Photo by Charlotte Bland
Well, this is a sorry state of affairs. Alex Jackson’s Frontières: The Food of France’s Borderlands actually came out way back in October and, most unjustly, comes only now to CookbookCorner. It’s my fault, and I feel the shame and take the blame. The oversight wasn’t intentional, but I must acknowledge it all the same. That done, I’m now ready to wallow in its wonderfulness, and invite you to do likewise.
The book is based on a clever idea, but an idea can take you only so far: what makes Frontières so compelling is due, essentially, to the author’s palate and sensibility, coupled with what he self-deprecatingly refers to as his “idiotic enthusiasm” but what his readers quickly recognise to be the lyrical expression of an informed and reflective mind. He sets out his stall clearly in the introduction, for which I, a geographical illiterate, am very grateful: “France’s borderlines”, he writes, “contains some of the most exciting food I know — the Franco-German traditions of Alsace, the entire coastal sweep of the Riviera, from Toulon all the way to Italy’s Cinque Terre; the Pyranées, French Catalonia and the long mountain border with Spain; the maritime Alps where Piedmont meets Provence; and the port of Marseille, France’s ancient connection with the rest of the Mediterranean, a city with the sound of the music of North Africa in its markets and the smell of its spices in the air.”
And while it’s a joy to read, this is emphatically a book destined to be covered in splodges, which is always the best sign. And I’m greedily impatient to besmirch my copy. Where shall I start? I think with the Raw Salt Cod and Tomato Salad, and then on to the Broad Bean Cassoulet; the Duck Leg Daube with Dried Ceps, Prunes and Fried Cornmeal Cakes; the Braised Pig’s Cheeks with Wild Mushrooms; that heavy, heady stew of a soup, Garbure; Grilled Pepper and Salted Anchovy Salad; Frites Omelette; Pasta and Chick Pea Soup; Roast Sardines with Green Figs and Cumin; Poulet Antiboise which Elizabeth David wrote about and Rowley Leigh championed in his recent pop-up, which is essentially chicken that’s roasted over a mound of finely sliced onions with olive oil, thyme and a pinch of cayenne; Pansotti (essentially plump Ligurian ravioli) with Walnut Sauce; Spring Vegetable Soup with Eggs and Parmesan; Courgette Gratin with Parmesan and Cream; Chestnut Gnocchi and Porcini Sauce; Chicken with Morels and Vin Jaune; the giant bacon-studded and bacon-wrapped potato cake, baked in a Bundt tin that is Farçon; Clams with Peas, Bacon, Spices (caraway and nutmeg, for the record) and Riesling; Smoked Sausage and Potato Salad; Choucroute Garnish; and Fried Duck Livers with Raisins Soaked in Gewürztraminer and Kirsch. And now I’m so hungry I have to head straight for the kitchen to cook! But before I go, let me tell you that the recipe I’m impatiently sharing with you today is the cheese-gooey, bacon-loaded potato gratin from Savoie, Tartiflette.
Frontières: The Food of France’s Borderlands by Alex Jackson (Pavilion Books).
Photos by Charlotte Bland.
