Showing posts with label Haricot Vert. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Haricot Vert. Show all posts

Salade Mesclun – Salad Mesclun in French Cuisine

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


It is a sad day in France when a salade vert, a green salad, is just two types of wilted lettuces, with a few overgrown roquet (rocket/arugula) leaves thrown on a plate and served.  A marked-down salade vert does happen, even if it is on rare occasions. But a Salade Mesclun, also called a Salade de Mesclun or just Mesclun, a particular French mixed salad and part of France’s heritage correctly made brings a smile to all lovers of French cuisine.
  
From the north to the South of France, and from talking to many educated diners and chefs, there is a clear format for preparing a Salade Mesclun.  Every good chef stated categorically that a Salade Mesclun must include at least five different salad greens with six being even better. The ingredients are carefully chosen to bring together taste, texture, color, and arrangement.

At its simplest, a Salade Mesclun includes two types of lettuce often Romaine (Cos lettuce) with its herb-tinged flavor along with the leaves taken from the heart and iceberg lettuce (bright and crunchy).  Then comes Mache, lamb's lettuce (sweet and nutty), escarole (crispy and sharp), Roquet, rocket/arugula (spicy); and lightly cooked Haricot Vert, baby green beans (sweet). All are served with a well-made vinaigrette sauce. Their combined colors, tastes, and textures are a Salade Mesclun and show a concerned chef in the kitchen.

Salad Mesclun with added tomatoes and figs.

Describing a Salade Mesclun as a mixed salad in the usual North American or UK construct is an insult. A salade mesclun correctly prepared it is a gem from the book of French cuisine, balanced and carefully constructed, not thrown together,

The ingredients will change with the seasons, so  Salade Mesclun may include Pissenlit, dandelion leaves (spicy); Treviso Radicchio, radicchio (bitter and a flash of color); Endive, the Belgian Endive (crunch);  Chicorée Frisée, the curly endive; and Red or Green Feuille de Chêne, oak leaf lettuce. These and other leaves are added from France’s endless choice of baby vegetable shoots and herbs.

Don’t be surprised if a few tasty grapes, bean sprouts, roasted seeds, slices of red onion or similar are added. Your Salade Mesclun, remember, is all about taste and texture, and some chefs may get carried away, but they can taste great.

Mesclun just means mixed in the Provencal language of southern France, but a A small Salade Mesclun may be an entree, but it more usually accompanies the main dish, often as part of a light lunch.

Salade Mesclun on your menu at a light lunch:

Assiette de Jambon San Daniele et Salade de Mesclun – A plate of San Daniele cured ham and a Salad Mesclun. Jambon de San Daniele is, despite being an Italian cured ham very much appreciated in France.  This ham uses sea salt for the salting process and is cured for a minimum of 13 months. The unique taste of this ham is claimed, by the producers, to be the result of the microclimate where the ham is aged. The small town of San Daniele del Friuli is 80 km (50 miles) from Venice.
  
Croque-Monsieur XXL, Mesclun – An extra, extra-large Croque Monsieur accompanied by a Salad Mesclun. Croque Monsieur is a simple but tasty French fast food.  It is a toasted sandwich made with Pain de Mie, French sandwich bread, cooked ham, and Gruyere cheese. The sandwich is soaked in beaten egg and then fried gently or toasted until the outside is golden brown and the cheese melts. This XXL size will probably be a triple-decker.

Assiette de Saumon Fumé et Salade Mesclun Câpres – A plate of smoked salmon and a Salad Mesclun with capers.

Tartare de Bœuf, Servi Avec Toasts, Mesclun Salade – A Steak Tatar accompanied by toast and served with a Salade Mesclun.
 
Terrine de Lapin au Muscat sur Son Lit de Salade Mesclun – A rabbit pate flavored with a Muscat wine served on a bed of Salad Mesclun.
  
Smoked salmon and strawberries with Salade Mesclun

Salade de Chêvre Chaud Sur Mesclun – Warm goat’s cheese served on a Salad Mesclun.

Salade de Mesclun, Tomates, Saumon Fumé, Crabe, Crevettes – Salad Mesclun served with tomatoes, smoked salmon, crab meat and shrimp.
  
The ingredients of a Salade Mesclun

Roquet  - Arugula or Rocket

Roquet - Arugula or Rocket.

Roquet has dark green leaves and a peppery flavor along with an aroma that varies from nutty to oily depending on the particular strain. The leaves vary in shape with the long and spiked leaves being the sharpest. If you prefer just a slight peppery taste, choose the smaller leaves when buying for your home.  Wild arugula/rocket plants are the most pungent of all the strains and so chefs who work with ramasseurs, gatherers, (who bring them wild herbs and mushrooms) only buy the youngest shoots.
   

Roquet – arugula/rocket in the languages of France’s neighbors:
 (Dutch - taket, taketkruid, tucolakers, tucola), (German - salatrauke, rauke, rucola), (Italian - rucola, ruchetta ), (Spanish - rúcula, oruga, jaramago, arrúgula, roqueta)




Endive, Endive Blanc - Belgian Endive, Witlof or Whiteleaf.  
Called chicons in Belgium).

Endive – Belgian Endive
 
Endive, the Belgian endive is shaped like a torpedo and is harvested when it is about 15cm (6") in length. It has tender, crunchy white leaves that grow with yellow edges. Endive leaves are mostly white with yellow to slightly light-green tips and are firm and crunchy; they are nutty and slightly bitter. On their own, the leaves are often used to display other dishes such as a seafood cocktail or a pâté. Endives may also be cooked and used as a garnish for the main dish, or the menu may offer a soupe à l'endive, an endive soup.

A Belgian endive with dark green leaves at its end indicates that it has been on the shelf too long.  That's an indication that its flavor will have begun to change and that enjoyable crunchiness may also have begun to fade.

If you are into endives, then you may meet your friends and colleagues every year in the pretty town on Bethune. Join them at the Fête de l'Endive, the town's Endive Fete; it is held on the last Sunday of February every year. Bethune is a lovely small town in the center of an important agricultural area and just 35 km (22 miles) from the city of Lille. It is in the department of Pas-de-Calais in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 1-1-2016 France changed many of its administrative regions and the region of Hauts-de-France was made up of the old regions of Picardie and Nord-Pas de Calais with Lille as the regional capital.

The Endive –- Belgian Endive in the language of France’s neighbors
(Catalan - xicoira), ( Dutch - wlde cichorei, wegenwachter ),(German -   endive, salatzichorie), (Italian - cicoria witloof), (Spanish - endibia, endibia witloof), (Latin - cichorium intybus var.foliosum).


  
Mâche or Mâche Nantaise - Lamb’s lettuce or Corn Salad

Mâche - Lamb’s Lettuce.Valeriana locusta var. olitoria, 
Early 20th-century drawing.
www.flickr.com/photos/biodivlibrary/26830591044/
 
Mâche is France's tastiest contribution to a mixed salad. Mâche leaves are nutty, juicy, with just a tinge of spice, and a texture that goes well with other salad greens. The great taste and texture that mâche leaves bring to a green salad always make me wonder why it is so rarely available in the UK or North America.

The name lamb's lettuce comes from the spoon-shape of the leaves said to resemble a lamb's tongue. The name corn salad is associated with the plant because it grows like a weed in wheat fields. Lamb's lettuce grows wild all over Europe as well as North Africa, and North America. While it has been cultivated in Europe since the 16th century, it was mostly looked down upon as food for the peasantry until the 19th century.

 A Mache salad in France is also known as Salade de Prêtre, a priest's salad, and Salade de Chanoine, a canon's salad. Both belong to the Christian tradition of Lent when traditionally meat was not eaten and so a salad with this salad green would star. Many other local names are seen in farmer's markets.

Mâche in the languages of France's neighbors:
(Catalan - canonges), (Dutch -  veldsla), (German – feldsalat, Rapunzel), (Italian -  dolcetta), (Spanish -   canónigo),  (Switzerland -  nüsslisalat or nüssler), (Latin -  valerianella locusta var. olitoria).



Haricot Vert – The Fresh Green Bean or Snap Bean;

Haricot Vert - Green beans.
www.flickr.com/photos/resonant/37277026590/
 
The fresh Haricot Vert, the French Green Bean is the most popular of all France's green beans. These particular beans are sweeter and have a more delicate texture than most other green beans. This bean is usually the only part of a salade mesclun that will be cooked before being incorporated in the salad. Despite that caveat, French chefs do make changes, and another cooked vegetable may sometimes be included.

The Haricot Jaune or Haricot Beurre – The fresh, yellow bean is a strain of the green bean and it tastes the same to me.  This is the only fresh bean that comes close in popularity to France's haricot vert and it may be included in the Salade Mesclun.  The shortest and youngest green and yellow beans are considered the tenderest and tastiest and as you will see in the market the most expensive.

Haricot Vert – the Fresh Green Bean in the languages of France’s neighbors:
(Catalan - fesol or mongeta), (Dutch - gewone boon  ), (German – gartenbohne, grüne bohne, schnittbohne), (Italian - fagiolo), (Spanish – judia verde). (Latin - phaseolus vulgaris var. vulgaris). Latin - Haricot commun, variété grimpante).


Chicorée Rouge -  Radicchio, Red-Leaved Chicory

Chicorée Rouge - The red-leaved chicory

Radicchio is a family of leafy vegetables with most hybrids developed in Italy, and they quickly became popular in France. Despite the variety of radicchios available in Italy, the most well-known and the most popular is the Chicorée Rouge, the Radicchio or the Red-Leaved Chicory.  This radicchio family member is nearly round with leaves the color of Burgundy, but with white ribs. Apart from the white ribs, red chicory looks somewhere between a round red lettuce or a red cabbage though the taste and texture are very different.

The taste is lightly but pleasantly bitter, and like the other members of the radicchio family, (outside of a Salade Mesclun), the red-leaved chicory may also be served grilled or prepared as part of the main dish.

Chicorée Rouge - The red leaved chicory in the languages of France’s neighbors:
(Catalan - radicchio),(Dutch - roodlof, radicchio rosso),(German - radicchio rosso di Chioggia), (Italian - radicchio di Chioggia), (Spanish   - achicoria de Chioggia), (Latin - cichorrium intybus var. foliosum).

 
Scarole, Chicorée Scarole, Scarole or Batavia -  Escarole or  Batavia Endive.

Scarole - Escarole

Chicorée Scarole or Escarole is related to Chicorée Frisée Frisée.  It is a mildly bitter and leafy green with large and curly, crisp lettuce-like leaves that have a more noticeable flavor than most types of lettuce.  The Inner leaves are paler and have a lighter taste than the outer leaves.  N.B. This is not the chicory plant used for making a caffeine-free coffee substitute, in French it is called Chicorée à Café Real and for the coffee substitute it is the roots that are used.

Scarole – Escarole in the languages of France’s neighbors:
(catalan - endívia), (Dutch - Andijvie, Escarol), (German -  Endivie-Eskariol, Eskariol Endivie, Eskariol, Endivi), (Italian - indivia scarola, Scarola), (Spanish - escarola), (Latin - :cichorium endivia var. latifolium).

Chicorée Frisée or Endive Frisée  – The Curly Endive sometimes called Frisée, Curly Endive, Chicory, Chicory Endive, Curly Chicory. (In the UK, curly endive is often simply called  endive which can lead to some confusion with other endives).
  
Chicorée Frisée - The Curly Endive
www.flickr.com/photos/notahipster/5738349483/

Chicorée Frisée or Endive Frisée is a member of the endive family and looks like lettuce with outer green eaves that curl in a lacy texture. In a salad, it adds a slightly crunchy texture with a slightly bitter taste. The lighter-colored inner leaves are milder and are considered among the best for salads as they have a crunchy stem, and add a lot of texture.   Curly endives may also be cooked, and maybe on menu listings as a garnish.  Their pale green, white, and yellow coloring is a result of the producer shielding them from light during the growing process in a similar manner to the Belgian Endive.

Chicorée Frisée or Endive Frisée  – The curly endive in the languages of France’s neighbors:
(Catalan - escarola. ), German - krausblättrige endivie ), (Italian - Indivia riccia), (Spanish – escarola.) (Latin - cichorium endivia var. crispum).


  
Sucrine - Bibb, Boston, or Little Gem

Sucrine - Bibb  Lettuce.
  

The Boston Bibb type lettuces are known for their light nutty and buttery taste, velvety texture, and slight crunch. They have loose, wavy, cupped light green leaves. Inside the leaves are more tightly bound, with a yellow tint. 

                                        Romaine lettuce
  
Romaine Lettuce
www.flickr.com/photos/usdagov/48366526987/

  

Romaine or cos lettuce  The romaine is sold as whole heads and the thick ribs, especially on the older outer leaves, have a milky fluid that gives the romaine its typically bitter herb taste.

The Romaine or cos lettuce in the languages of France's neighbors:
(Catalan -  llarg, romà), (Dutch - bindsla), (German – römersalat, römischer, romana-salat), (Italian - lattuga romana), (Spanish - lechuga romana. lechuga romanita, cos), (lactuca sativa var. longifolia).



Pissenlit – Dandelion

Pissenlit – Dandelion
www.flickr.com/photos/macleaygrassman/15756686043/

Dandelion greens are the green leaves from those flowers that pop up, uninvited, in the middle of a green lawn year after year with puffs that kids love to blow as they turn into numerous small florets.   The leaves are earthy, nutty, and, bitter with a sharp flavor much like radicchio, but more so.

The variety of dandelion green cultivated for sale at markets and grocery stores is milder than the intensely bitter and mineral-tasting garden weed. However, those garden weeds are perfectly edible but spicy,

The old French name for dandelions is Dent de Lion, the lion’s tooth. The dandelion leaf is considered to resemble a lion’s tooth, and thanks to William the Conqueror the old French name Dent de Lion became the English name dandelion. William the conqueror and the cooks of his Norman Barons are responsible for half the names in the English kitchen.

The name Pissenlit used on most modern French menus has another translation; pissenlit translates as piss in your bed! (Don't ask me why the French prefer the name piss in the bed over lions' teeth)? That French name refers to the folk story that warned against eating dandelions and that story probably also came to England with the Normans. We, as children in England, were warned that if we ate dandelion leaves, we would wet the bed; however, that is not true! Neverthless, the roots of the dandelion, which are not usually used in cooking, are a diuretic. The roots are part of French homeopathic medicine where they are used as a diuretic and that is the probable source of this old-wives tale that mistakenly relates to the leaves.

Pissenlit – Dandelion leaves  in the  languages of France’s neighbors:
(Catalan - xicoia ), (Dutch - paardenbloem ),(German – löwenzahn, bettnässer, hundeblume) (Italian - dente di leone),( Spanish -  diente de león),( (Latin – taraxacum officinale).

  
Feuilles de Chêne, - Oak Leaf Lettuce.
  
Feuilles de Chêne, - Oak Leaf Lettuce.
Photograph courtesy of  Forest and Kim Starr
 
Feuilles de Chêne - Oak Leaf Lettuce leaves are similar to that of the oak tree, hence, its name. This is a tender lettuce with more taste than most other lettuces. To be enjoyed it really needs to be very fresh and if you are buying it for home make sure it has a strong color as well as being crisp and firm. When you see wilted oak leaf leaves in your Salad Mesclun then you know it has been prepared to long in advance, send it back.

As with Batavia lettuce, there are several varieties of oak leaf lettuce—green, red, bronze—but they are all loose-leaf lettuces, meaning the leaves stay loose and do not have compact heads like an iceberg lettuce

Oak Leaf lettuce in the languages of France’s neighbors:
(German - eichblatt ), (Italian - lattuga aalanova ), (Spanish - hoja de roble ), (Latin Lactuca sativa var. crispa 'F).


Laitue Iceberg - Iceberg Lettuce

Iceberg Lettuce
Photograph courtesy of Pin Interest

Laitue Iceberg Originally called Crisphead this lettuce became known as Iceberg lettuce when it was brought in from California covered in crushed ice. Iceberg lettuce is in your Salade Mesclun for the crunch; its flavor is too mild to notice.

Iceberg Lettuce in the languages of France’s neighbors:
(German – krachsalat ), (Italian - latuca iceberg), (Spanish – lechuga de repollo ). (Latin - lactuca sativa var. capitata)

 
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by
Bryan G. Newman
Copyright 2010, 2019, 2023.
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 
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Haricot, Feve or Coco - Beans. Beans in French Cuisine.

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

 
Beans in the market.
www.flickr.com/photos/sbeebe/6026123421/
  
Haricot, Feve or Coco are the most popular names for beans in France, and beans play a significant part in French cuisine.  Beans are legumes and are one of the world's oldest cultivated crops. Beans arrived in the Old World with Christopher Columbus's return from South America.  Beans of one type or another will be on the menu or part of the recipe in hundreds of traditional and modern dishes from an entrée, the French first course, to a salad and on to the main course and finally the dessert.
  
The two most popular beans that begin this post divide half of the market between them; one is fresh and the other dried.  The first is the Haricot Vert, the fresh green bean, and the second the Haricot Blanc, the dried white navy bean.  The others appear in alphabetical order, and since many beans have more than one name I have chosen the one that is most often seen in markets or on menus. 

Number 1 the Haricot Vert:
 
Haricot Vert – The fresh Green Bean, or Snap Bean; the most popular of all the fresh French green beans.  These particular beans are sweeter and have a more delicate texture than other green beans, and cooks appreciate the lack of strings on the sides.   When very young these beans will be among the various green beans called haricots mange tout, which means that you may eat every part of them.

In the markets, the most expensive of these beans will be classified by length with the shortest and youngest, that's also the tenderest, being the most expensive.  The better restaurants serve the shortest beans with those under 6.50 cm (2.40”) long being called fins.  Under 8.00 cms (3.10”) long they are called très fins and so on with the more mature and longer beans becoming less and less expensive; when they are over 10.5 cm (4.10”)  long, which is the size most often seen in the markets they are called moyens. 
  

Haricots Vert
https://www.flickr.com/photos/hdv-gallery/51483316036/



The Haricot Vert on French menus

Le Blanc de Turbot Sauvage Rôti au Poivre de Passion, Risotto de Haricots Verts au Vieux Parmesan - A filet of roasted wild turbot flavored with passion berry pepper and accompanied by a risotto of green beans served with shavings of an aged Parmesan.  The Passion berry pepper is the fruit of an African plant and it is not a real pepper nor is it related to passion fruit. It adds a pleasant but light bitter taste similar to some Szechuan peppers but without the bite.
 
Haricots Verts et Salade de Pommes de Terre Vitelotte - Green beans with a salad of France’s blue-violet fleshed Vitelotte potatoes.

Mesclun, Haricots Verts Frais, Tomates Confites, Médaillon De Foie Gras De Canard – A round or oval cut, a medallion,  of lightly fried fattened duck’s liver served with a mesclun salad, fresh green beans, and a tomato jam.  A salad mesclun should include at least five different salad greens and the best  mesclun salads will be created around  a variety of tastes and textures including, for example,  lettuce (sweet and crunchy), Treviso radicchio (bitter), mache (sweet, nutty), escarole (crispy and sharp), rocket (spicy), etc. and will be served with a vinaigrette sauce.  The ingredients will change with the seasons and the name Mesclun comes from the Provencal word mescal that means mixed.

Number 2 the Haricot Blanc:
  
Haricot Blanc, Mogettes, Lingot, Faverolles, Coco and Coco Blanc  – France’s most popular white dried bean, the Navy Bean; in France usually just called the Haricot or Haricot Blanc.  This bean is in thousands of recipes, from soups to salads and is the bean of choice for most French lamb and beef stews and cassoulets.  The bean is grown all over France, but a number of areas have a recognized terroir, a unique taste and flavor said to come from the soil, weather and possibly a micro-climate available nowhere else. Those areas produce beans that are recognized with France's Label Rouge, red label; and one very special bean holds France's highest food rating, an AOC/AOP.
    
The Haricot Blanc on French menus:

Velouté de Haricots Blancs au Lard – A thick, velvety soup, made using the navy bean and flavored with bacon. 

Brochette de Lotte aux Haricots Blancs et Tomates – Grilled cubes of monkfish served with the navy beans and tomatoes.
  
Salade de Haricots Blancs et Maquereaux Marinés, Vinaigrette – A salad of navy beans and marinated mackerel, served with a sauce vinaigrette.
      
Haricot Blanc
 
Haricot Lingots du Nord, Label Rouge – The white haricot navy bean when produced in a particular part of Northern France; there the clay soil, graded seeds, and crop rotation every four years produces a recognizably tastier bean. They are marketed as Lingots, not Haricots Blanc, to set themselves apart and have been awarded the Label Rouge for excellence.   (Lingot means ingot in English, like a gold ingot).
 
Ragoût d'Agneau aux Lingots du Nord –  A traditional lamb stew made with the Haricot Lingots du Nord.
    
Mogettes, Label Rouge – Another haricot navy bean with a noticeably superior taste. This bean comes from the department of Vendee on France’s Atlantic coast in the Pays de la Loire  The soil and climate are the terroir and the award of a Red Label confirm this bean’s unique qualities.  (BTW Every two years the Vendee – Globe round-the-world, single-handed, yacht race begins and finishes at the Vendee seaside resort of Les Sables-d'Olonne).

Jambon de Vendée Grillé aux Mogettes – The famous cured and smoked ham of the Vendee, grilled and served with their Mogettes de Vendée Label Rouge.  
      

Vendee Ham and Mogettes.
  
A few of France's other favorite beans in alphabetical order:
 
Haricot Beurre  – Butter bean. The name given to many beans with yellow pods, the most well known is the Haricot Jaune. (The bean inside the pod of the Haricot Lima, the Lima Bean is also called the Haricot Beurre). 
 
Haricot Borlotti  -  See  Haricot Canneberge
   
Haricot Calypso - The calypso, orca bean or yin-yang bean.  A dried bean with a unique black and white pattern.  When young these beans with their green pods may be prepared like other fresh green beans, but when fully grown the beans are dried. This bean has a potato flavor with a creamy texture and will be added to soups, stews, pasta, rice, and vegetables.
 
Haricot Cannellini or Cannellini – A large white dried bean with a kidney shape that as its name indicates originated in Italy and will be on menus close to France’s Italian border.  Despite its Italian heritage, the Haricot Cannellini will also be found in traditional French recipes where they will be replacing the traditional haricot blanc. The Cannellini bean has light nutty flavor and a smooth texture.

Crevettes Tigrées Marinées au Chili, avec Haricots Cannellini – Tiger shrimps marinated with chilies and served with cannellini beans
 
Ragout d’Agneau avec Tomates et Haricots Cannellini – A traditional French lamb stew prepared with tomatoes and the cannellini beans replacing the more usual Haricot Blanc.
 
Haricot Canneberge, Haricot Borlotti or Coco Rose – The Cranberry or Borlotti dried bean.  Inside the pods, the beans are cream colored with red streaks, though their name comes from the reddish streaks on the pod.

Bar de Ligne, Risotto de Haricots Canneberge Wild European bass served with a risotto made with the cranberry bean
   
 
Haricot  Cannerberge.
    
Haricot Chevrier or Haricot d’Arpajon  A variety of the kidney bean named after M. Chevrier the farmer who developed it near the town of Arpajon in the department of Essonne in the region of Île-de-France. This bean will be in recipes where the Haricot Blanc, the most popular dried navy bean may have been used.  The town of Arpajon is less than 30 km (19 miles) from Paris and was and still is, the center of France’s dried bean trade. They have an annual bean fair in September. 
  
Velouté de Canard et Haricots Chevrier au Lait d'Amande – A velvety duck soup made with the Chevrier beans and almond milk.

Le Jarret d'Agneau sur Lit de Chevrier - A dish made from a cut across the shank of a lamb with the marrowbone in the center and served on a bed of Chevrier beans. The same cut from a veal shank is the dish called Osso Buco in Italian and Jarret de Veau in French.
    
Haricot de Cocos de Paimpol AOP The Paimpol bean from Brittany with its AOP ranking and unique taste is the French gourmand’s bean.  The Cocos de Paimpol took the slow boat from the New World to the Old World and only began to be cultivated in Brittany for their unique taste in the 1930’s.  This white bean has an oval shape with a pale yellow pod that has slight violet markings; it is sold as a haricot demi-sec, a semi-dry bean.  Semi-dry means the bean will be sold without the pod, but not dried like many of France’s traditional white beans that require long soaking to rehydrate them before use. This is the most highly rated bean in French cuisine and to read its own post click here.
   
Haricot de Cocos de Paimpol AOP
www.flickr.com/photos/marckjerland/4044122852/
  
Haricot Molique à Œil Noir or Haricot Œil Noir.– The dried black-eyed pea.

Haricot Fève or Fevre – The broad bean or fava bean.  Then the usually deep-green beans may be removed from the pod, peeled and spread and uncooked on toast or as part of a dip. Cooked dishes will braise the unpeeled beans and then serve them as a garnish. Their are many varieties of the fava bean and the most popular are thfève maraîchère ou grosse fève.
Fèvettes  - The Haricot Fève beans when very young.  They may be cooked or eaten raw, but are most often seen when they are still soft inside a full-grown pod

Haricot de Lima or Haricot Beurre –  The Lima or butter bean. The name butter bean refers to its starchy but buttery texture.
   
Haricot de Mer – Sea Spaghetti.  This is not a bean; it is an edible seaweed. 
 
Haricot de Soisson, Haricot d'Espagne, Haricots Plats -  The English runner bean or scarlet runner bean. The bean has a long story connected with its historical connection to Spain and that is behind one of its names, the Haricot d'Espagne, the bean from Spain.  However, most menus use the name Soissons, the name of the town associated with this bean. The town of Soissons is in the department of Aisne and was part of the region of Picardy until 1-1-2016  when it became part of the new super region of Hauts-de-France.
  
Soissons was internationally famous before the first of these beans were grown in the region; then, in 1729, an international conference, the Congress of Soissons, was held there.  The conference aimed to end a number of international problems but mainly the Anglo-Spanish War.  At that conference among various agreements Spain agreed to Great Britain’s sovereignty over Gibraltar; Spain has regretted that agreement ever since.
  
The Haricot de Soissons is France’s largest dried white bean and very popular.  In restaurants in and around Soissons, the local organization promoting this bean is the Confrérie du Haricot de Soissons;  this brother and sisterhood will make sure its name is on the local menus.  If you are a true bean lover visit Soissons on the last Saturday and Sunday in September for the Fête du Haricot de Soissons, the Soissons Haricot bean fair; Soissons is just 90 km (56 miles) from Paris.

Filet de Carrelet Pané à la Chapelure de Haricots de Soissons, Crème de Noilly – A filet of plaice fried in breadcrumbs flavored with Noilly Prat, France’s first vermouth, accompanied by the Soissons white beans.
    
Haricot de Soissons Accompagne des Jarretons de Porc – Slowly cooked, braised, pork shanks cut across the bone and prepared with the white beans of Soissons.

Parmentier d'Agneau aux Haricots Plats d'Espagne -  Ground lamb covered with mashed potatoes and accompanied by the Spanish/Soissons white beans.  This, like many other French potato dishes, this one is named after Antoine-Augustin Parmentier (1737 – 1813), the man who convinced the French to eat potatoes, which were then thought to be poisonous.  Potatoes saved tens of thousands from dying of hunger in the famines of the late 1700s. For the history of how this dish and its beef version became the British dishes of shepherd’s pie (lamb), and cottage pie (beef) click here.

   
Haricot de Soissons
 
Haricot Fayot or Chevrier Vert – A light-green to white, dried, kidney-shaped bean; it is a variety of the Haricot Chevrier and slightly different to the haricot blanc and will often take its place in local recipes. 
   
Haricot Chevrier Vert
 
Haricot Jaune or Haricot Beurre – The fresh, yellow bean; this is the only fresh bean that comes close in popularity to France’s haricot vert, their fresh green beans.  The Haricot Vert and Haricot Jaune are varieties of the same bean, and like the Haricot Vert, the shorter and younger yellow beans are considered the best.

Filet de Saint Pierre Poêlé, Haricots Jaunes – A lightly fried filet of John Dory, the fish, served with the fresh yellow beans.

Magret de Canard Rôti, Haricots Jaunes et Carottes Roast duck breast served with the fresh yellow beans and carrots.
   
Haricot Jaune
www.flickr.com/photos/jeanpierremagnan/9475549002/

Haricot Lingots du Nord, Label Rouge - See Haricots Blanc. 
 
Haricot Mange Tout  -  The eat all bean. Any of a number of fresh green beans that when young can be popped in the mouth and eaten whole and prepared while lacking any strings on the sides.  In the markets, in a manner similar to the green beans, the best and youngest beans are given labels such as filet mangetout or extra fin.  On a menu, the Haricot Mange Tout bean may be confused with those tasty thin pea pods, the pois mange-tout, the snow pea or sugar pea.

Dos de Bar, Haricots Mange Tout Sauce Basilic – A thick cut of European sea bass accompanied by these young green beans and served with a sauce made with Balsamic vinegar.

Haricot Mogettes, Mogettes or Mojette  –  See Haricot Blanc at the beginning of this post.
 
Haricot de Mouton – This not a bean; it is a traditional stew made with the popular Haricot Blanc, the dried navy bean, mutton, vegetables, herbs, and red wine.

Haricot Mungo  - Mung beans, bean sprouts.  They are a legume but not a real bean and originated. They are sometimes labeled Germs de Soya in markets and supermarkets, but these are the mung bean sprouts that most of us call bean sprouts. 

Filet d'Omble Chevalier, Duo de Lentilles et Haricots MungoFreshwater char, the fish, served with lentils and bean sprouts.
   
Haricot Mungo – bean sprouts.
    
Haricot Pelandron –  A tasty variety of green runner bean which when fresh have dark mauve to nearly black markings; cooked these delicious beans are entirely green.  Their French name comes from the Niçoise dialect used in and around the City of Nice on France's Mediterranean coast,  the heart of the Cote d'Azur 

Haricot Pinto  – The dried pinto bean; popular in France but even more famous in the USA as the bean of choice in chili con carne and refried beans.  This bean came to France directly via Columbus and Spain and not via the USA.  There are hundreds of varieties of pinto beans so do not be surprised if the French pinto bean looks different to the one you see at home.

Haricot Rouge –  A dried red kidney bean; with a deep burgundy wine color, this bean is a favorite of French chefs even if not as popular as the haricot blanc.  These large, red beans are popular in salads, soups, and stews. This bean is never served uncooked as they contain toxins that are only removed when well cooked.

Velouté de Haricots Rouges au Lard – A thick soup made with the red kidney bean and flavored with bacon.
 
Bœuf Mijoté aux Haricots Rouges – A slowly simmered beef stew made with the red kidney bean.
  
Haricot Rouge.
   
Haricot Rouge Aduki or Azuki or Haricot Rouge du Japon - The azuki or aduki red bean; a bean originally from China.  The azuki is the seed of a vine and in Chinese and Japanese cuisine this bean is usually sweetened and will be part of desserts or pastries.  French chefs have learned to appreciate this bean and it will be in many cakes and desserts.  Some dishes may show a Japanese or Chinese influence while others will be purely French. 
 
Gâteau Roulé au Thé Vert et Haricot Rouge – A roll, a rolled cake; flavored with Japanese Green tea and Azuki beans.

La Glace Vanille Accompagnée de Haricot Rouges – Vanilla ice cream served with sweetened Azuki beans.
   
Azuki beans.
www.flickr.com/photos/richardwest/1859770982/
  
Haricots de Soja – Soya bean or Soybeans.  Like the mung bean these are not a real bean and originated in Asia
 
Haricot Tarbais, Label Rouge or Haricot-Maïs The Haricot Tarbais is one of France’s most highly rated dried beans that is also sold as a fresh bean from  Mid-August to October. The Haricot Tarbais holds the Label Rouge, the red label, and its provenance will be noted when it is on the menu. The Tarbais bean may replace the haricot blanc in stews and other dishes.  To read the post on the Haricot Tarbais click here.

Rascasse au Chorizo et Haricots Tarbais - The scorpion or sea-robin fish served with chorizo sausages and Tarbais beans.  The rascasse is one of the fish considered essential for a genuine  Marseilles Bouillabaisse.
 
Garbure du Pays Garnie de Haricots Tarbais – A traditional, heavy, country-style soup, almost a stew, often enough to be a complete meal, from the south-west of France garnished with Tarbais Beans.
   
The Haricot Tarbaise.

Haricot Pois Chiches -  Garbanzo beans, the chickpea or chick pea  - This legume is not a bean and probably originated in the Middle East where it is the heart of hummus and falafel.  Chickpeas are part of traditional dishes along France and Italy's Mediterranean coast and now part of other dishes as the flour, also called gram flour, is gluten-free. This and other plants arrived with the Phoenicians who were the Mediterranean’s seafaring wholesalers and traded with France long before the Greeks and Romans came.

Socca or Socca Niçoise -  A hot and crispy chickpea pancake made with farine de pois chiche, chickpea flour.  It is the quintessential street food of Nice, baked over hot coals on steel platters and best eaten when still hot.
    
Socca as a street food in Nice
www.flickr.com/photos/33200530@N04/26599802685/
   
Panisses or Panisses Frit  –  Originally another City of Nice fast food that would be bought hot and eaten on the go; but, now panisses have gone mainstream and will be on restaurant menus.  Panisses are made with farine de pois chiche, chickpea flour, in a variety of shapes and deep-fried.  They were traditionally served on their own with salt, but today will come with an optional addition of grated Parmesan or Gruyere cheese.  In a Nice restaurant, a Panisse may be used as a garnish or served with a salad.
  
The different names used for the same beans in this post are mostly linked to particular regions, and the use of local dialects.  France had tens of local languages and dialects before modern French finally took its place, but traditional names remain, and in some parts of France, the older languages, like Occitan and Catalan are still spoken alongside modern French.  Expect the occasional tasty confusion with some of the beans in menu listings as you travel around France. Caveat emptor: To include all the beans you may see in France’s markets would have required a separate book, possibly two.
  
French chefs accredit every bean with its own unique texture and flavor, and only certain beans will be accepted in a specific recipe.  In a restaurant, with a talkative chef or with foodies you can get into long discussions over beans, or you can pass on that and just enjoy the dishes made with them.  France is famous for its wide variety of stews, daubs, and cassoulets; most of them will include beans in their recipes.  A visit to a French market will make you aware of more types of beans, fresh and dried; than you might have thought existed.
 
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