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.
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.)
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.
- Put some flour on a plate and season it with salt and pepper.
- Pat the chicken pieces dry and dredge them in the flour on both sides, shaking off excess.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
- Thinly slice the apples, discarding the cores. Toss with the lemon juice and freeze overnight.
- 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.
- 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
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Line a pan with puff pastry; do not grease the pan.
- Slice the apples into medium-thick wedges, then sprinkle them with the lemon juice.
- 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).
- 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.
- 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 !
