I've just returned from my first holiday abroad since 2012 and felt inspired enough to revive this blog. The hiatus in detailing my food obsession can only be blamed on life changing events... you know - having a baby, moving house, going back to work, and so on and so forth.
Now onto my recent holiday. France but not as I have known it - it was a visit to the north, staying with dear friends in a country house, eating and drinking local stuff and cooking in every night! Blissful.
Dinard in Brittany is well known not only for it's coastal beauty but also it's seafood and fish. A local speciality is Galettes - a light, thin buckwheat crepe served with cheese or other toppings. I had one and I hope to try and replicate this at home one day. It was a savoury delight and the fact that buckwheat is a gluten free treat, was a bonus.
There was an inevitable excess of cheese and bread and saucisson consumption upon arrival and throughout the week, which just could not be helped. I succumbed to all the Comte and Roquefort I could get my hands on! And there really is nothing as good as the freshly baked daily bread - best consumed upon purchase first thing in the morning as the baguettes tend to become solid weapons by the next day! All the little villages here are neat and tidy replicas of each other with a boulangerie being an essential feature in every one.
The huge range of different saucisson found in any supermarket or farmer's market here made me feel like a kid in a sweet shop! However my main source of gluttony came in the form of fresh fish and seafood, salads and veg which is never a bad thing - think of all the lean protein and omega 3s and vitamins. I actually managed a trip to the local market and bought fresh ingredients to cook with.. my first french market and it was everything I had hoped for.. the produce was incredible and very very cheap in comparison to our London markets!
On one very special occasion and in true French style, we went for a 3 hour 4 course lunch. Our host with all his local knowledge guided us to the back of what looked like a sports bar but actually housed Madame Picard's seafood restaurant. It was packed out at lunch time, mainly by elderly French locals - so we knew we were on to a winner! I started with an assortment of seafood [oysters, crab, langoustines, prawns, shrimps, cockles, snails and winkles!] straight out of the sea that day and served with nothing but a segment of lemon and a pot of mayonnaise! Simple and delicious and very messy. The mains were more fish and seafood dishes mostly dressed with butter sauces to die for! Not really sure how I managed the cheese course that followed all this food but I had to draw the line at dessert!
No French foodie holiday would ever be complete without Moule Frites. This Moule Mariniere dish was served up to me by the seaside from a little outdoor shack for about 12 euros. It was a very generous portion and I gorged myself on these plump little mussels until I could eat no more!
Finally I leave you with a picture of a perfect fig. Ripe and straight off the tree outside our country cottage. It made a rather good fig and blue cheese salad and will be a reminder to me that French food need not always be fattening as long as you use your own produce off the back garden [or indeed your neighbour's well tended garden!] or visit the markets and use local seasonal produce. There will always be the temptation of cheese and saucisson here but they can be balanced out with home cooked simple fish, colourful veg and salads straight from the market. I look forward to more holidays in France but never ever again in a city hotel.
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