from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
A
Bistro
Photograph
courtesy of János
Korom Dr.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/korom/15000953845/
The History of Bistros
The history of the French bistro
isn't just about food; it's a story that begins with the French Revolution. The
revolution began in 1789 and saw the breakup of the large estates owned by
aristocrats. The staff, including all the kitchen staff were out of work.
They went back to their homes in France’s villages, or they went to
poorer parts of the cities and towns. This was a very hard time to find
work, but nevertheless, these graduates of aristocratic kitchens had learned a
great deal, and some had saved a few Francs. The best of these graduates would
open France’s first small bars and eateries. (Brasseries have a different history.)
The menus of
the first bistros.
These first public bars and eateries would later become bistros and had menus of maybe four or five dishes. Everything that was offered would be well prepared, cooked to order and inexpensive. Acceptable, low-priced wines were offered, but they came from barrels, not bottles. A few of these early restaurants with really fine chefs at the wheel would go on to be larger and fancier restaurants.
France passed through the revolution and saw the arrival of the Napoleonic era and the establishment of the first large restaurants appealing to the new bourgeoisie. Nevertheless, with good quality and low prices, the smaller eateries drew in skilled workers from the area around; those who could pay for an inexpensive lunch or dinner. They took business away from the carts in the streets that sold stews.
Napoleon I
The next stage would wait until Napoleon 1 was defeated by the combined armies of Austria, Prussia, Russia, and Sweden; they exiled him in April 1814 to the Island of Elba (10 km (6 miles) off the coast of Tuscany). In February 1815, Napoleon would escape Elba, and within 90 days, he would retake all of France (or at least most of it).
The royal houses of Europe didn't
want to wait for another Napoleonic war, so they returned with soldiers from
Austria, Great Britain, Prussia, Russia, Sweden, and Portugal. By June 1915,
Napoleon was exiled for the second time, and to ensure he stayed away, he was
sent to the British island of St Helena.
St Helena is in the South Atlantic and 1,950 km (1,210 miles) from the
nearest mainland (Angola in Africa); the island would get its first airport 200
year later, in 2015.
The victorious armies occupied France to ensure all of Napoleon’s supporters were under control. The soldiers were billeted in the cities with many NCOs and lower-level officers quartered in private homes, and were expected to find their own food. Unlike their commanders, NCOs and lower-level officers did not dine in restaurants, and certainly did not have the time for six or seven-course meals. At the time, four hours was the norm for a full multi-course dinner at the few high-class establishments that existed. In 1815, there were fewer than 50 full-service restaurants in all of Paris; today, there are over 20,000.
The name Bistro
The soldiers demanded a whole, well-cooked meal that could be served quickly at a price they could afford. The Russian soldiers were among those who shouted the loudest, and when they entered these small restaurants, they shouted in Russian, быстро “Bistro,” which means “quickly.” Within a few weeks, all the soldiers from the different armies had one word in common and on entering a restaurant, they would call out “bistro,” and dinner would be cooked and served in less than an hour and a half. The first French fast-food restaurants had arrived.
From then on, and for the next 150 years, bistros remained a uniquely French mixture of bar, café, and restaurant, with even the smallest villages having one or more.
However, economic shifts and world wars sadly closed tens of thousands of these establishments; the bistros that remain are celebrated for offering France's comfort foods—dishes that are simple, rich in history, and deeply satisfying. When you step into a French bistro today, you are stepping directly into a continuous culinary tradition that has defined French popular dining for nearly two centuries.
By the time the foreign soldiers had left France in 1818, the word bistro had become part of the French language. Bystro, Bistro, and Bistrot would later enter French dictionaries, a reminder of the part they played in France’s culinary history.
Today's bistros offer France's favorite comfort foods, with different regions adding local preferences to the menu.
French Onion Soup.
French
Onion Soup
Photograph
courtesy of Dan McWeeney
https://www.flickr.com/photos/dan_mcweeney/3035951889/
Paris and Lyon claim the
original recipes for French onion soup, and the arguments among the residents
of the two towns can turn heated. That, notwithstanding thousands of
years before the first printed recipe, the first hunter-gatherer in France to
throw a wild onion in the cooking pot owns the original French recipe.
When you order French onion soup, expect that your soup will be served with bubbling or almost bubbling cheese on top of toasted or grilled bread or croutons. The cheese will usually be a French Gruyère or Comté, while the heart of the dish is white onions, fried until they are golden brown. To the onions, depending on the recipe used, may have been added vegetable, chicken or beef stock along with a few herbs at the chef’s discretion. Added to the stock, in the Parisian manner, will be white or red wine or Cognac, and in the Lyonnais manner will be Madeira wine or port. The soup is transferred to individual bowls for serving and on top will be slices of grilled or toasted bread or croutons covered in grated cheese. Just before serving, the individual bowls are placed under the grill until the cheese melts. Then, by both sight and smell, a mouthwatering soup will be put before you. Bon Appétit!
Soupe de Poisson –
Fish soup.
or
Soupe du Pêcheur- A
fisher’s soup
Soupe de Poisson
Photograph courtesy of Alain Rouiller
https://www.flickr.com/photos/alainrouiller/53532688459/
The history of French fish
soups is deeply intertwined with the country's extensive coastline and these
refined, singular dishes, these soups emerged from practical, rustic solutions
for utilizing the catch of the day, particularly the smaller, bonier, or less
desirable fish, for example: The rascasse (scorpion fish
or sea robin), the grondin
rouge, (red gurnard), the
congre (European Conger Eel), etc.) that might otherwise be
discarded. These traditions can be traced back to the port cities of the
Mediterranean, and France’s Atlantic coast.
Marseille was home to the recipe for its world renowned bouillabaisse, and there are
many others, such as the Basque Ttoro, Brittany’s Cotriade, Sète’s
Bourride de Lotte à la Sètoise, Dieppe’s Marmite
Dieppoise and many more. All
these soups where were originally made and served on the boats or docks. Over centuries, these regional broths evolved
into culinary categories with bisques becoming associated with shellfish, while
other variations developed all along France’s long coastlines and next to her
rivers and lakes. In bistros, a Soupe
de Possions or Soupe du Pêcheur will retain the connection between
the land, the sea, and the kitchen.
Expect many fish soups to be served with a rouille, a sauce that you can add to your taste; the name means rust and refers to the sauce's color. Rouilles are made of peppers, tomatoes, garlic, saffron, and olive oil, all worked into a bread or occasionally a potato base. The amount of each ingredient varies as the chef matches the rouille to flavor each particular fish soup. Apart from the rouille many fish soups will be accompanied by croutons and grated cheese,
Salade Niçoise
Photograph courtesy of Buvette
https://www.flickr.com/photos/buvette-nyc/12796447775/
Salade Niçoise is the most famous of all French salads and is named after the city of Nice (Chapter 22), on the Côte d’Azur.
The classic Salad Niçoise was an hors
d’œuvre, an appetizer served before the first course, the French entrée.
The tradition of serving Salad Niçoise as an hors d’œuvre is now
more honored in the breach than in the observance. Today, a Salade Niçoise
will likely be an entrée (the French starter), or the main dish when
it's part of a light lunch.
The salad will be tomatoes, the black Niçoise AOP olives, fava beans, cooked baby artichokes, uncooked sweet peppers, herbs, especially basil, and a vinaigrette
dressing
with the oil from Nice’s own AOP olive oil, the Huile d'Olive de Nice and red wine vinegar. and the most
important of French herb groups, Les Fine Herbes. With few exceptions, most
chefs from Nice agree that the recipe will include canned tuna or anchovies, but not both. Many chefs will add the herbs from one of France’s two
most popular herb groups, Les Fine Herbes or the Herbes de Provence.
Among the variations that are
accepted but considered later additions are boiled potatoes, boiled eggs,
spring onions, and boiled or steamed haricots verts
(France’s
favorite fresh green bean), the green bean or snap bean.
Ratatouille
Photograph courtesy of David Aferiat
https://www.flickr.com/photos/davidmarcel/48116092981/
Ratatouille is part of the
essence of Provencal cuisine, along with ratatouille’s ancestor, the Bohémienne
de Légumes.
Ratatouille (also called
Ratatouille Nicoise), is a traditional recipe from the city of Nice, and since
its creation, the dish has been a favorite on Provençal menus. Since the movie
Ratatouille, the original ratatouille, and its adaptations are now on menus all
around the world.
A tasty ratatouille can only be
made with 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.) French diners know the
difference between a freshly made ratatouille and a warmed-up ratatouille, with
the final touch of an excellent virgin olive oil will keep the customers coming
back
Andouillette
Photograph
courtesy of Kae Yen Wong
https://www.flickr.com/photos/fizzedi/8965701487/
Andouillettes may not be the most
popular sausage in France, though even those who prefer another will spend time
talking about them. French men and women have arguments as well as
lifelong disputes over the best andouillettes. Andouillette sausages are
part of France’s culinary history, and for the locals, are a comfort food. For
the visitor, I would call these pig and calf tripe and tubing sausages an
acquired taste.
The AAAAA seen on many menu
offerings for andouillette sausages is not the French for a sigh of contentment
after having eaten an incredible sausage. The letters AAAAA on the menu
indicate andouillettes that have been made by a member of the Association
Amicale des Amateurs d'Andouillette Authentiques. The Friendly Association
of the Lovers of Authentic Andouillette sausages, AAAAA for short.
Restaurants will make a note on their menu when the andouillettes they
serve are entitled to the label. Despite the apparent self-aggrandizement, the
French consumer long ago accepted AAAAA on these sausages as a sign of quality.
American friends have compared
andouillettes to different types of Cajun chitlins, also called chitterlings.
The best of France’s other sausages may be seen here.
Andouille sausage
Photograph courtesy of Carre de Bœuf
Visitor sometimes confuse the andouille
and the andouillette. At first glance, there would seem to be many
similarities, as they are both made with pork and or veal tripe and intestines,
but there the similarities end. Andouilles are smoked, milder and
made with different herbs and spices; andouillettes have a much stronger
bite and a strong smell. If you're new to French sausages, consider trying the
andouille.
Boudin
Blanc and the Boudin Noir;
Pork
Sausages and Black Puddings.
Boudin Noir with baked apple and mashed
potatoes.
Photograph courtesy of Haydn
Blackey
https://www.flickr.com/photos/haydn/53140492840/
The word saucisse arrived in
England in 1066 with the cooks of William the Conqueror and those of his
Norman-French barons. The Norman cooks brought hundreds of French words into
the English kitchen, and the word saucisse became sausage in English.
Sausages would go on to play a leading part in the traditional British and
Irish breakfast. As French cuisine developed, uncooked sausages became boudins
with saucisse and saucisson indicating salami-type or pre-cooked
sausages, but that change never made it back across the channel. For more
about the French connection and the English kitchen, see Chapter XXX.
The Boudin Noir is a blood
sausage made with a wide range of recipes that depend on local tradition.
Most are made with pig’s blood, though beef blood sausages are available.
The filler is usually oatmeal and onion, and the herbs and spices may
differ widely. A French boudin noir is usually smaller than the
black pudding sausages seen in the UK, with the most popular just large enough
for an individual serving. The UK and Irish black puddings are mostly
made in large sizes, with fried or grilled slices served with a full
traditional British or Irish breakfast, not a whole sausage. Boudins
noirs will often be on French menus with a variety of apple preparations,
which are the traditional French accompaniment.
If you like boudins and
sausages, then visit the town of Mortagne-au-Perche, Normandy, and you will
begin to realise that boudins are not a sausage for the French, British
and the Irish alone; boudins are sausages of importance to all humanity. From
all over the world, in the spring, usually the middle of March, sausage lovers
come to the Mortagne-au-Perche sausage fair, the
Foire au Boudin.
You may taste a very
wide variety of sausages for a small contribution to the local economy.
However, to enter the international competition, the Concours International du Meilleur
Boudin Noir is only open
to those who produce the boudins noir, the black pudding sausages. The
competition is organised by the confrerie (chapter 11): the Chevaliers du
Goûte-Boudin. If you wish to take part, click on this
link and while
the first page is in French, as you click through, you’ll find a Union Jack and
the rules for those who wish to participate.
Boudin Blanc
Boudin Blanc
Photograph and recipe courtesy of Bobosse.
A boudin blanc is nearly always
pork; when it is veal, beef, rabbit or another meat, it will be clearly
labeled. Some of the most highly rated
boudins blancs are made with pork and cabbage, and their provenance will be on
the menu.
On French restaurant menus,
boudins blancs and noirs are the most popular sausages and may be served
grilled or fried. Boudins will be on the
menu for light lunches or dinner, with smaller versions on the menu for an
entrée, the French first course. Sausages will not usually be on a French
breakfast menu (Chapter XXX). France’s Charcuterie -Traiteurs, the French
delicatessens, are extraordinarily creative and in many, you will also find
vegetarian boudins and seafood boudins.
Coq au Vin
Photograph courtesy of Tim
Reckmann
https://www.flickr.com/photos/foto_db/54325514731/
The Traditional Version is Much More Than Just a
Chicken Stewed in Wine.
Coq au Vin began as a large meal prepared on
holidays or for family celebrations, and it would have been enough for ten or
more diners. The cockerel used for the traditional Coq Au Vin was a big,
old cockerel, that's a rooster in North America, a cockerel that has ceased to
make the ladies happy, and it would weigh at least five kilos (11 lbs). A
French restaurant serving Coq au Vin Traditionnel today may have to
settle for a somewhat smaller bird, but it will still be enough for eight or
more diners.
Out-of-work cockerels headed for the
pot are large birds. Even today, most mature French cockerels weigh over two
and a half kilos, five pounds, with some up to 50% more. Failing the
availability of an out-of-work cockerel, a large chicken, usually an egg-layer
whose time has come, will be in the coq au vin. These will often
be free-range birds, so they will be tasty, but they will need a lot of
cooking, or they will be stringy. Preparing a large bird for the pot requires
marinating in red wine, often with an added eau-de-vie chosen for its
particular flavor, for at least 24 hours. When the marinade has done its work,
the dish will be allowed to cook very slowly, along with more red wine, herbs,
and extra chicken broth. When the meat is nearly hanging off the bones,
vegetables, mushrooms, and bacon for flavor will be added, and twenty minutes
later, the dish may be served. Bistros will divide their coq au vin in
the kitchen so that single diners may enjoy it.
Every wine-growing area of France
will claim that it invented coq au vin, and they are all probably
correct. Long before the first restaurants, French farmers' wives would have
arrived at tasty solutions for old and out-of-work cockerels; they would use
the marinating powers and flavor of red wine. The region of the Auvergne, in
the center of France, produced the earliest restaurant version of coq au vin,
and that was in the mid-19th century. Visit a restaurant in the Auvergne
(Chapter 15) today that offers Coq au Vin de Chanturgue.
Outside of the more
refined restaurants, watch how the French eat mussels when they are served as
moules frites.
To begin with, knives and forks for the mussels are not
required; one-half shell is used as a spoon to lever out the mussel from
another half shell, and then you pop it into your mouth. A spoon is required
for the broth.
Moules frites are mussels served in a wine and or herb broth in
which they are cooked; they will be served with French fries (chips), and mayonnaise on the side. The Belgians made this dish famous in
France, through their inexpensive restaurant chains selling moules frites along
with Belgian beer. In a bistro with moules frites on the menu,
for the broth, there may be one or two options; in one of the chain
restaurants, you may find seven or eight.
When a French menu listing is just for moules, without a second name, then it will be the la moule bleu, the blue or common mussel, despite these mussels always looking black
Pâté
de Campagne
Country-style
pates are usually not finely ground and traditionally include both pork meat
and pork liver. If the pâté is not pork, the menu will say so.
Photograph courtesy of Dale
Cruse
https://www.flickr.com/photos/dalecruse/29984702945/
The words pâté and terrine
are used interchangeably for pâté on French menus. Note the word pâté,
pate in English, has an accent over the â and the é. Pâtés
are not limited to ground liver, meat, or fish served as a spreadable paste,
country-style pâtés often include whole pieces of meat or poultry, and a
chef may include other ingredients for contrasts in taste and texture. Accompanying many meat and poultry pâtés will
be a fruit or vegetable jam or chutney and country bread and or toast and cornichons. Fruit and
vegetable pâtés and or terrines may also be on the menu.
The English word tureen,
meaning a covered cooking or serving dish, was taken from the French word terrine
in the 1800s. Then a terrine was used for baking or otherwise preparing
a pâté. (Many other French cooking utensils have been given, or received,
their names from the dish in which they were prepared. (e.g., A marmite is
a French saltwater fish or seafood stew and also the dish in which it is made).
Pâté de Foie Gras –
A spreadable pâté made from the fattened liver of ducks or geese. Foie
gras plays an important
part in French cuisine, so much so that it is part of the French psyche, do not
get into arguments with the French over foie gras. The
minimum amount of duck or goose liver in any dish that includes foie gras
is regulated by government regulations. By law, a pâté de foie gras must
contain at least 50% fattened duck or goose liver. The other 50% usually
includes pork liver, chicken liver, and eggs. When pâté de foie gras
is on your menu, and it does not explicitly note that the fattened liver is
goose liver, oie, then it will be the less expensive fattened duck
liver, canard, that is being used. (Pâtés and terrines
made with meats other than duck or goose liver are not regulated like foie
gras.)
Duck’s
leg confit
Photograph
courtesy of Alpha
https://www.flickr.com/photos/avlxyz/3646087775/
The original poultry, pork, lamb, and beef confits are dishes that would never have been created today; today, everyone has a refrigerator with a freezer. The first confits were made to store cooked meats for the winter months. The cooked meat would be stored under a thick layer of the meat’s natural fat in an airtight container and kept in a cool place until needed.
That cooking technique, coupled with the aging, produced such wonderful, tender meat and special flavors that confits remained very popular. Now the same tenderness and flavor remain, though the cooking method has changed. You don’t have to be a cook to know that a stew or soup tastes better on the second or third day.
Today, most poultry and meat confits
are made by very slowly braising or roasting duck, goose, pork, lamb, or mutton
on a very low heat in its own fat and juices. That slow cooking, often for five
to ten hours or more, with a low heat, breaks down the muscle and other
tissues. Then, with a well-prepared confit, the meat will, practically, melt in
your mouth. Confits are not served with the fat in which they were
cooked, and so a duck, goose, lamb, veal or pork confit is no fatter than the
same dish prepared in any other manner.
Pigeons et Pigeonneaux
Pigeons and Squabs
Roasted squab
Photograph by Ktphotog through Dreamstime
The pigeons
on French menus are all farm-raised (except for the wild pigeon ramier,
the wood pigeon, which may be hunted during an annual 30-day hunting season).
Farm-raised pigeons have meat that is darker, tenderer, and tastier than
chicken and were on nearly all restaurant menus in the UK and North America
throughout the 19th century. Then, in the early 20th century, pigeons lost
popularity among mainstream chefs.
In France, farm-raised pigeons have
remained a favorite and never lost their popularity; well-recommended farms and
breeds may be mentioned on the menu. So, worry not, no pigeon on the menu will
come from the village clock tower or town square; they are all farm-raised.
From my experience, it's best to always ask about the size of the pigeon portions offered; pigeon portions vary considerably. I have had a serving of pigeon that was minute, and that was provided as the main course; other servings were larger but were on the menu as the starter, the French entrée. Check the weight with the server, as the bones can weigh close to half. Farmed pigeon, with its darker meat, will pair well with light red wines as well as white wines.
On your menu, in France, a serving of pigeon is usually a suprême de pigeon, half the breast and a wing, or a baronnet de pigeon, half the breast and a leg. Even large pigeons do not have a great deal of fat, so a roasted pigeon will be barded, wrapped in fat, so that it does not dry out in the oven.
Cuisses
de Grenouilles.
Crispy Frog’s legs
Photograph courtesy of Hotel
du Vin & Bistro
https://www.flickr.com/photos/hdv-gallery/53217651718/
Until forty or so years ago, Italian deep-fried calamari, deep-fried squid, was a strange dish; about the same time, Japanese sushi and sashimi became popular. They made many different fish and seafood dishes widely available on our menus. In those years, travelers brought back a taste for conches and goats they had discovered in the Caribbean, while others told us about the reindeer steaks they enjoyed in Scandinavia. Our exposure to different meats, disparate fish, diverse cheeses, offbeat fruits, and different wines also prepared us to enjoy frog's legs.
Frog’s legs have their own mild taste. The nearest taste comparison, not the texture, I would give to the tails of freshwater crayfish. Crayfish are no more visually attractive than frogs, but their tails are equally tasty as frogs’ legs. Like many other foods, including fish, beef, chicken, and crayfish, the final taste is directly related to the manner of cooking and the sauces used. While enjoying your frog’s legs, remember they are also good for you as they have plenty of Omega-3.
Frog’s legs have a texture somewhat similar to the meat on chicken wings; however, that is the texture, not the taste. They have thin bones, and the meat may be served on or off the bone. NB: Frogs’ legs and their meat are not at all greasy; if you are served fatty or greasy frog’s legs, that is the fault of the chef cooking them in too much oil or butter, so send them back.
Poulet
Chicken.
Poulet Rôti
-Roast chicken.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/msglaze/2199392694/
Poulet, Poularde, Poule, Pousin and Coquelet
When a Frenchman or woman suggests that you order chicken or other poultry in France, they are doing so for a good reason. France’s chickens, especially its Label Rouge, red label, chickens have a taste, “forget about it,” they taste like something.
Poulet – A young chicken, male or female, that is going to be on the menu as roast chicken. Roast chicken is a bistro staple, but chicken in one manner or another is going to be on nearly every French restaurant’s menu, with more recipes, sauces, herbs, and spices than you probably imagined.
Poulet Fermier – Farm-raised chickens.
Poulet Bio or Poulet Biologique – Organically raised chickens. The government-controlled AB stands for Agriculture Biologique, organic farming, and is the most trusted organic label.
Poulet de Bresse AOP – France’s famous, succulent, white-feathered and blue-legged Bresse AOP chickens. These are France’s tastiest, most famous, and most expensive chickens, with their own AOP label.
Poulet Liberté or Poulet Élevé en Liberté - We might call them "Freedom Chickens” or “Free-Range Chickens,” and they are, indeed, truly free-range, and they taste much better than those raised in tightly packed shelter, but I grew up in a home that raised free-range poultry. While we might want to imagine that these farm-raised birds are constantly clucking and roaming across the farmyard, the reality is far more subdued. Free-range chickens have a never-ending supply of food and consequently choose to spend 80% of their time sitting in groups. Exploring or foraging is not their main activity.
Poularde – A young, especially fattened young chicken.
Chapon -Capon, a fattened young cockerel.
Poularde or Poularde Gras – A fattened chicken, either spayed or raised on a very rich diet. When ready for market, a poularde will weigh about two kilos and will be over twelve weeks old.
Poule – An older hen; often a chicken that no longer lays eggs and is now finding a new career. When a cockerel is not available, this may be the chicken in a Coq au Vin.
Coquelets and Poussins - Very young cockerels and hens, often translated as spring chickens; they weigh between 400 - 700 grams ( 14 - 25 ounces). That weight includes feathers and all, and so a poussin (often served for one) may have 100 – 180 grams (4 -6 ounces) of meat. N.B. A poussin, in much of France, means a chick that just hatched and that will not be on the menu.
Poissons
Fish
Cod
Photograph courtesy of Biodiversity
Heritage Library
https://www.flickr.com/photos/biodivlibrary/50899452682/
Cabillaud and Morue Fraîche
is fresh
cod,
Cabillaud, Morue, Stockfish, Skrei, and occasionally Merluche are the names for dried and or salted ad cod (Merlu is hake).
Cod is France’s most popular fish, and the choice between fresh or salted and dehydrated cod seems to be evenly divided.
In pre-refrigeration times, dried
and salted cod was a massive industry; it existed for hundreds of years, and
was Scandinavia’s main export to France.
If you lived more than 100km (60 miles) from the coast then dehydrated
cod was probably the only saltwater fish you ever saw. Nevertheless, the
recipes for dehydrated cod remain very popular and new ones are still being
created. In many countries, the names for the salted
and or dried cod are baccala, bacalao or bacalhau, while in some
countries the same or similar words are used for fresh cod; the confusion
should not be too surprising.
Brandade - Brandade is a traditional and much-loved dish of finely pureed, hydrated salt cod with olive oil, herbs and a touch of crème fraiche.
Cod may be the most popular fish in
France, but many other fish are caught off France’s coasts, and they will be
among the two or three that make the bistro’s menu, though the ever-popular
salmon is mostly imported from Scandinavia. Altogether, more than forty
different fish and shellfish are regularly available in fish markets (compare
that with the choice at home). Bistros may not specialize in fish, but
you may find a new tasty treat.
Among the two or three saltwater
fish that often make bistro menus, you may be offered Bar or Loup, European
Sea Bass; Merlu Européen, European Hake; Lieu Jaune, Pollack; Lieu Noire, pollock and Dorade Royale, Gilthead or Gilthead Seabream.
Freshwater fish may include Truite, trout, especially common in inland
areas where farmed rainbow trout is a favorite, as well as Brochet, pike; Carpe, Carp; Sandre, pike-perch
or zander and Perche, freshwater perch. Shellfish will
include Crevettes and Gambas, shrimps and prawns; Langoustines, the Dublin
bay prawns, scampi or Norwegian Lobsters, and Calmar, Calamar or Encornets, squid or
calamar.
Tête de Veau
Tête de Veau
Photograph and recipe courtesy of Recettes Carnees
Worry not! No bones or eyes will be
staring at you from the plate!
Veal head meat is a traditional dish on many bistro menus. This dish is a slowly cooked stew made with the meat from a calf's cheeks and ears, without any bones, prepared and flavored with herbs. This meat will be rolled and tied until it looks much like a sausage. When ordered by a group of diners, a Tête de Veau will be sliced in front of them. However, individual orders will be sliced in the kitchen. Some recipes include the tongue, and others also include the brain. In contrast, other versions serve the tongue and the brain on the side, allowing the different flavors and textures to be appreciated.
Alongside a serving of Tête de Veau will usually be jacket or boiled potatoes and either a sauce gribiche, a strong mustard-flavored mayonnaise, or a sauce ravigote, a thick vinaigrette-based mustard sauce.
Ris de Veau or Ris d'Agneau
Sweetbreads
Crispy Sweetbreads
Photograph courtesy of Edsel Little
www.flickr.com/photos/edsel_/4508636746/
Ris de Veau - Calf sweetbreads.
Ris d'Agneau- Lamb sweetbreads
When sweetbreads are on the menu in
France, do not pass them by. Chefs and gourmands highly prize these uniquely
delicate cuts with their clear and mild flavor and texture.
Where do these cuts come from? Sweetbreads are considered top-tier cuts of meat; the pancreas and thymus glands. The texture of sweetbreads is somewhat like the most tender calf's liver from a milk-fed animal, but that's where the comparison stops. It's similar, but definitely not the same.
What does the term sweetbreads mean?
Sweetbreads contain no bread, but Dictionary.com notes the word comes from Old English, where swēte meant sweet, and bræd meant flesh; hence, sweetbreads for sweet meat.
Escargots
Snails
Escargots
Photograph
courtesy of Mike Fleming
https://www.flickr.com/photos/flem007_uk/3363032343/sizes/o/
Ordering snails in France should not be strange. If you like seafood that includes winkles, periwinkles, cockles, mussels, and conchs, etc., they are all in the same family as snails; in fact, they are very close family members.
In France, and the French know a thing or two about good food, snails are considered to be among the tastiest members of their extended family. The central and very obvious difference is that escargots grow on land and not in the sea.
What did the
Romans ever do for us?
The Romans
brought us recipes for snails.
There are two snails that are on French menus, and they have been natives of France, Germany, Spain, and the UK since the Romans brought their favorite Italian snacks with them 2,000 years ago. The Romans taught the French how to manage snail farms and also invented a method of creating artificial rain to make the snails and their favorite snacks grow faster.
If you are reticent about trying snails, do not order a whole portion; snails are sold in dozens, but you may order a half-dozen in most restaurants. Ask. Consider dipping your little toe in first, just to test the water, and for that, you do not even have to eat a snail. Just like when you first ordered mussels, order a small portion. In France, when you order your first half portion of snails, order a demi-douzaine d'escargot, the smallest portion sold, of Escargots à la Bourguignonne, snails prepared in the manner of Burgundy, France’s most famous snail recipe. The sauce in which the snails are prepared and served is half the enjoyment. The snails are always cooked outside the shell, so if you do not like the shell, I am sure the serving staff will do the necessary. Many bistros, in any case, serve snails without the shell.
Escargot de Bourgogne, also called the Gros Blanc, Lunar or La Vignaiola - The Burgundy snail; also sometimes called the great white. This is the most expensive of the two snails that may be in contention. Burgundy snails have a striped yellow-brown meat, and they may grow to about 4.5 cms; some may grow a little larger, but these snails are considered at their best when around 20 grams (2/3 of an ounce) each.
Petit-gris, Luma, Lumas, Chagriné, Carsaulada, Escargot Chagrine, La Zigrinata, and Cargouille - The small gray snail or the common snail. In France, petit-gris is the most popular snail as it is the least expensive. This snail also has many more local names than the few I have noted above; every area of France has snail farms, and the names locally used for the petit-gris are traditional. If the menu just says escargot, then the odds are that you are being offered the petit-gris. The petit-gris has brown-gray meat, and they are ready for the pot when they reach around 10 grams (1/3 of an ounce) each.
Crème Brûlée,
Photograph courtesy of Joel Kramer
https://www.flickr.com/photos/75001512@N00/9072910330/
There are many stories about the creation of Crème Brulée, both modern and from the Middle Ages. However, without too many arguments, the modern Crème Brulée was created and launched, or at least was recreated and relaunched in 1982 by the French-born and French-trained chef Alain Sailhac. The launch took place at Le Cirque, which at the time was the most famous French restaurant in the USA, and Alain Sailhac was the executive chef (1978 – 1986). With so much French input, French chefs in France were able to accept Crème Brulée as a genuinely French creation.
Alain Sailhac created Crème Brulée by producing a lighter version of the
traditionally richer and thicker crusted Spanish dessert called Crema
Catalana. The custard that he made for the original dish was egg yolks and
heavy cream flavored with vanilla, while the
thicker Crema Catalana custard was flavored with cinnamon and lemon.
Then, I heard from Veronica Shine, who has a very interesting blog on the Hispanic Kitchen.
https://hispanickitchen.com/author/veronica-shine/
Veronica Shine wrote that according to the Confectionery Guild of Barcelona, the origins of Crema Catalana came from the Jewish inhabitants of Catalonia. They used the flavors of the Moorish influence in Spain, flavors from before 1492, with cinnamon and lemon being two favorites. The characteristics of today’s traditional Crema Catalana remain cinnamon and lemon. Crema Catalana, in the meantime, has been declared a national dish and is to be served every year, on March 19th, St. Joseph’s Day (the Spanish equivalent of Father’s Day).
Tarte Tatin
Photograph courtesy of Fiona Henderson
https://www.flickr.com/photos/fifikins/5502203244/
The Tarte des Demoiselles
Tatin, the Tart made by the Tatin Sisters. Tarte-Tatin on French Menus.
Yes, there is an original Tarte
Tatin; so please do not call it just another upside-down caramelized apple
pie. If you do so, the French may have
reason to bring back the guillotine, especially for you! In France, a genuine Tarte Tatin is
part of the national heritage.
This is not a blog on cooking; however, if you, unlike me, are into pastry cooking and want the original recipe click on the this link or copy and paste it in your browser. It’s in French so you may need Google or Microsoft Translate.
Crepes,
Galettes, Gauffres, Mille Crepes, Pannequets and
more.
Crepes and pancakes
A smoked salmon crêpe cake
Photograph courtesy of stu_spivack
https://www.flickr.com/photos/stuart_spivack/6161587928/
The French-English dictionary on your PC or mobile may well tell you that a crêpe is a pancake, a galette is a wafer, and a gaufre is a waffle. However, as you have probably already discovered, few French chefs pay much attention to French-English dictionaries.
The French did not invent the crepe, but they certainly have created hundreds, possibly thousands, of recipes for crêpes, galettes, gaufres, and other close family members. Crêpes and their family may be made from regular wheat flour, potato flour, buckwheat flour, or mixed flours. Crêpes will be either thin and quickly cooked or thick like a pancake, baked until crisp like a biscuit, or layered with additions and made into a cake.
In France, crêpes will be
sold on street corner food carts covered with Nutella or chocolate spread or
served as beautiful desserts in wonderful restaurants. Crêpes may be
anointed with a fruit sauce, accompanied by fresh fruit, ice cream, and whipped
cream, and the much-loved dessert called Crêpes Suzette will be flambéed.
Millefeuilles, Mille-feuilles, Feuilles, Feuilleté and Feuillantine on French Menus.
Millefeuille
Photograph courtesy of |Nicolas|
https://www.flickr.com/photos/salocinil/5660393913/
The word feuilletée,
coming as it does from feuille, a leaf, refers to thin layers or leaves
of puff-pastry. Pâte feuilleté is puff-pastry dough and it is created by
folding and refolding and refolding the dough with added butter again and
again. In the oven, these very, very thin layers of butter create steam and
separate the leaves of the dough. Voila,
you have pâte feuilleté that is a special form of puff-pastry. Feuilletés
may be part of the hors d’oeuvres, the entrée (the French first course),
the main courses, or the dessert.
For the top-of-the-line bakers
there is a special butter, an AOP Beurre Pâtissier Poitou-Charente AOP
who use it for pâte feuilletée .
Millefeuille means a thousand leaves. The term describes thin
leaves of pastry dividing cream or other fillings. Thin leaves of vegetables of
fruit may replace the pastry.
Pâte Feuilletée, leafy puff
pastry, is also used to make millefeuilles. Millefeuille or Mille-feuilles
are interleaved layers of pâte feuilletée filled with sweet or savory
fillings. Taking the idea behind the original millefeuille a stretch further
has seen the creation of millefeuilles with no pastry at all. Thin slices of
vegetables and or fruits have replaced the pastry.
Baba au Rhum and the Savarin au Rhum
The
Rum Baba and the Savarin
Baba au Rhum
A Rum Baba
Photograph courtesy of Daniele
www.flickr.com/photos/77081906@N08/8107499369/
Order a Rum Baba, and you will,
usually, be served an individual sponge cake made with dried fruit, mostly
raisins; it will be soaked in rum and served with an apricot sauce. The original Rum Baba, (Baba au Rhum), was
a whole sponge cake cut into slices for the diners, and some cafes and
restaurants still make their Baba au Rhum that way. Unfortunately, some cafes have
forgotten the apricot sauce.
The correct rum used for the
Baba au Rhum will have come from France’s Caribbean Island region of
Martinique, the source of France’s only AOP rum.
The Savarin is a Rum Baba with Chantilly
cream. While the creator of the Savarin is disputed;
however, the origin of the name Savarin in not. The Savarin or Rum Baba with
Chantilly cream was named after Jeanne Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755 -1826).
Brillat-Savarin, an attorney, was one of the first writers who dedicated
himself to the education of early French foodies.
Contemporary Bistros, Gastro Bistros and more.
Contemporary bistros are something else. It seems to me that many excellent French chefs, after achieving success while working for a restaurateur in a Michelin guide restaurant with one or more stars, will go back to their childhood dream and open a bistro they own themselves. However, these chefs with lots of knowledge will be constrained by a traditional bistro’s menu; their bistro will become a “contemporary bistro”. Alongside Contemporary bistros are gastro-bistros, néo-bistrots and other versions of bistros with upgraded menus; some are now owned by celebrity chefs. When visiting France, try a traditional bistro first and only then branch out; in contemporary bistros, expect traditional dishes that have been revisited and unique dishes that would be unlikely to make a traditional bistro's menu.
The Bouchons of Lyon
In addition to bistros, there
are the Bouchons of Lyons. Bouchons were formerly coaching inns where
passengers could eat and rest while the horses from their carriages were
changed. When coaching inns were no longer required, many became unique
Lyonnais restaurants that served local comfort foods. Unfortunately, few
remain; there are maybe 20 bouchons in all of Lyon. When visiting Lyon a
bouchon will offer an interesting and tasty view of Lyon’s culinary history.
----------------------
Searching for the meaning of words, names or phrases
on
French menus?
Just add the word, words, or
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-------------
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