Tag: Bretagne

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!