Five culinary delights of Brittany

Seafood lovers are in for a treat in Brittany, as much of the Breton cuisine involves freshly caught fish and shellfish. In fact, this is a land of seafood; platters of ‘fruits de Mer’: oysters, clams, crabs, lobsters, mussels and scallops, you name it they serve it. The list goes on, John Dory, red mullet, monkfish and cod. The Cote d’Émeraude stretches from Saint-Malo to Cap Fréhel, where plenty of fishing goes on, and in Cancale they produce more than 15,000 tons of oysters a year.

If you’re heading to Brittany and are exciting about sampling the unique cuisine, how about trying these culinary delights…

• Bites of monkfish on wood skewers with tandoori spices, including cumin, coriander, red pepper and sheep’s-milk yogurt. Or a fresh lobster with Rocou sauce, tamarind and various spices. How about Moules marinieres steamed mussels with white wine and shallots. Lastly rock oysters and flat oysters, which are best eaten between September and April, served with salted butter rye bread, shallots, red wine vinegar and lemon.
• Les Artichauds de Bretagne (artichokes of Brittany), picked from May until November, are wonderfully tasty and so easy to prepare, either boiled or steamed. You can have them with tasty butter, or better still with a vinaigrette, freshly made mayonnaise, or crème fraiche, better known as sour cream. A bowl of fresh cut French bread to mop up the juices and a good wine to freshen the pallet, ensures this dish is a delicious taste of Brittany.
• Feather light crepes with cream and fruits and/or savoury buck wheat galettes, filled with cheese, ham, egg or almost anything you desire, is another gastronomy delight not to be missed. There is always a terrible temptation to return to the shop and buy another!
• Cold pork dishes and dried sausage pates of liver rabbit duck and goose are served in abundance in Brittany and are ideal as a mid meal snack or starter.
• Kouign Aman, a form of very sticky cake that has been caramelised and just oozing butter, is another Breton sweet that simply can’t be ignored!