So needless to say, when I went to the Dordogne recently, I ate extremely well. This is a region famous for geese, ducks and that delicious delicacy foie gras. I'm fully aware that some people have a real problem with foie gras so let's get this issue off my chest now. I don't have a problem with it at all and I love the stuff. I have been to see the geese being 'force' fed and they are calm, free range, placid creatures who happily waddle forth to be fed. Banning the practice (which is incidentally what the Nazis did during Occupation because they thought it 'cruel') is only going to force the whole thing underground, leading to geese being cooped up rather than being free range and unhygienic feeding and killing practices as the farmers try to conceal what they are doing from the authorities.
Anyway, rant over and back to the food. We ate in a great little restaurant in Domme that served traditional French food using spices - I had prawns with a mildly curried sauce to start:
Then foie gras four ways (I know -so greedy!) as my main course, which was just incredible. Check out the shot glass of jellied Montbazillac as an accompaniment:
I was so, so full after this that I had to abandon the cheese plate - although I did steal some of my boy's cheese, which was great - they have my favourite goats cheese Rocamadour on tap in this part of the world:
And I settled myself with some sorbet - such beautiful presentation:
I've already mentioned the food markets, Sarlat market being one we had to get up astonishingly early on a Saturday morning for. But it was well worth it - hundreds of stalling selling garlic, fruit, vegetables, terrines, pates, cassoulet and wine. And the smell is just incredible - fresh ripe melons, nectarines, apricots and peaches, ready to take home and eat that day.
Browsing a stall selling what looked like candied figs, we got chatting with the guy behind the stall, who urged up to try his produce. He cut a slice of the fig and we tasted it, only to discover it was stuffed with foie gras. Heaven. We were chatting to the producer when I found a glass of dessert wine being thrust in my face and was urged to try it with the figs. At 9:30am in the morning. But hell, I was on holiday so my breakfast that morning ended up being a foie gras stuffed fig and a glass of Saussignac. And very nice it was too:
Later in the week we also visited the market at St Cyprien to buy fish from the stall there - check out the incredible selection:
Which gave us the opportunity to gawp at the guys making huge pans of paella for hungry shoppers and stall holders:
These beautiful prawns are that evening's dinner, fresh from the stall above:
Another great dish of the region which you'll find on pretty much every menu there is Salade Perigourdine. Salad leaves, expertly dressed of course, with duck gezers, stuffed goose neck, foie gras, and smoked duck. Always best when eaten outside accompanied by a pichet of rose wine.
When we ate where we were staying, we were lucky enough to have potatoes fresh from the earth, dug up by my father:
And an incredible summer pudding, using those fresh fruits that smelled so good at the market, lovingly handmade by my mother:
The last night we were there, we ate at Le Bistro de l'Octroi - I stupidly left my camera at home - where there was yet more foie gras, and then steak tartare charolais, followed by plate of nine different sample sizes of the puddings they offer - to share, had I attempted it alone I think I would have literally exploded. After that, I had to say goodbye and head back to the UK - thoroughly contented and several pounds heavier.
No comments:
Post a Comment