Oh, goodness!

-You know, "amandine" means to garnish with almonds, and we have fully garnished this fish.

-Oh!

That's gorgeous.

-Now we'll just sprinkle some of that fresh parsley on top.

-Oh, Christie, that is just beautiful.

Almost don't want to eat it.

Almost.

-[ Laughs ] Let's not kid ourselves.

Let me serve you.

-Ohh!

-It's just so elegant-looking.

-It is really elegant-looking.

A little bit of that beurre noisette, or that brown butter.

-I mean, does this look like a weeknight meal?

-No.

All right.

I'm going right into the thick part of the fish.

Get some almond, some butter.

Mmm!

That is delicious!

-Mm-hmm.

You taste the trout, but you also get that hit of brown butter with the almond and then lemon zing.

Perfectly balanced flavor.

-It doesn't overwhelm the fish.

-Mnh-mnh.

-It's a mild fish.

-Mm-hmm.

-I think that a brown butter sauce is rich, but it doesn't have a super strong flavor.

No.

-And it just plays so nicely with the lean texture of the fish.

-Yeah.

That's right.

And the skin -- It's perfectly cooked.

Christie, this is trout perfection.

Thank you.

-Thank you.

-If you want to make this showstopping recipe for trout, start by using skin-on fillets of freshwater trout.

Dredge them quickly in flour before sautéing, and make a quick brown-butter sauce with almonds.

From "Cook's Country," a recipe simple enough for the weeknight but elegant enough for company -- trout amandine.

I'm definitely making this.

-[ Laughs ] -This is incredible.

-This is a keeper.

-Yeah.

♪♪ -Freshwater fish are a great option.

Number one, they tend to be less expensive than ocean fish.

Number two, they tend to have a milder flavor.

So for picky eaters who don't like fishy fish, freshwater may be a good option.

I'm gonna start here with trout, and this is rainbow trout.

You can see it's got this kind of speckled skin here.

And trout that spends its entire life in freshwater -- and this is from Idaho, so it doesn't get into the ocean -- tends to have a lighter color.

And it can be called rainbow trout, brook trout, lake trout, and the flesh is white or maybe a light yellow.

For the orange flesh -- this is steelhead, and you see the skin on this -- this is a fish that is born in freshwater rivers, goes out to sea, and then comes back to the rivers to spawn.

It has a stronger flavor than the rainbow, but not as strong as salmon, which is its cousin.

Next up -- catfish.

Now, catfish really needs a reputation overhaul.

First of all, it is not muddy-tasting.

Yes, some imports from Asia that are wild-caught may not be great, but the farmed fish that you buy that's raised in the United States is clean, beautiful, it's inexpensive, it's mild, it's got a great texture.

Fry it or sauté it.

And finally, the last thing on the table is the tilapia.

And I'm probably the most excited about the tilapia because it's widely available.

In fact, it's now the number-four most popular seafood in the U.S. after shrimp, tuna, and salmon.

And it's meaty.

It's got a sort of mild flavor like flounder, but it's inexpensive.

It's maybe $9 or $10 a pound.

Those other fish that it's compared to -- let's say red snapper or flounder or branzino -- often are twice as much.

And when we did a blind taste test of all these mild whitefish, it came in second, right behind haddock, and beat those other fish I mentioned, including flounder, as our favorite.

So tilapia is something you should definitely consider when you're shopping for fish.

In fact, all of these freshwater fish prove there are plenty of options that aren't just swimming in the sea.

♪♪ -It's like a snowplow after the blizzard.

A dough scraper, or a bench scraper, can clear off any kitchen countertop in seconds.

Great tool to have.

Everyone should have one at home.

And Adam's here.

He's gonna tell us all about them.

-These things are so useful.

Of course, they were designed originally to help pastry chefs and bakers handle big chunks of dough or rolled-out pastry.

We use them for a lot of other tasks as well.

Speaking of the snowplow task, if you have a bunch of chopped vegetables or some grated ingredients or something on a cutting board and you have to get it into a bowl or into a pan, use this as a scoop, like that.

-Much better than using a knife.

-A lot of people will drag their blade across the cutting board, which just dulls it that much faster.

These are also great for cutting soft ingredients like butter, which you show us that.

-Exactly.

Fantastic.

And you can actually get measurements, so you can cut it into one-inch pieces, half-inch pieces, however you want.

-And you just go straight down.

It's easy to handle.

-Or you can do this.

-You know, we also use them to cut like baked goods, such as brownies or blondies.

We use them to level off dry ingredients in a dry measuring cup.

They're just really good multi-use tools.

-Right.

-So we tested nine of them.

The price range was $3 up to $20.

Most of them, as you can see, have stainless-steel blades.

There were two that had plastic blades.

Testers actually much preferred the stainless-steel blades because if you're cutting through a big chunk of dough, it's more rigid and it just makes for a surer cut.

-Absolutely.

-Some of them had slightly thinner cutting edges, these front edges.

Around 1/2 millimeter was the sweet spot -- that or less.

In terms of the shape, testers really preferred these rectangular ones as opposed to something that was tapered, like this.

Just because if you're using it to move vegetables, things could sort of fall off the back.

-Makes sense.

-They also liked a bigger size.

A lot of these were around five to six inches.

You can see this one was just 4 3/4 inches.

And, obviously, with a bigger dough scraper, you can carry more stuff, you can cut larger swaths of things.

In terms of the handles, these two had softer plastic handles.

Very comfortable.

Try that.

But testers found over time they got a little sticky and they tended to hold on to flour and crumbs.

They were a little harder to clean.

That one is also a little bulkier, so it was slightly less comfortable for the wide range of hand sizes.

This is a harder plastic.

It's also grippy.

It's also textured, and it's a lot easier to clean.

That one is also a little bit thinner.

A lot of testers found it more comfortable.

-Yeah, especially with the thinner handles, when you're going to scrape, you're not gonna scrape your knuckles.

-Exactly.

Exactly.

It's all about knuckle preservation.

And this one actually is the winner.

This is the Dexter-Russell Sani-Safe 6x3" dough scraper and cutter.

A little less than $14.

We have a fleet of these in the test kitchen.

Everyone should have at least one of these.

-I cannot agree with you more.

These are great to have multiples on hand.

They make great gifts too.

And our winner is the Dexter-Russell Sani-Safe 6x3" dough cutter/scraper, and it retails for just under $14.

♪♪ Today we're cooking with some very special lentils from France called lentils du Puy, or, as they say, lentilles du Puy.

Now, in order for them to be labeled as such, they have to be grown in Le Puy-en-Velay, which is a town in southern central France.

Gorgeous there, I've heard.

I'd like to go there myself.

But the lentils are worth seeking out no matter where you are because they're a little bit creamy, they've got a beautiful mineral flavor to them.

And Ashley's here, and she's gonna show us how to cook them.

-These lentils, Bridget, are the caviar of lentils.

-Nice.

-I know.

As you can imagine, they are definitely a little bit more on the expensive side, only if you compare them to your regular green, yellow, or brown lentils.

But it's worth every penny, because they get super silky in texture when they're cooked, yet they maintain that round shape.

-All right.

They're becoming more well known here, too.

So they're becoming easier to find.

-Which is great.

-Yeah, it sure is.

-So I'm gonna start, just like in France, with a mirepoix.

All right.

So for finely chopping, I'm just gonna hold my hand flat on the top of the onion, and I'm gonna make my horizontal cuts.

And then I'm gonna make some smaller vertical cuts here.

-All right.

So you're making a pretty small chop there.

-I'm finely chopping it because the lentils are so beautiful and small and I want everything to cook at the same rate and be beautiful to look at.

So nice and small and uniform in size.

We're gonna need about 1/2 cup of the finely chopped onion.

I'm just gonna square off the tips.

So this is peeled, and I'm just going to slice it in half.

So I'm just going to cut this into, I'd say, thirds and then run my knife this way.

-Lovely.

-That's 1/4 cup of the finely chopped carrots.

-All right.

So 1/2 cup of the onion, 1/4 cup of carrots.

-Got it.

-And then again, we're gonna do 1/4 cup of celery.

So you'll notice I'm just cutting these into about 4- to 5-inch pieces.

And that's just because it's enough length for me to be able to control my knife and cut them into finely chopped pieces.

-Lovely.

-Yeah.

The oil is shimmering now.

I always know it's shimmering when I see just the ripples forming on the outer part of the pan.

-Yes.

A little spider-webby.

-Mm!

I like that.

I'm just gonna add our vegetables, our mirepoix.

Here I have 1/2 teaspoon of some salt, and I'm just gonna cook this over the medium heat for about five minutes, and what I'm looking for is just for the vegetables to become softened.

-Okay.

-And the salt there is gonna help not only for seasoning, of course, but it's also gonna help to draw out some of that moisture from the onions, especially.

And that's gonna help to kind of get them to soften as well.

[ Oil sizzling ] I'd say these vegetables look good in softened.

-Beautifully softened.

-And it's almost time to add the lentils.

But I did just want to mention that it's important to rinse your lentils before you cook with them.

And also just take a good look through lentils just to make sure that there aren't any stones hanging out in there or some debris.

-Okay.

-All right.

So this is one cup of lentils.

And then I'm gonna add some chicken broth.

This is 2 cups.

You could, of course, use vegetable broth here.

All right.

So I'm gonna bring this to a simmer.

All right.

We're at a simmer now.

I'm just gonna cover the pan.

I'm gonna reduce the heat to medium low and cook these for about 30 minutes.

What I'm gonna be looking for at that stage is just for the lentils to be tender.

But I want them to still be holding on to their shape.

Now, if you notice at that time that the saucepan is getting a little dry, you can add a little bit more liquid.

Just make sure it's 1/4 cup of hot liquid, but just don't add too much.

Just do a little bit at a time.

Let's take a look at the lentils.

Again, they've been going for about 30 minutes.

-Look how lovely.

-Let's see.

Like caviar.

-Oh, yeah.

Beautiful.

-Mm-hmm.

Thank you.

All right.

I'm gonna take a little taste just to make sure they're tender.

-That is the best way.

Yep.

-Mm-hmm.

-Perfect.

-Okay.

-Okay.

Not done yet.

Two finishing touches.

I've got 2 ounces, which is also 2 cups, of baby spinach.

And finally, I have some Dijon mustard.

It's 2 tablespoons.

And this is one of those unsung-hero ingredients in this specific recipe because it really does add some creaminess, and it adds a ton of acidity and a good punch.

But it's not gonna hit you over the head when you're eating this.

-I love this idea because if you think about things like beans, legumes, pulses, like lentils here, anything that you're cooking for a while, it's always nice to add a little bit of a bright note at the end.

-Mm-hmm.

-Yeah.

So mustard will do that.

-And then I'm gonna cover it one more time and let this sit off heat for about five minutes.

-Okay.

-Let's see.

Beautiful.

-Lovely.

-Five minutes was all that spinach needed.

That looks delicious.

I'm so excited for you to try these lentils.

-You know, there's just enough starch in the lentils, too, to kind of make it a nice, creamy, brothy base there.

-Definitely.

-And the mustard as well.

-Bridget, let me serve you.

Yum, yum.

This is one of those recipes that is definitely hearty.

-Yes.

-Final touch is a little crème fraîche.

-Mmm!

-Super luxurious.

-Oh, beautiful!

So another tangy, bright note at the end.

-Exactly.

And just going to add a lovely creaminess in here.

And if you can't find crème fraîche, sour cream works perfectly as well.

-Okay.

Well, if your market's got lentils du Puy, I'm pretty sure it's got crème fraîche.

[ Both laugh ] This looks absolutely beautiful.

I love meals like this.

-Mmm.

-Mmm.

Mmm!

They are like no other lentil out there.

They really are.

Beautiful, creamy texture.

-Mm-hmm.

Silky.

-Really, really silky.

Buttery, almost.

-Yes.

-The mirepoix... -Mm-hmm.

-...the lentils themselves, and then that Dijon mustard.

-The spinach in there not only adds some beautiful green color, but it just adds some freshness and just a little bit of extra kind of texture in there as well.

-It's so elegant and yet really, really simple.

-Thank you.

-You're welcome.

-You're the best.

So why don't you try your hands at making lentils du Puy at home?

It starts with sautéing mirepoix.

Then simmer with lentils and broth.

Fold in fresh spinach and a little mustard and finish with a dollop of crème fraîche.

So from "Cook's Country," a very French recipe for lentils du Puy with spinach and crème fraîche.

You can get this recipe and all the recipes from this season along with product reviews and select episodes.

And those are all on our website.

That's CooksCountry.com/TV.

♪♪ Mmm!

You know what'd be good with this?

-Mm-hmm?

-Caviar.

-Now you're talking.

-Oui, oui.

-Mm-hmm.

-Visit our website, where you can sign up for the free "Cook's Country" e-mail newsletter for even more of the recipes and stories you love from the magazine and the TV show -- CooksCountry.com/cooks.

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