Meals in France, especially in summer, are very much a social occasion, and not to be rushed. The French may linger for hours over lunch ? often taken outside in the sun, surrounded by crowds of family and friends. The French love to cook and the joy is in the preparation as well as in the eating!
In summer, salads and fruit dishes are popular because they are refreshing and produce is inexpensive and abundant. Many French people still shop at small, independent shops rather than supermarkets (although these are sadly increasingly popular) and local, seasonal produce is very much the order of the day. Greengrocers prefer to sell their fruit and vegetables at lower prices rather than see them rot in the heat. At the end of summer, mushrooms become plentiful and the hunting season begins in September.
At the time of the Revolution, French cuisine was only for the rich and the poor were condemned to a choice of potatoes, onions and whatever game they could catch. Crepes were a staple of the lower class, as well as rice, bread and fish. So, for a modern Bastille Day meal, the French will often choose the foods that the peasants had no choice but to survive on.
One of the chief pleasures of summer food in France is the availability of many wonderful ingredients, in season, locally produced and used to maximum effect. The last cherries and apricots are still around. It?s also still the high season for nectarines, peaches, plums, and pears. Grapes arrive. Courgettes, tomatoes, melons, beans, peppers, broccoli, and all lettuces abound.
During the holidays, no-one wants to spend all day in the kitchen ? the French love to eat light, fresh, flavoursome dishes so the enormous variety of French salads come to the fore. Warm goat?s cheese salad, a typically Breton dish often served with fresh walnuts, is lovely for summer because it takes so little time to prepare. With its strong flavours and contrasting textures of creamy goat?s cheese, crisp green leaves and slightly bitter walnuts it epitomises that summer feeling. In Brittany it is often served with savoury pancakes ? thin, dark galettes of rye flour. Pear and chicory salad with spiced pecans and roquefort dressing or dill potato salad are firm favorites. Plump, juicy tomatoes are in abundance and a simple salad of these with a little vinaigrette mopped up with a fresh baguette could not be more French and really redolent of summer. Or use tomatoes in a cream of roasted tomato soup ? great with cheese and a fresh baguette.
During the holidays, no-one wants to spend all day in the kitchen ? the French love to eat light, fresh, flavoursome dishes so the enormous variety of French salads come to the fore. Warm goat?s cheese salad, a typically Breton dish often served with fresh walnuts, is lovely for summer because it takes so little time to prepare. With its strong flavours and contrasting textures of creamy goat?s cheese, crisp green leaves and slightly bitter walnuts it epitomises that summer feeling. In Brittany it is often served with savoury pancakes ? thin, dark galettes of rye flour. Pear and chicory salad with spiced pecans and roquefort dressing or dill potato salad are firm favorites. Plump, juicy tomatoes are in abundance and a simple salad of these with a little vinaigrette mopped up with a fresh baguette could not be more French and really redolent of summer. Or use tomatoes in a cream of roasted tomato soup ? great with cheese and a fresh baguette.
More substantial is a seafood platter made up of a variety of fruits de mer ideally, straight from the sea ? crab, oysters, langoustines, winkles and the fat pink prawns the French call ?bouquet.?. But this is not in any way ?fast? food ? it takes about five hours to prepare. Trout is also a very popular fish over the summer months
Finally, pudding. Many French people don?t eat puddings very often, keeping them for birthdays or for special occasions, but one summer favorite is clafoutis, a kind of pancake about an inch thick, made from batter and seasonal fruits. It doesn?t rise. You cook it in the same way as you would cook a baked omelette. Serve with sour cherries, where the tartness of the fruit complements what is otherwise quite a sweet, heavy cake. It?s a terrific way to use those summer fruits.
An easy way to prepare summer fennel and melon is to blend them with French anise liquor and rich creme fraiche. Often, the occasion calls for something refreshing so a great choice would be watermelon and raspberry (or any combination of fresh berries) salad ? a wonderful addition to brunch and picnics, and so easy to prepare. Strawberries are synonymous with the beginning of summer. Sweet, juicy, and ruby red, they make a striking addition to fruit-based and savory salads alike. A popular product of French street vendors over the long, hot summers is strawberry-filled pastries, known as strawberry bottereaux. They are best served just minutes after frying them ? the jam filling is warm and the pastry flaky and crisp.
The French are rightly renowned for their cuisine so over the summer months emulate them and eat local, fresh, seasonal produce with a hint of France!
French cuisine is world renowned and the best of French food is served over the long hot days of summer right across the land. Get some inspiration from this short description of French summer food. The article covers the difference between French shopping habits and ours, a Bastille Day tradition, the availability of an abundance of fresh, simply cooked food and some suggestions for emulating the French way of cooking and eating.
Source: http://toddsblogs.com/foodanddrink/2012/07/14/the-joys-of-french-summer-food/
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