Dining in the Five Departments of Old Aquitaine: the Dordogne, Gironde, Landes, Lot-et-Garonne, and the Pyrénées-Atlantiques.
from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
Old Aquitaine and its five departments
After the French Revolution.
From the French Revolution until 1-1-2016
Aquitaine included five modern French departments, the Dordogne, Gironde, Landes,
Lot-et-Garonne, and the Pyrénées-Atlantiques.
(N.B. This post is limited to the five departments of old Aquitaine, Nouvelle Aquitaine includes seven more departments: Charente, Charente-Maritime, Corrèze, Creuse, Deux-Sèvres, Haute-Vienne, and Vienne).
Aquitaine
The Duchy of Aquitaine covered the Roman provinces of Aquitania Prima and Secunda named when the Romans colonized a large part of France beginning in 58
BCE. Then, Julius Caesar invaded Gaul and France was ruled by Rome for almost
five hundred years. Romans merged
with the local population, and Rome’s rule ended in 476 CE when the Western Roman
Empire collapsed.
Much later, in the Middle Ages, an enlarged Aquitaine became part of the Kingdom of England when Eleanor of Aquitaine married Prince Henry, later King Henry II of England.
King Henry II of England was the son of Count Geoffrey of Anjou (the first Plantagenet) and Matilda (Maud) of Britain, a granddaughter of William the Conqueror. Eleanor and Henry ruled nearly 50% of France, and their claims began the Hundred Years War between England and France. Finally, in 1453, Aquitaine became part of the Kingdom of France again.
The French changed the name of Aquitaine to Guyenne when they kicked the English out of France at the end of the hundred-years war. Then, during the French revolution in 1790, the area officially became Aquitaine once again. Despite the official name change, when you travel in the area, the name Guyenne will still be seen as part of many local names.
Nouvelle Aquitaine
Nouvelle Aquitaine was created on 1-1-21 as part of a plan to reduce bureaucracy. On that date France reduced its 21 mainland regions to 13 and the old regions of Aquitaine, Poitou Charente, and Limousin were joined together to become Nouvelle Aquitaine.
Nouvelle Aquitaine includes the departments of the Charente, Charente-Maritime, Corrèz, Creuse, Deux Sèvres, Dordogne, Gironde, Haute-Vienne, Landes, Lot-et-Garonne, and the Pyrénées-Atlantiques.
The department of Dordogne
The department of Dordogne (often called by its old name
Périgord) is the third-largest department in France. Traveling in the Dordogne is an amazing journey as it includes hundreds of castles, the tourism
information bureau claims one thousand, and some of the most beautiful villages
in France. To the castles, add beautiful countryside, waterways and more.
The Dordogne is especially well known for its
cuisine. From here come the rare and
expensive Perigord black truffles, its Noix du Périgord AOP, walnuts, its Sauce
Périgueux, its Salade Périgourdine, its Duck Foie Gras, its Magret de Canard,duck’s breast, and its Cassoulet Périgourdine.
For wines, here is the home of the Bergerac AOP wines that include dry
reds, roses, dry white wines, semi-dry and very sweet white wines, and the
famous Monbazillac AOP sweet white wines.
The capital of the Dordogne is Périgueux, and the center of its
famous cuisine. The second largest town in the Dordogne is Bergerac, made
famous by Cyrano de Bergerac, the real one, and statues of his parody are found
in the town..
Dishes from the Dordogne that may be on your menu:
Steak d’Espadon Poêlé Sauce Échalotes au
Vin de Bergerac – Swordfish steak lightly fried in
a shallot sauce flavored with
Bergerac wine. The Bergerac appellations include 13 different AOP wines,
including reds, rosé, and dry, medium-sweet, and sweet white wines.
A
swordfish.
Photograph
courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library
https://www.flickr.com/photos/biodivlibrary/7064433129/
Truffe
Noire du Périgord en Feuilleté et sa Sauce Périgueux – The
black truffles of Périgord prepared between thin layers of pastry; this is a pastry
similar to that used for croissants and here it is served with a
sauce Périgueux. Sauce Périgueux is made with the Truffe Périgourdine, the
Black Périgord Truffles, and Madeira
Wine.
Black
truffles.
Photograph
courtesy of Chris Pople.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/60173925@N06/32162819631/
Terrine de Fraises en Gelée Sauce Monbazillac – A dish of strawberries prepared with a jelly made
with the area’s famous Monbazillac wine; served in the terrine in which it is prepared.
The Monbazillac AOC covers the renowned sweet white wine produced close to the
village of Monbazillac on the left bank of the Dordogne River just across from
the town of Bergerac.
A
summer fruit terrine.
Photograph courtesy of Yvonne Lin.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/yvonnelin1/7065640351/
The department of Gironde
The department of Gironde is the largest department of mainland
France; it is world-famous for the wines of Bordeaux and its cuisine, with many hundreds of dishes
named after the city. The Bordeaux wines include Margaux, Saint-Emilion,
Pauillac, Pomerol and Sauternes, St.-Julien and many, many others. From the
Gironde come the Arcachon Bay oysters, outstanding freshwater and saltwater
fish and shellfish, farm-raised caviar, and the Boeuf de Bazas. The Pauillac Agneau de Lait, milk-fed Baby Lamb, the cèpes of Bordeaux, the French Porcini mushrooms and
the IGP Asperge du Blayais, asparagus come from here as do the original pralines.
Apart from the Gironde Estuary, there is almost 250 km (155
miles) of Atlantic coastline with superb beaches, including surfing hotspots.
To the Atlantic, beaches add the freshwater lake and river water sports,
beautiful villages, and the historic center of Bordeaux, which is a UN World
Heritage site.
Bordeaux wines ready for tasting.
Photograph courtesy of dpotera
https://www.flickr.com/photos/e_calamar/5526212459/
Dishes from the Gironde that may be on your menu:
Croustade de Faisan aux Cèpes de Bordeaux – In most of France a
croustade is much like an Italian bruschetta with mushrooms or liver on toast.
However, we are in the South-West of France, and a croustade is something else
entirely. Here the croustade will be a pheasant roasted in a pie or similar
base and served with the Cèpe de Bordeaux, a specific
variety of Porcini mushrooms that grow wild in the forests and woods around
Bordeaux.
Pheasant.
Photograph courtesy of Alistair
Young
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ajy/66551248/
Escalope de Poulet Poêlée aux Morilles au
Vin Blanc de Bordeaux – Breast of chicken lightly fried with morel
mushrooms and
a white Bordeaux
wine.
L’Entrecôte et Son Os à Moelle à
la Bordelaise – An entrecote, a rib-eye steak prepared
with bone
marrow and Sauce
Bordelaise,
that fabulous Bordeaux
wine sauce.
For an entrecote, if it is well prepared, this is as good as it gets. Sauce
Bordelaise is
made with a veal stock, a Bordeaux red wine, butter, shallots, and herbs. The sauce on this
menu listing is made with the addition of moelle, bone marrow.
Entrecôte À La Bordelaise.
Photograph
courtesy of Radio DKL.
The department of Landes
The department of Landes is famous for its excellent Asperge des
Sables, white asparagus, its unique Label Rouge, red label, Volailles des Landes which include, chickens, capons, turkeys, as well as quail, Guinea fowl along with its famous ducks and duck foie gras. Beef on local menus will come from locally
farmed Bœuf de Chalosse, and the Bœuf Blond d’Aquitaine, IGP, Label Rouge. While from the spa town of Dax comes Dacquoise or the Biscuit Dacquoise cake that will be
on menus all over France.
Landes is also Armagnac country and shares with the department of
Gers the Bas Armagnac, considered the best of the Armagnac appellations. Their
AOP Tursan wine is available in red, rosé, and white. While for the traveler,
the pine forests planted over 100 years ago offer many beautiful walks and rest
areas. The Landes Réserve Naturelle Nationale du Marais d’Or, National, theNature reserve of Marais d’Orx is an important stopover for migratory
birds with tours and nature centric activities.
A camping site in a pine forest
in Landes.
Photograph
courtesy of Flower camping
Dishes from Landes that may be on your menu:
Duo d’ Asperges Blanches et Vertes des
Landes à la Vinaigrette de Framboise – A matched serving of white and
green asparagus from Landes served with a
raspberry vinaigrette sauce.
Green
asparagus
Photograph
courtesy of Isabelle Hurbain-Palatin
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ipalatin/2920876013/
Pastis Landais – No, not the alcoholic drink flavored with anise.
The pastis Landais on your menu is a dessert pastry; a traditional brioche
flavored with orange,
vanilla,
rum,
or anise.
(Pastís is a Gascon and Occitan word which can mean cake or mixture, and as a
mixture, the word is linked to the pastis, anise-flavored, alcoholic beverage).
Poulet Landes Rôti aux Cèpes – The much appreciated Poulet
Landaise IGP, the Landes chicken, roasted with cèpes, porcini,
mushrooms. These golden feathered free-range chickens come from the region of Landes;
they are mostly corn fed and let free in the forests for most of their lives.
The farmers have a unique chicken house called a Marensine that they move to
keep up with their chickens to insure that have plenty of fresh lands to find
their own bugs, worms, and more. As they move these mobile chicken houses keep
them safe at night
A
Cèpe mushroom
Photograph
courtesy of jacme31
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jacme31/286202250/
Ravioles au Foie
Gras de Canard des Landes – Ravioli filled with
Landes’ fattened
duck’s liver.
The department of Lot-et-Garonne
The department of Lot-et-Garonne is famous for its fruit,
especially its prunes and strawberries. The
prunes of Agen are
the gold standard in prunes around the world, and there is a unique Route du
Pruneau, a prune road, an innovation seen nowhere else. The Label Rouge, red
label, strawberries of Lot-et-Garonne supply close to 20% of France’s
strawberries. The town of Marmande gave its name to the AOP Marmande
tomato;
this is the only tomato awarded an AOC/AOP.
During the various strawberry seasons in Lot-et-Garonne, you will be offered many different fruits. One special strawberry is the Mara des Bois
strawberry; the Mara des Bois strawberry is a cultivated strawberry that tastes
reasonably close to a natural wild strawberry. Lot-et-Garonne is also the
kiwi-fruit center of France, and in season, they will also be on the menu.
Local menus also offer much freshwater fish from the 300 km (190
miles) of navigable waterways with many freshwater fish farms, so consider one
of the excellent local freshwater fish-soups. If you want meat, choose your steaks
from the local breeds, including the Bœuf Blond d’Aquitaine, the Bœuf de Bazas, and
the Bœuf de Chalosse.
Nearly half of the Armagnac produced in France comes
from Lot-et-Garonne and so your choice from among local producers will not be
limited. Most Armagnacs sold are vintage brandies, which indicates they come
from a particular year and are not blended with eau-de-vies from other years.
Unlike blended Armagnacs and Cognacs, which have two distillations, the long
aging is the source of the particular Armagnac taste. Vintage Armagnacs are
often aged in a barrel for 15 years or more, with a minimum of ten, and consequently
are more expensive than blended Armagnacs. The year of the vintage defines
Armagnac; the cognoscenti know which years are the best. After 10,15, 20 years
in a barrel (at the most 40 years), the brandy is transferred to glass
containers called demijohns until bottled. Armagnacs, like whiskeys, would
deteriorate if they were in a barrel for more than forty years, and most will
be in a barrel for less than twenty years.
Armagnac.
Photograph courtesy of Pierre L.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/titounet/49087174902/
The menus include products and cuisine from the old Province
of Quercy, which
was divided between the departments of Lot and Lot-en-Garonne during the French
revolution. For your digestif, you will drink Armagnac, but for your aperitif, try
the Floc
de Gascogne,
a fortified wine made with Armagnac and offered in rose (red) and white
versions.
Dishes from Lot-et-Garonne that may be on your menu:
Magret
de Canard Grillé aux Fruits Rouge de Lot-et-Garonne – Grilled duck
breast served
with a sauce made from the berries, including the strawberries from
Lot-et-Garonne.
Crêpes Flambées à l’Armagnac – Crêpes flambéed with Armagnac.
Crêpes
Flambées
Photograph
courtesy of Marcela Escandell
https://www.flickr.com/photos/buscavientos/8298085144/
Grenadins de Porc aux Pruneaux D’Agen – Small cuts of filet of pork
prepared with Agen prunes.
The department of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques
The department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques is the heart of France’s Basque
country, the Pays Basque. From here comes Jambon
de Bayonne, Bayonne Ham IGP, Piment
d’Espelette, Espelette peppers AOP, L’Agneau de Lait des Pyrénées, the
milk fed lamb of the Pays Basques IGP, and Ossau-Iraty, their AOP sheep’s
cheese, among the many products and produce seen on tables all over
France. The department is also famous for its fish and seafood dishes,
especially those made with the Northern
Bluefin Tuna and Cod. For most visitors, the
unique Basque
cider is
also a special treat.
Jambon
de Bayonne
Photograph
courtesy of Carrefour
The French Basque country also has its own variety of tapas
called pintxos, and they will be accompanied by wines, cider, and other
alcoholic drinks. The most well-known wines of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques include
the Béarn AOP with red, rosé and white wines, the Madiran AOP red wine, the
Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh AOP white wine and the Irouléguy AOP red, white, and rosé
wines, the Jurançon AOP dry white wine, and the famous Jurançon AOP moelleux,
sweet white wine. Locally Izarra, a Basque liqueur with two versions (both with
an Armagnac base), will be the digestif of choice.
Basque Cider
In the Basque country, their cider is called sidra or sagarno in
the Basque language. Their traditional ciders have very different tastes to the
ciders from the North, with the best considered those with the sharpest taste.
The original Basque ciders are dry flat ciders, none of them sparkling;
however, public demand has created a place for a brut, semi-dry, lightly
sparkling version. The Basques claim that the Pays Basque is the home of the
original cider apple, with all other cider apples in the world being the
descendants of their Basque apple. The Basque Country has a Route Gourmande des Pays Basques, the Basque country
gourmand’s road, and the Route du Fromage AOP Ossau-Iraty, the Pays Basque cheese road. Enjoy
Basque cider and traditional Basque
dishes;
sample fine Basque wines and in the evening try the new Basque cuisine.
Basque Cider Barrels in a cider bar, a sagardotegi, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Photograph courtesy of Jonny Hunter
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jonnyhunter/378228158/
The City of Bayonne
The City
of Bayonne is
the center of Basque culture, but the prefecture, the regional capital, is the
city of Pau, just 113.0 km (70 miles) away. The Atlantic seaside town of
Biarritz is 8.2 km (5 miles) away from Bayonne, which is an inland port.
Biarritz is famous as one of the earliest coastal resorts that saw the arrival
of English tourists in the late 1880s, and it remains an important resort and
spa. Just over the border from Pau, just 46 km (29 miles) away, in the
neighboring department of Hautes-Pyrénées, is the pilgrimage town of Lourdes. j
The resort town of Biarritz.
Photograph
courtesy of Marc Kjerland
https://www.flickr.com/photos/marckjerland/7273587452/
Dishes from the Pyrénées-Atlantiques that may be on your menu:
Chorizo au Cidre au Pays
Basques –
Spicy Chorizo pork sausages cooked in Basque cider.
Chorizos are mostly cured, smoked pork sausages, but some use fresh pork and
are cooked before being served.
Gigolettes de Caille au Piment
d’Espelette – Quail legs prepared with the
famous AOP red pepper from the town of Espelette.
Magret
de Canard à la Planxa – Duck
breast cooked
on the planxa. The planxa or
plancha is at least two centimeters (6/8”) thick and claimed as their own by
the Basques, the French, and the Spanish. This traditional and very even
cooking method uses very little oil and results in a taste somewhere between
frying and grilling.
Magret
de Canard au Poivre
Vert,
Pommes de Terre Sautées
de Canard au Poivre
Vert,
Pommes de Terre Sautées
Roulées au Jambon
de Bayonne au Ardi Gasna et sa Confiture de Figues – Rolls of thin, cured, Bayonne
Ham served
with one of the regions sheep’s cheeses accompanied by a fig jam.
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