Last year I cooked my way through the Tour De France, this year I plan on doing the same, but decided I couldn't wait until July so I picked a few of the stage races that precede the Tour to warm up and have an excuse to make some more great French fair.
today was the start of the "Race to the Sun" also known as the Paris-Nice cycling race. Some say it is the first official stage race of the year. The race is in France and that is all I need. The first stage is actually not in Paris but just one hour outside of Paris in the city of Amilly in the Loiret area of the Centre region of the Loire Valley.
I have been researching the Loire Valley and the food and cuisine of the area for the last 3 weekends and feel pretty confidant knowing what the "Garden of France" is all about. Chateauxs, Mushrooms and Vouvray are justsome of the wonderful things you will find there. The great Loire river, the longest river in France rises from the sea and travels upland through Anjou, Torraine, Blesois, Orleanais, Berry, Loire-Atlantique, Vendee and North of the Loire areas. Each with there own distinct differences that make of this amazing region of France.
But for Stage #1 the will start and end just outside of Montargis in the town of Amilly. Stop in Montgaris on the way to Amilly from Paris and make sure to stop and get some Pralines at the Maison de la Prasline at 45 Place Mirabeau. Clement Jaluzot, chef to Louis XIII and Louis XIV combined two delicacies that were very rare and expensive in the 17th Century, almonds and sugar and roasted them in a pan over the fire. The caramelized sugar created a hard sweet shell and were loved by all and were called Praslines after the Duc de Plessis-Praslin a 17th century ladies man. Jaluzot later left the employ of his masters and settled in the town of Montargis and opened a shop to sell the Pralines. In 1902 the shop was purchased and is still owned to this day by the same family where the original recipe is still produced.
For dinner tonight I decided on a fish dish, keeping with the river Loire theme, Saumon de Loire. Although my salmon was not from the Loire region I can't really call it de Loire, but I take poetic license there. The Salmon was paired with thinly sliced radishes, laid on a sauce of creme fraiche and lemon and surrounded by more radishes. It was light and lovely and the radishes around the edge created a ribbon like decoration.
Along with the Saumon de Loire I made the Aspereges et Champignon a la Creme D'Estragon from Anne Willan. It looks like it would be rich and heavy but the Asparagus were cooked to perfect (if I would say so myself) and the the tarragon mushroom cream was lightened with some lemon juice that gave it a lighter and lovely taste.