Cuisine Overview

Country France

Regions

Southwest: Pays Basque, Gascogne, Pyrenees (west and central)

Cuisine Overview

Climate and geographical influences

In the south, France borders on Spain, where we find the Pyrenees Mountains and Basque Country. The French have the north side of the mountain, which means a significant difference in vegetation and wildlife to the south side of the mountain. The French side boasts oak and beech forests.

Pyrenees

Pays Basque Wooded hills and great river valleys define the Midi-Pyrenees region, as well as, of course, the Pyrenees Mountains to the south.

Midi-Pyrenees The southwestern coast of France is Bordeaux wine region. Bordering on the Atlantic Ocean, it has many vineyards, including along the Gironde river.

Cuisine Overview

Aquitaine

Staple grains and carbohydrates and representative dishes Potato and small white beans (haricots tarbais) are typical starches of the region. Garbure is a typical soup with both potato and beans, and the famous cassoulet uses the tarbais beans.

Haricots Tarbais

Garbure Bearnaise (the version of Garbure served in Bearn)

Cuisine Overview

Cassoulet

Protein sources and representative dishes

Basically, almost all meats, poultry, and fish are represented. The Basque people are known for their deep-sea fishing (specifically for cod), and the Gironde is a popular place for salmon and sturgeon to spawn. There are some famous local breeds of cattle (Blonde d’Aquitaine, Boeuf de Chalaise), and many types of poultry, including chicken, turkey, pigeon, capon, and especially duck and goose. Dishes include foie gras and confit. Let’s not forget local breeds of pigs – delicious hams ensue!

Boeuf de Chalaise

Basque pig (Pie Noir du Pays Basque) or Ass Black Limousin

Cuisine Overview

Jambon de la Vallee des Aldudes (ham)

Foie Gras (goose liver pate)

Duck confit

Cuisine Overview

Cooking fat

Olive oil, butter

Vegetables and representative vegetable dishes

Peppers, tomato, corn, carrots, eggplant, garlic, onion, leek are all represented here. The region also favors peppers, truffles, and a hot pepper called piment.

The black Perigord truffle is from the southwest of France.

Piment d’Espelette is from the Basque region, and made from piment (hot pepper).

Cuisine Overview

Piperade is a traditional dish: an omelet made with red peppers and piment d’espelette.

Ttoro (Basque fish stew)

Fruits and representative dishes

Prunes: can be eaten as they are or, popularly, with Armagnac.

Gateau basque (with plums, cherries, or apricot): typical cake filled with custard and preserves.

Cuisine Overview

Herbs/Spices/Flavorings Thyme Parsley Saffron Basquaise: tomato and pepper

Preserved foods Sheep cheese, Roquefort, confit (duck/goose), piment d’espelette, prunes, fruits macerated in Armagnac, charcuterie (Bayonne ham), salt cod, anchovies.

Roquefort

Salt cod

Preserved fruit

Cuisine Overview

Beverages

Armagnac: brandy distilled from wines of Gascony.

Wines from Bordeaux

Ingredient origins

(Ingredients used in the region’s cuisine that you mentioned in this Cuisine Overview)

Asian ingredients that have had an impact on the region’s cuisine (3) - eggplant

New World ingredients that have had an impact on the region’s cuisine (3) - potatoes - chili peppers (Pays Basque) - corn - polenta - peppers - chocolate (Pays Basque) (not mentioned)

Cuisine Overview

Europe / Middle East World ingredients that have had an impact on the region’s cuisine (3) - plums - saffron - apricot

References/Sources

French Regional Cooking, by Anne Willan La France Gastronomique, by Anne Willan The Cooking of Southwest France, by Paula Wolfert Culinaria France, by Andre Domine (Editor) http://www.ourgenealogy.ca/France/France.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/france/6950786/Insiders-guide-to-Aquitaine.html http://www.all-free-photos.com/show/showphoto.php?idph=PI14136&lang=fr http://www.aftouch-cuisine.com/gastronomy/midi-pyrenees-r15.htm http://www.frenchcountrycuisine.com/ http://www.papillesetpupilles.fr/2006/04/garbure-barnaise-blog-apptit-7.html/ http://www.theworldwidegourmet.com/countries/midi-pyrenees-cuisine-hautes-pyrenees/ http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/cassoulet-with-bacon-andouille-country-ribs-10000001924653/ http://www.terredesaveurs.com/pl/productions_bio.pl?c=23&n=2&lg=uk http://www.veloloco.com/guide/weather.php http://bigpictureagriculture.blogspot.com/2011/03/twelve-heritage-pig-breeds.html\ http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2005/11/ham_from_aldudes_valley.php http://www.foie-gras-sarlat.com/conserved-duck-c-23_48.html http://www.guide2midipyrenees.com/information/152/Truffles-of-the-Midi-Pyrenees-in-South-West-France http://croquecamille.wordpress.com/2009/05/15/exploring-france-pays-basque-piment-despelette/ http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fsensdugout.canalblog.com%2Farchives%2F2005%2F09%2F14%2F801576.html&hl=en&langpair=auto|en&tbb=1&ie=UTF-8 http://lacuisinededidine.vefblog.net/10.html http://asstrongassoup.blogspot.com/2011/08/prunes-in-armagnac.html http://fr.academic.ru/dic.nsf/frwiki/748037 http://www.formaggio.it/francia/roquefortE.htm http://www.briancoad.com/dictionary/DicPics/salt%20cod.htm http://www.bordeauxwine.ws/