Dining in the Five Departments of Old Aquitaine: the Dordogne, Gironde, Landes, Lot-et-Garonne, and the Pyrénées-Atlantiques.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com 

Old Aquitaine and its five departments
After the French Revolution.

From the French Revolution until 1-1-2016 Aquitaine included five modern French departments, the Dordogne, Gironde, Landes, Lot-et-Garonne, and the Pyrénées-Atlantiques.

 (N.B. This post is limited to the five departments of old Aquitaine, Nouvelle Aquitaine includes seven more departments:  Charente, Charente-Maritime, Corrèze, Creuse, Deux-Sèvres, Haute-Vienne, and Vienne).

Aquitaine 

The Duchy of Aquitaine covered the Roman provinces of Aquitania Prima and Secunda named when the Romans colonized a large part of France beginning in 58 BCE. Then, Julius Caesar invaded Gaul and France was ruled by Rome for almost five hundred years. Romans merged with the local population, and Rome’s rule ended in 476 CE when the Western Roman Empire collapsed.

Much later, in the Middle Ages, an enlarged Aquitaine became part of the Kingdom of England when Eleanor of Aquitaine married Prince Henry, later King Henry II of England. 

King Henry II of England was the son of Count Geoffrey of Anjou (the first Plantagenet) and Matilda (Maud) of Britain, a granddaughter of William the Conqueror. Eleanor and Henry ruled nearly 50% of France, and their claims began the Hundred Years War between England and France. Finally, in 1453, Aquitaine became part of the Kingdom of France again.

The French changed the name of Aquitaine to Guyenne when they kicked the English out of France at the end of the hundred-years war. Then, during the French revolution in 1790, the area officially became Aquitaine once again. Despite the official name change, when you travel in the area, the name Guyenne will still be seen as part of many local names. 

Nouvelle Aquitaine 

Nouvelle Aquitaine was created on 1-1-21 as part of a plan to reduce bureaucracy. On that date France reduced its 21 mainland regions to 13 and the old regions of Aquitaine, Poitou Charente, and Limousin were joined together to become Nouvelle Aquitaine. 

Nouvelle Aquitaine includes the departments of the Charente, Charente-Maritime, Corrèz, Creuse, Deux Sèvres,  Dordogne, Gironde, Haute-Vienne, Landes, Lot-et-Garonne, and the Pyrénées-Atlantiques.  

The department of Dordogne

The department of Dordogne (often called by its old name Périgord) is the third-largest department in France. Traveling in the Dordogne is an amazing journey as it includes hundreds of castles, the tourism information bureau claims one thousand, and some of the most beautiful villages in France. To the castles, add beautiful countryside, waterways and more.

The Dordogne is especially well known for its cuisine.  From here come the rare and expensive Perigord black truffles, its Noix du Périgord AOP, walnuts, its Sauce Périgueux, its Salade Périgourdine, its Duck Foie Gras, its Magret de Canard,duck’s breast, and its Cassoulet Périgourdine.  For wines, here is the home of the Bergerac AOP wines that include dry reds, roses, dry white wines, semi-dry and very sweet white wines, and the famous Monbazillac AOP sweet white wines.

The capital of the Dordogne is Périgueux, and the center of its famous cuisine. The second largest town in the Dordogne is Bergerac, made famous by Cyrano de Bergerac, the real one, and statues of his parody are found in the town..

Dishes from the Dordogne that may be on your menu:

Steak d’Espadon Poêlé Sauce Échalotes au Vin de Bergerac – Swordfish steak lightly fried in a shallot sauce flavored with Bergerac wine. The Bergerac appellations include 13 different AOP wines, including reds, rosé, and dry, medium-sweet, and sweet white wines.

A swordfish.
Photograph courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library
https://www.flickr.com/photos/biodivlibrary/7064433129/

Truffe Noire du Périgord en Feuilleté et sa Sauce Périgueux  - The black truffles of Périgord prepared between thin layers of pastry; this is a pastry similar to that used for croissants and here it is served with a sauce Périgueux. Sauce Périgueux is made with the Truffe Périgourdine, the Black Périgord Truffles, and Madeira Wine.

Black truffles.
Photograph courtesy of Chris Pople.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/60173925@N06/32162819631/

Terrine de Fraises en Gelée Sauce Monbazillac – A dish of strawberries prepared with a jelly made with the area's famous Monbazillac wine; served in the terrine in which it is prepared. The Monbazillac AOC covers the renowned sweet white wine produced close to the village of Monbazillac on the left bank of the Dordogne River just across from the town of Bergerac.

A summer fruit terrine.
Photograph courtesy of Yvonne Lin.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/yvonnelin1/7065640351/ 

The department of Gironde

The department of Gironde is the largest department of mainland France; it is world-famous for the wines of Bordeaux and its cuisine, with many hundreds of dishes named after the city. The Bordeaux wines include Margaux, Saint-Emilion, Pauillac, Pomerol and Sauternes, St.-Julien and many, many others. From the Gironde come the Arcachon Bay oysters, outstanding freshwater and saltwater fish and shellfish, farm-raised caviar, and the Boeuf de Bazas. The Pauillac Agneau de Lait, milk-fed Baby Lamb, the cèpes of Bordeaux, the French Porcini mushrooms and the IGP Asperge du Blayais, asparagus come from here as do the original pralines.

Apart from the Gironde Estuary, there is almost 250 km (155 miles) of Atlantic coastline with superb beaches, including surfing hotspots. To the Atlantic, beaches add the freshwater lake and river water sports, beautiful villages, and the historic center of Bordeaux, which is a UN World Heritage site.

Bordeaux wines ready for tasting.
Photograph courtesy of dpotera
https://www.flickr.com/photos/e_calamar/5526212459/

Dishes from the Gironde that may be on your menu:

Croustade de Faisan aux Cèpes de Bordeaux -  In most of France a croustade is much like an Italian bruschetta with mushrooms or liver on toast. However, we are in the South-West of France, and a croustade is something else entirely. Here the croustade will be a pheasant roasted in a pie or similar base and served with the Cèpe de Bordeaux, a specific variety of Porcini mushrooms that grow wild in the forests and woods around Bordeaux.

Pheasant.
Photograph courtesy of Alistair Young  
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ajy/66551248/

Escalope de Poulet Poêlée aux Morilles au Vin Blanc de Bordeaux – Breast of chicken lightly fried with morel mushrooms and a white Bordeaux wine.

L’Entrecôte et Son Os à Moelle à la Bordelaise – An entrecote, a rib-eye steak prepared with bone marrow and Sauce Bordelaise, that fabulous Bordeaux wine sauce. For an entrecote, if it is well prepared, this is as good as it gets. Sauce Bordelaise is made with a veal stock, a Bordeaux red wine, butter, shallots, and herbs. The sauce on this menu listing is made with the addition of moelle, bone marrow.

Entrecôte À La Bordelaise.
Photograph courtesy of Radio DKL.

The department of Landes

The department of Landes is famous for its excellent Asperge des Sables, white asparagus, its unique Label Rouge, red label, Volailles des Landes which include, chickens, capons, turkeys, as well as quail, Guinea fowl along with its famous ducks and duck foie gras. Beef on local menus will come from locally farmed Bœuf de Chalosse, and the Bœuf Blond d'Aquitaine, IGP, Label Rouge.   While from the spa town of Dax comes Dacquoise or the Biscuit Dacquoise cake that will be on menus all over France. 

Landes is also Armagnac country and shares with the department of Gers the Bas Armagnac, considered the best of the Armagnac appellations. Their AOP Tursan wine is available in red, rosé, and white. While for the traveler, the pine forests planted over 100 years ago offer many beautiful walks and rest areas. The Landes Réserve Naturelle Nationale du Marais d'Or, National, theNature reserve of Marais d'Orx is an important stopover for migratory birds with tours and nature centric activities.

A camping site in a pine forest in Landes.
Photograph courtesy of Flower camping

Dishes from Landes that may be on your menu:

Duo d' Asperges Blanches et Vertes des Landes à la Vinaigrette de Framboise – A matched serving of white and green asparagus from Landes served with a raspberry vinaigrette sauce.

Green asparagus
Photograph courtesy of Isabelle Hurbain-Palatin
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ipalatin/2920876013/

Pastis Landais – No, not the alcoholic drink flavored with anise. The pastis Landais on your menu is a dessert pastry; a traditional brioche flavored with orange, vanilla, rum, or anise. (Pastís is a Gascon and Occitan word which can mean cake or mixture, and as a mixture, the word is linked to the pastis, anise-flavored, alcoholic beverage).

Poulet Landes Rôti aux Cèpes – The much appreciated Poulet Landaise IGP, the Landes chicken, roasted with cèpes, porcini, mushrooms. These golden feathered free-range chickens come from the region of Landes; they are mostly corn fed and let free in the forests for most of their lives. The farmers have a unique chicken house called a Marensine that they move to keep up with their chickens to insure that have plenty of fresh lands to find their own bugs, worms, and more. As they move these mobile chicken houses keep them safe at night

A Cèpe mushroom
Photograph courtesy of jacme31
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jacme31/286202250/

Ravioles au Foie Gras de Canard des Landes – Ravioli filled with Landes' fattened duck's liver.

The department of Lot-et-Garonne

The department of Lot-et-Garonne is famous for its fruit, especially its prunes and strawberries. The prunes of Agen are the gold standard in prunes around the world, and there is a unique Route du Pruneau, a prune road, an innovation seen nowhere else. The Label Rouge, red label, strawberries of Lot-et-Garonne supply close to 20% of France's strawberries. The town of Marmande gave its name to the AOP Marmande tomato; this is the only tomato awarded an AOC/AOP.    

During the various strawberry seasons in Lot-et-Garonne, you will be offered many different fruits. One special strawberry is the Mara des Bois strawberry; the Mara des Bois strawberry is a cultivated strawberry that tastes reasonably close to a natural wild strawberry. Lot-et-Garonne is also the kiwi-fruit center of France, and in season, they will also be on the menu.

Local menus also offer much freshwater fish from the 300 km (190 miles) of navigable waterways with many freshwater fish farms, so consider one of the excellent local freshwater fish-soups. If you want meat, choose your steaks from the local breeds, including the Bœuf Blond d'Aquitaine, the Bœuf de Bazas, and the Bœuf de Chalosse.

Nearly half of the Armagnac produced in France comes from Lot-et-Garonne and so your choice from among local producers will not be limited. Most Armagnacs sold are vintage brandies, which indicates they come from a particular year and are not blended with eau-de-vies from other years. Unlike blended Armagnacs and Cognacs, which have two distillations, the long aging is the source of the particular Armagnac taste. Vintage Armagnacs are often aged in a barrel for 15 years or more, with a minimum of ten, and consequently are more expensive than blended Armagnacs. The year of the vintage defines Armagnac; the cognoscenti know which years are the best. After 10,15, 20 years in a barrel (at the most 40 years), the brandy is transferred to glass containers called demijohns until bottled. Armagnacs, like whiskeys, would deteriorate if they were in a barrel for more than forty years, and most will be in a barrel for less than twenty years.

 Armagnac.
Photograph courtesy of Pierre L.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/titounet/49087174902/

The menus include products and cuisine from the old Province of Quercy, which was divided between the departments of Lot and Lot-en-Garonne during the French revolution. For your digestif, you will drink Armagnac, but for your aperitif, try the Floc de Gascogne, a fortified wine made with Armagnac and offered in rose (red) and white versions. 

Dishes from Lot-et-Garonne that may be on your menu:

Magret de Canard Grillé aux Fruits Rouge de Lot-et-Garonne – Grilled duck breast served with a sauce made from the berries, including the strawberries from Lot-et-Garonne.

Crêpes Flambées à l’Armagnac – Crêpes flambéed with Armagnac.

Crêpes Flambées
Photograph courtesy of Marcela Escandell
https://www.flickr.com/photos/buscavientos/8298085144/

Grenadins de Porc aux Pruneaux D’Agen – Small cuts of filet of pork prepared with Agen prunes. 

     

The department of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques

The department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques is the heart of France’s Basque country, the Pays Basque. From here comes Jambon de Bayonne, Bayonne Ham IGP, Piment d’Espelette, Espelette peppers AOP,   L'Agneau de Lait des Pyrénées, the milk fed lamb of the Pays Basques IGP, and Ossau-Iraty, their AOP sheep’s cheese, among the many products and produce seen on tables all over France. The department is also famous for its fish and seafood dishes, especially those made with the Northern Bluefin Tuna and Cod. For most visitors, the unique Basque cider is also a special treat.

Jambon de Bayonne 
Photograph courtesy of Carrefour

The French Basque country also has its own variety of tapas called pintxos, and they will be accompanied by wines, cider, and other alcoholic drinks. The most well-known wines of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques include the Béarn AOP with red, rosé and white wines, the Madiran AOP red wine, the Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh AOP white wine and the Irouléguy AOP red, white, and rosé wines, the Jurançon AOP dry white wine, and the famous Jurançon AOP moelleux, sweet white wine. Locally Izarra, a Basque liqueur with two versions (both with an Armagnac base), will be the digestif of choice. 

Basque Cider

In the Basque country, their cider is called sidra or sagarno in the Basque language. Their traditional ciders have very different tastes to the ciders from the North, with the best considered those with the sharpest taste. The original Basque ciders are dry flat ciders, none of them sparkling; however, public demand has created a place for a brut, semi-dry, lightly sparkling version. The Basques claim that the Pays Basque is the home of the original cider apple, with all other cider apples in the world being the descendants of their Basque apple. The Basque Country has a Route Gourmande des Pays Basques, the Basque country gourmand’s road, and the Route du Fromage AOP Ossau-Iraty, the Pays Basque cheese road. Enjoy Basque cider and traditional Basque dishes; sample fine Basque wines and in the evening try the new Basque cuisine.

Basque Cider Barrels in a cider bar, a sagardotegi, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Photograph courtesy of Jonny Hunter
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jonnyhunter/378228158/

The City of Bayonne

The City of Bayonne is the center of Basque culture, but the prefecture, the regional capital, is the city of Pau, just 113.0 km (70 miles) away. The Atlantic seaside town of Biarritz is 8.2 km (5 miles) away from Bayonne, which is an inland port. Biarritz is famous as one of the earliest coastal resorts that saw the arrival of English tourists in the late 1880s, and it remains an important resort and spa. Just over the border from Pau, just 46 km (29 miles) away, in the neighboring department of Hautes-Pyrénées, is the pilgrimage town of Lourdes. j

The resort town of Biarritz.
Photograph courtesy of Marc Kjerland
https://www.flickr.com/photos/marckjerland/7273587452/

Dishes from the Pyrénées-Atlantiques that may be on your menu:

Chorizo au Cidre au Pays Basques – Spicy Chorizo pork sausages cooked in Basque cider. Chorizos are mostly cured, smoked pork sausages, but some use fresh pork and are cooked before being served.

Gigolettes de Caille au Piment d'Espelette – Quail legs prepared with the famous AOP red pepper from the town of Espelette.

Magret de Canard à la Planxa - Duck breast cooked on the planxa. The planxa or plancha is at least two centimeters (6/8”) thick and claimed as their own by the Basques, the French, and the Spanish. This traditional and very even cooking method uses very little oil and results in a taste somewhere between frying and grilling.

Magret de Canard au Poivre Vert, Pommes de Terre Sautées

Duck breast with green peppercorns, and lightly fried potatoes.

Photograph courtesy of Frédérique Voisin-Demery

https://www.flickr.com/photos/vialbost/4429028606/  

Roulées au Jambon de Bayonne au Ardi Gasna et sa Confiture de Figues – Rolls of thin, cured, Bayonne Ham served with one of the regions sheep’s cheeses accompanied by a fig jam.

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

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 posts that include over 4,000 French dishes with English translations and explanations. 

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

Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman 
Copyright 2010, 2016, 2021, 2023
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 
--------------------

Connected Posts:
 

Á la Moelle – Dishes Served With or Flavored With Bone Marrow. Á la Moelle on French Menus.  
 
Agen in South-west France. Home to the gold standard in prunes. This pretty and walkable town is surrounded by castles and Chateaus and some the prettiest villages in France.
 
Agneau de Lait – Milk-fed Baby Lamb in French Cuisine.
 
Anis, Anis Vert - Anise or Aniseed. Anis on French Menus and in Pastis
 
Anjou and Angevines – Dining in the Maine et Loire, France.
 
Armagnac one of France’s two fabulous AOP grape brandies.
   
Asperges en La Cuisine Française – Asparagus in French cuisine. The Artists who painted Asparagus or Lived Near Argenteuil.
 
Basque Cuisine. The Basque Cuisine of the Pays Basque. Ordering Basque Dishes.
 
Bœuf de Chalosse, Label Rouge, IGP – The Chalosse, Red Label, Beef Cattle. Bœuf de Chalosse on French Menus.
 
Boeuf de Bazas. The Beef from the Bazadais Breed of Cattle. Among the best Beef on French Menus.
 
Bordeaux and Bordelaise on the Menu, and Bordeaux AOC/AOP Wines on the Wine-List.
 
Cabillaud - Cod, the Fish. Cabillaud is Fresh Cod, Morue is Rehydrated Cod. Cod on French Menus. Cod is the Most Popular Fish in France.
 
Caille - Quail. Quail on the Menu in France
 
Canard – Duck. Duck on French Menus.
 
Cassoles, Cassolettes, and Cassoulets. Along with Four of the Most Famous Cassoulets on French Menus.
 
Cognac the Town, and Visiting Cognac and Tasting the Product. Cognac IV.
 
Crepes, Galettes, Gauffres, Mille Crepes, Pannequets and more. All on French Menus
 
Crêpes Suzette, the Prince of Wales, and the Chef Henri Charpentier.
 
Cuisine Périgourdine - Dining in the Four Colors of the Dordogne-Perigord.
 
Dining in and Around the City of Bayonne on France’s Southern Atlantic Coast where it Borders the Pyrénées and Spain. Bayonne is the Capital of France's Basque Country.
 
Dining in Limousin, France. The Departments of Corrèz, Creuse, and Haute-Vienne.
 
Dining in the Ancient Province of Quercy. Quercy is Mostly Divided Between the Departments of Lot and Tarn-et-Garonne.
 
Dining in the Department of Charente-Maritime on France's Atlantic Coast.
 
Cuisine Périgourdine - Dining in the Four Colors of the Dordogne-Perigord.
 
Dinde - Turkey. The Turkey in French Cuisine.
 
Échalotes - Shallots. One of the Most Important Herbs in the French Kitchen
 
Entrecôte (Entrecote). Ordering a Perfect Entrecote Steak in France.
 
Espadon; Swordfish on Your Menu.
 
Faisan - Pheasant. Wild Pheasant and Farm-Raised Pheasant on French Menus.
 
Figues - Figs. Figs on French Menus. The Best Figs in France are the Figues de Sollies,
 
Foie Gras in French Cuisine. Foie Gras is Fattened Goose or Duck Liver Foie. Foie Gras on French Menus.
 
French Ciders, Including France's Fabulous Sparkling Ciders
 
Foie Gras in French Cuisine. Foie Gras is Fattened Goose or Duck Liver Foie. Foie Gras on French Menus
 
Ham in France. The Ten Most Popular Hams.. Ham in French Cuisine.
 
Gigot, Gibelotte, Gigolette, Gigotin and Gigue on French Menus and in French Cuisine.
 
La Truffe de Périgord, la Truffe Noire - The Perigord Truffle, the Black Truffle in French Cuisine. 
 
Madeira wine, Vin de Madère and the French Menu.
 
Magret de Canard or Lou Magret. - Duck Breast in French Cuisine.
 
Morille, the Morel Mushroom. Morel mushrooms on French Menus. The Mushrooms of France V.
 
Noix – The Walnut. France’s Beloved Nut. The Walnut on French Menus.
 
Oranger De Séville, Oranger Amer, Bigaradier - The Seville or Bigarade Oranges in French Cuisine.
 
Ossau-Iraty AOP. One of France’s Two AOP sheep’s cheeses.
 
Pates and Terrines. An introduction to the meat, fish, vegetable and fruit pates on French menus.
 
Piment d’Espelette - The Pepper from Espelette in the Basque Country. Pimenete d'Esplette is Most Popular Chili Pepper in France.
 
Pintade - Guinea Fowl. Guinea Fowl in French Cuisine.
 
Poivre - Peppercorns. White, Green, Black and Red Peppercorns. Grey Pepper and the Misnamed Pink Peppercorns. Pepper in French Cuisine.
 
Poulet, Poularde, Poule, Pousin – Chicken. Chicken in French Cuisine.
 
Pralines, Pralines Roses, Belgian Pralines and Pralulines. Pralines in French Cuisine.
 
Caille - Quail. Quail on the Menu in France.
 
Regions - On the 1st of January 2016 Many of France's Mainland Administrative Regions and Their Borders Changed. Keep This List With Your GPS and Map.
 
Rhum - Rum. France’s Rum Agricole Martinique AOC. Rum in French Cuisine.
 
Salad Perigourdine (Salade Périgourdine) on the French Menu
 
Sausages, an Important Part of French Cuisine.. A Short Introduction to France’s World of Sausages. The Sausages of France III.  
 
The Cèpe, The Porcini Mushroom Grows Wild in France. Enjoy the Tasty Wild Mushrooms Of France III.
 
The Croissant and its History. The Croissant is France's Most Famous Pastry, but its Origins Come From Outside France.
 
The Dacquoise or the Biscuit Dacquoise. The Town of Dax and the Pays Dacquoise in Nouvelle Aquitaine.
 
The Plancha or Planxa in French Cuisine. The Plancha on French Menus.
 
Thon - Tuna. Tuna in French Cuisine.
 
Tomate – Tomato. France’s Greatest Tomato, the Tomate de Marmande AOC. The Tomato in French Cuisine.
 
Vanille – Vanilla. The story of Vanilla and Vanilla in French Cuisine.
 
Vinegar, Vinaigrette and Verjus in French Cuisine.
 
Volatile – Poultry. The Word Volaille, Poultry, on French Menus Only Includes Chickens and Turkeys. Volaille in French Cuisine.