2 differents steps... Ratatouille is easy to make but needs time to be good.

1 - Preparation of vegetables ratatouille
2 - Crumble and cooking
1 – Ratatouille with summer vegetables
In summer, the ideal is to make a French ratatouille. The secret is to cook it a long time. Better to make a big one that you can freeze.The recipe is for 8 people.

Ingredients for 8 people 2 garlic cloves
An onion
2 peppers
2 eggplants
5 zucchini
8-9 tomatoes
Olive oil
Garlic in olive oil for 5 minutes. Peel the onion and add to garlic (15 minutes).While the onion and garlic cook. cut into small pieces peppers. Add and cok fr 15 minutes. Continue with the other vegetables (15 minutes each). Then cook over low heat for one hour (no cover). Let cool a few hours and again cook for an hour. It's done

2 - Crumble
Ingredients for 4
100g flour
50g butter
50g Grated Parmesan
Cut butter into small pieces and add to flour and grated Parmesan. Mix until small balls. Pour the ratatouille into a baking dish. Add the crumble top. Oven for 20 minutes to 7.
This winter you can do the same thing with carrots, leeks, potatoes and mushrooms ... Or any other vegetable that you will cook in the oven before proceeding.

Read it in French : Recette du crumble salé aux légumes de saison

Easy recipe.
Cooking time : 20 to 30 minutes.

Ingredients

A whole fish with thick skin (bass, sea bream, salmon ...)
Coarse salt
A trickle of olive oil

Preheat the oven (T 240°C / 8).
In a dish for the oven, place your whole fish. Add olive oil and a generous handful of salt. Bake the fish and cook according to the size of the fish (20 minutes to 30 minutes).

Once cooked, the skin comes off really easily. The fish is perfectly salted. Not bad with new potatoes.

Read it in French : Recette de poisson au gros sel au four

Everybody knows the french crêpes ! And what about the crispy dry ones ?

This crepe is extremely fine, crisp to perfection. Without preservatives or additives. Ideal for ice cream and water ice this summer.

The gavotte has changed since 1920, date of the beginning of its fame. It has different tastes : milk and dark chocolate, caramel with salted butter ...



As very often in the kitchen, the food's great discoveries are due to an error of the cook... who forgot an ingredient in the dough or cook it too long ...

The gavottes are part of those great culinary mistakes ... Here it is not a cook but a woman of Quimper, a Madame Cornic, who at the very end of the 19th century cooked too long his pancakes and the gavotte is born...

The crepe industry began at Quimper, (100 crepes an hour) in 1920. Success !! 30 years later 1500 pancakes were produced in 60 minutes. And as the success continues, a factory is created in Dinan.

Today the group Locmaria includes several brands of biscuit in Brittany. The company signed the Pact of the United Nations for sustainable development ... respect for human rights and environment. In short, a product in accordance with our planet ...

Read it in french : Gavottes ou crêpes dentelle : une spécialité bretonne

Even if China and India share 70% of the world production, three-quarters of the French production of cauliflower are grown in the North West of France, on the breton coast ... If you arrive with the ferry at Roscoff, you'll see fields of cauliflowers everywhere... Prince de Bretagne the main supplier of vegetables of the region...



Cauliflower belongs to the very, very, large cabbage family ... that have so many different colors, shapes and even sizes. Cabbage season never stops... all year long...

Origins
Asia Minor. Cabbage is a very old food already eaten by prehistoric people ... Cauliflower disappears however in Europe after the Roman time and reappeared in Italy in the late Middle Ages. In France, it is cultivated again in the 17th C. In England, a bit earlier...

Vitamins and co
This vegetable plant has many advantages: rich in vitamin C (good for healthy bones, cartilage, teeth and gums ... It also protects against infections, promotes the absorption of iron content in plants and accelerates healing. ) It was good for sailors wishing to fight against scurvy (No fresh food on boats for days...a lack of vitamin C makes you loose your teeth!).
Studies say that cauliflower is also appreciated against cancers (lung, ovary and kidney). And good for pregnant women (contents folate (vitamin B9 used for the growth and development of the fetus ...).
It is a low calorie vegetable (high content of water: 20 calories per 100 grams).

Culture and Consumption
It is an annual plant. Thanks to the mild climate of the region of Roscoff, we can eat them September to January.

How to choose a cauliflower
A fresh one will have still green water-soaked leaves and a white heart...
But ... very often, unfortunatly, the cauliflower arriving in our plates has done a long journey before ending in a saucepan of boiling water... Leaves are all dried, the white is often spotted (these are signs of decay).
However ... It is a very good food that I recommend as a dipping appetizer

Italian raw cauliflower recipe in spicy sauce

Ingredients
a cauliflower 800 g
Chopped parsley
Anchovies thinly cut
Juice of half a lemon
100g butter
Salt

For this recipe, the ideal is to have a cauliflower extremely fresh, white, with no trace of passing time ...
Remove leaves, divide the clumps of cabbage and soak in salted water.
In a saucepan, melt butter, add anchovies that you've previously cut into thin slices and parsley. After a few minutes, remove from heat.
Drain the cauliflower florets and arrange in a dish, pour sauce and lemon juice.
Serve as appetizer ...

Read this article in French : Le chou-fleur de Bretagne

Cauliflower is mainly Breton in France: 75% of the French production comes from the North coast of Brittany, also called the golden belt.
If you're touring by there, you'll see signs: Prince de Bretagne (the main supplier of cauliflowers here) has many partners that deals with their vegetables : restaurants, shops... And probably those you get over the Channel come from here and are send by the Brittany Ferries from Roscoff.

Caulyflower has a second name Cyprus cabbage... because... even if it was known during the Roman time, the culture of the vegetable declined and disapeared until the late Middle Ages... It was brought back probably from Cyprus and called then coleworts Cyprus.

West of France today dominates the French market ... There are also varieties of purple or orange.
Cauliflower can be eaten from September to January. It is a good autumn vegetable, ideal for weight watchers (full of water, low in calories and rich in vitamin C and B9, the famous folate for pregnant women).

Cooking
Cabbage is not appreciated by everybody ... Because some people don't supporter well, they suffer from flatulence ...
Well, you have two solutions:
- Growing it in the garden, collect and eat it the same day ... It won't bother you...
- The second, for almost anyone, is to cook your cabbage in two waters. It will be more digestible. And to keep it white, add lemon to the cooking water.

Conservation
You can eat the leaves of cauliflower. Cut them into small pieces for the same cooking time as the cabbage.
These recipes are possible with cabbage or broccoli Romanesco or both.
My great grand father was Italian... I do like these two ways of eating it but they're unusual... Italian cuisine...



Baked Italian meal with Cauliflower

It is a sort of gratin made with an olive oil bechamel with thyme.

Ingredients
1 medium cauliflower
Butter
Crumbs
100g grated cheese

For the sauce

3 tablespoons flour
2 cups cooking water
5 tablespoons olive oil
Thyme (1 tablespoon dried thyme or a little less fresh)
Salt
Cut leaves, wash the cabbage and separate the bunches. Let it boil in salted water. If you are cooking with two waters, the second (5 to 10 minutes depending on cabbage) for a cooking al dente.
Cook it in butter.
Meanwhile, prepare sauce. Warm the oil. Remove from heat, mix the flour, cooking water, a pinch of salt and thyme. It's a sort of bechamel sauce.
When the sauce is homogeneous, pour over the cauliflower. Sprinkle with grated cheese and some breadcrumbs.
Bake for 20 minutes at 6 (180 °) until a beautiful golden crust.

Italian cooking : cauliflower with olives and provolone

Ingredients
1 cauliflower (good size)
150 g provolone (Italian cheese)
100 grams of black olives
1 onion
1 glass red wine
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Toast

Wash and separate cauliflower parts.
Cut into thin slices provolone and onion.
Pit the olives and cut them into pieces.
Put in a saucepan with oil, onion, a layer of cabbage, some slices of provolone and pieces of olives. Spice with salt and pepper.
Repeat with remaining ingredients. Sprinkle with oil and add the diluted wine with a glass of water.
Put the saucepan on the stove and cook over low heat for an hour. Avoid cooking too fast. If during the cooking liquid has evaporated add boiling water. Cauliflower should be tender.
Serve with toasted bread and a salad of beans and julienne carrots.

Read this post in French : Deux recettes à base de choux-fleurs au four ou à la casserole

The area around Guérande (gwen = white in Breton and rann = countries) has been known since the dawn of time, for the salt activity. For centuries even milleniums, salt has been THE mean of food preservation.

- Since when?
- Where?
- How does it work?
- Natural Process?
- Why do we see colourful marshes?
- Harvesting
- Fleur de sel and cooking salt
- Visit the saltmarshes

Since when?
Long before the construction of those salt marshes, we go back to the Iron Age..., another technique was used for the production of sea salt…
Sand or clay salt was collected during the summer and « washed » to extract a highly concentrated brine. It was then poured into pots and heated in clay oven until crystallization of salt. This technique was widespread throughout the Armorican coast, it even led to a deforestation.

The current saltmarshes began before the 9th century and lasted for several centuries. Around the year 1500, the marshes reached 80% of the current surface. The latest were built around 1800. In the middle of 19th century, a gradual decline started for different reasons : competition from the salt mine, lower consumption of salt as a product of conservation and improvement of transport by land.
The salt of Guérande used to be trade throughout Brittany, tax free until Napoleon. The Emperor decided to tax it and it was the beginning of the decline of salt activity. And the last attack came with the refrigerator in the 70’s.

But never say never… as we say in French. The amateurs of Guérande little by little, with energy and enthusiasm will help the activity to recover. They created a training course and a cooperative to promote quality with a label (the french Label rouge). Today around 250 workers live on the salt marshes.

Where ?
Until recently, the whole region was a large salt marsh. But the coastal villages Le Pouliguen and La Baule soon preferred buildings and tourism as the salt activity. There are still 2,000 hectares for the production.

How it works?
The principle is simple. Channels that feeds the water reservoirs with sea water using the tides. Salty water will evaporate in different dams till there are only a few centimeters of seawater left. That is the last step, where the salt crystallizes and produces the fleur de sel and coarse salt.



Natural process?
Yes, sea, sun and wind !!! And the know-how of the workers.
It is a 100% natural product from a listed site! explains Ronan Loison, director of Terre de Sel. Unlike refined salts, the one from Guérande undergoes no washing, no chemical treatment or additives. After harvest, it is just sifted, milled and packaged.

Why do we see colourful marshes?
Red micro-organisms and algae live in seawater.



Harvesting?
The harvest (12,000 tons of salt per year) takes place from June to September. Here are salt granaries from yesterday



and today ...



The rest of the time, you must maintain the marshes.

Fleur de sel and cooking salt
The cooking salt is most of the harvest. If it is gray, it still contains a hint of earthy substance. The best for chefs is the flower of salt.. These few kilo are harvested and collected separately. For 12,000 kg of gray salt, you’ll get 80 kg of fleur de sel!

Visit the salt marshes?
First of all because it is an exceptional heritage (listed since 1996). Then because it is beautiful, yes it is ! Also because you’ll discover nice animals and flora. And finally, to understand better how salt is produced.

In the village of Saillé, former village of salt, the maison des paludiers is a museum. There is also one at Batz sur Mer. At Guérande Terre de Sel, the cooperative, offers guided tours of the marsh. And in La Turballe visits are made in carriage. (00 33 //(0)6.26.45.25.58 )



Read it in French : Les marais salants (salines) de Guérande

Looking for an original and unusual getaway in Northern France ... Off season, of course, because you want it to be nice and quiet ... Try the Mont Saint Michel !
Like stones, hiking and local specialities ... Go to the Mont Saint Michel
You are a follower of marathons and want to do one in France... the Mont Saint Michel !
Or looking to retire in an outstanding place... The Mont Saint Michel!



That place is located between Brittany and Normandy ... Easy to reach from the UK... Take a Ryanair flight to Dinard and then rent a car or take the ferry to Saint Malo and drive…

Do you want to begin with the gourmet side of the place ? Or the walks in the bay or want to know everything about that marathon…

I’ll deal first with the French gastronomy… and the culinary specialties… Just to make you drool ... We can say that there are four good reasons to stop and eat in the corner.
The bay is famous for its mussel farm… and its seafood dishes…
If you scan the bay, you'll see lots of oak piles driven into the sand, covered with ropes where mussels cling. The posts are covered by the tides. Wild mussels also grow naturally on rocks. The bay provides nearly one quarter of the French production.

To stay in the molluscs'field, you can also make a stop in Cancale for its fresh oysters. This aquaculture practice is an old tradition as the oysters from Cancale were already known in Versailles, the Royal Palace during the 18th C.
You can taste and enjoy the shellfish at the port of Cancale (stands outdoor offer to try different types of oysters). You eat, seated on the front, facing the sea and smelling the spray… It’s really nice.

The lamb (agneau de pré-salé literally a lamb raised in a salted meadow) is a specialty of the bay. The young lamb tastes very special: it grazes in the field that are covered by the tides and where the vegetation is, therefore, salty... The meat has a very special flavor and is very sought because they are just to be found here in the bay ...

I can finish this gastronomical journey by a legend, that of Madame Poulard and her famous omelet ... A taste of the Mont ...
This lady was famous for her restaurant during the 19th C, with an original omelet cooked over a wood fire. Even then, the pilgrims liked to stop there and now the famous preparation is always a specialty of the rock Mont Saint Michel. Quite expensive too !

And walks

There are great walks to do in Mont Saint Michel... or rather in the bay of Mont Saint Michel ...
A nice way to discover both Normandy and Brittany as the bay homes the two regions... But be very careful and never, ever do it alone and by yourself…...

The bay of Mont Saint Michel is really dangerous and that for various reasons:
The tides have a very large amplitude. The bay is extremely flat, the sea comes in quickly on the sand and surprises the visitor. Especially since the sand is treacherous: it consists on a sediment of limestone, silt and clay (that was used as fertilizer before) ... that is solidified at low tide and which "becomes quicksand" when it is again waterlogged (my explanation is not very scientific but the danger is real). You can cross the bay at low tide but always well guided. It's really worth it. The experience is unforgettable.

Nearby, the grass meadows are also a wintering site for waders and are a classified site of national interest since 1982.

The legend says that the bay was long ago (2000 years), covered with a wood forest called Scissy ... I stopped there because it is a myth ... But I can add a bit of geophysics. The bay is over 500 m2 and there are two large rocks: Mont Saint Michel and Tombelaine. The first, granite, is a 900 meter diameter by 80 meters in height.
It houses the Marvel. Its bell tower, made by Fremiet in 1897 and renovated in 1987, represents St. Michael slaying the dragon and gave the Mount its 157 meters high.
The second, Tombelaine, was occupied and fortified by the British in the 15th C, and is today just a rock with no remains.

For those who like to run…the marathon du Mont Saint Michel is a good excuse and a great way to explore the region ... It is a tough race but that brings together thousands of joggers every year since 1997 during a weekend (May 8th). They say it is hard because you see the arrival for miles ...

Finally for those who want the rest and the contemplation, Mont Saint Michel organizes retreats in the abbey. A magnificent site to discover from the inside.

Read it in French : Gastronomie et randonnée dans la baie du Mont Saint Michel : un vrai marathon