Vive La France: Celebrating Bastille Day

During the 10 years since he opened his Payard Patisserie and Bistro on Manhattan's Upper East Side, Francois Payard's swoon-worthy desserts have tempted even the Size Zero women of his chic neighborhood; they duck in (wearing dark glasses, of course) to spoon up his sublime sweets.

And tea time at Payard's has become a ritual for neighborhood families; many tables hold three generations — grandmothers, mothers and children — all sharing Payard's perfect little tea cakes and dainty but flavorful sandwiches.

It's all in a day's work for Payard, a third-generation pastry chef who was born in Nice and grew up on the French Riviera. After learning the necessary basic skills from his family, Payard moved to Paris, where he perfected his art. He came to New York in 1990 and worked at the celebrated fish restaurant Le Bernardin. Three years later, he joined Daniel Bouloud for the opening of the equally celebrated Restaurant Daniel. He opened Payard Patisserie & Bistro in 1997.

July 14 is Bastille Day in France — celebrating the storming of the Bastille prison during the corrupt reign of King Louis XVI — so Payard has devised a light, summery menu with a French accent. The meal is also light on the pocketbook — all together, you can feed four people three courses for only $40. Tres bien!

TOMATO, EGGPLANT, AND GOAT CHEESE TARTS
Makes: 20 pieces

Ingredients:
For the Puff Pastry:
1 sheet of puff pastry dough

For the Eggplant:
2 Japanese eggplants
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoons honey
salt
pepper

For the Tomato Compote:
5 beefsteak tomatoes
1/2 cup Spanish onion diced
1 cinnamon stick
1 piece fresh ginger, peeled, crushed w/back of knife
1/2 lemon, zested
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons white wine or rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped parsley

For the goat cheese:
3½ ounces fresh goat cheese
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon basil, chopped

Procedure:
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2) Roll the sheet of puff pastry dough to 1/4-inch thickness, then cut with a 1 1/2-inch round cutter. Put the puff pastry circles on a sheet pan with parchment paper and place a wire rack over the puff pastry (this will keep the puff pastry even and from rising too high) bake for 20 minutes or until light golden brown.

3) Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Remove the cores of the tomatoes with a paring knife and cut a small X on the opposite end of the tomato. Blanch the tomatoes in the boiling water for 10 seconds and immediately remove and place into a bowl of ice water. When the tomatoes cool, peel off the skin and cut them into quarters and remove all of the seeds. Chop the tomatoes roughly.

4) Heat a large pot with three tablespoons of olive oil and sweat the diced onion, until translucent. Add the chopped tomatoes, cinnamon stick, lemon grass and ginger.

5) Bring the tomato to a simmer and cook slowly stirring often for approximately two hours, until the tomato becomes thick like a paste. Mix in the elderflower syrup and rice vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and cool, when cooled add chopped parsley.

6) Mix the sherry vinegar and honey together (the honey may be warmed to make it easier to mix with vinegar). Slice the Japanese eggplant into slices 1/5 of an inch thick.

7) Season with salt and pepper, heat a sauté pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sauté on both sides, giving it a light brown color. One the eggplant is cooked add the honey and vinegar to the pan and reduce slightly.

8) Blend the goat cheese, chopped parsley and chopped basil in a food processor until well-blended and goat cheese has a nice bright green color. Fill a pastry bag with a small tip with the goat's cheese.

9) Place 1 teaspoon of tomato compote on the middle of the puff pastry, place one slice of eggplant on top of the tomato compote and pipe a dime-sized amount of goat's cheese onto the eggplant.

CROQUES SALMON WITH LEMON MUSTARD SALAD
From Francois Payard (Payard Bistro)
Makes 4

For Croques Salmon:
2 cups shredded Gruyere
1/3 cup heavy cream, whipped until thickened
pinch ground nutmeg
fine sea salt, to taste
freshly ground white pepper, to taste
8 slices white bread with crusts removed
2 1/2 tablespoons melted clarified butter
6 ounces smoked salmon, thinly sliced

For Lemon Mustard Salad:
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 cups Mesclun mix greens

To make Croques Salmon:
1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2) Chop the shredded Gruyere very fine. With a spatula, gently fold the cheese into the thickened cream. Season the mixture with the nutmeg, salt and pepper.
3) Brush one side of each slice of bread with the clarified butter. Spread the cheese mixture on the unbuttered side of each bread slice. Layer the salmon on top of the cheese mixture on four of the slices, and place the remaining slices on top, cheese side down.
4) Place each croque on a square of aluminum foil and wrap it tightly. Heat a dry skillet over medium heat, and cook the wrapped croque in it for 1 minute on each side. You want to get the foil hot so that it toasts the bread. Repeat with each package. Transfer the packages to a baking sheet. Transfer the packages to a baking sheet, and put it in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes, turning them once halfway through.
5) Remove the packages from the oven and unwrap them. Both the top and bottom should be toasted and well browned.
6) Cut each of the croque sandwiches from corner to corner (along the diagonal) to make four triangles per person.

To make Lemon Mustard Salad:
1) In a bowl, whisk together lemon juice, mustard and olive oil until well blended.
2) Toss the Mesclun greens with the vinaigrette and mix until evenly coated.

To plate:
1) For each person, place four triangular sandwiches on a plate in a circle, with the long side facing in to form an open square. Place one cup of salad per person in the center of the plate. Optional: Garnish each sandwich with a dollop of crème fraiche and salmon roe.

APRICOT TEA CAKES
Makes about 18 Petits Fours

Ingredients:
1/3 cup almond paste
1 large eggs
7 (about two/thirds of a 15 1/2-ounce can) canned apricot halves in syrup, drained
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Pinch of salt

Procedure:
1) Combine the almond paste, eggs and five of the apricot halves in a food processor and process until smooth, about 20 seconds. Add the flour and salt and process until blended. Add the melted butter and process for one minute. Pour the batter into a liquid glass measure with a spout. Chill the batter for 20 minutes.
2) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line mini-muffin cups with paper petit four cups.
3) Slice the remaining apricot halves lengthwise into 1/4-inch strips. Pour the batter into the paper muffin cups, filling them to 1/8 of an inch from the top. Arrange an apricot slice on top of each.
4) Bake the cakes for 30 to 35 minutes, until they are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack. Repeat with the remaining batter. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.