Showing posts with label Provence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Provence. Show all posts

Aïoli – Aioli. France's Much Loved Garlicky Mayonnaise Version was the Original Aïoli. Aioli on French Menus. Enjoying Le Grand Aioli in France.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 

  
Aïoli – Aioli
Photograph courtesy of Tim Pierce
www.flickr.com/photos/qwrrty/3090907319


Aioli  - France's Garlic Mayonnaise

Aioli was the name originally given to France’s garlicky mayonnaise and is often associated with Provence. For such a famous sauce, aioli’s recipe is simple: egg yolks, crushed garlic, oil, and lemon juice. The chef may add mustard or other flavors. Le Grand Aioli which is connected to aioli but is sometimes confused with aioli itself is a traditional Provencal family meal. More about Le Grand Aioli in the latter part of this post.

The British and the North Americans discover Aïoli in France.

Aioli was discovered by the first English tourists who arrived on France’s Mediterranean coast in the latter part of the 19th century. In the early 20th century, North Americans would reach France on ocean liners like the Mauretania with a capacity of 2,300 passengers in 1907. Awaiting them was Provencal cuisine, including aioli, and the city of Nice. As a reminder of the first welcomed English invasion, the promenade built along the city of Nice’s sand-covered beaches is still called the La Promenade des Anglais, the English promenade.


A view of Nice from the Promenade Anglais.
Photograph courtesy of Richard Whitaker.
www.flickr.com/photos/richardwhitaker/18794583782/
 
Garlic in the French kitchen

With Provencal cuisine, the tourists were exposed to seasonings, aromas, and flavors mostly unknown at home. While Provencal cuisine uses garlic in less than half of its most famous dishes the use of garlic, sometimes in robust quantities was a surprise. Garlic was rarely used, at that time, in British or North American kitchens. When garlic is added to a dish with intensity and passion it can remain on the diner’s breath for a day or two. Aioli became famous as apart from accenting Provencal cuisine it promised to keep vampires away

Aioli’s fame has spread.

Aioli is now an internationally famous sauce and on menus with tens of different accents from Japan to Thailand to Australia, North America, and all of Europe. It is usually prepared and offered in a side dish like mayonnaise. The amount of garlic in the recipe depends on the chef. In Northern France, a single clove of garlic may be added for every diner; along the Mediterranean coast, that number can rise to four cloves per diner


Crab cakes and mustard aioli.
Photograph courtesy of stu_spivack.
www.flickr.com/photos/stuart_spivack/2250085312/

   Aioli on French menus:

  

Les Escargots de Mer et Sauce Aïoli – Escargot de Mer means sea snails and so this dish will star France’s much-loved Bulots, also called Bourgets or Buccins, whelks in English. Here the whelks are served with aioli. When you order whelks in a small seaside restaurant, it will serve them with mayonnaise or aioli accompanies Frites, French fries, chips, on the side. If the French fries are not included, then order them separately. Whelks, aioli, and French fries is one of the tastiest ways to eat whelks. As the Belgians have mussels and French fries so France has whelks and aioli. In France another popular, but much smaller, sea snail is the bigorneau, the periwinkle or winkle in English. The periwinkle may be part of the dish.     

 

Swordfish Carpaccio, Poached Ocean Trout with Aioli

Photograph courtesy of Alpha

www.flickr.com/photos/avlxyz/2865423734/

 

Assiette de Crevettes, Aïoli Maison – A plate of shrimps accompanied by the restaurant’s take on aioli. 

     

Petite Friture Aioli

A tasty entrée of deep-fried little fish served here with aioli.

Photograph courtesy of Mike Czyzewski

www.flickr.com/photos/21687588@N07/3712937213/

 

Tartare de Boeuf, Poivre Vert, Lardons, Aïoli au Parmesan et Citron A Beef Tartar prepared with green pepper, bacon pieces, aioli, Parmesan and lemon. The traditional beef tartar is flavored with mayonnaise and Worcester sauce and topped with copeaux, shavings, of Parmesan cheese. For this Beef Tatar, the mayonnaise is replaced with aioli. The other additions to the original version are green peppercorns bacon pieces and a piece of lemon on the side.

    

 

Ronin Burger - Angus beef, caramelized onions,

Japanese cole slaw, miso goma dressing, fried egg, Katsu BBQ, Yuzu citrus aioli

Photograph courtesy of City Foodsters

www.flickr.com/photos/cityfoodsters/10065094283/

   

Blancs d'Encornet Grillés, Persillade et Aïoli -  Encornets are a favorite small squid in France, a calamari; here it will be opened and flattened on the grill. The persillade is a seasoning of parsley, garlicvinegar and oil and it will have flavored the calamari while it was grilling;  the aioli will be served on the side to add as you choose.

Aioli and mayonnaise.

Aioli developed from mayonnaise. According to the accepted tradition mayonnaise, was a sauce created in 1756 by the chef of the Duc de Richelieu. The Duke had ordered a banquet to celebrate the French capture of the Mediterranean Balearic island of Menorca from the English. The chef’s unique creation for the evening was the Sauce Mayonnaise.  

I imagine that as soon as the French sailors came home, they brought the new creation called mayonnaise. Then the addition of garlic, crushed till it became oil, would have been a very short step.

The name aioli.

In Provence, many people still speak or understand the Provencal dialect of Occitan alongside modern French. Until one hundred and fifty years ago Occitan and Catalan were the main languages spoken in Mediterranean France.  In Occitan, garlic is “alh”  and “oli” is oil. Together those two words are “alholi”; and  that became aioli. Aioli is just as important in the cuisine of Languedoc-Roussillon where Catalan is still spoken alongside modern French. Just as the city of Nice is a center for Provencal cuisine so the large fishing port of Sète is a center for Languedoc-Roussillon cuisine. If you are traveling in the region will find many Sète seafood restaurants with aioli on the menu or in the recipe of the dishes you order.

In Sete your menu may offer:

  

Moules Farcies à la Sétoise – Mussels, from the Étang de Thau, the Thau Basin, stuffed in the manner of Sète. The mussels are stuffed with sausage meat and cooked in white wine and tomato puree.  The mussels will be served with aioli on the side or on top.

  

The main canal in Sète.

Photograph courtesy of Mike McBey

www.flickr.com/photos/158652122@N02/42295334951/

    

Bourride de Lotte à la Sètois -  Bourride de Lotte is a traditional Provencal monkfish stew, and monkfish are one of the tastiest sea fish with a very firm texture. Sète’s version of Bourride is a creamy stew of monkfish and vegetables all flavored with white wine and aioli. The stew will be served with more aioli on the side.

Le Grand Aioli may have begun in Provence.
Now, it is a family favorite all along France’s Mediterranean coast

In both Provence and Languedoc-Roussillon, aioli will be the dish prepared for family get-togethers. Le Grand Aïoli will be held for most large celebrations and is a delight for the eyes


Le Grand Aioli.
Photograph courtesy of The Wednesday Chef, Luisa Weiss.

Le Grand Aioli and its ingredients change with the season. However, the centerpiece will always be the traditional desalted cod. Then come the vegetables in season; crunchy fresh vegetables like carrots, radishes, and fresh cauliflower are important as they may be dipped in the aioli.  The layout of the vegetables with attractive colors is also important and so fresh tomatoes and cucumbers will be included. To this will be added hard-boiled eggs and cooked vegetables that may include France’s favorite fresh green beans, haricot vert, boiled potatoes, courgettes, zucchini, and asparagus in season. Depending on the home or restaurant seafood where Le Grand Aioli is served seafood and or snails may also be part of the mouthwatering display.

-------------------------------- 

  

Searching for the meaning of words, names or phrases
on
a French menu?

 
Just add the word, words, or phrase that you are searching for to the words "Behind the French Menu" (best when including the inverted commas), and search with Google.  Behind the French Menu’s links, include hundreds of words, names, and phrases that are seen on French menus. There are over 450 articles that include over 4,000 French dishes with English translations and explanations.
 
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Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

 

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 

Copyright 2010, 2015, 2021
 
--------------------
   
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Ratatouille, the essence of Provencal cuisine and Ratatouille’s Ancestor, the Bohémienne de Légumes.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 


Ratatouille
www.flickr.com/photos/pochove/8438320870/
  
The history and recipe of the most famous of all Provencal vegetable stews.

Ratatouille or Ratatouille Nicoise is a traditional recipe from the city of Nice in Provence, France and for at least 100 years before the movie, Ratatouille the dish was a favorite on Provencal menus. Since the movie, the original Ratatouille, or more often an adaptation of the original Ratatouille, is now on menus internationally. 
   

Remy the rat, the chef, from the movie Ratatouille
Gazing over Paris.
www.flickr.com/photos/fernandogaleano/781642430/

Ratatouille the classic recipe.
    
Ratatouille was originally called Ratatouille Nicoise and the classic recipe from NIce, was eggplants, that's aubergines in the UK, zucchinis, courgettes in the UK, onions, tomatoes, sweet peppers, garlic, herbs, and olive oil. Some of the vegetables will vary with the seasons, To those ingredients, chefs may add, champignons, button mushrooms, lardons which are fried or smoked bacon bits, and occasionally eggs. Quite a number of chefs present their Ratatouille with gruyère cheese browned on top or grated and placed on the side for the diner to add to his or her taste.
    

The ingredients

Search for the restaurants with a large turnover
They will be making ratatouille  fresh every day.
The reason is the virgin olive oil. Read on
  
A tasty ratatouille can only come from the freshest vegetables, and the finishing touch is that drizzle of a tasty virgin olive oil added cold at the last moment. All virgin oils lose their unique flavor when cooked or heated in any way. French diners know the difference between a freshly made ratatouille and a warmed up ratatouille, and that final touch of an excellent virgin olive oil is a must to keep the customers coming back.

Ratatouille
There are arguments among the Ratatouille faithful as some insist that a ratatouille must be cooked while layered while others maintain the original was a mixed stew.
www.flickr.com/photos/davidmarcel/48064682718/
      
Today, many ratatouille offerings are baked, and the dish does not suffer from that change. From my experience, the tastes may be similar, but the more you pay determines if the Ratatouille is served layered; only the texture may be different. You pay for the presentation.
  
Ratatouille
www.flickr.com/photos/foodista/3405362209/

Ratatouille hot or cold? You choose.
    
Ratatouille may be served hot or cold, and that was always part of the dish's history. Ratatouille began as a main dish and only later gained popularity as a side dish. Now in a return to its origins, Ratatouille is again offered as a main dish accompanied by rice or pasta. Despite the occasional disputes ratatouille did originate in the area of Nice and is just one the many famous and popular dishes Nice has given to the rest of Provence and France. 
    
Ratatouille is so now so popular with visitors to Provence that they are offered fast-food ratatouille versions where it will be served in toasted baguettes, as a ratatouille pizza or inside a Niçoise Fougasse or Fougassette.


Bohémienne de légumes the dish that preceded Ratatouille.
  
Bohémienne de Légumes – Ratatouille's ancestor; and still on some Provencal menus is the classic Bohémienne de Legumes. Bohémienne de Legumes is a vegetable stew that only includes eggplant, aubergines in the UK, and tomatoes. As with its descendant ratatouille, a bohémienne de légumes will be fried in olive oil with garlic and herbs. Modern versions may include onions, but that is about it, as adding anything else will turn a bohémienne de légumes into its grandchild, a ratatouille!

------------------------------------------

Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

 

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 

Copyright 2010, 2013, 2019

--------------------------------
Searching for the meaning of words, names or phrases
on
French menus?

Just add the word, words, or phrase that you are searching for to the words "Behind the French Menu" (best when including the inverted commas), and search with Google, Bing, or another search engine.   Behind the French Menu’s links, include hundreds of words, names, and phrases that are seen on French menus. There are over 450 articles that include over 4,000 French dishes with English translations and explanations.

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