A regional dish from the Auvergne

Before entering the oven

One of the most unusual dishes we ate in France was called Pounti, pronounced, I believe, (poon-tee) and it is another regional dish of the Auvergne region. The Trout ordered it once in a restaurant even though it was very expensive. I got a bite, but we have been talking about it since.

Ken at Living the Life in Saint Aignan has gone to the trouble to translate the recipe from French to English and we followed his recipe. As with all these recipes, the cook rules and Pounti is made many different ways. It is usually served in bite sized pieces with a glass of wine as an aperitif. It can also be lightly fried until brown on each side and served as a main course for dinner.

Some cooks make it meatless, some add pork, and we added bacon and ham and used fontina cheese since it was in the refrigerator. The greens we added were chopped spinach leaves and, of course, the ingredient that is not omitted, prunes. A savory bread or cake with a hint of sweetness from the prunes.

We sampled while still warm, and it was calling for a glass of wine. It will have to wait for the cocktail hour tonight.





Auvergne Pounti Cake

3 eggs
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup warm milk
1/2 lb. grated cheese
1/2 lb. cured ham
1/4 lb. smoked bacon
15 pitted prunes
1/2 lb. chard or spinach
1 medium onion
salt and pepper

In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs, flour and baking powder. Gradually stir in the vegetable oil. Warm the milk briefly and gradually incorporate into the batter. Mix in the grated cheese, a little salt and freshly ground pepper.

Chop the onion and saute lightly in a pan with the bacon. Meanwhile, cute the ham into strips. Chop the greens roughly and cut each prune into two or four pieces.

When the onions and bacon have cooled slightly, mix all the ingredients into the batter.

Bake the batter in a buttered loaf pan for 45-50 minutes. Let it cool 15 or 20 minutes before taking it out of the pan. Pour the wine and enjoy.

Foods typical of the Auvergne area of France

One of the reasons we so enjoy traveling in France, is because this small country, slightly smaller than the state of Texas, offers a variety of foods typical to each region. No other country is quite so diversified, in my opinion. The Massif Central part of France, or the Auvergne as it is known, had foods we have not tried before and were very anxious to get our knife and fork into.



Above you see a typical dish known as Truffade. One might surmise that it contains truffles, from the name, but it does not. Along side a salad and the typical ham of the region, Truffade is a potato dish, and by the looks of it, they are not shy about serving a large portion. I would compare it to a glorified scalloped potato dish. The one ingredient that puts it over the top is the cheese. They use a local cheese, Tomme Fraiche de Cantal. I saw it at the grocer's and it was sealed in a plastic wrap. It was very squeezable and soft, more so than a fresh mozzarella. I have not seen it at Whole Foods in the states and I am sure, if it would be available, it would be in large, metropolitan cities.



The Truffade was wonderful, but too much. The amount on my plate could have fed a family of three. I could not eat it all, but I could eat some right now if it was at all possible.

Here is another potato dish regional to the Auvergne. This is called Aligot. We had to search quite a few restaurants to find this, but once again, the journey was worth it. From what I have read, it is tricky to make this dish. It takes years of watching grandma and mama before the young women tackle this. It is mashed potatoes and then this same Tomme cheese is beaten into the potatoes until the right consistency is achieved. It also has lots of garlic, but then, some villages omit the garlic. Like any other recipe, the cook rules.

It tasted wonderful, thick, very cheesy and once again, the portion was overwhelming. Lots of double cream and butter are added to the mashed potatoes and yes, I could eat it right now. We truly ate more potatoes in our week in the Auvergne than we have in the last year. It is a good memory and we are working to get the residual off our bodies!!

" Petit sale' aux lentilles," or salt pork with lentils is a classic Auvergne dish. These are la lentille verte du Puy, or lentils from the town of Le Puy-de-Velay. They are small and so very tasty. A small bag accompanied me home!! I love lentils and this dish brought them to a whole new height. I will be on the search for these small lentils in the future.

This dessert takes me back many years. In all the years we have traveled to France, this dessert in some shape or form is available on any restaurant menu. It is called "Ile Flottante" or Floating Isle. When I was in Home Economics class back in high school many years ago, we learned to make this dessert. That was the one and only time I ever made it or ate it. Until...we started traveling to France. I was curious why this was so popular. Well, there are so many variations, but they all start with the basic concept; a creme anglaise topped with islands or meringue.

In the photo above, you see this one was glorified. It contained orange slices, orange sorbet and it was topped with a chocolate cup filled with Grand Marnier. Yoo Hoo!! It was also decorated with these little orange fruits in the paper thin shells and for the life of me, I can't think of what they are called. Sort of tasted like a kumquat. Also note the added color of the violet.

Once again, we have great memories of our meals and wine. Not only do we love the sights but the experiences in the restaurants stay in our memories forever.