EXPERT
Seasonal goodies are top of the menu in France, including mouth- watering cheeses and fresh fruit
declared “the palate is a delicate organ, ready to receive – just like the eye or the ear”! Naturally the biggest and
best repas of the year will be the Christmas feast, but in France it will include a surfeit of other dishes, from platters of seafood to truffled foie gras through to the 13 desserts traditional in Provence – a veritable cornucopia of delicious treats. One of the traditional and
favourite courses to start with will be escargots – and not gleaned from your garden! In our local market, we often see snails being sold in mesh bags and there were once shops in Paris called escargoteries selling the raw product. Today, there are snail farms scattered around the country, particularly in Burgundy. Long before that, monks
raised them; one pope was so addicted to eating escargots he even decreed they should be known as fish so he could continue to consume them
avoiding the normal strictures of Lenten fasting. It’s said that Julius Caesar
brought them to France (what didn’t he bring?), however, archaeologists have discovered snail shell fossils in Provence dating from far earlier.
SLOW FASHION Snails became fashionable in around 1814 when Russian Tsar Alexander visited France – perhaps it was when he met Talleyrand, Napoleon’s chief diplomat, and they decided to go all out to impress him with a dish of escargots cooked in wine before deciding à la Bourgogne (served in mountains of garlic butter) would make more of an impact. Whatever the truth, the dish certainly tickled Alexander’s fancy and escargots became the ‘go to’ dish! I once consulted my local
culinary advisor (French neighbour) about their snail preparation. She told me it’s a long drawn-out process. Firstly, the snails must be purged on pure water before extracting, cleaning and cooking. The shells must be boiled “forever”
€185,000
DELICIOUS BURGUNDIAN Just an hour from Dijon, even closer to Beaune, you have the ingredients to start you off on your own Burgundian cuisine with the newly installed fitted kitchen of this charming blue-shuttered, pink-rendered traditional house in the ancient town of Epinac in the heart of Burgundy. Recently renovated, it boasts large living spaces and four bedrooms, one on the ground floor, as well as a paved courtyard and land extending out a further quarter of an acre.
“Country towns are seasoned with semi-secretive truffle markets, where nuggets of ‘black gold’ can reach astronomical prices – especially in the Dordogne”
€617,850
COUNTRYSIDE OASIS This large five-ensuite-bedroom estate is brilliantly situated, close to Bordeaux and the glories of the Arcachon basin. Nestled within a 1.3ha plot, surrounded by lush countryside, it’s still walking distance of amenities. The charming main house has retained its character with exposed stone walls and timber beams, while spacious rooms open onto the stunning infinity pool and hot tub. There are two fully equipped chalets with their own pool – ideal for guests – a separate barn, greenhouse and extensive grounds in a fantastic setting.
before the cooked snails are reinserted and surrounded by sauce, and the story went on. Far better, she said, to buy them already prepared or in a tin! Seeing as the Christmas season is demanding timewise for food prep, I would always vote for latter option. What is a prerequisite, of course, is gorgeous fresh French bread to mop up every last dollop of green garlic butter. And that is likely to be just the first course of many, many more! Another essential for the
Colourful oyster huts line the water’s edge in Charente-Maritime – France is the world’s second-largest consumer of these delectable shellfish
seasonal table is the oyster. I have waxed lyrical about
this delicious mollusc many times, my favourite seafood for any month of the year containing the letter ‘r’. I have been known to while away a few afternoons close to the sea at Arcachon consuming oysters, accompanied by a glass of blush pink, deliciously scented rosé wine. At Christmas, market stalls
almost groan with the weight of tonnes of oysters – France is the second largest consumer of oysters in the world (I’m surprised it’s not first). Every French kitchen will have an oyster knife stowed among
4 FRENCH PROPERTY NEWS:November/December 202347
© SHUTTERSTOCK
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