Restaurant Atao - A bit of Brittany in Paris

We’re finally back in Paris after almost six months in the States and Italy and I am ready to dive back into the restaurant scene to share my discoveries with you!

Last night my husband Kent and I tried a neighborhood restaurant in Batignolles that changed hands over the summer. Formerly a simple but good seafood restaurant offering oysters, mussels, etc, Atao, which means eternity in Breton, was opened by Laurence Maheo, an oysterman from the Golfe du Morbihan off the south coast of Brittany. All of the fish and seafood come daily from Brittany and the oysters are cultivated by Laurence and his family.

The dining room is blue and white, like the sea and the sand in Brittany. All 20 seats were taken which is always a good sign. We did not try the oysters this time but started instead with a creamy oyster soup and a dish of girolles with an oyster emulsion. The oyster soup was very flavorful but had only 2 little oysters floating around

in it, a far cry from the delicious oyster stews we Americans are used to. The girolles with a splash of oyster flavor were however quite delicious..

For our main courses we both had fish, which was fresh as could be and perfectly cooked. Kent selected Filets de Maquereau Laqué, 2 generous filets of mackeral lacquered with a soy sauce glaze and served on a bed of spinach with mashed potatoes and an array of root vegetables, grown by Michelin 3-star chef Alain Passard.

The white beets, yellow carrots, and turnips were crunchy and bursting with flavor, a nice contrast to the moist, succulent fish. My Filet of Daurade (sea bream) came with the same wonderful vegetables and an emulsion of basel.

We drank a bottle of Cheverny Blanc 2010, Villemade and were perfectly satisfied, so we skipped the house made crèpes offered for dessert.

We however made up for that today at lunch when we feasted on a Kouign Amann, a super rich Breton butter cake a friend brought from San Malo. One of my favorite chefs in Brittany, Patrick Jeffroy makes a superb Kouign Amann and I have his recipe which I am giving you below. If you can’t get to Brittany, this cake is well worth the effort.

Kouign Amann

(Breton Butter Cake)

Patrick Jeffroy (Restaurant Patrick Jeffroy)

(Serves 8)

Ingredients:

2 c. flour

1-1/4 c. sugar

2 7-g packets of dry active yeast

11 T. butter (keep one stick in refrigerator (8 T.) until called for.

1 t. salt

Preparation:

· In large bowl dissolve yeast in 1/3 cup lukewarm water.

· Set aside until yeast begins to activate and foam, in about 10 minutes

· Add salt and 1 cup flour.

· Stir with a wooden spoon

· Add 1/3 cup of water

· Blend well.

· Add remaining 1 cup of flour.

· Add another 2/3 cups of water.

· Stir until dough forms into a ball.

· Transfer to a lightly floured work surface.

· Knead with heels of your palms until smooth and elastic

· Coat the inside of a large bowl with butter.

· Place dough in bowl, cover with damp cloth or plastic wrap.

· Set aside to rise until doubled in bulk, about an hour.

· Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

· Grease a 9-inch pie pan with butter.

· Dust it with flour.

· On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough to form a large 12x18 rectangle, with shortest side closest to you.

· Cut the chilled stick of butter into 12 pats.

· Place the pats around the center portion of the dough.

· Sprinkle with ¾ cup of sugar.

· Fold short sides toward center over butter and sugar, moving quickly

· Sprinkle dough with sugar.

· Roll over the seems to form a seam.

· Turn dough around so shorter side is closest to you.

· Fold into thirds, as if a letter going in an envelope.

· Place dough in refrigerator to rest 15 minutes.

· Sprinkle sugar over work surface.

· Roll out dough into a large rectangle, dusting as you go with ¼ cup of sugar.

· Folding in thirds again, place in fefrigerator to rest.

· Sugar work station lightly again.

· Roll out dough into a square, slightly larger than the pie pan, dusting as you go with remaining ¼ cup of sugar.

· Press dough gently into pie pan.

· Melt and drizzle remaining 3 tablespoons butter over dough.

· Sprinkle with sugar, baking 35-40 minutes until golden.

· While still hot, remove from pan and serve warm.