CUISINE FRANÇAISE
BURGUNDY
Written by James V. Thomas
In an effort to preserve French cuisine as it actually exists in traditional households of France, I find it pertinent to share a few recipes that I have come across during my travels throughout Burgundy. These recipes are the traditional ones from the castles of Burgundy and, if executed properly, will yield exceptionally delicious dinners for you and your guests. I have purposely left them as they were written, without bullet points or too many specifications.
Oeufs en Meurette
Eggs in red wine sauce
XVIIth century recipe from Rully Castle.
For 5 people: 10 eggs, 100g of fatty bacon, 100g of lean bacon, 1 carrot, 1 onion, 1 garlic clove, 1 bouquet garni, 2-3 tablespoons of flour, 1 tablespoon of butter, 100g of small mushrooms, 1 cup of beef broth, 5 croutons (grilled or sautéed with garlic), parsley, salt, freshly ground pepper, red wine - "Château de Rully".
Meurette Sauce: the day before, make a pot-au-feu and reserve one cup of broth.
Cut the fatty bacon into lardons. Melt them in a sauté pan over low heat.
Finely chop the carrot and onion and add into the bacon (called mirepoix). Add the bouquet garni and cover for 10 minutes. Splash in a decent amount of red wine, to cover the ingredients. Add salt & pepper.
Bring to a boil and then add the broth and crushed garlic. Let it cook for 20 minutes over high heat. Pass the sauce through a sieve into a large gratin dish. Extract the juice from the mirepoix. Crush the butter and flour together and then add, in order to thicken the sauce. Check the seasoning (salt level).
Poaching the eggs: over very low heat, let the sauce simmer. Crack the eggs one by one directly into the sauce, making sure they do not touch each other. Cook until the whites are opaque. Meanwhile, sauté the lean bacon and mushrooms.
Prepare the croutons. Garnish the eggs and sauce with the bacon, mushrooms, croutons and a little chopped parsley.
Salade tiède d'epinards et queues d'écrevisses
Tepid spinach salad and crawfish tails
A recipe from the Fontaine-Française Castle.
Peel the crayfish; set aside the shells and claws for another use (bisque, Nantua sauce).
After washing and trimming the spinach, wilt them in butter. Set aside.
Prepare a vinaigrette with chopped herbs (chives, chervil, parsley), mix it with the spinach.
Arrange the spinach on a dish and garnish with the crayfish tails.
Poire à la Dijonnaise
Dijon style pear
A recipe from the Hôtel Dieu in Beaune.
Peel one pear per person while leaving the stem.
Heat half a liter of Burgundy red wine with a few spices (cloves, cinnamon, orange peels..), 20 cl of water, and 300 g of sugar.
Place the pears in the simmering liquid and let cook for about thirty minutes.
Test the pears for doneness by piercing the center with a needle.
Carefully remove the pears and let the liquid boil over high heat until it thickens into a syrup-like consistency.
In individual cups, place vanilla ice cream, the pear drizzled with syrup, and add a dash of blackcurrant liquer (crème de cassis).
According to your taste, decorate with grilled almonds or whipped cream.
Cuisine Française on Sky Blue is a re-occuring segment to document classic French recipes from different homes and families in an effort to preserve the tradition of these flavors. They are directly translated from their original format, no changes have been made.
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Est. 2019