5 amazing delicacies to try in France
Asparagus
White, green or purple, asparagus are famous for their slightly sweet taste and must be eaten from tip to tail. Grown in the Loire Valley, Alsace, Landes or Provence regions, all varieties are harvested from the end of February until the end of May.
Asparagus is a delicate vegetable and you should avoid overcooking it as it will lose some of its essential nutrients. They can be used in a wide variety of dishes including soup, omelette, salad…, however deep in a light hollandaise sauce with freshly sliced chives from the garden it definitively a memorable experience. This healthy and crunchy veggie is something you should definitely try to eat during your French journey and if not for health reasons, at least for the mere curiosity of experiencing its unique taste.
Tropezienne tart
Tarte flambée/flammkuchen
If Alsace is famous for its traditions (Christmas markets, gastronomy, architecture, world-class wines) there is one dish you should try and which deserve a trip, it’s the flammkuchen which make everyone happy!
All the year around, but especially in winter, Alsatians make flammkuchen, a very thin bread dough covered with a thick layer of fresh cream with lardons and uncooked onion rings. Then all it needs is a good blackening above a flame so that it is lightly grilled. Paired with an artisan local beer or a glass of dry Riesling wine and you will “tutoyer les étoiles” (navigate into the stars).
Belon oysters
Niçoise Salad
Salad always made with raw vegetables, it must be the finest summer salad of all!
Ingredients:
- Canned tuna – Yep, good ol’ canned tuna!
- Boiled eggs
- Black olives White onion or spring onion
- Artichoke
- Baby cos lettuce
- Green capsicum or cucumber
- Tomatoes
- Basil
- Garlic
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Flakes of salt pepper
There are no hard and fast rules about what goes in Nicoise salad, however, never use potatoes, boiled vegetables or vinegar!
Green Provencal asparagus
Tropezienne tart
A beautiful combination of brioche and a subtle cream with orange blossom flavour!
It is in the fishing village of Saint-Tropez in the Var regions that “The Tropézienne” was created in 1955. At the time, the filmmaker Roger Vadim made the movie Et Dieu… créa la femme (And God Created Woman), with Brigitte Bardot. Polish confectioner Alexandre Micka, a pâtisserie owner in Saint-Tropez, where he moved after the war was in charge to feed the movie crew and its tart became so popular that Bardot decided to call it The Tropézienne.
A splendid and unique tast!
Flammkuchen tart
Brittany oysters
An emblem of Brittany, oysters and seafood are in this West French region truly one-of-a-kind. In the south of Brittany, on the banks of the small Belon river, oysters take advantage of this ideal mixture of fresh and salt water for the growth and refinement of its oysters. Whether Plates du Belon known the world over for its delicate flesh and subtle nutty flavour, fines de Bretagne little bit more mineral they benefit from an exceptional natural environment.
Oysters are generally served plain, seasoned with lemon or a red wine vinegar and shallots freshly diced.
Adding lemon or shallots is not necessarily bad, but if you taste three or four different kinds it can be hard to appreciate their delicate flavours.
Nicoise salad