Laura’s Chocolate chestnut tart Sweetened chestnut purée (crème de marrons) is an iconic French ingredient. Sweet chestnuts grow in abundance all over France, and here in Gascony. In the late 1800s a clever food manufacturer created this product and, although it is distinctly French, it is widely exported which is good news for lovers of French food. The best brand is Clément Faugier, so if you are visiting France look out for tins in the supermarkets and be sure to tuck a

Laura's tarragon chicken No herb says France louder than tarragon, and this recipe has no particular region; it is served in homes and bistros throughout the country. It is a good dish to have in your French culinary repertoire, especially in the winter months when cooking seasonally can be more challenging. Frozen tarragon will work here but do not use dried. In France, I get whole chickens from the market and either cut them into pieces myself or get the producer to do th

Laura's Winter Root Vegetable Gratin "Laura’s Gratin de légumes d’hiver" The dark days of winter call for food that is soothing as well as seasonal, so wherever you are in the world, I suggest you cosy up with this satisfying gratin. It is also a lovely thing to do when the days are short and gray; stay tranquil and stay in the kitchen, peeling and slicing and filling your home with delicious smells. This is a simple homestyle French dish, very impressive and hugely delight

Laura’s French Onion Soup "Soupe à l’oignon gratinée" There are many different varieties of onions in France and each corresponds to different seasons and different cooking methods. One of the highlights of my French market tours is chatting with vegetable growers about onions; there is always something more to learn even about an ingredient as seemingly ordinary as an onion. For this recipe, you can use whatever onions you have; it should be simple. At its origins, this so

Gascony is a region to discover all year long: whether you are looking to enjoy the mountain beauty of the Pyrenees during winter skiing...

INTERVIEW WITH A WORKING PARTNER – NO 1 It's official, spring is finally here, a season that we love at Simply Gascony! We can at last...

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In Part One and Part Two of this Guide to Gascony Wines, we covered the history and geography of this ‘ancient and modern’ wine-making...

Gascony in South West France has been an important wine making area for 2000 years, since the Romans planted the first vines following...

Gascony is renowned for its food, wine, and Armagnac – preferably enjoyed together at meals. The Gascony wine growing area today, known...

France is famous throughout the world for its cuisine, but perhaps there is no other region quite so renowned for its authentic, locally...

In the UK at least, garlic is rarely a talking point around the dinner table, with the exception of when the host gets it wrong! However,...

MARKETS IN GASCONY These weekly markets offer fresh meat and fish along with delicious fruit and vegetables depending on the season....

There are lots of reasons you might want to visit Gascony, and especially to come on holiday in this special, little-known, unspoilt and...

As David McAninch so eloquently wrote in The New York Times on 15th March, 2017, "Even a week or so spent eating and drinking your way...