Frenchified Popcorn
TIME/SERVINGS
Makes: 4 servings
From: French Food at Home , by Laura Calder
INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, more if you like
- About 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 3 tablespoons grapeseed oil
- 1 cup popcorn kernels
- 2 tablespoons herbes de Provence
- Celery salt to taste
- Salt
INSTRUCTIONS
- Melt the butter with the crushed garlic, ever so gently, in a small saucepan. Remove from the heat and set aside to infuse.
- Heat the oil in a large pot. Add the popcorn, tossing to coat. Cover, and shake the pan over high heat until all the corn has popped. Remove from the heat.
- Pluck the garlic gloves from the butter and pour over the popcorn. Toss.
- Add the herbes de Provence and plenty of celery salt. Toss again. Season with regular salt to taste, and serve.
This recipe, while from a trusted source, may not have been tested by the CHOW food team.
COMMENTS | ADD YOUR OWN
Sounds great to me, but you need to put the herbes de Provence in with the butter, to bring out their flavor. I'm trying this tomorrow, if I can find a Provencal movie to rent.
I'd prefer shallots in the butter to garlic. I also suspect that the the sauteed garlic or shallots could be reserved for another dish.
Alternately, just use a pinch of onion powder.
Popping corn around the Mediterranean is probably older than the US habit. But always in a savoury way, without sugar. The latter is solely American.
Yea of course because corn is such a Mediterranean crop. You know those Greeks and Italians growing their fields of corn and then teaching the Pilgrims how to pop them.
Christopher Columbus and the explorers that followed him took corn back to Europe. Though this would in no way predate the "true" native Americans, or peoples living in any of the Americas enjoying their corn, it certainly predates the "United States of America" and their history with popped corn.
Morton's sells this tiny thimble-like container of popcorn salt which, as far as I'm concerned, is a total waste. If you like salt (and who doesn't?), I like to add Hawaiian or Maldon or even Trader's Sea Salt. I find it makes an incredibly delicious difference especially if you also use about 2TBL's of unsalted butter as well.
Mmmm, French popcorn
I love this recipe. Celery salt is the best! I do add the herbes de Provence to the butter to soften the herbs up and infuse the butter. Yum.
The French traditionally don't eat corn in any form, according to my French friends. They consider it fit for feeding to the pigs, nothing more. Too bad for them.
I tried this recipe the other day. Wasn't a fan of the herbes de provence on my popcorn! 2 Thumbs down.
mm this is good! i tried it minus the celery salt(don't have any)