September 2007

Just Foolin' Around

Although ratatouille didn't break into the Top Twenty list this summer, it did rank high for a while, probably because of the hit animated movie of that same name. Ratatouille comes from the French and it refers to a stew made of eggplant, tomatoes, green peppers, squash, and sometimes meat and seasoned with garlic and other condiments. Sounds good? Read on.

Interested in seeing a list of some other French stews? It's easy to do. Select the Unabridged as your Reference and click on Advanced Search. Type stew into the Definition field and French into the Etymology field, click on Search and you'll come up with 20 tasty terms. Here's a sampling:

bouillabaisse [French, from Provençal boui-abaisso, from boui (singular imperative of bouie to boil, from Latin bullire) + abaisso (singular imperative of abeissa to lower, from -- assumed -- Vulgar Latin abbassiare)] : a fish stew made of at least two and usually five or six kinds of fish, seasoned with onions and herbs, and flavored and colored with saffron

capilotade [French capilotade, capirotade, from Spanish capirotada sauce containing herbs, eggs, and garlic, from capirote hood, from capa cloak] : a stew often of several minced meats

2civet [French, alteration of Old French civé hare or venison stew cooked in onion-flavored wine sauce, from cive onion, chives] : a highly seasoned stew of game

1fricassee [Middle French, from feminine of fricassé, past participle of fricasser to fricassee, perhaps from frire to fry + casse ladle, dripping pan, kettle] 1 : a stew formerly of light-colored meat (as veal or chicken) in a light gravy 2 : a stew of meat or other foods in light or brown gravy

2haricot [French, from Middle French, probably irregular from harigoter to cut in pieces, from Old French, perhaps of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German herin to lay waste -- more at HARRY] : a stew especially of mutton or lamb and vegetables

paella [Catalan, literally, metal pot, frying pan, from Middle French paelle, from Latin patella small pan] : a saffron-flavored stew containing rice, chicken, seafood, and various vegetables

Want to expand your taste horizons a little further? Try adding "soup" to your recipe collection. Go back to Advanced Search and type soup into the Definition field and French into the Etymology field, and click on Search for an additional 31 entries.