Recipe no. 244 from Jean-Baptiste Reboul's La Cuisinière provençale (1909), page 122.
Ingredients
- brains
- water
- ring of onion
- carrot
- thyme
- bay leaf
- parsley
- pepper
- salt
- flour
- butter
- vinegar
Preparation
- CleaningRemove the thin membrane covering the brains.
- SoakingLet the brains soak in barely lukewarm water until they are quite white.
- CookingPlace the brains in a saucepan moistened with plenty of water with a ring of onion, a sliced carrot, thyme, bay leaf, parsley, whole peppercorns and salt. Bring to a boil, skim and let cook a quarter of an hour. Drain.
- Cutting and pan-fryingCut the brains into 2 or 4 equal parts. Dredge the pieces in flour. Arrange them in a frying pan where a knob of butter the size of an egg has been melted.
- Pan-cookingCook the brains on both sides so they take on a beautiful golden color. Season. Arrange on a dish.
- Black butterAdd as much butter again to the pan. Keep it on the heat until it turns brown. Pour in a spoonful of vinegar, then baste the brains with this sauce and serve.
Reboul's text
After removing the thin membrane covering the brains, let them soak in barely lukewarm water; when they are quite white, place them in a saucepan, moistened with plenty of water, with a ring of onion, a sliced carrot, thyme, bay leaf, parsley, whole peppercorns and salt; bring to a boil, skim and let cook a quarter of an hour; then drain.
Cut the brains into 2 or 4 equal parts, dredge the pieces in flour and arrange them in a frying pan where you have melted a knob of butter the size of an egg; cook on both sides, so they take on a beautiful golden color, then arrange on a dish after seasoning them; add as much butter again to the pan, keep it on the heat until it turns brown; then pour in a spoonful of vinegar, baste the brains with it and serve.
Small Provençal glossary for this recipe
Reboul writes in French: no Provençal word appears in this recipe, apart from the dish's name itself. The table below gives the Provençal equivalents of the words used, in mistralian spelling, translated by Lingua Nostra. Each form is attested in our Provençal-English dictionary; click to open the entry.
| Provençal | English |
|---|---|
| desgourga | soak, purge |
| roudello | ring |
| cebo | onion |
| pastenargo | carrot |
| farigoulo | thyme |
| laurié | bay leaf |
| juvert | parsley |
| pebre | pepper |
| farino | flour |
| burre | black butter |
Source: Jean-Baptiste Reboul, La Cuisinière provençale, Marseille, 1909, recipe no. 244, page 122. Public domain. Transcription, formatting and Provençal glossary by Lingua Nostra.