French Provincial Cooking - Elizabeth David [26]
‘The next day, Saturday, after breakfast, which consisted of boiled eggs, fresh butter from the farm and coffee with cream, we spent the morning visiting the farm and the neighbourhood. At half-past twelve we were once more gathered in the great dining-room, with two extra guests. The mayor and the village curé had been invited, an invitation which must have been all the more acceptable to them because of their rather monotonous lives in this remote part of the country.
‘Luncheon was composed partly of the trophies of the previous day’s shooting; the pure mountain air had advantageously taken the place of any apéritif; nor did we have any hors-d’œuvre but instead, some ombres-chevaliers 3 from the lac du Bourget, cooked and left to get cold in white wine from our host’s own vineyards. These were accompanied by a completely original sauce, and here is the recipe:
RECIPE: Grated horseradish, mixed with an equal quantity of skinned walnuts finely chopped; a dessertspoon of powdered sugar, a pinch of salt, the juice of two lemons, enough fresh cream to obtain a sauce neither too thick nor too liquid.
‘After the ombres-chevaliers, we had eggs scrambled with cheese, enriched with white truffles which a shepherd had brought from the boundaries of the Savoie, close to the frontier of Piedmont.
‘Then came an excellent civet of hare à la bourgeoise, assuredly far superior to all the fantasies known as à /a royale; there seems no point in giving the recipe here, for it is to be found in the Guide Culinaire. The majestic roast consisted of the capercailzies in the centre of a great dish, surrounded by the partridges, and the small feathered game of which we had made, the day before, a hecatomb.
‘A superb pâté de foie gras, sent direct from Nancy, was scarcely touched; on the other hand, we did considerable justice to the dessert: the season’s fruits and excellent little cream cheeses.
‘Having risen from table at six o’clock, we once more found ourselves there, as if by chance, three hours later, for a little cold supper; have I not already said that the air of the mountains is the best of apéritifs?
‘The following day, which was Sunday, we were obliged, not without regret, to take leave of our hosts and return home. As we had two good hours of driving before arriving at the railway station, where we should not in any case have found a decent inn, we had a final lunch before our departure. It was composed of eggs and bacon, little galettes of maize flour fried in butter, a terrine of rabbit and cold meats.
‘The chamois had been put to marinate, and would be cooked some days later for other guests.
‘We all carried away with us the happiest memory of this beautiful country of Savoie and of the very hospitable welcome which we had received. For my part, I have never forgotten the sauce of horseradish and walnuts.’
A. ESCOFFIER
Translated from ‘Le Carnet d’Epicure,’ January 15, 1912
Burgundy, the Lyonnais and the Bresse
La Meurette, la Pouchouse, la Gougère, le jambon persillé de Bourgogne, le jambon à la lie de vin, les porcelets à la gelée, les escargots à la Bourguignonne, le bœuf Bourguignon, le râble de lièvre à la Piron, le coq au Chambertin, la potée Bourguignonne, les petites fondues au fromage, la queue de bœuf des vignerons, les haricots au vin rouge: how the names alone of these Burgundian dishes seem to smell of the vineyard, the wine cellar, and the countryside.
Most of them are cooked with wine; others, the cheese dishes in particular, are designed to bring out the best qualities of the wines of Burgundy, whether great or humble, white or red. These dishes might, I think, be said to represent the most sumptuous kind of country cooking brought to a point of finesse beyond which it would lose its character. Here are