In search of black diamonds

I was driving from Rodez to Cahors last week after looking at a new property and took the route through Lalbenque which is famous for its truffle market which started last week. 
Starting on the first Tuesday of December until mid-March in this is the place to go for black truffles or black diamond’s as they are known.  This market is busiest in the month of January, when the black truffles have their highest perfume and in December last year black truffles were sold for about €1,000 per kilo in some of the farmer's markets. It takes place in the main street, called "La rue du Marché aux Truffes” and is well worth a visit. The market opens on the dot of two o’clock and generally lasts just a few minutes with everyone hiding their “black diamond” treasure under red checked napkins, in paper bags or small wicker baskets.  If you are to make a day of it then arrive before midday and have a truffle omelette in one of the restaurants that line the main street. 

Truffles are strange looking fungi found just below the ground in open woodland, usually under oak or hazel trees, and their pungent aroma attracts many animals, particularly female pigs. The sow is said to be crazy about truffles because the truffle has the same musky smell as the sexual odour of the wild boar. Unlike mushrooms, truffle spores are not spread by the wind so they need animals to disperse them. Pigs need no encouragement to look for truffles. In fact, it requires constant vigilance and firmness on the part of the truffle hunter to prevent them from swallowing the lot. Nowadays, dogs are replacing pigs; they have no natural interest in truffles and can be trained to indicate with a paw the place where they have smelt them. They are also smaller, more manageable, don't tire as easily, and they don't go into a sexual frenzy when approaching a truffle.

All this is just part of the wonderful, rural South West of France.

Mine pies and a special recipe from France...

As Christmas starts to approach we forget the hot summer and start to focus on the festivities.  Whereas UK has one long holiday that stretches from Christmas Eve to New Year in France it is quite different!!  When I first moved here 20 years ago there was nothing – no Christmas trees, no decorations, no Christmas lights in the towns or villages and no turkeys!  Now, it is quite different with all these things available but France still retains its own traditions.

Most French homes decorate their homes at Christmas time with a Nativity scene or crèche with little clay figures called 'santons' or 'little saints' that are still made from moulds that have passed down since the 17th century.  Christmas markets have now begun and this year marks the third of these in my area of South West France.  Generally, the Christmas markets, with their little wooden huts selling gifts were traditionally in the North of France around the Alsace region but are now in the cities and small towns. 

Food in France at Christmas time is quite different from UK.  However, there is a traditional Yule log-shaped cake called the Buche de Noel, meaning 'Christmas Log.' The main Christmas feast is quite grand and is known as 'Le Reveillon', served as a very late supper held after midnight mass on Christmas Eve. Different regions have different traditional menus and in the South West it is oysters, turkey and foie gras.  French families also bake a Three Kings Cake with a bean hidden in it on the Twelfth Day after Christmas. The lucky person to find the bean in their slice is crowned the King or Queen, for the day.

Despite living in France I still  make mince pies and a tried and trusted recipe that works every time is this:-

Makes 18 mince pies

225g of equal parts of lard and cold butter, diced

350g plain flour

100g golden caster sugar

280g mincemeat

1 small egg

Icing sugar, to dust

To make the pastry, rub the cold, diced butter and lard into the flour, then mix in the golden caster sugar and a pinch of salt. Combine the pastry into a ball – don’t add liquid – and knead it briefly. The dough will be fairly firm, like shortbread dough. You can use the dough immediately, or chill for later.

Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6/fan 180C.  Line 18 holes of two 12-hole patty tins, by pressing small walnut-sized balls of pastry into each hole. Spoon the mincemeat into the pies.

Take slightly smaller balls of pastry than before and pat them out between your hands to make round lids, big enough to cover the pies. Top the pies with their lids, pressing the edges gently together to seal – you don’t need to seal them with milk or egg as they will stick on their own.

Beat 1 small egg and brush the tops of the pies. Bake for 20 minutes until golden. Leave them to cool in the tin for 5 minutes then remove them to a wire rack. To serve, lightly dust with icing sugar. They will keep for 3 to 4 days in an airtight container.