Melissa Clark’s Most French Pantry Advice

Either way, there’s a good chance that Clark’s presence has been felt in your recent home cookery. Her latest book, Dinner in French , was written long before shelter-in-place orders began to change the shape of our daily working, shopping, and eating habits. But as we learned very of late from the book, the French are an extremely resourceful lot when it comes to making something amazing out of a jar of capers, or turning a couple eggs into a rich, nourishing lunch, or turning a small stack of lumpy potatoes into something elegant.

We caught up with Clark to talk about some of these tricks, and how they can work well for all of this home preparation under duress. How are you doing, and what have you been cooking?

I’ve kicked off a series for the NYT using pantry elements to help readers figure out what to do with all those beans and cans of tuna they acquired. So I’ve been making recipes from that, including pasta with tuna and anchovies, and skillet chili.

You’ve written a little bit for the Times about pantry components that can really come to the rescue right now. And reading Dinner in French , I’m realizing how much French preparation relies on pantry components. It’s pretty close to what we have in the US, with the addition of things like capers and anchovies, which can add a lot of savor.

As well, the French are more likely to have a wider variety of cheeses on hand in the fridge, which I love to use in fromage fort, a dish that combines the ends of all the cheeses in your fridge with white wine, garlic, and herbs. I love these served French style, dolloped with aioli or mayonnaise (and, if you’ve got eggs, you could as well learn how to make homemade mayo, which is really easy with a blender).

I sort of associate French cooking with close to daily trips to the trade for fresh elements. As people scale back on their shopping trips, what are a few fruits or vegetables to stock up on that will go a long way with these recipes?

Agreed, the French live by their daily trips to the trade for the freshest food. I’m in addition a huge cabbage fan, and that’s great to have to sauté with garlic, jalapeños, and Gruyère, like I do in my book, or to eat raw with vinaigrette.

The photos will transport you to the French countryside, where we shot it. Plus, if you have any kind of citrus and a bottle of booze (Campari, Aperol, Chartreuse, or Cointreau), the Campari cake is a fantastic pantry method that you can mix in a bowl and that will sweeten your day.

In addition check out Melissa making her rustic buckwheat apple ginger cake on the @ClarksonPotter Instagram page . 4 EXCITING RECIPES FROM DINNER IN FRENCH : Roasted Cauliflower with Brown Butter, Capers, and Raisins Hearty cauliflower gets a sweet, nutty, briny pick-me-up from a few staples you probably have lying around somewhere in the refrigerator. Classic Salade Niçoise This take on the salad relies on only a few pieces of fresh produce (some small potatoes, haricots verts, and tomatoes, if you have them) for a rich, salty, one-dish meal.

Sardine and Tomato Toasts If you have a small treasury of these canned fish somewhere in your home, you probably already know that the key to great sardine toast is a bit of acidity, a bit of sweetness, and a bit of allium spice.