CULINARY TOUR DE FRANCE – PAYS DE LA LOIRE –
Of course, you all think about one thing when we mention “de Loire”, the famous component of this regional identity which are the castles of the Loire! They recount the construction of the monarchical state, since the court of Jean de Berry in Bourges in the 15th century until the end of the Valois dynasty in the last decade of the 16th century.
Did you know that during prehistoric times, dinosaurs populated the lands of Vendée? In the sixties, prints were collected on the beach of Veillon in Talmont-Saint-Hilaire. Long after the disappearance of these animals, it is those of the Quaternary that will leave traces: a mammoth tooth will be found in the Chantonnay region and the first human inhabitants date from the Neolithic period… A large migrations of Celtic, Galatian or Galli peoples began in 2000 BC. Those tribes gradually extended their territory to the limits of the Loire maritime. They had as well, to compose with the Roman invader, and found a stable community which left traces in the region.
The culinary specialities I will propose you today are :
* Galipettes from Saumur (mushrooms with rillettes),
* Raspberry sorbet with Sainte-Maure goat cheese,
* White butter sauce fish.
A legend said that since the end of the Middle Ages, the old Roman road linking Le Mans to Chartres was used by the huge herds of pigs on their way to the Paris region and the important market of Saint-Germain-en-Laye.
In the 19th century, Sarthe naturally became a country of pig breeding.
Everyone then used the leftover meat when cutting the pig to make the “rillettes”.
Find the recipe : Galipette from Saumur HERE
It seems that goat cheese production in the Touraine region dates back to the Carolingian period (8th and 9th century).
The Sainte Maure de Touraine, was already made in the eighth century. The origin of this cheese is attributed to the Arab women who remained after the defeat of the Saracens (Moors) in Poitiers. They would have taught the inhabitants of the region how to make this goat’s milk cheese. Hence its name “Le Sainte Maure de Touraine”.
Find the recipe : raspberry sorbet with Sainte-Maure goat cheese HERE
Ah the white butter! My favorite sauce of all. And it has been invented in a Restaurant called “Clémence”. Clémence, born in 1860, used to cook for sailors passing through the Loire, a melted butter sauce, seasoned with a drizzle of vinegar, which was served to accompany Loire fish. One day, she reduced a big pinch of chopped shallots with a little vinegar and the famous white butter was born!
Find the recipe : white butter sauce fish HERE
