Languedoc-Roussillon is a Province running from the Rhône-Alpes and Provence down to Perpignan on the Spanish border on the north eastern side of the Pyrenées.
"Scarlet tongue." Tongue, usually ox or veal, that has been soaked and then rubbed with saltpetre, brown sugar and pepper, soaked for a few more days, with regular turning, after which it is boiled with some aromatic herbs and carrots. It is then skinned and cooled in the liquor, which should strained first. The preparation of the tongue is one of my memories of the build-up to Christmas. My mother had battered old pots and pans, real working tools with bakelite handles. My father sharpened her knife ceremoniously before carving the joint each Sunday morning, twanging the blade against the counter top to entertain his children, playing it like a saw to make tunes. All meals were a matter of great pleasure in that house, with Christmas being the best. The salting and spicing of the hams and tongues; the stirring of mixtures and baking of cakes and puddings with glacé cherries and rich fruit and sour smelling brandy; the making of the mincemeat for the mince pies and the careful selection and wrappin of the Stilton in a linen napkin were all part of the reassuring and loving ritual of family life.
A name in Lot-et-Garonne for lovage. A large unwieldy herb. Pick the stems off the leaves, tie them and hang them to dry for about 3 days. When crisp, crumble the leaves and store. Good in hotpots. Lovage seeds are used mainly in Indian cooking, and are from a plant of the caraway family. The greenish-brown seeds are a little larger than celery seeds and have a strong aroma of rather coarse thyme. All parts of the plant can be used.
A disc of soft, smooth, supple cheese made with cow’s milk. It has a reddish, brine-washed rind. It is made at the Abbaye de la Pierre-Qui-Vivre in the Morvan,in the south of the département of the Yonne in Burgundy. This cheese is eaten all year round and is made with raw milk and has 45% fat. The curds are uncooked and unpressed and it is an organic cheese. It may be found in the following dimensions: 10 cm (4") x 2.5 cm (1") weighing 9 oz (250 g). The cheese has a strong smell and taste. Affinage is around 8-10weeks.
