Camont's Kitchen Stairs Library, Paula Wolfert & the Cooking of Southwest France.
Camont's Kitchen Stairs Library, Paula Wolfert & the Cooking of Southwest France.
Champêtre: Introduction to Cookbooks at Camont
A library built on stairs.
My French kitchen grew like an organic beast. First, a roof was balanced on the old stone and brick walls of the room that abutted the pigeonnier; water and electricity ran along the new plastered walls; then, a new staircase replaced the old rotten steps that climbed to the bedroom above from the sitting room. Moving the stairs into the new kitchen room was bold as it took precious space and storage from one wall, so I eyed it with an amateur designer's suspicion. Would it be a long-lasting mistake?
My carpenter ex-husband would build the stairs from extra-thick planks of pale wood milled by two neighbor brothers from a felled Ash tree in the garden. To match the rustic simplicity of the stairs, “sturdy enough that God could climb them,” I wanted the simplest balustrade and handrail of wrought iron rods—nothing designer, nothing fancy, very 18th-century country work- very champêtre. I know there were arguments, but I knew what I wanted.
The thumb-thick rods had to be close enough together so a kid's head couldn’t get stuck between them; I remember it happened to my neighbor David Holland when we were kids. When it was all done, I brushed the steps with a honey-colored finish; the raw iron railings were painted black. Instinctively, I grabbed some cookbooks from my kitchen island and shoved them between the spaces. Thus began a 30-year-old tradition of featuring my favorite books where I needed them most—literally, at hand in the kitchen.
In truth, there are books all over this house—novels and poetry, travel tales and memoirs, in bookcases and on low tables, stacked in overlooked corners, near all the beds, and piled on top of any surface that doesn’t get wiped clean for food preparation or dining daily. But the books perched on the steps soon dubbed the Kitchen Stair Library, are the everyday cookbooks I reference when teaching and cooking or want to leave at hand to inspire guests and residents new to my kitchen. When fellow Substack writer Debbie Weil of [B]old Age was here recently, she thumbed through my signed edition of Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” to make a Chocolate Soufflé one evening. We were all grateful!
The Cooking of Southwest France— Paula Wolfert
The Cooking of Southwest France: Recipes from France’s Magnificent Rustic Cuisine
Author Paula Wolfert
John Wiley & Sons—first edition 1983; revised edition 2005; some pictures;
200 recipes
In more than one way, it is fitting that I begin this new series on the Cookbooks at Camont with this classic 40-year-old regional cookbook: Paula Wolfert's The Cooking of Southwest France.
It hits all the marks for the foundational volume in my collection:
It is about French food.
It is regional to the Southwest of France.
It has been in print for 40 years!
And it fulfills the complete trinity of critical values of 1. Reference 2. Inspiration and 3. Instruction
But there is a personal backstory here—it was the first cookbook I added to my galley library around 1991, gifted to me by a client on my canal barge just as I had begun to explore the ingredients of my newly adopted home. I had never heard of Paula Wolfert (or her previous excellent books about Morrocco and the Mediterranean). I didn’t know this book existed, and I certainly didn’t have any reference for recipes like these—written in English! My French was still too rudimentary to be confident in tackling original recipes in local cookbooks. It proved to be a most treasured gift indeed.
I remember the excitement of discovering the copious notes about the new-to-me local ingredients I was beginning to cook with—Armagnac, verjus, wine, duck, oils, mushrooms, and chestnuts. Finally, there was a cookbook that wrote about the “why” as well as the “how!” Although I would later replace some of the initial, more complicated ‘Cheffy’ recipes from the first edition with my own simplified and perhaps more French housewifely versions, I continued to rely on Paula’s deep research for inspiration when approaching a classic salmis, civet, or just a reminder to make that heavenly bay-scented crème anglaise. Thus, armed with Paula’s guiding hand and the apron-string learning from the generous neighbor women in farmhouse kitchens and my market vendors, I took my first steps into the world of slow-cooked wine-based dishes and giant marmites of poached poultry and soups.
Early on, I recognized the quirky trucs (small tricks) that individual cooks used to claim a traditional recipe as their own. I don’t usually take any one recipe as THE authentic one; rather, I read several versions and look for the common denominator—all the essential ingredients, add the little tips a talented cook might use, and eliminate any too-tricky unnecessary steps thrown in just for show. I asked Paula, Pierre, Madeline, André, and Marie-Claude* how they made their version of a favored dish. I especially like to read as much as possible and cross reference among my favorite books and authors. I want to hear their stories, see the variations, and then arrive at my own conclusions. I make the recipe as many times as I can, adapting and sharing it with friends and guests before I make it my own.
*Paula Wolfert, Pierre Koffmann, Madeline Kamman, André Daguin, and Marie-Claude Gracia.
Cross-referencing recipes for Une Poule Verte.
When people ask me what my favorite things to cook or my favorite cookbooks are, I often stumble. I don’t think there is only one way or “the best.”
This week, I am prepping for a filmed segment for France 3 TV for Le goût des rencontres Nouvelle-Aquitaine. I was approached by Mathilde, a journalist for France 3 TV, to share my recipe for a whole stuffed Cabbage, or Chou Farci. I had learned to call this regional specialty a Poule Verte or green chicken as it often served as a substitute for a stuffed chicken in the classic Poule au Pot. And so this Monday, I’ll make my version, which has developed over a couple of decades since I first received the Cooking of Southwest France. It doesn’t hurt to refresh one’s own memories and compare a few different versions. While Wolfert’s version is listed under Soups, my own early version from A Culinary Journey in Gascony is listed as a main course poached in a vegetable-laden bouillon like a Poule au Pot; my current preferred version, as seen in the following video trailer, is baked in the oven in a covered terracotta pot and served directly at the table with a tomato-caper sauce.
My cookbooks are guides, historical references, travel books, instructors, and hand-holders. My all-time favorites are also storytellers. While there are many photograph styles over the decades, I now see that my favorite cookbooks, some of which were published 25-40 years ago, are scant on illustrations and photographs. But they read like a cook’s journey through their lives, inviting us to their kitchen table as they prepare a memorable meal for us, one page at a time.
The Cooking of Southwest France stands on the middle two steps at eye level and bookends a dozen favorite volumes with Memories of Gascony by Pierre Koffmann. Next time, I’ll introduce you to Pierre’s grandparents and their farm in the Gers and why I turn to this book over and over.
For now, I leave all my cherished paid subscribers, with the following archives of video cooking class as well as the pdf recipe beyond the paywall. You’ll notice an evolution of the recipe from the earlier version to now.
Champêtre Coming Next:
The Perfect Little Roadtrip- A jaunt across the Gascon Armagnac countryside.
French Vintage Treasures- Meet Maiden France, a prop stylist’s dream resource!
Buying French Art- Learning the confidence to curate your own art collection.
Join Kate Hill weekly for Champêtre, a jaunt through the French countryside, in and out of the markets and garden, and into the warming kitchen of her Relais de Camont, a writers’ and creative residency at her 18th-century French farmhouse.
The Camont Journals chronicle her country life in Southwest France; Champêtre: a Field Guide is the next adventure full of good food and slow living in France.
Finding France: A Memoir in Small Bites is also archived here at The Camont Journals. You can read about this year-long adventure from the moment she arrived in France on her canal barge, the Julia Hoyt, to the gathering table here at the Relais de Camont. It’s all archived here: https://katehillfrance.substack.com/t/finding-france
This is so timely! I just picked up a copy of Paula Wolfert’s book at a video-grenier for my local chapter of the Alliance Française. Great recommendation!
I am going to love your cookbook stories. I had not heard of this book, however.