It’s cold and damp. The snow has been around since Christmas and I am ensconced on my sofa, still chilled through and through but with a head full of warm daydreams -- escaping the drear in spirit if not body.
Joseph Canteloube 1879 -1957
It happens every time I listen to Joseph Cantaloube’s Chants d’Auvergne (my favorites are Brezairola and Pastorelle -- you can listen here: Canteloube: Chants d'Auvergne). It is truly transporting music from a composer who reverenced the songs of his homeland at France’s wild center, the Auvergne (which takes its name from the ancient Gallic tribe, Arverni, defeated by the Romans nearly 2000 years ago). He collected the songs in the last 30 years of his life and the result is pure enchantment and so evocative of the place and Cantaloube’s love for it… you can feel his heart’s pulse in every note. It sets me to dream of France.
The Auvergne lies on the eastern side of an area known for incredible beauty and spectacular food going to the Dordogne and the Southwest -- places that rival Paris for sheer numbers of historical sites (including one of my favorites -- the 17,300 year-old cave paintings at Lascaux near Montignac).
Thanks to Anita for telling me about the underground majesty of Gouffre de Padirac... surely there must be a fairy kingdom somewhere in it's dark miles of streams and caverns. For purposes of my daydream… I know you will forgive my vague, inclusive geography, won’t you??
Thanks to Anita for telling me about the underground majesty of Gouffre de Padirac... surely there must be a fairy kingdom somewhere in it's dark miles of streams and caverns. For purposes of my daydream… I know you will forgive my vague, inclusive geography, won’t you??
Its castles (from the Latin castellum) are right out of dreams as well… they are the kind of turreted beauties with crenellations and pointed roofs that all fairy princesses call home.
The land around these castles is wild and fiercely beautiful --with the Auvergne mountains -- the Central and Eastern Massif Central and
the Western Massif Central--the source of the Dordogne river. There is the vast, game-filled forest of Tronçais (home of the oak that makes limousin wine barrels for the finest vintages in the world),
Sioule River
and the river Sioule and the river Cher winding their way through the unspoiled forest.
Guery Lake
The Guéry, Servières and Pavin Lakes surround Le Sancy and the 80 dormant volcanos of the 25 mile long Chaîne des Puys (the highest being the Puy de Dôme provide drama and striking vistas for the region (Puy is the French word for volcanic summit from which the famous lentils take their name and get their fine taste from the volcanic soil).
But it is those magical castles
and medieval villages
that keep my mind wandering there… wishing to be whisked from my snowbound doldrums into the never-never land of magical places where (in my imagination) it is forever temperate with sweet scented air… in a proper fairytale sort of way (guess you know where I want to take my vacation!).
Ah well, I can’t snap my fingers and materialize one of these castles like a sorceress, but I can conjure some magic for your kitchen.
I had the recipe equivalent of a pleasant earworm thanks to a description of a soup that Diane at 2 Stews had at La Régalade in Paris a few months ago. She said it was a chestnut soup poured over a symphony of favorite flavors, foie gras, cheese and chives (and I thought I saw croutons?)… so I set about to recreate it since chestnut soup is a renowned specialty of the Auvergne region lush with famous forests full of chestnuts and game and nearby the epicenter of foie gras in Périgord (although Périgord now processes IMPORTED raw materials from Eastern Europe and Israel as the properly raised local product cannot keep up with demand!) I decided to use a version with a bit of game to it as they often do in the region and chose a cheese like an Auvergne product, Saint Nectaire -- a semi-soft, nutty-tasting, washed-rind cheese.
The recipe from La Régalade (via Gourmet Magazine) served as the basis for the “velvety emulsion” (the voluptuous Nigella Lawson makes a similar soup you can watch HERE from The Caprice in London as well—sans foie gras), but I also took inspiration from some traditional Auvergne recipes.
The duck fat, smoked duck breast, chestnuts and foie gras come from D’Artagnan and there are links to order them.
Chestnut & Lentil Soup, inspired by foods of the Auvergne and La Régalade, serves 6
½ cup duck fat
2 T butter
4 slices bread, cut into croutons (around 3 cups)
½ pound vacuum-packed chestnuts (or 1 ½ c cooked peeled chestnuts)
3 T armagnac
1 smoked duck breast, skin removed, sliced thinly (around 7 oz)
1 shallot, peeled and sliced
¼ c chopped onion
1 small celery root (7 oz), peeled and cubed
1 carrot (7 oz), peeled and cubed
4 sprigs thyme
4 sprigs parsley
2 bay leaves
1 c lentilles de Puy or French green lentils
8 c cold water
1 t salt
1/3 c heavy cream
3 ½ oz foie gras, cubed (if you can’t spring for the foie gras… try a good creamy foie gras mousse)
2 oz soft cheese, cubed (like a St. Nectaire from the Auvergne—I used Morbier but a brie type cheese would work too… sliced thinly to melt)
chopped herbs for garnish (few sprigs parsley and thyme & chives)
Slice and soak the chestnuts in the Armagnac for a few hours.
Heat 4 T duck fat and 2 T butter and sauté the croutons till crisp and golden and reserve.
Sauté the thinly sliced duck skin in the 2 T duck fat till crisp and reserve. Sauté the shallot, onion, celery root and carrot in the same duck fat.
Make a bundle of the herbs and toss into the pot. Add the lentils, 1/3 of the smoked duck in 3 big chunks and chestnuts, reserving the Armagnac. Add the water and salt and cook 20-25 minutes until the lentils are soft. Strain the soup, reserving most of the cooking liquid, and remove the herbs and the duck. Puree the soup using the reserved cooking liquid as necessary and the heavy cream. It will be creamier if you start with a small amount of liquid so that it can really be pureed. The soup will thicken as it stands so keep the cooking liquid to add as needed.
Sauté the reserved smoked duck in remaining 2 T duck fat, remove and keep warm. Saute the foie gras gently to warm.
Put croutons, sliced duck, cheese and foie gras and herbs in bottom of soup bowl. Pour hot soup over all and serve immediately
* I can imagine doing this vegetarian would be great. substitute a nut oil like hazelnut for the duck fat and skip the meat component.
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