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NAGE  An aromatic court-bouillon in which crayfish, langousters, small lobsters or scallops are cooked. They may be served either hot or cold in the cooking stock, which is either seasoned, or mixed with double (heavy) cream. Dishes prepared in this way are described  as a la nage (literally, swimming).

RECIPES

Crayfish a la nage

Prepare a nage as described, but keep it hot. Immerse 48 crayfish (either cleaned or not) in the boiling liquid and cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season  with a pinch of cayenne and leave the crayfish in the cooking stock until completely cold. Serve in a large bowl with the cooking stock.

   Alternatively drain the crayfish and prepare a sauce by reducing the cooking stock and stirring in some butter. Pour the sauce over the crayfish and sprinkle with chopped parsley. This method is described as a la litegeoise.

Nage of scallops with lemon thyme

Remove 2.5 kg (5 ½ lb) carefully cleaned scallops from their shells. Remove their beards. Wash again several times and put in the refrigerator. Finely snip a bunch of cives and dice the flesh of 1 lemon. Chop or dice 400 g (14 oz) carrots. 1 medium leek and 300 g (11 oz) celeriac or 2 celery sticks. Bring to the boil 400 ml (14 ft oz. 1 ¾ cups) fish stock, lightly seasoned with salt and pepper, with 200 ml (7 ft oz, ¾ cup) white wine. Add the vegetables, 4 sprigs lemon thyme and the lemon juice. Bring back to the boil, then reduce the heat. Add the scallops and 100 ml (4 ft oz. 7 tablespoons) double (heavy) cream and simmer gently for another 2 minutes (overcooked, the scallops would become hard).Remove from the heat discard the thyme sprigs, and incorporate the chives and diced lemon. Arrange the scallops in soup bowls, and garnish with chervil or parsley.

NALESNIKI  Stuffed pancakes from Russia or Poland. Soft cheese is a typical filling around which the pancakes are folded, then coated in egg and breadcrumbs or sometimes a thin batter and fried until crisp. The pancakes can also be stuffed with cabbage, chicken or meat and are a traditional accompaniment for borsch.

   Although usually savoury, nalesniki are served as a dessert when filled with sweetened soft cheese or jam.

NAN   Also known as naan, this Indian  bread is soft, flat, pear shaped and leavened. It is made from plain  wheat flour and cooked in a tandoor oven. The term comes from the Persian word for bread and this type of bread is common in many Central Asian countries, including Pakistan and Afghanistan.The precise flour mix shape and cooking method varies according to the country or  region of origin.

NANETTE  The name given to a classic dish of lamb cutlets, veal escalopes or calves sweetbreads, garnished with small artichoke hearts and mushroom caps braised in butter. The former are stuffed with a chiffornnade of lettuce in cream, the latter with a salpicon of truffles blended with a reduced demiglace.The dish is served with a sauce made from the pan juices deglazed with Marsala and blended with chicken  veloute, cream and concentrated chicken stock.

NANTAIS   A Breton cow’s milk cheese made with pressed curds (40% fat content) It has a smooth washed rind. The paste is springy to the touch, pale to deep yellow in colour, and has a pronounced flavour. Nantais is manufactured  in 9c cm (3 ½ in) squares, 4 cm (1 ½ in) deep. It is also known as Cure or Fromage du Cure because it was first made in the 19^th century by a priest from the Vendee.

RECIPE

Gateau nantais

Cream 150 g (5 oz. 2/3 cup) butter with a spatula. Mix 250 g (9 oz. 2 ¼ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour, 150 g 95 oz. 2/3 cup) sugar and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Add the butter 3 egg yolks, 1 tablespoon rum and 125 g (4 ½ oz. 1 cup) diced candied angelica.  Work these ingredients together to make a smooth paste, roll it into a ball, flatten it out with the palms of the hands, again roll into a ball, and leave in a cool place for 2 hours. Roll the paste out into a circle 2 cm ( ¾ in0 thick and place it on an oiled baking sheet. Mix 1 egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water and brush it over the surface of the gateau, Sprinkle with chopped almonds. Cook in a preheated oven at 200 ^oC (400 ^oF, gas 6) for 35 minutes.Serve when cold.

NANTAISE, A LA  The name given to various dishes served with a white wine sauce enriched with butter.Scallops a la mantaise are poached, sliced and then reheated in white wine together with poached oyster and mussels. They are then served in the scallops shells with the sauce poured over, and  glazed under the grill (broiler). Chopped mushrooms and peeled (shelled) shrimps coated with a mixture of veloute and hollandaise sauce can also be added. Grilled (broiled) fish a la nantaise is served with a sauce made with white wine and shallots and thickened with butter. Roast or braised meat a la nantaise is garnished with glazed turnips, garden peas and creamed potatoes.

RECIPE

Red mullet a la nantaise

Put 150 ml ( ¼ pint,  2/3 cup) white wine and 2 or 3 finely chopped shallots into a pan and boil down to reduce. Trim and gut (clean) 4 mullet., but do not remove the livers. Wipe the fish, season with salt and pepper, brush with oil and grill (broil). Then remove the livers from the fish mash them and beat them into the reduced sauce together with a few drops of lemon juice and about 50 g (2 oz. ¼ cup) butter. Pour the sauce into a long serving  dish and arrange the grilled mullet on top. Garnish with slices of lemon.

NANTES CAKE A small, round French cake flavoured with lemon or orange and cooked in a tin (pan) coated with slivered almonds.The baked cakes are glazed with apricot jam, iced (frosted) with fondant and dusted with coloured sugar grains.

RECIPE

Nantes Cakes

Cream 100 g(4 oz. ½ cup) butter, 100 g (4 oz. ½ cup) caster (superfine) sugar, a pinch of salt, ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) and the zest of 1 lemon or 1 orange until pale  and soft. Beat in 2 eggs and 125 g (4 ½ oz. 1 cup) sited plain (all-purpose) flour, beating the mixture well. Butter some tartlet moulds and sprinkle with silvered almonds. Pour in the mixture and cook in a preheated oven at 190 ^oC (c375 ^oF, gas 5) for about 20 minutes. Turn the cakes out on to a wine rack.Coat them with warmed apricot jam, then ice (frost) them with fondant flavoured with maraschino and dust with coloured sugar grains.

NANTUA, A LA The name given to various dishes containing crayfish or crayfish talks, either whole or in the form of a savoury butter a puree a mouse or a thick suace. These dishes often contain truffles as well. Nantua is a town in Bugery, with a centuries old reputation for gastronomy.

RECIPES

Fillets of sole Nantua

Poach some fillets of sole in a little court bouillon made with white wine or concentrated fish stock. Arrange them in a circle on a serving dish and garnish the centre of the circle with a ragout of crayfish tails. Coat with natua sauce and garnish with mushroom slices.

Nantua sauce

Make 200 ml (7 ft oz. ¾ cup) bechamel sauce.Add an equal volume of strained crayfish cooking liquor and single (light) cream. Boil to reduce by one third. While the liquid is boiling beat in 100 g (4 oz, ½ cup) crayfish butter 1 teaspoon brandy and a tiny pinch of cayenne pepper. Rub through a very fine sieve and use in the appropriate recipe.

NAPOLITAIN   A large cylindrical or hexagonal French cake with a hollow centre. It is made of layers and almond pastry sandwiched together with apricot jam, redcurrant jelly or other preserve, and usually lavishly decorated with marzipan (almond paste) and crystallized (candied) fruits. It was formerly used as the set piece of elaborate buffets. The name of the cake suggests that it originated form Naples., but it was more probably created by Careme, who  made a number of elaborate cakes for set pieces and named them himself.

  Although the large cake is rarely seen today, small biscuits as fonds napolitains are still made in France, they are decorated with butter cream or jam.

   Napolitain or neapolitan is the name given to very small tablets of fine, often bitter, chocolate served with coffee. Miniature bars of milk. Chocolate are also sold as neapolitans.

RECIPES

Napolitain cake

Pound 375 g (13 oz. 2 ½ cups) sweet almonds in a mortar, together with 5 g ( ¼ o 1 teaspoon) bitter mortar, together with 5 g ( ¼  oz, 1 teaspoon) bitter almonds, it desired. Gradually incorporate 1 egg white to prevent the almonds from becoming only. Then  add 200 g (7 oz. 1 cup) caster (superfine) sugar, the very finely grated zest of 1 lemon 250 g (9 oz. Generous 1 cup) softened butter and 500 g (18 oz. 4 ½ cups) sifted plain (all-purpose) flour. Work all the ingredients together in the mortar.Add 4 whole eggs, one by one, until dough is very smooth but still firm.

  Leave the dough in a cool place for 2 hours Then roll it out to a thickness of 1 cm (1/2 in) on a lightly oiled surface and cut out circles 20-25 cm lightly  oiled surface and cut out circles 20-25 cm (8-10 in) in diameter. Leaving  1 rounds whole, cut out the centres of the remaining rounds with  pastry (cookie) cutter 6 cm (2 ½ in) in diameter. Place all the rounds on a baking sheet, in batches if necessary, and bake in a preheated oven at 200 ^oC (400 ^oF gas 6) for 20-25 minutes.

   When completely cold, cover one of the whole rounds with very reduced sieved apricot jam, then build up the cake by placing the rounds with the centres cut out one on top of the other, covered each of them with apricot jam. Place the  remained whole round on the top and cover it with apricot the cake with marzipan (almond paste) or royal icing and decorate the top with rystallized apricot halves.

Napolitan biscuits

Rub 250 g (9 oz, generous 1 cup) chilled butter into 250 g (9 oz. 2 ¼ cups) plain a(all-purpose) flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add 250 g (9 oz. 1 generous cup)     caster (SUPERFINE) SUGAR, EGG YOLKS. Mix quickly without kneading and roll out to a thickness of about 1 cm (1/2 in) Cut into rounds with a pastry (cookie) cutter and bake in a preheated oven at 200 ^oC (400 ^oF, gas 6) for about 10 minutes. Decorate the biscuits (cookies) with butter cream or jam when cold.

NAPOLITAINE, ALA   A method of serving buttered macaroni of spaghetti either a tomato sauce or with peeled, chopped and seeded tomatoes, sprinkled with grated cheese. It can be served either as a main dish or as an accompaniment to small cuts of meat.

NAPOLITAINE SAUCE  This sauce, invented by Careme, is made with horseradich, ham, Madona espagnole sauce, redcurrant jelly, raisins and candied citron.

    This sauce has nothing in common with Nepolitaine cooking, which is characterized by the famous pizzaiola sauce, consisting of peeled, chopped seeded tomatoes, garlic, basil or marjoram, and olive oil. It is served with pasta, grilled  dishes and pizzas.

RECIPE

Napolitaine sauce

Put 1 tablespoon grated horseradish, a little chopped lean ham, a seasoned bouquet, garni, a  little ground white pepper, some grated nutmeg and 120 ml (4 ½ ft oz. ½ cup) dry Madeira into a pan. Reduce over a very low heat. Remove the bouquet garni and stir in 2 tablespoons consomme and 2 tablespoons espagnole sauce. When the sauce has reduced, strain and reduce it again, gradually adding (120 ml (4 ½ ft oz ½ cup) Malaga and 3 tablespoons redcurrant jelly, just before serving add a little butter and game glaze.

   This sauce goes well with game and version. If well washed sultanas (seedless white raisins) are added, the sauce can be served with braized or roast fillet (sirloin) of beef a la napoleiaine. A little candied citron rind, diced and blanched, may also bee added.

NASHI PEAR Also known as Asian pear, this fruit is round  rather than pear shaped with crisp, white, very juicy flesh having a pearlike flavour. The browned speckled skin resembles that on russet apples in colour and has a coarse texture.

  The Tientsin pear is another type of related Asian pear with a similar texture and flavour to the nashi pear, but an elongated shape and paler, speckled yellow skin.

NASI GORENG An Indonesian rice Finely chopped onion garlic and chilli are fried in oil, then cooked rice is added with diced cooked pork or chicken and peeled cooked prawns The fried rice is served garnished with strips of frehly cooked plain omelette laid in a lattice pattern on top, accompanied by cucumber and roasted peanuts.

  The Futch adopted this dish during their colonial period and adapted it to European tastes it is known in the Netherlands as ripfitfed  rice table.

NAZI KUNING Javanese festival dish, rice coloured yellow is formed into a cone shape and preserved as the centre of a butter with fried chicken, sweetened raw vegetables, chopped beef meatballs and potatoes. The whole is accompanied by various spicy condiments.

NATURE  A French term used to describe dishes which are served plainly cooked with no additions other than those necessary to make them edible.

   The term is applied chief to boiled or steamed unseasoned vegetables, but also to meat or fish that has been grilled (broiled) au natured (that is, without butter or sauce) plain omelettes  without garnish or filling, and fresh fruit served either as a dessert (such as strawberries or raspberries) or as a first course (such as melon).

NAVARIN  A ragour of lamb or mutton with potatoes and  or various other vegetables, particularly young spring vegetables (when it becomes navarin printamier) The dish is popularly supposed to have been named after the Battle of Navarino, at which British French and Russian ships, destroyed the Turkish and Egyptian fleets on 20 October 1827, during the Greek War of independence. However, the dish existed well before 1827, and was more likely to have been named after the mixed (turnip) originally the main accompany8ng vegetables. Some chefs  therefore use the name navarin, quite justifiably for other types of ragour (such as shellfish, poultry and monkfish garnished with turnips.

RECIPE

Navarin of Lamb

Cut 800 g (1 ¾ lb) shoulder of lamb into 6 pieces and 800 g (1 ¾ lb) neck of lamb into 6 slices. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large flame proof casserole. Brown the pieces and slices of lamb in it. Take out drain and remove two thirds of the fat. Put the meat back in the casserole and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon sugar on top.Stir well, sprinkle in 1 tablespoon flour and cook for 3 minutes while stirring all the time. Add 200 ml (7 ft oz. ¾ cup) white wine and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Cook over a moderate heat.

   Peel seed and crush 2 tomatoes. Peel and chop 2 garlic cloves. Add these ingredients to the casserole with a bouquet garni and enough water to cover the meat. As soon as it starts boiling, cover reduce the heat and simmer for 45 minutes.

  Peel and scrape 300 g (11 oz) new carrots and 200 g (7 oz) new turnips. Peel 100 g (4 oz) small white onions. Brown all these vegetables in 25 g ( 1 oz. 2 tablespoons) butter in saute pan. Cut 300 g (11 oz) green beans into short lengths and steam for 10-12 minutes. Add the carrots, turnips, onions and 300 g (22 oz 2 cups) shelled petits pois to the casserole. Stir and cover again. Continue cooking for 20-25 minutes. Add the green beans 5 minutes before serving and stir in very gently. Serve very hot.

NAVARRA  navarre in French this is an historic wine region in the north of Spain producing good quality, mainly red, wines, from Garnacha  blended with Tempranilo, Caberrier Sauvignon. Merlot and Syrah.

NAVETTE  A dry boat shaped cake made from butter, flour and sugar syrup flavoured with orange, flavour water. In Marselle, navettes are traditionally made at Candlenas and sold at the four des narvelles near the Abbaye Saint Victor. They have been made to the same recipe for over a century.

   The cake is believed to have originated in ancient Egypt,l and its shape is thought to represent the boat that carried Isis, the goddess of fertility and harvests. However,  another theory suggests that the shape represents the boat that brought the Virgin of the Sea to the Camague, together with lazanus, whom Jesus raised form the dead.

   Navette can also be found at Albi, where they are sometimes made with crystallized fruit or almonds. In this region the shape represents the weaver’s shuttle, which was the secret emblem of the Cathars, a medieval heretical Christian sect.

NEOPOLITAN SLICE   A slice of ice cream cake made with mouse mixture and ordinary ice cream. Neapolitan ice cream consists of three layers, earth of a different colour and flavour strawberry and vanilla) moulded into a block and cut into slices. Neopolitan ice-cream makers were famous in Paris at the beginning of the 19^th century, especially Tortoni, creator of numerous ice-cream cakes.

NEBBIOLO  A black grape variety grown mainly in the Piedmont region in northern Italy and used in the production of one of Italy’s finest wines.Barolo. There are some plantings in Victoria, Australia, and Argentina.

NECK Also called scrag this part of the neck, shoulder and ribs of slaughtered animals provides economical cuts of meat. The neck contains a lot of fat and gristle and must be cooked slowly. Neck of  beef is used in stews and carbonades, and may be braised. Neck of veal, lamb or mutton is usually cut into fairly large cubes and used for braised dishes or stews such as blanquettes, navarins and Irish stew. Neck of pork is used only to make sausagemeat.

NECTAR  In Greek mythology, the drink of the gods, which conferred immortality on those who drank it. In the botanical sense, nectar is the sugary liquid produced by flowers and turned into honey by bees.

NECTARINE  A variety of peach with a smooth skin, reddish tinged with yellow, and firm sweet juicy flesh. The flavour is a mixture of plum and peach. Nectarines are eaten plain and can be used instead of peaches in desserts. They are often preferred to peaches as a dessert fruit or snack because of their smooth, rather than velvet like, skin.

NEGRE EN CHEMISE   A chilled chocolate dessert covered with Chantilly cream.

RECIPE

Negre en chemise

Melt 250 g (9 oz. 9 squares) chocolate in a double saucepan (boiler) with 1 tablespoon milk. Soften 250 g ( 9 oz. Generous 1 cup) butter with a spatula. Mix the melted chocolate with the butter, beat thoroughly, and then add 5 tablespoons sugar and 4 or 5 egg yolks. Whisk 5 egg whites until very stiff and fold them carefully into the mixture. Off a bombe or charlotte mould, pour in the chocolate cream and refrigerate for at least 12 hours.

Just before serving make some Chantilly cream by whisking 200 ml (7 ft oz. ¾ cup) double (heavy) cream and 5 tablespoons very cold fresh milk, adding 40 g (1 ½ oz 1/3 cu) icing (confectioners) drops of vanilla essence (extract). Unmould the chocolate cream on to a serving dish, then pipe over Chantilly cream, taking care that the chocolate shows through in places.

NEROLI  A volatile oil extracted from o range blossom and used in perfumery. The name is derived from the family name of a 17^th century Italian princess, Anne Marie de la Tremoille of Neroli, who is thought to have created the perfume. Neroli, which has a bland, though penetrating, scent, is also used in confectionery and in the  manufacture of certain liqueurs.

NESSELRODE  The name given to various cooked dishes and pastries, all containing chestnut puree, dedicated to Count Nesselrode, the 19^th century Russian diplomat who negotiated the Treaty of Paris after the Crimean War. Braised calves sweetbreads or sauced roebuck steaks in poivrade  (pepper) sauce are served with salted chestnut puree. For consomme Nesselrode, the puree is used to fill profiteroles which are served with a game consomme.

   Among the desserts, one of the best known is Nesselrode pudding, created by M. mouy, head chef to  Count Nesselrode. It consists of custard cream mixed with chestnut puree, crystallized (candied) fruit, currants and sultanas (golden raisins) and whipped cream. In bombe Nesselrode, the bombe mousse mixture contains kirsch flavoured chestnut puree and the mould is lined with a vanilla ice cream.

RECIPES

Consomme Nesselrode

Prepare some game consomme and make some small savoury choux buns. Mix some chestnut puree with one third of its weight of onion puree and use the mixture to fill half of the choux. Fill the remainder with a vry dry mushroom duxelles.Garnish the consomme with the profiteroles.

Nesselrode pudding

Mix 1 litre (1 ¾ pints, 4 1/3 cups) crème anglaise with 250 g (9 oz. 1 cup) chestnut puree.  Macerate 125 g (4 ½ oz. ¾ cup) candied orange peel and diced crystallized (candied) cherries in malaga, and soak some sultanas (seedless white raisins) and currants in warm water. Add all the ingredients to the crème anglaise together with 1 litre (1 ¾ pints, 4 ½ cups) whipped cream flavoured with maraschino. Line the base and sides of a large charlotte mould with greaseproof (wax) paper and add the mixture. Cover the mould with a  double thickness of foil and secure it with an elastic (rubber) band. Place the mould in the freezer. When the pudding is frozen, unmould it on to the serving dish, peel off the paper and surround the base with marrons glaces.

NEST   A small basket made with potato matchsticks and shaped like a bird’s nest. Potato nests are used to hold small roast birds, such as thrushes or quails, the preparation being describes as au nid  (in a nest) The nests are built up and deep fried in a special wire basket, called a panier a nids (nest basket), which is made up of two parts, one fitting into the  other. Potato nests are sometimes lined with pancakes, particularly when the birds are served with a garnish and a sauce. The nests may be decorated with poached cherries and small bounches of parsley or watercress.

   Other preparation  described  as au mid include soft boiled or poached eggs placed in a hollowed out tomatoes or in nests made of piped Montpellier butter garnished with chopped  aspic and watercress.

RECIPE

Potato nests

Peel some firm potatoes. Using a mandoline, cut them into very fine strips (matchsticks) Line the larger nest basket with an even layer of potato matchsticks, overlapping them slightly. Press them against the sides and trim them. Place the smaller against the sides and trim them. Place the smaller basket inside the larger one so that the matchsticsk are held in position. Deep fry in hot oil at 180 ^oC (350 ^oF( for 5-6 minutes. Open the basket and the nest should come out quite cleanly.

NETTE A plant whose leaves have stinging hairs which cause a rash on contact, because of this, people are generally unaware of its therapeutic qualities and its food value. The young leaves of the annual small nettle can be chopped and used in salads. The leaves of the perennial large or common nettle can be used in green vegetable soups, on their own or combined with sorrel, leeks, watercress or cabbage, thickened with broad (fava) beans or potatoes. Both types of nettle can be cooked like spinach.

NEUFCHATEL  A cow’s milk cheese (45% fat contet) with a white downy rind mottled with red, and a soft, smooth, creamy golden yellow paste. It has a mild flavour and is sold in various shapes rectangular, square, cylindrical or heart shaped. It has been made in Neufehated, a small town in the Seine Maritime region, since the middle Ages and is now protected by a DOP, guaranteeing its source of manufacture. Several other cheeses are similar to neufchatedl, such as Cocur de Bray, Bondon and Gournay.

NEVA, A LA  The name given to a dish of stuffed chicken coated with a white  chaud froid sauce and glazed with aspic.

The reference to the River Neva, which flows through St. petersburg. Is justified because it is served with Russian salad.

RECIPE

Chicken a la neva

Prepare a chicken weighing about 3 kg (6 ½ lb) and remove the breastbone. Stuff the bird with a mixture of 800 g (1 ¾ lb, 3 ¼ cups) fine chicken forcemeat, small cubes of raw foie gras and truffles. Truss te bird, poach  it in white stock and leave to cool in the liquid. When it is quite cold, wipe dry and coat with a white chaud-froid sauce prepared with some of the cooking liquor. Garnish with mushroom slices, glaze with aspic and allow to set firmly. Place the chicken on a long serving dish.

   Prepare some Russian salad mixed with a thick mayonnaise, divide the mixture into two and shape each half into a dome. Garnish each dome with mushroom slices and place them on the serving dish at each end of the chicken. Garnish the edges of the dish with chopped aspic.

NEWBURG  A method of cooking lobster created by a Mr. Wenburg. A former head chef at Delmonico’s the famous New York restaurant. The first letters of Wenburg have been transposed to give Newburg Lobster Newburg is basically lobster sauteed in cream although there are many variations on both sides of the Atlantic.

   Newburg sauce is made by preparing lobster a Lamiercathic and adding cream and fish stock. It can also be used to accompany fish, particularly sole or fillets of sole garnished with lobster medallion.

RECIPE

Lobster Newburg

Wash 2 lobsters weighing about 450 g (l lb) each and joint them as for lobster a l americaine. Remove the coral and liver and keep for use later.Season the lbosters with salt and paprika and brown them in 75 g (3 oz, 6  tablespoons) butter. Cover the pan and cook with the lid on for 12 minutes. Drain off the butter, add 300 ml (1/2 pint, 1 ¼ cups) sherry and boil down over a high heat. Add 300 ml ( ½ pint, 1 ¼ cups) fish stock and an equal quantity of veloute sauce. Cover the pan and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Take out the pieces of lobster and arrange them in a deep dish. (The tail pieces may be shelled if wished).

  Boil down the cooking liquid and add 400 ml (14 ft oz. 1 ¾ cups) double (heavy) cream. When the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, add the coral and liver, rubbed through a fine sieve and blended with 100 g (4 oz, ½ cup) butter. Beat the sauce vigorously and pour it over the lobster

NICE AND ITS ENVIRONS  The city of Nice is situated on the French Riviera, in the south-eastern corner of Provence, close to the Italian bonder. Although influenced by both Provencal and Italian cooking the cuisine of the region still retains its own specific characteristics. The Mediterranean provides the region with a variety of seafood.

   Olive trees growing on the hills behind Nice provide both oil and the celebrated small black Nice olives, Orange, especially bitter oranges are a speciality of Nice. Cultivated or wild flowers are a source of honey. Other fruits and vegetbles of the region include aubergines. (eggplans), tomatoes, courgettes (zucchini) and peppers, combined in the famous ratatouille as well as small purple artichokes, broad beans, and medlars, figs and strawberries. Among the cheeses, Catchat and Brousse de la Vestibie are highly esteemed.

    Bellet AOC wines are made only in small quantities and are highly sought after. White wines are produced from the Bolle grape variety with some Chardonary added, elegant roses from Braquet, and reds from Folle Noir, often blended with Cinsatut and Grenache.

NICOISE, A LA  The name given to various dishes typical of the cuisine of the region around Nice in which the most common ingredients are garlic, olives anchovies tomatoes and French beans.

   Fish such as mullet, sole or whitting, grilled (broiled) a la nicoise is served with coarsely chopped peeled, seeded tomatoes, anchovy fillets, olives and sometimes anchovy butter.

  The nicoise garnish for large cuts of meat and poultry consists of tomatoes stewed in oil and flavoured with garlic, buttered French beans, or stewed courgettes  and small artichokes, and chateau potatoes. The sauce that coats the meat is made by deglazing the pan with veal stock thickened with tomato.

   Salade nicoise is a typical dish of southern France, containing tomatoes, cucumber, locally grown fresh broad beans or small artichokes, green (bell) peppers, raw onions, hard boiled (hard-cooked) eggs, anchovy fillets or tuna, black Nice olives, olive oil, garlic and basil. Neither potatoes nor cooked vegetables should be added to this salad.

RECIPES

Grilled red mullet a la nicoise

Clean, wash and dry the fish, season with salt and pepper, brush with olive oil and marinate for 30 minutes. Make a well flavoured tomato fondue and boil down until very thick. Grill (broil) the mullet gently for 15 minutes. Cover the bottom of the serving dish with the tomato fondue (capers may be added if desired) and place the grilled fish on top. Garnish with strips of anchovy fillets in oil arranged in a lattice, and small black olives. Place a slice of lemon on the head of each fish.

Omelette a la nicoise

Beat some eggs lightly and add some concentrated tomato fondue (1 level tablespoon per 2 eggs), some chopped parsley and some chopped garlic. Make the omelette, garnish it with anchovy fillets arranged in a criss-cross pattern and sprinkle with noisette butter.

Rack of lamb a la nicoise

Trim rack of lamb and caculate the cooking time at 15 minutes per 450 g (1 lb). Brown the lamb lightly in butter in flameproof casserole. Add a coarsely diced, peeled courgette (zucchini) fried quickly in olive oil, a large, peeled, seeded, chopped tomato fried in olive oil, and 20 or so small peeled and parboiled new potatoes tossed in olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and cook in a preheated oven at 230 ^oC (450 ^oF, gas 8) for the calculated time. Serve sprinkled with chopped parsley.

 NID D’ABEILLE  Traditional cake very popular in German and Alsace. It is a round brioche, 5 cm (2 in) thick covered with a mixture of butter, sugar, honey and almonds split in two and covered with confectioner’s custard.

NIGELLA  Also known as love in a mist and fennel flower, a plant grown for its black seed, which is used as a spice in India, Egypt and the Middle East. In France the seeds are sometimes known as four  spices a confusing description as there is a spice mixture of the same name consisting of white pepper ground ginger, cloves and nutmeg. The seeds have a mild peppery flavour and can be used as a substitute for pepper. They are scattered over bread and cakes. In India they are sometimes known as black cumin, but should not be confused with the true black cumin. Nigella seed is also often confused with onion seed, which it resembles, and even referred to as wild onion seed.

NIOLO A Corsican cheese made either from ewe’s milk or a mixture of goat’s and ewe’s milk (fat content at least 45%) Niolo has a soft texture and a natural greyish white rind. After being soaked for 3-4 months in brine  it is firm to the touch, with a sharp flavour and a strong smell. Niolo is a farmhouse cheese, make in 13 cm (5 in) squares, 4-6 cm (1 ½ -2 ½ in) deep. It is best from May to December.

NIVERNAIS AND MORVAN  The rich pastures of Nivernais and the meadows of Morvan are the home of a highly prized breed of beef cattle, the Charolais, yielding high quality meat suitable for lavishly garnished roast or b raised dishes. Sheep with delicately flavoured meat are reared, and the pork and poultry are of equally fine quality smoked ham from Morvan is a speciality. The forests of Morva are full of winged and ground game, and trout, pike and perch are fished in the rivers. It is also well known for its root vegetables. There is a wide variety of cheeses, including those of Lormes, Toucy, Tracy and Dormacy.

NIVERNAISE, A LA  Describing preparations of large roast or braised cuts of meat or braised duck garnished with glazed carrots cut into olive shapes, small glazed onions and sometimes, braised lettuce. This garnish may also be arranged in croustades and it is usual to pour the braising liquid over the dish.

NOBLE ROT  Also known as edelfaule in Germany or pourrture noble inFrance, this is a fungus botrytis cinerea, which can develop in certain humid climatic conditions. It attacks ripe white grapes, reducing their water content, concentrating the sugars and acids and creating other complex chemical changes. The resulting grapes and capable of making some of the great sweet wines of the world such as Sautenes and the great Trockenbeerenausleses of Austria and Germany. These are referred to as botrytised wines.

NOEL The surname of a pastrycook from Angouleme whose skill at making pates was discovered by Casanova. His son became head chef and matre d hotel to Frederick the Great who was so impressed by this chef’s creation called bombe a la Sardanapale that he wrote an ode in his honour entitled The Newton of cooking.

NOEL PETER’S  A Parisian restaurant that opened in the Pssage de Princes in 1854 and became very popular during the period of the Second Empire.At first it was known simply as Peter’s after the proprietor Pieree Fraisse, having lived in  the United States, he served dishes that were then new to  France, such as turle soup, roast beef sliced at the table to the customer’s requirements and above all. Lobster a l americaine, which he created.The restaurant was much patronized by journalist, including the writer Monselet, who was exempted from paying a cover charge. When the place was bought  by Vaudable, father of the manager of Maxim’s it became known as Noel Peter’s because of its association with  a certain Noel. During the 1880;s the restaurant pioneered the concept of a plat du jour each day of the week was allotted its particular dish. When covered arcade feel out of fashion the restaurant declined and eventually closed.

NOISETTE  A small round steak, usually of lamb or mutton cut from the rib or loin. Surrounded by a thin band of fat, like a tournedos steak, noisettes are very tender and can be fried in butter and served with a variety of garnishes, including Anna potatoes and fried onions, morels sauteed with herbs, artichoke hearts, sauteed aubergines (eggplants) or cucumber shells, buttered French (green) beans of garden peas, or asparagus tips.  The accompanying sauce often consists of the pan juices deglazed and reduced with Madeina, tomato sauce or wine.

  The name noisette is also given to a small round slice of beef fillet. Fried in butter and served with the same garnishes a small grenadin of veal, which can be cooked like a veal escalope (scallop) or the eye of a roebuck cutlet, grilled or sauteed in butter.

RECIPES

Noisettes Beauharnais

Braise some small artichoke hearts in butter. In another pan, saute some lamb noisettes in butter, arrange them on fried croutons and keep hot. Prepare some noisette potatoes and a bearrnaise sauce, and pour the sauce over the artichoke hearts. Deglaze the meat pan with Madeira, boil down to reduce and add some chopped mushrooms. Arrange the noisettes on a serving dish alternately with the artichoke hearts and the noisette potatoes and cover with the sauce.

Noisettes chasseur

Saute 8 lamb noisettes in a mixture of oil and butter, them drain. Add 100 g (4 oz. 1 ½ cups) finely sliced mushrooms and 1 tablespoon chopped shallots to the pan, deglaze with white wine and moisten with veal  stock to which a little tomato sauce has been added. Arrange the meat on a hot dish, garnish with the mushrooms and pour the sauce over.

Noisettes of the Tour d’ Argent

Saute some lamb noisettes in clarified butter and arrange them on a hot dish.Deglaze the cooking pan with a mixture comprising equal quantities of vermouth, sherry and veal stock. Thicken with butter. Put 1 teaspoon Soubise puree on each noisette and grill (broil) for a few seconds. Serve the sauce separately.

Noisettes Rivoli

Prepare some Anna potatoes and arrange them on a serving dish.Saute some lamb noisettes in butter and place them on top of the potatoes.Deglaze the meat pan with Madeira and (if possible) with some demi-glace, then add some finely diced mushrooms. Pour this sauce over the lamb.

NOISETTE BUTTER  Butter heated until it becomes  nut brown, it is used to add a finishing touch to a variety of dishes, particularly fish.

   Noisette sauce is a hollandaise, sauce  to which a few spoonfuls of noisette butter are added. It is served with salmon, trout and turbot, cooked in a covered pan on top of the cooker (stove).

NOISETTE POTATOES   Small potato balls, cut out with a melon baller, lightly fried and btowned in butter. They are used as a garnish, usually for small cuts of meat.

NOIX  The fleshy upper part of the fillet end of a leg of veal, cut lengthways.The meat is lean and tender, but tends to be rather dry. It can be sliced into escalopes  or grenadins, or it can be roasted Various garnishes may be used to accompany it for example bouquetiere, bourgeoise, Clamart, milanaise, or piemontaise. It can also be served with mushrooms, braised chicory, buttered spinach mixed vegetables or a risotto. The noix can also be braised which enhances its tenderness. The lean plump eye of a veal cutlet is also known as the noix.

RECIPES

Noix of veal Brillant Savarin

Bone a whole noix of veal. Flatten it, then sew the cut parts together to re-form the noix. Chop 3 shallots. Cook 100 g (4 oz) black morels in cream. Spread  a 1 cm ( ½ in) layer of a gratin forcemeat.mixed with the shallots over the veal. Sprinkle on some of the cooked morels, then place a piece of duck foie gras weighing about 200 g (7 oz) in the centre. Roll up the noix and tie it securely. Bard with strips of fat pork, brown the veal in butter, then place in a flameproof casserole on a bed of mirepoix. Moisten with equal quantieis of dry white wine and beef stock. Add some peeled, seeded, roughly chopped tomatoes and a bouquet garni. Cover the pan and cook slowly for 2 hours.

   Take out the meat, then reduce and strain the cooking liquid. Serve the veal sliced, with a little of the sauce poured over, accompanied by leaf spinach and the remaining more. Serve the rest of the sauce separately.

Roast noix of veal

Heat some butter in a flameproof casserole. Lard a noix of veal with thin pieces of bacon and brown it on allsides in the butter.Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then cook in a preheated oven at 200 ^oC (400 ^oF, gas 6) allowing 16 minutes per 450 g (1 lb)

NONNETTE  A small round iced gingerbread cake from France. The cakes were originally made by nuns in convents, but today they are commercially produced. The nonnettes of Reims and Dijon have a good reputation.

NONPAREILLE  A small round caper pickled in  vinegar. In France the name is also used for hundreds and thousand (sprinkles) the multicoloured sugar crystals used as a decoration on cakes and pastries.

NOODLES Term used to describe long pasta and believed to originate from the German nudelu, a general name for pasta. For Italian style and other European pasta, noodle, is the term for tagliatelle and similar long, flat pasta or ribbon noodles. Jewish and Russian lobsbyna are examples of egg noodles similar to tagliatelle.

   In terms of Oriental pasta, noodles cover many types of long thin pasta, both flat and rounded, and made from various types of dough. In addition to wheat flour, the flours and starches used for noodles include those obtained  from  rice, mung bean, buckwheat and arrowroot. There is an incredible, variety as a visit to any well stocked Chinese or Japanese supermarker will confirm. The following are a few examples.

Wheat flour noodles. Chinese style egg noodles are well known, particularly as the main ingredient for chow mein. Made from wheat flour, these round noodles may include egg. White or yellow in colour, fresh or dried, they can be plain or slightly wrinkled. In dried or fresh form noodles of this the are used through out South East Asia and Japan, where they are known as ramen.

   Other Japanese wheat noodles include somen or soumen. There are various types, typically  white in  colour, round and fine, they are cut into lengths and sold in bundles Uclon are thicker than somen and usually sold fresh, when they are soft and white. Hiyroungi are medium thick dried wheat noodle, between somen and udon, and served cooked and chilled in a cold dish of mixed ingredients, also known as biyamungi.

Rice starch noodles. Rice sticks or rice noodles refer to pasta made from rice flour. These noodles take many forms, from fine semi-transparent vermicelli to thicker examples more than double the width of tallan tagliatelle. Rice sticks require soaking or brief immering they are used in casseroles and stir fries. Fine vermicelli are added to soup or deep fried  to make a crisp, light garnish.

   A mixture of rice flour or cornflour with wheat flour is used to make the thicker white Chinese noodles, cut into short lengths and known by a number of names, including bo fin, hor fion, kua leave and kuray teour.

   Malaysian laksa are white rice noodles, slightly thicker than spaghetti and sold fresh. They are used by a dish of the same name, consisting of a spicy fish broth, typically garnished with cucumber, lettuce and chillies.

Mung bean noodles  Mung bean pasta are often known as cellophane or glass noodles because of their transparent, shiny quality. They may include  other flours, such as pea starch, and other types of cellophane noodles can be made using flours ground from yam, buckwheat or wheat. The fine noodles are also known as bean thread noodles. They may be soaked and stir fried, added to soups or used in braised dishes.

Buck wheat flour noodles Buckwheat flour is often used with wheat flour and other starches to make dark noodles sometimes with a slightly coarse texture and wholemeal type flavour. There are many types of Japanese soba, made using varying proportions of buckwheat flour, and they may include yam flour. Fine vermicelli like Japanese noodles, known as naeng myoan are made from a combination of buckheat wheat and sweet potato starch.

Shirataki. These white Japanese noodles are made from the root of a plant known as the devil’s tongue plant. The root is used to make a cake or loaf known as komyaku, from which the noodles are cut. They are  sold wet, stored in water in cans or sealed sausage shaped plastic tubes.

Noddle dishes  In European style dishes noodles may be served as an accopaniment to sauced dishes toosed with a sauce or dressing or served very simply dressed for e xample with olive oil, garlic and Pamesan cheese. They have a broader use in Oriental cooking they may be served as a simple accompaniment, for example tossed with chopped spring onions to complement Chinese sauced dishes or fried as a crips cake or topping, or they may be the main ingredient for the dish  complemented by a modest proportion of various other ingredients.

  A well as savoury use, noodles feature in sweet dishes.Famous examples include Jewish fokshen pudding and Polish Christmas Eve dessert, for which noodles are tossed with ground poppy seeds, often sweetened with honey.

RECIPES

Fresh egg noodles

Sift 500 g (18 oz. 4 ½ cups) strong plain (bread) flour into a bowl and make  a well in the middle. Dissolve 2 teaspoons salt (or less to taste) in 2 tablespoons water, put it in the middle of the flour, then add 3 beaten eggs and 6 eggs yolks. Gradually work the liquids into the flour to make a firm dough. Knead the dough thoroughly, working it with the heel of the palm until the dough is smooth and firm. Wrap the dough in a cloth or cling film (plastic wrap) and leave it in a cool place, but not the refrigerator, for 1 hour so it loses its elasticity. Then divide the dough into pieces about the size of an egg and roll these into balls. Roll out each piece into a very thin pancake shape. Lightly dust with flour, roll up loosely, cut into strips 1 cm ( ½ in) wide, then unroll the strips on a flat surface.

  To cook the noodles, plunge them into boiling salted water, using 2.5 litres (4 ¼ pints, 11 cups) water for every 250 g (9 oz) fresh noodles. Boil fast for about 3 minutes, drain and serve tossed with butter.

Noodles au gratin

Prepare some buttered noodles. Mix with 50 g (2 oz, ½ cup) mixed grated Gruyere and Parmesan cheese and a little grated nutmeg. Pour into a buttered gratin dish, cover with more grated cheese, sprinkle with melted butter and brown under the grill (broiler).

NOQUE  A small round quenelle  from Alsade made from flour eggs and butter. Also called noques are poached and served as a first course or in soup. Noques a I allenaande are quenelles of flour with pork liver added, of are made with choux pastry and lean veal, they are served with mean and gravy or  used as a garnish in soup.

  Noques a la rievnoise are small light balls made of dough contianing eggs cream and butter they are poached in vanilla flavoured milk and served with custard.

RECIPES

Noques a l alascienne

Bring 250 g (9 oz. Generous 1 cup) butter to room temperature, ten cut into pieces and place in a bowl. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and a little grated nutmeg, then work to a paste using a wooden spatula. Blend in 2 whole eggs and 2 yolks, add 150 g (5 oz, 1 ¼ cups) stiffly whisked egg white. Scrape  this mixture into a clean bowl and leave it in a cold place for 30 minutes. Shape the dough into walnut sized balls. Poach them in simmering salted water, turning them so they puff up on both sides. Drain, turn into a deep serving bowl, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and noisette butter, and serve as a first course or with soup.

Noques a la viennoise

Cream 125 g (4 ½ oz, generous ½ cup) butter in a bowl and blend in a generous pinch of salt, 25 g (1 oz, ¼ cup) semolina (semolina flour) 5 egg yolks (one by one) and 3 tablespoons double (heavy) cream.. Beat the mixture until smooth, then add 100g  (4 oz, 1 cup0 sifted plain (all-purpose) flour all  at once and beat this in, then fold in 1 stiffly whisked egg  white and finally 3 unwhisked egg whites, one by one.

   Add 50 g (2 oz. ¼ cup) sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar to 500 ml (17 ft oz. 2 ¼ cups) milk and bring to the boil. Poach spoonfuls of the dough in the simmering milk, turning them so they puff up on both sides. Drain them, arrange in a bowl and allow to cool.

  Prepared some custard by beating together 3 tablespoons double (heavy) cream and 5-6 egg yolks. Blend with the poaching milk and heat gently until the custard thickens. Strain it on to the noques.

NORMANDE, A LA Describing various dishes based on the cooking of Normandy, or made using typically. Norman products, notably butter, cream seafood, apples, cider and Calvado. The term can be applied to a host of fish, meat poultry and egg  dishes as well as to desserts, such as pancakes,  omelettes, puff pastry galetettes, Genoese sponge cake and fruit salad.

   Sole a la normande ta model for several dishes of fish braised in white wine was in fact invented by a Parisian called langlais, chef at the Rocher de Cancale at the beginning of the 19^th century. The original dish was based on fish braised in cream and was prepared with cider, not white wine. However, it evolved to become an haule, cuisine dish with an elaborate garnish comprising oysters, mussels, mushrooms, truffles fried  gudgeon and crayfish in court bouillon that was no longer typically Norman.

  Normande sauce which accompanies many fish dishes is a fish veloute with cream and mushroom and Small cuts of meat and chicken a la normande are sauteed deglazed with cider, moistened with cream and sometimes flavorued with Calvados,. Partridge a la normande is cooked in a covered pan with Reinette apples and cream Apples also accompany black pudding (blood sausage) a la n0rmande and are used as the filling for pastries pancakes and galettes a la normande. Cream is used as a dressing for French beans and for matelote normande.

RECIPES

Apple puffs a la normande

Roll out 575 g (1 ¼ lb) puff pastry to a thickness of 2 cm ( ¼ in) cut it into two 20 cm (8 in) squares, prick them with a fork and place them side by side  on a baking sheet. Blend 1 egg white with 75 g (3 oz. ¼ cup) icing (confectioner’s) sugar for 2 minutes using a wooden spoon. Spread this icing (frosting ) over one of the squares, then bake both  squares for 12-15 minutes in a preheated oven at 200 ^oC (400 ^oF, gas 6 ).

  Peel and slice 675 g (1 ½ lb ) apples and cook them in 50 g (2 oz. ¼ cup) melted butter with 150 g ( 5 oz 2/3 cup) caster (superfine) sugar for 15 minutes. Brown 25 g (1 ox. ¼ cup) flaked (slivered) almonds in a frying pan over a low heat, stirring them with a wooden spoon. Spread the cooked apples over the plain square cover with the ice square and sprinkle with the toasted almonds. Serve warm.

Filled genoese sponge a la normande

Bake a Genoese cake, allow to cool completely, then slice it into 2 rounds and sprinkle  each half with a little. Calvados flavoured sugar syrup. Prepare a very dry apple compote, press it through a sieve, then add half its weight of warm confectioner’s custard (pastry cream) flavoured with Calvados. Allow this to cool, then spread a thick layer over the bottom half of the cake. Replace  the top half. Spread the surface with sieved apricot jam, then ice (frost) with fondant and leave to cool completely. Decorate with thin slices of apple cooked in very concentrated syrup, flaked (slivered) almonds and lozenge shaped (diamond shaped) pieces of candied angelica.

Normande sauce

In a heavy based saucepan heat 200 ml (7 ft. oz., ¾ cup) fish veloute sauce and 6 tablespoons each of fish fumer and mushroom essence. Mix 2 egg yolks with 2 tablespoons double (heavy) cream, add to the pan, and reduce by one third. Just before serving add 50 g ( 2 oz. ¼ cup) butter cut into small pieces and 3 tablespoons double cream. If necessary pass, the sauce through a very fine strainer.

   An alternative method is as follows, mix 2 tablespoons mushroom peelings with 200 ml ( 7 ft oz. ¾ cup) fish veloute, add 6 tablespoons double cream and boil down by half. Then add 50 g ( 2 oz, ¼ cup) butter cut into pieces and 4 tablespoons double cream. Strain through a very fine sieve.

Potatoes a la normande

Peel 800 g ( 1 ¾ lb) potatoes, slice them thinly wash and dry them, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.Butter a flameproof casserole and put in half the potatoes. Clean and slice 3 large leeks and chop a small bunch of parsley. Spread the leeks and parsley over the potatoes in the casserole, then cover with the rest of the potatoes. Add sufficient meat or chicken stock to cove the potatoes, and dot with 50 g ( 2 oz. ¼ cup) butter cut into small pieces. Cover the casserole, bring to the boil, then transfer to a preheated oven at 220 ^oC(425 ^oF, gas 7) and cook for about 45 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.

Sole  a la normande

For a sole weighing about 400 g (14 oz) prepare a garnish of 4 debearded and poached oysters, 12 mussels cooked in white wine, 25 g ( 1 ox) peeled (shelled) shrimps, 4 fluted mushrooms cooked in white wine, 6 slices of truffle, 4 gudgeon (or smelt) coated with breadcrumbs and fried, 4 trussed crayfish cooked in court bouillon, and 4 heart or lozenge shaped croutons of bread fried in butter (or puff pastry crescents)

Trim the sole, split it, skin one side only, and carefully raise the fillets a little.Break the backbone in 2 or 3 places to facilitae its removal after cooking. Poach the fish in a little fish fumet made with white wine, to which the cooking liquids from the oysters, mushrooms and mussels have been added. Drain the fish on paper towels and remove the backbone.

  Arrange the fish on a long buttered serving dish together with the various garnishes and cover with normande sauce made from the fish cooking, stock.The fish can be garnished with a ribbon of light fish aspic or meat glaze.

Sweet omelette a la normande

Peel, ocre and slice 3 dessert apples.Cook them in  50 g (2 oz. ¼ cup) butter and some caster (suprfine) sugar.Add 200 ml (7 ft oz. ¾ cup) double (heavy) cream and reduce to a creamy consistency, then flavour with 2-3 tablespoons Calvados.

  Beat 10 eggs       with a pinch of salt, sugar and 2 tablespoons double cream. Cook the omelette, fill it with the apple mixture, then place under a hot grill (broiler) to glaze.

NORVEGIENNE, A LA Describing several cold dishes of fish or seafood, usually glazed with aspic and garnished with such items as cucumber stuffed with smoke salmon puree, hard boiled eggs halved and topped with shrimp mouse, lettuce hearts and small tomatoes. The term is also used for various hot fish dishes, such as haddock and anchovy souffle, and puff pastry filled with fish and anchovy butter and garnished with anchovy fillets.

   Omelette nutrgienne consists of ice cream covered with meringue and browned in the oven.

NOSTRADAMUS  French physician and astrologer Michel de Nostre Dame, who was physician to Catherine de Medici and Charles  lX is best known for his prophecies, set out in Centuries astrologques (1555) But in the same year he published Excellent e Moult Utile Opuscule a touts necessavire qui desirent avoir connaissance de plasieurs expulses recellies. The first  part is devoted to formulate for cosmeties, toilet water and scents the second part gives recipes for various jams using honey as well as sugar and cooked wine and including such fruit as cherries ginger limes and oranges paste, marzipan.

NOUGAT A sweetmeat made from sugar, honey and nuts.Although the recipe for the Roman sweet mucatum described by Apicius was based on h oney, walnuts and eggs, nougat in its present form appears to have been invented in Marscille I n the 16^th century, also based  on walnuts. In about 1650, following the introduction of almond trees to the Vivarais region of France by Oliver de Series, Montelimar became the manufacturing centre of  nougat  based on almonds.

  Nougat production is now entirely mechanized and no longer exclusive to Montelimar. A paste of sugar, glutose syrup, honey and invert sugar is beaten and usually lightened with egg while and gelatine then mixed with nuts. When cold it is cut into pieces. Nougat  remains a specialty of south eastern France and is one of the traditional  Provencal thirteen Christmas desserts.

  Several types of nougat are made in France and in other countries.Nougat (or white nougat) contains at least 30%, comprising toasted sweet almonds. (28%) and pistachios (2%). Other regional specialty nougats are made to their own specification. The texture of the finished product is defined by the cooking temperature and the quantity and type of sugar used.

   Vietnamese nougat hard or soft, is made from sesame seeds, peanuts and sugar. The Italian torrone and the Spanish turron are similar forms of nougat.

RECIPE

White nougat

Cook 250 g ( 9 oz ¾ cup) honey with the same amount of sugar to the soft crack stage - 129 ^oC (264 ^oF) Add 1 tablespoon orange flower water and 1 stiffly whisked egg white. Melt over a very low heat, stirring constantly, and bring the temperature up to the soft ball stage - 109 ^oC (228 ^oF) Now add 500 g (18 oz. 4 ½ cups) sweet almonds that have been blanched, dried chopped and heated through. Put the mixture into a shallow baking tin (pan0 lined with sheets of rice paper. Cover with more rice paper and place a wooden board and weight on top. While the nougat is still slightly warm, cut into squares or  rectangles.

   Nougat with hazelnuts, pine nuts or pistachios is prepared in the same way.

NOUGATINE   A sweetmeat made from light caramel syrup and crushed almonds, sometimes also hazelnuts. Nougatine is  rolled out on an oiled marble, slab and cut into small pieces, alternatively, it can be moulded to form cups, eggs, cornets or other shapes for use as cake decorations.

   Many sweets (candies) and chocolates have a nougatine filling a mixture of honey, sugar, glutocose, almonds or hazelnuts, and egg white – which is cooked, then mixed with pistachios, almonds or preserved fruit.

  Nougatine cakes usually consists of a Genoese sponge cake filled with praline or pralinized hazelnuts, brushed with apricot jam and decorated with almonds or toasted or chopped hazelnuts.The nougatine, cake of Nevers, created in 1850 by one of the town’s pastrycooks, was reputedly offered in the Empress Eugenie, who was passing through the Nivernais region in 1862. It consists of a Genoese sponge filled with praline cream and ice with chocolate fondant.

RECIPE

Nougatine

Put 200 g (7 oz. 1 cup) caster (superfine) sugar and 4 teaspoons liquid glucose into a copper pan. Melt over a fairly high heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. When the mixture turns a light brown, add 100 g (4 oz. 1 cup) ground almonds. Stir well, then pour on to an oiled baking sheets. Keep this hot until it is to be used, by placing it at the front of an open oven. Then allow the nougatine to cool and set slightly. Using  a lightly oiled rolling pin, roll out the nougatine on the baking sheet to the desired thickness and cut it into shapes with a biscuit (cookie) cutter. Alternatively, if the nougatine is to form the base of a cake, pour it into an oiled cake tin (pan) the same size as the cake, or cut it to shape with an oiled knife.

NOUVELLE CUISINE  A movement in cookery started in 1972 by two food critics. H. Gault and C. Millau, with the aim of encouraging a simpler and more natural presentation of food. The movement combined a publicity campaign with novel recipes and a new ethic, although the idea itself was not new. Foreshadowing the apostles of nouvelle cuisine, Voltaire complained. T confess that my stomach does not take to this style of cooking. I cannot accept calves sweetbreads swimming in a salty sauce, nor can I eat mince consisting of turkey, hare and rabbit, which they try to persuade me  comes from a single animal. As for the cooks, I really cannot be expected to put up with this ham essence, nor the excessive quantity of morels and other mushrooms, pepper and nutmeg, with which they disguise perfectly good food.

  Advocates of nouvelle cuisine rejected the over rich, complicated and indigestible dishes that they considered were no longer suitable for a generation conscious of the health hazards of overeating, especially of fatty foods.

NOYAU Any of several liquers, brandies and ratafias based on an infusion of the kernels of certain fruits, particularly apricots and cherries. The best known of these is Noyau de Poissy, a liqueur made from cherry kernels and drunk straight or with water, it is also used to flavour ice cream sorbets, guilt salads and cocktails.

NUITS-SAINT-GEORGES  A small town in the Cote de Nuits in Burgundy, making mostly red wines, plus a few whites.The wines are world famous but diverse there are no grand crus but many exceptional fine wine vineyards and, as with other Burgundies, much depends on the grower and the shipper to establish character and quality.

NULLE  A type of custard made with egg yolk sugar and cream, and flavoured with musk or amber. It was in fashion at the time of Louis XIV La Varenne gives the recipe in Le Patlissier francals. Take 4 or 5  egg yolks, some very fresh cream, a quantity of sugar, a grain of salt, beat all this well together and cook in a deep plat or a flat dish, brown the top with a salamander sprinkle with perfumed water and serve with musk flavoured sugar to sweeten.

NUOC-MAM  a condiment used in Vietnamese  cookery, Meaning literally fish water, it is made by marinating small fish in brine, then pounding them to a paste. Nuoc mam replaces salt in almost all culinary preparations, it is also used at table as a seasoning served in a flask or small bowl. It has a strong taste and when heated the smell is very pronounced. Lemon juice or red pepper is sometimes added, or it can be garnished with very thinly sliced onion rings. It is a good flavouring for scrabbled eggs, soups and stews, and it accompanies spring rolls.

NUTCRACKERS  implements used to crack walnuts and other hard shelled fruits. They usually take the form of a chrome plated steel pincer with two notches to accommodate shells of different sizes.There are also wooden nutcrackers, cylindrical in shape and made of olive wood with a large screw that cracks the nuts when tightened.

NUTMEG  The seed of the nutmeg tree, native to Indonesia but widely cultivated in tropical Asia and America. There are numerous varieties, the best known being the nutmeg tree of the Sunda Islands. The nutmeg is oval and rounded, in shape, greyish brown in colour and wrinkled. It has a spicy flavour and aroma and is always used grated, nutmegs should be stored in a n airtight container. The crushed nuts are used to manufacture a nutmeg butter, crumbly and very fragrant, which may be used as cooking fat or as a flavouring for butters. The red weblike covering of the seed is the mace, also used as a spice.

  Nutmeg is widely used as a spice in savoury and sweet cooking, especially for flavouring cakes and custards and dishes with a base of potatoes, eggs  or   cheese. It may also be dishes and minced mealballs, grated nutmeg is used to spice numerous cocktails and punches and is used in the manufacture of some fortified wines and spirits.

NUTS  The different types of nuts are discussed under their own headings see almond, brazil nut, cashew nut, hazelnut, peanut, pecan, pistachio, walnut and so on.