Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Daily markets in the Loire

My wife & I spend 2 months vacationing in France almost every year. We stay in Gites, and the following recipes are the first two dinners we prepare.

Gite Chicken:
1 Roast Chicken – do not refrigerate it after bringing it home from the market
1 ½ cups Crème Fraiche Epaisse (Crème Fresh – thick)
1 ½ Tbs Moutarde a l’Ancienne – Dijon Mustard – we like the Maille brand
Grated Tomme de Savoie hard cheese from the market

Reheat the room-temp chicken for 30 mins at 250 F/125C
Mix other ingredients in a sauce pan till the cheese melts – do not overheat, or it will become too watery
S&P

Cut up chicken into quarters, and pour sauce over it

Magret de Canard with Cassis sauce

For 2 people

5/8 cup Sirop/Syrup de Cassis. This is very hard to find in the US. In France every market has it. It is not the Creme de Cassis that's alcoholic. The Syrup is non-alcoholic and you can probably find it in the section of the store that has Coke, 7-up, etc. It comes in a 750 ML or 1 liter container that is either glass or metal. Cassis is also known as Blackcurrent syrup. There are other flavors of syrup - peach, Blackberry, etc.

1/2 Cup Red wine vinegar

1 Cup Normandie Cream "Entiere" (full fat). This is not normally found in the refrigerated section of the store. It comes in a container that is just a little fatter than a pack of cigarettes. It has a red (or it may be blue) plastic screw top & is often shrink-wrapped in a set of 2 to 4 containers per. It does not need refrigeration, until it is opened. You'll probably need 2 containers to get 1 cup (use the rest in your coffee).

2 Magrets You will probably have some left over. For 4 people, we buy 3 magrets. In groceries, they are usually found in the refrigerated section next to the chickens. Some are larger than others. Get the larger ones. Sometimes they are packaged 2 to a "shrink-wrap". Most outdoor markets in the Dordogne will have them also.

Pour the Cassis & Vinegar into a sauce pan & reduce to 1/2 Cup. Don't reduce it too much or it will turn into hard candy (this happened to me once).

Score the skin of the Magret with a knife - making 2 sets if diagonal cuts 1 inch apart. This will give you diamond shapes in the middle of the duck. Do not cut through to the meat - just barely cut the skin. Salt & pepper both sides.

Heat a non-stick skillet/saute pan to med hot

Put the Magret on the skillet, skin side down. You do not need cooking oil - the fat will be rendered enough to make the oil. Cook 7-8 minutes on the skin side. If you get a real fat magret, you may need 9 minutes. If you are not using a non-stick skillet, move the magret around every 1-2 minutes to make sure it does not stick. You will probably have to remove the skillet from the heat mid-way through cooking to drain the duck fat from the skillet.

Turn the magret over & cook 4-5 minutes on the flesh side. Add another minute if the magret is large. It will plump up quite a bit while cooking.

Remove the magret, keep warm by covering with a plate or tin foil, and get all the fat out of the pan & wipe the pan clean with a paper towel.

Return the pan to the flame & pour in the cream & reduce to 1/2 cup.

Pour the reduced Cassis/vinegar into the pan with the cream & whisk a bit to blend. Reduce a tad if it's too thin.

Cut the magrets into 5/8 inch slices, put on plate, and spoon the cassis sauce over the top.

Temp Conversion
F C Hob
300 149 2
325 162 3
350 177 4
375 190 5
400 204 6
425 218 7

Stu Dudley