Bonjour French Market Friends,
Following along the Mediterranean coast, from the glamour of the Cannes Film Festival, this weekend the trend setters have moved to Monte Carlo. On this Sunday at 3pm our time, elegant hotels and luxurious boats moored in the Marina are the hosts for the ultimate champagne parties, while guests watch the 81st Monte Carlo Grand Prix drivers race past, around the harbour and through the narrow streets of this exclusive Principality. Due to the narrowness
of the racetrack, Nelson Piquet the famous Brazilian driver, commented that racing at Monaco was like trying to cycle around your living room. To Nelson a win there was worth two wins anywhere else. Note if you feel like a little “Pied a terre” there, the starting price is about Euros 5million. Last year’s winner, Max Verstappen, the 26 year old top paid F1 driver of 2024, could probably afford this on his USD55million annual income.
Back home in our beautiful city we can also enjoy harbour and sea views, luckily it is not as expensive as Monte Carlo. I suggest invite a group of friends to enjoy the race with you on Sunday afternoon, prepare a French cheese platter, fresh baguettes and serve them some French wine and Champagne to make them feel they are sitting on a yacht watching the drivers race past.
When preparing a cheese platter, it is good to remember that everyone has very personal taste experiences (there is no right or wrong), which can be accommodated by selecting a range. For example, friends that prefer mild, gentle flavours, most popular are the pasteurised Brie, triple cream Delice and creamy Vacherousse and firmer Tomme de Savoie. For middle range tastes that enjoy more complexity and depth but not overly pungent, go for the soft and runny raw milk Camembert and Brie De Meaux, firm textured alpine cheeses Comte, Morbier and Emmental. For the knock your socks off cheese, go for the washed rind cheeses such as Epoisses, Munster and Pont l’Eveque. For friends with allergies to cow’s milk, select the Manchego and Roquefort sheep’s milk cheese, the goat’s cheese buche, crottins or the Dutch goat gouda. Finally, what to select for the blue cheeses? Our Bleu d Auvergne has a soft texture and medium flavour, the Italian gorgonzola is gooey and pungent, the roquefort is strong and salty, our current Stilton is ripe, strong and has a texture of fudge, it is amazing (serve it with Port). I hope this helps to guide you in our selection, you are always welcome to taste the cheese first, if you are not sure which you prefer.
When you watch the race, it is a good idea to have some French wines and a bottle or two of Champagne tucked away in the fridge, to join in the celebrations of the winning driver. We have a range from the smaller Champagne houses such as Tribaut Schlusser to Grand Cru vineyards of Mailly and Le Mesnil. Bordeaux red wines pair well with many of the cheeses. Remember we are licensed to sell alcohol Monday to Saturdays so do stock up beforehand.
Our fresh produce this week is enhanced by the arrival of Jerusalem artichokes. These tubers look a bit like ginger but have a slightly browner colouring. They were introduced to France by the first major French explorer of N. America, navigator Samuel de Champlain, in the 1600s. The flowers look similar to sunflowers and the tuber (the part you eat) has a slight similarity in flavour to artichokes, hence the origin of that name, but they don’t come from Jerusalem. The word Jerusalem is probably an anglicism of “Girasole” which means sunflower in Italian. In French they are called Crosnes or Topinambour, apparently after the Topinamba, a Brazilian tribe, where the plant possibly originated. One note of interest is that Jerusalem Artichokes apparently contain Inulin which converts to fructose instead of glucose and is popular in recipes for diabetics.
My recipe for this week is made with Jerusalem artichokes which are currently in season. They are an interesting vegetable but not known so well around here. As a tuber there are many recipes to try, which include soups, baking or frying and raw in salads. I decided to do a really simple recipe frying sliced Jerusalem Artichokes with garlic and a side dip of mayonnaise. Note for wine pairing, the flavour of the Jerusalem artichoke is very delicate and pairs well with a Vouvray wine made with Chenin grapes grown in the Loire valley. Try our Marc Bredief Vouvray wine available online or at our Cape Town shop. See recipe below.
I hope you enjoy the Monte Carlo Grand Prix this weekend, shared with your best friends and lots of authentic French cheese and Champagne.
Regards,
Suzanne and The French Market Team