Daniel Boulud

Endive has a mild chicory flavor and a slightly bitter taste. Adding a little sugar or honey—either in the vinaigrette for an endive salad, or when the vegetable is cooked— tones down the bitterness. Bacon-wrapped endive is my riff on the classic French dish of endive and ham with a Mornay sauce. This version, which is simple to put together, would make a lovely side dish for roast chicken. I also like to serve it as the main course for a Sunday brunch with friends. The richness of the bacon…

Theres no better way to bring out the delicate flavors of fresh fish than by poaching it in a broth infused with spring vegetables

I like to make this savory tart at this time of year, when the local tomatoes are bursting with flavor and corn is at the height of sweetness. With its traditional pastry shell and custard-like filling, the tart is similar to a quiche. The corn filling, a combination of pureed and whole kernels, is pure American, while the compote of cherry tomatoes on top lends a Provençal air. Think Martha’s Vineyard meets Saint-Tropez. The crust, a classic pâte brisée, couldn’t be easier to make, and the flut…

This classic dish from the Gascony region of France evokes harvest time, when hunting season is in full swing, root vegetables begin to appear at the farmers’ markets, and the grapes in the wine region are picked at their sweet peak. Quail, if you haven’t cooked them before, are small, plump, very flavorful birds, now commonly found at good supermarkets. I like to sauté the birds first, to caramelize the skin, and then finish them in the oven. They’re served on a bed of sautéed radishes and turn…

Spice up your summer grilling with this fresh and fiery variation on the Mexican fish taco—as flavorful as it is simple to prepare Some of the best tacos I’ve ever tasted were made in the kitchen of my New York City restaurant Daniel. My wonderful staff comes from all over the world, and we like to challenge one another to create interpretations of our native cuisines for the staff lunch we call “family meal.” It’s a real treat when our Mexican chefs make tacos. I love the fact that you can wrap…

My grandmother used to make a coq au vin in which she braised pieces of rooster or chicken with wine, shallots, mushrooms, and pancetta. Her version was delicious, but it wasn’t until I was working alongside the great chef Georges Blanc that I truly understood just how sublime this French country classic could be. This was early in Blanc’s career, before he transformed his family’s inn, La Mère Blanc, located in the village of Vonnas in the foothills of Burgundy, into one of France’s most beauti…

Holiday time always reminds me of the years I lived in Scandinavia. In the late 1970s, the great French chef Roger Vergé brought me to Copenhagen to oversee one of his restaurants. I loved Denmark and ended up staying for three and a half years. Christmas was an especially magical time in Copenhagen. Groups of friends would go from house to house, spreading cheer and exchanging toasts. Invariably, there would be food—light snacks such as the bite-size sandwiches, smoked fish, and meatballs that…

Many people are familiar with bouillabaisse, the classic French fish stew. The Provençal version of the dish is called bourride. It is served along the coast from Saint-Raphaël to Nice, and though it may be less well known, it is just as delicious. It is a workingman’s dish: In the old days, a husband would come home in late morning with his catch, which his wife would transform into a delicious lunch with the addition of a few potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, and leeks. The key to a bourride is ai…

I would never be able to run 18 restaurants around the world without my dedicated and talented staff. Since I started out on the line myself, I identify with the young chefs who come to work for me. I pride myself on nurturing their talent and giving them the tools to grow and excel. Along with colleagues like Thomas Keller and Paul Bocuse, I founded Ment’or, a nonprofit that offers grants to help young chefs travel and train around the world. I’m proud to say that several of today’s top chefs,…

One of my favorite warm-weather dishes is the Italian classic vitello tonnato. The dish has its origins in the Piedmont region, which is surrounded on three sides by the Alps. But it was a Tuscan who introduced me to this wonderful dish of thinly sliced veal, or vitello, served in a sauce flavored with tuna, or tonnato. When I was the executive chef at Le Cirque, the cuisine may have been French, but the owner, Sirio Maccioni, was Italian through and through. His wife, Egidiana, who is a wonder…