Chasselas Grapes

Chasselas is a variety of grape widely grown in the Touraine, but mostly by domestic gardeners growing it for the table. It is also grown commercially for the table and is considered a great seasonal treat in October. There are a few appellations which use it for wine making and I imagine it is widely used by non-commercial winemakers here.

The grapes are small, green and globular, in small dense bunches and gaining a golden tan when ripe. They have seeds, but are considered so delicious that even the supermarkets stock them from September to November.

 Part of the bountiful harvest of Chasselas from a vine trained against a barn at the house of some friends.

We have a couple of Chasselas vines in the orchard. They were grafted onto the rootstock by our orchard neighbour for the previous owner and planted along the fence near the potager gate. They produce small quantities of nice grapes, but I think are not really happy.

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A la cuisine hier: Swede and Celeriac Soup. Sounds ghastly doesn't it? Well, try it and you will be amazed (unless you are Simon, who was merely amazed that I thought it was really good). Dice and sweat an onion, 2 swedes and 2 celeriacs. Take your time and get lots of caramelisation happening, then add a litre of stock, 2 bay leaves and salt and pepper. Simmer for 25 minutes until really soft, remove the bay leaves, then add a quarter cup of milk and a handful of chopped celery leaves. Whiz to smooth, then add more salt and pepper to taste (be generous with the pepper). Swedes are what French and American people call rutabagas and Scottish people call turnips. You could use young real turnips in this recipe quite successfully too. Apart from diehards like Simon, I reckon the nice combination of sweet and savoury, without too much bitterness, would be an excellent way to convert people to eating swedes and turnips. 

Clafoutis, made with homegrown sour cherries that have been soused in a vodka based syrup.

North African Style Potatoes and Beans. I used a can of the small green beans that are called flageolet vert in French. The potatoes and beans are cooked in a tomato sauce spiced with ginger, cumin and smoked paprika.