Christmas Menu ~ Touraine, 2010

Patrice Arnould

My mum has asked me to write about our Christmas meal so here it is.

There were six of us this year as we were joined by our French friend and great musician, Patrice Arnould. And his gift to us? As we rolled into the sofa’s by the fire, bellies full, he took out his Pandora (a type of medieval lute) and sang to us. Perfect, and you couldn’t make it up!

And so to our Christmas Day menu:

Smoked Salmon Blini’s
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Seared Foie Gras with  Poached Quinces and Maury Sirop
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Marinated and Roasted Roe Deer with Seasonal Vegetables
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A Selection of French Cheeses
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Christmas Pudding
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Homemade Confit Strawberries dipped in Chocolate

Christmas Specialities

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January 6, 2011

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Supermarkets – a cautionary tale

In a previous blog I stated that I will use supermarkets as the last rather than the first resort.  The arguments in Britain against the ever increasing tidal wave of supermarkets are pretty well understood and supported particularly by the Guardian reading types (OK I admit it, that includes me). In France a first glance would suggest that things are different with many names to choose from and much more local and seasonal produce.

A meander through a handful of French towns anywhere in the country would suggest a huge choice of supermarkets from the small high street outlets to the out of town hypermarkets and include names such as Super U, Intermarche, Carrefour, Auchan, Simply, Netto, Champion, Monoprix, Leader and many, many more. A bit more delving however and you find that there are in fact just five companies dominating the market and who are the brand behind the myriad of seemingly endless choices. They are:

~ Auchan Group

~ Carrefour Group

~ Groupe Casino

~ Les Mousequetaires

~ Systeme U

Delve deeper still and you discover that, like their English, American, etc counterparts, they are in fact huge global concerns. Auchan for example on its own website proudly states that it has 1287 hypermarkets and supermarkets in 13 countries.

Supermarkets have a place but I would hate France to go the same way as England where High Street grocers are disappearing, strawberries are flown around the world so that they can be eaten 365 days a year and it is possible to do your shopping at 3am in the morning 6 days a week.

And things are changing here. Granted French supermarkets sell local cheeses – but they’re not great quality and asparagus is still stocked in abundance in spring but you can also find those little packets of neatly trimmed spears flown in from Peru all year round. The bigger supermarkets no longer close for lunch. Super U in Loches, in the Touraine is now bigger and better and lo and behold has now made space for a brand new McDonalds. Supermarkets here like elsewhere, pay the minimum wage (Le salaire minimum de croissance or “le smic” as everyone calls it) and are answerable to shareholders.

And if those arguments aren’t enough, it’s so much more rewarding and enjoyable to shop in other ways.

Supermarkets

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January 5, 2011

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Christmas Bubbly

Armed with the Hachette Guide a group of us went off in search of some sparkling wine to drink over the Christmas period.

The locals here hold Montlouis wines in high esteem. Montlouis is on the south side of the river Cher, opposite Vouvray, its more famous wine producing neighbour. Like Vouvray, Montlouis wines come in still and sparkling varieties and use the Chenin Blanc grape.

The Hachette Guide is a pretty much infallible approach to wine buying as it lists the best wines from the best producers each year. And with the AOC system, a number of excellent vignerons are all concentrated in a small geographical area meaning that you will always come across someone at home and willing to sell you their wines.

We stopped at Domaine L’Entre Coeurs run by Alain and Patricia Lelarge who have 12 hectares on the slopes facing the south of the Loire. Their home and cellars are in St Martin Le Beau a small village in the AOC Montlouis region and just a few miles outside of Tours.

Winemaking for them is as much a passion as it is a business and as a result they have a wider than usual selection. With Patricia’s genuine enthusiasm and encouragement we ended up sampling much more than bubbly and as a result ended up buying much more too! But hey! It was Christmas and what’s Christmas for if you can’t indulge in a glass or two or three…..

It was all good but the best of the bunch was the petillant brut 2000 which we had as an aperitif with smoked salmon blini’s on Christmas day. It had what the French call ‘fine boules’  in abundance and it was truly delicious. Another vineyard on the list of those we will return to.

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Domaine L’Entre Coeurs, St Martin Le Beau

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January 4, 2011

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Six Good Reasons For A Food Blog

Having posted a few blogs now, I thought I should be clear about what it is I am writing about. Those of you who have been paying attention will no doubt answer ‘Food!’.  Well yes, you would be right. Food is my passion but it’s more than just food. I want to write about my personal approach to food and what better time than New Year to try to distil exactly what that means.

A book which has stuck with me is ‘In Defense of Food’ by Michael Pollan where he sets out his ‘eater’s manifesto’. It is essentially written from a nutritional point of view but contains some pretty sound ethics too. I hereby set out my own ‘Food Manifesto’ of six points which I will attempt to adhere to in my daily life and make reference to as I blog.

1. Don’t eat anything your great grandmother wouldn’t recognise as food

My caveat here is to acknowledge that my great grandmother may have come from any corner of the globe. I refuse to buy wines that have been flown around the world when I can buy great wines on my doorstep but equally I will buy tamarind paste to keep in the store cupboard for curry nights. Things my great grandmother definitely wouldn’t recognise as food includes pot noodles, cheerios…..you get the idea.

2. Use supermarkets as the last resort

Queuing up ahead of supermarkets in no particular order is: our garden, the gardens of friends, local producers, local markets, local shops and in some cases mail order (especially when it’s from specialist producers).  Of course this will pretty much equate to buying locally –  another sound ethic.

3. Know the person who produced your food

It is not always possible to buy direct from the producer but my butcher can name all of his suppliers and I am happy with that. And of course the best way way to know who produced your food is by growing it and cooking it yourself.

4. Eat less meat and make it better quality

For so many reasons but essentially it’s better for the planet, it’s better for us and it’s better for the animals.  As a committed carnivore happy to eat good veggie food married to a slightly less committed carnivore also happy to eat good veggie food, I will try to make 2011 the year of 2 meatless days a week.

5. Eat seasonally

The simple fact is ‘why wouldn’t you?’ Who doesn’t appreciate asparagus in May, strawberries in July and ceps in October?

6. Choose fairtrade and organic wherever possible

As before, it’s better for the planet and it’s better for us.

So there you have it.

Here’s to 2011, a year of celebrating great food.

Happy New Year.

Source of image: http://numerologyzenzone.wordpress.com/

Food, Shopping, Supermarkets

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January 3, 2011

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Bringing home the bacon

We recently arrived home from a fairly long trip back to the UK and returned to find the electricity had tripped at some point leaving us with a thoroughly defrosted freezer. We considered applying for a spot at the Tate’s Turbine Hall in London – the beetroot soup installation in particular would have rivalled anything Anthony Gormley could offer. But instead we just got practical and put in an insurance claim which incredibly paid out in a record two days!

We had been talking to our good friends Colin and Julie (aka The Frugal Gourmet and Julie in Loire) about sharing a pig. With an empty freezer and money in the bank it seemed like an ideal time. A great new butcher has opened up in the Touraine at the Halls et Champs in Perrusson, Loches. Sébastian Boivin is the butcher and he’s a French Canadian from Montreal and really shares our ethics. His wife and business partner, Nathalie is from the Touriane. They buy great quality free range meat from producers they know and trust.

We ordered a forest reared pig from the Perigord and on Tuesday went along to meet it for the first time and to have it butchered to our own specifications. You can view scenes of Sébastian, an artist at work, both here and here. The meat is fabulous with the type of marbling you only see on good quality beef. Sébastien commented that the French eat their meat too lean for his liking. I hadn’t thought of it before but he’s right. All the meat you see in the supermarket has been liposuctionned to within an inch of it’s life – fat is a national obsession it has to be said. Like anything it’s fine in moderation and is often essential for taste.

Sébastien Boivin, master butcher

Buying the pig has given me the opportunity to try something new and I am now halfway through the process of curing my own bacon from the belly pork. I am following Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall’s recipe – see here.

We should be able to eat it for breakfast on Boxing Day. I’ll let you know how it goes.

I am also air drying a piece of the leg to make parma (style) ham and best of all have a great big slab of skin and rind salting in the fridge in the shed which will be pork scratchings by New Year’s Eve!

And that’s without countless joints, spare ribs, pieces for sautéing or casseroling, the tenderloin, pork chops, flange for making sausages, knuckle joints for choucroute,  of course, two beautiful fat trotters ….recipe ideas anyone? I’m currently thinking pork pies ….and all this for 126 Euros.

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Loches, Pork + Ham

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December 24, 2010

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La creme de la creme

Entrance to La Borde

Those of you following my husband’s blog will know that we went to the Christmas market at La Celle Guenand this morning. If you haven’t read his blog and want to see some pictures of the Marché Noël and a bit of background on the village then click here.

Whilst Jim had his nose in the antiquarian books I went in search of foodie stuff – not that I had to go far. A local dairy had a stall there.    La Borde is a small dairy in the countryside near Le Grand Pressigny and they make the most fantastic yoghurts – thick, creamy, fruity and very, very yummy. I bought some of every flavour!

I almost bought a litre of crème cru too (literally ‘raw’ cream – unpasteurised to us)

Life on the farm

to whip up into a trifle and other such sweet flummeries over Christmas but realised it probably wouldn’t last that long – never mind, Le Grand Pressigny is only 4kms away, having waited nearly three years to find some decent cream here in France, I can wait another couple of days. I’ll pop over on Thursday or Friday.

The law here is the same as in the UK, it is only possible to buy unpasteurised milk and cream direct from the producer. Retailers are only allowed to sell pasteurised or sterilised dairy products. The supermarkets here sell horrible stuff in little cartons which needs whipping for decades and even then it barely holds its shape. It also has a slightly sterilised and sweet taste – probably because it has been sterilised and sweetened. And apparently I’m not the only one to think so – I came across a paper published by the Food Standards Agency in Wales which says:

  • Evidence shows that heat treatment has detrimental effect on taste and on nutritional value
  • Untreated milk contains anti-infective agents which protect against infectious disease, and these are destroyed by heat-treatment
  • Untreated milk is sometimes wrongly blamed for outbreaks of food borne illness, and other foods are far more likely to be the vehicle of infection
  • The way ahead is not to ban, but to ensure that untreated milk contains the lowest possible levels of bacteria, and that it has been proved that farmers can produce clean milk.

So several very good reasons to continue to search out these producers doing such great things with real food plus I get to enjoy a bountiful supply of gloriously unpasteurised, thick, farm fresh, full on cream. Hallelujah!

There’s a great link to La Borde Farm at http://flint-tools-in-touraine.blogspot.com/2010/11/porridge.html

Milk & Cream, Uncategorized

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December 18, 2010

5 Comments

The Dog Has Got The Bone

Today Mum and Dad arrive from England for the Christmas holiday period. After the best part of a day’s travelling I thought they would enjoy something warm and comforting for dinner so here’s what they are getting.

I bought two cuts of beef from my wonderful local butcher on Tuesday. M Reglain, comes around in his van twice a week. His meat is not cheap but it is always excellent quality. In fact he rears all of his beef himself.

‘Jarret’ and ‘Cote de Plat’ are traditionally used for pot au feu (literally pot on the fire); where the beef is simmered over a low flame for as long as you like – the longer the better. Mine has had a good 6 hours; it’s worth it just for the smells that waft out of the kitchen. I throw in a bouquet garni of whatever herbs are around but always a sprig of thyme and a bay leaf or two. For real depth of flavour I stud an onion with about half a dozen cloves.

Straining for the beef broth ~ used in the first course as a consommé

The vegetables are added later and are traditionally kept as whole as possible.  Todays are simply carrots, potatoes and leeks.  To serve in the French style, first eat the broth as a consommé (clarified with egg whites) and then eat the meat and vegetables with a good Dijon mustard.

But here’s the good bit. My lovely butcher gave me a big fat beef marrow bone to cook with it. After such a long time cooking, not only has it

Marrow from the bone ~ cooked and being served!

released loads of great flavours into the stock but the middle is now full of wonderful soft gelatinous marrow which the French call ‘os a moelle’. Last time I had ‘os a moelle’ was at Le Balto, a hugely popular brasserie in Loches. Julie and I went for lunch on market day and had the plat du jour which was some really unctuous braised beef.  The bone (a bit more delicate than mine!) stood alongside it proudly erect with a tiny spoon to dig out the marrow. I don’t think I have ever seen it on a menu in the UK? Anybody?

Whilst on the topic of bones, I’ve asked the butcher for a pile of beef bones which should arrive on Saturday to make some stock. Roasted, simmered and frozen into handy portions – beats OXO any day.

Marrow on Baguette!

But back to tonight’s dinner – I will be spreading the marrow on rounds of toasted baguette as an accompaniment to the consommé ….. and the dog next door gets the bone.

Uncategorized

December 17, 2010

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Christmas Pudding

It’s Christmas next week and my thoughts turn to puddings. Not the traditional English pudding (although we will be having one of those too) but boudin blanc.

To the uninitiated boudin blanc is  ‘white sausage’ made from finely minced pork and chicken mixed with cream, breadcrumbs, marjoram, nutmeg and sage. It is traditionally served at Christmas time in France and if you manage to find a well made one it’s delicious.

The word ‘boudin’ dates back to the 13th century and is the Old French word for sausage. The word (and the sausage) crossed the channel with the Normans where it became anglicised into ‘pudding’. It’s only present day survivor in English is ‘black pudding’.

‘Pudding’ then came to mean any food cooked in a bag or casing. Hence our own Christmas pudding boiled in a muslin bag or meat encased in suet pastry. It was not until the 20th century that the word pudding came to be used specifically for the sweet course.

Last Sunday with less than two weeks till the big day, Descartes, a vibrant market normally, was positively buzzing and as luck would have it the great little artisan charcuterie there, run by master charcutier Eric Barrault, had set up a tasting table where the boudin blanc was enjoying centre stage. I can categorically say that his is indeed both well made and delicious and I bought two.

One I will cook and slice served on thin rounds of toasted baguette with just the merest smear of mustard  – very traditional – and we shall enjoy them with an aperitif tomorrow night with our dear friend Robert Lacheret who is coming for dinner, the other – well I’ll think about doing something else with it later in the week.

charcuterie, Christmas Specialities, Descartes, Food, Places, Shopping

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December 15, 2010

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Any Old Cheese?

Hello, for my very first posting I thought I’d start with a look at AOC labels and especially a local one here in the Touraine.

AOC stands for Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée and is the French certification granted to certain agricultural products based on the concept of ‘terroir’. There is no direct translation into English for the word ‘terroir’.  It means the combination of geography, geology, climate and farming methods in a particular region which combine to create the final crop or product.

You will most likely have come across AOC on bottles of wine but In fact it was only in 1935 that the French Ministry of Agriculture gave the name and applied AOC labelling to wines. The certification system predates wines by some 500 years when Roquefort cheese was first regulated by parliamentary decree in the 15th century. Today the range of products which enjoy AOC status includes such diverse luminaries as poultry from Bresse, lavender oil from Haute Provence and lentils from Le-Puy-en-Velay.

Here in the Touraine we are blessed with an abundance of goats cheese and so I thought I’d find out a bit more about the AOC Sainte Maure de Touraine which applies to certain goats cheese made within its geographical limits.  Just as an aside, I confess to thinking that goats cheese was over-used and over-rated until Jim and I moved here from England three years ago. Since then I have discovered numerous local varieties and I can’t get enough of it – more of that in later blogs!

Sainte Maure de Touraine, is a small market town between Chinon and Loches and has been protected with AOC status for its goats cheese since 1990.

A word of caution here, don’t confuse it with ‘Sainte Maure’ goats cheese which is produced and sold without the stringent AOC production criteria. The latter tends to be commercially made in factories.

A true artisan ‘Sainte Maure de Touraine’ cheese is made from raw milk which is turned every day, for about 10 days, without draining. It is then shaped into a log and rolled in salty ashes, which act as a preservative.   It often has a straw running through its centre which used to help consolidate the cheese but nowadays is more about retaining its ancient tradition. The final cheese is a delicate white colour, with a light, moist texture. It is slightly salty, slightly lemony and slightly nutty. A winning combination by anyone’s standard.

I love it when people taste it for the first time. More often than not it’s a revelation. For one such reaction, check out Croque-Camille, a great food blog from an American pastry chef living in Paris. Or, for more on St Maure goats cheese visit The Frugal Gourmet or, yet again, visit Walt’s blog “A trailer full of cheese“.

One final tip? Eat it as the French do – always start at the fattest end of the log for to do otherwise is “to cut the udder from the goat”.

Cheeses, Sainte Maure de Touraine

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December 13, 2010

2 Comments

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