Centre-Val de Loire

Before you read our blog post, please take a moment to read this news about biodiversity. It’s far more important than anything we have to say.

This week and next, our pretend tour de France takes us to the Centre-Val de Loire region, otherwise known as the upper Loire Valley. This area southwest of Paris is the France of picture books and legends. And we are “visiting” at a significant anniversary.

This week’s video

Unlike many other regions, the Centre Val-de-Loire region is not a historic province;  it is, as its name perhaps implies, the heart of historic France, the area between the Paris region and the Loire valley that was for many centuries the centre of the kingdom of France – at times when the territory which is today known as France was divided among the kingdoms or duchies of Normandy, Burgundy, Aquitaine, Anjou and others less important. In this respect, the regions of the Centre and the Ile de France are France.

https://about-france.com/regions/region-centre.htm

This region nourished by the Loire River has been an important European center since at least the Roman era. Often called the “garden of France” for its lush agricultural lands that have yielded abundant crops as well as spectacular wines, the Loire Valley is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Blois. By Wmeinhart (talk · contribs) – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=212108

Most of the region’s claim to fame was established during the Renaissance, when French kings brought their courts from Paris to get away from it all. Yeah, even back then that was a thing. The nobility and hangers-on who accompanied the court built elaborate chateaux, or castles, that make the Loire Valley one of France’s most popular destinations.

The Loire Valley has so many chateaux that you would probably need many years, if not a lifetime, to adequately visit them all. But if you want to try, right now is the perfect time to get started.

Just a few days ago, on May 2, Italian President Sergio Mattarella joined French President Emmanuel Macron in the Loire Valley to mark the 500th anniversary since the death of Leonardo da Vinci. The great Italian painter and inventor lived his last years in Amboise at the invitation of French king Francois I. He died and was buried there. Many events are planned in the region this year to celebrate 500 years since the Renaissance.

One of our favorite movies fictionalizes Leonardo’s time in France. Ever After, a somewhat feminist retelling of the Cinderella story starring Drew Barrymore, has Leonardo in the role of the fairy godmother. It was filmed in the Dordogne, not the Loire, and there is no historical evidence that Leonardo performed any matchmaking services while in France, but it is still a delightful film.

If you want to read a biography of the greatest of Renaissance men, Walter Isaacson’s best-selling Leonardo da Vinci is now in paperback.

Leonardo is one representative of French-Italian relations during the Renaissance. The women from the de Medici family of Florence who became French queens may have been the most significant members of that dynamic.

But did you know that Scottish history is also deeply interwoven with the French? One historian claims the Auld Alliance between the two countries may never have formally ended. Among the fruits of this alliance was the sheltering of the young Mary, Queen of Scots in the French court. If you enjoy historical fiction, I highly recommend the second book in Scottish author Dorothy Dunnett’s series known as the Lymond Chronicles, Queen’s Play. Much of the action takes place in the villages and chateaux (and once on the rooftops!) of the Loire Valley, where our hero has engaged in an elaborate intrigue to protect his child queen.

Another fruit of this connection involves whisky and wine, but we’ll get into that next week.

For now, enjoy these photos of some of the châteaux in the Loire Valley, courtesy of wiki commons.

  • Château d’Amboise. Exif_JPEG_PICTURE
  • Château de Usse, the “Sleeping Beauty Castle.” Ввласенко [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]
  • Château Chambord. Taxiarchos228 [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)]
  • Château de Chenonceau. Ra-smit [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or GFDL (https://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)]
  • Château de Sully-sur-Loire. CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1413225

French women: not so fat

A book I read and re-read every time I need a little inspiration to get myself properly aligned with the universe is French Women Don’t Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano. Thinking of it as a diet-advice book misses its usefulness as an exercise in practical philosophy. The book is really about breaking free of the “diet” trap and embracing the pleasure of a proper meal, accompanied with a glass of wine or champagne.

Guiliano is a French woman who has lived most of her adult life in the United States. Before writing the book, she was president and CEO of Cliquot, Inc., the U.S. branch of the renowned champagne house. In New York, she writes, “my business requires me to eat in restaurants about three hundred times a year.” She is well-positioned to contrast the French way of eating with the American one.

Of course, French women do get fat, but not nearly as much as American women. Obesity rates in France are about half of those in the United States. While I couldn’t find statistics, my personal observation is that morbid obesity is rare in France.

Previously I listed some of the French characteristics in a little slideshow. If you noticed, none of them involved carb-counting or fat-shunning or food bans of any sort. They all focus on style.

While Guiliano obviously endorses French dietary practices, she doesn’t chastise Americans for succumbing to snack foods and oversized portions. She’s been there, done that, and she recovered with the help of some sensible French advisors, notably a family physician she calls “Dr. Miracle.”

Guiliano is not a nutritionist and she doesn’t pretend to present a medically-endorsed health plan. Most of the book is about how to eat, how to savor food and find pleasure in mealtime, with modest portions. She emphasizes quality, which makes excessive quantity superfluous.

Aside from a few recipes , the only content that resembles a “plan” in the usual pattern of the diet book genre is a recommendation for a phase Guiliano calls “recasting.” That process begins with three weeks of journaling and then a weekend mini-fast, eating only boiled leeks and their cooking liquid. In this, my fourth reading of the book, I’m trying the “Magical Leek Soup” kick start for the first time. After a severe winter that derailed some of my good French practices, I need an extra boost. So this is what I’ve been eating all day, and continuing through tomorrow.

There is indeed something magical about it, and it goes to the heart of the French food philosophy. At breakfast, the boiled leek was decidedly inferior to my usual toast and egg. At midday, it was a remedy for hunger. But at dinner, every bite was delicious as my palate had attuned to the pure taste of a simple vegetable simply cooked.

Still, I’ll be happy to enjoy a more substantial dinner tomorrow, and a glass or two of wine this weekend.

Healthy eating the French way

Americans have long entertained a mythology regarding the French and their dietary habits: our Gallic friends enjoy robust health and svelte figures, despite their addiction to cheese and cigarettes.

I was watching 60 Minutes that night in 1991 when Morley Safer shared what may have been the most welcome news ever in the history of health reporting. His iconic report called “The French Paradox” credited red wine as the French secret weapon in keeping heart disease at bay while feasting on foie gras and butter. Oui! Sign me up, said 99% of viewers. Maybe even vegans were intrigued.

Some context for those too young to remember the culture in which this report landed. America’s obesity epidemic was in its infancy (11.1% of adults in 1990 compared to 30.6% in 2017), and dietary fat was public enemy number one. Dr. Dean Ornish‘s prescription for reversing heart disease cast as arch-villain the saturated fat from animal products; his book was a best-seller. Americans were being nagged to ditch the bacon and eggs in favor of rice cakes and oatmeal. Fat-free manufactured “foods” such as Snackwells were entering the market.

So here came the French and their food-loving ways, with copious amounts of red wine washing it all down. Maybe that steak was no longer off limits if it came with a bottle of cabernet sauvignon.

Wine from Corbières

As the old adage goes, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. While wine sales surged in the wake of such positive press, so did American waistlines. Was it possible that a glass or two of red wine could not counteract the effects of camping in front of the T.V. every night with a bag of Doritos and Cheez Whiz? Color me shocked.

Unfortunately, follow-up stories detailing the entirety of the French way of eating did not attract as much notice. As it turns out, French and American dietary patterns differ in other ways that may be more significant. I’ve read about these differences, mostly in the best-selling French Women Don’t Get Fat advice book by the delightful champagne goddess Mireille Guiliano. (Stay tuned for more on the book, next post). And a year ago, I had the opportunity to see for myself.

Last May, I took my second trip to France. My first journey was in 1987 when I was young and concerned with nothing beyond adventure and romance. This time, I was worried my middle-aged flab would earn me jeers from the trim and fashionable French. But if the French were disdainful of my plump figure, they concealed their scorn well; every person we encountered treated us with generosity and warmth, even in Paris.

I was ever so observant to the French manners with food. I saw first-hand some of the practices I had read about, and when I returned home, I put as many into action as possible. This resulted in a 20-lb. weight loss in six months and improvement in all key health markers at my annual physical.

So what are those French ways I observed? Check out this slideshow I made for you!

  • French people don’t eat between meals, and meal times are strict compared to the U.S. In the south of France, we learned quickly that we needed to get lunch at noon, or soon after. Most restaurants stopped serving at 2 p.m. and didn’t reopen for dinner until 7 p.m. Drinks could be enjoyed at bistros in the late afternoon, but typically without food.
  • The French sit down to eat and drink, and they take their time. Want a coffee? Find a table, place your order with the waiter, and enjoy that tiny little cup for an hour if you’d like. But under no circumstances do you get it “to go.” Never did we see a French person walking with a beverage or an ice cream cone.
  • The French socialize while eating. They talk to each other – or at least their dog – instead of texting or watching television.
  • Portions are smaller than in the U.S. The servings are enough, not too much.
  • The French don’t make large grocery runs. Admittedly, we didn’t pass a Costco. But at the markets we visited, we saw people purchasing only what they could carry home in one bag, or often, a small pull-trolley. And in the grocery markets, shopping carts also tend to be petite.
  • Farmers’ markets abound. Larger cities have daily markets; smaller villages have market days. Produce, artisan cheeses, fresh-baked breads and quality proteins are readily accessible. By French law, a standard baguette can cost no more than one euro. That explains why one is sticking out of nearly every shopping bag in France!
  • The French walk it off. This is a function of design. European cities were built for people, not cars. It’s much easier to exercise when physical movement is necessary to accomplish daily chores.

Some of the French practices may seem daunting, even impossible to follow here. None of our businesses close for two hours at midday so employees can enjoy a leisurely meal. Food and drink “to go” is so central to our culture that cup-holders are standard equipment for cars. Work and social expectations have us checking our phones even when we do manage to dine with friends. Restaurants respond to customer demand for value with supersized portions. Most people live too far from a grocery to walk, and with long work hours and commute times, “stocking up” once a week seems the only viable option. And despite the popularity of farmers’ markets, many people (ironically, sometimes in rural areas) don’t have access to one.

But most of us can find one good practice to try. In my community, at least 150 people are committing to walk 100 miles this month in solidarity with our favorite butcher, who has started walking his way back from health problems. Norte, a local bike advocacy group that organizes all things awesome, has partnered with the equally awesome Mark to commandeer a support group around a fun, healthy activity. So, if you’re in the area, and even if you’re not (non-locals are welcome), lace up those sneakers. And if you want to celebrate the end comme les francais with a steak and a glass of wine, well, I think you’ll know where to get it.

Tomorrow: Do French women really not get fat? Let’s talk about it!

Pays de la Loire, du vin

We began this virtual tour de France nearly three months ago, and for the first time on our journey, we have arrived in wine country.

That seems hard to believe considering the importance of French wine in the world market and, bien sûr, to the French. However, wine has not been commercially produced in every part of France, and the regions bordering the English Channel – the focus of our first three months – are those traditionally without a wine industry.

This week’s video.

The wine map of France is expanding, thanks to the European Union’s liberalization of French rules that previously restricted where vines could be planted. Still, the regions with wines likely to be exported and available in your local wine shop are those from the prominent regions, with Champagne being the most northern of those.

French_vineyards.svg: *France_blank.svg: Eric Gaba (Sting – fr:Sting)derivative work: Sdaubert (talk)derivative work: Furfur [CC BY-SA 2.5 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)]

The Loire Valley is the area in neon green on the map above, and it happens to produce some of the best wine in France. With dozens of appellations (legally defined wine-growing areas), the Loire Valley is one of France’s largest and most varied wine-production regions. Diverse styles of white wine dominate, but excellent reds – particularly from the cabernet franc grape – are produced as well. Other grapes grown in the area include cabernet sauvignon, chenin blanc, chardonnay, and sauvignon blanc.

DalGobboM¿!i? [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]

Link to the map above, for zooming in.

This is a big region covering two stops on our tour de France. This week, we’re in the Pays de la Loire, the lower river valley closest to the Atlantic Ocean. I wanted to try a wine from Saumur, mostly because I’m a book nerd and I previously read Balzac’s Eugénie Grandet, which was set in Saumur. As it turned out, the wine I purchased was an excellent accompaniment for the fish I prepared to celebrate the Pays de Loire.

First up, the main course, or le plat principal. I wanted to highlight beurre blanc sauce, which is a butter sauce invented about a century ago by a chef near Nantes and is now a classic of French cuisine. I baked some whitefish in foil to serve as a base for the sauce. The wine’s acidity was the proper contrast with the richness of the butter. It was as if the wine and the sauce were made to go together, and perhaps they were! This is why we often choose a wine from the same region as the food.

Many, many variations of beurre blanc sauce exist, with recipes readily available on the internet. We are a household of three adults, so the following recipe – which I adapted from numerous sources – was just right, although it was so delicious we all could have stuffed ourselves senseless with it.

Poisson au beurre blanc

  • 4 to 8 oz filets of whitefish per person
  • olive oil
  • sprigs of fresh herbs, such as rosemary
  • salt and pepper
  • foil or parchment paper
  • 2 tsp minced shallots
  • 1/4 cup white wine (I used the Saumur)
  • 1 stick butter, chopped into about 1-inch cubes
  • 1-2 Tbsp heavy cream
Beure blanc with some slightly overcooked shallots

Prepare all of your ingredients – mise en place (everything in its place). Heat the oven to 425F. Place each filet on a piece of foil large enough to fold into a packet. Brush or rub each piece of fish with olive oil, salt and pepper and a tablespoon or more of fresh herbs. Fold the foil or parchment over the fish and crimp the edges to seal, then place on a cookie sheet or roasting pan and bake for about 15 minutes. If it finishes before the sauce, keep it warm in the foil until ready to serve.

While the fish is baking, heat a little oil in a saucepan, low to medium heat, just enough to cook the shallots. Try not to let them brown too much, but if you get distracted like I did and nearly let them burn, don’t panic – the sauce will still be good. It has butter and wine in it, after all.

Add the wine to the shallots and let it cook down until almost completely evaporated. At this point, add the cream and cook a little more. Let it get thick but do not boil. Now turn off the heat and start whisking or stirring in the butter, little by little. You can put the pan back on the heat to help the butter, but you want to keep the sauce under 130F. Finally, add salt and pepper to taste, then enjoy over the fish.

Russian Salad coming together

Russian Salad

To accompany the fish, I made a salad that is definitely not traditional for France. But with all the references to Russia along the banks of the Loire from last week’s video, I felt inspired to make one of my favorite salads.

Again, many versions of this Russian salad are available. I used this one, with a bag of frozen peas (cooked in the microwave) instead of the canned.

And the finished meal is below. Trust me, it tastes much better than it looks. My food photography needs improvement.

Pays de la Loire

So, when we were planning this project of a year-long “visit” to all of the regions of France, we first had to define our regions. Would we use the administrative regions that have existed since 2016, or the regions from 1982 to 2016, or even the historic provinces? Ultimately, thinking of the project in culinary terms, we decided on a blend that made sense to us and worked for our schedule.

Some of our regions are old school, some are cultural and some – like Pays de la Loire -reflect the current administrative boundaries.

This region, along with the Centre-Val de Loire, is called the “Garden of France” and probably is most famous for its fabulous chateaux. During the Renaissance, the French royal court shifted to the Loire Valley, where kings and wealthy courtiers constructed these elaborate palaces that are now among the top tourist attractions in France.

Château de Saumur in Saumur, France. CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=375340

Last year, when we were planning a real visit to France, a cycling trip to the Loire Valley had been on our agenda. Then April in Michigan happened (more blizzards) and we decided to go as far south in France as possible, so most of our 2018 trip was spent along the Mediterranean. Cycling the Loire Valley remains an unrealized goal, and one we hope to accomplish on our next visit.

The most visited Loire chateaux are in the Centre-Val de Loire region, so we’ll take up this topic again when we “go” there in two weeks.

Meanwhile, the Pays de la Loire offers a transition from last week’s visit to Bretagne (Brittany) because part of it is historically and culturally Breton.

This week’s video

The capital of the region and the sixth-largest city in France, Nantes is culturally and historically part of Brittany. The Dukes of Brittany made it their primary residence, and their castle is one of the top attractions of the city.

By ChateauDesDucsDeBretagne20090906.jpeg: Plindenbaumderivative work: Paravane (talk) – ChateauDesDucsDeBretagne20090906.jpeg, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15897849

Nantes was a major port for the slave trade in the 18th century. A meditative public park commemorates the victims of this disturbing time in French history and also highlights ongoing global struggles against slavery.

Nantes is now considered one of the best cities in France for quality of life, and a particularly appealing destination for a family vacation with kids, although it is in no danger of eclipsing Disneyland Paris (seriously, on our Paris-Dublin flights last year, every kid on board was either going to or coming from Disneyland).

Jules Verne was born in Nantes, and city pays homage to the pioneering novelist with an amusement park inspired by his adventure stories. Les Machines de L’Île looks like fun for kids of all ages. Who wouldn’t want to take a ride in a mechanical elephant or a giant bug on a carousel?

Duch [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]

Sailing upriver from Nantes (and a river barge trip is a popular way to see the Loire, with many operators offering excursions), you will find a unique, quirky and nearly unknown attraction on the isle of Chalonnes-sur-Loire. Le Lenin Cafe is a museum to the Soviet founder and a celebration of revolutionary ideals. The establishment offers food, music and accommodations in accordance with its principles of resistant tourism. There is no information in English on this place.

Continuing on upstream, we come to another area of historical importance. Angers was the original seat of the Plantagenet dynasty that ruled England and parts of France for three centuries. Again, I’ll recommend  historian Dan Jones’ fascinating book The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England.  We will continue to meet up with them in our tour.

Château d’Angers.

At the eastern edge of the region, we come to the large and important village of Saumur. Its wine trade provided the setting for Honoré de Balzac’s novel Eugénie Grandet, an excellent novel (albeit hard to find in print) capturing provincial life in early 19th century France.

Saumur brings us (finally!) deep into a French wine-growing region, which we’ll explore next week in the culinary edition.

FrancoFile Friday: Français en Caroline du Nord

The French, they are everywhere.

A restless and curious people, the French have explored and inhabited nearly every part of our planet, spreading French language and culture wherever they journey. Sometimes this influence has been unwelcome (see colonialism). But today, hooking up with French culture is usually a pleasant experience.

Recently, we were on vacation in North Carolina and we found a treasure trove of French experiences. Of course, French restaurants and eateries are plentiful, as expected. Even in the suburb of Cary, we stumbled upon two crêperie food trucks in the same parking lot.

One of my favorite stops for years has been the La Farm French bakery in Cary. It is far from a well-kept secret; wait times for brunch on the weekends can be long, but the take-out queue moves fast for those getting bread or pastries to go.

If you speak or are learning French, eventually you may want to read a book en français. One of three French bookstores in the United States is located in Raleigh. We visited Des Livres & Delices and were impressed at the large selection – classics, contemporary literature, history, travel guides and more. The shop, located near Five Points, also includes a small French grocery and offers online sales and shipping.

Des Livres & Delices, Raleigh, N.C.

Another enchanting stop was about an hour west of Raleigh in the small town of Pittsboro. A French-American couple (he’s from France, she’s from North Carolina) opened the eclectic shop French Connections nearly 20 years ago in an old house on Pittsboro’s main street.

Whimsical art on the lawn of French Connections, Pittsboro, N.C.

Inside, owners Jacques and Wendy Dufour have collected a delightful gallery of fabrics and art to share France and Africa with North Carolina.

The gorgeous fabrics made me vow to learn to use my sewing machine.

The couple also lived in Senegal. African handicrafts, art and textiles fill two large rooms of the shop.

For the Francophiles who want to gather, Raleigh has an active chapter of Alliance Française, offering weekly activities and special events. It is connected with a language school for children and adults wanting to learn French.

And for conversation, each city in the Triangle has a French Meetup group.

First FrancoFile Friday video.

We hope you enjoyed our first FrancoFile Friday post. This will be an occasional thing whenever we find something non-regional we want to share, so check back regularly.

On Monday, we’ll take you to the region of Pays de la Loire, which is not just for wine and chateaux!

Crêpes and cake in Brittany

We’ve been traveling the past two weeks, although not in France. We’ve been enjoying le printemps (spring) in Caroline du Nord (North Carolina). We’re planning a special edition of this blog and our video channel later this week to highlight Francophone finds in the Triangle region of North Carolina.

Today, we discover what we might eat if we were in Bretagne (Brittany).

Almost certainly, we would eat something from the sea. With its extensive coastline, fishing has long been a mainstay of the regional economy. Seafood platters dominate restaurant menus. We once watched an episode of No Reservations in which Anthony Bourdain consumed a colossal tower of shellfish.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t replicate that experience.

Instead, we bring you another iconic contribution to world cuisine from Brittany: the crêpe. These thin pancakes are ubiquitous throughout France and, increasingly, the world. My own neighborhood in northern Michigan has an excellent crêperie operated by the genial Vanessa, une femme française who settled in Traverse City.

In Brittany, savory crêpes – called galettes – are made with buckwheat flour. We used this recipe for the traditional galette complete, which is a crêpe with ham, cheese and egg.

Galette complete.

We also made a Far Breton, which is a custard-like cake similar to flan. We made the pirates’ version using a recipe from Let’s Eat France, our new favorite food book.

The Privateer’s Far Breton

adapted from a recipe by Thierry Breton in Let’s Eat France

  • 2.25 cups (220 g) all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp (175 g) sugar
  • 1 tsp (6 g) sea salt
  • 5 eggs
  • 4.25 cups (1 L) whole milk
  • 1 cup plus 1 tbsp (250g) heavy cream
  • 1 tbsp rum or armagnac
  • seeds of 1 vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • about 2 cups of soft prunes
  • 1 tbsp plus 2 tsp (25 g) butter, for greasing the pan

Chop the prunes coarsely and soak in the rum or armagnac for as long as you want. Preheat the oven to 475F (250C). Grease and flour two 8″ round cake pans or a 9×13 baking dish, or better yet, line the baking dish with parchment paper and grease the paper. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, eggs, milk, cream and vanilla. Distribute the soaked prunes in the bottom of the pan or pans. Pour the batter over the prunes. Bake for 20 minutes, turn the oven off, then let the cake rest in the oven for another 30 minutes. Cool before serving. Dust with powdered sugar.

To see more, check out this week’s video.

À la semaine prochaine !

Degemer mat à Bretagne

That was Brançais. (Breton + French, I’m coining the term.) It means welcome to Brittany!

Brittany (Bretagne in French, Breizh in Breton) may be the least French region of France. The Celtic history of this northwestern peninsula has left a unique and fascinating legacy of culture and language, albeit endangered in modern times.

Human ancestors have lived in Brittany since the Stone Age. Many prehistoric sites can be visited today, including the Carnac stones.

Carnac stones. Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net). [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]

Prior to the Roman conquest of Gaul, the area that is now Brittany was inhabited by five Celtic tribes. This population, largely rural, retained its culture during the Roman era. Later, near the end of the 4th century, Celtic peoples from Wales and the southwest of England migrated to the region. It is from this migration that the region derives its name.

For more on the history of Brittany, Encyclopedia Brittanica has a nice overview, and of course, Wikipedia.

Pointe du Raz. S.Möller [Public domain]

By French standards, Brittany is a rugged, out-of-the-way destination. It’s off the beaten path for tourists as well, and that’s the tourists’ loss. Brittany has natural and cultural attractions that make for a great vacation or permanent residence. With a third of France’s coastline, many marine animals and birds can be seen along the shore and the hundreds of islands off the mainland. Inland, the land is forested, hilly and characterized by small villages, often highly picturesque. The principal cities are Nantes and Rennes, the latter of which has been listed as the best city in France for foreigners to live.

Dol-de-Bretagne. Schorle [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)]

Language

As discussed in this week’s video, Brittany has a Celtic native language, although it is in rapid decline. Efforts are underway to revive Breton, but today’s speakers are almost all elderly. Still, if you travel to Brittany, you may see a few road signs in Breton.

Books

The ancient walled town of Saint Malo is Brittany’s most-visited attraction. It is also the setting for one of my favorite novels -indeed, a favorite novel of many readers – the Pulitzer-Prize winning All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. Set during World War II, this moving story of two teenagers caught in war on opposite sides is one I highly recommend.

And, if you are at all tempted to visit or relocate to Brittany, pick up the charming memoir I’ll Never Be French by Mark Greenside, a New Yorker who moved to Brittany with his girlfriend. She left, he stayed, and he recounts his experiences integrating into a Breton village. He is grateful for the warmth and generosity of his neighbors, who welcome him and rescue him from numerous mishaps.

Finally, Honoré de Balzac set one of his novels in Brittany. Les Chouans is out of print in English, but you can find it for online to download for free.

Our video this week, with a special guest.

Next week, we’ll take a look at some of the food of Brittany. There will be crêpes!

La cuisine de Basse-Normandie

I thought about titling this post, “Just add Calvados.” That delicious apple brandy from Normandy is included in nearly every dish I have to share with you today – main course, dessert, even the coffee.

If you are unfamiliar with this beverage, you’re not alone. It’s not popular in the United States and it can be hard to find except at well-stocked liquor stores. A note for those in northern Michigan: an excellent locally-produced apple brandy can be purchased at Black Star Farms’ tasting room.

Despite the elusiveness, I’ve rarely been without a bottle of Calvados in my pantry since college days, and I can credit that to the chunky apple walnut cake recipe in The Silver Palate Cookbook, which was my first acquisition in a cookery book collection that now numbers in three figures. My husband requests that cake every fall, and having once made it without the shot of Calvados, I can verify that this magical ingredient is worth tracking down.

Cows grazing among the apple trees of Normandy. Philippe Alès [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]

Calvados is an area of lower Normandy that takes its name from a cluster of rocks off the shore in the English Channel. The famous Camembert cheese also originates from lower Normandy. However, I did not pair these two classics for my dinner à la normande, mostly because I just missed closing time at my local cheese shop and was unable to get any Camembert.

Still, I have a great collection of recipes to share with you, starting with a rye bread that does not include Calvados (although I suppose it could be substituted for the hard cider.)

This week’s video.

For the Normandy Cider Rye, I used this recipe from The Rye Baker. I found a similar recipe from La Brea Bakery. If you have a digital kitchen scale – and if you bake, you really should – use the metric measurements, which for Greenberg’s recipe has 650 g rye flour, 260 g all-purpose flour, and 650 g hard apple cider.

Our main course came from another favorite cookbook, Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table. Her Chicken Normandy has been a weeknight standby in my house for years. I even included it for a class I taught at Oryana several years ago on cooking with apples.

Chicken à la Normande (adapted)

  • all-purpose flour (for dredging)
  • 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves or equivalent chicken thighs
  • 1-2 Tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1-2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large apple, peeled, cored and cut into 1-inch chunks
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 8 oz sliced mushrooms
  • 1/3 c. chicken broth or green tea
  • 2 Tbsp Calvados
  • 2/3 c. heavy cream

Note: When a recipe has a small amount of broth, I often use leftover or second-brew tea instead, just because I have it handy.

Chicken à la normande, with a kale salad.
  1. Put some flour on a plate and season it with salt and pepper.
  2. Pat the chicken pieces dry and dredge them in the flour on both sides, shaking off excess.
  3. Put a large deep skillet over medium heat and add 1 Tbsp each of butter and oil. When the butter is melted, add the chicken. Cook for 3 minutes, turn and cook on other side for 3 minutes more.
  4. Add more butter or oil if the pan is getting dry, then toss in the apple, onion and mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper and stir to coat with the oil and butter. Cook for 1 minute then add the broth. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, until the chicken is almost cooked through.
  5. Turn the heat up again, pour in the apple brandy, and boil until it’s evaporated, about 1 minute. Add the cream and cook until the cream reduces by about one quarter. Taste for salt and pepper. 

I served the chicken with a kale salad, which I’m certain is not typical of Norman cuisine, but it worked well.

Wine note: an oaky chardonnay paired nicely with this dish. I opened a bottle, poured a glass, immediately regretted it because I wasn’t yearning for that taste, but then felt like a genius when I sipped it with the chicken.

And now, the Norman hole, or le trou normand. I had never heard of this delightful concoction until I researched the cuisine of the region, yet I suspect it will become a mainstay in my kitchen. It is a shot of Calvados on top of green apple sorbet, and in Normandy it it typically served between courses to aid digestion. I can’t say for certain that it helps for that, although it certainly didn’t hurt. It’s light, refreshing and also a nice ending for a meal. Unfortunately, commercial green apple sorbet is not readily available in most U.S. grocery markets, so I made my own, blending directions from numerous recipes in English and French.

Green Apple Sorbet

  • 4 Granny Smith apples
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 200 g sugar
  • 200 g water
  1. Thinly slice the apples, discarding the cores. Toss with the lemon juice and freeze overnight.
  2. The next day, make a simple syrup by boiling the water and sugar together until it dissolves. Pour this over the apples and whiz in the blender until smooth.
  3. Chill for a couple of hours and then add to your ice cream maker. Alternatively, you could use the freeze-stir method.

Finally, what would a Normandy meal be without an apple tart? I used a recipe from my new favorite food book, Let’s Eat France!

Tarte normande

  • 8 oz sheet all-butter puff pastry
  • 2.25 lbs apples
  • juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 8 oz (or 1.25 cups) crème fraîche
  • 3 generous Tbsp Calvados
  1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
  2. Line a pan with puff pastry; do not grease the pan.
  3. Slice the apples into medium-thick wedges, then sprinkle them with the lemon juice.
  4. Arrange the apple slices on top of the dough, placing them snugly against each other so they almost overlap. (Or just throw them in randomly; it will still be good).
  5. In a bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together until lightened. Whisk in the crème fraîche, then stir in the Calvados. Pour this mixture over the apples.
  6. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the top is golden.

I made a rectangular version because I used store-bought puff pastry and I didn’t want to cut it.

In true Norman fashion, you could serve the tart with a café-calva, which (do I even need to say it?) is coffee with a shot of Calvados. The café-calva is not a taste I loved on its own, but it was surprisingly delicious with the tart. The French really do know something about food and drink, n’est ce pas vrai?

Next week, our tour takes us to Brittany, the Celtic region of France.

À la prochaine semaine !

Basse-Normandie, Invasions

Aside from Paris, one of the most popular destinations for American visitors to France is the coast of Normandy. The sites of the D-Day landings in World War II call to those who want to honor the soldiers whose sacrifices marked the beginning of the end of the war in Europe, and those beaches and related monuments also are a draw for general students of history.

The Allied invasion of 1944 was one of the most significant military campaigns in history, but it was not the first Norman invasion that changed the world. That distinction belongs to the invasion of 1066 that was launched from Normandy across the channel to England.

The Norman conquest of England, nearly a millennium ago, isn’t just ancient history. Its legacy can be found through every subsequent century and even in our language.

For three centuries after the conquest, England was basically ruled by the French. The Anglo-Norman dynasties that followed William’s conquest conducted government business in Norman French and maintained their continental holdings and interests. Some of these rulers spent very little time in England. If you want to learn more about this time period, I can highly recommend historian Dan Jones’ fascinating book The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England. Incidentally, my favorite Plantagenet is Eleanor of Aquitaine, and we’ll visit with her when we get to southwestern France.

After the Plantagenet dynasty passed on English rule to the Tudors, France and England remained almost perpetually locked in conflict. Even today, British-French relations can be strained as the United Kingdom prepares to leave the European Union. (That link is such a fascinating read on the current state of affairs that I must link it again!)

And there may be no better region to contemplate the past 1,000 years of Anglo-French history, or its future, than in Basse-Normandie. When we eventually visit, we might start in Bayeux to view the famous tapestry depicting the Norman conquest.

Musée de la Tapisserie de Bayeux [Public domain]

The D-Day beaches, where Allied forces landed to liberate France from the Germans, are nearby, as well as graveyards, museums and memorials for the fallen soldiers.

Unrelated to any of these wars is another of Normandy’s top attractions: the island monastery of Mont-Saint-Michel, where visitors can learn about learning in medieval times while enjoying stunning views.

Antoine Lamielle [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]

One of the best locations to experience the remnants of traditional Norman culture and various dialects of the Norman language, as well as explore the peculiarities of Anglo-French relations, may be the Channel Islands.

These islands, technically the last survivors of the ancient Duchy of Normandy, are basically independent entities, although they receive protection from the United Kingdom. They were the only British territories to be occupied by the Germans during World War II. A terrific novel, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, explores this time period and its aftermath. A film version is available for streaming on Netflix.

John Rostron [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)]

Back on the mainland, another destination for nature lovers is the area south of Caen known as La Suisse Normande for hiking, canoeing and scenic villages.

Osbern [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]

And speaking of villages, I’m so enchanted by the photos of the quintessential Norman village of Beauvron-en-Auge that I want to go directly to the real estate listings!

Tango7174 [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]

It’s right in the heart of Calvados and camembert country, which is a perfect teaser for next week’s armchair travel segment, the food and drink of Basse-Normandie.

À bientôt !