Cévenol Recipes

1. Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan.
2. Add the garlic, onion and potatoes and sweat, stirring, over a low heat until soft but not browned.
3. Add the lovage and pour over the chicken stock, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Cover and simmer until all the vegetables are soft, then blend in a food processor or with a hand-held blender.
5. The soup should be smooth and quite thick, but if necessary it can be thinned a little with more stock, or with milk.
6. If you like, you may add cream to make the soup richer - though that is not how Madame Mériel serves it!

1. Cut the bread into slices and lay on a baking tray.
2. Turn the oven to 200°C (400°F), and place the baking tray in the oven immediately, as the oven heats. This will dry the bread out.
3. Once the oven is almost to heat, remove the baking tray.
4. Peel the clove of garlic and cut it in half. Rub the garlic all over the slices of bread, which should be dry and semi-toasted.
5. Wash and dry the cèpes, then slice them and lay them on the slices of bread. Season with salt and pepper, drizzle liberally with olive oil.
6. Return to the hot oven and cook for ten minutes.

Best eaten with the fingers!

Serves 2.

1. You may be able to buy chestnuts ready-peeled and vacuum packed. If buying fresh ones, you can make them easier to peel by slitting the shells with a knife and plunging them in boiling water for a minute or so before peeling.
2. Place the bacon and onions in a good-sized, heavy pot or casserole dish. Cook over a medium for 10 minutes, stirring to prevent sticking. Add the garlic and wild boar or pork, cover and cook for a further 10 minutes, again ensuring that the meat does not stick.
3. Add the beans and chestnuts and enough of the stock to cover. Add the rosemary, thyme and bay leaves, and season with pepper. Cover the pot and bring to the boil and then place pot in the oven at 180°C for one hour.
4. Check from time to time and add more stock or water if the beans and chestnuts seem in danger of drying out.
5. Peel and quarter the potatoes, and slice the carrots. Slice the saucisson.
6. When the beans and chestnuts are soft, season with salt, and add the saucisson, carrot and potatoes, and a little more stock or water if necessary. Replace the lid and put back in the oven for a further 30 minutes.
7. Finally, add the greens (rinsed and coarsely shredded), give the pot a stir, replace the lid and return to the oven for a final 15 minutes.

(Note: These cooking times are the fastest that it is possible to prepare the potée. However, if you have time the dish will be even better for reducing the oven temperature and cooking for a correspondingly longer period. The slower the better!)

1. Make the pastry by cutting the butter into cubes and adding to the flour in a bowl, then rubbing it in with your fingers until the texture resembles breadcrumbs. Add just sufficient cold water for the mixture to amalgamate to a firm dough.
2. Roll the dough into a ball, wrap it in cling film and chill it in the fridge for 10 minutes.
3. Pre-heat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Roll out the pastry to line a 10-inch flan dish and prick the bottom several times with a fork. Blind bake the pastry case by placing it in the hot oven for 5 minutes until just firm to the touch.
4. Wash the mirabelles, cut them in half and remove the stones. Place them skin side down in the pastry case. Sprinkle the fruit with two tablespoons of the sugar.
5. Beat the rest of the sugar with the egg. Stir in the flour and mix until the paste is completely smooth. Then stir in the milk or cream, melted butter, and eau de vie.
6. Pour the batter mixture over the plums and bake at 200°C (400°F) for 45 minutes.

Serves 6-8.