August Company

When is a Gascon farmhouse like a Parisian railroad station?

Gare de Nord, Paris

When the house buzzes with August comings and goings, I get a whiff of nostalgia for all the august gatherings with friends and family over the years.

The Gare de Nord in Paris is a long way from Camont. It’s the busiest train station in all of Europe, while Camont is hours away on a sleepy country lane a couple of miles from the closest village and seems crowded when we are just 4 or 6 people. But I told someone this morning that Camont is like the Gare de Nord at the end of the August Holidays. The kitchen has a revolving door that boosts people out as quickly as it invites them in; the tables are set and reset for coffee, then lunches, then suppers. Tables are plural as we chase the shade and shelter from the strong sun from the kitchen window to the awning-covered terrace, the umbrella-ed patio, and a tree-shaded lawn. And what is cooking for all these meals? And guess who is cooking?

Summer hats at the Market= Tourists

For me, it’s less about the recipes and more about what we bought, how much we bought, what was in the fridge, and what we were going to cook from the market. Yesterday’s market shop at Lavardac was elbow to elbow with locals hauling loaded baskets while French tourists in funny hats stumbling under the intense Gascon sun. Too many people brought their unruly dogs, and those new to market shopping were finding their way on which end of the stand the line formed. This is what I bought and brought home:

• Three beautiful eggplants for breading and frying, and drizzling with honey

• No courgettes

• 2 kilos of mixed onions- pink, white, and yellow

• 2 slices of pâté- Grand-mère, Espelette, and some stuffed rolled ventrêche

• Some fresh sausage meat for stuffing tomatoes

• A dozen Roma tomatoes for stuffing with the sausage (plus a chopped onion, some spices, and some rice to soak up the juices)

• A couple of kilos of white nectarines

• Two boxes of sweet strawberries and two boxes of raspberries for a bright sorbet

• Some pastries and bread

• Three liters of raw milk and lots of yogurts.

With a full basket of potatoes, haricots verts, and Swiss chard from the garden, that should see us through the weekend. I still have a freezer full of pork from April’s charcuterie class- confited spare ribs on the menu with some apricot bbq sauce I made after I scorched the bottom of the jam pot. 

Les Prunes d’Ente

And now for a little peek at next month! I’ve been invited to be an honored guest on the new Gueuleton television series to be filmed here in September.

I’ve known Vincent and Arthur since they were in short pants (or does it just seem that way?); we cooked and celebrated many a raucous meal here at Camont and in their local (Agen and Nerac) Wine and Charcuterie bars. The Gueuleton Empire has expanded across France with its beret-toting, Armagnac-swilling swagger, and it all begins here in Gascony and in the Lot-et-Garonne and Gers. 

Here’s an earlier video we shot at Camont. I hope you enjoy it!

Next month, I’ll be making the ‘G’ crew a version of a Gascon Croustade with pruneaux from a neighbor’s orchards. If you want to try it, find the best plumpest prunes, soak them in red wine or why not use fresh plums at this time of year?

Croustade aux Pruneaux

Recipe testing notes:

The “G” guys asked me to prepare and bake a Croustade aux Pruneaux for thirty guests— a specialty of the region that features a flaky, buttery rough-puff pastry layered with a thin, thin, rich fruit filling— either apples or prunes—and usually flavored with Armagnac or rum. I often make one for family and friends and always teach them in my classes. Today I wanted to incorporate lard into the recipe, so I did a sample tart of the rough puff with half butter and half lard. Oops! I wouldn’t call it a complete disaster since it tasted so delicious, but the crumbly and tender texture of the lard did not lend itself to the folding and structure needed for the simple puff pastry.  So while I ladled on an extra spoon of creme fraîche to disguise the crumbling pastry, I decided to stick to my original tried and true all-butter pastry for the TV program.

For the filling, I used some of our fabulous locally produced Pruneaux d’Agen from the Ferme Roques, just up the road a couple of kilometers in Serignac-Sur-Garonne. Soft enough to pull apart and remove the stone, they remain deep golden yellow inside with dark purple skins. I sprinkle a generous measure of Armagnac that has been steeping with fresh vanilla pods for several weeks. The soft sweet texture begged for nothing more; no added sugar was necessary. I rolled a thinner circle for the top crust, brushed with egg and sugar, which forms a shiny glaze, and baked it in a hot oven (200°C/415°F) for 25 minutes; I then finished it with a generous sprinkle of pine nuts and more sugar for a final 5-10 minutes. So a total of 30-35 minutes to bake. 

Prunes doused with Vanilla-scented Armagnac

Recipe: Croustade aux Pruneaux

Rough Puff Pastry- enough for a large 30 cm tart pan

• 300g all-purpose flour

• 300g butter, chilled and chopped into rough pieces

• pinch of salt

• tablespoon of sugar

• One egg

Combine and measure the flour and butter with all the ingredients in a bowl. Work by hand just until the dough is ragged, shaggy and various chunks of butter are stuck together.

Pat into a rectangle on a well-floured board and roll out about 2 cm or 1/2 inch thick, keeping a long rectangle form. Fold the pastry in thirds, turn a quarter turn, and roll out again. Continue two to three more times. The pastry dough will now be smoother, but streaks of butter will be visible. Divide the last rectangle into 1/3 and 2/3 parts rolling the larger part for the bottom and the smaller part for the top.

Filling-

• 500g or 1 lb soft prunes or ripe fresh plums, pitted and torn in halves.

• A glass of Armagnac and a couple of vanilla beans (I leave my vanilla beans soaking in a half bottle of alcohol.)

Sprinkle the Armagnac over the torn prune pieces in a bowl, letting the vanilla pods stay in the mixture until ready to use. Usually, the time it takes for me to make the pastry.

Topping-

• One egg

• several tablespoons of sugar

• a few tablespoons of pine-nuts

After rolling out the pastry, spreading the prunes in a thin layer across the bottom, and placing the top crust over the surface, I brush the beaten egg over the surface and sprinkle generously with sugar—Bake in a hot oven (200°C/415°F) for 25 minutes. Add the pine nuts and additional sugar and bake another 10 minutes until the bottom crust is thoroughly cooked and browned. Serve with creme fraîche or ice cream.