French from the Market
Hillary Davis’s French from the Market is a toothsome cookbook full of robust flavors, sun-dappled photographs, and vibrant recipe introductions.
Familiarity with and affection for a French lifestyle “centered on food and the cycle of the seasons” are evident throughout the book, whose emphasis is on provincial home cooking grounded in traditional French cuisine. Its cozy, inventive recipes riff on standards, too, incorporating lighter flavors and different ingredient combinations and techniques. Herein, hummus is made from parsnips and hazelnuts; artichokes are simmered with mushrooms, wine, and vegetables; and asparagus is napped in a vibrant blood orange Maltaise sauce. Though the freshest produce and top-quality ingredients are paramount throughout, some recipes embrace shortcuts like canned beans, store-bought Boursin, microwaves, and the Instant Pot without sacrificing flavor or texture.
Fruits and vegetables are at the heart of this breezy and engaging text. They feature in a riot of colorful salads and sides but also swirl through most of the meat and fish recipes. They dominate as starters, main dishes, and desserts—in Spring Vegetable Ragout with Preserved Lemon Sauce and in an array of saucy roasted and poached fruit desserts. The tempting spotlight on root vegetables and greens encourages slipping more of these less popular vegetables into one’s market basket.
Sparkling photographs of prepared dishes, market scenes, landscapes, and beguiling bouquets of rhubarb and artichokes add to the allure. Davis’s food memories and confident, encouraging recipe introductions turn up the volume to this siren song of a cookbook—an inviting sampler of regional cuisine, from Normandy pork chops sauteed with apples and Calvados to Mediterranean Setoise-style Sausage-Stuffed Mussels.
French from the Market is a seductive cookbook that will convert readers into Francophiles and inspire almost everyone else to start composing menus and market lists.
Reviewed by
Rachel Jagareski
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
