The garlic blanched tourain
Garlic tourain is THE Périgord soup. It marks the beginning of a traditional meal. It was brought to the newlyweds on their wedding night. Tradition dictated that only their witnesses knew where they slept. The guests prepared the soup and set off in search of the lovebirds. This could take most of the night. The tourain was supposed to comfort the newlyweds after their nuptial frolics, as well as the partygoers. The recipe is very simple. A crushed head of garlic is fricasseed in a tablespoon of duck fat. Then make a roux with a little flour and add a liter of water. Simmer for 20 minutes. At the end of the cooking time, poach an egg white in the stock. Then, off the heat, add the yolk diluted in a dash of vinegar. Serve the soup on slices of stale farmhouse bread.
The pâté of Périgueux
This pâté, known since the late 15th century, is serious business. Its recipe, calibrated to the gram, leaves no room for improvisation. It has even given its name to a brotherhood that perpetuates the competition for the best pâté in Périgueux. A charter guarantees respect for the recipe: always at least one third foie gras and truffle. This delicacy is still cooked in most Périgord families, where the proportion of foie gras is generally much more generous! A thin layer of sausage meat is all you need to line the bottom of the tin and the top of the pâté, while the inside is all well-seasoned foie gras! Top and bottom, a fine slice of truffle. You'll need to be patient and let it age a little after crimping and sterilization, as it'll taste much better if it's had time to rest for a few winters. Speaking of foie gras, you'll have no trouble finding or tasting it during your stay. However, if you'd like to try the very best, follow the "Route du Foie Gras", which brings together breeders, producers and restaurateurs, all of whom have signed up to the IGP (Protected Geographical Indication) scheme. This is your guarantee that the foie gras comes from the terroir. On the other hand, the Association Foie Gras du Périgord, created in 1993, has over 300 members and ensures the traceability of the PGI standard. It supports breeders, promotes their work and offers traditional and creative recipes, a directory of the best addresses and even a mobile application. For more information, visit www.foiegras-perigord.com.
Porcini omelette
The cep is the king of autumn. It's eagerly awaited as soon as the earth blooms, guaranteeing an explosion of flavor in our forests. Périgourdins love to seek out mushrooms more than they should. In season, it's a bevy of seekers scattered across the woods. But be careful to respect everyone's property... To be sure of tasting them, visit the farmers' markets in September and October. Come early, otherwise the restaurateurs will already have snapped up the finest specimens. The most famous are those in Villefranche-du-Périgord and Montpazier. But new ones have sprung up in Mussidan for the Périgord Blanc and Saint-Saud-Lacoussière for the Périgord Vert. You'll find ceps in season every day after 4pm. How to eat them? Dare to eat them raw in carpaccio when they've just popped out of the ground, seasoned with a good walnut or hazelnut oil, such as that from Moulin de Landry in Chantérac. When young, serve them fricasseed in goose fat or as an omelet; when older, stuff them with their own tails and sausage meat, then cover with tomato sauce and bake in the oven.
Perigueux Sauce
This emblematic sauce is the perfect accompaniment to any meat dish. It's ideal on roast beef, but also goes well with roast or grilled duck breast. Although it's named after the capital of Périgord, not all its ingredients originate there. It's a reduction of veal stock, Madeira wine and Armagnac, topped with truffle bits and butter. Its creamy texture is incomparable. You'll find it on restaurant menus. Ask whether it's homemade before making your choice, as the name Sauce Périgueux is often overused. You can also pack it in your suitcase, as it is also available in canned form, for example from Maison Pompougnac in Rouffignac or Conserverie du Manoire in Fossemagne. What gives it its inimitable taste is the truffle. Demand it from Périgord. Among the thirty or so varieties of truffle, the tastiest is certainly the Périgord variety, Tuber Melanosporum. It's a botanical appellation that in no way guarantees its region of origin, even abroad. It leaves no one indifferent. Its fragrance is powerful and inimitable, a delicious blend 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 2 days, you'll be able to make scrambled eggs with truffles... without truffles, since the perfume will have penetrated the porous shells! To be sure, trust the professionals who grow and sell them at winter markets, including Périgueux, Sarlat and the famous Sorges and Saint-Alvère. To make the most of its complex flavors, try 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... Serve with the famous Sarlat potatoes, browned and candied in duck or goose fat. Are you salivating? Let's eat!
The cheese board
No festive menu without cheese! Serve it with a garden salad, a pretty frisée, or dandelions picked in spring. Two cheese jewels are a must. First, Trappe d'Echourgnac, a Trappist cheese created by monks in 1868 on the model of the famous Port Salut. The local speciality of this pressed, uncooked cheese made from cow's milk is that it is matured in walnut liqueur. It's a tandem that works wonders. You'll find it in supermarkets, but especially in the monastic store at Echourgnac Abbey. A gourmet excuse to discover this attractive corner of the Périgord Vert. To complete the round of cheeses, here comes the little Cabécou du Périgord. Small in size, but big in taste: depending on the degree of ripening, this goat's cheese can be very powerful! Its surprising name comes from the Occitan language. To the word "cabre", meaning goat, the suffix "cou" has been added to denote its small size. Originally, it was a popular cheese, made and eaten by housewives, a little round palate made exclusively from whole goat's milk. Since 1992, Cabécou du Périgord has been protected by a collective trademark and logo. Its production must comply with strict farming and manufacturing specifications, which guarantee the quality of the finished product. Fresh, it is soft and fresh. As it matures, it becomes creamy and slips through the holes in the toast. Older, it has character and can be enjoyed shaved over salad or pasta, like Parmesan. We'd also recommend enjoying it just baked in the oven, with a drizzle of honey, all runny and accompanied by a fine salad.
The walnut cake
You'll often find it on the menu of local restaurants. But make no mistake, it's not as simple as it looks. It takes a lot of skill to make it both rich in nuts and soft in the mouth. That's why it's often served with a custard or a scoop of ice cream. Sometimes it's even topped with chocolate. It's the perfect snack cake, because it's easy to transport and keeps well. As a bonus, we've included a recipe you can reproduce at home.
Ingredients: 150g Noix du Périgord kernels, 40g flour, 3 large eggs, 120g caster sugar, 100g butter, 2 tablespoons Armagnac, 1 pinch salt. Preparation: Finely chop the walnut kernels. Separate your sugar into 2 and mix one half with the walnuts and the other half with the softened butter. Then mix the 2 preparations together, adding the eggs one by one, salt, flour and Armagnac. For a lighter texture, you can also beat the egg whites until stiff. Butter a 22 cm-diameter tart tin, pour in the mixture and bake in a medium oven (Th.7/200°.C) for around 30 minutes. The cake should be lightly browned, but above all remain moist.
Walnut growing has a long tradition in Périgord. Traces of walnut cultivation date back to the 11th century. But it was only in the 19th century, following the ravages of phylloxera, that walnut cultivation became intensive. Like the foie gras route, the Périgord region also boasts the Route de la Noix (www.noixduperigord.com). This is a gourmet itinerary where you can meet producers and discover their secrets, such as those of the Patiente walnut at Grange d'Ans.
Wines, spirits and liqueurs
We can't end this pantagruelian meal without mentioning the beverages. For the Perigord table to be complete, you need a walnut wine for the aperitif (to whet the appetite), followed by a glass of white, red or rosé wine. The merits of the department's vineyards are no longer vaunted: bergerac, Bordeaux's little brother, is enjoying a strong revival; Montbazillac, well known for its sweet wines and planted with Semillon, Sauvignon and Muscadelle; Pécharmant, covering just 4 communes; Rosette, still little-known and planted on the right bank of the Dordogne; Saussignac, galloping along 50 ha of gentle slopes; Montravel, with its fresh minerality; Domme wines from the Céou hillsides; and all the other vins de pays of Périgord. And don't forget to finish off with a glass of plum, pear, cherry, strawberry or raspberry eau-de-vie! The Clovis Reymond distillery in Villamblard and the Salamandre distillery in Sarlat offer you the opportunity to discover a wide range of fruit-based specialties and liqueurs. To these traditions, we've added a new one: craft beers. Breweries are springing up all over the department. We invite you to discover all the flavours, in moderation of course.
