Limousin Cuisine

Viande Limousine is what the locals refer to as Limousin meat and the meat produce is definitely one of the finest if not the finest meat produced throughout France, whether it's beef, lamb or pork meat. For this reason the majority of Limousin cuisine is based on traditional meat recipes. Due to the thousands of acres of fruit trees and forests of chestnuts, Limousin is also home to numerous varieties of mushrooms and edible fungi and remains one of the prime regions in France for mushrooms.

Limousin is not an area famous for cheese making. The three traditionally found cheeses in Limousin include: 'La Calhada,' made from full fat goats milk, 'Les Calhadons,' which is goats cheese and 'La Tome de Brat,' which is ewe's (female sheep) cheese.

Limousin is not recognised as a great wine producing region either, however remains the home to such wines as Vin de Pays de la Corrèze and Vignerons de Branceilles, both expensive but high quality. The liqueurs of the region are the 'Brive-la-Gaillarde' and 'Collonges-la-Rouges.'

There are no particular neighbouring regions that infuence the cuisine of Limousin. Its prime influence is the convenience and large quantity of meat, chestnuts and mushrooms as the region is traditionally poor which means families have to live off the produce available.


Traditional Recipes of Limousin

Sweet Lemon and Potato Pudding


Ingredients :

Sweet lemon and potato pudding recipe for 6 to 8 people :
300g floury potato
250g caster sugar
4 egg yolks
1 Tbs potato starch
1 untreated lemon
some icing sugar

Direction :
Boil your potatoes, skin on.
Meanwhile, peel the lemon rind off (making sure to leave the white skin on the fruit) and cut them into a very fine "julienne" (very fine batons). Place the lemon zest into a pot of cold water and bring to the boil for a minute. Strain and put the into a bowl of iced cold water. Strain the lemon zest "julienne" and dry it well. Squeeze the lemon and set the juice aside.
Peel and mash the potatoes and put the pulp into a bowl.
Add the egg yolks, sugar, starch, lemon juice and lemon rind in that order. Stir well.
Start your oven at 180'C (356'F).
Pour the batter into an round baking tin and bake for 30 minutes.
Take your pudding out of the tin when it has fully cooled down and dust it with some icing sugar.
"Et voila!"

Fougasse Bread

Ingredients :

This traditional bread from the south of France is also called fouace in some of the country.

Recipe for 2 fougasse loafs :
500g strong flour (380g for the bread and 120g for the starter)
10 cl warm milk
15g fresh yeast
5g table salt
200g diced pork belly (lardons), blanched
2 onions
50g pitted black olives
1 egg yolk
a nob of butter

Direction :
1) Finely slice your onions and gently cook them with the butter for 10 minutes.
2) Mix 120g of flour with the yeast and the warm milk into a soft dough. Cover your starter and allow to rest at room temperature until it doubles in size.
3) Place the rest of the flour onto a clean surface and make a well in the middle. Add the salt and the water as well as the lardons, olives and cooked onions. Mix the lot for a while.
Then, incorporate your starter to this dough. Knead until it forms a neat ball of dough.
4) Cross the top of the dough with a knife and allow it to improve until it doubles in size again.
5) Cut the dough in two and roll each pieces down into the shapes of two ovals 4 cm thick. Then, prick each ovals with a knife, making sure it goes all the way through. Finally, slightly pull each pieces of dough to make the holes appear.
6) Start your oven at 230'C (446'F).
7) Mix the egg yolk with a tablespoon of olive oil and apply this egg wash on the top of the each fougasses.
8) Bake for 35 minutes.

This recipe has been used as a base and modified in several part of France by adding ingredients like anchovies, capers, peppers tuna or smoked duck.
The sweet version of the fougasse : the fougassette in which there is eggs, rum, candied fruits, saffron and orange blossom water is one of the oldest French traditional dessert. Its name comes from the Latin focatia pasta which means wheat dough cooked under the ashes