The Cuisine of Bretagne (Brittany)
My husband is what you would call a Brest man, meaning of course he is from the city of Brest in Brittany, France. There are 13 regions in France, a country roughly the size of Texas. Each region has its own character, traditions, cuisine and even French dialects. After Ile-de-France where Paris is located, my heart belongs to Bretagne (Brittany in English).
Bretagne is a region of very proud people who consider themselves first Breton and second French. They have their own language, Breton, which has Celtic origins and also their own flag and culture. Bretagne is a mixture of the sea, think those cute mariners (the blue and white striped shirts the French are famous for) and the land- it is a very important agricultural region known for its dairy and pork industries as well as fruits and vegetables like strawberries, apples, cauliflower and artichokes.
The pink onions from Roscoff are highly appreciated all over France
The first thing to know about Breton cuisine is that everything is made with butter-salted butter, to be precise. This butter is used in pastries like the kouign-amann (the word amann means butter in the Breton language). The kouign-amann has taken the US by storm, especially in NYC after the rise of the cronut.
Continuing with butter, most people think that crepes are French. In fact, they are Breton. Every culture has its form of the crepe, the tortilla for some, naan in India, pancakes in the US, la pane fratto in Italy, pannkakor in Sweden, la pastilla in Morocco. La crepe is a sacred thing in Bretagne.
The first thing to know is that there are crepes and there are galettes. A crepe is made with white flour (called froment) and is usually served with sweet accompaniments, salted butter caramel or flambéed with liquor and confiture.
Galettes are savory and made from buckwheat flour known as sarrasin or blé noir. The most traditional of the galettes are the “Complet”- ham, cheese and a sunny-side-up egg. You can’t go wrong with this classic. You can put just about anything in a galette but most of the typical fillings include cheese, ham, potatoes, artichokes, shallots and scallops.
My father-in-law had a particular palette when it came to his galettes and he liked his with sauerkraut, fish or Andouille sausage. I swear, if they made them with tripe, he’d have ordered it!
Crepes and galettes are usually served with hard cider which like champagne is either brut or doux. In a creperie they usually offer real apple juice for kids, this is not Motts in a plastic bottle. It is usually cloudy and really sweet and delicious.
I love the simple goodness of salted butter caramel on a crepe. It’s easy to make at home and you can top almost anything with it!
If you are lucky enough to visit Bretagne, you need to eat at a traditional creperie. They are warm, convivial and unpretentious but believe me, the owners take the quality of their ingredients very seriously.
Another sweet and/or savory part of the Breton cuisine is the famous “far”, sort of like a large white flour or buckwheat dumpling. There are sweet versions, like the famous Far Breton with (or without) prunes, which is eaten as a snack or for breakfast at our home. Far can be eaten plain or sprinkled with sugar, crumbled or sliced. Originally the Bretons ate far to accompany their meat.
I make at least one Far Breton a week. It’s a low sugar filling snack that everyone likes.
A traditional dish from my husband’s region (north Finistere) is the Kig Ha Farz. It is a big peasant soup in which there are vegetables, pork and “Far” (both white flour and buckwheat flour) which is cooked in the broth inside of a cotton sack, like a steamed dumpling.
It’s a long process to make a kig ha farz and we make it for a big warm family meal in the fall and winter. As the starter you are served a bowl of the broth, then for the main course you are served the meat, vegetables and the far. Adding lepig (melted salted butter and shallots) to the far completes the dish and ensures that you have reached your calorie intake for the rest of the month. Oh oui!
Since Bretagne is synonymous with the sea, it makes sense that the other pillar of Breton cuisine is seafood. Every village has their individual recipe for fish soup. Bass is a fish that is particularly revered and who lives happily off the Breton coast in its cold and choppy waters.
The holy mackerel is another, I slather my mackerel with Dijon mustard, add some salt, pepper and dill and wrap it in tin foil and cook on the grill. It’s simple, healthy and delicious.
Everyone has their favorite shellfish and because all seafood is so readily available in Bretagne, favorites usually have memories attached to them. The day my whole extended family spent digging for cockles and then cleaning and eating them will always be special to me.
My 3 favourite Bretons!
As well as the first time many years ago when I went to the harbor of our teeny tiny seaside village and bought lobsters directly from a fisherman named Loulou, still standing in his boat, is etched in my memory. I bought the lobsters in my best broken French and American accent. After I collected my lobsters still moving around in the bag from Loulou, I offered him a hearty “Kenavo” (goodbye in Breton). I'll never forget the smile and look of happy surprise that he gave me.
With a landscape between sea and land as diverse as in Bretagne, there are sure to be many delicacies you will find and enjoy. I hope someday if you haven’t already, that you get the chance to visit la Bretagne! Please comment on any places you’ve visited and tips you can offer on Bretagne. Kenavo!
