Glossary E
Entree if the French word for "First Course" refering to the first course of a meal. Appetiser or starter.
Entree is pronounced as "ohn-tray"
Eperlan is the French term for "Smelt" or whitebait, a kind of fish that is usually fried, often imported but still found in the estuaries of the Loire.
Escalivada also known as Escalivada Catalana, Escalivada a la Catalana refers to Catalan-style eggplant dish wherein the eggplants are traditionally roasted over open fire (of charcoal), however becasue of the advent of ovens, some recipes for Escalivada are made with oven-roasted eggplants, peppers, tomatoes and onions
Red peppers and aubergines sometimes onions and tomatoes are grillec, cooled, peeled, sliced and served with an olive oil, salt and garlic dressing
Escalivada comes from the Catalan verb "escalivar" which means "to cook slowly, very close to the embers of a fire" or “to roast over hot ashes or embers". The smoke from the charcoal used to roast the vegetables adds to smoky taste and flavor of this dish.
It is served as a side dish, alongside grilled meats and even fried fish, but it can also be served on its own as a main dish.
This is also one of dishes from the Philippines which I think we inherited from the Spaniards who ruled the Philippines for almost 300 years. It is one of the regular dishes cooked by my mother. But what I can remember was that she only roast or grill the eggplants, and only chopped raw tomatoes and onions are added to dish with a bit of vinegar, salt and pepper, but no bell pepper since bell peppers are expensive and also rarely found in the markets in the Philippines. I dont know the name of this food, but we eat it mostly with fried fish, especially galunggong. Sometimes, it is called Ensladang Talong (Eggplant Salad).
Escalopa de Vitela is a Portuguese term referring to a thin cut or slice of veal without bone or sinews pounded flat, battered and fried; a Wiener Schnitzel , the popular dish from Austria and Germany.
- Echiré (Butter) : Echiré refers to the brand of the finest French butter, preferred by French chefs, with an AOC pedigree, from the region of Poitou-Charentes along the Atlantic coast, specifically in Echiré, a village in the Deux-Sèvres Department of the Poitou-Charentes.
Echiré has a delicious, unique flavor. Experiments were said to demonstrate that this flavor comes directly from the grass the cows graze on and not from the milk that goes to make the butter. However, no theories have been put forward further as to why Echiré grass should produce a different taste to any other, though the soil in this area is geologically different from that of neighbouring areas, and it may be in this soil that the secret is buried. The terrain and climate of Echiré village are certainly well suited to dairy farming which has taken place in the area for many centuries, the Romans named it first, calling it Scauriacum and later Escauriacus and then in around 1208 the name changed for the last time to Echiré.
In 1894, the Société de Laiterie Coopèrative d’ Echiré was set up on the banks of the river Sèvre. Over a hundred years later the butter they produce has come to be widely regarded as the best in the world. Not only has it been granted a prestigious label of Origin – AOC Beurre des Deux-Sèvres - but the Coopérative has been granted International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) certification for the entire process of manufacture from the collection of the milk to the sale of the finished product.
Echiré butter can be purchased unsalted, slightly salted or as cooking/pastry butter.
Now I wonder, where I can buy Echiré Butter in Germany, I love butter so much and a very good butter will make my day.