Like many people these days I eat less meat because I believe it’s “a good thing”, both for me and for the environment plus I really love good fresh vegetables, but I was wondering how proper vegetarians cope in France where vegetarianism is less common. The Vegetarian society says there are around four Million vegetarians in the UK, that’s about 7% of the population and in France, according to an official survey carried out about ten years ago, it was about 1.5% of the population and is now thought to be closer to 2%, coincidentally, the same as the percentage of hunters!
So if the number of vegetarians is rising, then a veggie’s life in France should be getting easier, more vegetarian restaurants and vegetarian options, veggie ingredients and convenience foods readily available in the shops, right? “Wrong” says Pat from Confolens, who’s been coming to France regularly for over thirty years and now lives here permanently. She tells me that things have barely changed in all that time, with restaurants still offering the tired old trinity of pizza, omelette or goat’s cheese salad “We’ve found it almost impossible to have a set menu anywhere, other than a few classy restaurants which have a dedicated veggie menu”. She singles out La Grange aux Oies at Nieuil in the Charente as a noble exception and says she has occasionally found “real” vegetarian restaurants in cities like Paris and Aix en Provence.
For a chef’s opinion, I turned to Aaron Tighe from the Circle of Misse, near Thouars in Deux Sèvres ”When I eat out in France, my heart does go out to vegetarians as French restaurants still see the vegetable as a mere garnish, mostly an overcooked one at that. When working in Strasbourg a few years back, I was also amused to find the ubiquitous lardon in an otherwise vegetarian onion tart.” Aaron regularly cooks for vegetarians who flock to the Circle for courses not only in cookery (including vegetarian cookery) but also in creative writing, painting and drawing.
What do the French make of their vegetarian friends and neighbours and what about entertaining? Pat says “Our French friends are gradually getting used to our eating habits, although I think they find them strange! We had lots of jokes about “verdure” but they do make an effort for us.” Her neighbours are big meat eaters, but Pat says she always cooks entirely veggie meals regardless of who visits. I think Pat may be making a few converts too, because she says that “when eating out French friends often enthused more about our food than their own meat-based meal”!
A vegetarian lifestyle is one thing, but a vegetarian business…in France? Well, at Chambon, in the Charente Maritime, out near the Atlantic Coast you’ll find the Tomlinson family who ran their own highly successful vegetarian restaurant in Cardiff and moved to France six years ago to set up “Tomlins” An equally successful vegetarian B and B and cookery school where they welcome guests from all over the world. I spoke to Lorraine and asked her what kind of reaction they’d got from their French neighbours. She told me about their friendly neighbourhood plumber who was puzzled as to what they did actually eat “We don’t eat anything with a face”, she told him, after a moment’s thought he said “Oh well, you can eat oysters then!”. She told me that they didn’t come here to convert the locals, but because the French generally are interested in food, many enrol in Tomlins’ one day courses, particularly those which feature the cuisines of other countries, such as the vegetarian cuisine of India, Italy and the Middle East.
School meals for vegetarian children can be tricky too, Lorraine had to go to her daughter’s school and talk to the headmaster after a dinner-lady had tried to get her daughter to eat carrots that had been cooked with a beef stew and, even he, thought it would be OK to serve the child ham, because it’s not a red meat. Robert from Coutras in the Gironde had an even worse tale to tell “my daughter was made to eat lamb, though we had clearly said to the school she was veggie. She threw up over the table and several other children and they always gave her meat free dinners after that!”.
Shopping seems to be less of a problem with products like Quorn, veggie sausages and soy based products available from shops catering for the expat community like Cooper’s Epicerie who hold a wide range of veggie foods at their shop and on-line and will deliver anywhere in France. But beware, says Pat, of apparently vegetarian items in French supermarkets, closer inspection often reveals that they “may contain possible traces of fish or shellfish”.
Like most keen cooks Pat is an avid recipe collector so I’m sure she’ll enjoy the following recipe from Aaron Tighe, which as he says is “perfect at this time of year” and a feast for the eyes and the tastebuds. You’ll find lots more recipes (vegetarian and meat and fish dishes) in Aaron’s Food Blog on the Circle of Misse website and details of all their fabulous courses.
Generally, I think that the vegetarian lifestyle is respected by the French and with advocates like Pat and the Tomlinsons the implications of what it takes to be a vegetarian are becoming more widely understood.
Aaron’s Beetroot Risotto
Ingredients (serves four)
- 90g\3oz unsalted butter
- 2 shallots or 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 240g\8oz Beetroot, one medium or two small ones (see below)
- 240g\8oz\1½ cups Arborio or Canaroli rice
- ½ glass dry white wine or Vermouth
- Generous litre of vegetable stock, warmed and kept simmering
- 3 Tablespoons finely snipped chives
- 3 Tablespoons chopped mint
- Grated zest of half a lime
- 100g Parmigiano Reggiano, plus more for the table, freshly grated
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Tools of the Trade
Heavy bottomed casserole or pan
Method
If you are starting with raw beetroot scrub the beet(s) under running water but do not pierce. The greens, if present, can be cut to within an inch of the beet, but leave the roots intact as beetroot has a tendency to bleed.
There are two way to cook these:
1. Toss in a little olive oil, wrap in kitchen foil and roast for 45-50 minutes in a preheated oven 190°C\375°F\gas mark 5 (reduce temperature by 10% if using a fan oven). Leave to cool.
2. Place in a non-metallic dish with a tablespoon of water. Cover and microwave at full power for six minutes. Leave to cool.
Peel the cooled beetroot and cut into small dice.
Place the stock in a pot, bring to the boil then reduce heat to a bare simmer.
Take a heavy bottomed casserole or pot and melt a third of the butter in a large pan and gently sauté the shallots or onion until soft but not coloured. Add the beetroot and continue to cook for two minutes.
Add the rice and stir thoroughly, until the rice just begins to crackle. Pour over the wine or vermouth and allow it to evaporate, no need to stir. Add a couple of ladlefuls of stock, and when it has been absorbed add a ladleful more. Continue to add ladlefuls of stock, once each ladleful has been absorbed. It normally takes approx 17-18 minutes to cook.
If you run out of stock top up with a ladleful of boiling water. Once the rice has reached a porridge-like consistency, but is still firm to the bite, remove the pan from the heat. Season to taste, being careful with salt if it is a commercial stock.
Gently stir in the remaining 2⁄3 of butter, the herbs, and the freshly grated cheese. Cover and leave to rest for up to five minutes ‘Mantecare’. Taste once more to check seasoning, then bring to the table and serve with extra cheese.
Suggestion
If serving as a main course, I add 60g\2oz\¼ cup of toasted walnuts, finely chopped at the same time as the herbs and cheese.
Tomlins Vegetarian guest House and Cookery School
http://www.tomlinsinfrance.com/
05 46 35 65 42
Circle of Misse
http://www.circleofmisse.com
Tel 05 49 68 14 70
Coopers Epicerie
http://coopersshopargelessurmer.com/
Tel 04 68 88 04 27
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