The garlic blanched tourain
The garlic tourain is THE soup of the Périgord. It is the starting point of a traditional meal. It is the soup that was carried to the newlyweds on their wedding night. Traditionally, only their witnesses knew where they were sleeping. The guests would prepare the soup and go in search of the lovebirds. This could take most of the night. The tourain was supposed to comfort the newlyweds after their nuptials and the partygoers. The recipe is very simple. A crushed head of garlic fried in a tablespoon of duck fat. You then make a roux with a little flour and add a litre of water. The whole thing will simmer for 20 minutes. At the end of the cooking time, poach an egg white in the broth. Finally, the yolk diluted in a dash of vinegar is added off the heat. The soup is served on nice slices of stale country bread.
The pâté of Périgueux
This pâté, known since the end of the 15th century, is a serious business. Its recipe is calibrated to the gram and leaves no room for improvisation. It has even given its name to a brotherhood that perpetuates the competition for the best pâté of Périgueux. A charter guarantees the respect of the recipe: always at least a third of foie gras and truffle. This delicacy is still cooked in most families of the Périgord where the dosage of foie gras is generally much more generous! A thin layer of sausage meat is enough to line the bottom of the box and the top of the pâté, inside only well-seasoned foie gras! On top and underneath, a nice slice of truffle. It will be necessary to be patient and let it age a little after crimping and sterilization, because it will be much better if it had the time to rest a few winters. Speaking of foie gras, during your stay, you will have no trouble finding or tasting it. However, if you want to try the best, follow the "Route du Foie Gras", which brings together breeders, producers and restaurant owners who have jointly committed to the IGP (protected indication of origin). This guarantees that the livers come from the region. On the other hand, the Association Foie Gras du Périgord, created in 1993, has more than 300 members and ensures the traceability of the PGI standard. It supports the breeders, promotes their work and will offer you traditional or creative recipes, a directory of the best addresses and even a mobile application. Information on the site www.foiegras-perigord.com.
Porcini omelette
The cep is the king of autumn. It is eagerly awaited as soon as the earth blooms, because it is the guarantee of an explosion of flavours in our forests. The Périgourdins like to look for mushrooms more than reason. In season, it is a bevy of seekers scattered in the woods. Be careful however to respect the property of each one... To be sure to taste them, go to the farmers' markets in September and October. Come early, otherwise the restaurant owners will have already snapped up the best specimens. The most famous are those of Villefranche-du-Périgord and Montpazier. But new ones have appeared, in Mussidan for the Périgord Blanc and in Saint-Saud-Lacoussière for the Périgord Vert. You will find ceps in season every day after 4pm. How to taste them? Dare to eat them raw in carpaccio when they are just out of the ground, seasoned with a good walnut or hazelnut oil, for example that of the Moulin de Landry in Chantérac. When young, serve them fricasseed in goose fat or as an omelette; when older, stuffed with their own tails and sausage meat, then covered with tomato sauce and baked.
Perigueux Sauce
It is an emblematic sauce that is a perfect accompaniment to meats. It is ideally served on roast beef, but it also goes very well with a roasted or grilled duck breast. Although it is named after the capital of Périgord, not all of its ingredients are native to the city. It is a reduction of veal stock, Madeira wine and Armagnac, garnished with truffle pieces and made with butter. The smoothness of its texture is incomparable. You will find it on the menu of restaurants. Ask if it is homemade before making your choice, because the name Sauce Périgueux is often misused. You will be able to slip it into your suitcase, because it is also available in preserves, for example from the Maison Pompougnac in Rouffignac or from the Conserverie du Manoire in Fossemagne. What makes its inimitable taste is the truffle. Demand it from the Périgord. Among the thirty or so varieties of truffles, the tastiest is certainly that of the Périgord, Tubber Melanosporum. It is a botanical name, which does not guarantee its region of origin, even abroad. It leaves no one indifferent. Its fragrance is very powerful and inimitable, a delicious mixture of earth and flesh. It has the ability to perfume anything that comes into contact with it, especially eggs. Put a small truffle and six eggs in an airtight box and after two days you will be able to make scrambled eggs with truffles... without truffles, as its fragrance will have penetrated the porous shells! To be sure you are not mistaken, trust the professionals who grow and sell them on the markets during the winter season, those of Périgueux, Sarlat and the famous ones of Sorges and Saint-Alvère, among others. To sublimate it and let yourself be won over by all the complexity of its flavours, prefer it fresh on simple dishes: scrambled eggs, fresh pasta or just grated on buttered toast. Now that you know almost everything about this mysterious mushroom, imagine a nice piece of beef, drizzled with this creamy Périgueux sauce. Add a hint of grated fresh truffle to enhance the flavours... Accompany it all with the famous Sarlatan potatoes, browned and candied in duck or goose fat. Are you salivating? Let's eat!
The cheese board
No festive menu without cheese! It is served with a beautiful garden salad, a pretty frisée, or cheerful dandelions picked in spring. Two cheese jewels are a must. First of all, the Echourgnac Trappist cheese created by monks in 1868 on the model of the famous Port Salut. The local particularity of this uncooked pressed cheese made from cow's milk is that it is matured with walnut liqueur. It is a tandem that works wonderfully. You can find it in supermarkets but especially in the monastic shop of the Abbey of Echourgnac. A greedy pretext to discover this corner of the Périgord Vert which does not lack attractions. To complete the round of cheeses, here comes the small Cabécou du Périgord. Small in size, but big in taste, because depending on the degree of maturation, this goat's cheese can be very strong! Its surprising name comes from the Occitan language. To the term "cabre", the goat, one added the suffix "cou" to mark its small size. Originally, it was a popular cheese, made and consumed by housewives, a small round palate made exclusively from whole goat's milk. Since 1992, the "Cabécou du Périgord" is protected by a collective mark and a logo. Its production must meet strict specifications for breeding and manufacturing, which guarantees the quality of the finished product. Fresh, it is soft and fresh. More mature, it becomes creamy and goes through the holes of the bread. Old, it has character and is best enjoyed grated on a salad or pasta like a parmesan. We can only advise you to taste it just baked in the oven with a drizzle of honey, all runny, accompanied by a nice salad.
The walnut cake
It will often be proposed to you on the menu of the restaurants of the department. But don't be fooled, it is not as simple as it looks. It takes a good hand to make it both rich in nuts and soft in the mouth. This is why it is often served with a custard or a scoop of ice cream. Sometimes it is even covered with chocolate. It is the cake of the snack, because it is easy to transport and keeps well. As a bonus, we offer you the recipe to reproduce at home
Ingredients: 150g of walnut kernels from the Périgord, 40g of flour, 3 large eggs, 120g of caster sugar, 100g of butter, 2 tablespoons of Armagnac, 1 pinch of salt. Preparation: Finely chop the walnut kernels. Separate your sugar in 2 and mix one half with the walnut kernels and the other half with the softened butter. Mix the 2 preparations then add the eggs one by one, the salt, the flour and the armagnac. For more lightness, you can also beat the egg whites until stiff. Butter a 22 cm diameter pie tin, pour in the mixture and bake in a medium oven (Th.7/200°.C) for about 30 minutes. The cake, slightly golden, must remain soft
The cultivation of walnuts has a long tradition in Périgord. Traces of it can be found in the 11th century. But it is from the XIXth century and following the ravages left by the phylloxera that its culture becomes intensive. Like the foie gras route, there is also a walnut route in Périgord (www.noixduperigord.com). It allows you to discover a gourmet itinerary to meet the producers and their secrets, like those of the Patiente walnut in Grange d'Ans.
Wines, spirits and liqueurs
We cannot end this pantagruelian meal without mentioning the drinks. For the Perigord table to be complete, you need a walnut wine for the aperitif (to whet the appetite), then a glass of white, red or rosé wine. The merits of the department's vineyards are no longer praised: bergerac, the little brother of Bordeaux, which is undergoing a strong revival; Montbazillac, well known for its sweet wines and planted with Semillon, Sauvignon and Muscadelle; Pécharmant, which covers only 4 communes; Rosette, which is still little known and is planted on the right bank of the Dordogne; Saussignac, which is galloping along 50 hectares of gentle slopes; Montravel, with its fresh minerality; the wines of Domme, which come from the hillsides of the Céou, and all the other local wines of the Périgord. You will finish well with a small glass of plum, pear, cherry, strawberry or raspberry brandy! The distilleries Clovis Reymond in Villamblard and La Salamandre in Sarlat, offer you the opportunity to discover many specialities and liqueurs made from fruit. To these traditions, a new one has been added, that of craft beers. Breweries are springing up all over the department, and we suggest you discover all the flavours, in moderation of course.
