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FINE CUISINE : |
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Les respounjous
Delicate palates, steer clear! This is a kind of Tarn asparagus, and a very bitter one at that. You can pick it from the Easter holidays onwards in abandoned thickets; it looks like a creeper. If you have this on your plate in front of you, then you're automatically classified as an "all-terrain gourmet". So pat yourself on the back, and smile like the hero you are! You're going to need courage for the next stage. It's served with fried bacon, hard-boiled eggs, and a generous dash of vinegar. You can occasionally find les respounjous in open-air markets. But are you really ready for this experience? The answer lies in your capacity to integrate yourself into this region. Good luck...
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Roquefort
Roquefort is not a modest cheese. It's shoulder to shoulder with the proletarian Camembert and industrial gruyère, among the top three best-known French cheeses. Its subtle softness comes from the grottoes in the rocky outcrops around Larzac. They are damp and dark, and as you slice into this cheese, you get the impression that what is bad for you, may well do the Roquefort a lot of good. Go ahead and enjoy it alone or with grapes, or on a salad - even on a big juicy steak if you fancy it. And nobody will blame you if you wash it down with a good strong red wine.
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Foie Gras
OK, it's debatable, we know. Some think Fois Gras is quite frankly the abominable product of force-feeding geese. We happen to think of it as a well-kept family secret. You need the offspring of a Barbarian Duck and a Peking Duck, and only the male will do. It's difficult to get these two species to mate, so often artificial insemination has to be used. The offspring is known as a "mulard". He gets force-fed for two weeks from the third month of his life. Once he's nice and plump, he gets slaughtered, and his liver (which by now weighs 500-600g) is an ivory colour, smooth and firm. It should have no stains on its outer surface, or red spots.
Opinions vary, but generally the best way to treat the liver is to cover it in salt and pepper, and wrap it in a cloth before leaving it in the fridge for 10 days. Alternatively , it can be placed in a jar with the religiously respected proportions of 3g pepper and 10g salt per kilogram of liver. The time that it needs to be left is a trade secret, passed on in hushed tones only at the deathbed...
When Fois Gras is sliced, it's more of a conspiracy than a meal. Eat Fois Gras with a Sauternes wine or a Montbazillac, or perhaps a Tariquet d'Eauze. Alternatively, try a hypocras from Tarascon-sur-Ariège. Heaven
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