It is funny that the dish, referred to only as “julienne” - was not originally it. And the concept of “julienne with potatoes” is completely absurd from the point of view of the creator of this dish. So what is it, where did it come from and how to cook it properly?
Julien's story
The very name of this common dish evokes thoughts of France. And this is true, because she is the mother of the fragrant and satisfying guest of almost every holiday table.
A curious discovery for many will be the information that this word, which is currently called the dish, used to be called only a way of cutting products in a special way. These are thin lines in cutting anything. So, tomatoes were cut into thin rings, and vegetables were cut into thin strips, which looked very much like spaghetti. Interestingly, in most ancient sources, any dish where vegetables were cut in this way was called “julienne”.
Where this name came from is also reliably unknown. Someone says that this is a derivative in honor of the cook who came up with this style of slicing products. Others claim that this is its own name. But is it really important when the question remains how the slicing method turned into a full-fledged dish?
Cocot or Julien?
In domestic cooking, julienne is nothing more than a dish baked in sour cream, mayonnaise or sauce. And speaking of terminology, then in French cuisine there really are dishes that are prepared in this way. True, they are called "cocotte" there, and why it is called differently here is a mystery covered in darkness.
By the way, as in France, it is customary for us to cook julienne-cocotte in the same dish - cocotte. What is she like? This is a small frying pan or a heat-resistant bowl. It comes in many shapes and sizes.
But, whatever the name of the dish, the main thing is how to cook it correctly and tasty! And let the potato is absolutely not the ingredient that is customary to be used in Julien's homeland, it is he who makes the dish more satisfying and juicy. Here are a few options for both simple recipes and more complex ones.
The most popular recipe
The most successful and simple combination of products was julienne with potatoes, chicken and mushrooms. This dish is juicy, soft and perfect for a family dinner or a romantic dinner.
300 grams of chicken after washing under running water and drying with a paper towel is cut into small cubes. Remember that the meat will decrease in size, so it is not necessary to grind it too much.
Any canned mushrooms are cut in half or in four, while onions are chopped as finely as possible. By the way, it is better to grate four large potatoes on a coarse grater. So the dish will have a more rich meat taste, because the grated root vegetable will absorb the juice of meat and mushrooms and gain their taste.
Cooking julienne
We spread all the ingredients in a pan in stages. You should start with the fillet so that it gets rid of excess moisture. Next put the mushrooms and onions. The resulting mass should become golden before grated potatoes go to it.
The final step in the stay of meat in a pan will be stewing in sour cream with spices. Many say that suneli hops are best suited.
In order to get a beautiful julienne with potatoes, the stewed mass is laid out in cocotte makers. If you do not have such dishes, then metal molds for baking small cupcakes perfectly handle their role.
Sprinkled with cheese, julienne is sent to the oven for 20 minutes, at a temperature of 200 degrees. After cooking, in no case do not try to remove the finished dish from the dishes. Serve it directly in the cocotte. Your guests will never forget this masterpiece and may even ask for a recipe. The calorie content of 100 grams of this dish is 133 kcal.
Julien in the potato
Suppose you don’t have any cocotte makers or cupcake tins. Do not rack your brains on how to be. Everything has been invented for a long time - bake the filling directly in the potato. Here is one of the options.
To prepare the dish you will need:
- Several large potato tubers of the same size.
- Fat cream or sour cream, not less than 250 grams.
- 400 grams of champignons.
- 100 grams of butter.
- One onion.
- 200 grams of hard cheese
- A tablespoon of wheat flour.
- Salt and spices to taste.
First, the filling is prepared. For her, finely chop the onion into cubes, and the mushrooms into strips. Some recommend soaking mushrooms in salted cold water even before slicing, but this is completely optional.
Melt about 70 grams of butter in a pan and place the mushrooms there. They should be fried for about 15 minutes over low heat, so that they settle. Once this happens, add the onions and fry everything together for about five minutes.
The filling should thicken. To do this, add a spoonful of sifted flour to the pan and cover everything with a lid for 10 minutes so that everything is thoroughly stewed. At the end, add sour cream or cream and, having thoroughly mixed everything, cover with a lid for another 10 minutes. The filling is ready. If the mass at your discretion is too thick, then it can be diluted with warm milk or boiled water.
Boat making
The time has come for the most interesting - making molds for julienne. It is important to note that potatoes should be not only large, but also about the same size. So it will be easier to calculate the cooking time and no one will enjoy raw foods.
The root crop is thoroughly washed and cut lengthwise into two parts. In the center of the resulting halves, you need to make recesses for the filling. Many for this purpose use an ordinary teaspoon. The baskets are ready to bake everything.
Roasting julienne in potato baskets
The baking sheet itself, on which julienne with potatoes will be prepared instead of the cocotte, must be greased with sunflower oil. Before you put in the baskets the previously prepared filling, you must place inside a small piece of butter. A cube the size of a centimeter will be enough.
In the oven, heated to 200 degrees, put the dish for 15 minutes. In the meantime, you need to grate the cheese and, after placing it on the baskets, send the pan to the oven for another 20 minutes.
There are two ways to check the readiness of a dish:
- By color. If Julien acquired a golden brown ruddy crust, the dish is ready to be served.
- Poke a toothpick on the side. If it gently and smoothly enters the basket, then the dish is completely baked and ready for use.
By the way, with regard to the filing, there is also a little secret. To make the dish taste creamier, pour each melted butter into a basket. Julienne can be served as an independent dish, or as a side dish for meat or vegetables in any form.
Another option in potatoes
A simpler version of the julienne recipe with mushrooms and potatoes is to boil the latter. The filling is prepared according to the same principle as in the first embodiment. The recipe is distinguished by the manufacture of the boats themselves.
Medium sized potatoes are boiled in salted water until almost ready. Next, the root crop is cut along and a middle spoon is selected with a teaspoon. The filling is spread directly in the potato and immediately sprinkled with grated cheese.
Now julienne with potatoes is sent to the oven for literally 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees in advance.
Upon reaching full readiness, the dish is sprinkled with finely chopped herbs and served to the table.
Julien in the slow cooker
For those who cannot cook julienne with chicken and potatoes in the oven due to the lack of the latter, you can always use this recipe for a slow cooker. Let's start with the preparation of the ingredients:
- Boiled potatoes in an amount of 12 pieces are cut into small cubes.
- A half kilogram of chicken and the same amount of mushrooms are also turned into cubes.
Large white onions are cut as small as possible, in fact, like a few cloves of garlic. Cooking julienne with chicken and potatoes is easier, combining both the stove and the slow cooker. So, while in the bowl on the "Frying" mode, mushrooms and chicken meat are browned to a golden color, in the pan on the stove you can begin to prepare the basis for the sauce. How? In a completely dry bowl, fry the wheat flour for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. After that add 1.5 tablespoons of butter and by stirring let the flour saturate it.
It is time to remember about the slow cooker. Now they add onions, garlic and favorite spices to it.
It is time to go on cooking exclusively in the slow cooker. Since all the ingredients in it are already sufficiently fried, you can transfer the flour into them and add a little water. The well-mixed contents of the bowl should be brought to a boil, and then add the cream cheese and mix again. It is time to pour potatoes and a couple of eggs into the slow cooker, sprinkle with grated cheese and leave to cook for 50 minutes in the Baking mode.
After a beep, the dish is not immediately taken out. It takes another 10 minutes for it to infuse in a warm bowl. Serve hot better.
Fish recipe
Most often in the vastness of the Web you can find a recipe for julienne with potatoes exclusively with meat or mushroom filling. What about fish?
To start, the fish fillet is cut into small pieces and sprinkled with salt and spices. While the fish is being consumed, several large onions are finely chopped and fried in butter. Meanwhile, several potatoes are grated and put in a colander so that the glass is excess liquid.
Mushrooms are added to the onion and stewed together for literally 5 minutes. Then greasy cream is poured into the pan and the excess liquid is evaporated over high heat. When there is very little water left, they put the fish in the pan and stew it all together for another minute.
Now you need to start forming julienne with potatoes. In the oven, the air is heated to 200 degrees. Potatoes are laid on the bottom of the cocotte, and the contents of the pan are on top. Hard cheese is carefully poured on top. The baking time is 20-25 minutes.
White wine is said to emphasize the sophistication of this oven-baked julienne with potatoes, mushrooms and fish.