A Taste of France: Famous Ingredients

Some of France's best known ingredients that are used in many of their traditional recipes are foie gras, truffles, and cheese. Foie gras is a very well known delicacy because it comes from a duck's liver. People fatten up the ducks using a technique called gavage, where they force-feed the ducks or geese. This technique is most used in Gascony, which is in the south-west region of France. Foie gras has a very rich and buttery taste that is usually made into pate and goes with bread or steak. Along with using gavage, the French use another popular technique called confit, where you preserve meat. Most meats used in this process are geese, duck, and pork that can be seasoned with garlic, thyme, nutmeg, or salt. Then the duck or pork confit are cooked into cassolet (stew made with white beans and rich meats depending on the region), confit sarlandais (confit served with potatoes), and salade landais (confit served with greens in a vinaigrette). There are many various types of mushrooms used in French cooking such as the truffle, a rare and prized mushroom found in Perigold region of France. There are very expensive, but the taste of the truffle will linger so many people use truffles in sauces. Moving on to cheeses, there are about 8 categories of cheese depending on how their made. Some are fresh cheeses (cow's milk is not aged and has lots of water), soft cheeses with a natural rind (cow's milk aged for about a month), and pressed cheeses (cow's milk that is pressed when being processed and ages for several months). Here is a simple and delicious recipe using the precious truffle:

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons minced shallots
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 cup mixed wild mushrooms, sliced
• 2 cups Arborio rice
• 3 cups mushroom broth
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 truffles, shaved
• 2/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus 1/4 cup for garnish
• Salt and pepper
• 1 truffle to shave
• 2 tablespoons chopped chives

In a saute pan, heat the olive oil. When the pan is smoking hot, saute the shallots, garlic and mushrooms. Cook for 1 minute. With a wooden spoon, stir in the rice and saute for 1 minute.

Add the mushroom broth 1/2 cup at a time. Add the cream, 1/2 cup at a time until all of the liquid is incorporated into the rice, stirring constantly, about 20 minutes. The rice is done when it is tender but still firm. Fold in the truffles and cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer the risotto for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Spoon the risotto into a shallow bowl. Garnish with shaved truffles, cheese and chives.

Bon appetit!

sources: http://www.traditionalfrenchfood.com/famous-french-food.html, http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/cda/recipe_print/0,1946,FOOD_9936_11262_RECIPE-PRINT-FULL-PAGE-FORMATTER,00.html