Our recent trip to France took us places we’ve never been before. This was especially true because we seemed to consistently make wrong turns in our rental car no matter where we were headed! We visited the Dordogne valley, an area that used to be known (and still is to many) as the Pèrigord region. The area is renowned for three key things: foie gras, truffles, and walnuts. There are scenic drives through the area that take you on La Route Noix. We saw signs for this excursion frequently and it always made me chuckle to be on the Walnut Road or what I liked to refer to as the nut route and this was not just due to the surrounding countryside!
A surprising thing about the region is that when you research the Pèrigord, you get a lot of hits about the food products, but what you don’t get is much information about the scenery. The area is gorgeous with its limestone cliffs, valleys, rivers, and many, many chateau (or castles) from the days when France and England were regularly in contention over this land. It’s lush and verdant with picture-postcard villages stamped around just about every wrong turn you can make, and you can make a lot of them (although that’s half the fun). The Dordogne River itself adds to the beauty and it’s well-known for being a great spot for canoeing. While traveling in the area, we must have seen hundreds of canoers traversing the gentle waters of the Dordogne, falling out of the canoes as often as staying in, and just generally having a great time.
We stayed in Pont de Cause, a tiny little one stop-sign “town." While we were there, a summer festival was in full swing. The festival included a carnival with some games and a few rides. At midnight the town held fireworks over the river! The fireworks included special effects that took in the Chateau Castelnaud which sits high above the river perched on a cliff. The effects and light show made the castle look as though it was shrouded in fog and then burning – an eerie but beautiful spectacle.
We stayed at a bed and breakfast called La Tour de Cause and would encourage anyone who is even considering a trip to France to go to the Dordogne and stay there. La Tour de Cause is owned by Caitlin and Albert Woodbury from Santa Rosa, CA. They renovated the old limestone farmhouse and barn and have turned it into a charming B&B. They’ve added a pool and a pètanque court (a French game similar to bocce ball), and they are delightful hosts. They were so helpful with sightseeing suggestions, directions, restaurant recommendations and especially restaurant reservations (necessary during the summer when tourist season is in full swing). It was great to have someone you could speak to in english make the needed resverations for you over the phone in french!
So of course, that leads me to the food. The Dordogne has so many amazing food products that come from the area that it’s very easy to eat well. Many of the little villages hold markets on a specific day of the week where the local farmer’s bring their produce and wares to sell. We had amazing melons, tomatoes, olives, bread, wines, and cheeses from the markets but you can also buy leather goods, clothing, soap, crockery, and other household goods. Our favorite olives from the market were Morrocan spiced and had citrus, chili, and cumin flavors.
There are many local shops that specialize in the regional products such as foie gras, walnuts (in many different preparations that include everything from simple nuts to liqueurs, jams, and pastries), truffles, goat cheese, and of course, wine. In the summer the rose wines are popular with everyone and we sampled many during our days there. We came across a goat cheese salad that used a cabicou of goat cheese wrapped in pastry that is then browned until crispy and placed on top of a salad. They call it a crunchy salad! Given that it was summer and not truffle season, there were not a lot of truffles around but there were a number of restaurants that specialize in foie gras dishes. We went to one in Domme called La Cabanoix et Chataignes that offered a foie gras sampler prepared five different ways. I tried their foie gras marinated in prune Armagnac and it was delicious. Paul had a carpaccio of beef with truffle salt that was so good we had to go out the next day and find the truffle salt to bring home with us.
In small farming areas such as this people learned to get by with less therefore many dishes use leftovers so that nothing goes to waste. One of the recipes I’m including is for garlic soup, a soup that is traditionally made with the previous day’s stale baguette. It’s simple, savory and hearty. Lastly, it’s hard to beat the slices of flan from a good patisserie anywhere in France. I’ve started experimenting with flan and will soon be posting an adapted recipe based on my latest iteration. Bon Appétit!
Tourín à l’ail (Garlic Soup)
Serves 4
7 cloves garlic
2 eggs, separated
2 TBSP flour
1 TBSP vinegar
2 TBSP duck fat (or olive oil)
4 slices leftover baguette or similar crusty bread
1 quart water
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Grated cheese (optional)
Heat the duck fat in a large saucepan. Peel the garlic and cut into thin slices. Sauté the garlic in the fat on low heat until softened but not brown. Whisk in the flour until smooth. Slowly begin whisking in the water making sure to mix thoroughly until smooth. Keep stirring and bring the mixture to a boil. Season with salt and pepper and let simmer for 25 minutes. Whisk the egg yolks with the vinegar in a medium bowl. Remove the garlic soup from the stove and whisk one ladle of the hot soup into the egg-yolk mixture taking care to whisk quickly. Then slowly add the thinned egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan with the rest of the soup, whisking constantly. Once this is done, if you like, you can add the egg whites to the hot soup to allow them to poach for 3-5 minutes before serving.
To serve, place a slice of bread in each bowl and pour the soup on top. You can serve this traditional soup with a garnish of grated cheese. A good aged goat cheese, parmesan, or any good farmhouse cheese can make a nice accompaniment.
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