from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
View over the Gorges de l'Ardèche.
Photograph courtesy of Erik.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/erik_91nl/19016381441/
Dining in the Ardèche introduces the visitor to a department that is virtually entirely agricultural and also one of France’s smallest departments. Chefs work with local produce, and products and whatever is not available locally may be found next door in the Ardèche’s neighboring departments in the regions of the Auvergne, Occitanie, and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Despite the department's small size, 180 km (112 miles) north to south and at its widest point 79 km (48 miles) from east to west, most visitors still need a car, or at least a bicycle or a horse; the only public transport is buses, and they are not always direct, there are no regular passenger train stations.
Photograph courtesy of Wikipedia
Dining in
the Ardèche:
Assiette de
Saucisson d’Ardèche Poêlée de Champignons Frais Melsat aux Chanterelles Croustillant d’Aubergine au Fromage de Chèvre
Frais - A
plate of Ardèche dry-cured sausages with
pan-fried fresh button mushrooms
and the local Melsat (a pork, breadcrumb and egg sausage) accompanied by wild Chanterelle
mushrooms, crispy eggplant (aubergine) and fresh
goat's cheese.
The best known of the
Ardèche pork sausages is the Melsat, which are made with pork, pork liver and pork shoulder or pork belly.
These sausages have a light color and soft texture, which is due to the
inclusion of breadcrumbs and eggs. The seasoning traditionally
includes nutmeg, and each producer will add their favorite fresh herbs,
often thyme. Melsats may be aged for a few days and up to one month and may be
served cold or cooked again.
Most of the Ardèche
pork sausages, including the Melsat,
come from pig farms in the mountainous areas of the Ardèche (above 500 meters).
The sausages come in a variety of forms, but apart from different herbs, spices
and shapes, all are pre-salted, steamed and then air dried for four
weeks. Apart from the Melsat, many of these sausages have a red tinge.
Nearly all will be offered in a manner similar to salami-type sausages as part of
a charcuterie plate, or they may be grilled or fried.
Ardèche sausages on sale.
Photograph courtesy of Ardèche
Tourism
Bar Grillé
aux Herbes de Provence et Fenouil, Picodon de l'Ardèche – Grilled European
Sea Bass prepared with the Herbs
de Provence, fennel and the Picodon
de l'Ardèche AOP cheese.
The Picodon Ardèche AOP unpasteurized, 29% fat,
goats' milk cheese (also called the Picodon de la Drôme) originated
in France’s southern departments of the Ardèche and Drôme. The cheeses typically weigh between 80 and
100 grams (2.8 to 3.5 ozs.) and the taste ranges from lightly spicy to very
spicy, a characteristic that is linked to its name. The term
"Picodon" is connected to the French verb piquer, meaning
"to have bite" or "to sting," which is noticeable with
mature Picodon cheeses. The mildest and youngest versions are matured for only
two weeks; these are often the ones found in salads or in cooked dishes. The
more mature and spicier cheeses will be on a cheese board or chariot de
fromages.
The Fête du Picodon is held every October just over the Ardèche border in the town of Saoû in the department of Drôme. The fête has a French-language website that can be easily understood using the Google or Microsoft Translate apps, and dates can be with the Saoû Tourist Information office.
Picodon AOC/AOP
Photograph courtesy of Frédérique Voisin-Demery
https://www.flickr.com/photos/vialbost/14619321321/
Chou
Farci aux Châtaignes d'Ardèche AOP– Cabbage stuffed with the AOP chestnuts from the Ardèche; usually, this stuffing will be mixed with pork
and or veal sausage meat
The AOP chestnuts
of the Ardèche are one of the only
two chestnuts in France to have an AOP, and that highlights their unique and
consistent quality. Ardèche chestnuts are available all over France;
just make sure the label on the packaging says La Châtaigne d'Ardèche AOP.
These chestnuts are fresh between August and November, and out of the season,
they keep very well. For more about chestnuts in French cuisine, click here.
The Les Castagnades is a series of 11
traditional celebrations of the Ardèche chestnuts
and is held annually in different villages from early October to mid-November
in the Monts d'Ardèche Regional
Natural Park. As the dates seem to move between September and
October, check this year’s dates with the Castegnades website. The Ardèche chestnuts also have their own
French-language website,
http://www.chataigne-ardeche.com/fr/
Stuffed Cabbage.
Photograph courtesy of stu_spivack
https://www.flickr.com/photos/stuart_spivack/4315706480/
Jambon
Cru d'Ardèche – Very
thinly cut slices of the Ardèche IGP cured ham. This ham comes from the same
mountainous regions as the Ardèche sausages. The ham is prepared with
salt, lard, and chestnut flower, and after ten days, the ham is hung and cured
for between seven and twelve months before being sold. (For more about cured
hams in France, click here).
Smoked ham from the Ardèche
Photograph courtesy of Jean
Weber
Magret de
Canard au Miel de Châtaigner de l’Ardèche – Duck breast prepared with the honey from the bees of Ardeche.
Magret de Canard or
Lou Magret - Duck breast is
extremely popular in France and will usually be served roasted or fried. Duck
is served rosé, slightly pink inside, so if you want your duck breast cooked in
a manner other than rosé, you should inform the server when ordering. In
France, it is unlikely that you will be asked how you would like your duck
cooked.
The Ardèche chestnut honey comes from bees foraging on the male catkins of chestnut trees and from the secretions found on their leaves (honeydew). It is harvested in the Drôme and Ardèche regions in June.
Râble
de Lapin Fermier Rôti à la Bière Brune d’Ardèche et
au Romarin Purée Grand-Mère - Saddle of farm-raised rabbit prepared with the Ardèche dark beer and flavored with
rosemary.
The dish is accompanied by mashed potatoes, as grandma used to make them.
Local lager and
dark beers are available in Ardèche as
well as special craft beers made with chestnut, honey, myrtille, rosemary,
saffron and lemon verbena;
all with 5% alcohol.
Safron is still
grown in the Ardèche around towns
like Pont-de-Labeaume and Saint-Félicien.
Lemon Verbena or Lemon-Scented Verbena. It is considered to have a very pure lemon scent and is more intense than most other lemon-scented herbs.
Tarte
aux Myrtilles d’Ardeche -
A tart made with wild bilberries from the Ardèche.
The small European bilberries
grow wild in the foothills of the Vosges Mountains, in the old regions of
Lorraine and Alsace in the Grand Est, in the department of Ardèche in the
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, and at the lower levels of many of France’s mountainous
areas. Wild bilberries will be on local menus between June and August;
unfortunately, they rarely reach the markets in the major cities.
The Ardèche is
well-known for its bilberry aperitif, the Myro. A Myro is made with a very cold Côtes du Rhône Rosé
wine and a slight touch of Crème de Myrtille, a bilberry liquor. A
Myro is made similarly to a Kir which is a chilled white wine and Crème
de Cassis, a black currant liquor; France has quite a number of similar
aperitifs. At home, a Myro makes an excellent apéritif when made with any
good cold and semi-dry rosé. NB. Use only a slight touch of Crème de
Myrtille when making a Myro; that’s the voice of experience!
Tarte aux Myrtilles
Photograph courtesy of Frédérique Voisin-Demery
https://www.flickr.com/photos/vialbost/5461142240/
Fario d'Ardèche, Crème
d’Asperges Brise de Châtaignes, Courgettes à La Tomate, Carottes
Braises – Brown trout from the Ardèche, served with a cream of asparagus
sauce that’s flavored with chestnuts and accompanied by courgettes (zucchini in
the USA) stuffed with tomato, and braised carrots.
Landlockedbrown trout are one of the tastiest members of the trout family, and the department of Ardèche, together with the French government, makes sure the waterways and lakes are stocked, both for amateur and professional anglers. There are more than 2,000 km (1,200 miles) of waterways in the Ardèche with top-grade fishing. Near many rivers and lakes, you’ll find restaurants specializing in that day’s catch.
Truite Fario
Landlocked Brown Trout.
Photograph courtesy of
NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory
https://www.flickr.com/photos/noaa_glerl/4046628596/
Gigot de Chevreau
d'Ardèche Cuit au Four à Bois Avec Son Jus, Patates Douces et Flageolets - Leg of kid (young goat) from the Ardèche roasted in
a wood-fired oven, served with a gravy from its natural
cooking juices, accompanied by sweet potatoes, and flageolet
beans.
Young male goats, chevreaux,
will not provide milk and will be on
many menus, often with dishes created for lamb.
Flageolet beans are small, pale green, kidney-shaped beans, prized in French cuisine for their delicate, creamy texture and mild, nutty flavor, often called the "caviar of beans". Harvested when immature, they are a classic pairing with lamb, used in stews, salads, or, as in this case, almost certainly served simply with butter
Tarte
Tatin aux Figues, Sorbet Myrtilles de l'Ardèche – A fig
tart prepared in the manner of a Tarte
Tatin and served
with a sorbet made from the Ardèche bilberries.
Figs from the Ardèche are a
celebrated local product, known for their rich flavor whenfresh as well as in
jams and confits.
The Wines of Ardèche
The Ardèche’s wines
include seven AOP wines, and the IGP wines include reds, rosés and whites, along
with a lightly sparkling white wines sold as the Vin de Pétanque. The Ardèche IGP
Chardonnay that I chose with brown trout, noted in this post, was excellent and
inexpensive. (For more about the IGP label on wines that have replaced the Vin
de Pays labels, click
here.) Additionally,
since Ardèche is situated on the western bank of the Rhone River, the
visitor will also be offered many wines from the Rhone Valley.
The Ardèche, in the summer.
The Ardèche, in the summer, is home to campers, hikers, sports climbers, anglers, bicyclists, as well as kayak and canoe enthusiasts.
Kayaking in the Ardèche.
Photograph courtesy of Jeff
Souville
https://www.flickr.com/photos/133326959@N03/45726789692/
The Ardèche and the bicycling enthusiast
For the bicycling enthusiasts,
the Ardèche hosts one of France's most significant annual road cycling events, L'Ardéchoise.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Ard%C3%A8che_Classic
L'Ardechoise
Photograph courtesy of Pays
de Saint Félicien.
The Ardèche contains part of
the Cévennes
National Park,
itself a source of many unique food products and many working villages. You
will find the Cevennes National Park English language website at:
https://www.cevennes-ardeche.com/en/
In the Ardèche’s many
valleys are cherries, apricots, and peach orchards, along with farms that raise sheep both for
milk and meat, as well as its many goats raised for their milk. The Ardèche is a major
producer of goat’s cheese, not only the Picodon AOP.
The Ardeche has an English language website
---------------
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----------------
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
Copyright 2010, 2016, 2025
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