March 1, 2021

CULINARY TOUR DE FRANCE – RHÔNE-ALPES – (AUVERGNE)

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is a region in the south-east of central France which is the result of the merger of Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes. The region covers an area of ​​more than 69,711 km2, which makes it the third largest region in metropolitan France, the second after Île-de-France. It is made up of 12 departments and a local authority. Its capital is Lyon.

Let’s go to Auvergne which is a former province of France, located between the Bourbonnais , the Forez, the Velay, the Limousin , the Quercy and the Marche . Its capital is Clermont-Ferrand . 
The first appearance of the Arverne people in official history dates from 208 BC. 
According to the Roman historian Livy, the Arvern mercenaries were allied against Rome with the Cathars of Asdrubal who is Hannibal’s brother. The famous one with his elephants! ;)
After the Roman conquest, the city of Arverne was attached to the province of Aquitaine by the emperor Augustus. Lyon is then the capital of the Gauls. The Christianization of the Roman Empire led to the creation of the diocese of Clermont which would last throughout the Middle Ages.
 
 

 

 


 

The specialities I will propose to you today are :


* Minced beef with Fourme d’Ambert cheese.
* Chestnuts, lentils and cognac soup.
* Lemon fruit jellies.

 
 
 

 

 

 

The Fourme d’Ambert belongs to the blue (Penicillium Roqueforti) cheese family. Druids already knew the Fourme d’Ambert and used it to celebrate their worship at “Pierre-sur-Haute), the culminating bridge of the Forez massif, in Auvergne. The development of blue is quite an art : piercing the cheese right through using needles to provide the necessary oxygen.

At least 28 days of ripening will do the rest …

 

Find the recipe : Minced beef with fourme d’Ambert HERE

 
 
 
 
Fancy a soup with chestnut and green lentils from Puy en Velay? Please find a little history on both ingredients…

 

The chestnut tree has been present in Ardèche since the Quaternary era, as evidenced by a fossilised chestnut, discovered in 1994 near Privas.

The estimate of its location dates back to 8.5 million years.

Chestnuts are cultivated today in several parts of France and have an annual production in Ardèche with around 5000 tonnes per year!

Chestnuts has been recognised by the AOC since 2006. 

Traces of the lentils were found in the Velay in 1643, in Antoine

Jacmon’s “Memories for the History of Puy en Velay” .

But it was in 1928, in Saint Paulien, following the discovery of

a terracotta vase containing a mixture of various seeds, that

we learned of the presence of green lentils from the

Gallo-Roman era.

 

Find the recipe : Chestnuts, lentils and cognac soup HERE

 

 

 

 

“The defrutum” or the ancestor of these coated sweets are in fact, a treat that dates back to Roman times!! Yes, fruit paste has its origins in a kind of syrup that we loved during antiquity! But the fruit paste is a faithful tradition of Auvergne because this region has given its sweets their natural aromas and their unique consistency…

 

Find the recipe : lemon fruit jellies HERE

 

 

 

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