The market · Herbs and aromatics · Southern Europe
Bay leaves
The leaf of the bay laurel — a quiet, resinous background note for stocks, stews and rice.
resinous · herbal · tea-like
What to do with it
FilipinoAdoboChicken or pork braised in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, bay and black pepper until the sauce is dark and glossy.No one here has made it yetHunanChairman Mao's red-braised porkCubes of pork belly braised slowly with caramelised sugar, Shaoxing wine, chilli and spices until glossy, deep red and meltingly soft.No one here has made it yetBengaliKosha mangshoGoat meat fried slowly with onion, ginger, garlic and yoghurt until the masala turns dark and clings — Bengal's Sunday mutton, eaten with luchi or rice.No one here has made it yetBengaliChingri malai curryLarge river prawns simmered in coconut milk with ginger, a little ghee and warm whole spices — mild, sweet and rich, and a dish for guests and weddings.No one here has made it yetCape MalayBobotieSpiced minced meat with dried fruit and soaked bread, baked under a thin savoury egg custard, with bay leaves on top.No one here has made it yetCape MalaySosatiesSkewers of lamb marinated overnight in a sweet-sour curry sauce with onions and dried apricots, grilled over coals.No one here has made it yetCape MalayDenningvleisLamb braised slowly with onions, bay leaves and allspice, soured with tamarind and sweetened a little.No one here has made it yetCape MalayCape Malay pickled fishFried fish layered with onions cooked in curry-spiced vinegar, left for days to pickle, and eaten cold at Easter.No one here has made it yetAndalusianRabo de toroOxtail browned and stewed slowly in red wine with onions, peppers and carrots until the meat falls from the bone and the sauce turns thick and glossy.No one here has made it yetCastilian and MadridCochinillo asadoA milk-fed piglet, a few weeks old, roasted whole in a wood oven until the skin is glassy and crackling and the meat soft enough to cut with a plate.No one here has made it yetCastilian and MadridCallos a la madrileñaBeef tripe stewed slowly with chorizo, morcilla and jamón in a thick, sticky, pimentón-red sauce.No one here has made it yetAsturianChorizo a la sidraSmoked Asturian chorizo simmered in dry cider until the sausage is soft and the cider has cooked down to a sharp, red, rich sauce.No one here has made it yetProvençalDaube provençaleBeef marinated in red wine with garlic, herbs and orange peel, then braised for hours in a pot-bellied daubière until it gives to a spoon.No one here has made it yetProvençalGardiane de taureauBull's meat from the Camargue stewed slowly in red wine with onions, garlic and black olives, served with the delta's own rice.No one here has made it yetAlsatianChoucroute garnieSauerkraut braised in white wine with juniper, then heaped with smoked and salted pork, sausages and boiled potatoes.No one here has made it yetAlsatianBaeckeoffePork, lamb and beef marinated overnight in white wine, layered with potatoes and onions in an earthenware dish sealed with dough, and baked for hours.No one here has made it yetNormanTripes à la mode de CaenBeef tripe and ox foot cooked for many hours in cider and Calvados with onions, carrots and leeks, in a sealed earthenware pot.No one here has made it yetBurgundianBœuf bourguignonBeef braised slowly in red Burgundy with bacon, small onions and mushrooms until it falls apart.No one here has made it yetBurgundianCoq au vinA cockerel or chicken braised in red wine with bacon, mushrooms and small onions, the sauce thickened with its own juices.No one here has made it yetGascon and the South-WestCassouletWhite beans baked slowly in a deep clay dish with duck confit, pork and garlicky sausage, under a crust that's broken and formed again.No one here has made it yetGascon and the South-WestConfit de canardDuck legs salted overnight, cooked slowly in their own fat until tender, then fried crisp to serve.No one here has made it yetBretonCotriadeThe Breton fishermen's stew: several kinds of fish simmered with potatoes and onions, the broth poured over bread and the fish eaten after with vinaigrette.No one here has made it yetPolishKwaśnicaThe highlanders' sauerkraut soup, sour and smoky, cooked on pork ribs with potatoes, allspice and bay.No one here has made it yetMexicanBirriaGoat or beef marinated in a paste of dried chillies, vinegar and spice, cooked slowly until it falls apart, and served in its own rich broth.No one here has made it yetMexicanPescado a la veracruzanaRed snapper baked or simmered in a sauce of tomato, onion and garlic with green olives, capers and pickled chillies.No one here has made it yetCreole and CajunGumboA thick, dark stew-soup built on a roux and the holy trinity, with meat or seafood, served over rice.No one here has made it yetCreole and CajunJambalayaRice cooked in one pot with the holy trinity, smoked sausage and chicken or seafood, until it has soaked up everything.No one here has made it yetCreole and CajunRed beans and riceRed kidney beans cooked for hours with a ham bone, smoked sausage and the trinity until creamy, over rice.No one here has made it yetBrazilianFeijoadaBlack beans stewed slowly with salted, smoked and fresh pork and dried beef, served with rice, greens, farofa and orange.No one here has made it yet
Kinds
- Bay laurel
- The Mediterranean one; fresh is stronger than dried.
- Indian bay leaf
- Tej patta: a cinnamon relative, clove-scented — not the same.
- Indonesian bay leaf
- Daun salam: another plant again, for gulai and nasi uduk.
Goes with
Knowing it
- Where to buy
- Anywhere dried; fresh sprigs from greengrocers or a garden tree.
- Worth knowing
- Tear it before it goes in, and take it out before serving.
Kitchens that keep it in
The Philippines — more than seven thousand islands between the South China Sea and the PacificFilipinoSour, salty and a little sweet — vinegar and calamansi, fish sauce and shrimp paste, rice at every meal and pork cooked every way.10 classicsThe Western Cape — Cape Town and the country around it, at the south-western tip of AfricaCape MalaySweet, sour and gently hot: curries and bredies, fruit in the pot, pickled fish at Easter and koesisters on a Sunday morning — the cooking of the Cape's Muslim community.8 classicsCastile and Madrid — the high central plateau of Spain, the mesetaCastilian and MadridThe kitchen of the high, dry meseta: suckling pig and lamb roasted in wood-fired ovens, chickpeas and garlic soups for hard winters, and a capital that eats out, late and standing up.10 classicsSouth Louisiana — the Mississippi delta, the bayous and the prairies along the Gulf of MexicoCreole and CajunA dark roux, the holy trinity of onion, celery and green pepper, rice under nearly everything and shellfish from the bayou — city Creole and country Cajun, cooking side by side.10 classics
