Every Saturday and Sunday, Vanessa Zhâ and Marion Sauveur make us discover some nuggets of French heritage.
Today we're heading to Burgundy to discover the Valley of Gastronomy and gingerbread.
This weekend, we are going to explore the brand new Valley of Gastronomy Vanessa.
What is this Valley?
In short, it is a gourmet journey of 620 kilometers between Dijon and Marseille, designed to give your taste buds great experiences.
Which is also an invitation to discover, rediscover our heritage in this valley or in the surroundings.
And we start this morning with Dijon and the golden coast.
For that, we follow the Burgundy canal which is not, however, a new route.
"This canal has existed for a very long time. It was already dreamed of by Henri IV. A dream then taken up by Louis XVI. So this Burgundy canal has been developed since 1775", explains Anaïs Gaude of Côte d'Or tourisme.
This canal is 242 kilometers long, 189 locks, all in the middle of a hilly countryside, quite elegant even, a little Tuscan air.
it leaves from Dijon, the capital of the Dukes of Burgundy and not just mustard.
And then it goes up on the Yonne crossing the valley of the ouche and the Auxois, which you all know for its cheese, époisse, and which is also a pretty little village of white stones, typically Burgundy, with his castle.
Any sites to suggest to us along the canal?
The Château de Commarin, especially for its history. We are at the foot of Chateauneuf. These are castles that once belonged to the same family. Today it is the de Vogüe family who have lived there for seven generations. Commarin was marked by the Enlightenment, the furniture is still there. There is also a small Gothic chapel and a moat in which the facades are reflected. And this summer, contemporary works will be reflected in the "Pillars" exhibition.
And 2nd essential site: the Abbey of Fontenay, which is lost in the forest.
It is one of the oldest Cistercian monasteries in Europe.
Saint Bernard founded it in 1118. And what is original are these gardens.
Moreover, since the deconfinement, the gardeners organize visits.
Anaïs has another suggestion for us when we are in Fontenay.
"For the most motivated people, you should know that there is a GR which passes through Fontenay and which joins Vézelay, which is another Unesco site which is in Yonne. And with this GR, you are well anchored in the time of the monks. And I find it a good plan for people who like to combine sport and cultural discovery. "
Addresses to advise us:
- Lodges along a lock: wooden lodges, perched huts, a toue hut or tiny houses
- La Fontaignotte, which is the home of producer Charles Gassot.
you will be stuck in the medieval city of Semur-en-Auxois
Marion Sauveur, what Dijon specialty are you going to tell us about?
Gingerbread. This slightly spicy delicacy with a pretty amber color. The gingerbread does not originate from Dijon but from China! Originally, it was a bread soaked in honey: mi-kong. Imported during the Crusades to Europe, it would have appeared in Burgundy in the 14th century with Marguerite de Flandre. The wife of Philippe II Le Hardi was crazy about what was called the boichet and which was made of honey and wheat flour. But it was not until the 18th century that artisans sold gingerbread. Dijon gingerbread is very different from that which can be tasted in Alsace, for example.
"The Dijon gingerbread its specificity is that it is made from wheat flour. And then the spice used in Dijon is anise. It is not a very spicy gingerbread. like you can find in Alsace or in Germany where the gingerbread is very full-bodied. I don't know why it was anise. Okay, we are near the anise of Flavigny, is there a correspondence? maybe there was more anise in the area? maybe there was no more anise sold in the markets. has no fat ", explains Catherine Petitjean, 9th generation at the head of Mulot & Petitjean, which is celebrating its 225 years this year.
Has the recipe remained the same?
Yes !
First mix honey, flour and sugar.
Which gives the mother dough.
This mother dough rests for two to three weeks, before being mixed, with yeast, anise and egg yolk.
This dough will also rest: two to three days, before being cut and placed in the oven.
The most classic of the house is the pavé: a gingerbread weighing more than 6 kg.
But it is sold by the cut.
How do you taste this gingerbread?
At breakfast, with semi-salted butter.
that is the greedy sin of Catherine Petitjean.
As a snack, it can also be cooked.
It brings gluttony in salads, with goat cheese for example and sublimates a dessert.
With the arriving apricots, I offer you an apricot crumble with gingerbread.
We will poach the apricots in a verbena sugar syrup and let them macerate.
During this time, we will mix the gingerbread, with sugar and softened butter.
We add the flour.
Ingredients :
- 300g of sugar
- 30 cl of water
- 8 verbena leaves
- 120g of soft butter
- 120g of brown sugar
- 95g of gingerbread
- 150gr of flour
- 65g of apricots
The steps of the recipe:
1.
Make a sugar syrup by mixing the water and sugar, and bring to the boil.
Add the verbena leaves.
Leave to infuse over low heat, before adding the apricot halves.
The ideal: 2 hours.
2.
Mix the gingerbread with the sugar and softened butter.
Add the flour.
And sand between your fingers.
3.
Place the apricot halves at the bottom of a dish, with the crumble on top and direction the oven: about fifteen minutes at 180 degrees.
It's ready when the crumble is golden.
4.
Arrange the half apricots in the dish, the crumble on top and direction the oven: about fifteen minutes at 180 degrees.
It's ready when the crumble is golden.
We put the half apricots in the dish, the crumble on top and direction the oven: about fifteen minutes at 180 degrees.
It's ready when the crumble is golden.
Do you have some addresses to advise us in Dijon?
Take a tour of Mulot & Petitjean ... just for the scent of anise and gingerbread that invades the walls it's worth the detour ... you can discover all their gingerbread: from the pavement passing the nonnettes these garnished delicacies from jams, to pure honey gingerbread… and their aperitif products.
The museum has just reopened!
Restaurant side:
Chef Louis-Philippe Vigilant of Loiseau des Ducs works the gingerbread in a choux pastry with gingerbread cracker, blackcurrant and violet confit, mousseline cream with gingerbread spices.
La Dame d'Aquitaine… in a magnificent setting… since it is a 13th century crypt, you will taste a saddle of roast lamb, Viennese gingerbread and dried fruit.
The fine hour wine cellar offers a poached pear in red wine and gingerbread.