Showing posts with label Sauce Paloise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sauce Paloise. Show all posts

Menthe – Mint. Mint, Garden Mint, in French Cuisine.

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

  
Mint
Photograph courtesy of jxson
www.flickr.com/photos/jxson/8289500341/


Menthe or Menthe Anglaise – Mint, Spearmint or Garden Mint is the mint most often seen in French and other Western European cuisines as well as those from North America.  Menthe Poivrée, peppermint, is a stronger hybrid of spearmint and the mint most used in desserts, pastries, and tea. Mélisse, Lemon Balm, is another close relative of spearmint and with its lemon and mint tang is used for salads, marinades, mayonnaise, herb vinegar, fish dishes, and fruit salads.   (Lemon Balm is also an ingredient of Benedictine, Chartreuse, and other French liquors).
  
Fresh raspberries, ice-cream,
and
Fresh mint.
  
Mint is everywhere in French cuisine.  You may find mint in France’s venerated Pastis, anis, licorice-flavored libations, flavored with mint syrup.  Mint accented salads and soups, especially cold soups, may follow as do mint entrées, (the French first course).  French main courses, the plat principal, are studded with mint sauces.  Roast lamb may be offered with Sauce à la Menthe Anglaise, English mint sauce, though Sauce Palois created from Sauce Béarnaise with mint replacing the tarragon and served warm is much more popular with lamb.  Whitefish dishes are perfect for mint accents with both spearmint and peppermint also used for decoration and to flavor fruit sauces and fruit salads.
   
Mint on French Menus:

Cocktail de Crevettes Sauce au Brandy et Menthe, Chiffonnade de Laitue – A shrimp cocktail served with a brandy and mint sauce on a bed of lightly sautéed lettuce. Chiffonade translates as rags in a French-English dictionary, but on a menu, it will indicate thin strips of lightly sautéed vegetables.  Chiffonades may include uncooked strips of vegetables that garnish other dishes or describe thin strips of smoked salmon, cured hams or other finely cut fish or meats. (BTW the first  recipes for seafood cocktails on French menus were imported from the USA). 
  
Green cucumber & mint gazpacho soup
 


Côtelettes d'Agneau Accompagnée de la Sauce à la Menthe et des Pommes de Terre Rôties - Grilled lamb chops served with a mint sauce and accompanied by roast potatoes.
   
with pea and mint crusts ready for the oven.
    
Filet de Dorade Royale Salsa Mangue, Menthe et Gingembre – Filet of Gilthead Seabream served with a mango salsa flavored with mint and ginger.
   
Profiteroles Menthe Pépites de Chocolat et son Chocolat Chaud  –  Profiteroles, French choux puff pastry balls with sweet, custard or ice-cream fillings covered with mint chocolate chips and a hot chocolate sauce.  (Pépites in your French-English dictionary may correctly translate as nuggets, but chicken nuggets including those Chicken McNuggets offered in the over 1,000 branches of McDonald’s France, will be on the French menus as Croquettes de Poule).
  
Traditional English fish and chips
Accompanied by mushy peas with a mint accent,
with a small serving of Tatar Sauce.
www.flickr.com/photos/cityfoodsters/18703607854/


Soupe de Fruits Rouges à la Graine de Vanille et Menthe Fraîche – A cold dessert soup made from red fruits and flavored with vanilla pods and fresh mint.
 
At the end of the meal a number of the mint family members may be offered in infusion or tisane, a herbal tea,  recommended to aid the digestion.
  
Sprig of flowering mint.
www.flickr.com/photos/mustangjoe/37513894771/

North American and UK mint jelly often offered with lamb will never be seen in a French home or restaurant. It would be considered worse than ketchup which, however,  more and more frequently does make French restaurant children’s menus. Every chef can make a fresh mint sauce, a bottle is not required.
   
Mint Martinis
www.flickr.com/photos/viclic/1506721012/

Mint has many other family members including Apple Mint, Pineapple Mint,
Orange Mint and Chocolate Mint.

Spearmint in the languages of France’s neighbors:
(Catalan - mentha spicata), (Dutch -  aarmunt, groene munt), (German - grüne minze), (Italian - mentastro verde), (Spanish - hierbabuena), (Latin - mentha spicata).
  
Peppermint in the languages of France’s neighbors:
(Catalan - menta pebrera), (Dutch - pepermunt), (German – pfefferminze), (Italian – menta piperata), (Spanish – mentha piperita), (Latin -  mentha piperita).

Connected Posts:
 
 
 

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

 

Searching for the meaning of words, names or phrases
on
French menus?
 
Just add the word, words, or phrase that you are searching for to the words "Behind the French Menu" 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 articles that include over 4,000 French dishes with English translations and explanations.

Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
Copyright 2010, 2019, 2024
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com




Côte, Côtes, Côtières - A Bone-In Rib Steak, a Rib Roast, a Wine Growing Region, the Coast, and More. All will be on French menus.

Côte, Côtes, Côtières, Coteau and Coteaux

A Bone-In Rib Steak, a Rib Roast, a Wine Growing Region, the Coast, and More.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com


A bone-in rib-eye of beef.
Photograph courtesy of ian
https://www.flickr.com/photos/peanutian/2332671822/ 


Côte, Côtes, Côtières Coteau and Coteaux on a menu can be trying, for those, like myself, who never spent enough time studying French accents, gender-linked variations and plurals.  However, when dining in French restaurants, the other words on the menu listing tend to minimize any problems  

Côte and Côtes
Bone-In Rib Steak/s, a Rib Roast,
a Cutlet/s or a Chop/s and Vegetable Stalks or Ribs: 

Côte on French menus:

                                                                                                     

Côte de Bœuf, Frottée au Romarin et Cuite au Beurre Noisette – A bone-in beef rib steak rubbed with rosemary (before cooking) and cooked in a beurre noisette.

When ordering a dish like this, ask for the weight as a single portion will often be intended for two diners, and the bone is generally 40-50% of the total weight.   

Romarin - French cuisine uses rosemary in many savory dishes, and it is part of the herb groups called Les Fines Herbes and Les Herbes de Provence. The chef who used rosemary in this dish was looking for the pine-like aroma that would have been released by rubbing the steak with it.

Rosemary is a herb found all over the world and is especially appreciated in French and Italian kitchens.  Dried and fresh leaves may be used, though fresh leaves are preferred.  Rosemary is one of the few herbs where the dried leaves have a stronger taste than the fresh ones, and in any case, this is a herb that is best when used with a gentle touch.

The climate is perfect for rosemary in most Mediterranean countries, and so in France, it grows very well in the wild.

Beurre Noisette A melted butter sauce where the butter has been allowed to cook until its color turns a light golden brown and develops a nutty flavor resembling hazelnut (noisettes). Here, the added nutty flavor of the Beurre Noisette will add to the flavor of the rosemary, and the butter adds to the Maillard reaction (the browning) of the steak.

 

Côte de Veau Rôtie au Jus, Beurre, Herbes -  A veal bone-in, roasted, rib steak served with a sauce made from the natural cooking juices flavored with butter and herbs.

The size: Bone-in veal chops, which this is, usually have an average weight of between 280 grams (10 oz) and 450 grams (16 oz).  Since the bone can be 30% of the total weight, ask the weight and depending on your appetite, you may find that a large serving is enough for two.

 

    Côte de Veau

A bone in veal chop.

 

Côte d'Agneau Grillees Sauce Paloise – A grilled lamb chop served with a Sauce Paloise.  

Sauce Paloise: A  child of Sauce Bearnaise where the tarragon has been replaced by mint.

Menthe or Menthe Anglaise – Mint, Spearmint, or Garden Mint is the mint variety most frequently used in in French and other Western European cuisines, as well as North America. Mint is everywhere in French cuisine, and beginning with cocktails, you may even find France's venerated pastis, flavored with mint syrup. Fresh mint be used to accented salads and soups, especially cold soups, as do mint entrées (the French first course). French main courses, the plat principal, may have mint sauces. Roast lamb, as in this menu listing, may be offered with a Sauce à la Menthe Anglaise, English mint sauce, though the minty Sauce Palois is more popular when served warm with lamb.

Côtes on French menus:
(Côtes is the plural of Côte).
 

Côtes de Bœuf de Charolais, Grillée à l'Os - Grilled bone-in beef ribs from France’s famed Charolais beef.

This menu listing: This sounds like a whole roast from which you will be offered slices. Nevertheless, more and more French restaurants offer single bone-in ribs cut from a roast and today on many menus as a Tomahawk. A single beef rib with the bone they can weigh between 850 grams (30 ozs) to 1,275 grams (45 ozs).  Check what you are buying, as single ribs are usually priced by weight.

Charolais:  The AOP-certified Charolais cattle are renowned for the exceptional quality of their meat. They were the third French breed to earn the prestigious AOC designation (now also a pan-European AOP), in recognition of their consistently superior standards. For livestock, the AOP label not only guarantees quality but also specifies strict guidelines regarding how the animals are raised and what they are fed.

Charolais herds are free-range for most of the year, feeding on a diverse diet of grasses, wildflowers, and herbs throughout the summer months. During winter, when the cattle are brought into protective barns, their feed consists exclusively of locally sourced grasses and cereals harvested from their summer pastures.

Additionally, all AOP-certified cattle must be raised completely free from growth hormones and antibiotics. Calves remain with their mothers and are reared together until weaned.


A bone-in rib roast.
Bone-in rib roast can include 3 to seven ribs.
Photograph courtesy Annie Kavanagh
www.flickr.com/photos/spencersbrookfarm/4610852339/

 

Côtes de Porc Laquées – Glazed pork chops; they will have been basted in a honey or a fruit coating. Pork spareribs would be on the menu as echine de porc or travers de porc.

Laqué, Laquées Glazed. Display is important in all cuisines, and no less so in France. Some dishes will be glazed with honey, soy sauce, sugar, or egg whites etc.

 

Côtes may also indicate the ribs of vegetables.

  

Aligot au Fromage de Laguiole, Verts et Côtes de Blettes – Aligot with Laguiole Cheese, Green Leaves and Stems (ribs) of Swiss Chard. (The cheese's name Laguiole AOP is pronounced as lay-ole, do not pronounce the g). 

Aligot:  A beautiful, mashed potato and cheese dish made in the departments of Cantal in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, where locally, they use a young Cantal AOP cheese or a local tomme. Over the border in the region of Occitanie in the department of Aveyron, the cheese will be a young Laguiole AOP cheese. In the department of Lozère, they use similar local cheeses.

Added to the cheese and mashed potatoes in an Aligot are garlic, crème fraîchemilk and butter. This combination is carefully stirred until long threads of cheese and potato may be drawn from the pot. From personal experience on a cold winter's evening, after forty minutes in the cold, while looking for a taxi and no time for lunch, the smell alone can be mistaken for the ambrosia of the gods. The thought of the mashed potatoes and an excellent cheese with all the additions makes my mouth water as I write this.  

Aligot will be served, in private homes, with sausages. Usually, local, small, salami-type, grilled, pork sausages, though that is not written in stone. Restaurants that offer Aligot on their menus may also offer sausages, but they often upgrade their menus by offering duck, roast beef, or lamb.

Laguiole AOP :  A 30.5% dry weight, hard, unpasteurized, cow's milk cheese; it has a light golden color with a pleasant smell and a light, slightly fruity taste. The cheese is aged from 4 to 24 months. From a blind tasting of a six-month and an 18-month Laguiole AOP, the younger cheese was excellent, while the 18-month-old cheese was more like an aged cheddar with a slight bite.  The Laguiole AOP cheese may only be made with milk from the Simmental and Aubrac cows. The cows graze freely for seven months a year on the Aubrac high basalt plateau, between 800 and 1400 meters, for close to seven months a year. In the winter, the cows are brought into barns and fed on the grasses and wild herbs collected from the Aubrac plateau during the summer.

Altogether, there are nine AOP cheeses linked to the Aubrac Plateau:  LaguioleSalers, CantalFourme d'Ambert, PélardonRocamadour, Saint-Nectaire, and Bleu d'Auvergne.

 


Aligot in a restaurant.
Photograph courtesy of Omid Tavalla
www.flickr.com/photos/tavallai/5850019237/ 

Côtelette and Côte 

The words côtelette or côte may be used interchangeably when referring to chops; though the use of the word côtelettes, cutlets, usually indicates smaller chops. The menu may offer cutlets from veal, lamb or pork, but not from beef.

 

Côtelette de Porc Noir – A pork chop from the Porc Noir de Bigorre AOP, the black pigs from the old French province of Bigorre (today part of the departments of Hautes-Pyrénées, Gers, and Haute-Garonne) in the Occitanie region.

Porc Noir de Bigorre: This ancient breed has been raised for over a thousand years in the old French province of Bigorre, now included in the departments of Hautes-Pyrénées, Gers, and Haute-Garonne in Occitanie.

Pork is the most popular meat in France, though restaurants prefer to highlight more expensive cuts of beef and lamb.  Nevertheless, there will be jambon cru, cured hamsand other cuts from some of the most famous porcine breeds in France on most menus, along with farmed and real wild boar. In the French lineup of famous porkers, one pig is far ahead of all others in quality and taste, and that is this one, the Porc Noir de Bigorre AOP.

 


The Porc Noir de Bigorre, AOP
Photograph courtesy of French Ministry of Agriculture 

 

CCôtelettes d’Agneau de Pré-salé - Lamb chops from the

unique lambs raised on the salt meadows along France's Atlantic coast.

Pré-salé lambs: Freely graze, from the time they are weaned, on the coastal grasses and herbs of the marshes that are naturally infused with sea salt—giving the meat a distinctive flavor.  For the tastiest lamb in France look, between July and February for menus offering Pré-Salé lambs.  Pré-salé lambs go to market when 5 - 9 months old, before then will have been they will have spent at least 75 days, after being weaned, grazing in the salt meadows on France’s Atlantic shores.

The sea-air and the sea salt flavor the grasses on which the lambs feed; that creates a uniquely tasting lamb without even the slightest trace of salt.

 

Nos Côtes

Our coasts. On a menu for the fish and seafood that may be caught there.

 

Le Pavé de Cabillaud des Côtes Normande Rôti  A thick-cut fillet of roasted cod, caught off Normandy’s coast.

Cabillaud: Fresh cod. French chefs do wonders with cod's flavorful, white, flaky meat, which is at its best when lightly cooked and simply served with a butter sauce, though sometimes a crème fraîche and white wine sauce may accompany fresh cod.

Apart from being a tasty fish, cod is and was a political fish; it is a fish that France and other countries have been to war over. Long before the oil producers and their exercise of economic power, seafaring nations fought all over the world for the control of spices. After spices came wars over fishing rights, with conflicts over cod fishing rights leading the battle. Until the arrival of refrigeration, fish, and especially cod, were dried and salted (morue) and mostly imported from Scandinavia. Then, if you lived more than 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the coast, that was the only saltwater fish you saw.  Consequently, apart from fresh cod, France has hundreds of recipes for rehydrated cod that are still very popular, such as Brandade.


 
Dos de Cabillaud Rôti au Beurre, Brocolis et Navet Boule D'or.
Fresh Cod roasted in butter and accompanied by broccoli and Robertson's Golden Ball turnip.
Photograph courtesy of patrick janicek
https://www.flickr.com/photos/marsupilami92/51984070055/

The Navet Boule d'Or: An heirloom turnip called Robertson's Golden Ball or the Orange Jelly Turnip. Its various names come from its round, golden-yellow skin and firm, yellowish-orange flesh. This turnip is milder, sweeter and more delicately flavored compared to the white or purple turnips.  Its fine texture and taste make it a popular choice for cooking, and when young, about 7.5cm (3") in diameter, it can be eaten raw and grated into salads; its leaves are edible and can be cooked like spinach.

 

Langouste de Nos Côtes Bretonnes Rôti ou Grillé, Pistou de Basilic - The Rock lobster, the owner of the lobster tail, from our Brittany coasts roasted or grilled and served with a basil pistou sauce. 

Pistou Sauce: Is the Provencal version of the Italian pesto sauce, it appeared not long after the Italian pesto; they are close cousins.

 


Langouste
Lobster Tail.
Photograph courtesy of  Elizabeth K. Joseph  
https://www.flickr.com/photos/pleia2/8372407066/

Côtes and Wines: 

Wine lists may carry the word Côte as part of a wine's name; then Côtes will indicate the hills, slopes, and valleys within the borders of a wine appellation, a wine-growing area.

Côtes de Provence AOP -   This is the largest of the nine Provencal wine appellations.  While the Côtes de Provence do produce red and white wines, more than half the wines produced are rosés. 


Vineyards Cotes de Provence
Photograph courtesy of Mike Fleming
https://www.flickr.com/photos/flem007_uk/551353352/

Côtes du Rhône AOPAOP wines from France’s Rhône Valley that include reds, rosés and some white wines. This wine-growing appellation is enormous and stretches for over 200 km (115 miles) from the North to the South of the Rhône valley along the River Rhône. Other appellations within the Côtes du Rhône appellation include the famous Château-Neuf-de Pape, and the Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise, one of France’s most famous fortified wines, as well as the Côtes du Rhône-Villages. AOP wines, and the less well known, but unique pre-Champagne, sparkling-wine called the Clairette de Die AOP..
Close to or within the  Côtes du Rhône appellation are five IGP wine appelations which offer excellent value.  IGP Vaucluse, IGP Méditerranée, IGP Collines Rhodaniennes, IGP Coteaux du Pont du Gard and the IGP Bouches-du-Rhône:


Côtes du Rhône Rosé
Photograph courtesy of Fareham wines,

      Côté
(Note The Two Accents)

The "acute" accent (aigu) over the "e'" is telling you that there is a sound to be made.  Most e's in France have no sound, but the acute accent tells you that an "ay" sound is correct.

The word Côte sounds like coat and Côté sounds like coatay.

(N.B. The same exact spelling is used when describing something that is close by, in French, that's à côté.)

  

Côté de Saumon Grillée à l’Orange - A grilled filet of salmon served with an orange sauce.

Saumon: The only salmon that calls Europe its home is the Atlantic Salmon, and it is France's best-selling fish, just ahead of cod. Unless clearly indicated, all the salmon in France will be farmed salmon.  

 

Côtières
Coastal.
On your menu for fish and seafood caught locally.

 

Les Crevettes Côtières de Bretagne   Shrimps from the coastal waters of Brittany.


The Coast of Brittany.
The multi-colored cliffs of the Cap Frehel along the Côtes d'Armor, Northern Brittany.
Photograph courtesy of Jean-Marie Hullot
www.flickr.com/photos/jmhullot/2271122071/ 

Coteau and Coteaux
A hillside or hillsides

Coteaux-du-Quercy AOP - An appellation for red and rosé wines in the old province of Quercy between the Cahors vineyards and the vines that produce the Chasselas de Moissac AOP table grapes in southwest France.

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

Searching for the meaning of words, names or phrases

on

French menus? 

Just add the word, words, or phrase you are searching for to the phrase "Behind the French Menu" enclosed in inverted commas (quotation marks) and search using Google, Bing, or another search engine.  Behind the French Menu's links include hundreds of words, names, and phrases commonly seen on French menus. There are over 450 posts featuring more than 4,000 French dishes, all accompanied by English translations and explanations.


Connected Posts:

AOP, IGP and Vin de France. New Labels on French Wines.

Aligot on a French Menu; What’s That? Aligot is one of France’s Traditional Potato and Cheese Dishes and Remains Hugely Popular.

Basil - Basilic or Herbe Royal. Basil in French Cuisine. The Italian Pesto is Pistou on French Menus.

Beurre - Butter. Butter in French Cuisine.

Bœuf Charolais - The Charolais Beef. Le Bœuf Charolais du Bourbonnais AOP - The Charolais Beef is Considered Among the Best France.

Cabillaud - Cod, the Fish. Cabillaud is Fresh Cod, Morue is Rehydrated Cod. Cod on French Menus. Cod is the Most Popular Fish in France.

The Cahors AOC Wine and Cahors the Town. Cahors Wine in French Cuisine.

Chasselas de Moissac AOP, The Fabulous Table Grapes of France 1.

Clairette de Die AOP; A Sparkling Wine far Older than Champagne.

Crevettes and Gambas - Shrimps and Prawns. Shrimps in French Cuisine.

Dining in Avignon, France. The Papeton d'Aubergine, the Châteauneuf-du-Pape Wine, and the Vaucluse Truffle.

Dining in Quercy. The departments of Lot and Lot-et-Garonne in the Midi-Pyrenees.

Estragon - Tarragon. Tarragon, the herb, in French Cuisine.

Laguiole AOP Cheese. One of France's finest cheeses.

Langouste. Lobster Tails and the Tails’ Owner, the Rock Lobster, Spiny Lobster or Crawfish. Langouste on French menus.

Muscat de Beaumes de Venise AOPA Unique Wine.  

Romarin - Rosemary, the Herb in French cuisine.

Sauce Béarnaise, its Creation, its Creator and its Connection with Béarn. Sauce Béarnaise in French Cuisine.

Saumon, Saumon Atlantique - Salmon. Salmon on French Menus. Atlantic Salmon is the only Salmon Generally Available in France.

Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
Copyright 2010, 2014, 2019, 2020, 2025

 

Responsive ad