Back in France

After months of uncertainty, we are back in France. We celebrated the end of our quarantine by inviting friends, Angie and Eric, to eat outdoors. I cooked a simple meal of le lapin sauté au verjus / rabbit with verjuice. I fried rabbit pieces in goose fat, until golden-brown, then seasoned, lowered the heat and added chopped garlic. After a few minutes, I poured in chicken stock and verjuice – an acidic juice made from unripe grapes. Finally, I added chopped parsley and liver (from the rabbit). I left everything to cook until the liquid had largely evaporated and glazed the meat in a piquant, tasty sauce. Served with fresh bread, pommes sarladaises, and a green salad, it was perfect for a lazy lunch.

What a treat to share a meal with friends

Slow cooking

Wild boar is hard to get hold of and so I bought some venison at our local farmers’ market to make le civet de sanglier chez Lou Bourdie / Lou Bourdie’s wild boar stew. According to Madame Monique Valette, the chef, plus le civet se réchauffe, meilleur est-il (‘the more it is heated the better it is). And so, I started a few days in advance. I heated goose fat in a casserole and browned the venison which I had cut into cubes. I set these aside and, in the same pan, cooked chopped onions till caramelised. I added chopped garlic and deglazed the pan with red wine. Then I popped in a bouquet garni, chopped pork belly and armagnac, and simmered gently for 10 minutes. I returned the venison, covered and simmered for an hour and a half, before checking and adding seasoning. At this stage the meat was still a little chewy, but I reheated the dish for a further 15 minutes the next day, and another 15 minutes the following day. I served the stew to friends Debbie and Duncan and it was lovely and tender – we all had second helpings!

Three good things

We have seen how useful dried cèpes can be in stews and civets. They go particularly well with game birds, both flavours evoking the floor of the chestnut woods where they come from. Chestnuts themselves make up the perfect trinity in the next recipe…
Jeanne Strang in Goose Fat & Garlic

We invited Frankie and Nick around for a supper of three good things: les faisans aux cèpes et aux châtaignes / pheasant with ceps and chestnuts. I heated goose fat in a casserole and browned a brace of pheasants all over. Meanwhile, I cooked lardons and onion in a separate pan. I heated some armagnac in a ladle, poured it over the birds, and set it alight (dramatic flames that lasted quite a while!). Then, I tucked the pork and onions under the birds and added white wine, chicken stock, a bouquet garni and seasoning. I covered the casserole with foil and a lid and left it to simmer for one hour. Half way through cooking I added ceps and chestnuts. I transferred the birds to a heated serving dish, and tipped the sauce through a sieve into a smaller pan, so I could reduce it a bit. Served with roast potatoes and sprouting broccoli. “Divine” said Frankie!

An autumn dish

We had friend Liz to supper and, as it is feeling distinctly autumnal, I cooked le ragoût de chevreuil mariné à l’orange / casserole of venison marinaded in orange juice. I marinated pieces of venison in orange juice, mixed with peppercorns, paprika and crushed juniper berries, for a couple of days. Then, I drained and dried the meat, and sealed it in goose fat in a casserole. I took out the meat and softened some chopped shallots, adding flour to make a roux, and blending the juice diluted by one-quarter with water, to make a sauce. I put back the meat and added the spices (wrapped in a piece of muslin) and seasoning. I covered the dish and cooked gently for a couple of hours.

A rich stew

Last night we ate le civet de sanglier / a rich stew of wild boar (I used venison) with our friends Debbie and Duncan. I had cut the haunches into small steaks and marinated them overnight in red wine and sunflower oil. Then I dried the meat, added flour, and sealed the pieces in goose fat. These were placed in a casserole dish along with the marinade, chopped vegetables (carrots and onions) and a bouquet garni, brought to the boil and transferred to a low oven for a couple of hours. At the end, I added fried diced salted pork belly, mushrooms and chestnuts. Duncan declared it delicious!