Recipes from the Lot and Quercy region

Lot and Quercy Recipes

Here is a selection of favourite recipes from the Lot and Quercy region, covering the departments of the Lot, Lot et Garonne and Tarn et Garonne.

Useful Information

Seafood Vocabulary

If you are bewildered by the range of seafood, the names, and the questions you are asked at the seafood counter, this should help!
French Meat Cuts

It is not just a case of simple translation when buying meat in France, because the French cuts differ from those in the UK. Here are some explanations and vocabulary...
Mysterious Veg

How to use the mysterious vegetables that you see in French markets.
Flour in France

Which flour to use for what; about the grades.
Foie Gras Explained

Being unused to this product in the UK, the various forms of foie gras can be confusing at first...
Market Tasters in France

How to deal with traders offering tasters at the markets of France.
Market Manners in France

"How to deal with market stall pressure.
British Vs French Supermarket Stock

Differences between French and British supermarket stock; how it is treated differently, and where it comes from.
Supermarket Vs Market

The differences between supermarket stock and that of the markets and individual shops. What do you get for your money?
Ordering Steak

How to request the ‘doneness’ of a steak in French.
Sauce Names

Ever wondered what the difference is between ‘Béarnaise’ and ‘Périgordine’ sauces?

Lot and Quercy Recipes

The Lot and Quercy region has a well deserved reputation for gastronomy and fine wine. In the northern parts of the region you will find the home of Ducks and Geese, Foie Gras, Truffles and Walnuts. At its heart lie the sumptuous vineyards of Cahors, and as the landscape flattens out into the great plains of the Quercy Blanc, the famous fruit trees appear in great swathes. The Agen Pruneaux and the Reine-Claudes are just the tip of the plum mountain, and the Melons and Tomatoes of Marmande are the sweetest in France.
Here is a small selection of favourite recipes from the region.

Early Spring Quercy Salad

Salade Printemps Early Spring Quercy Salad

The days are getting longer and the woods are full of catkins and lime-green hellebores. The breezes are softer and the sun warms your soul. Spring is in the air. The soups and casseroles of winter are banished for another eight months. Or are they? How can you construct a decent salad with the sort of half-ripe, totally flavourless tomatoes available at this time of year... more...

Marrying Artichokes to Rocamadour

Salade Albasienne

When I first came to live in this glorious part of France I had a good long meeting with the local Maire. We talked about schools and children and local services – all the usual things – then got on to fêtes and food. Finally, as twelve o’ clock approached and his tummy began to signal its need for immediate sustenance... more...

Spiced Red Cabbage With Agen Prunes and Walnuts

Serves 8 – 10 Spiced Red Cabbage

This is a delicious accompaniment to roast goose, duck or turkey. Every ingredient can be sourced locally in the Quercy, and the famous Agen prunes can be found worldwide if you happen to be elsewhere... more...

Pumpkin, Tomato and Red Pepper Soup

Soupe de Potiron Pumpkin Soup

This recipe makes excellent use of that most under utilised of all vegetables in England, the good old pumpkin. Every year they’re grown in their thousands and used as Halloween lanterns, their delicious tender flesh discarded. It’s a criminal waste.... more...

The Classic Salad of the Quercy

Salade Quercynoise

Everyone’s heard of Salade Niçoise, it’s eaten at a million tables all over the world every summer. However if you come a little inland you’ll find another regional speciality just waiting to be discovered... more...

Truffle Omelette

Omelette Aux Truffes Truffle Omelette

This is a classic recipe, extremely simple and perfect for supper on the day you manage to buy – or find – your first fresh truffle. Truffles have a pungent aroma that permeates the eggs beautifully, even through the shells... more...

Homemade Pork and Walnut Pâté

Pâté Maison Quercynois Pork, Liver and Walnut Pâté from the Quercy

There are as many deliciously different Pâtés in France as there are households to make them. Pâté Maison is a traditional family staple. The recipe varies enormously from region to region and everyone has their own version... more...

Stir Fried Beef with French Beans and Chard

Boeuf avec haricot verts et blettes Stir Fried Beef with French Beans and Chard

This is a recipe I devised years ago as an antidote to the excesses of the festive season. It’s delicious, filling, full of nutritious vegetables and gratifyingly low in calories... more...

Quercy Beef and Bean Casserole

Boeuf Quercynois Quercy beef and bean casserole

Every region of France has it’s own classic stew or casserole. The most famous, and certainly the most abused beef stew must be Boeuf Bourguignon, closely followed now by the increasingly popular Provencal Daube... more...

Pork Loin with Wild Ceps

Automne Porc aux Cèpes Sauvage Cepe

Autumn is the perfect time for this delicious recipe, cèpes abound in the countryside and there are always plenty of enterprising locals in the markets who’ve taken the back break out of the endeavour for you! Autumn is also the time for inexpensive pork... more...

Roast Loin of Pork with Apples and Walnuts

Roti de Porc avec Pommes et Noix

This is my own autumn version of a French classic. After the children of the Quercy have returned from their weekend walnuting expeditions this is a delicious way to use them... more...

Roast Goose with Agen Prunes and Armagnac

Oie avec pruneaux d'Agen Roast Goose

This is a classic winter dish in southwestern France. Try to buy your goose from a farm or a boucherie that advertises local birds. In the run up to Christmas you will find one easily in the markets... more...

Stuffed Quercy Pigeons

Pigeons Farcis Pigeon Farci

There are many versions of this Quercy staple. One can stuff the birds merely with the chopped liver, breadcrumbs and perhaps a little leftover Toulouse sausage, the way a frugal countrywoman would. Alternatively... more...

Quercy Fig Compote

Figs can be used in a variety of ways; they are quite delicious served fresh for breakfast with a thick yoghurt or crème fraiche. They are equally delicious poached with sugar and lemon juice and served in the same way. But I like them best when ... more...

Oven Roasted Marmande Tomatoes

Tomates Marmandaise Roasted Marmande Tomatoes

This is a recipe that you’ll find in many guises all over the south of France. However it does rely on the excellence of the ingredients so the world famous, succulent tomatoes of Marmande are absolutely perfect for the purpose... more...

Walnut Tart

Quercynoise Tarte aux Noix

If you happen to be in the Quercy in late autumn, after the vendage but before the cold weather sets in, this is the recipe you will need. There are many, many versions of Tarte aux Noix, and this is my tried and regularly tested favourite... more...

Quercy Carrot and Walnut Cake

Gâteau Eleanor

This isn’t really a regional recipe, it’s my own. However there’s a good reason for the name. The black walnut is ubiquitous in this area and was supposedly introduced to England – and widely planted in the Quercy – by that most adventurous of Queens, Eleanor of Aquitaine. more...