F for France!
I SO love France, and I am so blessed by having been there several times... in Paris with my Beloved for a long weekend. In Straßburg/Alsace several times, with all my family. In the Camargue, San Tropez, Villefranche-sur-mer and Nizza, on our Abe-Cruise. And last year: All around in the lavender-blooming Provence with Avignon and Arles, while driving delightful classic Mercedes Convertibles. Through the Grand West-Alps below the Mont Blanc, the Rhone-Alps across tiniest mountain passes and then, along the Côte d'Azur with Grasse, Cannes, Cassis and Marseille, on a road-trip with our Jeep and roof-tent... and ohhh, I will never get enough of this amazing country!
It is on my bucket-list to do a family-trip to Disneyland/Paris. To induldge ourselves on river-cruises on each Rhone and Seine, to explore the Antlantic-coast in Spring, to see the apples bloom in Normandie and Bretagne. I want to see DH hang-glide on Dune du Pilat, and take a whole month for a long and specific Côte-d'Azur trip in February, on the "Golden Route"- the Street of Lemons and blooming Mimosas!
France, the country in which the fork and Haute Cuisine got invented, where the Michelin-guide started out to rank restaurants if they would be worth a stop, a little detour or even a whole journey... it seems hard to pick "some" significant or typical food. IT ALL IS! IT IS ENDLESS!!!
So I came up with the idea to pick 1 (uhm... mostly...) dish or ingredient that might be especially special, from each region of France. Let's start! (The order is completely random!)
Auvergne
The region in the central Alps. Harsh and often very cold, in the winters.
Clafoutis aux cerises
A mix of bread-pudding, pancake and Cherry-pie. Awesome taste!
Escargot (snails) in butter with herbs and garlic (served with baguette and salad), and fried or cold
Foie Gras (extra fat Duck- or goose-liver). The both probably most challenging foods in France, and both incredibly delicous!! It is to say, that both geese and ducks NATURALLY would get a fat liver before winter- without any brutal force. There are a few farmers who take a small cut in productivity, and allow their birds to raise what is wanted all natural, without any torture -on their own. And THIS products, I would buy anytime!
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Bourgogne - Franche Comté (Burgundy)
Many of Burgundies recipes are seen as THE (old) French Cuisine- the cuisine of kings and noble ones. Butter and creme are all times in use. From here are the famous, heavy Burgundy-wines, the famous Bresse-poultry, the famous white Charolais-cattle, escargots from the vineyards and truffles, mushroom and berries from the forests.
Boef Bourgignon
In
Burgundy-Wine slowly cooked beef, shallots, carrots and potatoes -until it's all together super-tender and of awesome, wholesome taste!
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Grand Est (Alsace)
Located at the German border, sharing with Germany a once very poor area, where wild- and garden-grown- vegetables played a big role, also escargots, fish, wild rabbits and venison. For those that were rich, was poultry and pork. Alsace was inspired by German recipes (and vice versa). The most known dish "Choucroute garnie a l’Alsacienne" -Sauerkraut with pickled knuckle of pork, could also be served in Germany and nobody would know a difference, together with many others that even have German dialekt-names.
Tarte aux oignons
A (VERY tasty!) thin "cake" made from bread-dough and affordable vegetables mostly onions, sometimes leek.
From this evolved probably the more internationally famous Quiche Lorraine. Which you could bake if you were lucky- and had bacon, eggs and cream!
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Hauts de France (Champagne, Ardenne)
This area is all about Champagne. Maybe it needs to be said: ONLY sparkling wines that are produced in THIS region are officially supposed to call themselves "Champagne"! Everything else might taste good as well... but it's not IT. Champagne is not only there to drink it, it also goes into many dishes that are knows for this region: Appetizers, desserts, sauces, or as a cocktail, together with sorbets. Ratafia is a wine from Champagne-grapes, and Marc de Champagne a very tasty brandy, made from the pomace of the used grapes. The cuisine otherwise is hearty, with many famous cheeses that also are produced here. The most famous recipe might be the famous...
...
Kir Royal. Again, to add a "Royal" behind the Kir, there must be
real Champagne in your glass! ...That's Style.
-You pour 9 parts of this, and 1 part of Creme de Cassis-liqueur (liqueur made from black currants). Santé! (=Cheers)
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Île de France, Paris
This area around the capital Paris is since the early medieval times the center of France. King and noble men settled here mostly, and built the hot spot of power, culture, creativity, abundance, art -and also ostentation! It is said that Île de France didn't produce an own style of cuisine, besides bringing the traditions of the whole country together and elevating it. Which is a lot. The finest craftmanship of making bread and pastry, sauces, sweets, sausages and amazing things from all sorts of ingredients, happened here. So got also whimsy liqueurs created- as
Grand Marnier (from Caribbean bitter oranges and Cognac) or Noyau de Poissy (from apricots and Cognac). In this tradition is also this incredibly trendy pastry:
le macaron parisien
-or short, the macaron. While "Macarons" existed LONG before (certainly since the medieval times), the owner of the bakery Ladureé, Pierre Desfontaines, started in 1930, to fill ganache between 2 macarons! Originally, a macaron (or macron or Makrone- depending in which country you look for it) was simply a cookie made from almonds, or other nuts, most often together with whipped sweetened egg white. The highly trained chef Pierre Hermés made in the end of the 20. Century the "new" double, ganache-filled macron better, more varied, -colorful and -tasty, and the grandson of Desfontain started a brilliant promotion- and the rest is history!
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Normandie
An area along the Atlantik Ocean that is famous for it's lamb from the salty meadows by Mont Saint Michel and for it's myriads of apples -and also pears. There are around 50 different apple- breeds counted here, that produce the famous light and delicious
Cider (from either apples or pears), and also the
Calvados, a very harmonic fruit-brandy made of also of apples or pears.
The third "C" in the famous 3 "C" belongs to
Camembert, the most famous of the many cheeses in Normandie, that goes back to the 11. Century. The French raw-milk-Camembert is something VERY different in comparison to pasteurised one: Indescribably full, individually ripening- and sooo delicious!
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Bretagne:
The wild Antlantic Ocean gives salt- used in salted caramell and pastry. And a ton of delightful seafood, as oysters, extraordinary high-quality lobster and huge scallops. And maybe all of that combined in a hearty soup, called "Cotriade". But what is especially special is Bretagnes take on Crepe (that are eaten all around France):
Galette Bretonne,
made from buckweat-flour, in sweet or savory.
Kouign amann
Incredibly delightful puff-pastry, packed- and baked with salted butter and salt-caramel.
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Pays-de-la-Loire
This is the region of France that gets called the mellow France. It is incredible productive in agriculture- vegetables, pigs, cattle, poultry, but also fish and oysters, fruit as plums and cherries. The region also produces many famous red- and white wines. This overflow shows in the recipes, exquisite compositions of high quality ingredients. One of them might be
Turbot with spring-potatoes, asparagus and
Beurre Blanc
...a worldwide revered sauce, with just the best that land and sea can deliver!
also this, that has it's origin in Le Mans- but is highly beloved in all of France:
Rilettes du Mans.
It is made of any kind of meat (pork, rabbit, game birds, ducks and geese...) that gets cooked in it's own fat and juices, until it is spreadable. Sort of pulled pork, while more creamy and fat. Pure deliciousness!
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Centre/Val de la Loire (Loire Valley)
Called the "Jewel of France", "The garden of the Kings" and the "Breadbasket and Garden of France"... which shows how rich and blessed this region is, and has been! Kings, aristocrats and artists took a break from Paris here, to relax and recharge. Who was able to do so, built their little or huge chateau in the valley along the river Loire. More than 300 of these castles are still standing.
For many, the cuisine of this area is the best in all France. Fresh fruit of all imaginable breeds and enormous amounts of crop are harvested, fish from the rivers and venison from the forests. Most famous is probably
Tarte Tatin (apple-cake, baked in caramel and their own juice, and then turned over),
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Aquitaine
This is called "the land ouf 1000 pleasures". The Bordeaux-wines that come from here are maybe the most famous wines all over the world:
Names as "Château Lafite-Rothschild" or "Château Mouton Rothschild" give goosebumps to every foodie. Armagnac is probably the most famous brandy.
People have the most fresh access to everything that is called delicacy, in other countries: Foie gras, truffles, oil from finest nuts, finest ducks and geese, best meats thinkable, melons, strawberries, apricots, endless variety of oysters and other seafood.
Pâté de Fois Gras and
Pâté Basque are artfully decorated or more rustic savory dishes of delicious "pies" within (or sometimes even without) dough
Crème brulèe -a custard from cream and vanilla with a candied, hard sugar-crust (incredibly yummy!)
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Languedoc-Roussillon
Now we reached the Mediterranean Sea! The direct neighbor is Spain, and so, the cuisine is heavily inspired by Catalonia (and vice versa).
Lots of mediterranean sea-fish and -vegetables get used, -fruits as figs and peaches as also -herbs as fennel, garlic, rosemary and laurel-leaves.
Cassoulet might be the most famous, very traditional meal (certainly, this is no Novel Cuisine!) It's made from white beans, mutton, pork, sausages and duck: Oh my!
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Provence, Côte d'Azur
...on the right hand there is Italy, and as always, in regions where borders went back and forth, the recipes inspire each other. The Provence is where herbs get cultivated in big style. Like everywhere in the Mediterranean region, olives become a big player in the kitchen.
Herbes de Provence/Bouquet Garni in
Ratatouille
...Herbs of Provence is an internationally famous seasoning-mix, that we think of maybe first, in this area. And while it seems so certain- lavender does NOT, no, NOT, ever! ...belong into this mix of herbs- no matter how cute the violet flowers look! A mix with lavender is made for show- and for tourists. Purists state anyways, that such a bold mixture with more than 2 "regal herbs", as thyme AND rosemary, is irritating at least, maybe even terrible. BUT, it gets used here, - fresh, bound as a small bouquet so that there is no mess with the stems, and it tastes like Provence. The ingredients of the Bouquet Garni are: Sage, bay laurel, tarragon, thyme, oregano and rosemary. No- I repeat, NO!! lavender.
Ratatouille is a famous stew of mediterranean vegetables (take what you have: Onion, garlic, zucchini, tomatoes, bell peppers, egg plant. Maybe even lime or capers!). Eat it hot or cold, as entree, side dish or snack.
Pastis... the iconic drink in South of France.
Pastis (meaning substitute, imitation) got burnt in protest from aniseed by farmers, after Absinth, that could make you lunatic, got forbidden. It is very much in the occult energy and taste of the incredibly famous, "green fairy" Absinth. It is golden in color and becomes opaque, milky-white (or green or blue) when infused with water (common is 5 or 6 parts water, 1 part Pastis). The strange change in color, but also the fascinating fresh taste of fennel and anise -as also the possible addition of sweet sirups, made it become a life-style attribute.
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