Le Cordon Bleu - Instruction #18; Practical #18

As a throw-back to Basic Cuisine Chef Stril taught lesson #18. He was filling in for the vacationing Intermediate Chefs Tivet and Caals.

Instruction #18 – Auvergne

• Pigs’ trotters glazed with foie gras on toast
• Braised stuffed cabbage
• Sweet flan
• Strawberry soup with freshly ground white pepper

When you think of French cooking. And fat. This is this place. Auvergne folks eat a ton of it – grease, lard, butter – anything they can get their hands on. Mainly pork.

Livestock is the main industry of this rustic farm-town. Beef from Salers, Vassivières sheep, and don’t forget the local swine. On the wild-side, partridge and hare.

Not much other than cabbage, potatoes and lentils come from the soil. Yet an abundance of fruit – apricots, apples, peaches, pears, cherries – dart the region. Auvergne is also well known for walnuts and chestnuts.

With all the livestock grazing about, there is bound to be good cheese. Cantal, Saint-Nectaire, Bleu, and Fourme d’Ambert are just a few.

Being a rustic, salt-of-the-earth type of people, Auvergens eat everything when it comes to pig. Including the feet, trotters, as prepared in the entrée.


The general concept is to render a bit of foie gras fat by quickly – on high heat – pan-searing slices. Cook brunoise of carrot, celeriac, and trotters in the reserved grease. Spread over toast. Top with foie gras slices. And broil. [pictured: uncooked foie gras.]


Not sure why, but some think this dish is a bit too caloric. So a simple salad of chicory, oak leaf, and lollo rossa accompanied with vinaigrette. But. Making sure the plate didn’t get too healthy, the vinaigrette is made with veal jus. Oh. And finished with toasted walnuts.

I have said it before. Give me pan-seared foie gras and a dark room and I’ll be the happiest boy around. I love this stuff. This was such a wonderfully rich entrée, too bad it wasn’t colder outside. The entire menu actually is better suited for winter months.

My heart didn’t stop after the entrée tasting, so off to the main course. Braised stuffed cabbage.

Stuffed with a traditional farce. Ground veal, pork shoulder, pork fatback, sautéed onions, breadcrumbs (to absorb the fat), and an egg to hold it all together.

Assembly was the most intriguing part of this item. Line a small bowl with a layer of cabbage. Spread, rather thinly, some stuffing. Second layer of cabbage, followed by a second spread of farce. Repeat for three layers. Fold the excess cabbage into the center, slightly sealing the ball. And tip out onto a work-surface. Tie. Forming a recreated head of cabbage – stuffed with ground meat. All of this wrapped in caul fat to reinforce the shape.

For fun – not really. We cut carrots, daikon, and celeriac in bâtonnets. And turned potatoes.

Again. Better in the snow, this was a very heavy dish. Jam packed with unctuosity. How could it not taste good?

Practical immediately followed demo. A schedule that I have come to like. Since our little pork fat balls needed to braise for at least 50 minutes, it was a busy beginning. Working fast to get it in the oven. From there we could slow down a bit. Working on our fantastic vegetable garnish.

Chef Cotte like most of my dish. Believe it or not, there was too much grease in my final jus. Next time a more thorough job of degreasing. Overall, très bien.

The dessert, as explained by Chef, was like a crepe. Studded with diced apples. And finished in the oven.

The strawberry soup was not what I expected. I was thinking the final soup would be blended with cream, for a velvety consistency. Instead. Reduced red wine, sugar, orange peel, and cinnamon was mixed with raspberry liquor, Cointreau, pear brandied macerated strawberries. And served as such.