We went down to the Saturday morning market in Saint-Aignan yesterday. We were shopping for a rabbit that we will be cooking as our Easter dinner today. We wanted to buy it from our favorite poultry vendor, and we wanted some more asparagus from the man who comes down here from Contres to sell the white asparagus he grows near Soings-en-Sologne.
We also bought a big piece of what is called pâté de Pâques (Easter pâté) in the Loire Valley and the Berry regions. I don't know if the pâté is a regional specialty, or if people in other parts of France have the same thing at Easter. It's a puff-pastry shell filled with an herby meat stuffing and hard-boiled eggs.
I forgot to take my camera to the market, but I took a few photos of our purchases this morning. After a walk around the vineyard with Callie the collie, I'll come back and start cooking. By the way, a lot of people here raise rabbits for food, and rabbit (like chicken, turkey, and duck) is always available at good prices in the supermarkets and on the open-air markets.
The liver or foie...
...and the kidneys or rognons visible after the liver is removed
This year we decided to buy parts rather than a whole animal. For the two of us, it's plenty. We got a piece of what is called the râble, which is the "saddle" in English, like saddle of lamb. It's the back, with its two nice tenderloin pieces, and with the liver, and the kidneys attached. Those are good to eat too.
For good measure, we also bought two rabbit legs. The back legs are very meaty, and we chose those. As you can see, the meat is very white and lean. We'll be cooking the rabbit as a sweet-and-savory dish with onions and peaches. More about that tomorrow.
Rabbit... poached in cider with leeks!
ReplyDeleteJust a suggestion.... turn the liquid into a creamy sauce.
Lapin aigre-doux aux pêches et aux oignons — that's what I'm making.
DeleteAnd pâté de Paques.....yummmm! We get ours from our boulangerie... it is better than the butchers!
ReplyDeleteRabbit.sounds yummy
ReplyDeleteThis pâtè en croûte with half meat nad half boiled eggs looks fabulous.
ReplyDeleteIs it something you've ever seen in Paris? I haven't. Maybe it is a specifically berrichon concoction. The other day, I went to see Amélie for a haircut. She told me she was having 32 family members over today for Easter dinner. "Il faut que je fasse mes pâtés samedi, et des rôtis, pour être tranquille dimanche," she told me. I assume she meant pâtés de Pâques, but I didn't ask. Her family lives in Châtillon-sur-Indre, in the Berry province, and her grandfather is 90 now.
Delete32 relatives- wow! love the looks of your Easter meal. Hope you are having a good day!
DeleteNo, I have never seen that kind of pâté. Usually their section is square or rectangular, and, probably, only meat.
DeleteWhenever I come to see you both this summer, you'll have to cook for me un lapin aux pruneaux.
That is a good idea, and not hard to do. Red wine as the cooking liquid, I'd say.
DeleteLapin aux pruneaux is what they call a French classic.
DeleteLooks like you're all set for a great meal! By now, you will have enjoyed it. Happy Easter!
ReplyDeleteWhat! You ate the Easter Bunny??!
ReplyDeleteAwwww Ken, you're eating the Easter Bunny! Happy Easter!
ReplyDeleteI might be mistaken, but I don't think there is such a thing as the Easter Bunny in France, or at least when I was a kid. Chocolate bells are what I remember. Chocolate has never been my favorite, so maybe that's why!
ReplyDeleteWalt and I started cooking rabbit on Easter back in 1984. We had come back from Paris in 1982. The question of what to cook for Easter dinner came up. Easter made me think of rabbit, and I hadn't eaten rabbit since Paris. So we found rabbit somehow in Washington DC and cooked and enjoyed it. We've had rabbit for our Easter dinner every year since then.
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