from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
Turnips
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Navets – Turnips.
The turnip was always popular in France; it was never just another
root vegetable to add to a stew. Turnips
are often the garnish of choice when served mashed with butter or served
together with carrots. (After I tried turnips mashed with butter
for the first time, I changed my mind about turnips completely). I now agree
with the French; a turnip is a serious vegetable. Mashed turnips are rarely on menus at home,
so look out for them in France.
Turnips in the languages of France’s neighbors:
(Catalan – nap,
nabius), (Dutch – raap, rapen), German - speiserübe), (Italian -rapa), (Spanish
- naba).
Turnips on French Menus:
Filet de Pintade du Gers Rôti, Purée de
Navets - Breast
of roasted Guinea fowl from Gers, served with turnip puree. Gers is a department in the
region of Occitanie and famous for its Label
Rouge, Red label, IGP. Free-range poultry. The Guinea
fowl from Gers are considered among the
best in France.
A
Springtime Navarin made with lobster flavored
with rosemary, and served
with turnips and the natural cooking
juices of
other crustaceans.
Navarin de St
Jacques et Langoustines Petits
Légumes Sauce au Noilly Prat - A
Navarin with the meat from the King Scallop and Dublin Bay prawns accompanied
by young vegetables. The vegetables will include turnips and a sauce made with
France’s first, and still most popular, vermouth Noilly
Prat.
A Navarin is a ragoût, a stew,
traditionally made with lamb, fish or shellfish and the navet, the turnip.
Ragouts, and in this case a Navarin, require slow cooking in stock, with or
without wine. Besides turnips in a Navarin, other vegetables are usually carrots, parsnips, or
Swedes (rutabagas) and potatoes. When made with young turnips and other early
vegetables, the same stew will become a Navarin Printanier, a springtime
Navarin. The name Navarin is probably linked to a dish that originated in the
country of Navarre. Navarre is now divided into the Province of Navarre in
Spain and the Pays Basque, the French Basque Country, in southwestern France.
More about the name Navarin towards the end of this post.
Noix de St Jacques au
Sésame, Boulette de Bussy – The meat of the King scallop cooked
with sesame and served the Boulette de Bussy turnip. The Boulette de Busy is light
green colored turnip considered sweeter than others.
Velouté au
Navets de Pardailhan - This veloute, a velvety
soup, is made with the heirloom black turnips of Pardailhan. Pardailhan, the
village that gave their name to this turnip is inside the Parc Naturel Régional du Haut Languedoc, The Natural
Regional Park of Haute Languedoc. The village is 35 km (22
miles) from the Mediterranean.
The Black Turnip of Pardailhan.
N.B.: Navettes de Provence are not to be confused with navets,
turnips. The Navettes de Provence are
sweet biscuits usually flavored with lemon or orange zest. The biscuits took
their name from the shape of a navette, an oval with pointed ends; however, do
not be surprised if today’s Navettes de Provence have other shapes.
Panais - The Parsnip.
Raw parsnips look like rough, ivory-colored, large carrots. Despite
the similarities, parsnips are not carrots, though they are from the same
family. Parsnips are slightly sweet and,
when properly cooked, have a firm and pleasant texture. The parsnip ’s texture
is one of the reasons French chefs have always appreciated them and the reason
that they are added them to many dishes. Parsnips are one of the few vegetables
whose origins are wholly European and grow well in cool climates. Parsnips were
already starring on menus, over 2,000 years ago, at Roman banquets.
Parsnips in the languages of France’s neighbors.
(Catalan – xirivia), (Dutch – pastinaak), (German – pastinak),
(Italian - pastinaca), (Spanish - chirivía, pastinaca).
Parsnips on French Menus:
Turbot Sauvage
Poché en Blanquette à la Vanille,
Purée de Panais- Turbot,
caught in the wild and served poached in a blanquette flavored with vanilla
and served with a parsnip puree. A blanquette is a traditional
stew and its recipes generally include mushrooms and a cream sauce
along with white wine.
Parsnip soup
Filet de Biche, Navet Acidulé,
Panais et Griottes Purée
de Panais - A fillet steak from the female red
deer, served with pickled turnips, parsnips, sour
cherries and pureed parsnips. An adult male red deer is a cerf,
an adult female deer is a biche. The English word bitch comes
from the French biche.
The menu listing above gives the diner no indication that the
red deer is wild
game. In France, many animals usually associated with the wild game are
farm-raised. Unless otherwise indicated the pheasant, wild
boar, red and roe deer on your menu will have been farm-raised.
Navets - Parsnips.
Rutabaga or Chou-Navets
or – Swedes or Rutabaga.
The Swede or Rutabaga is a vegetable that often looks, to me and
many others, a lot like a parsnip; however, they are not related. I am no expert on plant genetics and when I
see Swedes, in a market next to parsnips all I can say is that they look very
similar if generally a little larger. When
both are in a stew I am also not sure where they significantly differ. So Swedes, in France and elsewhere, are often
used instead of parsnips and are often listed on French menus as panais,
parsnips. To confuse us even more, one
of the French names for Swedes is Chou-Navets and that relates to the French
word Chou, cabbage. The Swede, it turns out, is a member of the cabbage family.
The other name rutabaga used in both French and English comes originally from
the original Swedish.
Swedes, Rutabagas in the languages of France's neighbors:
(Catalan – nap de Suècia), (Dutch – koolraapm kohlrabi,
rutabaga),(German - schmalzrübe, steckrübe,
unterkohlrabi, kohlrüben), (Italian - cavolo rapa, cavolo da foraggio),
(Spanish - colinabo, col nabo, nabo sueco).
A rutabaga, a Swede.
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Swedes, Rutabagas, on French Menus:
Raviole de Paleron de Boeuf, Rutabagas, Bouillon de Lard des Pyrénées – Ravioli made with beef shoulder and rutabagas served with a broth made
from bacon from the Pyrenees.
Filet de Cannette des Dombes Servie Rosé, Cubes de Rutabaga Rôtis
au Miel, Jus à la Genièvre
- Breast of duckling from the Dombes served rosé, pink, with cubes
of rutabaga roasted in honey; served with a juniper berry sauce.
Duck in France is traditionally served pink, rosé;
unlike a steak, you will rarely be asked how you would like your duck cooked.
If you prefer duck cooked differently, tell your waiter when ordering.
The Dombes is a plateau outside the city of Lyon with a long
history of combined usage for agriculture and freshwater fish farms. The Dombes
covers more than 30,000 acres and is a center for ducks and other waterfowl.
The duck on this menu listing is a female, a cannette; a male duck is a canard.
When the type of duck from the Dombes is not mentioned then, it will usually be
the Canard Colvert, the wild mallard duck. The mallard is the most common
wild duck in Europe. In France, as elsewhere, ducks may be hunted in season
with a license.
Another claim for the origin of the
name Navarin:
Some chefs link the Navarin's name to the Greek War for
Independence. Then the combined French, British, and Russian navies fought the
Turkish and Egyptian navies in the
Battle of Navarino in the Eastern Mediterranean in 1821. The Turkish
defeat in that battle was the turning point in the Greek search for
independence. In 1832, Greece won its independence after nearly 400 years of
Turkish rule. I have looked, without success, for recipes, or menus for Navrin
published close to the time of the Battle of Navarino. That search follows the
French tradition of naming new dishes after significant events or great people.
However, the appearance of Navarins on French menus does not link to the right
dates. Escoffier has recipes for Navarins, but that is close to 100 years after
the battle of Navarino. I side with those who link the Navarin to a dish that
originated in or was credited to the country of Navarre.
--------------------------------
Behind the French Menu
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
Copyright 2010, 2014. 2018, 2020
--------------------------------
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