With this idea of deep dive to regional France cuisine to one of my anchor place, I am presenting you today with a specialy from the area of Somme and Pas de Calais. This is where I grew up. I found this photo recently on my tablet, timely! The regional France areas live a lot on the rythm of seasonal products. For example, in Australia, we have access to zuchinis (courgettes) all year long, well it is not so true over there, the season is in summer. During the courgette season you eat ratatouille or stuffed zuchini at least once a week! The seasons were marked by their produce and by the (compusory) requirement to help harvesting berries, asparagus, beans when it was not removing nasty weeds in the fields.
Deep dive to regional France cuisine to one of my anchor place
This photo below is from my grandfather’s garden. My grandfather, when he was not reading, was often found in his garden. As kids we were only allowed there with an adult in case we walked over crops and damaged the well formed alleys. Only the rabbits managed to get under the wiring on one side to enjoy the goods! The garden contained a mix of fruits, vegies plans and flowers. There were many things: strawberries, raspberries, red current, black current, asperagus, apples, pears, courgettes, artichokes, potatoes, leeks, …. It was manicured. It was magic. We loved going there!
Le gateau de Mamiche
My grandmother, Mamiche, was an amazing person. While I would not describe her as a person who loved cooking, she exceeled in eggs in jelly, beef tongue and this chocolate cake I am presenting today now called “le Gateau de Mamiche”. Le Gateau de Mamiche is a rich, dense and textured chocolate cake. A bit like a mud cake, although not as heavy. Recipe HERE.
Le gateau battu
Northern France cooking is generally known for its dairy based dishes: cream, milk, butter.
This cake is a bit like a brioche but contains much less butter. Interestingly for a raised dough, it uses the eggwhites in snow. Fresh, on the day, it is used in some areas to go with a glass of Champagne. Else it is delicious toasted or not with a bit of jam. This is what we did this time. The recipe is HERE.
