Behind the French Menu

Espadon - Swordfish. Swordfish in French cuisine.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

Mediterranean swordfish

The swordfish is one of the meatiest salt-water fish. Swordfish steaks have a dense texture and a mildly sweet flavor, and that makes it a restaurant favorite. Grilled or fried fresh swordfish with just a few herbs is hugely popular. Despite the ease of frying or grilling swordfish, French chefs often choose recipes that allow them to show more of their skills.

If you see the uncooked swordfish in a fishmongers or supermarket, you may note that from time to time they come in different colors, from pale ivory to orange. However, the color does not reflect the quality or taste instead; it reflects the area where the fish are caught and what they ate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Swordfish is a naturally oily fish with more Omega 3 than any other fish except salmon and tuna. The differences in polyunsaturated fat and monounsaturated fat, when compared with salmon are not significant.

A serving of salmon and swordfish

Photograph courtesy of Geoff Peters

www.flickr.com/photos/gpeters/3350273535/

Swordfish on French Menus:

Carpaccio d'Espadon à l'Huile de Sésame, Citron Vert et Ses Œufs de Lompe - A swordfish Carpaccio prepared with sesame oil, lime, and lumpfish caviar. Lumpfish are caught for their roe, and after their roe has been died red or black it is mostly sold as “Lump Fish Caviar.” In France that will be downgraded to œufs de-lump, lumpfish roe, as the word caviar is legally restricted to the sturgeon eggs.

Espadon en Daube - A swordfish stew; a fishy take on the traditional Provençal Daube, a meat and or game stew made with red wine. Here, in this swordfish recipe, the white wine will replace the red, and butter along with crème fraiche will be part of the recipe..

Grilled swordfish with fresh green asparagus.

Photograph by courtesy of Marx Foods.

Espadon Fume – Smoked swordfish; when thinly sliced and served cold as an entrée is a real treat. I have enjoyed, more than once, a mixed platter of cold-smoked salmon and cold-smoked swordfish; they provide an excellent contrast in taste and texture; if it’s on the menu go for it.

Swordfish on sale in the market.

Photograph courtesy of José Antonio Gil Martínez

www.flickr.com/photos/freecat/67077021/

Espadon Mi-Cuit Compotée de Tomates, Olives, Anchois, Pignons de Pin et Câpres – A swordfish steak just seared on each side. The swordfish is accompanied by stewed tomatoes, prepared with olives, anchovies, pine nuts, and capers. There is no better way to enjoy a tuna steak when it is just seared on the outside and uncooked on the inside; this creates two beautiful tastes and textures. (In the UK and North America, a compote is stewed fruits served as a dessert. In France, a compote may also be a stewed fruit dessert, but, just as often, as in this menu listing, it is a dish of stewed vegetables).

Pavé d'Espadon à la Plancha, Pipérade –- A thick cut of swordfish, fried with olive oil on the thick flat metal plate that is called a Basque plancha. The pipérade that accompanies the swordfish is a traditional Basque dish made with the Basque region's famous red peppers, the Piment d'Espelette AOP. In many Basque recipes, these unique red peppers will be fried with onions, green peppers, tomatoes, and garlic. In France, it is unlikely that the pipérade will be very very spicy; however, chefs do have their own ideas, so if you are worried ask.

Tartare d'Espadon à la Poire, Avocat et Éclats de Gingembre – Swordfish Tatar, prepared with pears and avocado and flavored with the glow of ginger.

A swordfish Tatar.

Photograph courtesy of Micaela & Massimo

www.flickr.com/photos/mpirotta/4522815464/

The swordfish on your menu.

In mainland France, the swordfish will be fresh from the Atlantic or the Mediterranean. While the largest European swordfish may reach over 4 meters (13’) from the tip of the sword to the tip of its tail, the local fishermen and women will be catching fish that reach up two meters (6.5’), and that still means one large fish weighing around 120 kilos (265 lbs); just about enough for two steaks with a bit left over for the cat :-)

The swordfish and its sword.

The sword of the swordfish is not used to duel with other swordfish or to spear its lunch; instead, it is used as a club when hunting. When the swordfish swim into a school of fish, it will wave its sword from side to side and stun or wound the smaller fish; then it turns around and eats them.

The swordfish in the languages of France’s neighbors:

(Catalan - peix espasa), (Dutch - zwaardvis), (German - schwertfisch), (Italian - pesce spada), (Spanish - pez espada), (Latin - xiphias gladius).

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

Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

For information on the unpublished book behind this blog, contact Bryan Newman.

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

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Connected Posts:

Ail - Garlic. Garlic in French Cuisine.

Anchois - Anchovies. Anchovies, Anchoyade and Tapenade in French Cuisine. Looking for Anchovies in the Fishing Village of Collioure.

Avocat, an Avocado in French. Avocados on French Menus.

Basque Cuisine. The Basque Cuisine of the Pays Basque. Ordering Basque Dishes.

Câpres – Capers, the Flavor Bombs. Capers in French Cuisine.

Carpaccio - The Tasty, Thinly Sliced, (Ideally Paper Thin) Dish of Meat, Fish, Vegetables or Fruits in French Cuisine.

Caviar in France. The Different Caviars on French Menus. Sturgeon, the fish, Esturgeon on French menus.

Citron – The lemon; the fruit behind many of France’s culinary successes. Also the Citron Vert - Lime, the Cedrat – the Citron, the Combava – the kaffir lime and the Chadec - the Pomelo.

Crème Fraîche - Creme Fraiche. What is Crème Fraîche? Crème Fraîche on French Menus.

Daube – A Traditional Provencal Stew. Now on Menus all Over France.

Fumé – Smoked. Smoked Foods in French Cuisine.

French Olives on French Menus.

Gingembre – Ginger, the Spice. Ginger is very important in French Cuisine, and Gingerbread is Very Popular.

Pignons de Pin - Pine Nuts from Pine Cones. Pine Nuts in French cuisine.

Piment d’Espelette - The Pepper from Espelette in the Basque Country. Pimenete d'Esplette is Most Popular Chili Pepper in France.

Saumon – Salmon. Salmon in French Cuisine.

Tartare - Tartar on French Menus. Steak Tartar, Fish Tartar and Vegetable Tartar.

The Plancha or Planxa in French Cuisine. The Plancha on French Menus.

Tomate – Tomato. France’s Greatest Tomato, the Tomate de Marmande AOC. The Tomato in French Cuisine.

Thon - Tuna, the Fish. Tuna in French Cuisine.

Bœuf Charolais - Charolais Beef; the Very Best Beef in France.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

Charolais cows.

Photograph courtesy of deanezl

www.flickr.com/photos/45449312@N00/1733676500/

The Charolais AOP cattle are highly rated for their meat. They are the third French breed of cattle to be awarded an AOC (now upgraded to an AOP) for their meat's consistent superior quality. For livestock, an AOP also sets out the manner in which the cattle are raised and what they may be fed. The Charolais herds are all free-range and feed on grasses and wildflowers and herbs in the summer. In the winter, when they are moved to sheltering barns, where they are fed local grasses and cereals that were collected in the summer from their grazing areas and stored. Additionally, all AOC cattle must be totally free of growth hormones and antibiotics. The calves must be raised by their mothers and may not be separated until they are weaned.

A Charolais Cow

Photograph courtesy of David Wright

\www.flickr.com/photos/dhwright/6997890059/

Charolais cattle are almost entirely white; it is marvelous to drive through the countryside in the summer with the beautiful contrasts of the grass and the white herds of these cattle. However; I worry that if any of these cattle were left outside when it snows, no one would find them!

Apart from veal, the Charolais are not brought to market until they are at least two and a half years old, so their body fat is distributed with well-marbled beef.

The Charolais Beef on French menus:

Filet de Boeuf Charolais aux Morilles et Savagnin Gratin de Pomme de Terre et Légumes de Saison - A cut from a Charolais fillet, the tenderloin, prepared with morel mushrooms and a Savagnin wine sauce. The fillet is always the tenderest cut of beef; however, it is not the tastiest, and in France, a cut from the fillet is always served with a sauce.. Here the sauce is made with the natural cooking juices, morel mushrooms, and the Savagnin wine.

The Savagnin grape produces some fantastic white wines in the French department of Jura bordering Switzerland. The wine’s name in French comes from the word sauvage meaning wild, and that indicates that the vines and grapes came from wild vineyards.

Le Carpaccio de Bœuf Charolais, Mesclun et Copeaux de Parmesan – A Carpaccio of Charolaise beef served with a mesclun salad and sprinkled with flakes of Parmesan cheese.

Boeuf Carpaccio

Photograph courtesy of patrick janicek

www.flickr.com/photos/marsupilami92/32731729907/

Pavé de Rumsteck "Charolais" Sauce au Poivre Vert – A thick cut of a Charolais rump steak, prepared with a green pepper sauce. A North American or UK rump steak comes from a slightly different cut to the French Rumsteck. In France, a rump steak will be barded while cooking; meaning that it will be tied around with fat to prevent it from drying out as naturally, this cut has little fat. The result is that French cuts from the rump will usually be tastier than similar cuts at home. The sauce offered is a green pepper sauce; nearly all pepper steaks are made with green peppercorns with good reason. Green peppercorns are picked before they are ripe, and then they are pickled in brine before drying; the result is a pepper with a slightly herbal flavor that is much less pungent than black or white peppercorns. With a green pepper sauce, it is far easier to control the taste that while white or black pepper could easily under or over season the dish.

Pave de Rumsteck

Photograph courtesy of Brian Griffin

www.flickr.com/photos/124398512@N05/19843323429/

A salade mesclun is a green salad that should include at least five different salad greens. The most popular salad greens, in France, apart from the many types lettuce, include roquet, rocket; pissenlit, dandelion leaves; and, mâche, lamb's lettuce. It may be that your salade mesclun will have colorful additions and that is acceptable; often that will be radicchio. There are almost 100 varieties of lettuce and salad greens available in France, so the chefs have plenty to choose from.

Tartare de Bœuf Charolais, Pommes Frites et Salade de Jeunes Pousses – A Steak Tatar made with Charolais beef and served with French fries, chips, and a salad of young vegetable leaves. The most popular young leave, shoots, come from spinach, chicory, Belgian Endives, arugula, and watercress.

Tartare de Bœuf

Steak Tatar.

Photograph courtesy of cyclonebill

www.flickr.com/photos/cyclonebill/9382942005/

Tournedos de Bœuf du Charolais Poêle, sa Béarnaise a la Truffe Noire avec Petits Légumes de Printemps a la Vapeur d'Estragon et Couronne de Pommes de Terre Rôties – The thickest cut from the end of the fillet, the tenderloin, is called the tournedos in France. A tournedos will be the cut used for a Tournedos Rossini, and a double tournedos will be a Chateaubriand. Here, the tournedos is lightly fried and then served with a Béarnaise sauce that has been flavored with the black Périgord truffle. The dish is accompanied by steamed young spring vegetables steamed with tarragon and served in a ring of roast potatoes. Béarnaise sauce is one of France's really awesome sauces; it is part of many beef or fish dishes whether they are served hot or cold. Sauce Béarnaise was the creation of the chef and restaurateur Jean-Louis Françoise Collinet. Collinet took Sauce Hollandaise and replaced the lemon with white wine vinegar and shallots, and the herbs with chervil and tarragon and voila we have Sauce Béarnaise. The chef Collinet is also remembered as the chef when in 1837, created soufflé potatoes. (Family members who traveled on the Orient Express from Paris to Venice contributed this incredibly tempting menu listing).

Church in Anzy Le Duc in Brionnais

Photograph courtesy of dierk schaefer

www.flickr.com/photos/dierkschaefer/15186839006/

Finding Charolais and Bourbonnais on the map.

Part of the Charolais du Bourbonnais name for this breed of cattle comes from the village and community of Charolles in the department of Saone et Loire in the Bourgogne. (Burgundy, Bourgogne, is now joined with Franche Comte in the new super region of Bourgogne – Franche-Comte). This area was home to the Bourbon Kings of France, hence Bourbonnais.

Portions of Charolais and Bourbonnais are now included in a new voluntary economic and agricultural grouping called Le Pays Charolais-Brionnais.

How to get to Charolles

Photograph courtesy of Elliott Brown

www.flickr.com/photos/ell-r-brown/34878669824/

The area of Charolais-Brionnais covers part of the South West of Burgundy and part of the newly joined super region of the Auvergne - Rhône-Alpes To make things more interesting when you ask the locals who they are some call themselves Charolaise and some call themselves Bourbonnais.

There is much more than beef on the menu with the names Charolais and Bourbonnais.

Charolais AOP - Fromage Charolais AOP - A 45% fat, creamy, goat’s milk cheese made with unpasteurized milk.

Charolais AOP Cheese.

L’Agneau Charolais Fermier du Bourbonnais, Label Rouge – The highly rated breed Charolais Bourbonnais red label lambsthat developed alongside the Charolais cattle. When Charolais lamb is on the menu, do not pass it by.

The Volailles Label Rouge Bourbonnais IGP - The Bourbonnais poultry. Their highly rated poultry includes their farm-raised chickens, their Poulet Bourbonnais Fermier Label Rouge, and their Pintade Bourbonnais, Fermière Label Rouge, their red label, farm-raised Guinea hens.