Food in France: Wine, Markets, Books,... See also Restaurants in Paris and Restaurants in France |
Food & Markets: Poulet - all about Chicken
March 2005 By Linda Thalman
A recent Saturday visit to our local Saint Rémy market had me scribbling notes on the
receipt with prices and types of chickens.
The recipe my partner, Pierre, wanted to do called for "chicken". But not just any poulet.
He needed and got a Géline de Touraine, Poulet Fermier.
While waiting for the chicken to be prepared I noted ever so many kinds of chicken.
I mean, isn't chicken just chicken?
Most certainly not in France. There was a choice of white, grey, black, yellow and, of course,
poulet de Bresse.
At the market, the prices ranged from 4.68 to 5.85 euros per kilo for the blanc, gris, noir et jaune
and for the Bresse and Géline it was 10.96 euros the kilo.
Chickens have been domesticated for about 4,500 years and on all my travels it is a dish that is
served in every country - done in so many different ways - and always so tasty.
Take a closer look at the poultry in the markets in France. What a choice of chickens!
Put 20 November on your calendar to celebrate this year's Beaujolais
Nouveau.
On that day you can taste a glass or order a bottle in any café
or restaurant in France or buy a couple of bottles at the corner grocery
store or supermarket.
This year's wine is tipped to be very good following the especially
hot summer and warm autumn in France.
From the web site (in French) http://www.beaujolais.com/
You will enjoy these fine wines any time of the year I'm quite sure.
Mme Salmon at the Limours market has the best poultry
you can imagine. We decided to try one of her chapons this weekend
and it was so succulent, juicy, tender, flavorful!
As described in Larousse gastronomique: this bird is a "jeune
coq castré et engraissé, dont la chair est très
tendre et qui bénéficie d'une appellation d'origine
contrôlée. La finesse de la viande des chapons (jusqu'à
6 kg) vient de l'accumulation de la graisse, qui se dépose
en couches successives dans leurs muscles."
We browned our 3-kilo capon, stuffed it with a mushrooms and herbs,
then put it in the over for nearly 3 hours.
If you can find a capon, do give it a try, as this is the best of
the best and it beats dinde (standard turkey) any day.
Here's a selection of 4 sites for recipes
and stories on French dishes. Have fun cooking or dreaming of a great
meal.
I'm sure you'll enjoy the delicious recipes from chef Erick Vedel's
kitchen in Arles in his site Cuisine et Tradition School of Provencale
Cuisine.
Try The Classic Aioli, Aubergine en Caton avec Persillade, La Soupe
de Poissons, Les Huîtres Chaudes or why not Tarte Tatin aux Poires.
In the 'Meet the Artisans' section of the site do see the Lavender
Ice Cream recipe and story 'Lavender, the Calming Scent of Provence'
as well as other stories on chocolate, honey, goat cheese and more.
Even better, take one of Chef Vedel's Cooking Workshops and explore
Arles!
French Food and Cook Newsletter is a very informative weekly email
with recipes, wine, seasonal information, French-English cooking vocabulary
and more. Fun to read even if you never set foot in the kitchen.
There are regional, traditional and dessert recipes as well as ones
for meat, fish, eggs and vegetarian dishes in the Philagora site -
it is all in French. Their annoying pop-up ads should be eliminated!
Fromages.com has an informative, monthly newsletter and lots of
cheese you can purchase from the web site.
Web Sites
We picked the smallest mountain pass we
could find on the map to cross into Italy. We were not disappointed.
The Col de Lombardi was a 45 kilometer one-car wide maintained road
that zigged and zagged through beautiful scenery. Our French and English
guide books had nothing to say about Piemonte... fortunately the Guide
Rouge for Italy showed not one, but TWO one-star restaurants in a village
called Boves, outside of Cuneo.
Exhausted from hairpin turns all afternoon, we arrived at 19:00
at Al Rododendro restaurant and - miraculously - they are also an
albergo. Our beautiful room and ensuite modern bathroom with
shower cost an unbelievably economical 46 euros.
The dining room was rather formal, but the friendly, attentitive
and professional service set us at ease. Fresh flowers, a candle at
the table, soft lighting... Perfect.
The 50 euro 'menu terroir' was simply outstanding. A truffle starter,
followed by the most delicate crepes with salmon and cream set the
tone for this meal. Melt in your mouth ravioli gallina (chicken) came
next. Then pigeon with a honey and balsamic vinegar sauce with a flower
bouquet shaped presentation of finely chopped vegetables. Then local
cheeses. I had a fruit dessert with raspberries, red currents, blueberries
and blackberries and Pierre was in seventh heaven with the saffran
ice cream and chocolate sauce dessert he chose.
Vive l'Italie!
At the open-air market in St. Remy Les Chevreuse an interesting looking
vegetable caught my eye. The chalk board sign identified the mystery
food as Bette. My query up and down the line of shoppers and
the young man selling me this leafy green and white veg met with hunched
shoulders as to how to cook it.
It looked a bit like spinach but with thick white stalks and larger
green leaves. Much to my surprise, bette or blette is
a plante potagèe de la même espèce que la betterave
- Beta vulgaris var. cicla. What? This is in the beetroot family?
And it's called Swiss Chard in English?
Confusion reigned as I researched why a vegetable that is cultivated
in France, particularly around Lyon, is linked to Switzerland (I couldn't
find a clue to that) and how in the world do I prepare it?
From Larousse Gastronomique I gleaned that all you do is boil
the stalks for about 10 minutes in salted water and the greens for
half that time, then drain. In a frying pan melt some butter, add
chopped garlic, toss in the bette, add fresh cream and using
a low simmer, reduce the liquid by half. Along with Swiss chard and
oven-baked mullet we enjoyed a 1999 Château Fon de Sergay, a
Bordeaux blanc sec. Mmmmmmm good.
I still can't figure out why it's called Swiss Chard... Mine
was definitely French Chard.
You may not associate Yellow Wine with
France, but you should! I enjoyed a 1993 bottle of Arbois Vin Jaune
last week that was fabulous.
The label says Le vin Jaune est exclusivement obtenu à
partir de vin de cépage savagnin, mis vieillir six ans durant
en petits fûts de chêne sans ouillages, ni soutirages....
il se sert légèrement chambré et débouché
à l'avance.
The yellow nectar - decanted and served at room temperature - we
imbibed was produced by Rolet Père et Fils, Montigny, 39600
Arbois. Château-Chalon also produces this unique French wine.
This beautiful region which includes the départements
Jura, Doubs and Ain, is in the Jura mountains and borders Switzerland.
The taste (son goût) is unique. For me it was spicy and strong.
I consulted my trusty Larousse Gastronomique, and it describes
the flavor as nutty and of plums. The six years in the oak casks is
required by French law and the alcohol content is at least 12%. Our
620 ml bottle was at 14%. Apparently this wine can be conserved for
a century or two.
It wouldn't last more than a year or two in my cave [wine
cellar] - I'd serve it or make coq au vin jaune twice a month!
Tip: buy a bottle of vin jaune in a wine shop or supermarket
and try it on its own. You'll either love it or you won't. If you
do, buy a few more bottles to take home!
My idea of cooking: my partner slaves
over the hot stove and learns about provencale cooking with Erick and
Madeleine Vedel in Arles.
The 4 budding chefs in Pierre's class chopped, pealed, cleaned, beat,
whipped, mixed, boiled, baked, fried, heated, chilled... local ingredients
in so many recipes I can't count them all. But I enjoyed the results
every evening. Savor the delicious cuisine chez Erick and Madeleine Vedel.
Cuisine et Tradition - School of Provencale Cuisine
The 1,215 page Larousse Gastronomique (year 2000 edition) should
be in your kitchen or even on your coffee table! The definitions of
cooking terms go from Abaisse to Zuppa Inglese, not forgetting, éclair,
louche, pétillant, sukiyaki and truffer among the 4,000 entries!
Photos of culinary delights, world cooking, 3,000 recipes, characteristics
of different foods, practical cooking and wine information.... This
is mouth watering and fascinating reading - in French, published avec
le concours du Comité gastronomique présidé par
Joël Robuchon.
From the Introduction: "Sans histoire et sans culture, la gastronomie
ne serait qu'un art aléatoire et incertain. L'art des plaisir
de la table évolue sans cesse et cette nouvelle édition
du "Larousse gastronomique" apporte une pierre supplémentaire
à l'oeuvre commencée par Prosper Montangé en
1938. Sous la forme d'un dictionnaire encyclopédique, elle
a l'ambition de demeurer l'ouvrage de référence des
gourmands, des gourmets et des professionnels de la table."
There is truly something for everyone in this book.
I continue to marvel at the variety. Yesterday I listened to the
query from the fruit seller whether the shopper in front of me wanted
"sweet, sour or juicy clemantines." At the poultry and wild game stand
there was just too much to choose from: chickens, ducks, pigeons,
guinea fowl, rabbits, wild boar, pheasants - feathers and fur included!
At the Sunday market two weeks ago all the stalls handed out scratch
cards with each purchase. I never won much in Las Vegas, but this
time I won a bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau at the cheese stall!
Yes, we've drunk it - along with an oozing brie and a farm fresh chicken
dish in Thai style prepared by my partner, Pierre.
As a tourist or as a 'local', France's open-air markets are a delight.
Even if you just 'window shop', don't hesitate to stroll through the
markets. I'll bet you will be tempted to at least buy some cheese
and bread! |
Living just 35 kilometers southwest of Paris is the best of both worlds:
close enough to the 'big city' and yet we're in the country. The most
enjoyable outdoor market around is in Limours, a 5-kilometer drive from
Boullay-les-Troux.
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Email – Linda@wfi.fr
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