Arrêtez l'abus de tofu! Mangez le foie gras!

Stop tofu abuse! Eat foie gras!


Louis la Vache is gravely concerned about the growing abuse of tofu and proposes a solution: mangez le foie gras! Louis has noticed that the consumption of tofu has grown far past its origins in the Asian cuisines. The abuse of tofu seems to have begun when the tree-hugging-granola-crunching-Birkenstock-wearing crowd centered around The People's Republic of Berserkeley en la Californie began using tofu as the main source of protein. Louis's concern is that so many of the Birkenstock Brigade are eating tofu that there is an impending shortage of tofu for use in Asian cuisines. Mind you, Louis la Vache est trés heureux, very happy, that these left-over-from-the-sixties hippies don't eat beef! Nonetheless, Louis feels it is time to put an end to this abuse of tofu and suggests that the solution is manger le foie gras!

Now, une peu d'histoire du foie gras. Foie gras is one of the most popular delicacies in French cuisine. Its flavor is described as rich, buttery, and delicate, unlike that of a regular duck or goose liver. Foie gras can be sold whole, or prepared into pâté, mousse, or parfait. It is often spead on toast or baguette slices topped with sliced cornichons or served as an accompaniment to another food such as steak. We can thank the ancient Egyptians for giving us foie gras.

Egyptian bas-relief showing foie gras production

Some 2,500 years ago, the Egyptians noticed that migratory geese in the Nile delta were able to stock fat in their liver in preparation for their long-distance flights. They found the meat and liver of these geese succulent. So they started to reproduce this natural phenomenon and fatten geese with figs and cereals.

During their captivity in Egypt, the Hebrews learned how to make foie gras from the Egyptians. After leaving Egypt, the Jews brought the foie gras processing method everywhere they settled, from Eastern Europe to Israel. Preserving meat in goose and duck fat was not forbidden by their religious principles. They were thus able to avoid starvation during their long migrations.

Foie gras was a dish appreciated by Greeks, Romans and Gauls. Romans fattened geese with figs and then dipped their liver in a mix of milk and honey. In fact, 'foie gras' comes from the Latin word 'ficatum' which means 'fig.'







Foie gras on the hoof. Well, maybe "hoof" isn't the correct term, but Louis la Vache was thinking in the context of his own existence...



















The practice of geese-fattening spread from Egypt to the Mediterranean. The earliest reference to fattened geese is from le V ème siècle BC Greek poet Cratinus, who wrote of geese-fatteners, yet Egypt maintained its reputation as the source for fattened geese. When the Spartan king Agesilaus visited Egypt in 361 BC, he was greeted with fattened geese and calves, the riches of Egyptian farmers.

It was not until the Roman period, however, that foie gras is mentioned as a distinct food, which the Romans named iecur ficatum; iecur means liver and ficatum derives from ficus, meaning fig in Latin. Pliny the Elder (I er siècle AD) credits his contemporary, Roman gastronome Marcus Gavius Apicius, with feeding dried figs to geese in order to enlarge their livers.

Hence, the term iecur ficatum, fig-stuffed liver. Ficatum was closely associated with animal liver and it became the root word for "liver" in each of these languages: "foie" en français, "hígado" en espagnol, "fígado" en portugese, "fegato" en italien et "ficat" en romain, Romanian, all meaning "liver."

After the decline of the Roman empire, foie gras was not considered to be a delicacy. During the Middle Ages, it was mostly consumed by peasants. During the Renaissance foie gras enjoyed its own renaissance as a food for feasts.

When Christopher Columbus brought corn back from the New World the intensive feeding techniques used to make foie gras were radically transformed. The southwest of France, the climate of which is ideal for corn cultivation, then became the top foie gras producing area.

During the reigns of Louis XV and Louis XVI, foie gras became a royal dish and started appearing in cookbooks. Even la révolution française did not diminish the stature of foie gras as a highly appreciated delicacy that could be found in the first luxury restaurants. In le XIX ème siècle, foie gras even inspired renowned authors such as Alexandre Dumas and George Sand!

La Poste issued a series of stamps on la cuisine française including naturellement, foie gras.

So that you can do your part to end the abuse of tofu by eating foie gras, Louis la Vache offers you this recette pour Poulet alsacien avec la sauce de foie gras.

À table!

Poulet alsacien avec la sauce de foie gras
Alsatian Chicken with foie gras sauce

INGRÉDIENTS:

1 - 4 lb. chicken, cut into 8 pieces (backbone and wing tips cut off and reserved to make broth)
2 carrots
2 onions
2 shallots
2 garlic cloves, unpeeled
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
sprig of thyme & 1 bay leaf
1 clove
1 cup dry white wine
4 Tablespoons crème fraîche
3-1/2 oz. foie gras
salt & freshly ground pepper

MÉTHODE:

1. To make the stock: add the backbone, wing tips, 1 carrot, 1 onion, 1 shallots and 1 garlic clove to a saucepan. cover with water and simmer gently for one hour or so.
2. Strain the stock. Reduce it by fast boiling to 2 cups and set aside.
3. Chop the reaining carrot, onion and shallot very finely. Preheat oven to 425°F.
4. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Melt the butter in a heavy sauteuse (with lid) and brown the chicken on all sides.
5. Lower the heat and add the chopped vegetables, garlic clove, thyme, bay leaf and clove. Cover and put in the oven for 15 minutes.
6. Add the wine and cook for 10 more minutes. Test to make sure it is done - the juices should run clear when the thigh pieces are pierced with a sharp knife.
7. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and keep warm.
8. Strain the cooking liquid and degrease if necessary. Return to pan.
9. Add the crème fraîche and reduce the sauce just a little.
10. Take the sauce off the heat and whisk in the foie gras piece by piece.

Pour servir:
Pour the sauce over the chicken pieces and serve immediately.

Et voila! Bon appétit!

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