We have transmogrified ourselves into pedestrians for a day and have rambled the old part of Sarlat to inhale the fragrances of the terroir. We are in the best stocked larder of southwest France and most things here focus on high-quality slow food, cooking, cuisine, meals and aliment. These feasts and treats for the palate take many forms.
We began our ramble in the market of the former Sainte Marie church.
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| This lady sells walnut cakes and walnut oils, dried walnuts and fresh fruits from her garden. |
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| Huge blocks of French white nougat are for sale.The word nougat comes from the Occitan (old language of SW France) pan nogat meaning 'nut bread'. The nuts here being hazelnuts, walnuts and almonds.. |
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| The charcuterie offers homemade sausages with either dried wild mushrooms, hazelnuts or figs ... |
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| ... dried and spiced duck breasts, larded goose gizzards and larded goose thighs ... |
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| ... and foie gras tartes, foie gras croissants, duck breast in foie gras and foie gras sausages. |
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| The dedicated foie gras shop offers all conceivable varieties of foie gras products ... |
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| ... including the famous cannelés cakes with foie gras as well as local figs stuffed with foie gras. |
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| The cheese man had the most appealing cheeses made from the raw milk of his happy cows. These 'Tomme du Sarladais' are very local, have a good patina and a determined taste of ... cheese. |
After all these edibles we needed something to drink and couldn't resist a truffle apéritif chased down by a truffle liqueur.
Heading home, full of pleasant impressions and smells, we easily succumbed to the temptations of a small feast of
macarons and
café au lait. The six macarons were: Lemon, passionfruit, strawberry, raspberry, mango and chocolate.
During today's excursion in the stomach of Périgord we purchased a couple of books with local recipes. In the forthcoming winter months back home we will be reliving the French cuisine through preparing these delicious dishes.
