Tuesday, September 15, 2009

la chasse

Brrrr. It's cold. I'm wearing socks for the first time since April and I'm seriously thinking of lighting the fire. I'm not complaining though. We had a glorious summer - lots of sunshine and dining alfresco and swimming - and now we have skiing to look forward to. Bring on the snow.

On Sunday (the start of la chasse - the hunting season) we had lunch chez Nainbo where we arrived to find him (still, after three hours!) stuffing green beans into empty plastic Perrier bottles. "Mini-B told me this is the best way to freeze them", he said as we tittered, knowing that Mini-B was pulling his leg. I've just frozen mine the traditional way - by blanching and placing in freezer bags.

Nainbo is a very good cook, effortlessly throwing things together from the garden without any fuss. Before I moved to France, other than my good friend HC, the only men I knew who were interested in cooking were professional chefs, but here you're as likely to hear regular guys swapping bread recipes in the bar as you are to hear them discussing football - and just as fervently.

For starters we had salad of green beans, tomatoes, peppers and red onion (all from the garden) with a vinaigrette sauce, followed by roast leg of lamb accompanied by creamed sorrel with fried bread topped with sliced hard-boiled egg.

Top Modèl, who just got his permis de chasse this season, joined us for cheese and spiced pears with champagne to celebrate his first kill - three wild boar. We won't be seeing him on the roof at weekends from now on.

7 comments:

Kathie said...

"Creamed sorrel with fried bread topped with sliced hard-boiled egg" -- I wonder whether this dish would work equally well with wild watercress foraged from riffles above the west coast of Flores when you go visit there.

Be sure to report on your watercress studies there!

le moulin said...

Kathie, Will do!

Di Overton said...

I have been wearing socks since April :(
You always make me feel so HUNGRY

Neil King and Carol Duncan said...

Still warm here. I had my shirt off this afternoon. Not a pretty sight ...

Kathie said...

It's still fairly warm though not quite so humid as during full summer here in SW Pennsylvania (although we had a couple early mornings two weeks ago so unseasonably cool that the furnace kicked on!).

You'll doubtless be getting an eyeful or two of Pittsburgh on the news next Thursday and Friday when it hosts the G-20 Summit. I, however, will be thousands of miles away promoting my two new co-translations among Portuguese-Californians (thank goodness!).

Hope Baby Chou & BB have a grand time visiting. I expect full reports on both of your blogs re local watercress foraging and recipe experiments! Please do try the authentic family soup recipe (Sopa de Agrião) that I posted on this blog before -- it's very simple (except for the hell that is washing fresh cress) but tasty, so I hope you enjoy it.

Até já, Kathie.

Kathie said...

Uh-oh, Did I just post a comment for Neil/Carol HERE instead? I'm so frantic trying to prepare for my own trip that I'm not fully focusing (panic commencing to set in). Oh well... Boa viagem, Baby Chou & BB!

le moulin said...

Egads! Carol you shouldn't be going around topless!