The world rugby final between France and New Zealand yesterday allowed us the unique opportunity to enjoy the game with our French friends, Fabrice , Nelly, Bruno and Philip. The exclusive and rather secret private members bar in Yffiniac was open early that day (well 10am on Sunday morning is rather early for me) and so we kicked off with a very enjoyable black coffee expresso just as the game commenced! Within minutes the All Blacks were in the lead. I assumed the French would be thrashed by New Zealand as everyone had been saying it was luck that had got them to the final (Wales should have been there instead)! I must confess to being very impressed with the way France managed to control and continually push the All Blacks right through to the end of the game. Yes the All Blacks won but it was a very close call and France came very near to running away with the tiny Webb Ellis trophy cup!
There was nothing small about the oysters we enjoyed at half time! In fact they were the largest oysters I have ever eaten! Fabrice had purchased them earlier that morning. They were Paimpol oysters from further up along the west Brittany coast. The oysters were served with bread and butter and a classic cool Muscadet wine. All absolutely delicious. What a civilised way to enjoy a game of rugby I thought!
The game may have ended but the gourmet meal was just beginning. A bbq (still possible in Brittany in October) was quickly set up as we enjoyed a tasty Jura whiskey. I learned a wonderful trick for getting the BBQ alight. No need to mess about with fire lighters or nasty chemicals. Just place some paper inside the charcoal, pour some sunflower oil over the paper and light with a match. Voila a bbq is quickly alight and hardly any smoke either. So simple I wondered why I had never thought of doing it myself!
We were called to the table where a nice bottle of Rully awaited us along with a dish which is very popular in Brittany. Coquilles St-Jacques à la nage.
I just love scallops but had never had Coquilles St-Jacques à la nage before! The scallops were served swimming in a delicious creamy soup the recipe of which is given below. It was marvellously impressive; the texture of the scallops were just right firm with a powerful bite combined with the mouth watering sea tangy taste of the soup.
The cote de boeuf was initially grilled first for a few minutes on all sides to seal in the juices and then placed upon the bbq where it sat until it was done.
We like our beef on the bleu side and it was set aside to rest for five minutes before being carved and brought to the table. The beef was served with a delicious golden potato gratin and a classic French mustard. A slight sprinkle of sea salt from Guerande was the only touch required to make this a perfect dish for a Sunday Roast Rugby World Cup Special!
Anyone who knows Fabrice will know he takes his wine very seriously. We were served a delicious Santenay 1er Cru 2000 with the Cote de boeuf followed by a rare bottle of Saint Sardos (Pech de Boisgrand) 1995 with the cheese board. We finished with a delicious light chocolate mouse accompanied with a home made apple crumble, light too with a lovely crisp edge and not too sweet.
Coffee with vintage armagnac completed our meal and with the sun still shining we decided it was time to take a stroll and walk off some of those calories - how nice to be beside the seaside and so off we went along the old railway line which is now appropriately called Promenade Harel de la Noë after the engineer who designed all the bridges along the route.
Recipe pour Coquilles St-Jacques à la nage:
2,5 kg de coquilles Saint-Jacques entières (soit 600 g sans les coquilles)
2 citrons
1 orange
1 branche d'estragon
bouquet garni
1 tête d'ail
300 g de blancs de poireau coupés en petits tronçons
250 g de carottes coupées en fines rondelles
1,5 litre d'eau
sel et poivre en grains
poivre de cayenne
Résumé :
Une part de cette recette apporte : 167 kcal, 25 g de protéines, 1 g de lipides, 13.5 g de glucides, 2.5 mg de fer.
Préparation
pour Coquilles St-Jacques à la nage
Ouvrir les coquilles, détachez la chair et lavez les noix à l'eau courante. Séparez les blancs et les coraux des barbes qui les entourent.
Préparez un bouillon de légumes :
Mettez les barbes dans une casserole avec 1 litre d'eau et le jus d'1 demi citron. Faites bouillir 10 min et filtrez le jus.
Remettez-le dans une casserole et ajoutez les morceaux de poireaux, de carottes, 2 à 3 rondelles de citron, 2 à 3 rondelles d'orange, les grains de poivre, le poivre de Cayenne, le sel, l'estragon, le bouquet garni et la tête d'ail entière. Laissez frémir à couvert pendant 25 min.
Faites pocher dans ce bouillon les noix de St-Jacques, 10 min avant de servir. Otez du bouillon la branche d'estragon, le bouquet garni et la tête d'ail. Servez les coquilles très chaudes, dans la nage avec les légumes.
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