French food
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Considered to be one of the world’s most refined cuisines, French techniques are generally used as the basis for all European cooking and the yardstick by which food is measured throughout the Western world. With recipes ranging from creamy sauces and rich pastries to hearty stews and warming soups French cooking has inspired and influenced the techniques of chefs through the ages.
The four corners of France have varying cuisines, the North West relies on butter and cream, the South West is more reliant on fats and meats, giving the world foie gras while the North East’s food is influenced by Germany with sausages and sauerkraut on the menu and the typical menu of the South East owes more to a warm Mediterranean climate with olive oil, tomatoes and herbs used widely.
The food most usually associated with France by foreigners is what is known as Haute Cuisine, the elaborate dishes sold at expensive restaurants. This is mainly influenced by the Northern style of cooking, using highly regarded ingredients such as veal or steak and rich sauces full of cholesterol. Traditionally people of France would eat the food of their home region but recently foreign cuisines and fast food have made inroads and young and old have begun to experiment with new recipes.
A typical French person eats a very similar daily menu to the British, beginning the day with coffee and bread products with jam or butter and with a dinner consisting of a main meat or fish dish, often accompanied by a starter and dessert. Recently the French have begun to rely as heavily as other countries on hypermarket bought convenience foods where at one time they would by produce locally at markets or farms.
It seems a shame to discuss French cuisine without mentioning those two famous Gallic staples, cheese and wine, both of which are among France’s most proud achievements. Even today many people consume wine daily, usually with a meal and regional cheeses such as brie or camembert are used both as ingredients for cooking and as an accompaniment to a meal. Meanwhile, those other atypical French foods, cuisees de grenouilles (frogs legs) and escargots (snails) are very rarely seen on a menu.
La Potee
A cross between a stew and a soup this is an excellent winter warmer which isn’t nearly as difficult to make as it looks. This recipe serves up to eight people so can be used for a party or frozen in batches.
175g dried haricot beans (soak as per instructions and reserve the liquid)
4 Toulouse sausages
2lb joint of gammon
2 medium leeks, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 carrots, roughly chopped
1 stalk of celery, roughly chopped
2 white potatoes, peeled and chopped in to small pieces
1 small onion, roughly chopped
200g cabbage (savoy is best but use white if you prefer), shredded
1tbsp each parsley and thyme
olive oil
Make the liquid from the beans up to 4 pints and put the gammon, beans, thyme and parsley in to a pan with it. Bring to the boil for ten minutes, scoop off any foam, cover and allow to simmer for 1 ½ hours.
Meanwhile, brown the sausages in a little oil before slicing them in to rounds.
When the gammon is cooked, remove it from the cooking water carefully and strain the water in to a pan so that you have the gammon, beans and water separate.
Heat a little oil in your largest pan and brown the garlic, onions, carrot, celery and potato, cooking for around ten mins or until tender. In the meantime chop up the gammon in to bitesize pieces then return this and the beans to the pan with the veg and add enough of the cooking water to provide a good soupy-ness (you’ll be able to do this by eye but around 2 ½ -3 pints is usually about right).
Season and bring to the boil before throwing in the cabbage and sausages, simmer until the cabbage has shrivelled and gone limp.
Serve in bowls with warmed French bread.
Laura Heaps, MyVillage 25th October
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