I don’t have a lot of time on my one day off from the 3-star restaurant I cook at to make fancy meals and I find myself craving simple dishes that are healthy. I love chaucterie for lunch. Thinly sliced cured meats, small cornichon pickles, paté, a selection of cheese served with a big basket of sliced baguette and butter. To me, the chaucterie assiette is very French and I often order it at bistros – when I have time to go to bistros – oh la vache!
I experimented with different smoked salmons (white from Bretagne and pink from Ireland), procuitto ham, coppa, and comté fromage. The salad is just plain ol’ salad with a basamic vinagrette (1 T vinegar, 3 T olive oil) with diced veggies I found in the fridge. C’est facile, non?
For another variation try it as an appetizer served on little blinis. I made variations with goat cheese, comté cheese, blue cheese, cured meats, smoked salmon, figs, and veggies. Really beautiful, colorful, and simple.
Technorati Tags: appetizers, chacuterie, fromage, salmon
une idée simple mais terriblement apétissante.
I don’t agree with AnneE. I think it looks delicious, and an assiette de charcuterie can make a perfect lunch.
I agree with AnneE AND Alison. It IS a simple and terribly appetizing idea, AND a perfect lunch that looks delicious. 😉
I had yogourt eaten out of a plastic container for lunch. I am still in my pajamas.
My old french is a little rusty but I think the comment about being simple AND appetizing is spot on. It’s the kind of thing where you can take many goodies from the frigo and present into something more edible. My ONLY complain is where’s the peanut butter and jam on a pringle one honey?
peanut butter goes with everything. i love this as well. in southern germany it is referred to as brtozeit, or bread time. with meats, breads and pickles. they tend to eat it for dinner and not lunch. a light meal and then a walk and then bedtime.
D’oh! When I read AnneE’s comment, I thought she’d written “PAS terriblement appétissante.” Oops.
So, um, I agree with her.
Um, it’s “Charcuterie”, not “Chacuterie” or “chaucterie”.
It’s also “Ahh, la VACHE”, (stress on the last word) and not “oh la vache”.
No, I’m not French. But at least I bothered to learn the language before going there.
All the combos you mentioned sound delicious.
Might I ask you a meat-related question? I have been to Paris many times, over many years, and have yet to find a beautiful, tasty steak there (without paying $100 per person at a tres cher spot). My friends think it is because of the angle at which the meat is cut (butchered). But it has always been extremely chewy and a little gristly to me. Veal has always been overcooked (chewy) to my taste, too. I was very disappointed overall in dining in Paris until my last trip, when I went only to 100+-year-old historic restaurants or stopped ordering meat and stuck to (wonderfully) grilled vegetables or salmon. I live in SF, and eat out a lot.
Do you have any steak places to recommend in Paris?
Anon, stop being so snobby. Speaking French all the time, whether poorly or not, is what improves your language skills. These kinds of “digs” deter people from trying. What better place to learn than France itself, if you do not first learn at home?