Burgundy Cuisine

Burgundy: Cooking with Red Wine

Burgundy is first and foremost a land of excellent wines and so naturally they are omnipresent in the local cuisine. From the traditional beef bourguignon, a wine-based dish bien sûr, to dishes that are "en meurette," meaning cooked with lardons and red wine. Such dishes include œufs au vin (eggs), coq au vin, as well as charcuterie and jambon persillé (parsleyed ham). All regional dishes are either prepared and/or enjoyed with wine made by one of the marvelous winemakers of Burgundy.

On the hillsides overlooking the Saône valley you’ll find the great wines, or grands crus: Aloxe-Corton, Nuits-St-Georges, Vosne-Romanée, Vougeot, Chambolle-Musigny, Gevrey-Chambertin, and many more. Next you’ll arrive in Dijon, whose reputation is known far and wide thanks to its famous mustard and Kir, a beverage made with white wine from Burgundy and blackcurrant liqueur. In Mâcon, which is celebrated for its Pouilly-Fuissé wine, we also find white Charolais cattle, which are well known for their high-quality meat. Not much further down the road is the area of Bresse, which is famous for its free-range chickens. In a nutshell, this rich and generous land deserves to be discovered inside and out.

As for fish, the Saône River supplies all the ingredients needed to concoct one of the region’s specialties: pauchouse. This freshwater bouillabaisse-style stew is made with tench, perch, eel, carp, pike, white wine, and garlic croutons. For dessert, how about a charlotte "rigodon" or a pear "tartouillat" (tart)? Yet another region that is worth the trip. Didn’t we tell you that France is very rich in the area of gastronomy?

Regional Specialties:

The most renowned specialties are coq au vin, beef bourguignon, fondue bourguignonne, escargots de Bourgogne, la matelote d'anguille à la bourguignonne (eels stewed in wine sauce), and gougères (cheese puffs).

Sweet specialties include dragées d'anis de Flavigny (anise-flavored candies), spice bread from Dijon, and "Belle Dijonnaise" pear (poached in wine).

Regional Cheeses:

Cheeses to enjoy here include Aisy Cendré, Charolais, Époisses, Saint-Florentin, Soumaintrain, and Vézelay.

Wines and Spirits:

The vineyards (vignobles) of Burgundy are:

• Chablis (e.g.: Chablis)
• Côte-d'Auxerre (e.g.: Irancy)
• Vézelien
• Côte-de-Nuits (e.g.: Chambertin)
• Côte-de-Beaune (e.g.: Montrachet, Pommard, Meursault)
• Côte-Chalonnaise (e.g.: Montagny)
• Mâconnais (e.g.: Pouilly)
• Beaujolais (e.g.: Beaujolais nouveau)

Varietals used:

Pinot Noir, César, Gamay, Chardonnay and Aligoté

Cookery Courses

• La Terre d’Or, Beaune: max: 14 pers. – Throughout the year for clients of the establishment. www.laterredor.com - + 33 3 80 25 90 90 - jlmartin@laterredor.com
• Atelier des chefs, Dijon: max. 35 pers. www.atelierdeschefs.com - + 33 3 80 31 72 75
• Restaurant Le Charlemagne, Pernand-Vergelesses: 12 pers. Throughout the year on request. www.lecharlemagne.fr - + 33 3 80 21 51 45 - reception@lecharlemagne.fr
• Burgundy Discovery, Saint Emiland: Throughout the year on request. www.burgundydiscovery.com - + 33 3 85 49 51 34 - Lynne@burgundydiscovery.com
• Château d’Ancy-le-Franc: max. 12 pers . Throughout the yar on request. www.château-ancy.com - + 33 3 86 75 14 63 - ancychateau@wanadoo.fr
• L'abc de la Cuisine Hôtel-Restaurant 4*, “La Côte Saint Jacques”, Joigny: 20 pers. 1 session starting in March (except July). www.cotesaintjacques.com - + 33 3 86 62 09 70 - lorain@relaischateaux.com

“Sites Remarquables du Goût”

The “Sites Remarquables du Goût” association (“Sites of exceptional culinary taste”) consists of sites which have been officially recognised for their living heritage linked to a food product.

• Flavigny-sur-Ozerain and its aniseed factory: the orignal and inimitable aniseed ball. www.anis-flavigny.com - + 33 3 80 96 20 88 - anisflavigny@wanadoo.fr
• Louhans and Bresse chicken: AOC chicken much prized by gastronomes. Office de Tourisme de Louhans: www.bresse-bourguignonne.com
• “Le Cassissium”, a site dedicated to blackcurrant, Nuits-Saint-Georges: museum, tasting and shop dedicated to the history of blackcurrant. www.cassissium.com - + 33 3 80 62 49 70 – cassissium@cassissium.com

Beef Bourguignon (serves 4)

Preparation Time: 1 hour Cooking Time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

• 2 ¼ pounds (1 kg) boneless beef chuck
• 1 carrot, peeled
• 1 onion, peeled
• ⅓ cup (30 g) flour
• 1 bouquet garni
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed or chopped
• 2 cups (40 cL) red wine
• 2 cups (40 cL) veal stock
• sunflower or peanut oil
• salt, pepper, sugar

For garnish:

• ⅓ pound (150 g) slab bacon, cubed
• ⅓ pound (150 g) button mushrooms, sliced
• ⅓ pound (150 g) pickling onions, peeled
• 1 ½ tablespoons (20 g) butter

Preparation:

• Prepare the vegetables by cutting them in large pieces.
• In a stewpot, heat a few tablespoons of oil, add the pieces of beef and brown them. Add the vegetables. Sweat the vegetables for several minutes, mixing frequently. Roast in the oven for a few minutes.
• Mix the flour together with the red wine and then the veal stock. Add the crushed or chopped garlic and the bouquet garni. Add to the stewpot. Cover and cook in a 350°F (180°C) oven for around 2 hours.
• In the meantime, caramelize the pickling onions.
• Blanch the bacon for several minutes. Strain it and brown it in a non-stick pan. Remove it from the pan and brown the sliced mushrooms in the same pan.
• Stir while cooking so that the mushrooms do not stick to the pan.
• After 2 hours, remove the stewpot from the oven.
• Remove the pieces of meat and place them in a shallow dish.
• Simmer the sauce. Season to taste.
• Add the vegetables to the meat.
• Pass the sauce through cheesecloth or a fine strainer. Keep warm by placing the sauce in a double boiler.
• Serve warm.