Occitan cuisine
Encyclopedia
Occitania
Occitania , also sometimes lo País d'Òc, "the Oc Country"), is the region in southern Europe where Occitan was historically the main language spoken, and where it is sometimes still used, for the most part as a second language...
or in the lands where people speak Occitan.
Introduction
This kind of gastronomy is mostly Mediterranean cuisine, very near to Catalan cuisineCatalan cuisine
Catalan cuisine is a Mediterranean cuisine from Catalonia. It may also refer to the shared cuisine of Roussillon and Andorra, which has a similar cuisine to the Alt Urgell and Cerdanya comarques, often referred to as "Catalan mountain cuisine"...
and Italian cuisine
Italian cuisine
Italian cuisine has developed through centuries of social and political changes, with roots as far back as the 4th century BCE. Italian cuisine in itself takes heavy influences, including Etruscan, ancient Greek, ancient Roman, Byzantine, Jewish and Arab cuisines...
in the east, a little less in the west, which has influences of Atlantic cuisine. It is due at the large extension of Occitania, which goes from Atlantic Ocean, in the South of France, to the Mediterranean Sea, and the fact that it takes local products adapted to local geography, that it is very diverse.
As with other Mediterranean cuisines, it has flavors and basics with a strong personality, such as garlic
Garlic
Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and rakkyo. Dating back over 6,000 years, garlic is native to central Asia, and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region, as well as a frequent...
, olive
Olive
The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...
s or salted fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
, and olive oil
Olive oil
Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...
and wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
, but it has other things in common with the Atlantic ones, such as the use of cheese
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
and butter
Butter
Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying...
. Some of its specialties are well known around the Mediterranean, where they exist exactly the same or with little varieties, as bolhabaissa
Bouillabaisse
Bouillabaisse is a seafood soup made with various kinds of cooked fish and shellfish and vegetables, flavored with a variety of herbs and spices such as garlic, orange peel, basil, bay leaf, fennel and saffron. Bouillabaisse is a traditional Provençal fish stew originating from the port city of...
, alhòli
Aioli
Aioli ) is a traditional sauce made of garlic, olive oil, and egg. There are many variations, such as the addition of mustard or, in Catalonia, pears. It is usually served at room temperature. The name aioli comes from Provençal alh 'garlic' is a traditional sauce made of garlic, olive oil,...
, ratatolha
Ratatouille
Ratatouille is a traditional French Provençal stewed vegetable dish, originating in Nice. The full name of the dish is ratatouille niçoise.- Origin :...
, pan golçat (bread with garlic), salad
Salad
Salad is any of a wide variety of dishes, including vegetable salads; salads of pasta, legumes, eggs, or grains; mixed salads incorporating meat, poultry, or seafood; and fruit salads. They may include a mixture of cold and hot, often including raw vegetables or fruits.Green salads include leaf...
s, etc. but unlike the gastronomies of its Mediterranean neighbours, it has a lot of fines herbes
Fines herbes
Fines herbes is a combination of herbs that forms a mainstay of Mediterranean cuisine. The ingredients of fines herbes are fresh parsley, chives, tarragon and chervil. These "fine herbs" are not the pungent and resinous herbs that appear in a bouquet garni – which, unlike fines herbes, release...
. Other specialities are caçolet
Cassoulet
Cassoulet is a rich, slow-cooked bean stew or casserole originating in the south of France, containing meat , pork skin and white haricot beans....
, pastís de treflas, aligòt
Aligot
Aligot is a dish traditionally made in L'Aubrac region in southern Massif Central of France made from melted cheese blended into mashed potatoes, often with some garlic...
, farcidures (potato and meat dumpling), freginat (fricassee of pork ), clafotís, flaunharda
Flaugnarde
Flaugnarde also known as flagnarde, flognarde or flougnarde. This is a flan-like baked French dessert with fruit arranged in a buttered dish and covered with a thick flan-like batter. Similar to a Clafoutis which is made with black cherries, a Flaugnarde is made with apples, peaches, pears,...
etc.