Pity the lactose-intolerant in Normandy, where it seems every dish contains milk, cream or butter. Or maybe lactose-intolerance isn’t an issue there.
Normandy is justifiably renowned for its cheeses, which include Camembert, Livarot and Pont l’Evêque.
How did it get to be a land of such rich dairy products? Rolling green meadows and a breed of cattle regarded as highly productive.
We’ll get to the great cheese in a couple of weeks. Today, let’s learn about some things that can be made when milk is cooked very, very slowly.
One traditional Norman dish is teurgoule, which is a rice pudding. It may resemble crème brûlée, but the process is very different. It’s baked for hours at low heat in an oven until a crust forms.
The Normans also make a milk jam, called confiture de lait. It is milk, sugar and vanilla cooked over low heat until the milk caramelizes. It is strikingly similar to the traditional Latin American preparation of dulce de leche. I used this recipe after looking up several versions in French to ensure it was the real thing.
The confiture is delicious on toast, perhaps made from one of the signature breads of the region, pain brié. The name might lead one to believe it contains cheese, but don’t be confused. Notice the accent. This word comes from the Norman verb brier, which means “to pound.” And that’s exactly what you do with the dough: beat it senseless (or airless).
I used this recipe in English, again after confirming its resemblance to recipes in French. The amount of yeast seemed excessive, but perhaps that’s what was needed for the incredible rise it manages after all the violence. Check out the pounding of the dough in this week’s video.
Next week: Basse-Normandie and famous invasions.
