Welcome to Ian & Juliet's Gourmet Companion to The
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WELCOME TO IAN & JULIET’S GOURMET COMPANION TO THE CENTENARY TOUR DE FRANCE 2013 Thanks to the kind offices of Aixcentric – our favourite local blog - we can bring you all the details behind our tour de force on this year’s Tour de France. This was an idea we had back in 2009, when for the first time the Tour de France stopped overnight at nearby Brignoles. We did a last minute job of concocting a food and wine companion to that Tour, just for our own consumption and have been considering repeating it on a larger scale, ever since. And this year is the obvious choice: It’s the centenary. It’s the first time for ages it’s being held JUST in France. We’ve got some great British cyclists competing. And plenty of stages are taking place in the south, where we know the food and wine only too well…. So let’s get on with it – bonne route, et bon appétit! A GUIDE TO THE CONTENTS OF OUR TOUR OF THE TOUR. PART ONE. Pages 2-5. The Appetiser. A summary of the tour, day by day, with a brief description of our matched foods and wine. PART TWO. Page 6. The Entrée. A brief history of the Tour PART THREE. Pages 7 – 36. La Grande Bouffe. All the details on the wines and foods, including recipes, so you can eat and drink alongside us, Bradley Wiggins et al, from 29th June to 21st July. So, let’s start the bikes rolling, with PART ONE. The Day-to-Day summary: CORSICA June 29th Porto Vecchio – Bastia, 212 k’s: The port of Bastia is between the oldest appellation in Corsica – Patrimonio - and Cap Corse, both overlooking the sea, and giving great whites as well as reds, and muscats too. So we have, on the menu here: Baked Mullet, Corsican style, accompanied by a Patrimonio Vermentinu, and, to take advantage of the Cap Corse Muscat, a dessert of lemony “La Fiadone”. June 30th Bastia – Ajaccio, 154 k’s: This medium mountain stage through the sparsely inhabited centre of the island, finishes against the magnificent backdrop of the Iles Sanguinaires. Ajaccio is in the centre of its own appellation. So we shall start with a typical Insalata di Ceci (chickpea salad) accompanied by a local rosé, and go on to a light Ajaccio red wine with Cannellonis au Brocciu. (Brocciu, pronounced ‘broutch’ is ewe’s milk cheese, used all over Corsica – brousse in France.) July 1st Ajaccio-Calvi, 145 k’s: There are five climbs today, and the scenery is even more spectacular as the pelaton passes the UNESCO world heritage site of the Calanques de Piana. This is our last night in Corsica so we are celebrating with a platter of Corsican Charcuterie: coppa, panzetta, lonzu (loin), and terrines of wild boar and hare. This will be followed by another Plateau de fromages: Brocciu passu affine demi sec, Brebis in herbes de maquis, Tomme de Corse, and a green salad. All washed down with the local Calvi AOC bottle of Niellucio red. MAINLAND FRANCE July 2nd NICE (team time trial): Back to good, familiar, old Nice – and what else will we eat today, after a bowl of tiny Nice olives with apéros, but a simple Salade Niçoise, and a Pissalardière (the town’s favourite onion tart)? And the natural accompaniment is a wine from the tiny vineyard above Nice – Bellet. With just 14 domaines it is exclusive, expensive and famous for its rosé, made, unusually, with the Braquet grape. July 3rd Cagnes-sur-Mer – Marseille, 219 k’s: Flat, inland – and right by our back door ! From Cagnes Hippodrome they are aiming for Grasse, Draguignan, Lorgues, Brignoles, Le Castellet and down to that great Cassis-Marseille route over the Calanques. So today we’ll definitely be out on the route, to cheer them on. Once they arrive in Marseille what else is there to eat but Bouillabaisse? Don’t panic, we’re giving you a quick, cheat’s version – but authentically garlicky and saffrony, nonetheless. A bottle of Cassis white from the nearby vineyards will go with it very nicely. July 4th Aix-en-Provence – Montpellier, 176 k’s: This stage is for the sprinters! Overland to the Hérault town of Montpellier. From one ancient town famous for its music festival, to another. Montpellier isn’t far from the Bassin de Thau with its oyster and mussel fields, so, as this is our final Mediterranean stopover we’ll follow a beefy tomato Tarte Marmande with a glass of rosé, and Moules de Bouzigues, grillées. And to accompany the mussels? A local bottle of Picpoul de Pinet, of course. July 5th Montpellier-Albi, 205 k’s: The Hérault and the Tarn herald some hilly terrain, but riders know they have the Pyrenees coming up tomorrow, so they’ll be saving themselves. This is still Cassoulet country, but it’s just too hot for it in July, so we’ll have some crispy Confit of Duck, with roast potatoes and salad, accompanied by a bottle of red Gaillac. July 6th Castres – Ax-3 Domaines, 194 k’s: The Pailhères Pass is one of the most formidable climbs in the Pyrenees, which should sort out the men (on drugs) from the boys (who aren’t). Slight relief in the drop down to Ax-les-Thermes, then up again to the ski resort of Ax-3 Domaines. The Catalan influence pervades here, with mountain cooking, so we’ll be enjoying a Catalan Spicy Sausage Stew, after some Jambon de Montagne as our entrée, with a red Côtes du Roussillon Villages. July 7th Saint-Girons – Bagnères-de-Bigorre 165 k’s: Bagnères-de-Bigorre is a pretty spa town, with curative waters, which the riders will appreciate after today’s 5 gruelling climbs – though the waters are best known for treating colds, respiratory afflictions and, wait for it – psychosomatic conditions! So they must have good marketing people! We’ll forego the water, then, and drink a bottle of dry Jurançon white with our Poulet aux Oignons de Trebons (the onions are famous and grown nearby.) July 8th Rest Day at Saint-Nazaire July 9th Saint-Gildas-des-Bois – Saint Malo, 193 k’s: The ramparts of the town behind the finishing line will make a great backdrop to the only Breton stop in the race. There is no difficulty in choosing tonight’s supper – it’s got to be a seafood platter, washed down with a bottle of Muscadet. Job done! July 10th Avranches – Mont-Saint Michel (33 k individual time trials): Sprint along the coast to the magical World Heritage site of Mont-Saint-Michel. Hope they get the timing of the tides right! Tonight we’ll be eating Mont-Saint Michel omelette, followed by Beurré Normand – with a glass of Normandy cider, of course. July 11th Fougères – Tours, 218 k’s: The route today takes the Peleton into the heart of the Val de Loire, and past the magnificent château of Langeais and also, Villandry - with its splendid gardens. In Loire style, our typical starter of Rillettes du Mans – with a St Nicolas de Bourgueil, will be followed by a fillet of river perch in a beurre blanc sauce, with a Sauvignon de Touraine blanc. July 12th Tours – Saint-Amand-Montrond, 173 k’s: A flat ride today right into the centre of France. Saint-Amand is a pretty village built around the Marmande, which is a confluent of the River Cher. Our supper tonight will consist of “Petites Fritures” (river whitebait) with a green salad, and a crisp,white Sancerre. And, because this area is famous for its goat’s cheese, too, we’ll finish with a small selection: Crottin de Chavignol, Chabichou, Selles-sur-Cher – and, as we’ll show you, there’s a river of wines to choose with this little lot. July 13th St-Pourçain-sur-Sioule – Lyon 191, k’s: Thank goodness we skip having to eat/drink in St-Pourçain – it’s, without doubt, one of the worst AOC wine places Ian’s ever dragged me to! But, no, after quite a tough ride, we finish in gastronomic Lyon. So what shall we choose to go with the local Beaujolais? We’ll eschew the tripe, and go for a simple Lyonnais sausage with Pommes à la Lyonnaise…and a bottle of Morgon, I fancy. July 14th Givors – Mont Ventoux, 242 k’s: This has got to be the star attraction of this year’s Tour. On Bastille Day thousands of vélo-mad Frenchmen will be lining the slopes of mythical Mont Ventoux, with their campervans, cheering on the riders. Plenty of the local wine, Ventoux, will be being imbibed – which is what we’ll also be sharing, alongside our Rabbit and Prune Terrine. July 15th Rest day in the Vaucluse July 16th Vaison-la-Romaine – Gap, 168 k’s: Leaving Provence, the riders are heading for the final week of tough climbs, which they start on the road up to Gap, the gateway to the Alps. We’ve arrived in the Hautes Alpes de Provence now, not far from Sisteron, famous for its lamb. So we’ll have Cotelettes d’Agneau tonight, barbecued, with a Côtes du Rhône Villages which goes brilliantly with lamb. July 17th Embrun – Chorge, 32 k individual time trials: These time-trials take place around the picture postcard Lac de Serre Ponçon. We’ll celebrate the circularity of the route by having “Crespéou” – a layered vegetable omelette, with salad. The wine has to be a local Vin de Pays. July 18th Gap – Alpe d’Huez, 191 k’s: This day will be a long-awaited climax of the tour, with its shocking double climb of the Alpe d’Huez, notorious for its 21 hairpin bends, each named after this Tour stage winner.