Alexandre Dumas père was not only the most prolific French writer of the 19th century but a notorious bon-viveur as well. Besides historical fiction, he wrote the Grand Dictionnaire de Cuisine, an extensive culinary guide that was published in 1873. It was a compilation of notes on various edibles from all over the world, sometimes accompanied with recipes.
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| Alexandre Dumas père in 1859 |
Dumas selected the most interesting stuff of each category - vegetables, fruit, condiments, meat, grains, nuts, desserts, beverages. Like the works of Pellegrino Artusi, his notes are delightlful to read. Some of the foods were described very briefly while French dishes, in particular, would be allowed much more space. What follows is a list of entries beginning with the letter N:
- NAVETS - turnips (with recipes)
- NÈFLE - medlar
- NEROLI - essential oil from bitter orange flowers
- NITRE & SALPÊTRE - various types of salt
- NIVERNAISE - ragoût of carrots
- NIVETTES - a kind of peach
- NOISETTE - hazelnut
- NOIX - walnut
- NONPAREILLES - a type of confection
- NOUGAT (with recipe)
- NOUILLES - noodles (with recipe)
- NOYAU - fruit kernel used for making liqueurs
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| Van Gogh, Blossoming almond tree - 1890 |
Nougat, a Mediterranean specialty originating from the Arabs, was introduced to France during the 18th century. It's usually made with almonds. Other kinds of nut used are pistachios and hazelnuts. The confection is popular in Spain, Italy, Greece as well as southern France. Its colour and texture vary, depending on the method used for binding the ingredients. The softest version is gianduja (made of hazelnuts) and the hardest is nougat brun, which is featured by Dumas:
"NOUGAT. - [...] Le nougat brun, avec lequel on bâtit des temples, des dômes, des portiques, se compose de la manière suivante : vous mondez, vous lavez, vous faites égoutter sur un linge blanche 500 grammes d'amandes douces. Coupez chacune de ses amandes en filets, que vous ferez jaunir à un four très doux; faites fondre sur un fourneau, dans un poêlon, 75 grammes de sucre pulverisé; quand il sera bien fondu, jetez-y vos amandes chaudes, et mêlez bien le tout; après avoir retiré votre poêlon du feu, mettez vos amandes dans un moule essuyé et huilé; montez-les autour du moule à l'aide d'un citron que vous appuierez sur vos amandes; elle resteraient collées à vos doigts si vous vous en serviez; montez-le le plus mince possible, démoulez-le, dressez-le, et servez." (A. Dumas, Grand Dictionnaire de Cuisine, p. 739)
BLACK NOUGAT
This recipe is adapted from the original but the nougat is shaped by hand.
I n g r e d i e n t s
200g almonds
75g powdered brown sugar
1-2tbsp melted butter
M e t h o d
1. Preheat the oven to 100C. 2. Blanch and skin the almonds. Cut into fine slivers, arrange on a baking dish lined with parchment paper, and bake until golden. 3. Transfer to a metal bowl and let cool for 5 minutes. Spread the parchment paper with the butter. Melt the sugar in a heavy-bottomed pan. Throw in the almonds, then stir. 4. Place the mixture on the greased paper, shape into a log and wrap tightly. Let cool off, break into pieces and serve.
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