Interesting food and drink available in La France

Posted on May 31, 2017 by coteetcampagne

OK, what are these?

Most mysterious variety of veg on the seed display. Wonder if they will go well with this bottle of Blanquette given to us by our remaining neighbours, with flakes of gold leaf in it!?

About coteetcampagne

Artist, period home maker, renovator, restorer, Francophile. My mission is to save the old stuff, one beautiful piece at a time
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15 Responses to Interesting food and drink available in La France

  1. poshbirdy says:
    June 6, 2017 at 11:23 am

    I bought these seeds as a thank you gift for my neighbour who chicken-sits for us. I won’t plant them myself though as I cannot stand salsify! Cute though x

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  2. Lynda says:
    June 3, 2017 at 7:42 pm

    Scorsonere is Salsify or aka: oyster plant. The seeds come up in a GIANT top that looks like a golden dandelion seed head… gorgeous to look at and admire in the sunlight…

    and every one of those suckers will sprout and take over the world if you let them fly away in the wind. 😉

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  3. CG says:
    June 1, 2017 at 12:39 pm

    Arabella Boxer’s Garden Cookbook (1974) has these notes on Scorzonera [Lat. Scorzonera hispanica, Fr. Scorsonère]: This is the black-skinned variety of salsify; it differs slightly in that the roots are thicker and covered with a hard black skin, but the flesh is still white. It is generally thought to have the better flavour, but I find it troublesome to cook, as it must be peeled after cooking, when the soft white flesh tends to fall to pieces while one tries to remove every particle of black skin thereby scalding one’s fingers.It is well worth the trouble to prepare in small quantities, but I would not attempt it for more than three or four people. (A few recipes follow.)

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  4. Chris says:
    June 1, 2017 at 11:41 am

    I wish that you could send me the wine it looks brilliant and I bet tastes great

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    • coteetcampagne says:
      June 1, 2017 at 2:55 pm

      It’s called “GisO” Salazar Campagne-sur-Aude. It’s our local Blanquette (predates champagne!)
      If we ever come to see you we will bring some!
      Or you are welcome to come and laugh at our hovel!!

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  5. Elizabeth says:
    May 31, 2017 at 11:46 pm

    Gold leaf appears to be in vogue. It adorns cakes in our local – rather expensive – cake shop, and is commonly seen in fashionable patisseries in the CBD of Melbourne. I’ve never heard of scorsonère, but I’ll try to get some for our French garden as I’m a fan of heirloom varieties of fruits and vegies. Unfortunately I can’t bring the seeds into Australia because of our strict quarantine rules, which I support whole heartedly.

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  6. Osyth says:
    May 31, 2017 at 9:44 pm

    Scorsonere (Italian) would be called Salsify in Britain. I first ate it in Rome over 30 years ago. It looks like a big black carrot. We had Russians staying recently and they fell on it in the market. It is really delicious roasted in a melange of root veggies or mashed with loads of butter. Just call me Nigella 😂

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  7. francetaste says:
    May 31, 2017 at 8:07 pm

    I looked up scorsonère: It is known as oyster plant in English and is related to salsify. I think I’ve seen it in the market. It’s called a “forgotten” vegetable.
    I’d rather have gold on my glass than in it. It doesn’t affect the taste, does it? It’s just for fun?

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