CULINARY SPECIALITIES

	Rum babas "One day Stanislas Lecsczinski, former King of Poland and Duke of Lorraine, found that the kouglof (brioche) he loved was too dry. He sent for a sauce boat of wine from Malaga, perhaps because he had fond memories of a Polish cake made with rye and soaked in Hungarian wine. He tasted his kouglof soaked in wine and sent it back to the kitchen for the cook to add a pinch of saffron. Finally he found the brioche with the new sauce delicious and gave instructions for the recipe to be noted as a new dish, to be served often. As he was reading “A Thousand and One Nights” at the time, he named the new dish Ali-Baba." Recipe Mix 60g of sifted flour and 10g of yeast with 10cl of warm milk in a bowl and leave in a warm place for half-an-hour. In the meantime break four eggs into a bowl. Weigh out 200g of flour and add it to the yeast mixture. Add 5g of salt and mix the eggs into the dough one by one. Stir in 15g of caster sugar and 5cl of warm milk. Finish by mixing in 125gm of barely warmed, melted butter and leave the dough to rise in a warm place for an hour. Butter the moulds, add 100g of a mixture of white (Smyrna) raisins and currants to the dough and half-fill the moulds. Place in a warm place until the dough rises to the top of the mould; then bake in a cool oven for 20 minutes. Make a light syrup with 350g of sugar and 40cl of water. Take it off the heat as soon as it boils and add 10cl of rum. Thoroughly soak the babas in the syrup and leave them to drain on a grill.
	Bergamot Symbol of gourmet Nancy, and a speciality only made in this City of the Dukes of Lorraine, these clear golden boiled sweets were invented in the mid-19thC. An exciting mixture of sugar and essential natural oils of the bergamot tree... cooked over a naked flame and cut by hand or by a craftsman’s mill... It has so many special qualities that it was awarded an IGP label (protected guaranteed origin).
	Bouchées à la reine Marie Leczinscka The recipe comes to us from Marie Leczinscka, Stanislas daughter and Louis XV’s wife. Recipe Ingredients: calves sweetbreads, white meat, cushion of ham, veal and chicken quenelles, mushrooms Prepare a stock with carrots, leeks and onions spiked with cloves, flavoured with a bouquet garni Clean and leave the sweetbreads to soak and then cook them with the ham and white meat, taking a sufficient quantity of each ingredient for the number of guests invited. Take a fairly large casserole and prepare a roux of butter and well-sifted flour. Let it cool. Pour on the stock making sure the roux is neither too thick nor too thin. Season to taste and add a pinch of grated nutmeg. Bring it to the boil and add one or two ladles of cream. Mix the filling: sweetbreads, ham, white meat, veal and chicken quenelles and mushrooms, all cut up small. Put the mix in flaky pastry cases, called “à la reine” or “vol-au-vent”, prebaked in the oven.
	Nancy Chocolate Cake Recipe Soften a quarter of butter with a wooden spoon. Lightly heat a quarter of chocolate to soften it. Mix the butter and the chocolate. When they are well-mixed add the yokes of four eggs while continuing to stir gently. When the yolks have disappeared completely, add a quarter of sugar and continue stirring. Add a spoonful of flour, no more. One can also add grated almonds and vanilla. When all the ingredients are well-mixed and have reached a uniform colour, add the whipped white of egg. Continue stirring until they have been absorbed. Pour the mixture into a mould and place in the oven. The cake is ready when you can push in and withdraw a knife blade without the dough sticking to it.
	Macaroons The Nancy macaroon was invented in 1793 by two Benedictine nuns, thereafter called the Macaroon Sisters. The secret of their recipe was jealously guarded and handed down over the centuries. The present holder of the secret still gives the same special attention to this famous, succulent biscuit that everyone adores.
	Madeleines - small sponge cakes Madeleines, which are sent all over France and further afield, were invented in Commercy by Madeleine who became Stanislas’ pastry-cook when the previous one died during a reception organised by the Duke. Madeleine, a simple lady’s maid, replaced the cook, and prepared the only dish she knew using a family recipe. The King and his guests so enjoyed them, and the little cakes not having a name, he called them Madeleines after his servant. Recipe Heat 60gms of fresh butter; add 125gm of flour and 125gm of sugar, a teaspoon of bitter orange flower water, three egg yolks and the stiffly beaten whites of three eggs. Mix them all together and bake in a medium oven in a Madeleine mould. These quantities should make around 12 Madeleines.
	Mirabelle plums According to J. Pierre Coffe, a specialist in tales about gastronomy: "Happiness exists! I know because I found it. It weighs 14.3gm (including the stone), and comes from Lorraine. We know that Lorraine is the only place in the world where Mirabelle trees grow in such profusion... ... How could one not be delighted and grateful that such a small fruit can give us so much pleasure!" Recipe for Mirabelle Tart Make a short pastry with 250gm of flour, 125gm of butter, 5gm of salt and 70cl of water. Brush the pastry lightly with oil; dust it with flour and brown it in the oven. Take 1kg (2.2lbs) of best Mirabelle plums. Do not wash but wipe them; remove the stones; distribute the plums over the pastry and bake the tart in a hot oven for half an hour. While you are waiting, make a fairly thick sauce using a large spoonful of Mirabelle syrup; pour the sauce over the tart as soon as you take it out of the oven. Serve warm.
	Lorraine Pâté Recipe (Serves 8) Makes a superb entree served hot 350gm flaky pastry 450gm shoulder or neck of pork 4 shallots. 20gm parsley 10gm salt and 1gm pepper Prepare the marinade the day before. Cut the pork in strips; mince the shallots over the pork and add the parsley; salt and pepper to taste and pour on a large glass of dry white wine. Roll out the pastry: cut out a long rectangular piece. Pour off the marinade and place the pork mix on the pastry; cover it with the remainder of the pastry making sure the crust sticks to the pastry base, folding it over if need be. Brush the crust with egg yolk and place the dish on a well-greased plaque. Bake for an hour in a hot oven.
	Lorraine potée - stew As its down-to-earth name suggests this is not the haute cuisine one finds in big restaurants but a good country dish, a traditional dish eaten regularly by working men and women in Lorraine villages, still very popular in Xaintois! Nothing is more nourishing or more flavoursome than a good stew! Rabelais said he had never found anything as succulent and the Countess of Noailles sang its praises as it was made with ingredients from her kitchen garden. Recipe for 6 people 1 ham off the hook, well cured and with a delicious aroma 250gm of lean streaky bacon 500gm shoulder of pork 3 smoked cooking sausages 1 lb of white haricot beans Place all the ingredients in a saucepan of cold water. Bring it to the boil and let it simmer over a low fire for around 1½ hours. Then add: 12 potatoes 1 curly kale 12 average-sized carrots 6 average-sized turnips 1 onion a few whole peppercorns 1 pinch of coarse salt Simmer gently and serve it all in the same dish piping hot.
	Quiche Lorraine Quiche Lorraine was first mentioned in Nancy in 1586. In olden days it was made of proved dough (or bread dough) covered with eggs and cream. Today it is made with small pieces of diced, smoked lean bacon and is popular all over the world. Recipe for 4 people Prepare some short pastry or buy some ready-made. Prepare the mixture: 6 eggs, 500cl cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Brown 300gm diced streaky bacon in a pan and put it on the pastry. Stir the mixture well and pour it over the diced bacon. Bake in a medium oven for at least 25-30 minutes.
	Lorraine Tourte - Pie Recipe Take the same amount of pork and veal cut into strips; salt and pepper and marinade the day before in white wine and shallots, a good helping of chopped parsley and onion and slightly less garlic. Cover the base of a tart pan with the pastry leaving a three centimetre overlap. Cover the pastry with the marinated meat. Fold the pastry border over the meat but do not press it down. Cover with a round pastry cap of the same diameter as the base. Dampen the edges of the pastry and the cap to make sure they are well sealed. Brush the cap with beaten egg-yolk to make sure it browns. Before baking make a small chimney in the cap. Bake the pie in a medium oven for 30 minutes. Ten minutes before it is ready, pour the mix of beaten eggs and cream in through the chimney.
	Côtes de Toul wines In the 19thC, there were more vineyards in Lorraine than in Alsace, but around 1890, phylloxera killed off all the vines. Some 20 years ago, the wine-farmers around Toul decided to produce new, top quality wines once again: whites, gris (pale rosé), pinots noirs, all AOC. They are delicious with local dishes and well worth tasting.