Tag Archives: recipes

French Flavours: D is for Diablotins au Roquefort

Posted on 30/04/2017 by

I have been continuing my researches to bring you another in my series of recipes of Southwest France. Here’s one you’ve probably never heard of – diablotins au Roquefort. I certainly hadn’t. Easy to make, with readily-available ingredients, they are … Continue reading →

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French Flavours #3: C is for Cassoulet

Posted on 05/03/2017 by

I can’t allow the letter C to pass by without writing about cassoulet, the signature dish of southwest France. It’s been around for a long time and the correct recipe is the subject of controversy. What is it? A stew … Continue reading →

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Pastis: A Quercy Speciality

Posted on 16/12/2015 by

Hands up everyone who thought pastis was an aniseed-flavoured apéritif. It is; but it’s not a local speciality here. The pastis I’m talking about is an apple dessert made with very fine pastry, which is particular to the Lot and … Continue reading →

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Le Temps des Cerises

Posted on 31/05/2015 by

The title (‘Cherry Time’) is that of a very famous French song written in 1866 and interpreted much later by Yves Montand. With the addition of some verses, it became one of the anthems of the revolutionary Paris Commune in … Continue reading →

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Garlic and Garlic Recipes

Posted on 07/11/2013 by

What would French cuisine be without garlic? This pungent bulb has become one of the symbols of France. As often happens, personal experience led me to reflect on the role garlic plays in French culture, society – and especially gastronomy.

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Goose Fat and Garlic

Posted on 08/07/2013 by

A few weeks ago – only just found time to write about it – I attended the launch of a new edition of Goose Fat and Garlic, a book about the cooking and recipes of SW France. Jeanne Strang, who … Continue reading →

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Pumpkins and Pumpkin Recipes

Posted on 03/11/2010 by

Where we live in southwest France, size is of the essence: in fact, the bigger, the better. One of our local villages, Parisot, held a competition on Sunday for the biggest, heaviest and oddest shaped. I am of course talking … Continue reading →

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Roquefort

Posted on 16/10/2010 by

  Roquefort cheese takes its name from the place where it is manufactured, Roquefort-sur-Soulzon. Until last Thursday, what I knew about the manufacture of Roquefort would have gone on the back of one postage stamp. After our Thursday outing, I … Continue reading →

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Walnuts and walnut recipes

Posted on 10/10/2010 by

  I’ve written about walnuts before, but that was in May when they were unripe. June is the time to pick the unripe green ones for walnut wine (see my post about it, here). October is when the nuts start … Continue reading →

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Mushroom picking fever

Posted on 27/09/2010 by

After this week’s rain, the event we’ve been waiting for has arrived – the mushroom season. People carrying baskets or plastic bags are seen disappearing furtively into the woods. They look round suspiciously, as if in a spy movie, in … Continue reading →

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Goats, grain and gremlins

Posted on 27/06/2010 by

  The gremlins were the weather goblins, who made last weekend a complete washout. Sunday 20th June was a journée du patrimoine, when monuments and places of historic interest open their doors to the public. Despite the weather, or maybe because of … Continue reading →

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French seasonal treats: répountsous (asparagus alternative)

Posted on 03/05/2010 by

Strangely bent figures can be seen at this time of year patrolling the grass verges, heads bowed in concentration, oblivious to the juggernauts thundering past. What are they doing?

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Walnut wine – vin de noix

Posted on 18/04/2010 by

Try making walnut wine, a regional drink from southwest France, where walnut trees abound, suggests A writer’s lot in France. Continue reading →

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