Appetizers

Charcuterie or Smoked Specialties of Franche-Comté

Franche-Comte is a cattle raising region. Over centuries, it has mastered the art of smoking pork and beef meats. Mountain cured meats, hams, pork knuckles and sausages are slowly smoked and braised in the traditional "tuyé", a massive wood burning chimney at the center of the typical Franche-Comte farmhouses, found mainly in the Haut-Doubs region near the Swiss border.

• Brési. Dry and salted beef, smoked for three months, it is similar to the Grisons meat. Its origin dates back to the 16th-century. It is served in very thin slices, as appetizer or with fondues and raclettes dishes.

• Jambon de Luxeuil. This cured ham from the city of Luxeuil is smoked in accordance of an ancestral recipe. It is first marinated in a bath of salt and junipers berries to be then slightly smoked with fir tree sawdust.

• Saucisse de Morteau. The town of Morteau has given its name to the best-known sausage specialty of the region. The sausage made exclusively with pork meat is hunged and smoked over conifer chips in the "tuye" for at least 48 hours to achieve its unique taste and its full flavor. It is not authentic unless it has the seal and wooden peg at one end. It needs to be carefully poached in simmering water to prevent it from bursting, and can be served either hot or at room temperature.

• Saucisse de Montbéliard. Sausage from the city of Montbéliard made with high quality pork meat, spiced with cumin, nutmeg, garlic and white wine and smoked in accordance with the regional tradition. The sausage should be cooked for 20 minutes in simmering water or wrapped in foil paper and baked in the oven. It goes well with most vegetables and can be served with warm cancoillote cheese.
  

Croûte aux Morilles
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Morels (known as morilles in France) are delicate and flavorful mushrooms that grow at the feet of fir trees and are considered to be one of the finest. While in season (mid-May to mid-June) morels are enjoyed fresh. The remainder of the year, freeze-dried morels can be used, specially in this recipe when they are cooked in an unctuous cream sauce. They are served with thin slices of bread, previously toasted in an oven.

Les Gaudes

Typical from the Franche-Comté region, this soup of grilled corn flour is cooked slowly and served with sugar or salt and cream. In the past, Gaudes was an important part of the local diet.
Small pancakes called "Galettes de Gaudes" can also be prepared with the same kind of flour mixed with eggs, then fried on both sides.

Tarte au Fromage (Cheese Tart)
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Comté cheese is probably the most prevalent French cheese used in cooking. In this recipe, it is the main ingredient, with eggs and cream. The tart is served warm at the beginning of the meal.

Petits Choux au Comté
(Comté cheese puffs)
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Comté cheese is added to the basic cream puff recipe and the dough is shaped into individual balls. These light savory pastries are traditionally served hot or cold accompanied with wine.

Feuilleté Comtois au Jambon
(Franche-Comté puff pastry)
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Ham and comté cheese are rolled in puff pastry in a rectangular shape, then baked in an oven.

Croûte au Morbier

A slice of country bread soaked with Jura white wine is covered with a slice of Morbier cheese, then put in an oven until the cheese is melted. It is served with a salad.

Main Courses

Coq au Vin Jaune
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This Jura dish par excellence benefits from the unique flavor of the famous Vin Jaune (yellow wine), which goes particulary well with poultry. Other French regions prepare a similar dish with red or white wine. The recipe uses a rooster or a large hen. The wine of choice to accompany the dish is Vin Jaune.

Poularde aux morilles
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A variation of the "Coq au Vin Jaune", this classic local specialty is very popular in many Jura restaurants. It is prepared with a hen (16 to 20 weeks old, ready to lay eggs), Vin Jaune and morels (morilles). Used fresh in season (spring) or freeze-dried, morel is a delicate mushroom and gives a very distinctive flavor to the sauce.

Truite au Vin Jaune

Trout is an abundant fish in rivers and brooks of the region. In this classic Franche-Comté recipe, the delicate flesh of this freshwater fish is perfectly complemented by the unique flavor of the unctuous sauce made with the typical Jura wine called Vin Jaune.

Escalope de Veau Comtoise
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First glazed in a pan, then topped with cured ham and grated Comté cheese, the veal cutlet is coated with an unctuous and creamy mushroom sauce.

Potée Comtoise

Unlike other country "Potées" this slowly simmered hotpot includes smoked meats. Palette, sausages and lard enrich this complete meal of potatoes, cabbage, carrots, celeriacs, and green beans.

Escalope de Veau Jurassienne

This recipe makes good use of local produces (ham, mushrooms and the blue cheese called "Bleu de Gex") to accommodate the pan fried veal cutlet. All ingredients are baked and served when the cheese has melted.

Croûte au Mont d'Or

This cheese, in its original wooden box, is melted in the oven with some wine incorporated in its middle. Potatoes, "charcuterie" and green salad can be served with it.

Fondue
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Fondue-making consists of melting comté cheese into a pot of warm, garlic-infused white wine. The pot called "poêlon" is centered on the table where the guests will dip pieces of crusty bread on long-handled forks to coat them with the cheese mixture. It is typically a meal for a large group of guests, but it can also be shared over an intimate dinner for two.

Michon

This specialty of the Bouchoux plateau consists of Comté cheese mixed with flour, water and salt, then pan fried in a 2 centimeter-thick layer.

Raclette Jurassienne

This dish is made with "Bleu de Gex", instead of the traditional Raclette cheese. An electric grill is centered on the table and each diner places a slice of cheese into his/her assigned individual dish under the grill till it melts. It is then spread over boiled potatoes, served with pickles and Charcuteries.

Morbiflette

Morbier cheese invented the Morbiflette, a cousin of famous Tartiflettes. Cooked potatoes and onions are covered with slices of morbier cheese, then the whole dish is baked until the cheese melts. It is a hearty dish served with a local white Jura wine and followed by a green salad.

Chèvre Salée

Salted goat is a traditional dish of the Haut-Jura, served in winter, from October 15 to March 15. It used to be the staple country food of the past centuries but it is seeing a come back. The number of "Salt Goat Night" events is increasing in the city of Saint Claude, restaurants have it on their menu or it can be cooked at home. Its pink color meat is prepared as a "pot-au-feu" served with boiled potatoes.

Poulet à la Comtoise

A creamy cheese sauce and mushrooms cover the chicken cooked in water and vegetables, before being grilled in the oven. Comté cheese is used in the recipe to enhance the poultry.

Desserts

Poires au Vin
(Wine Poached Pears)
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Peeled pears are cooked in red wine with sugar, cinnamon and vanilla aroma. They can be served with some cream or vanilla ice cream.

Papet Jurassien
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This rustic tart from Haut-Jura has a light orange blossom flavor. It is served with the mid-afternoon coffee or after a good meal. It can be made with a pastry dough, although the traditional recipe uses a brioche dough.

Tarte au Goumeau

Each family has its own recipe but the difference comes mainly from the dough used: sweet pastry dough, puff pastry, shortcrust pastry or bread dough. Goumeau is a batter of eggs, cream and flour which can be flavored, or not, with some drops of orange blossom extract.

Galette Comtoise

This galette, dating back to the 14th-century, is made with a basic cream puff recipe flavored with some orange blossom extract. Traditionally served as "Galette des Rois", it is usually baked with a bean inside, that brings good luck to whomever finds it in their slice. But it is also served all year round as a midafternoon snack or for dessert with tea, champagne or with a fruit salad.

Sèche or galette de Besançon

The "sèche" is another sweet emerging from the regional tradition. As its name indicates, it is a thin, dry and crispy galette made of puff pastry dough, sprinkled with sugar and butter before going to the oven to be slightly caramalized. It keeps well and it is enjoyed with a warm drink such as tea, coffee or hot chocolate.

Pets de nonne de Baume-les-Dames

These little pastry balls are slightly sweet and very crisp. Spoonfuls of dough are dipped in the hot oil and cooked until puffed and golden brown. Serve immediately, tossed in confectioners' sugar and cinnamon, with strong coffee or tea, as a midmorning or afternoon snack.