America's Test Kitchen

-Today on "America's Test Kitchen," Becky makes Bridget hearty tartiflette, Jack talks all about mushrooms, and Bridget and Julia make paniscia.

It's all coming up right here on "America's Test Kitchen."

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-I'm not much of a skier, but I do love a good aprs-ski.

The food, the beverages, oh, so tasty.

And I'm really excited because Becky's here, and she's got what might be the apex of all aprs-ski recipes.

Straight from the French Alps, it's tartiflette.

-Oh, this is such a good one, Bridget.

We're going to combine potatoes, wine... -Mm.

Mm!

-...bacon, cream, and lots and lots of cheese.

-All the food groups wrapped into one dish.

-So good.

And it's pretty easy, too.

So let's start with the potatoes.

-Okay.

-Tartiflette is typically made with a moderately waxy potato.

So we're choosing Yukon Golds.

-Okay, great.

-I'm just going to cut them into 1/4-inch half moons.

Okay.

I've got 1 3/4 pounds of potatoes here.

And I have a steamer basket going, and the water is just coming up to a boil.

There is water just beneath the bottom of that steamer basket.

-Okay.

-We're going to steam the potatoes rather than boil them so they won't be waterlogged.

-Okay.

-And we'll put them in here for about 17 minutes.

They'll be cooking more in the casserole.

So we just want them until a paring knife just meets a little bit of resistance, till they're just done.

-Okay.

-All right.

So let this go 15 to 17 minutes, and then we'll come back.

-Great.

-Okay.

It's been about 15 minutes.

Let's take a peek at the potatoes.

They look good.

I'm just going to check them with a paring knife.

And, yeah, the paring knife goes in just -- I can feel they have a little bit longer to go, but that's exactly what I want.

-Okay.

-Turn that heat off.

Now I'm going to take the potatoes out, and I'm just going to pull them out onto a plate here so they can cool off a little bit.

-Okay.

-We're gonna let them cool down for about 10 minutes, and while they cool, we'll start working on the next component, which is some bacon.

-I've been standing guard.

-That's right.

Would you turn on the heat to medium for me there?

-Gladly.

-I have six slices of thick-cut bacon cut into 1/2-inch pieces.

And we're just going to cook these up until they get nice and chewy-crispy.

That'll take about 5 minutes.

All right, it's 5 minutes and we can smell that delicious bacon.

So I have a paper towel-lined plate.

We'll set these aside.

We'll come back to these later.

-Okay.

-Now, I want to leave about 2 tablespoons of bacon fat in the skillet.

I'm just going to spoon a little bit off.

All right.

That's looks good.

-Great.

Now, over a medium heat, if you want turn the heat back on... -You got it.

-...I've got one onion that's chopped up fine.

We'll put that onion into that delicious bacon fat and add 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

-Great.

-They're going to get nice and soft and a little bit brown.

That's going to take about 7 minutes.

All right.

More good smells.

-Mm-mm!

-It's been about 7 minutes.

So I'm going to add 2 1/2 teaspoons of fresh thyme.

I'm adding 2 cloves of minced garlic.

And we'll just cook this for about 2 minutes until it gets nice and aromatic.

All right.

It's been 2 minutes.

I'm really starting to smell all those great smells again.

-It is bacon, onion, thyme, garlic.

Come on.

-I know.

Let's go.

[ Laughs ] Now I have half a cup of dry white wine.

-Mm!

-And this is a really rich dish, so it's nice to have the acidity in there to kind of cut through all that.

So we want this to reduce by about half.

It's going to take about 2 minutes.

-Okay.

-All right.

It's been about 2 minutes.

You can see that wine is reducing down.

Let's kill the heat.

That part is done.

Thank you.

-You bet.

-And now I have 1/2 cup of heavy cream.

And not all recipes call for cream, but, I mean, a little cream and potatoes, you can't go wrong.

-All recipes, period, should call for cream.

-I agree, Bridget, I agree.

So have a cup of the cream, 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, and 3/4 teaspoon of salt.

-Okay.

-So now let's take our potatoes and let's mix them up with this delicious mixture that we've made.

So gently stir them.

All right.

I think these potatoes are pretty happy now.

They're coated in this delicious mixture.

All right.

So I have an 8 x 8 baking dish, and I sprayed it with a little vegetable oil spray.

-Great.

-So nothing will stick.

I'm going to put half of the mixture into the dish.

-And I'll take the other half out to my car.

-[ Laughing ] To your car?

-Sure.

-Okay.

-Mama needs a snack on her way home.

-All right.

And here's that bacon that we cooked.

I'm going to add half of the bacon.

Sprinkle that over the top.

Now the rest of the potatoes.

All right.

That's looking pretty good, Bridget.

-We're a few blocks past pretty good.

-[ Chuckles ] Here comes the rest of that bacon.

Now, just like that would be good enough, but we're not stopping there.

It's time for the cheese.

We're going to use one of my absolute favorite cheeses.

It's called Harbison.

-Okay.

-And it's amazing.

It's nutty.

It's milky.

Super creamy.

-Super creamy!

-So I want to have the cheese horizontally here.

-Good, 'cause there's two of us.

-That's right.

4 ounces each.

-Oh, my gosh!

-This is a gooey one.

And this is nice and ripe.

-Oh, yes!

-Now I'm going to cut this into 3/4-inch pieces.

Kind of good to go just a couple of cuts each direction.

And now this is gooey, as you can see.

We want to arrange the cheese rind side up on the casserole.

So I'm just going to use a bench scraper here.

Kind of dot it over the casserole.

Pieces like that.

-You are kidding me.

-I'm not messing around today, Bridget.

We've had a long day on the slopes.

Yeah, so the entire wheel of cheese is going to go on top here.

-[ Fake crying ] It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!

-[ Laughs ] That looks pretty good to me, Bridget.

All we need to do now is put it in a 400-degree oven on the middle rack for about 20 minutes, and then we're in business.

-Yes.

-Thank you.

-Ooh.

Ooh!

-It's all bubbly.

It's brown.

[ Laughs ] [ Both chuckle ] All right, that looks amazing.

We're going to let it cool just 10 minutes.

-In 10 minutes, we're diving into that thing big time.

-All right, The time has come.

It's been 10 minutes.

So let's do it.

-I'm just so happy.

-Yeah!

-What?

-Now, if the bacon and the cheese and the cream wasn't enough, we're going to just add a little crme fraiche on the top here.

What do you think?

-Sure, why not?

Yeah.

-[ Laughing ] That was easy.

-I've got some butter in my purse.

Hang on just a second.

-All right.

Bon apptit, my friend.

-Thank you!

Ah.

-That's what I'm doing.

I'm getting, like, every little bit with a little bit of the crme fraiche on there.

Got to get it all together.

You okay?

[ Laughing ] Yeah.

-None of the ingredients were out of reach.

They're all very simple.

Beautiful cheese, the potatoes, the bacon, the onion, the cream, the wine.

But it is -- It's a masterpiece.

-That's the word.

-This is all I've ever really wanted.

-Yeah.

-I'm in love.

And I don't care who knows it.

-[ Laughs ] Oh, I've made you so happy, Bridget.

It makes me really happy.

-Becky, I can't thank you enough for introducing me to this wondrous dish.

-It's really been my pleasure.

-And you're going to want to make this beautiful tartiflette at home for yourself.

And it starts by steaming Yukon Gold potatoes with their skins on, cook thick-cut bacon to infuse the dish with lots of smoky flavor, and top with a creamy Camembert, Taleggio, or Becky's favorite, Harbison cheese.

Don't forget to bake it until it's bubbling and creamy and golden brown, and, yes, okay.

So, from "America's Test Kitchen," the ultimate in aprs-ski dining -- I'm going to call it breakfast -- it's tartiflette.

[ Chuckles ] I'm going to call it lunch, too.

-Oh, yeah.

-One of the secrets of being a great cook is being a great shopper.

And, so, when I'm in the supermarket, I'm that guy willing to go there.

And when it comes to mushrooms, the most important characteristic is how they smell.

So you're going to see me... [ Inhales ] Yeah, that's what I do in the supermarket aisle, and I get some looks.

The reason I'm doing this is not just 'cause it's a little bit funny, but you can actually smell the difference between a good mushroom and a not-so-good mushroom.

They should be earthy and sweet, and if you get any sour or fishy notes -- and you often will -- it's a sign the mushroom is beginning to go off.

You also want to make sure that there are no dry or discolored parts of the mushroom.

You can do that by just looking.

When you get your mushrooms home, don't tie them up into a plastic bag.

You know, you want to buy them loose so you can smell them, but then keep that bag open in the refrigerator so that the ethylene gas that they release can escape and will slow down the rotting process.

'Cause mushrooms are really delicate and they're not going to last all that long, but they will last a little longer if you keep the bag open.

Now, there are a lot of beautiful mushrooms on the table.

I want to tell you about each one of them and how I cook with them at home.

So, the most boring and the basic is the button mushroom.

They're kind of an okay texture.

Not much flavor, but they're fine.

I actually think the cremini are a step up.

They've got an earthier flavor.

These are actually small portobellos and are kind of my default basic house mushroom when you come to the Bishop household.

Next up, we've got the big boys.

These are the portobellos.

You don't need to buy them with the stems 'cause you're just going to get rid of them.

So if you just see caps, that's fine.

Probably the most important thing about the portobellos is, when you get home, you can't wash them.

Now, despite what a lot of sources say, you can wash a button mushroom or cremini mushroom, but mushrooms with a lot of exposed gills -- and you're going to see here there's a lot of gills on this mushroom -- it's going to soak up so much water.

So, instead, you really want to take a pastry brush, kind of just brush the dirt off.

You'll be fine.

If you want to get a damp paper towel, you can certainly do that, but don't wash the portobellos.

Same thing goes with the shiitakes.

So these also have a lot of gills and will soak up water.

And so they're better just cleaned with a paper towel.

They're usually very clean and not as dirty as the portobellos.

You're going to get rid of the stems here.

They're really very tough and woody, and the caps, you want to make sure that they're nice and thick.

And this little curl is a sign of freshness.

Now let me tell you a little bit about some of the more unusual and exciting mushrooms here on the table.

Up front, we have oyster mushrooms, and as the name implies, they're actually a little bit briny and super savory.

Back here, these are king oyster mushrooms.

Yeah, they get their name 'cause they're super big.

The texture is amazing.

They are the best mushroom as a centerpiece for a vegetarian meal.

Morels.

These are actually fresh morels.

Now, they're a little bit spongy, a little bit nutty.

I love them.

Little critters like to hide in them, so you want to kind of go like this, shake them out, and make sure that there's nobody living in there.

Nobody's home.

So that's a good thing.

Over here, we've got maitaki, also known as hen-of-the-woods.

They have a very feathery light texture, a little bit of a smoky flavor.

They're lovely sauted.

Sauting is also what you want to do -- and preferably with some good butter -- with the chanterelles.

Now, the chanterelles have a bit of fruitiness to them that just is delightful.

Keep it simple.

The mushrooms are the star there.

Up front, we have the enoki.

Now, these have a crisp texture and a very mild flavor.

I actually think that they don't need to be cooked.

I use them instead of croutons as a garnish in hot soup.

And the warmth of the soup is going to soften them up just the right amount.

Finally, and certainly not least, we've got the wood ear mushrooms.

These are great in a stir fry because they're really tough in a good way, a little rubbery.

They've got real texture to them and a lovely, nutty flavor.

The wonderful world of mushrooms.

Don't be afraid to stick your nose in when you're at the supermarket.

-Today, Bridget's going to cook something for me that I've never eaten before.

It's a dish from Northern Italy called paniscia, and it's essentially rice and beans, right, Bridget?

-It is.

Well, it's more like as if minestrone and risotto had a baby.

-Ooh.

-Yeah.

And that baby was really good.

[ Both laugh ] -I'm in.

-This is such a fantastic dish.

I have to say, this is my new favorite risotto.

And I love risotto... -Yeah.

-...from all over Italy.

This one is really so special because it uses the ingredients from the area, which is the Piedmont region.

So we're going to start with our base.

So I've got 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil heating over medium heat until it's just simmering.

And it's just about there.

-Mm-hmm.

-Now, this is laced with a couple of pork products.

-That's why you like it.

-Exactly.

The first one is pancetta, which is salt-cured pork belly.

It's delicious, a little bit sweet.

And it's going to render into the oil here and give its flavor to the dish.

And it just really is such a special kind of meat.

I love it.

So this is about 3 minutes until we start to see the pancetta look a little crisp.

-All right.

-Mm!

Mm!

Mm!

Let me show you what we're working with here.

Our pancetta has some nice brown color.

-Goodness.

-Gorgeous.

-Sizzlin'.

-It's sizzling.

Got that peppery smell in there, too.

-Mm-hmm.

-All right, so our minestrone vegetables are going in.

I have one onion that I've chopped fine.

I've got one carrot.

-Mm-hmm.

-Also chopped fine, and a celery rib chopped fine.

Now, all of these are chopped fine because we want them really to be indistinguishable from the size of the rice later on.

We want all of this kind of meld together.

-Makes sense.

-I do want to season our mixture.

I've got 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper.

There we go.

Season the vegetables.

We're building kind of a minestrone base for our risotto at this point.

So I'm going to let this go, again over medium heat, until the vegetables are just nice and soft.

And that's going to take anywhere between 5 to 7 minutes.

Come over while we talk salami.

-More pork.

-More pork.

Yes.

This is a Genoa salami.

This is the kind that you find in the fancy cheese department, not the deli stuff, but you can use that.

This is a 9-inch stick.

I need about 6 ounces.

So I'm going to use about 2/3.

There, that looks like 2/3, doesn't it?

-Yep.

-I want to cut this into 1/4-inch pieces.

So a piece like this, I would cut lengthwise and then right across.

-So it's basically the same size as the vegetables in the pot?

-Yeah, just maybe a little bit bigger.

This is one of the stars of the show.

So we're going to highlight that.

So I'm going to finish cutting this.

Keep an eye on those.

Again, I'd say it probably has about 3 more minutes left.

-Okeydoke.

-These look great.

The vegetables are nice and soft.

-Mm-hmm!

-So we're really going to crank up some flavor here.

I've got 6 cloves of minced garlic.

-Not a small amount.

-No, no.

We're going to let this go until it's fragrant.

About 30 seconds or less.

Lovely.

I can smell it.

-Mm-hmm.

-Smelling great.

So in goes the star of the show, the risotto.

This is Arborio rice, 1 1/2 cups.

And the town of Arborio is actually in Piedmont.

-I never knew that.

-So this is rice coming home here.

So, before I let that go too far, I'm going to put in our salami.

Again, 6 ounces.

-[ Chuckles ] -There's a lot of flavor packed in here.

-Mm-hmm.

-But what I'm doing now is I'm making sure to toss the rice in the oil.

As you said, the fat from the salami is going to start to render out, too.

And we're looking for the edges of the rice to get a little translucent.

That should only take about 3 minutes.

And this is really to ready the rice to accept the liquid that's coming up.

-All right.

-It's been a few minutes here.

Let's check on the rice.

Again, we're looking for some translucency right around the edges.

-Mm-hmm.

-All right.

You ready for some big flavor?

-Yep.

-Here's one of the departures from some of the risotto I'm sure that you've had, and that is tomato paste.

-Hmm!

-2 tablespoons of tomato paste.

And I'm just going to cook this until the paste has lost some of its raw flavor.

That's just about a minute.

All right.

-I like the ingredient you have next.

-It's a cup of Hawaiian Punch.

[ Both laugh ] I've got a cup of dry red wine from the Piedmont region.

I'm going to stir this.

Oh, and that wine is going to start to reduce and be absorbed by the rice.

And that's going to take about 3 minutes.

Oh, look at that.

The wine is all absorbed into the rice.

-Oh!

-I know.

-The smell is heavenly.

-And that rice is starting to soften.

But now we're going to use that technique -- we use a lot with different risottos.

-Mm-hmm.

-And that's where we frontload the recipe with a lot of the liquid.

So this is 4 cups.

-Nice.

-4 cups of chicken broth.

I'm going to give it a stir here.

Now put a lid on it.

-I gotcha.

-Thank you.

And we're going to let this simmer for 10 minutes.

And of course, the risotto is not going to be done at that point.

But by frontloading all this liquid in here, as you know, it just allows all the rice to absorb liquid evenly.

-Mm-hmm.

-We don't have to worry about stirring it constantly.

So all it needs at this point is about 10 minutes, and halfway through, I'll go in and give it a stir.

I'm not going to open the lid.

Not yet.

Still has a couple of minutes left to go.

But I'm going to prep the next ingredient to go in, and that is cabbage.

-Cabbage.

-We're back to minestrone here.

-I did not see that coming.

-You did not see that coming.

Exactly.

This is just going to add a lovely green, crisp counterpoint.

So I'm going to cut this cabbage into 1/2-inch pieces.

What we're looking for is 4 cups of prepped cabbage here, just about 1/2-inch pieces.

-Okeydoke.

-Julia, please, if you would open the lid.

You've been dying to do it.

-No.

[ Both laugh ] -Oh!

Why I oughta!

-Oh, my goodness, Bridget, that smells delicious.

-Isn't it incredible?

-Oh, goodness.

-Again, that was 10 minutes.

Rice has started to absorb some of that liquid in there, but it's awfully soupy at this point.

We're not done.

So I'm going to go ahead and add the 4 cups of chopped cabbage.

So I'm just tossing this cabbage right in there, gently folding it in.

And if you could put the lid back on for me, we're going to let this go another 6, maybe 9 minutes until most of that liquid has been absorbed by the rice.

The cabbage is going to get nice and soft.

And we're not even done yet.

Let's take a look and see what's going on here.

Oh, yeah.

-Oh-ho-ho.

-That was just 6 minutes, and you can see the cabbage is softened and the rice really has absorbed all of that liquid.

You see, the bottom of the pan is just about dry -Mm-hmm.

-...when I scooch away the food.

All right.

So, now another Piedmont region ingredient that they often use is borlotti beans or cranberry beans.

-Mm-hmm.

-They're great.

And if we were making a minestrone with dried beans, that might be an option for us.

But it's kind of hard to find canned cranberry beans.

So we're going with pinto beans, which have a similar color.

They have a nice, creamy texture.

This is one 15-ounce can of pinto beans that we've rinsed.

And, so, this is the beans, the cabbage, the rice.

And at this point, I'm going to add some water in here.

There's tons of flavor in there.

-Yes, there is.

-We don't need to add any more chicken broth.

This is one cup of hot water.

Just adding at this point to loosen the mixture.

I'm going to stir it constantly for about 3 minutes until it's all nice and creamy.

A few minutes of stirring.

Look at how creamy that's looking.

-Mm-hmm.

-Oh, I think we're done at this point.

A few more additions later on, but for now, put a lid on it, please.

-Okeydoke.

-I'm going to let this for about 5 minutes.

The rice is going to continue to absorb some of that liquid in there, and it's just all the flavors are going to meld together.

It's almost tasting time.

Oh, there we go.

So a couple of finishes here.

One is pretty traditional.

It's 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter.

And this is a 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan.

I would use something like a Parmigiano-Reggiano because it's fancy and we're special.

And this was a departure, the adding the cheese.

There's not a lot of cheese added to this, but we found that that little bit just really brought it all together and, my gosh, we're worth it.

-[ Laughs ] -All right.

So, that butter is all melted in there.

Doesn't that look delightful now?

It's looking a little thick, so I have a bit more hot water here.

You can add up to a cup more of hot water.

I'm just going to add a little bit at a time just to loosen up the risotto.

All right.

This is looking gorgeous, and it will continue to set up.

All right.

To finish off, a little seasoning.

Any time you have long-cooked things, a little bit of brightness at the end is great.

This is 2 teaspoons of red wine vinegar.

-Oh, nice.

-Just adding that into perk things up.

All right, Now I am going to taste it because I can.

-[ Laughs ] Does it pass?

-It passes.

All right, so let me dole this out here.

-I am so excited to try this.

I've never tasted anything like this before.

Risotto with beans and cabbage, two types of pork.

-And your favorite ingredient.

-Mm-hmm.

-Red wine.

-Yep.

-All right, One final flourish.

Italian parsley.

Flat leaf parsley, of course.

Just a little bit, right over the top.

-Bridget, I have never been so excited to eat a bowl of risotto in my life.

-[ Chuckles ] It keeps coming and coming There are so many layers of flavor.

You know, I got the vinegar and the butter.

-Mm.

-The pancetta.

And then, the wine, and then, the salami.

-Mm-hmm.

-Wow.

-But I love the creamy beans with the rice.

-Mm-hmm.

-Beans and rice, perfect anytime.

They're gorgeous here.

-Mm!

This is delicious.

You think it would have an overwhelmingly rich flavor that would really coat your mouth.

It doesn't.

The vinegar and the wine really cut right through it.

-Yeah.

That wine is a super ingredient.

-It is.

I agree.

With every bite, I'm tasting something different.

I love this, Bridget.

-This is warm in a bowl.

-Goodness, Bridget, thank you for showing me how to make this.

This is delicious.

-It was great making it with you.

-If you want to make this classic Piedmont dish, make a flavorful broth with pancetta, vegetables, and salami.

Cook the rice for 10 minutes before adding the beans.

And let the dish set off heat before adding the cheese.

From "America's Test Kitchen," a Piedmont classic, paniscia.

You can get this recipe and all the recipes from this season, along with select episodes and our product reviews, at our website, americastestkitchen.com/tv.

Mm, mm, mm, mm, mm!

-I know.

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