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Like any moment in the life of a French human being, an important part of Christmas’ celebrations is family meals and food. Christmas Eve ("Le Reveillon" meaning "awakening" as it usually goes on until early morning) marks the culinary highlight of the year for French families, when we settle down for Christmas dinner which typically begins after the mass.
If you fancy abandoning the Anglosaxon culinary Christmas tradition and opt for the French-style Christmas Eve dinner, check out the following most traditional French Christmas dishes to compose your menu for the “repas de Noel“ (Christmas meal).
13 traditional French Christmas dishes
Apéritif / Amuse-bouche:
1. Champagne and "Amuse-bouche"
No Christmas in France is the same without Champagne accompanied with Amuse-bouche. It is normally served at the apéritif to kick off festivities. There are no set rules for the Amuse-bouche that can be a variation of canapés or petits-fours. Kir Royal, a cocktail of crème de cassis (blackcurrant liquor) and Champagne is also very common.
Entrée:
2. "Foie gras" (duck or goose liver)
Probably the number one ingredient for a French Christmas meal, usually served with un vin moëlleux (semi-sweet wine) such as Sauternes. Most of half of foie gras is sold in the last four weeks of December in France, about 10,000 tonnes. Check our Foie gras dedicated page to know where to find it in Perth and how to serve it. You an also have any variation of more elaborated Foie Gras dishes as for example MilleFeuille de Foie Gras or Quail stuffed with Foie Gras....
3. "Escargots" (snails)
Snails with garlic butter are also quite common in certain region of France. Snails can be purchased at France Gourmet or at Hunter Valley Snails for instance.
Seafood:
Having seafood is a must during a French Christmas dinner.
4. “plateau de fruits de mer” (seafood platter)
It’s traditional and very convivial to share with your hosts. A French seafood platter typically includes Prawns, Periwinkle, Crab, Langoustine, Mussels, Clams and / or Seasnails. It would typically be served as a main dish in place of meat. Oysters, Lobster, crayfish and Scallops (“Coquilles St-Jacques”) can be part of the platter or be served individually as a fist of second entry. Lots of people who will have a warm main will have only Oysters for entrée and not the whole platter!
5. Smoked salmon
If composing a seafood platter proves to be too challenging or for those not willing to risk an indigestion, smoked salmon can be served on its own in place of the seafood platter.
Trou Normand:
6. Trou Normand
Le trou Normand ("Norman hole") consists of a shot of Calvados with apple or pear sorbet (don’t use ice cream, it would defeat the purpose). The idea is to revive the appetite during a long meal using the combination of cold from the sorbet and the strength of liquor. French magic!!!
Main dish:
The Christmas main dish varies from region to region and families. The following three are typically the most common ones usually accompanied by some petits légumes (vegetables) and chesnuts:
7. Poultry : Dinde or Chapon
“Dinde aux marrons” (Chestnut stuffed turkey)
the most classic Christmas dinner dish.
“Chapon farci” (Stuffed rooster)
which can be combined with pear stuffing and fig sauce.
8. “Magret de canard” (duck breast)
Typically served as a sweet and savoury dish with honey or blackcurrant sauce.
9. Warm Seafood : Scallops or Lobster
Coquilles Saint-Jacques (Scallops )
Scallops are also a very polular Christmas dish often served with a leek fondue
Homard Grillé (grilled Lobster)
which will be grilled with butter and cognac but you can do many other receipes
Salad and Cheese:
10. "Plateau de fromage" (cheese platter)
Hard to imagine a festive French meal without a refreshing green salad and a "plateau de fromage" you can find French cheese in on of the Cheese shops in Perth
Dessert
11. Bûche de Noël (Yule log)
The most traditional French dessert served for Christmas. The Bûche consists of a sponge cake looking like a miniature Yule log with Chocolate or Chestnut Ganache Icing. The Bûche de Noël can easily been found in most of French Pâtisserie in Perth. Pre-order is strongly recommended.
With Coffee or Digestif :-)
12. Papillottes
Papillottes is the either some chocolate or fruit paste confectionnary that are wrapped individually. They shine, they are cute, their paper makes lovely noises when you open them. Then there is always this little story inside or a funny quotation from a famous French person and sometimes even a banger. The most famous Papillotte brand is Révillon. It is the French Version of the Christmas Crackers. They can be served as after the dinner with coffee but often they are also used to decorate the table :-)
After Dinner
13. Indigestion Tablets
no need to explain why...
Menu Ideas
Here are some ideas of Typical Christmas Menus you could make but of course you can combine some of the dishes above and add more dishes like a Seafood and a meat... it changes from one Region to another we are from Lyon so it is applicable to our Region :-)
Each region in France has its particularities for example Provence were they eat 13 desserts after the Christmas dinner. The thirteen desserts are in reference to Jesus and his twelve apostles at the Last Supper. As tradition goes, there must be at least thirteen sweet available, they are all served at once, and each guest must have at least a small bit of each dessert... Good luck!
Menu Traditionnel (Traditional Menu)
Apéritif
Entrée: Foie Gras
Main: Dinde aux Marrons
Fromage
Dessert: Buche au Chocolat
Menu de la Mer (From the Sea)
Apéritif
Entrée: Saumon Fumé or Huitres (Oysters)
Main: Homard or Coquilles St Jacques
Fromage
Dessert: Buche Glacée
Menu Froid (Cold Menu)
Apéritif
Plateau de Fruit de Mer
Fromage
Dessert: Buche aux Marrons
This one is often used on the 24th in the evening for people going to the Church and who don't have time to cook they will then have a more traditionnal menu on the 25th for Lunch.
We are going to focus on the cooked version of Foie Gras which is the most common one you will find in Australia...
Foie Gras is served as an Apetizer or entrée.
Frist to cut it you will need either a special tool or if you don't have one use just a warm knive that you put underwater dry and it will make the cutting easy.
You need to cut it in quite thin slices otherwise it might be a bit heavy.
You are almost ready only 3 things you will need to decide
What type of Bread?
Which one is better is just a matter of preference! What we will recommend it that no matter what type of bread you choose you need to have it toasted and serve it warm with the Foie Gras.
IMPORTANT: One thing you have to know is that foie gras unlike pâté cannot be spead on the bread!
Brioche: Lots of people love to eat foie gras with brioche which gives a sweet taste and is quite enjoyable.
Bread with fig or raisins: some other people will like to have the sweet taste in the matter of sultanas or figs in the bread
Pain d'Epice: is also an alternative but not so easy to find in Australia and normally Foie Gras from Alsace will go really well with this type of Bread.
Normal toast or Bread: Some people will prefer just a normal toast of piece of white bread loaf to eat their foie gras.
What accompaniment?
You can choose to eat your foie gras with no special accompaniment but you can also choose to season it. The three most common accompainment are:
Fig Chutney which is the most common or
Onion confit which is caramelized onions that are similar to a jam
Sauternes Jelly which is a jelly made with a famous sweet wine from the bordeaux region
You can also choose to use mango or green tomatoes but they are less common
What Wine (of course!) ?
Foie gras surprisingly can be paired with many different sorts of wines
Sweet wine such as Sauternes or other similar wines: are the most popular pairing. It is better to choose a wine that is not to heavy in sugar and you will see the flavours will match perfectly. The other sweet wines you can use are Bergerac, Côtes de Gascogne, Jurançon or Gaillac Wines.
Champagne: The type of Champagne will vary with the type of Foie Gras you are easting. With a Goose Foie Gras it is recommended to serve a delicate and fresh and light champagne. With a Duck Foie Gras it is best to opt for a stonger champagne. If the foie gras is eaten with sweet accompaniment then it is best to use a semi-dry to sweet champagne.
Dry White wine: Foie Gras will also pair well with these types of white wine if it is accompained by the sweet jams or chutley listed above. The good dry wines that match well are Alsace Wines such as Pinot gris or Gewurztraminer.
Red Wine: More an more people serve Foie Gras and Red Wine. This pairing enable to not to weight to much on taste buds but still reveal the flavours. It is recommended to choose an old red wine such as Saint Emilion or Pommerol (Both Bordeaux French Wines). You need to avoid wines that are too young and too light.
Now you know everything about Foie Gras we hope this was useful. If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact us
If you want to try to cook Foie Gras youself you will find some great receipes on the following Website Enjoy!
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