Every Sunday, Vanessa Zha and Marion Sauveur take us on a gourmet weekend and deliver their favorite addresses.
Ski-in ski-out after hitting the snow-covered slopes of the Eastern Pyrenees, Vanessa Zha and Marion Sauveur come to tell us about their journey in the Pyrenees-Orientales.
We were in the heart of the Domaine des Neiges Catalanes, just an hour from Perpignan. Font-Romeu is the best known and the largest resort in the area. It was born in 1913 when the Société des Chemins de Fer simultaneously built the Grand Hotel and the line of the legendary little Yellow Train to transport customers. But it's not just Font-Romeu, there are also Les Angles, and above all four other small village resorts including Formiguères (which means anthill in Catalan) which has a certain little cachet.
The advantage of the Pyrenees is that they are alpine ski resorts, but without the crowds of the Alps, on a human scale, and with snow. Gloria has been there especially this year. Another advantage is that you can also go cross-country skiing, snowshoeing right next to it on a plateau. It's flat like Norway, that's why it's called the northern Capcir area. And this corner there is a small end of the world all white, peaceful, wild, with only small villages and farms, which welcome you to taste good cheeses.
And it is in this corner that we find the famous hot sulfur waters?
Indeed, there are warm waters in which you can bathe, de-stress. You can choose: the Llo baths, the Dorres baths, but my favorites are the Saint-Thomas baths in Fontpédrouse. This is where the water is warmest (it gushes at 58 degrees) and the setting is exceptional. We paddle at the foot of an amphitheater, which does not happen every day. Speaking of monuments, stones, take a look at the citadel of Mont-Louis which dates from 1659, when the Pyrénées-Orientales became French thanks to the Treaty of the Pyrenees, Louis XIV and Vauban wanting to protect his border with Spain . And then while we're in Mont-Louis, we take the opportunity to jump in the little yellow train, it takes us to the tallest and smallest train station in the world: Latour-de-Carol.
What accommodation do you recommend?
The secret chalets in Bolquère: old alpine granaries transformed into very cozy chalets. And in Les Angles: guest rooms in a very designer boutique hotel called "4youlodge". Breakfast is to die for: the local products are organic and we have a view of the lake.
What is the specialty to taste after enjoying the Pyrenean peaks?
This is a specialty that can be tasted throughout the department: Ouillade. It is the Catalan hotpot that we will find under the name of garbure in Béarn or rouzole in Ariège. It is a peasant dish that cooks in a large cast-iron pot: the hatch on the chimney.
The recipe was born in the mas. It was done as the week went by. We put in the bottom pieces of the pig and the vegetables from the garden before adding the broth and cooking everything. Today, we do it in cast iron casseroles on the fire. It is a family dish.
What is the recipe?
There is not really a standard recipe, but there are many variations. Each family has their own recipe and tips. The base is always composed of pieces of pig, with potatoes and cabbage. Then you can add the seasonal vegetables to make a tasty broth, such as carrots, leek or celery. Near the Spanish border, we put white beans and chickpeas. This is what will bring binder to this soup. But you have to let them soak at least one night before. In Spain, it is downright pasta or rice that is cooked. Others in the valley add pearl barley.
We start by cooking the meat, before adding the vegetables with broth. It should be cooked very slowly so that the meat is candied, it disintegrates in the broth, that it is very tasty. We add a piece of ham to the bone, or a little rancid bacon, the sagi. We do not forget the ears and the pig's foot. It has to cook well for three hours. And a quarter of an hour before the end of cooking: we add the black pudding. We cover, and it's ready. All you have to do is serve on a deep plate, especially to have meat, vegetables and broth. It's between the soup and the stew. The mixture of all these flavors really makes it a gourmet and exceptional dish, but really invigorating. And like all dishes of this type, it is better reheated.
Do you have good addresses to taste this ouillade?
If you pass near Font-Romeu, I advise you to go to the chef François Will at La chaumière. He cooks the family recipe, which his grandmother and mother passed on to him. He also cooks it in his restaurant on the slopes: Le bistrot de la Calme. If you are there, the day he cooks it, you will see his big pot, his ear, outside, in the middle of the snow on a wood fire. It's worth the detour.