from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
Papeton d'Aubergine.
Photograph
courtesy of Cuisine Actuelle
Papeton d'Aubergine originated in Avignon and is served a pate,
as an entrée (the French starter). Apart from eggplant, most French recipes
include tomatoes, onions, and eggs flavored with garlic, parsley, thyme, and bay leaves. (Avignon was
home to seven popes from 1309 to 1379. The area around Avignon that the popes
ruled was called Comtat Venaissin).
Papeton d'Aubergine
Photographcourtesy of Cuisine Actuelle.
Over the years, chefs have adjusted the Papeton recipe, with some claiming the original version used corn (USA maize) and not eggplant. I tend to doubt the use of corn as it arrived in Avignon about one hundred years after Columbus returned from the Americas, and by then, the popes had left the city! Despite the possible historical confusion when I have ordered Papeton d'Aubergines, all my memories of the dish have been good ones. Nevertheless, there are now more claimants for the authentic recipe than there were popes who ruled from Avignon.
Avignon
Photograph
courtesy of jean-louis Zimmermann
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeanlouis_zimmermann/5031941811/
Where did the eggplant, the aubergine, come from?
The eggplant came from somewhere in Asia, with China being the first country known to have cultivated the plant. How and when the eggplant arrived in Europe is not very clear, and while the usual suspects, the Ancient Greeks, and Romans, who both have long histories tying them to France, have any recipes that include eggplants. Epicurious's online magazine (Condé Nast) focuses on food and cooking-related topics and suggests that the eggplant came to Europe from India sometime around the eighth century, possibly with seeds carried by Jewish merchants. (Epicurious's recipe includes cheese, an addition not usually seen in France).
Eggplants/Aubergines
Photograph
courtesy of Håvar og Solveig
https://www.flickr.com/photos/seenful/3826712768/
Where is Avignon
The city of Avignon is in the prefecture, the regional capital of the department of Vaucluse in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. The region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur includes about half of France's Mediterranean coast from the Camargue to the Italian Mediterranean border. Avignon is just 40 km (25 miles) from the city of Arles, which borders the Camargue. Nimes is 45 km (28 miles) from Avignon and Saint-Rémy-de-Provence is 25 Km (15 miles) while Nice is 270 km ( 168 miles).
The tourist information office of Avignon has an English-language website:
https://avignon-tourisme.com/en/
Find Avignon on the map.
Photograph copyright Google.
You may wonder what the Popes of Rome were doing in Avignon.
Historically, a disagreement between King Philip IV of France and the papacy created the background for change, but it was the refusal of Pope Clement V in 1305 to move to Rome when he was elected pope that caused a breach in the church. Clement V ruled the Roman Catholic world from Avignon; then the capital of a Papal State called Comtat Venaissin, with its capital in Avignon, as did another six popes. However, it is impossible to be sure that the Avignon popes ever tasted any version of Papeton d'Aubergines. (Comtat Venaissin had become a papal territory in 1274 and only returned to France with the French Revolution).
The wine called Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2009
From the winerery named after Pierre Le Roy de Boiseaumarié
Photograph
courtesy of Jameson Fink
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesonfink/5593290096/
While the popes were in Avignon, they enjoyed fine wines and influenced the growth of the vineyards around the summer palace they were building. The results are the often outstanding red and white wines called Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The wine comes from grapes that grow near the village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, where the popes had built their summer palace, 12 km (7 miles) from Avignon. This specific appellation produces more wine than the whole of the Northern Rhone region. That's what you call a popular wine! Much of the investment in the local wine industry owes its growth to the popes of Avignon.
The
village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape
and
the remains of part of the castle's keep.
Photograph courtesy of Cycletours Holidays
https://www.flickr.com/photos/cycletours_holidays/50293529717/
Châteauneuf-du-Pape set the AOC/AOP standard.
In the early 20th century, Châteauneuf-du-Pape was a much-appreciated wine, but it was plagued by wine fraud, with bottles from anywhere being labeled Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The anger and concern of the tricked public and the real vintners saw the first wine regulations produced, especially for Châteauneuf-du-Pape in 1923. Those rules provided the prototype for the subsequent AOC rules and became law in 1933. In 1936 Châteauneuf-du-Pape became the first wine to receive an AOC. A local vintner Pierre Le Roy de Boiseaumarié, (1890-1967) of Château Fortia, was the principal architect of these early regulations as well as the future AOC and AOP regulations. The rules that include a minimum alcohol level for wines and limits on yields as well as the types of grapes can be grown.
For Châteauneuf-du-Pape, both a red and a white wine are allowed. Still, unlike the case with other appellations, the permitted grape varieties are not differentiated into principal and accessory varieties. So. theoretically, it is possible to produce varietal Châteauneuf-du-Pape from any one of the eighteen grapes allowed. In reality, most red Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines are blends dominated by Grenache, though the taste from different producers can vary. When you have found a Châteauneuf-du-Pape that you like, stay with that vintner. Only one of every 16 bottles of Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a white wine. Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines have high alcohol levels, typically 13-15%, and they must naturally be at least 12.5%.
La
Truffe du Mont Ventoux et du Comtat Venaissin
The black truffle found in the department of Vaucluse.
A truffle is a subterranean fungus. Truffles are appreciated for the way they accentuate the flavor of other foods, The best way to enjoy truffles is when they are served raw and shaved over warm foods that are not highly flavored. Truffle oil, if it is genuine, is made with truffles steeped in oil, usually olive oil.
Black Truffle Pasta
Photograph
courtesy Cooking with Kerry
The black truffles of Mont Ventoux and the Comtat Venaissin are the tuber melanosporum. The same truffle as the Perigord Truffle, the black diamond, France's most famous and most expensive truffle. If you are visiting the area in the winter, there are several truffle markets that you can visit. The earliest truffle market of the year is in the town of Carpentras is 26 km (16 miles) from Avignon (from mid-November to mid-March, early on Friday mornings).
Toasts au Truffes
Black truffles on toast.
Photograph
courtesy of J’MC
Œufs Brouillés aux Truffe Noir:
Œufs Brouillés aux Truffe Noir are scrambled eggs, with the black truffles. A brouillade is a light version of scrambled eggs that originated in Provence. The egg whites are beaten separately and only then mixed with the yolks; that provides a light and delicate form of scrambled eggs. I have tried this three times, and only once could I taste and enjoy the change that truffles make; then, the truffles were grated in front of me. The other times, the dishes had no truffle taste, just a few black dots and a hint of garlic, and that was it. Make sure that when you order black truffle dishes, the truffles are grated in front of you! NB: Truffles, like virgin olive oils, lose their taste when cooked.
The flag of the Confrerie
of the Vaucluse
truffle.
Photograph
courtesy of vpagnouf
https://www.flickr.com/photos/vpagnier/13348834865/
This Confrérie whos flag is shown above are a Brotherhood and Sisterhood, who work to protect and promote the good name of the truffle from Vaucluse and have the Comtat Venaissin insignia on their flag.
The black truffle - the Tuber Melanosporum, the Truffe du Mont Ventoux, the Truffe du Comtat Venaissin, and the Truffe du Périgord in the languages of France’s neighbors:
(Catalan - tòfona negra), (Dutch - zwarte truffel ), (German - Perigord-Trüffel, Schwarze Trüffel), (Italian - tartufo nero), (Spanish - trufa negra), ( Latin - trufa negra).
The Aubergine or Eggplant in the languages of France’s neighbors:
(Catalan - albergínia), (Dutch - eggplant), (German - aubergine ), (Italian – melanzana), (Spanish - berenjena), (Latin - solanum melongena).
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Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
Copyright 2010, 2022, 2023
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Hey Bryan,
ReplyDeleteWould you have suggestions where to stay in Provence this December? What is avignon like in winter - we've been but not in mid December? Our favorite place shuts down apparently. BTW when we were in Narbonne market a couple of years ago, they had a basket of nice big truffles at 1k eur/kg. Perhaps from Spain? Cheers!
Very interesting, as this is my neighborhood. I live a few minutes from Carpentras, in a smaller town nearby. I have been often to Avignon, of course, which is an acutely historic town and always a pleasure to visit. Chateauneuf du Pape is fairly nearby also, I often take visiting friends there for some food and wine. I didn't realize that the truffles lost their taste when cooked, which explains a lot about the boring scrambled truffle eggs I've had ...
ReplyDeletebonnie near carpentras