Hello French Market friends,
On Wedne
sday the 21st of June, the Fete de la Musique was celebrated throug
hout France and in many other countries. Started over 40 years ago to encourage French people to come out on the streets and play their music in celebration of the longest daylight hours of the year, this event is now celebrated across the globe. Every little town and village celebrated with music and dancing accompanied of course by lots of good French wine and cheese. (Image courtesy (GARDEL BERTRAND / HEMIS.FR / AFP). Here in South Africa, I am always thrilled to get to the 22nd of June as this day heralds the arrival of summer, after such a
long cold and wet winter. And we also have the start of the Under 20s World Rugby Cup happening right here in the Western Cape. And how do I know this? Because this bunch of very fit young French men, in their traditional “Blues” outfits with the French cockerel emblazoned on their jackets, all descended on my shop this afternoon. They told me that they are out here for a month
playing against the top teams in the World and they were delighted to see that they would be able to get some genuine French food to enjoy. “Les Bleuets” as the young French team is called, were the World Champions at the last Championships played in 2019 and I am sure that they will do very well in this one, especially as they will have their favourite French cheese to eat. Their first match is tomorrow 24 June at The Danie Craven stand in Stellenbosch, so do go along and give them some encouragement. Bleuets is the diminutive word for Les Bleus, which is the traditional name for the national French sports teams.
Lots of new cheese stock came in from Paris to the shop this week. We have loads of Brie de Meaux, Epoisses, brie with Truffles, Vacherousse, Delice triple cream, Pont L Eveque, little fresh goats crottin, raw milk Emmental, Tete de Moine, Comte aged 16 months, Morbier, and an amazing 20 month aged Gruyere, the flavour is quite exceptional. Come in and try some.
In our fresh produce range, the Jerusalem artichokes are still in season. We have large pomegranates , limes, oranges, grapefruits, apples, fennel, turmeric, ginger and loads of really large free range eggs with deep yellow yolks.
This week I am sharing an easy recipe to accompany cocktails. The French word “Amuse-Bouche” literally means “mouth pleaser” and refers to bite sized morsles which can be served to accompany cocktails or as a starter. I used some of my lovely Brie and accompanied it with Edmond Fallot’s tangy, wholegrain Dijon mustard. The secret to this recipe is to make sure the oil is very hot so that you can cook the morsel quickly and the Brie does not run out of the breadcrumb casing. The recipe was quick to make and very tasty.
Wishing you a sunny weekend and “Allees Les Bleuets” to the young Frenchmen playing rugby this weekend.
Regards
Suzanne and The French Market Team