from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
A herd of Limousin cattle.
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Limousin may not be on France’s main tourist routes, but it influences all of French cuisine and the city of Limoge is the historical center of fine porcelain and the birthplace of Auguste Renoir and the town of Aubusson is a world heritage site for its tapestries. Limousin’s three departments, Corrèz, Creuse, and Haute-Vienne are green and forested with hills, rivers and lakes set close to the center of France and since 1-1-2016 part of the new super region of Nouvelle Aquitaine.
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Limousin’s produce and products star on menus all over France whether named on the menu or not. Limousin’s Label Rouge, red label, beef, is the most popular IGP beef in France and the only French apples with an AOP rating are the Pomme du Limousin AOP. Limousine is also home to many farms that grow the Noix de Périgord, AOP, the Périgord Walnuts and a large part of Limosin has thick chestnut forests.
Clafoutis
Famous Inside and outside France are Limousin’s favorite tarte the Clafoutis (pronounced in the singular or plural form as kla-fou-tee). Tarts made with a crepe-like batter and originally with Limousin’s abundant sour cherries. Clafoutis are now famous all over France, and they will be made with other fruits and ingredients and served for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The flaugnarde (pronounced with the letter g silent, so flaugnarde is pronounced flo-nyard) is Limousine’s other famous tart and very similar.
While very little wine is produced in Limousin it is close to the Loire valley and those wines will, along with the wines of Burgundy, be on all the wine lists. Limousin’s oak forests have provided all the oak for the barrels used in Rémy Martin Cognac for more than 100 years,
Limousin on French menus:
Boudin Noir à la Châtaigne du Limousin et sa Purée de Pommes – France’s version of the UK and Ireland’s black pudding (a pig’s blood sausage) prepared with Limousin chestnuts and apple puree. Dishes like this may be on the menus as “à la Limousin,” in the manner of Limousin and are often recipes with made with its abundant chestnuts or AOP apples.
Emincés de Magrets de Canard aux Pommes Du Limousin AOP et Gelée de Coing – Slices of duck breast prepared with Limousin’s AOP apples and quince jelly.
Farcidure or Farcidure de Pommes de Terre – This winter dish from Limousin is made with grated potatoes cooked with salt pork or fatty bacon and flavored with onions, shallots, and garlic. The exact recipe may change as local variations add or remove one or other of the ingredients.
Limousin has learned from the AOP wineries, and they have a Route de la Pomme du Limousin, an apple road in the department of Correze. The French language website is easily understood using Bing or Google translate apps. The route will take you through magnificent scenery allowing stops at farms (on Thursdays in season) and of course past many restaurants.
Slices of duck’s breast
N.B. Duck in France will be served rosé; if you prefer it well cooked, ask.
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Filet de Bœuf Limousin, Sauce à la Lie-de-Vin de Touraine – A cut from the tenderloin, the fillet, from Limousin beef served with a red wine from Touraine sauce. Limousin Label Rouge, red label, beef is well marbled and not from cows fed in feeding lots. The cows are at least 28 months old and will have been free range for six months of the year. The red wines from the Touraine appellation in the Loire Valley are known for their strongly colored, almost violet-red wines and the term Lie de Vin is also a color.
Pavé de Veau Limousin, Tranche de Lard Colonnata et son Jus Corsé – A particular cut from the rump of Limousin’s Label Rouge, red label, veal prepared with a cut of Lard Colonnata, and a sauce made from the cooking juices. The Label Rouge veal from Limousin come from calves raised until weaned by their mothers while completely free of antibiotics or growth hormones. The Lard Colonnata (Lardo de Colonnata) was originally part of an Italian quarryman’s daily meal in the small town of Colonnata in Tuscany, Italy; today it is a gourmet flavoring. It is made from a cut of cured pig fat cured with garlic, salt, pepper, rosemary, and sage in baths made of marble; the result is a firm lard with a truly unique taste. French chefs, like the Italians chefs, use the Lard Colonnata for flavor and even serve it directly on toast though that has made me consider my cholesterol.
Salade Limousin – A limousin salad will be on many menus and the salad greens used will vary with the season but will always include Perigord walnuts or Limousin chestnuts, and the vinaigrette may be made with walnut oil.
Souris d’Agneau Limousin Braisée à la Crème d’Ail Douce – Braised Limousin lamb shank served with a cream sauce made with sweet garlic. This dish is always prepared and served with the bone left in; the bone and bone marrow provides lots of flavors. Limousin’s Label Rouge, red label lambs, are raised until weaned by their mothers and are free of antibiotics and growth hormones. Souris d’agneau is a dish designed for restaurants; they have the time and the staff to control the slow process required to prepare this dish. The souris d’agneau will be cooked for hours, so the slow, low, heat breaks down the muscle and other tissues. The meat will practically melt in your mouth with all the taste locked in, and that’s the beauty of a souris d’agneau.
Souris d’Agneau
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Tarte Façon Bourdaloue Pommes Du Limousin AOP, Pignons Dorés - Tarte Bourdaloue is classic fruit pie made with a pâte brisée pastry; here it is made with Limousin’s AOP apples and browned pine nuts over an almond or frangipane based cream. (The name comes from Rue Bourdaloue in Paris where the Patisserie that first made tarte was situated in the 1850s).
The cheeses of Limousin.
Limousin has many excellent cheeses made with cow’s, goat’s and sheep’s milk though most have limited production, and so despite their excellence they are only available locally. One that I recommend is called the Corrézon au Torchon; this is a traditional cow’s milk cheese with 45% fat, that is produced much like a fresh cheese but is in fact aged for anywhere from one to three months.
Other cheeses that will be on restaurants cheese trolleys or on sale in the fromageries, cheese shops include:
Brayo, cow’s milk
Foissac Saint Hilaire, sheep’s milk.
Gouzon, cow’s milk.
Leconet, goat’s milk.
Millevaches, cow’s milk.
Porcelain
The City of Limoges was home to the world’s first fine porcelain industry before it lost out to the Far East, but before that loss, it created amazing products and designs that are part of France’s unique art history. The National Museum of Porcelain Adrien-Dubouché has the world’s most significant collection.
From the Adrien-Dubouché collection
Tapestry
The town of Aubusson is home to the Cité Internationale de la Tapisserie d'Aubusson that has nearly 1,000 examples of Aubusson, tapestries, carpets, and furniture from the 17th century.
The picturesque old town of Guéret has a Museum of Art and Archeology with a fabulous collection of Limoges painted enamels but is now being redecorated for the first time since it opened in 1905 and will reopen in 2021
Limousin has many fetes connected to various culinary specialties from cheese to ham and sausages etc., the local tourism office will be able to supply dates and subjects along with market days for all the local villages and towns.
Limousin and Limousines.
Of course when in the region of Limousine everyone tries to find a connection between the name of the region and those top of the line automobiles, the limousines. Well, some answers have been offered, but nothing that seems plausible is on my list. Maybe once upon a time, there was a connection.
Racing in Limousin
Chateau de Pompadour is a castle famous throughout France not for so much for its architecture as its beautiful Hippodrome racecourse and stud farm
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Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
Copyright 2010, 2019.
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