At the delicatessen counter in our little supermarket in France, there are always an array of tempting pâtés and terrines to choose from. It almost seems like too much trouble to make them. But, it’s not that difficult and the results are excellent (and there’s a lot of left-overs). Take a look at le pâté Montalbanais / pork and veal pâte, le pâté de foie de porc / pork liver pâté, and la terrine d’Albas / pork and rabbit terrine. So, I was pleased to have a go at la terrine aux herbes / herb pâté. I mixed together minced raw pork, bacon lardons, cooked ham, a chopped onion and some cooked spinach. I added chopped herbs: basil, parsley, chervil and rosemary, and seasoned with cayenne pepper, nutmeg, salt and pepper. I bound the mixture with two lightly beaten eggs and turned the mixture into a terrine lined with slices of streaky bacon. I covered with foil and cooked in the oven in a bain-marie. I left it to cool, before turning out and slicing.

Comfort food is the traditional fare for Bonfire Night and les côtes de porc à l’Auvergnate / pork chops with cabbage and cream certainly fitted the bill. I have cooked two other pork chop recipes from Goose Fat & Garlic – les côtes de porc à la Gasconne / pork chops with olives and garlic and la carbonnade au flambadou / pork grilled at the fireside – both delicious, but this new recipe is a more sumptuous affair. I started by preparing the cabbage, not white as suggested, rather sweetheart or pointed cabbage. I sliced it finely, then blanched and drained it, and cooked gently in double cream. Meanwhile, I fried my lovely farm shop chops in butter until browned and cooked through. I stirred some white wine and chopped sage into the juices along with seasoning, and added this to the creamed cabbage. I spread half of this delicious mixture onto a baking dish, laid my chops on top, and covered with the rest of the cabbage. I sprinkled grated cheese on top, dotted with a little butter, and baked in the oven until the top was golden brown.

I had a pot of olives languishing in the fridge and so I decided to revisit les côtes de porc à la Gasconne / pork chops with olives and garlic. This time I used pork loin steaks, rather than chops, which I bought from my local farm shop. I made a marinade of olive oil and lemon juice, and added fresh thyme, a bay leaf, salt and pepper and a crushed garlic glove. I placed my steaks in this mixture turning them over from time to time while I got everything else ready. I blanched some olives (stoned) and more garlic cloves (about six of each) for two minutes and chopped these up roughly. This removes any bitterness and softens the flavours. Then I tipped my steaks with the marinade into a hot pan and fried for four minutes on each side. Towards the end I added the olives / garlic to heat through before transferring everything to a warmed plate to rest. I quickly made a sauce by adding some stock and white wine to deglaze the pan and boiled this fiercely to reduce. The result was excellent: succulent meat, enhanced by the piquant olives and garlic, matched perfectly with mashed potatoes and steamed cabbage.

A few days ago, it rained and rained. So, I set aside some time and made le confit de saucisse de Toulouse / preserved Toulouse sausage. I cut my monster sausage into pieces and pricked them all over. I heated goose fat in a large pan, with some bay leaves, and a little water. The recipe said lard, but neither the local supermarket or butcher had any. I added the sausages and gently simmered them for an hour and a half. I sterilised a couple of glass jars and packed in the pieces, covering them with the molten fat. I will save them for another rainy day!

Like all confits, it will have acquired a nutty maturity which no other method of preserving food can achieve.

Jeanne Strang in Goose Fat & Garlic

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We have often eaten in old-fashioned village auberges where the meat is roasted over the open fire. This recipe – la carbonnade au flambadou / pork grilled at the fireside – is from one such on the Causse de Gramat in the Lot. I adapted it to cook on the barbecue and it turned out beautifully. I covered the chops with olive oil and black pepper and placed them on the grill, just after the fire had settled down, but was still producing a good heat. After a quarter of an hour, I turned to cook the other side. Meanwhile, I basted the chops with hot pork fat which resulted in juicy, succulent meat. As described in Goose Fat & Garlic, traditionally, this would have been done with a fireside utensil called a flambadou. It has a conical funnel at the end of a long handle which is placed in the embers. When it is red hot, a piece of solid fat is placed in the cone, which melts and drips through a small hole at the point. It sounds like a useful barbecue implement – I must look out for one in our local brocante (flea market)!

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It’s almost a year ago that I made sausages for the first time. So, I thought I would have another go, this time tackling la saucisse de Toulouse / fresh Toulouse sausage. These iconic sausages are coarser and leaner and bought by the length from the butcher in France. I minced three parts of pork shoulder to one of back fat, added red wine and seasoning, and left overnight. I filled natural casings using the sausage-making attachment for my food mixer. Like last time, it worked amazingly well and, in no time, I had a coil of sausage that just fitted in my frying pan. I cooked till browned on both sides.

A week ago, I tried my hand at making la saucisse fraîche / fresh pork sausage. The process was much easier than I had anticipated and the resulting sausages meaty and delicious. The recipe suggests two parts of lean neck or shoulder of pork to one part of fat pork, e.g. belly, but my butcher recommended collar. I minced the meat fairly coarsely, adding seasoning and white wine, and left overnight. The following day, I filled natural casings, kindly supplied by my butcher, using a sausage-making attachment for my food mixer. I had watched how to do this on YouTube and was a bit unsure whether it would work. But it did and, in no time at all, I had a long coil of rather professional-looking sausage. I divided these up into links, pricked the skins, and baked in the oven for an hour, turning them so they could brown all over.

This is likely to my last post for a while. It’s proving difficult to source the rather eclectic ingredients I need. I look forward to resuming when possible. Thank you for following me!

For supper last night, we ate le foie de porc en escabèche / pig’s liver with piquant sauce. I haven’t cooked pig’s liver before, and wasn’t too sure about this dish, but it turned out surprisingly well. I dipped slices of liver in seasoned flour and fried briefly on both sides in hot oil. I removed the pieces and kept them warm in a low oven. Meanwhile, I made the sauce. I fried onions and garlic (lots!), sprinkled them with a little flour, and added white wine, chicken stock and a couple of tablespoons of vinegar. Then I added chopped tomatoes, thyme and a bay leaf. I cooked for 15 minutes and checked the seasoning. I put the liver back along with some capers (my substitute for chopped gherkins) and cooked together very gently for a further five minutes. The liver was pink and tender and complimented perfectly by the sharp sauce.