What could replace the Sunday Roast?
If there is a quintessential English dish, it is without doubt the traditional Sunday roast. A side of roast beef accompanied by vegetables, gravy and Yorkshire pudding is a great British institution, and a point of reference around the world. However, once in France, find Sunday Roast on the menu of any reputable restaurant. Although a famous dish, it has not quite managed to cross the Channel.
If you find yourself pining for a roast, you could either find the ingredients and cook your own, or you could find a French dish that would both replace it and make you discover the richness and the diversity of French cuisine.
Here at Sextant, we thought that we could help you find a typical dish which would perfectly accompany your Sundays spent with your family or your friends, and fit in perfectly with the atmosphere of your dream French property.
The snag is, there is no such thing as a national dish in France, one that would represent the entire country. Rather than be disappointed, remember this is exactly what makes the strength and reputation of French cuisine: the variety, the originality of the recipes –which explains why, depending on the region in France you’re in, you will never get the same answer to the question: “What do you eat on a Sunday?”
We selected three alternative candidates for your Sunday meal. They are famous, almost thought of as national dishes and cooked throughout France, even if they’re originally from a particular region. The three dishes are:
– Blanquette de Veau (lit: “blanquette” veal)
– Boeuf Bourguignon (lit: Burgundy Beef)
– Pot au Feu (lit: pot in the fire)
We won’t dwell upon the ins and outs of the recipes, which vary from person to person, but rather consider their general composition.
The blanquette de veau is a French veal ragout in which neither the veal nor the butter is browned in the cooking process. To refrain from browning the meat and fat, the dish is cooked “en Blanquette” (stewed with a white sauce). The cooking time is approximately 2 hours, and the usual accompaniments are Carrots, onions, mushrooms and rice.
The boeuf bourguignon comprises beef cuts cooked in a pressure-cooker with red wine and carrots. The cooking time varies from 2 to 4 hours on a slow heat, and you can add sliced bacon, mushrooms, onions, garlic, and a bouquet garni (herbs such as thyme, laurel and parsley) according to taste.
The pot-au-feu is a French beef stew made with low cost cuts of beef, cooked slowly for at least 4 hours with a bouquet garni, vegetables such as carrots, turnips, leeks, celery, and onions, but also potatoes, or even sausages.
Compared with the Sunday roast, these three recipes need a longer cooking time. Some would say this is the secret for the best meals, and although the cooking time is long the preparation itself takes little time, and once it’s on the heat, you don’t need to keep checking it every 10 minutes (and it’s even easier if you have a slow cooker). A noticeable advantage is that all the ingredients for the recipes can be found year round, meaning you can of course eat them year round. As a picture paints a thousand words, we strongly advise you to give your eyes a treat and check out lovely photos of the dishes on the internet.
And if cooking is not your cup of tea, you can still find a good restaurant serving one of these dishes, or ask your neighbour for their recipe: a safe way to introduce yourself!
We sincerely hope that this article has revived your culinary instincts, and that these recipes will satisfy your Sundays in France as much as they satisfied ours!