Renowned for its landscapes, its rain and its strong cultural identity, Brittany is also known for its gastronomy. Here we cook with local products. Flour, apples, pork and lots of butter are enough to prepare delicious dishes with unpronounceable names.
Summary
Kig ha farz
A traditional dish from Finistère, kig ha farz means “meat and far” in Breton.
It is a mixture of pork, beef, vegetables and far. It is precisely the far that makes it so special. This buckwheat paste placed in a canvas bag is cooked in beef broth and salted pork knuckle.
The kig ha farz is accompanied by a sauce made from onions or shallots and butter: the lipig.
Cotriade
On the sea side, we taste the cotriade. A sort of Breton bouillabaisse, cotriade is a typical dish from southern Finistère.
It consists of several species of fish, bouchot mussels, potatoes, vegetables, garlic and shallots.
Andouille from Guémené
This specialty from Guémené-sur-Scoff in Morbihan is a charcuterie made from pork stew.
The andouille with concentric circles is smoked then boiled. It can also be found on a charcuterie platter, accompanied by mashed potatoes or in a buckwheat pancake for a 100% Breton tasting.
Breton pancakes
Crêpes or pancakes, the debate is open between the Breton departments.
With wheat for the sweet and buckwheat for the salty, the pancake is cooked on a billig (large cast iron plate). Fine and crispy, it goes perfectly with a glass of chouchen or a bowl of cider.
On the tables of creperies, the traditional « complete » (ham, egg and grated cheese) gives way to original and tasty recipes: with salmon, sweet and sour or seasonal vegetables, there is something for everyone.
Kouign Amann
Kouign-amann is THE typical cake from Brittany. Originally from Douarnenez in southern Finistère, it is present today throughout the region.
In Breton, kouign means « cake » and amann means « butter ». It is a bread dough with butter and sugar, which is folded like a puff pastry. If the recipe could not be simpler, its preparation requires real know-how. Baked in the oven, the dessert must remain melting on the inside and crispy on the outside.
far breton
Lighter than kouign-amann, far breton is nonetheless a delicious dessert. Simple, it looks like a clafoutis. Cooked with eggs, sugar, flour and milk, prunes, grapes or even apples are sometimes added.
Breton palets
For coffee, there’s nothing like a palet breton!
A specialty of Pont-Aven in Finistère, the Breton puck is now industrialized and marketed in France and abroad.
This dry and crunchy biscuit that melts in the mouth is made mainly of sugar and salted butter. 1.5 cm thick, it is, like Brittany, rich and generous.
The Lambig
Less well known than cider, lambig is a Breton specialty that makes people envious.
The cider having completely fermented is distilled in a still, thus giving the name to the lambig. This « cider water » can then be aged in oak barrels for 4 years.
A 40% apple alcohol, lambig with fruity notes is ideal as a digestive or to flambé pancakes.
Chouchen
Sweet drink (about 14°), chouchen is obtained from the fermentation of honey in cider or apple juice. As good as an aperitif or digestive, it is drunk very chilled but always without ice!
Salted butter caramel
In Brittany, butter is salted. Still.
This is also the particularity of Breton caramel.
Its very particular taste is ideal for making all kinds of desserts, accompanying sandwiches and especially to garnish pancakes. For the greediest, a small spoon dipped in the jar will be a delight.
Abroad, we find above all the salted butter and hazelnut caramel candy invented in 1970 by the master chocolatier Henri le Roux.
