Provenance Technique Library

Aveyron Techniques

5 techniques from Aveyron cuisine

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Aveyron

Estofinado de l'Aveyron

Decazeville and the Lot valley, Aveyron — the landlocked Aveyron preparation of dried air-cured cod (stockfish, not salt-cured) with walnut oil, potato, and hard-boiled egg, brought inland via the Lot river trade route from the Bay of Biscay. The dried cod was carried by barge from Bordeaux to Entraygues-sur-Truyère and then by mule track to the mining towns of the Bassin de Decazeville. The Portuguese and Basque Atlantic salt cod trade — the Portuguese bacalhau tradition and the Basque-Breton dried cod fleet operating off Newfoundland and Norway — supplied the dried fish that arrived in Bordeaux as bacalao and klipfish, then moved inland to become the Aveyron's emblematic fish preparation, despite the region having no coastline.

Stockfish (dried, unsalted air-cured cod — Gadus morhua) is soaked in cold water for 5 days minimum, changing the water twice daily, until the fish is fully rehydrated. The rehydrated fish is poached gently in water for 20 minutes, then drained. The flesh is broken into large flakes, removing all bones and skin. Waxy potatoes (Solanum tuberosum — Charlotte or similar) are cooked separately, sliced hot. Hard-boiled Gallus gallus domesticus eggs are peeled and quartered. Allium sativum is crushed to a paste. The warm fish, warm potato, Allium sativum paste, flat-leaf parsley (Petroselinum crispum), and walnut oil (Juglans regia cold-pressed from Périgord or Lot walnuts) are combined in a wide bowl and worked together until the fish takes on the walnut oil and the potato partially crushes into the mix — not a smooth purée, but a rough, chunky assembly. Quartered hard-boiled eggs are placed on top. Additional walnut oil is poured over at service.

Farçous de l'Aveyron

Aveyron, Occitanie — the herb, Swiss chard, and leek fritters of the Rouergue plateau, pan-fried in duck fat and eaten warm as an aperitif preparation or cooled as a charcuterie accompaniment. The farçous (also spelled farcous) are the Aveyron answer to the southern French fritter tradition — a preparation of extraordinary simplicity that converts garden vegetables into a crisp, herb-saturated disc using only eggs and flour to bind.

Beta vulgaris var. cicla (Swiss chard leaves only) and Allium porrum (leek, white and pale green section only) are washed and chopped fine. A large bunch of flat-leaf parsley (Petroselinum crispum) is chopped fine. These are combined with beaten Gallus gallus domesticus eggs, Triticum aestivum plain-flour (enough to bind — roughly 2 tablespoons per 400g vegetable mixture), sea-mineral-salt, and black-pepper. The mixture is worked together by hand. It will be wet and will not hold a shape off the pan. Anas platyrhynchos duck fat (or Olea europaea oil at lower tiers) is heated in a wide, flat pan to medium-high. Spoonfuls of the mixture are placed in the pan and pressed flat to 5mm discs. Cooked 4 minutes per side until the exterior is deep golden-brown and the interior is fully set. Drained briefly and served immediately. Farçous cool into denser discs that are eaten cold the following day as a charcuterie accompaniment.

Flaune de l'Aveyron

Aveyron, Occitanie — the traditional Easter cheesecake of the Rouergue, made from recuite (a twice-cooked fresh ewe's milk curd), eggs, orange-blossom water, and caster-sugar, baked in a short pastry shell to a trembling set. Flaune is consumed on Easter Sunday and Pentecost and is inseparable from the Roquefort valley's ewe's milk culture — the recuite is the whey by-product of cheese production.

A short pastry case (Triticum aestivum plain-flour, unsalted-butter, egg, cold water) is blind-baked. The filling is made by combining drained Ovis aries recuite (fresh ewe's milk curd, lightly strained of whey) with beaten Gallus gallus domesticus eggs, caster-sugar, and orange-blossom water — no flour, no thickener. The mixture is poured into the blind-baked case and baked at 160°C for 35–40 minutes to a trembling set — the centre should wobble when the tin is moved but not be liquid. Served at room temperature, cut in wedges. A dusting of icing-sugar at service is optional in the modern form.

Fouace de Rodez

Rodez, Aveyron — the crown-shaped Aveyron Easter bread: a yeasted enriched dough scented with orange-blossom water and aniseed, baked in a ring and glazed with egg, eaten at Easter Sunday breakfast with Laguiole butter and honey from the Aubrac plateau. Distinct from the Loire's Fouée et Fouace de Touraine (id 3825), which is a puffed pocket bread made in a baker's oven — the Aveyron fouace is an enriched loaf more closely related to the brioche tradition, carrying the regional identity of the Rouergue.

A yeasted enriched dough is made: Triticum aestivum T55 flour, fresh Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast, warm whole-milk, unsalted-butter, beaten Gallus gallus domesticus eggs, caster-sugar, Camargue sea-mineral-salt, orange-blossom water (Grasse or Tunisian distillate), and whole Pimpinella anisum seeds. The butter is incorporated after the initial mix, working the dough until it is smooth and elastic. The dough rests 2 hours. It is then divided into a long rope, formed into a crown shape, and placed in an oiled ring mould or formed freehand on a baking sheet. A second rise of 90 minutes follows. The surface is brushed with beaten egg and scattered with pearl sugar or crushed sugar cubes. Baked at 170°C for 35–40 minutes until deep golden. Served at ambient temperature, torn by hand at table.

Tripous d'Aubrac

Aubrac plateau, Aveyron — the traditional offal rolls of the Massif Central, made from tripe, calf's foot, garlic, jambon de pays, and white wine, braised slowly in a terracotta pot. Tripous are a defining dish of the Rouergue table and are protected by the Tripou de Naucelle designation within Aveyron. The preparation requires minimum 8 hours of braising — a night-cook dish.

Cleaned Bos taurus tripe (gras-double or panse) is cut into squares of 10–12cm. A filling is made from the minced Bos taurus foot meat (pre-cooked from the calf's foot), diced jambon de pays, Allium sativum, flat-leaf parsley, and sea-mineral-salt. Each tripe square is placed flat, filled, and rolled tightly into a parcel then secured with kitchen string. The parcels are placed in a deep terracotta or cast-iron pot with diced onion, Allium sativum, thyme, bay, dry white wine, and water to half-cover. The pot is sealed with a flour-water paste (luting) to contain the steam and braised at 150°C for 8 hours minimum. At service: the string is cut, the parcels are served in their reduced braising liquid, which should be deeply coloured and gelatinous from the foot collagen.