Image: Bain News Service, publisher · Public domain
French Country Cooking
- Year
- 1951
- Era
- 20th century
- Origin
- England · Europe
- Language
- English
- Category
- English 20th C
French Country Cooking, Elizabeth David's second volume, followed her landmark Mediterranean Food and consolidated her influence on postwar British cookery, introducing rationing-weary readers to the rustic regional dishes of provincial France. The first edition, issued by John Lehmann, is distinguished by the lively decorations of John Minton, whose drawings became closely associated with David's early work and helped define a new aesthetic for the English cookery book.
Cooking from this book
Poulet à l'estragon
Signature dishFew dishes capture the spirit of this book more vividly than chicken with tarragon, a classic of French provincial cooking that David presents with characteristic restraint and authority. Writing in postwar England, when cream, butter and fresh herbs felt almost unimaginable luxuries, she introduced readers to the fragrant simplicity of country kitchens across France. The dish became emblematic of her quiet revolution: a plea for honest ingredients, unfussy technique, and the civilising pleasure of a properly cooked bird.
An editorial note on a dish associated with this book, written for The Coquinist. It is not a reproduction of the book's recipe.
