Glossary C
Carne Machaca refers to a Mexican dish made of beef braised in broth until the broth evaporates and the meat is brown and tender, then cooled and shredded and recooked in oil or lard with garlic, onions, chilis. Carne Machaca is served for breakfast with eggs, refried beans, tortilla and salsa.
What a wonderful breakfast!
Crosne de Japon refers to a kind of vegetable from France which are small, twirly tubers and tapered at both ends. They are a "forgotten vegetable" or an ancient/old and unusual variety of vegetable, and are still being cooked by boiling them until tender, and dressed simply with butter, salt and pepper.
Caillettes refer to French minced meat mixed with cabbage or chard then cooked in a cloth. Caillettes is one of the pork products of Ardèche. Caillette, the coveted Ardéchois pâté made of pork, ground spice, provincial herbs and greens. Resembling a plump sausage, it is wrapped in a thin intestine. Caillette is so influenced by terroir, the recipe varies within kilometres. In higher climes, locals make it with cabbage. Those on the hills use spinach, and lower down by the river, it is made with salad leaves. We enjoy a punchy, garlic, meaty affair, but I am quickly told by fellow diners that purists expect it to be 50 per cent meat, 50 per cent greens and no garlic. To discover the finer intricacies of this pâté, enthusiastic gastronomes can head to the caillette fair, held in autumn in the town of Aubenas.
Ardèche is a department in south-central France , in Rhones Alpes Region.
Châtaigne d'Eau is the French for "Water chestnut ", the
fruit or corn of a type of a water grass or sedge. Water chestnuts are mostly used in Thai and Chinese cookery to add crunch as they retain their crunchiness and shape even when cooked. In other South East Asian nations, it is said that they are also used to make desserts and drinks Water chestnuts are available fresh or canned and can be eaten raw or cooked.
Châtaigne is pronounced "shah-tah-nyuh".
In the Philippines, water chestnut is also used as an ingredient in some dishes, and are only available in cans in groceries and supermarkets, as far as I know. I always have a stock at home and eat it straight from the can as snack.
I have never eaten any food with waterchestnut while vacationing in Thailand, but I think Chinese dim sum available in the Philiipines has also grounded/minced water chestnuts in some of them.
Châtaigne de Mer the French word which literally translated "chestnut of the sea" actually refers to sea urchin in Southern France. Its exterior part if thorny, and has to be opened like mussels or oyster to see the edible part which is the orange colored meat or roe inside the thorny shell. It is a must to eat Châtaigne de Mer while alive and fresh from the sea.
Châtaigne is pronounced "shah-tah-nyuh".
In my mother's home province (Marinduque) in the Philippines which is basically a small island in Luzon surrounded by the sea, sea urchins are rampant, especially during low tides, but I have never seen anyone pick them or fish them for eating. People pick up seashells, but never this thorny sea urchin. Now I am wondering if the locals ever eat them. On my next vacation, perhaps, I can ask the old people if ever they have these sea urchins as food.
châtaigne de mer
Sea urchins, with thanks to Carballeira, a Galician restaurant in Barcelona
Latin: Paracentrotus lividus
Gender: f
Language: French
Ethnicity: French
Most frequent country: France
Most frequent region: Southern France
Better known as: oursin
See places: French food and cuisine